Bermuda Cruise: Bermuda Days!

When we arrived in Bermuda on Monday around lunchtime, we had to wait a little while to get off the boat as we were the first group to start the New York to Bermuda circuit (something about customs and clearing blah blah blah).  We were very eager to get off the ship because rain was due around 2pm and we wanted to explore as much as we could.  Around 1:30, we were able to leave the ship and walk around the wharf area, where there are some shops and restaurants.  We then continued walking for a mile to end up at Glass Beach, where there's tons of sea glass all over the shore.  Bermuda is very strict about not letting anyone remove sea glass or sand from their beaches, but otherwise we would have filled a jar with this stuff.  You can see the storm clouds rolling in, but we had a chance to look around for awhile and walk back to the ship as the showers started.

You can see trash buried under the trees as the shore erodes

All of the males enjoyed skipping rocks:

What's a payphone?

They found a friend at the mall!

The next day, which was our long day in Bermuda, we had planned to take the free ferry over to St. George's but they cancelled all the ferries that day due to high winds.  Bummer.  We decided to take the bus instead, but once in our seats waiting and waiting for the bus to fill up, we changed our minds.  It would cost our family $180 for the bus round-trip to St. George's, so we thought it was better to postpone the trip until the next day (and pray the ferry would be running!).  

We got off the bus, found our friends, and all decided to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach instead.  That was a $14 round-trip per person bus ride, and the only way to get there was by bus or taxi.  So we walked back over to the busses and our driver had changed his sign from "St George" to "Horseshoe Bay" realizing it was the more demanded spot for the day, and we all got back on the exact same bus and waited another 20 minutes for it to fill up.  Finally we were off!  

I had to send this picture to my mom and dad, who had stayed at The Princess Hotel for their 25th anniversary (now closed and turned into the Princess Beach Club) 

The bus ride was a little scary - driving on the left side of the road, and taking tight corners on windy narrow roads.

Our friend had figured out a hike that we could do along an old railway that led to Jobson's Cove and ended back at Horseshoe Bay with lots of cool coves to discover along the way.

The sand at Horseshoe Bay Beach is that pink Bermuda sand we all hear about...you just have to look closely :)

We spotted lots of chickens on the island:

Caves to explore and big rocks to climb on are the stuff boys dreams are made of!

Brendan was so cute taking photos on his digital camera. Maggie called him a 40-year-old tourist.

This would have made a great Christmas card photo, if only all seven of my wonders were there!

The water was chilly, but slightly warmer than the air, and the kids didn't seem to mind!!

There's a small beach next to Horseshoe Bay, called Butts Beach (heehee the boys loved that name) where the water was shallow and protected by rock formations.  I had bought snorkel masks (they look a lot different than they used to!!) and the boys loved that too.

We spent a few hours at the beach, watched the British lifeguards do their training exercises (so impressive) and got back on the bus to have a late lunch on the ship.

Xander was our most adventurous eater, trying asian appetizers, shrimp entrees and even lamb one night!

Brendan ordering at each dinner:

"For my appetizer, I will please have the cheese ravioli, no lobster sauce.  For my entree, I will please have the steak, medium-well.  And for my dessert, I will please have (insert any chocolate dessert).  Also could I please have a lemonade?"

He's going to feel a big withdrawal going back to ordering from the kids menu :)

"This is my 8th shirley temple"

I spotted Phil making a friend with a Boston shirt on.  Extroverts gotta extro.

Maggie wanted to dress up slightly nicer for dinner that night, so we tried our best!  We took some photos from our balcony, and yes the water really is that gorgeous color - no filters!

The views from the main dining restaurant were stunning!

Chicken Cordon Bleu - my annual birthday dinner request - was not as good as Phil's version

Every night after dinner, we went to a show in the theater, which were hit or miss.  I don't like magic shows but the music and dancing ones were great!

Also each night, Phil and I would do something "date-ish" once the kids were in bed.  Sometimes it was just getting an ice cream late at night, or sitting on our balcony eating a slice of pizza, but on this night we got off the boat and walked around before it got too dark.  We stopped in to the famous Frog and Onion Pub and tried the Swizzle, which was much much much too sweet.  No regrets though...when in Bermuda!  We even bought the glasses to bring home as souvenirs.

A little piece of home in Bermuda.  Go Celts!

Getting back on the ship at night was a beautiful sight: