
The first weekend of June, Jordan and I spent two days and three nights at the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas. This is most definitely not the kind of vacation we would typically go on, but I was actually going for work, and my boss offered employees the opportunity to take plus ones, provided we paid for the plane ticket and food ourselves. But my food, flight, and hotel were paid for, so we figured we might as well make it a babymoon/anniversary/birthday celebration since we will likely never be able to afford to stay at Atlantis if we were paying for it all ourselves.
You might be wondering what on earth kind of work takes their employees to the Bahamas, and while I really just don't feel comfortable discussing the specifics of my job, I will say that I work for a company that puts on events in different locations around the world, and so this was in essence a site visit and staff planning retreat. I was in meetings both days we were there, but I was really pleased to find that we did have a fair amount of free time to wander about on our own and hit the beach.


Thankfully, we had already gotten passports last year in preparation for our missions trip to Nicaragua, so that was one less thing we needed to worry about. I was really excited to get to use it this year, since I obviously won't be going back this summer to Nicaragua.
We left Saturday at noon, had a few-hour layover in Atlanta, and landed in the Bahamas around 8:00 that night. After checking into the room, Jordan changed clothes and indulged in some ESPN (we don't have cable, so any time we stay in a hotel he gets excited about all the extra channels) while I headed out to a work reception.

We both decided our favorite thing about the Caribbean is how colorful everything is, starting with the water. This picture is completely unedited! Aren't those colors amazing?

This picture was taken with my camera's self-timer. This was the view from our porch! Atlantis is actually a resort complex with four hotels. The iconic "bridge" hotel is what you see in the background. That's the super fancy hotel.


Atlantis is almost indescribable. I just keep telling everyone that it seemed very surreal to be walking around, almost like it wasn't real life. Everything is colorful, the water is so blue, and there are fish everywhere. And not just fish fish like we think--sharks and stingrays and jellyfish and giant fish I'd never heard of before. You could walk underneath Atlantis and see aquariums or walk above. People were in the tanks with scuba gear on walking with the sharks, children were petting baby sharks, people were drinking cocktails and carrying inner tubes and going down slides.


I guess I hadn't really thought about what Atlantis would be like, but it definitely wasn't anything like I would have thought it would be. For one thing, I didn't realize Atlantis was its own resort. To even walk around in certain areas and do certain things you needed either a wristband or a room key. All four hotels are connected, and as you walk through they get more and more fancy. There's a giant casino in the middle, and I totally gambled for the first time ever! I played two different slot games and lost $2. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but it was fun pulling the handle! (Note: My work did not pay for gambling at the casino; we wasted our own $2 on that.)


We really didn't spend too much time on the actual beach. It was kind of a downer that I was 30 weeks pregnant, because walking on the beach took it out of me quick. Don't let these pictures of our smiling faces fool you... it. was. hot.
Also, I wasn't too impressed with the sand on the beach. Maybe it was just the part we walked on, but we both found it pretty rough. There were lots of tiny shells and some rocks, and I've definitely walked on softer sand (I'm talking to you, Hawaii!). Still, you just can't complain about the color of that water. And I haven't been to the beach in so long! I love the sound of it.

^^^ GIANT FISH! Seriously, what on earth? This was in one of the underground tunnel aquariums. It was nice to escape the heat and go underground for bit. It smelled fishy (literally), but it was nice and cool down there.


I did rock a bikini and get in the ocean for approximately 4.2 minutes. Then I got tired of trying to tread water in the waves with my nonexistent abs, and I got out. (Then later that night the whole contraction thing happened. Thus, I have no choice but to blame salt walter.)


^^^On the last night, we walked down to the marina and ate dinner at a seafood restaurant. I used Jordan's head as a tripod to take this shot. People were staring.

On Tuesday, our last morning in the Bahamas, I got up early to watch the sunrise. There were a few people out running along the sidewalk next to the beach, and I totally wished I could have done that, but it was really nice to just watch the sun rise over the ocean. There's just something so calming about listening to the waves on the beach.
I definitely think being 30 weeks pregnant (and therefore not being able to do any of the slides and things) and having The Episode occur clouded our overall impression of the trip, but Atlantis is certainly was an experience all of its own, and all in all, we were very excited to have the chance to spend a few days in the Bahamas together.
***See part 2 from the Bahamas here.
There's a video I put together of some scenes from our trip!
I definitely think being 30 weeks pregnant (and therefore not being able to do any of the slides and things) and having The Episode occur clouded our overall impression of the trip, but Atlantis is certainly was an experience all of its own, and all in all, we were very excited to have the chance to spend a few days in the Bahamas together.
***See part 2 from the Bahamas here.
There's a video I put together of some scenes from our trip!
Have you ever been to the Bahamas? What did you think?
Is this somewhere you would like to go?