Tige attended a conference to get his continuing education credits for his job in the Bahamas, and Kason & I used our skymiles and tagged along. We had such a fabulous time. I took about 160 pictures, so narrowing them down to post hasn't been easy. We stayed at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island. The resort is surrounded by aquariums and lagoons filled with ocean life, and Kason couldn't have been happier. We spent time swimming at the water park and looking at the sharks, stingrays, turtles, etc. while Tige was in his classes. Then he joined us for the fun in the afternoons.
Beautiful white sand beaches, but it was very windy all week long, and there were red flags on the beaches, so we couldn't swim in the ocean. We spent lots of time though at the water park pools.
Our room at the Atlantis. The beds and pillows were so comfortable! It was the most expensive hotel we've ever stayed in, but it was also the nicest.
The lagoon with the nurse sharks. Other lagoons included star fish, bonnethead sharks, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays, reef sharks, black tip sharks, southern stingrays, sea turtles, tropical fish, etc. And yes, Kason could tell the difference between all the sharks, and told several other people the different between a hammerhead and a bonnethead!
Manta ray at the "dig" aquarium. There were 2 of them, and they were massive, about a 12 foot wing span. These are the only 2 manta rays on display in the western hemisphere.
Overlooking the marina harbor. We rode a water taxi to Nassau one day and shopped at the straw market, and rode a "jitney" bus around the island and ate lunch at the "Poop Deck."
Predator Lagoon with 2 hammerheads about 10 feet long. Kason could have sat and watched them all day. At a smaller lagoon, there were little bonnetheads, and he kept reaching in until he was finally able to touch one. He thought that was the best thing ever!
Lots and lots of swimming at the Atlantis. Pools and water slides close at 5:00 p.m. though. How dumb is that? But we went in the morning each day and got our fill. We especially liked the "current" which is a lazy river with lots of rapids. We also loved the "serpant slide" which was a fast paced tube ride that let us off in a tube inside the shark lagoon so we got to sit in our tubes and watch the big sharks swim next to and on top of us. So cool.
This is the Mayan Temple water slide. Kason barely made the height requirement by about 1/8 inch. It' s a 6 story waterslide with a 60 foot nearly vertical drop that goes through the shark lagoon. He was fearless and went down it dozens of times. There were adults whimpering at the top, not sure if they could do it. And he'd go right by them and jet down. He loved it.
Overlooking predator lagoon and the hammerheads. Also a nice view of the Atlantis behind us. That bridge between the east and west wings is actually just one suite. They call it the "Michael Jackson suite" because he stayed there a lot. It costs $25,000.00 per night and requires a 4 night minimum booking. It's booked solid for 5 years. How ridiculous!
We walked over the bridge that leads to Pardise Island to eat at a restaurant called "Luciano's of Chicago." Tige had cheese ravioli in lobster sauce with huge lobster chunks in it. I had sea bass in clam sauce. Kason had cheese pizza. It was the most expensive dinner Tige and I have ever ordered, but it was sooooo good!
We went on a snorkeling expedition with Stuart's Cove. I think maybe Kason's mask was a little too tight??? Anyway, they took us to 3 different snorkeling sites. The first contained a sunken airplane crash and a broken shark cage. The 2nd had lots of coral reefs with beautiful fish, and the 3rd was sharks! Out in the middle of the ocean, they dropped a box of chum, and almost immediately a dozen huge caribbean reef sharks appeared. We got in the water, held onto a white rope, and looked down in the water to watch the sharks eat. We were only in for a few seconds because they want everybody quickly in and out before all the chum is gone and we become shark bait. Kason did it and wasn't even scared. It was an amazing feeling to be that near real sharks that weren't in captivity.
Our last day in the Bahamas. 3 long plane rides and we made it home. We were dying to see our sweet Abby, although I'm not sure she even missed us. While I was holding her, she reached out for grandma. At the beginning of the trip, Kason asked to go back to St. George because "I miss my friends at school." The last day he said "can we live here?" We all had a marvelous time.
Beautiful white sand beaches, but it was very windy all week long, and there were red flags on the beaches, so we couldn't swim in the ocean. We spent lots of time though at the water park pools.
Our room at the Atlantis. The beds and pillows were so comfortable! It was the most expensive hotel we've ever stayed in, but it was also the nicest.
The lagoon with the nurse sharks. Other lagoons included star fish, bonnethead sharks, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays, reef sharks, black tip sharks, southern stingrays, sea turtles, tropical fish, etc. And yes, Kason could tell the difference between all the sharks, and told several other people the different between a hammerhead and a bonnethead!
Manta ray at the "dig" aquarium. There were 2 of them, and they were massive, about a 12 foot wing span. These are the only 2 manta rays on display in the western hemisphere.
Overlooking the marina harbor. We rode a water taxi to Nassau one day and shopped at the straw market, and rode a "jitney" bus around the island and ate lunch at the "Poop Deck."
Predator Lagoon with 2 hammerheads about 10 feet long. Kason could have sat and watched them all day. At a smaller lagoon, there were little bonnetheads, and he kept reaching in until he was finally able to touch one. He thought that was the best thing ever!
Lots and lots of swimming at the Atlantis. Pools and water slides close at 5:00 p.m. though. How dumb is that? But we went in the morning each day and got our fill. We especially liked the "current" which is a lazy river with lots of rapids. We also loved the "serpant slide" which was a fast paced tube ride that let us off in a tube inside the shark lagoon so we got to sit in our tubes and watch the big sharks swim next to and on top of us. So cool.
This is the Mayan Temple water slide. Kason barely made the height requirement by about 1/8 inch. It' s a 6 story waterslide with a 60 foot nearly vertical drop that goes through the shark lagoon. He was fearless and went down it dozens of times. There were adults whimpering at the top, not sure if they could do it. And he'd go right by them and jet down. He loved it.
Overlooking predator lagoon and the hammerheads. Also a nice view of the Atlantis behind us. That bridge between the east and west wings is actually just one suite. They call it the "Michael Jackson suite" because he stayed there a lot. It costs $25,000.00 per night and requires a 4 night minimum booking. It's booked solid for 5 years. How ridiculous!
We walked over the bridge that leads to Pardise Island to eat at a restaurant called "Luciano's of Chicago." Tige had cheese ravioli in lobster sauce with huge lobster chunks in it. I had sea bass in clam sauce. Kason had cheese pizza. It was the most expensive dinner Tige and I have ever ordered, but it was sooooo good!
We went on a snorkeling expedition with Stuart's Cove. I think maybe Kason's mask was a little too tight??? Anyway, they took us to 3 different snorkeling sites. The first contained a sunken airplane crash and a broken shark cage. The 2nd had lots of coral reefs with beautiful fish, and the 3rd was sharks! Out in the middle of the ocean, they dropped a box of chum, and almost immediately a dozen huge caribbean reef sharks appeared. We got in the water, held onto a white rope, and looked down in the water to watch the sharks eat. We were only in for a few seconds because they want everybody quickly in and out before all the chum is gone and we become shark bait. Kason did it and wasn't even scared. It was an amazing feeling to be that near real sharks that weren't in captivity.
Our last day in the Bahamas. 3 long plane rides and we made it home. We were dying to see our sweet Abby, although I'm not sure she even missed us. While I was holding her, she reached out for grandma. At the beginning of the trip, Kason asked to go back to St. George because "I miss my friends at school." The last day he said "can we live here?" We all had a marvelous time.
Tige went this weekend with his dad and brothers over to Escalante to see the Hole-in-the-Rock. If you're not familiar with the story, it's was a group of 250 early Mormon pioneers who were called to go settle San Juan County. They traveled in the wintertime across some of the worse territory in this country and had to go through the "hole-in-the-rock." Tige's great, great grandfather, Joseph Barton, was one of the pioneers who made this trek. They couldn't get the teams to go down this treacherous chute, and Joseph Barton had a blind team of horses which he offered to have go down first. And of course, Tige's family is still in San Juan County today, 5 generations later. Here are some pictures Tige took on their hike.
Tige at the top
View looking down the hole. Hard to believe they got wagons and teams down here.
View from the bottom of the hole. 
Tige's dad and brother dancing at "Dance Hall Rock" where the pioneers held dances and sing-a-longs.
