Spring Break 2019: Beach Bums

Saturday, March 9th, was our first full day at Atlantis, so we had a slow start but were soon bombarded with requests for the BEACH! Well, I should say John and I were able to have a slow start. HG entertained Cress for a little bit while they ate FOUR doughnuts and looked out at the beach before they came to wake us up. They were bouncing off the walls by the time we saw them!

We had a cabana reserved for the day at the Mayan Temple pool, but the girls just needed to play in the sand for a bit. (Side note: On the walk to the beach, Cressey broke into a run and fell on the sidewalk, scratching her knee pretty good. Lots of Band-aids helped us calm her down and get her to the beach.) I still can't believe that Cressey has decided she likes sand, but she was like a whole new child from our last trip, not even needing water shoes and getting all into the sand. She even liked the big waves splashing on her. HG was her usual mermaid-like self, diving down to see the fish and riding the surf in. HG and Cress sat in the sand and played together for a long time too. Eventually, we talked them into finding the cabana and exploring the water park area.

The cabana was a great investment. It provided shady spots to sit and plenty of lounge chairs in the sun too. It offered a safe, fridge, etc., and a waiter would make the rounds to bring you food and drinks. It wasn't as close to the kids' water playground as I had expected, but the girls only played there for 30 minutes or so. (First, HG was too tall for it and was run out. Then, the water was really cold there, and a big bucket would spill over and unexpectedly drop freezing cold water over the top of the playground. Cress did NOT like that.) The cabana sat on the edge of a zero entry pool, so the girls liked that playing there too. There was a shark tank nearby, so that gave us some entertainment! HG and John would wander off to do the Rapids River from time to time, but mostly we just had a relaxing afternoon in the sun and shade, complete with Cressey napping in my lap (which required a good bit of coercion to happen). A late afternoon shower (the only rain we saw the whole time) made us head back to the room for showers.

We had dinner at the Bahamian Club in the Coral that night. It was much fancier than I anticipated, but the girls were champs and behaved so very well. Afterward, we walked over to the Ben & Jerry's in the marina for our mainstay ice cream visit.

Baby on a shelf

You can take the girl out of Mississippi, but you can't take the Mississippi out of the girl...

Getting ready to run back to the hotel in the rain

They loved sitting together in the shuttle.

Waiting for dinner in the Coral lobby

The Bahamian Club

The first time the girls slept in their own beds in their own hotel room. MONUMENTOUS! They slept well all nights, with Cressey just coming in our room once early one morning.