Thursday, July 22, 2010

breaking fast... summer vacation 2010

i was away. i took a very short flight to a small tropical island, BERMUDA! i booked my vacation back in march and looked forward to heading to a relaxing vacation spot for the 4th of july... with none other than my frenemy DC.  there's not another person that i would vacation with but the minute that vacation begins, i'm wondering what in the hell i'm doing...


i don't trust her with my camera.  she takes the WoRsT pictures... do you see her side-eyeing the camera?  well back before digital cams, i actually took the worst pics because i always had my finger over the lense but DC will cut your head off. just crazy. this is us walking in newark airport...


she had just warned me to put the camera away, i looked too touristy and no one takes pics on the plane... well i like to snap photos so i snuck this one in...



this is me walking on the tarmac.  i've never walked on tarmac before. i was hyped... i'm walking like the president does... but i'm also tired.  bermuda is only a little over an hour away and i thought i was gonna catch a nap but noooo dc doesn't like to see anybody sleeping.


we'd just passed customs.  if you've ever or never traveled to bermuda, they don't like you bringing NOTHING onto their island. if you do, it can't total more than $30 or so dollars in value. well... we sneaky folks packed our stuff and we got the items through.


this is dc's cousin, he's a native bermudian and we stayed with him... bermuda is one expensive island.  their summers are our summers since they are a little off the coast of the carolinas and during peak season the price of a hotel room is ridiculous.  i like dc's cousin... he's tall, he's fine and he carries bags!

me again... in the back of dc's cousin's car thinking... "THESE CARS ARE TIGHT"... bermuda is so small and they drive these special mini vehicles like the smart car, fords, peugeots, bmws... but they might as well all be smart cars! they are smaller than the average small. and since they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel in on the right side of the car, dc's cousin might as well drove the car while sitting on my lap.


day 1 in bermuda... we got to the aquarium where they also have a peacock that walks around... freely.  i love peacocks and i thought i was sweet-talking it into spreading its wings but no.  instead the peacock screamed for me. have you ever heard a peacock's mow?



that night we ventured out for bermuda's night life. i stretched my hair a bit and we got dolled up.  dc wouldn't pose for a pic ;-(  that may be why we only stayed out for 2 hours.. maybe 3 and that included dinner time.  truth is, dc is not a party girl.  she's a homebody.  put me in a club or anywhere there is music and you can leave me but not on an island where i don't know anyone and a d-train can't take me home...

day 2 and we're on bermuda's ferry-line heading to dockyard.  if you've taken a cruise to bermuda, you've docked at dockyard.  yeah the bermudians are simple people.  there's a road in the middle of the island and the name of the road is middle road.  there's a bird on the island and the bird has a long tail the name of the bird is the bermuda long tail.  simple.



it must have been the weather but for some reason my clothes were ripping apart.  my strap just popped off of my shirt. thank goodness the other one held up... and i smiled through it all...


dc... you ever pressed a zoom button before?  nope... see this is the pic that dc took... i let her snap a couple or else i wouldn't have pics of me near the clear blue waters...

day 3 and we're waiting for our table for sunday brunch...  our reservation was at 3:00, brunch is over at 3:30 and we didn't get sat until 3:35... they didn't even throw in free mimosas!  brunch was expensive, nice but not a free thang.
here's a smiling pic... wait - dc is still mean-mugging it...


when you've been to beaches that look like this, it's so hard to go to a beach where the water is a dark murky green as it is here in NYC.

day 3 and 4 we head to the beach... dc's cousin dropped us off but we had to walk back.  everything and everywhere on bermuda is walking distance away but i ain't nev-ver walked on a road like this one here.  and though walking is what i do with no car and living in the city, island walking is way different. this is tribe road no. 5 and while it's lush and beautiful, it looks like it's name. there's an incline on this road that made my body hurt.

the houses on bermuda are painted in pastels, which makes me think of ice-cream or better than that, sherbet.
the house we stayed in is up this hill and one night we went out and though dc asked me if i wanted to take a taxi back, i declined. i don't take taxis when i'm away. it was dark, midnight dark, and luckily bermuda is a relatively safe island because my fears would have told me that i would be attacked or robbed.  five steps up this hill and my chest is burning.  i look up and see that dc is mid-way up the hill, steady striding.  that heffa didn't even look back for me. she waited at the top though...



day 5 and we're having afternoon tea with dc's cousin.  bermuda was a british colony and so they do as the british do. afternoon tea.  i think i was tipsy all day of day 5. we had champagne and bloody mary shots at the tea, went to a wine tasting after that and later dinner with dc's family where me and her aunt tore up a bottle of pinot noir. day 5 was a good day.



day 6 and we're leaving... but before we left we decided to walk dc's cousin's doberman pinscher.  i don't know why i'm smiling because doberman is about to run up tribe road no. 5 while I am holding his leash.  no bueno.  not on my last day.  not while i am wearing flip flops.



and here we are, me and doberman, chatting it up in the kitchen, after the walk. i'm telling him to be good and he better miss me since doberman stayed licking my toes the whole trip. dc didn't take this pic, her cousin did.  i wish he hung with us. i would have gotten him to take my pics for me... and possibly with me... nah mean?!?!?!


this pic reminds me of what our friendship represents... longevity, faithfulness, trust and strength.  we have a lot of pics like this... ones when we were younger and this one now that we're in our 30s... but to me we look like, for a moment, that we were still in our teens, that we're still little girls, returning from our island venture.




9 comments:

KayC, The Quiet Storm said...

Looks like you had a lot of fun. I'm contemplating Bermuda for my trip. That is before you mentioned how expensive it is there ;(

Like you said...no bueno!

(((HUGS)))

Just Kel said...

Thank you Lady! Bermuda is a great trip. Some things you can't splurge on and some you can. Those you can afford, save for it and those you can't, find alternatives.
I prefer to cook... even on vacation, especially since I don't eat meat. I hit the supermarket and grab essentials but I love drinks & dessert, that's where I will splurge.
Another tip is Bermuda is cheaper during their non-peak season. The thing is during their non-peak, the beaches are closed.
The other thing is they won't let you drive but they allow you to rent scooters. They range from $25 to $50 a day. I would have done that but I prefer the cheaper route and it added to my experience.

Still think about it... I'm telling you... beautiful people, beautiful men, beautiful island.

Anonymous said...

It looks like y'all had a ball. I need an island getaway about now.

Angelyn

CapCity said...

YAY! Glad DC smiled in the last & very cute pic! & I.LuV. Your HAIR!

I also LOVE BerMU-Ti-FUL! Did u go to HorseShoe Bay's beach? That's where I went. I had a friend who lived there (sadly, he moved so no more hook up from him:-).

Oh yea - cute pic of DC's Cuz - VERY nice, ummm angle;-)

Luv said...

it did like you were having a blast..and i was planning a trip there in Oct but if I can't hit the beach no need for me to go : ( and expensive..that's why i picked it over Aruba cuz I thought it would be cheap

Just Kel said...

Hey Angelyn!!!! Thank you, yes we had an absolute ball. A much needed and appreciated vacation. BTW, I am enjoying your work!!! You inspire me.

Cap... I love that last pic with us & I'm glad she smiled too. Thank you for the compliment, between the sun & the salt water, that style was a miracle. LOL... Yes we did go to Horseshoe Bay! The best beach with the roughest waves... gorgeous.
DC's cousin is deliciously handsome... from all angles. Yea man!

Luv... I've been to Aruba as well... equally expensive, but a great island. Again, there are ways to make the trip work for you... Aruba is small. Taking the bus is the best option & if it's not between 12 and 2, walk... but lemme tell you that noon day sun will turn your arm hairs blond! (if you have hair on your arms...) I suppose Aruba would be best if you want to go to the beach but try Bermuda too... I guarantee you it's breath-taking.

Luv said...

thanks..i will let you know which one i decide...i just need a getaway

Don said...

Enjoyed the post. Of course I have never been to Bermuda, so it was definitely interesting reading and viewing the pics along the way.

Loved how you spoke of the friendship (and the expressed comedy) being golden and that last photo reminding you of when the two of you were young.

Dc's cousin turned out to be a sub plot for you, it appears. nah mean?!?!?!

Just Kel said...

Haha Don... you feel me, you really feel me, for true... my intention was to go to Bermuda, meet me a fine Bermudian (convince DC's cousin we were meant to be), get married, quit my job, lay up on the beach for the rest of the summer and take over as the head librarian of their library system when the summer was over. My plan didn't quite work out but DC did get a kick out of my active imagination...