Bahamas Cruisin' and Shrimpin' in Georgia

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After having some fun pirate pancakes at the Pirate Haus in St. Augustine, we headed to the port of Jacksonville for our cruise to the Bahamas on the Carnival Fascination. We enjoyed an art auction and my honey won the golf contest and got the famous " 24 kt. ship on a stick", "vessel on a tressel" to add to our growing collection. It was a great cruise and we enjoyed shows, parties, fine dining, fine wines, swimming, games and of course the Bahamas. We went to Cabbage Beach on Nassau one day and I got my hair braided by Olivia on Nassau and we went to an all inclusive resort in Freeport where we kayaked, sailed a Hobbie Cat, and snorkeled all day. It was wonderful! I even judged the "hairy chest contest" on board!

When our cruise was over we took a quick visit of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens which was truly the best zoo we've ever been to, anywhere. Then we took my hubby to the airport and headed on to Georgia to our next leg of our 80 day cross country adventure.

We got to the beautiful Golden Isles of Georgia in the mid afternoon and it was hot and very humid. The beautiful several-hundred year old majestic oaks covered with Spanish Moss are magnificent and by mid afternoon we were drenched in a hot and humid thunder and lightning storm. We did laundry and swam and caught bull frogs and watched the wild life including the resident racoons here at the Plantation Village Best Western.

Today we went to the lighthouse on St. Simon and walked gorgeous nature trails and saw historic churches and monuments from the 1700-1800's. I had the best crab cake sandwich ever at Sea Jay's waterfront cafe at the Jekyll Harbor Marina on Jekyll Island. We toured the Georgia Sea Turtle Center/Hospital where we saw actual surgery being done to save sea turtles and saw all kinds of turtles, some huge and very very old. The highlight of our vist was a Shrimpin' trip/charter on the Lady Jane Shrimp Boat. We caught lots in our nets including bonnethead sharks, horseshoe crabs, silver eels, puffer fish, squid, rays, and skates and of course lots of white shrimp we cooked up and ate on the boat. The kids and adults enjoyed holding and learning about the sharks and other marine life the nets pulled up. It was an amazingly fun and educational excursion. We even got to drive the boat. Everything is so huge, lush and gorgeous here on these islands---it's like Maine and Hawaii and the Florida Keys mixed together.

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Photos

Bahamas Cruise
Sitting at a show

Showtime
Carnival Fascination

Hot Bahama Mama Braids
Nassau, Bahamas

Senor Frogs Bahamas
Our ship in the background.