I think I’m funny.
And now for the background to this statement:
After most of our vacations, we send out a recap. Since Dave is timely and remembers these kinds of things, he usually posts it on his blog. I then forward it on to those whom I think would enjoy to hear about our vacation or were wondering why we hadn’t responded to their emails in a week. The thing is, when Dave publishes a recap I often feel like there are some stories left untold. For our most recent trip to Bermuda, I decided to make a “she-said” version and sent both recaps along to our friends. Here’s the he-said-she-said-Bermuda edition:
He-said:
I spent last week in beautiful, sunny, tropical Bermuda, riding a scooter around and snorkeling at several of the island’s gorgeous beaches. It was excellent. I know what you’re thinking. “Dave, what are you, like a bazillionaire? Didn’t you already go to Germany and Arizona this summer?” Yes, I did. But if you’ll remember, we slept in a tent and ate crappy food in Arizona, and Germany was unexpected, but still a large portion of it was covered by Wendy’s employer. So no, I’m not a bazillionaire. I just know how to travel cheap and often. Case in point: In traveling to Bermuda, we used credit card points to get airline tickets, then stayed in a bed and breakfast (and dinner) because hotels cost $200-$300 per night. It wasn’t a cheap trip per se, but it was cheaper than it could’ve been, which makes me happy. Anyway, here’s what we did:
Day 1 – Arrived via plane; checked into the bed and breakfast; walked around the rocks at Devonshire Bay
Day 2 – Took a bus to Hamilton; rented a scooter; walked around to City Hall and Fort Hamilton; ate lunch and watched some opening week football; drove to John Smith’s Bay for a swim
Day 3 – Drove to Hamilton; took a ferry to the Royal Naval Dockyard; snorkeled in Snorkel Park; took a ferry to St. George’s; walked around Ordnance Island and Town Hall; walked further to the Unfinished Church and Fort St. Catherine; snorkeled in Tobacco Bay; took a ferry back to Hamilton; watched Monday Night Football
Day 4 – Drove to Horseshoe Bay (and left because it was crowded); snorkeled in Church Bay; climbed the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse; swam at Elbow Beach
Day 5 – Hiked in Spittal Pond Nature Reserve to Spanish Rock; stopped at Blue Hole Park and saw a blue hole and some caves; climbed up St. David’s Lighthouse; snorkeled in Turtle Bay; snorkeled in a downpour in Tobacco Bay; watched the sunset
Day 6 – Walked through Paget Marsh; snorkeled at West Whale Bay; snorkeled and rode some waves at Warwick Long Bay
Day 7 – Snorkeled at Tobacco Bay; flew home
Pictures are here. More information will follow (He later posted this review of the trip).
She-said:
Why Bermuda? Well, it’s two-fold: (1) it’s the closest island to us in NJ and (2) in order to fulfill Dave’s master plan to hit every place in the Beach Boys song Kokomo. For the record, we’ve already traveled to Jamaica and the Bahamas (and technically Key Largo [Key West is close enough] and Montego [which is in Jamaica]). Dave’s goal in life is to travel to all destinations mentioned in the song. Aruba might be next. Now on to the details…
Day 1 – Arrived after our 2 hour flight which was free courtesy of our credit card points!. Then we checked into our bed and breakfast in Smith’s Paris which was WAY cheaper than $300/night hotels on the island. After settling down, we walked around the rocks at Devonshire Bay.
Day 2 – Took a bus to Hamilton where we rented a scooter (tourists cannot rent cars on the island so your left with mass transit or renting a scooter). Once equipped with a scooter, we parked it to explore the city of Hamilton. We took a picture of Dave’s fort, Fort Hamilton (Dave’s middle name is Hamilton). We ate lunch and watched some opening week football at the Docksider (after Dave said “the Dark sider” in a Darth Vader voice I couldn’t stop thinking that each time we passed the bar). Then we drove to John Smith’s Bay for a swim (notice the swim-beach pattern?).
Day 3 – Drove to Hamilton where we took a ferry to the Royal Naval Dockyard (#1 tourist site on the island because that’s where the cruise ships dock). We snorkeled in Snorkel Park. We saw an octopus! It was small, but an ocopus nonetheless. We also saw a deflated puffer fish and many other Caribbean fish. Oh and Dave got stung by a jellyfish. This wasn’t your average NJ jellyfish. He (Mr. Jellyfish) actually wrapped a tentacle around Dave’s arm. We were worried about it being a Portugese man-of-war, but it turns out the arm sting didn’t even hurt so we quickly dismissed our worrying…until his foreheard hurt and we saw little purple jellyfish floating on the surface. You’re thinking why didn’t we just swim around? Well, when you’re snorkeling you’re looking down so you rarely look to the surface. Turns out we should periodically check for jellyfish on the surface 
After our snorkeling, we took a ferry to St. George’s to walk around. Some highlights from St. George’s = the Unfinished Church and Fort St. Catherine. We also found our favorite snorkeling spot at Tobacco Bay. After a long day we took the ferry back to Hamilton and watched Monday Night Football at the Docksider (they had a good salad that was cheap).
Day 4 – Drove to Horseshoe Bay and left because it was crowded. Snorkeled in Church Bay. We actually got to hang out at some cool reefs and see some great fish, but the swells made snorkeling a workout so this was ranked #1 by the Hosiers. After snorkeling, we climbed the Gibb’s Hill Lighthouse (TERRIFIC view of the island) and swam at Elbow Beach.
Day 5 – Hiked in Spittal Pond Nature Reserve to Spanish Rock (1st visitors to the island). We stopped at Blue Hole Park and saw a blue hole and some caves. Great fish again. Then, we climbed up St. David’s Lighthouse (another namesake) and snorkeled in Turtle Bay. Decided we liked Tobacco bay snorkeling better so we scootered on over there and snorkeled in a downpour. This was the evening where we took our Bermuda sunset pictures.
Day 6 – Walked through Paget Marsh (not that cool). Snorkeled at West Whale Bay (we were the only ones around so it was like our own private beach – I wish!) Then we went to Warwick Long Bay where Dave snorkeled. The long swim out to the reefs and the big swells ldiscouraged me from snorkeling plus I totally had to finish In Her Shoes! After heating up in the sun and finishing my book, Dave & I rode waves like little kids – SO much fun!
Day 7 – We got up at 7am to scooter over to St. George’s and get our last snorkeling in before leaving. It was the only day we set our alarm! After GREAT snorkeling we got some grub and went to the airport to fly home.
And now for why I think I’m funny? Well, I just do but my friends encourage me. Here’s Lisa’s response after reading the he-said-she-said-Bermuda edition:
Ok so I ready your recap and laughed out loud periodically due to your
funny antic dotes (sp?). Then I read Dave’s version and it was even
funnier to hear his side of the story!! Sounds like a blast, see you
soon
Xoxo
Lisa