ALASTAIR + LALEINIA

One of the biggest lessons learned from this trip was to make sure that we get sunscreen on early! We suffered for the last part of the trip, but it did mean that the water felt even better since it cooled down our shoulders. We spent a lot of time in the water on the last day or two, watched the USA women win the Women's World Cup, and ate a lot of really good food! On the way home, we swung by the North Face Outlet just outside of Cincinnati and made the most of an awesome summer sale! We got there right before it closed and so we were frantically grabbing what we could, so fun! We had an awesome trip! It was so fun to be away with Emre, especially because he loved to be in the water. It is always fun to watch him experience something for the first time, and getting into the water was really different for him. We are glad that the water was warm!

Today was the 4th of July: Independence Day! This was Alastair and Emre's first as U.S. Citizens, and what a way to celebrate it! We thought of the most American thing that we could do, and so we ended up renting a jeep, taking the windows and roof off, and exploring the island! Alastair had read about a place called Owl's Hole, a small, secluded pool found in a 30ft drop in the middle of nowhere. Because we had the jeep (and believe me, we'd have had no chance if we had rented a normal car) we were able to scramble over the rocks on the overgrown trail, and find Owl's Hole. That was an adventure in and of itself, since all we went off was a satellite image saved on a phone, but before too long we had found the Hole.   After climbing down the long ladder to make sure the water was deep enough (never trust a review enough that you jump without checking), Alastair threw himself off the edge of the cave a couple of times while Laleinia took pictures. It wa...

Lots of sun, sand, waves, pools, and food for day 2 of the Bahamas! I (Alastair) plan on taking a sailboat out and about, and so after breakfast I went for my sailing lesson: 10 minutes full of new sailing term after new sailing term. I like to think I'm pretty smart: top 10% on the GMAT, accepted into one of the world's best MBA programs, working for Google, ..., but that 10 minute sailing lesson was way over my head. I felt pretty dumb! Luckily, the sailboat was in use when I came back to give it a go, and so I thought I'd take it easy on an SUP (Stand Up Paddleboard). I had a great time, but struggled more than I thought I would! The good news was that falling off a Paddleboard was almost as fun as standing on one, so either way it was a great time! But thinking back to my failed surfing attempt in Cape Town and then this, I'm more of a mountain man than a beach boy. I'm going to make sure Lain gives Paddleboarding a go tomorrow! We splas...

We have heard many a horror story about flying with a baby. In fact, it seems to be the biggest reason that people don't travel. The hassle, the stress, the fuss, we've heard it all. Well, today we flew with Emre, and was it a walk in the park? No, but it wasn't the toughest thing we've ever done either! Admittedly, we were only on the plane for under 4 hours and thankfully Emre is cute, which I think buys people's patience. But either way, the first few hours in the Bahamas made the flight worth it! We got a taxi/limo from the airport and the driver acted as an impromptu tour guide, which was cool. I wasn't sure what to think of him when he put the car seat in the trunk of the car and told me we didn't need it, but he was a decent guy! After we checked in and blew up Emre's new pool toy, we headed straight for the beach and jumped in. We were wondering if Emre would enjoy the water or if we'd have to switch off holding him on the beach,...