FLL-NAS
Breakfast at Flakowitz, packing, lunch, drive to Ft. Lauderdale International Airport. Show our passports, shoes off through security. They didn’t even want to check the bottles of breastmilk or the ice cubes in my little cooler.
At gate C4 an hour ahead and the plane for our flight is delayed. Baby plays peek-a-boo with the gate agent. She crouches behind the row of seats, springs up, he squeals in delight, claps hands. Passengers in the boarding area agree he is very advanced. Two young men as me how old he is, they have a bet. Hard to tell if the loser thought he was older or younger. Wiith his baldie head he looks like a baby, but he acts much older and in interested in everything. Except taking a nap. Too much going on.
We finally see the plane arrive, pre-board. The flight is almost empty. The two fronts converging on the area finally bring rain, dark grey skies. Baby falls asleep on takeoff.
We hit a little bumpy air, I hold tight to my son asleep on my shoulder. Landing is very smooth and baby wakes up as we are exiting the jetway and getting in line for customs. He waves hello to the customs officer as he gets his first passport stamp.
The guy coming to help with our luggage suggests it will be $25 for a cab ride to Orange Hill. I tell him surely not, the bus here is only $1. He says no buses run from the airport. We respond that Orange Hill is only 5 minutes away and agree to $10.
Our cab driver is a Libra. He is from the Berry islands and his youngest son is a Leo. We chat about Marsh Harbour, Green Turtle Cay. He worked in Virginia picking apples for several years.
The hotel is just what I hoped for. Like staying with a friend in Key West, clean but not sanitized. The windows are open, the high ceilings and fans keep it cool. There are geckos eating the mosquitoes.
We eat dinner in the office/bar/restaurant area. First night celebration. Lobster is delicious, everything is perfectly seasoned. The baby tries the carrots, veggie rice and plaintains but really loves the mashed potatoes. I dance around the table with him, cheek to cheek. We twirl and spin and peek in the mirror which makes him giggle.
Bath, bed, no jammies. We brought our snuggly blanket from home and he collapses into the familiar softness.
They say we don’t develop the ability to create childhood memories til age 2 or 3. He won’t remember this trip. But we will show him the pictures and tell him the stories about what a good traveler he always has been. He will remember that.
We are happy. Having a wonderful time. Fresh air and a good night’s sleep. Good night Nassau. Good night Bahamas.
