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LuxembearsHi! I am excited to share day two with you but first I forgot to mention yesterday something neat when when our ship sailed away from Port Canaveral. Instead of the regular fog horn blowing, this ship bellered out, in a fog horn, when-you-wish-upon-a-star. 
Day two, Monday August 13th.
I sat on our veranda as we docked into Nassau in the Bahamas. The water was like a jewel, crystal turquoise blue.
AAARRRRRGGGHHH Maties, we were off to Black Beard's Cay to temp fate by swimming with stingrays. 
Actually they were very very tame.
We boarded a pirate ship for a 20 minute boat ride in the gorgeous water to the small island.
This is my brother Mike and me. This whole vacation was a family reunion but during the day many of us split up to go on different excursions. My brother and his family also went on the sting ray encounter.
Thar she blows, off in the distance was our island.
This is where the sting rays lived. We got off the boat and we set loose to splash and play with this awesome animals.
My brother snorkeling.
We were free to snorkel, observe, and touch the rays as they swam by and they seemed to have no fear of humans. I was thinking that perhaps they associated us with food as I will show you in a moment. My husband, Mark stood ankle deep and video taped as he is not a fan of such creatures. My son Joey stood next to him as two sting rays zig-zagged there way towards him. He screamed and ran out of the sea never to set foot in the water the rest of the day. He had a blast, however playing in the white sand.
My daughter Rachel and I, on the other hand , reached for every ray that swam close. These animals were gentle and sweet. Beautiful. This was one of the most exciting and amazing opportunities I have ever had to be close to such amazing animals in their natural environment.
Then we got into two rows and were given squid to feed the stingrays.
That's me in the red swim suit. Rachel is in the turquoise blue. They had us wear life jackets too. We knelt down in the water and placed the backs of our hands on the sand and as the stingrays swam over we released the squid. If we did not open our hands as they swam over and our fingers got into their mouth we were told it would feel like a door was slammed on them. It felt like a vacuum cleaner sucking up the squid!!! I had two very large rays come right up into my lap. It was freaky and exciting at the same time!!! I asked for more squid as I could not get enough of the creatures.
THEN, Rachel and I had our photo taken with the "grand daddy" of them all. The ray was a girl and her name was "Big Girl". This is actually a photo of a photo.
We are actually in the ocean with Big Girl. I held her, or better put, supported her while they snapped a photo. Life is not measured by how many breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. This was one of those moments. She was magnificent! Truly a work of art and so gentle. She was silky smooth while she fluttered in my arms. I don't know if you can see the expressions on our faces in the photo but as water logged as we were I think our faces reflected pure joy.
Don't go away yet, theres more..................see next post below for more picture including Mickey and Minnie Mouse all dressed up.
Cleathero CreationsHow marvellous. i am getting greener by the minute.
Luxembears...... before we left Black Beard's Island Rachel and I had our hair braided.
When we arrived back on the main land a young Bohemian woman came up to me and placed a wooden beaded necklace around my neck, then immediately did the same to Rachel all the while saying, "Dese are free mon. All I ask is a five dollar donation for da children." Okay I thought. This is kind of bold of her but they are nice and I like souvenirs so I will give her ten dollars for the pair. Before I even got my money out she kept repeating, " I have change for twenty, I have change for twenty." Okay, so I gave her a twenty,and instead of giving me ten dollars back she tossed two more necklaces into Rachel's tote bag and said, "Here are two more for you other family members."....and she vanished as I stood there a bit dumbfounded as to what just happened! I had been had. Booooooy did I reek ' tourist' or what!??! 
It's all part of the experience.
We ate at a dining hall the second night called Animators Palate. The whole decor was animated characters in black and white. Large pillars in the shape of paint brushes met up with big painters palates. The blobs of "paint" were lights. As the dinner progressed the room changed from black and white to color. Even the wait staff changed from their black and white outfits to color and the paint blobs turned to brilliant lights of color.
Tomorrow we dock at a Disney owned island in the Bahamas called Castaway Cay where we will see the Flying Dutchman, the actual ship used in the Disney movie Pirates of the Carribean, and swim in crystal blue water and......well, come back tomorrow and see for yourself........
Tami Eveslage Original Teddy BearsI am loving this!!! Keep them coming!!!
Terries BearsWow, being in the water with the sting rays would be an amazing experience! I didn't realize that they were that big. It's nice to see that at least 3 of you are wearing your new necklaces! 
Oooh Judi, that is so awesome! It looks like you guys had a total blast! The photos are great.
Bear Hugs!
Melanie
Past Time Bears:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: I LOVE going on this vacation with you via the internet, Judi! How exciting to swim with stingrays!
Awww fabulous photos Judi, looks like you had a brilliant holiday, you are all so brave getting in with the sting rays! Good memories for you though.
Pauline
Posts: 62Your vacation just looks sensational Judi, you all are just beaming and i bet you come home with the best tans out, it would be easy to become a fish in those waters, theyre like crystal, makes us all dream of watching sunsets on the decks of cruise ships sipping a pina colada, AAAAAhhh its nice to dream and thankyou for sharing with us all, especially as i look out in a Melbourne winter, its like an escape to paradise. best wishes, stay safe and well and have fun. :hug:
