Eleuthera
June 30, 2010 Posted by: ERIN
I know I've been a bad blogger of late. What can I say, it's been busy around here.
But about two weeks ago we took an overnight trip to the island of Eleuthera. (Its name comes from the Greek for 'freedom'.) I was excited to experience a part of The Bahamas that lies between the extremes of Nassau and San Salvador/Rum Cay in terms of populations and development. What we saw was great ... beautiful cliffs, inviting waters, cool caves, local music, tasty food and drink ... but I mostly came away with the feeling that the visit was much too short and that I need to go back. There is much of the island yet to be explored, especially the harbors and pineapple fields. There's a ferry you can take from Nassau to Eleuthera, so I may try to convince my parents to join me in giving that a try the next time they visit.
This jaunt was the field trip portion of our biannual geology conference, so most of the sights we saw were rock-related as you'll be able to tell from the photos. Highlights included the incredible cliffs on the Atlantic side of the island (we've got nothing like that on San Sal) and Hatchet Bay Cave (even with its copious bats).
Eleuthera! I'll be back!!
Miss Alexis Goes to Washington
June 9, 2010 Posted by: ERIN
Remember way back in March when Alexis came in 2nd at the Bahamas National Spelling Bee? Well, her outstanding performance there earned her a trip to last week's Scripps 2010 National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. She didn't compete, but was there to cheer on Yelena, the Bahamian champion, and see the sights of the city with Malik, her fellow 2nd place winner. And I got to tag along too!
It was a great trip. We took a very long walk to visit the Smithsonian Mall, Washington Monument, Word War II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and White House. We rode the Metro and went to Chinatown. Of course, we watched portions of the spelling competition, which was very exciting. And we even got to have a private audience with the Bahamian Ambassador to the United States. (But after all that, if you ask Alexis what her favorite part was, she'll tell you it was the shopping. Kids!)
Most importantly, being at the Bee in DC really inspired Alexis. She has newfound motivation to make history next year (her last year of eligibility) and become the first Bahamian champion at Scripps. Oh dear, I suppose this means we better start studying ...