Even though we strategically scheduled our flight during nap time, Dylan spent the entire trip jumping from my lap to Mikes lap, eating lunch and playing on the floor by our feet. Once that excitement was over, he fell right to sleep about a minute after we exited the plane so he missed all the non-excitement of going through customs. His nice nap ended just a couple of minutes before arriving at our hotel in the town of Hamilton.
After a long day of packing and travel, it was great to get to our wonderfully large hotel room with a spectacular view from our balcony:
Dylan's favorite part of the hotel, other than all the long hallways he had fun walking down, were the fish in the courtyard (which we could seeing when looking down from our balcony). They were really big!
And Dylan had a great time feeding them.....
I had thought that since we were getting there mid afternoon we would have time for some out of the hotel fun that day, but we were all pretty done and were content with unpacking, walking around the hotel grounds, walking around the town of Hamilton a bit and grabbing some dinner in one of the hotel restaurants.
Day two is was time to explore the island. Over our ridiculously expensive buffet breakfast at the hotel (that was the last day for that), we decided that the caves were top on our priority list and would therefore be the first stop on our travels. After breakfast, it was back up to our room to pack for the day, then a stop to the concierge for bus info\directions and we headed out. Unfortunately, we missed our bus by about 20 seconds. So, with some time to kill, we looked at the map and decided to see what Fort Hamilton was all about.
One of the first things I noticed about the island was the beautiful limestone. The entire island is made of it and you see it everywhere - on the cliffs down to the water, as foundation, as roofs, as retaining walls....it's a very striking rock (I know that's a weird way to describe a rock but I think rocks are pretty cool) and I just loved looking at it. Fort Hamilton is no different. All the walls in the fort are built with limestone. In the fort, there are great views of the town and of the water as well as lovely gardens to enjoy. It was a nice little place to wander around.
Looking Down the Cannon (And Our Kitty Friend at the Fort)
Dylan and I Hanging at Fort Hamilton
As to not miss another bus, we wrapped up our visit there pretty quickly and walked back to the bus station. This time, we actually got on the bus and made to make our way to the caves. Dylan had no interest in sitting in our laps...he wanted his own seat! We sat on the very back row of the bus where the seats were elevated higher than the rest. After that, it was the only place he wanted to sit when traveling.
Big Boy Traveling By Bus
Thanks to our ill advised concierge, we apparently took the longest route available so it was a long ride but we had spectacular views of the water the entire way. Finally, we made it to the caves.
One of Bermuda's most popular tourist attractions is the Crystal Caves. The location now also boasts a second cave you can also enter nearby, Fantasy Caves. We got the combo package and waited for our tours. First up was Crystal Caves. We walked down a long ramp to a stairway and headed down. Other than a landing at the base of the stairs, the tour through the caves takes place on a floating walkway. It was pretty cool.
Ever since I was taken to Natural Bridge Caverns in San Antonio as a child, I have thought that caves are about the coolest natural formations to see. I really dig them. Each time I've had the pleasure of seeing one since, I'm still absolutely in awe of the beauty and coolness of them....pretty much a child like excitement. Now, I doubt Dylan's old enough to know what a treat that experience was, but he did seem to enjoy it....if nothing else then for the relief of the cooler air.
The Family in Crystal Cave
The Gorgeous Crystal Cave!
After that tour, we went back up to wait for tour #2 and Dylan took a nap break. One thing about these island vacations I'm not good at is getting on island time. I found it a little frustrating that after getting a late start and taking the longest bus route there, we had to wait about 20 minutes for the first tour and then 45 minutes for the second tour. You'd think that it being a business it would have been a little more finely tuned machine. But no, it's island time and they're in no rush. So what should have been an hour and a half experience turned into 3. So much for getting any other sight seeing in that day! Sigh.
But I digress. Next up was Fantasy Cave. We walked to the other side of the property and, along the way, got to see a pretty amazing Banyan tree:
The entrance to Fantasy Cave was pretty cool....88 narrow, winding steps down! Some of the unique features of this cave are the petrified tree roots that can be seen hanging from the ceiling and the soda straw chandeliers:
It was a hot day and we were getting hungry after our time in the caves (and waiting for the caves). Around the corner, by the bus stop that would get us home quicker, was an ice cream place! What luck! We all enjoyed great treats and Dylan got to run around for a while before we hopped the bus back to the hotel.
After a long day traveling in the heat, we weren't feeling super adventurous for dinner. However, we weren't up for dinner at the hotel for a 2nd night in a row. Without any good naps during the day, we didn't think Dylan would do well sitting in a restaurant for any stretch of time so, we opted to go to the sushi place, just over a block from the hotel, get something to go and enjoy a meal in our rooms. It was the perfect plan since Dylan couldn't even sit still while we were waiting for our order (he and I went for a little walk while Mike waited). And man was that some excellent sushi! Yum, yum!
With full bellies, it was time to put Dylan down for the night. Sleeping in the hotel room was tricky for all of us throughout the vacation. We tried to angle the crib and our bed away from each other enough so that Dylan couldn't see us...otherwise he'd never go to sleep. The 2nd night he went to sleep pretty quickly (it was about a 2 hour process the first night) but he was up in the middle of the night for several hours. The next morning, we found that the first of his molar's had popped through!
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