1st day 12/28/16

Today is finally the day we've all been waiting for: the day we head out to the Bahamas! We are all so excited except for the fact that we have to wake up SO early. We had to meet each other at the airport at 4:00 AM - so that meant that we had to get up around 2:30 in order to complete hair, make-up, and other last-minute items.  Luckily and not surprisingly, there wasn't very much traffic at 3 o'clock in the morning.  

We arrived at the airport and went through security.  Alyssa almost died of boredom!  We finally got through and found our gate.  The flight then took about 45 more minutes to load.  When we took off, it hit home: we are going on a vacation to one of the prettiest archipelagos in the world!

The excitement wore off slightly on the two hour flight to Atlanta, Georgia, as witnessed by Avni's snoring.  The rest of us dozed on and off.  Then we repeated the same monotonous process at the Atlanta airport and flew to Nassau, The Bahamas.  The view was quite exquisite, and we arrived around 10:45 AM.

With a quick taxi drive, we were at our Courtyard Marriott hotel.  We all collapsed, relieved to finally be done with the day's travels.  We unpacked and unloaded until we were comfortable.  The three of us girls would be sharing a room.  A roll-away bed made this possible.  

At 12:00 we went to a luncheon for the Bahamas Society of Engineers (Technology).  The food was great at Luciano's of Chicago, a fine-dining Italian restaurant.  It was so interesting to get to meet all of the BSE's members!  We discovered what the goal of the Society is and how it impacts the people in the Bahamas.  Their mission statement is: "The Bahamas Society of Engineers is a multi-faceted organization dedicated to the promotion of the Arts, Science and Engineering practices and the Allied Arts and Sciences in the Bahamas. One of the primary goals of the organization is to advance the standards of engineering in the Bahamas as well as promote the exchange of information among Engineers and other members of the public. The Society encourages original research and seeks to foster engineering education and professional training."  This was a great educational experience and a great way to kick off our trip!  We discussed the plans and upcoming projects over margarita flatbread pizza, chicken parmigiana, and snapper con carciofi.  Alyssa wolfed hers down like a starving whale!  Due to the dismay of Kailynn and Avni, we had to go back to the hotel so Alyssa could nap.  

"BSE Mission Statement." Bahamas Society of Engineers. Bahamas Society of Engineers, 2016. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

For the rest of the day we just stayed at the hotel, discussing upcoming plans and watching TV.  We ate dinner at the hotel bistro, then went to bed early, at 8:15, so we could recover from the early flight and be up and ready for the next day.

Our trip will be two weeks long, from Wednesday, December 28, 2016, to Tuesday, January 14, 2017.  We will fly to the Bahamas on December 28th and flying back to North Carolina on January 10th.  The days in between will be filled with tons of fun activities and excursions!

The average weather during our trip looks very nice.  The weather in late December is extremely similar to the weather in early January.  Both have temperatures between the high 60's and high 70's, with an average daily low of 66°F and an average daily high of 78°F.  The median cloud cover is estimated partly cloudy, or 45%.  The probability that there will be any precipitation whatsoever is low, about 32%.  If there was precipitation, it would most likely be moderate rain.  A light breeze would be all the wind we get.  All of these conditions look favorable for all of our outdoor activities!  The only bothersome element could be the humidity, which will be in between 59% as the daily low and 92% as the daily high.  We came expecting great weather and it looks like we're going to get it!

Travel Itinerary

Budget Analysis
One Bahamian Dollar is equal to one US Dollar, so there were no currency values to convert.