Tag: travel

Farewell Party

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"Fun Family" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/120 sec, ISO6400
 “My Crazy Family” Miami, 2016

The final day of our visit to Miami was wonderful. It started out with a leisurely morning with our cousins playing games and then half of us split off to do some sightseeing at Coconut Grove, and the rest stayed at home. I opted to stay home, and helped get ready for the evening party. I went with my mom and cousin to deliver food, extra chairs, and set up tables at the nearby church’s dining hall which we rented out for the party and because I got a preview of the party-to-come, I was pretty excited!

"Farewell Party" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/60 sec, ISO6400
 “Farewell Party” Miami, 2016

As is typical with our family, the party involved dancing, drinking, and lots of yummy food. There were patties, curry, stew peas, rice and peas, oxtail, jerk, etc… And of course we had to spice it up with fresh Scotch Bonnets! 🔥 Plenty of Red Stripe was also consumed. 🍻

"Such Good Food" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Such Good Food” Miami, 2016

I mentioned before that the Leesang family likes to dance and tonight we had an instructor teach how to do a couple different dances at the beginning of the party. Check it out below!

Our family is also pretty into the Pokémon GO! craze too, and there was a gym at the church so several people had fun outside battling to take over the gym. Another fun family activity, actually!

It was a lot of fun hanging out with the extended family and taking lots of photos (I shared them in our private Facebook page) and I have to say the X100T was perfect. I got a lot of people asking me about the camera too… many people thought it was a classic film camera. 😄 What I love about the camera is that it is so fast and discreet. I had people smile, took their photo, and it was over in a split second and we were back to partying. That was such a great feeling… to not have the camera be such a big deal. The “snapshot life” is a great place to be.

Anyways, the party was a blast! We ended up leaving at around midnight and then the party continued back at the house, with the younger generation playing boardgames til the wee hours of the morning, while a few of us opted to go hang out in the pool.

I finally hit the bed at around 2:30 AM… it was a great day!

Note: This post was written on 8/7/2016

Wynwood Art District

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"Art Viewing" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 1/70 sec, ISO3200
 “Art Viewing” Miami, 2016

Hello! Today we returned to Miami and ended the cruise… 😔 but the family reunion continues! 😄

After a nice Jamaican lunch from Jamaica Kitchen, and then a short nap, we took a drive to the Wynwood Art District to see the wall art. When we arrived, we noticed that there were news vans all around the neighborhood. We asked one of the reporters what was goign on and she said that they just discovered that four incidents of the Zika virus were pinpointed to that neighborhood. 😧 Just our luck!

We decided to walk around the area anyways, and saw some really cool artwork and went to some interesting shops. We also stopped for a cold drink at a restaurant called Kyu before heading to another Leesang reunion dinner.

The dinner was held at a Chinese restaurant and we celebrated my uncle’s 80th birthday. The food was yummy and we enjoyed entertainment in the form of a dancing tiger… the kind you see at Chinese New Year’s festivals. 🐲 It was fun for everyone, especially the small kids.

Lots of group photos were taken and we even got to see some photo albums of old images from when the 2nd generation was in school. Very interesting!

It was a great day, but wow, I was tired afterwards. We went back to the house we were staying at and just relaxed with a cold drink and then I was out like a log!

Note: This post was written on 8/6/2016

Great Stirrup Cay

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"Snorkel Time" Great Stirrup Cay, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/160 sec, ISO200
 “Snorkel Time” Great Stirrup Cay, 2016

Hello!! Today we spent the day at the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ private island, Great Stirrup Cay. As you can see from the photos, we had beautiful weather and the water was warm and clear. When we first arrived on the island, I feared that it would be too crowded but it was actually quite nice! There were plenty of beach chairs for everyone, although there could have been a bit more shade. 🌴😎☀️

Being an exclusively NCL island meant that all the included amenities from the ship were also available on the island, most importantly the bar and the food! I got a nice plate of jerk chicken (not spicy enough for my tastes), bbq ribs, and rice & peas. It was pretty good! And I washed it down with a Piña Colada or two. 🍹

The swimming was very nice as well. It wasn’t too deep although deep enough that there were fish 🐠 to see and even a sea turtle 🐢 (which I didn’t see but my brother told me about). I enjoyed just floating around in the water and getting some exercise in.

Also, there were two Pokéstops I visited, and my brother took over the Pokégym! So there was that. 😃

At about 3 PM, my mom and I took the tender (shuttle boat) back to the ship, and then we attended the second family get-together at the lounge. We listened to more stories of the family in Jamaica, celebrated my cousin’s birthday, and took photos of the different generations of Leesangs. It was a lot of fun!

In the evening, we hung out in the casino and gambled a bit, but the swimming and sun took a lot out of me so there was no dancing for me, and I went to bed early (11 PM). This night, a towel-bulldog was waiting for me in the cabin. 🐶

"Parked by the Bar" Great Stirrup Cay, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/220 sec, ISO200
 “Parked by the Bar” Great Stirrup Cay, 2016

Note: This post was written on 8/4/2016

Party in Nassau

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"Paradise" Nassau, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO400
 “Paradise” Nassau, 2016

Today was an awesome day! We made port in Nassau in the morning and made our way to our cousin’s house for yet another Leesang family get-together. As you can see in the photos and videos, their backyard opens up to the water. It was warm and beautiful and great for wading, swimming 🏊, and kayaking. 🚣 Just wonderful. ☀️😎

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Leesangs love to dance, and dance we did! 💃🎵 I’m not a good dancer by and stretch of the imagination, but there are some family members who are amazing dancers. But, talented or not, we all had a fantastic time.

"Family Dance" Nassau, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.2, 1/1000 sec, ISO200
 “Family Dance” Nassau, 2016

The other thing my family loves to do is EAT! 🍴 The food at the Nassau party blew away the cruise food big time. Lobster, crab, fish, conch, curry, etc etc etc. And of course fresh Scotch Bonnet peppers 🔥 were always being passed around. This was easily my favorite meal of the vacation.

"Lobster etc." Nassau, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/160 sec, ISO200
 “Lobster etc.” Nassau, 2016

We also enjoyed fresh coconut water, and by fresh, I mean the coconuts were brought down from the backyard tree and cut open and handed out. 🌴 In the video below, the finished coconuts were being split in half to get at the jelly. You use a piece of chipped coconut to scrape it out and eat.

The party lasted until about 3:30, and then most of us had to head back to the ship 🚢 since the deadline was 4:30pm. I would have loved to stay longer at the Nassau house (say 3-4 more days 😝) but we had to go.

Back on the ship it was time to shower, relax with a cool beverage 🍹 and then meet up again for dinner… We were so full already, but we did our best to eat. 😧

The highlight of the evening for me was the comedy show at the ship’s theater. The comedian was hilarious and we all had a great time. After that is was casino and dancing once again. By the time I got back to my cabin, where a towel-elephant 🐘 awaited me, I was beat! I fell asleep immediately… 😴 Another wonderful day!

Note: This post was written on 8/3/2016

Hitting the Beach on Grand Bahama

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"Beach Colors" Port Lucaya, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/340 sec, ISO200
 “Beach Colors” Port Lucaya, 2016

Today we visited Grand Bahama and docked at Freeport, then took a taxi to Port Lucaya to shop and hang out at the beach. 🌊 There were plenty of water-sports 🏄 to take part in, but several of the family decided to ride the Banana Boat. They said it was super-fun! I decided to just relax on shore, and swim 🏊 a bit. It was a hot day and the water was nice and we saw a lot of relatives who made the journey over to the same beach.

Back at the ship 🚢, we showered and then went to a family get-together in one of the lounges. 🍹 On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons we reserved the Outrigger Lounge for a couple hours and the family members passed around the mic  and everyone introduced themselves, mingled, and listened to some family history. It was fun, funny, and touching, because we also took pause to remember the family members who had passed away recently (and no-so-recently). 🙏

One fun activity we enjoyed was a “Family Trivia” game, where you had to answer questions about family members, and get signatures. For instance, one of the items was “Who has the longest hair in the family?”. You can see in one of the pictures below one of the kids measuring my mom’s and my cousin’s hair. It was a good activity for the younger members of the family to get to know everyone. 👍

After the gathering, we all headed to the Crossings restaurant where we had dinner each night as a large group. The food was pretty good, and we ordered double-appetizers and entrees! It was fun to visit with the immediate and larger family. After the meal, it was time for karaoke 🎤 and then dancing 💃 at the Dazzles night club! I think we may have hit the Sky Club Casino 🎲 as well, but don’t quote me on that. 😝 And then midnight buffet anyone? 🍔 Of course!

When I arrived back at my cabin, there was a cute towel-animal waiting for me. A nice surprise and a good way to end a wonderful day.

"Bahamian Sunset" Atlantic Ocean, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/220 sec, ISO400
 “Bahamian Sunset” Atlantic Ocean, 2016

Note: This post was written on 8/3/2016