Road Trip To Bermuda

Our family's favorite vacation was a trip to Bermuda.

It doesn't take long to get there and once you are there, maneuvering around the island is easy because it is approximately 32 miles long. We stayed at the Grotto Bay Beach Resort. It is beautiful and is very close to the airport.

This had been one of our first trips outside the United States and we really didn't know what to expect?

Language is always a concern when traveling. I took Spanish for five years and although I could possibly get by with some understanding, I could never carry on a lengthy conversation. Bermuda is owned by the English and you wouldn't think there would be a language barrier but there was. I think people who have taken any kind of language in school have more of an ear to possibly understand something in the conversation.

Even if it is a word or two that sounds like something you have heard before, it can often help. Anyway, when you land in a foreign country you have to fill out paperwork to enter. We all filled out our own and when it came time to hand over our papers, my husband was first in line. It was bad from the start! My husband had this blank look on his face that I had never quite seen. For whatever reason, he pushed me up to the front. Apparently, he had absolutely no idea what the woman was asking of him. I bring this up in detail because my daughter and I found out that my husband has no ear for another language. On other trips he has been known to communicate with others with the theory that maybe the louder he speaks, the more the person will understand him. He is quite genuine in his belief! It is really funny being with him when this happens. Well anyway, back to the story. The woman asking the questions was quite patient with us and all she really wanted to know was, where was the two month old baby? We don't have a two month old baby I explained to her and then she showed me my husbands paperwork. He had filled it out wrong and I explained that to her. At the time, my daughter was twelve and I brought her up with me and everything was straightened out and she got a good laugh!

Once we got to our resort, life couldn't have been better. Our room was very nice but we soon realized that there was no television. Not that we thought we would be watching a great deal of television but it is always nice to see the weather for the coming week and get an idea of local television shows so we inquired about getting a television in the room and I think back then it was five dollars a day extra so we got one. We had brought books to read and different magazines to keep us busy while lounging on the beach and we would watch a little on the television each day.

The beaches in Bermuda are the prettiest I have ever seen. The sand is a pink color and the water is just the most beautiful turquoise I have ever seen. There was an inlet where hundreds of fish would come to be hand fed at any given time of day. It was like the fish were playing volleyball with the bread. The restaurants were amazing, featuring seven course meals every night. There was a bar and dance area in a cave that was really nice and everyone dressed to the nines.

A few days into the trip, my husband suggested we rent scooters. I wasn't too sure about this as I had never done anything like that before, but being a good sport I decided to try it. Let me tell, you Evil Knievel has nothing to fear from me. We had to take a test that encompassed riding around this large flower garden. Why they let me take the bike, I will never understand? We headed off to Georgetown where they actually hang people who have committed crimes. My husband told me to follow him and that is exactly what I did. We made it to Georgetown and parking was a disaster. I had a policewoman screaming at me because I had parked in an area that I shouldn't have been in and not knowing how to turn the bike off, I was trying to listen to what she was saying while desperately holding on to the running bike. I had my hands on the acceleration and didn't realize it. People all around me were running in different directions because they could see what I was doing. We took a breather there and then headed around different parts of the island. As we were coming back to our resort, we came down a hill and there was a bus behind me. By the way, all buses are pink or turquoise. I got nervous when my helmet turned around on my head and I had to keep peaking underneath to see where I was going. For what ever reason I started laughing and zoomed past my husband who had our daughter on the back of his bike. Where is the camera when you need it. I managed to find a place to stop and put the helmet on right and we headed back to the resort. In my defense these bikes weren't like a scooter but more like a motorcycle. My husband had a button that would start his but mine was a kick start. I have improved greatly on scooters.

We took a walking tour that included a perfume factory, glass blowing and a crevasse that was called the devils hole. It was so much fun. We took a bus to Hamilton, the capital, and it was a great town to shop in. When we took the bus to the airport and boarded my daughter cried because she didn't want to go home. Now that is a true indication how well a trip can go! From our backyard to yours, sometimes leaving the backyard can be a real experience.

Read more from Julie’s Backyard