More Bahamas Day 1

After our little airport ordeal, we finally made it to our villa for check-in, the maid was there expecting us. She was very friendly and courteous despite the lack of communication that we were supposed to call her first upon arrival (we never got that information), so she could meet us at the right time.
The villa itself is in good condition, apart from some low volume flush toilets and air conditioning problems, was a real deal. It was a 4 bedroom and 2 bathroom villa, with a kitchen and eating room. In every bedroom and the family room were a Samsung LCD TV raging from 32" to 50". Also included was pots and pans, one 5 gallon bottle of water, an XBOX console, broadband and thru router internet, free US calling via Vonage, 2 queen size beds, 2 full size beds and an extra air mattress, towels, hair dryer, dishwasher, washer and dryer. Included also were two community swimming pools and beach access right down the stairs. You can find the owner's ad here, http://www.vrbo.com/224888 or you can go through the main villa office here http://www.sunrisebeachclub.com (but their amenities may be different).
Here are a couple pictures of the villa and its surroundings:

Patio entrance to our villa

Out on the patio were 2 lounging chairs, a dining table with 6 chairs, 4 other beach chairs, a couple lounging chaises for the water, and a gas grill. The sliding doors open into the family room and dining room as shown next:

The bedrooms, although small in general (including the master), were clean and functional.
Here is the view of Cabbage Beach from the top of the stairway leading to the beach, about 50 steps from our patio door:
From the beach we can see the Atlantis Resort on the horizon:

Speaking of the Atlantis Resort, we decided to have a family dinner that night at Atlantis. Since our car only fit 6, several of us walked to Atlantis (about 10 minutes) and entered through the Beach Tower side:

We decided to eat at Murray's Delicatessen:

Here I will apologize for lack of pictures of the food. We were ravenous after spending the whole day on flights and waiting in airports. The prices were rather large, but the portions were exorbitant! Pauline and I split the beef liver and onions plate, and both of us were stuffed.

Everyone else had leftovers. The food itself was tasty and well cooked; for the most part, everyone was happy with their choices. Our very first taste of conch (giant sea snail), was in chowder form, and we really didn't taste the conch itself, so other than its tough nature, can't really comment on the conch.

After dinner, we went our separate ways, the parents/grandparents to the Casino, and us to look around Atlantis abit before crashing back at the villa. I leave you with pictures of Atlantis at night, including our trip to "The Dig" (free after 7pm):

Spiny Lobsters from the Dig: just wanna grab one and eat it


Fish from "The Dig"


Largest, Ugliest Grouper I have ever seen


Jellyfish from "The Dig"


Seahorse from "The Dig"


Largest Manta Ray in captivity? from "The Dig"


Artsy photo of one of the ceilings in Atlantis

"Look into the eye.... You are getting sleepy ..... you will return every day for the next 4 days to check out new blog entries on the remainder of our trip...."