I finally came across a destination where it’s a constant 75 degrees and less flight time than Florida! Think blue skies, pink sand, always-full-drink-in-your-hand…that’s right, we’re talking Bermuda!
At under 2 hours from NYC (and daily non stops from JFK with Delta!), this darling island is surrounded by turquoise as far as the eye can see, and is home to some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Our cab drivers were full of information about the island, and were more than pleased to share their knowledge with us! A few of the tid-bits we picked up were:
All That Green
Bermuda is home to more golf courses per square mile than anywhere in the world! Makes sense, as driving around the island gives you the feeling you’re in a botanical garden…the inland is full of green!
Drinking Water
The houses in Bermuda have white roofs that are used to collect drinking water from the rain, as the island has no fresh water rivers. We drank from the tap and it was jussssttt fine.
History
Bermuda is the oldest British colony, hence driving on the opposite side of the road as we do in the US!
Annual Festival
Kite flying is a huge tradition on Good Friday, as all the kids make their own kites in school, and then have the day off to celebrate with their families and fly the kites on the public beaches. ”Why kites?” asks Jess. Cabdriver: ”The cross symbolizes Jesus, of course!” Of course.
Besides learning historical fun facts from the cabbies, our trip basically consisted of lounging on the beach or by the pool until our daily Vitamin D allotment was fulfilled (apparently the NYC winter had left us deficient in this area, ya don’t say?), at which point we’d head to the hotel room for the ultimate guilty pleasure…hours of HGTV. And that, my friends, was the moment I realized the difference between traveling and a vacation.
Where’s your favorite destination to just unplug and relax?
Jessica Tiare Bowen lives in the juicy Big Apple with her adorable pink-nosed chihuahua, Gillman. He’s the inspiration for her first published children’s book, “Park Avenue Pound Puppy.” The book is the combined result of her two greatest passions: pooches and penning stories.
Her passions include art, urban hikes through Manhattan, drinking coffee with 3 creams and 6 sugars, making extremely detailed itineraries and traveling to far away places, singing along to Broadway shows, Netflix movie nights, discovering incredible treasures at Goodwill and thrift stores, and listening to stories from little people under 7 and big people over 70.
She started her career as New York City Teaching Fellow, teaching elementary school and theater arts at a special education school in the South Bronx for 6 years. She is now a Special Education School Improvement Specialist working in public schools throughout New York City. She is the Editor-In-Chief of the online New York City travel magazine, Used York City. The magazine focuses on finding the best of New York…as used by New Yorkers. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and an ASPCA Ambassador.
