12 of 40 Birthday Experiences! September 2023 - An amazing long weekend in Bermuda with our close friends, Brad and Elizabeth!
Day 1: We took an early flight out of NYC - and ended up in Bermuda before lunch! The Airbnb that we stayed at - included the ability to schedule a ride from the airport - and since the Airbnb was in Sandy’s Parish which is closer to the Royal Dockyard. We settled in then walked a bit to grab some lunch before getting a taxi to the Dockyard to pick up our electric bike rentals. We rode them back to the house then checked out the private beach at the Airbnb before grabbing the bikes and heading to find some dinner (Sweet & Sour Fish - OMG So GOOD) Bonus - the airbnb also had the option to have them pick up groceries for us - and so we had some wine and beer ready at the house as well!
Day 2: Kassie naturally woke up at 5:30 and made some coffee and toast (yay! Grocery delivery!) and did some research on the bus system while enjoying the early morning. Once we were ready to go - we found a bus stop heading towards Hamilton. We made it to Hamilton for lunch at 1609 Restaurant in the Hamilton Princess Resort. Then on to get our bus passes for the day and hang at the bus station until we got on the bus heading to St. George. We got off before then to explore the Crystal Caves. Then back on the bus to St. George. Beautiful town! Probably Kassie’s favorite and we’ll likely stay at a rental here when we come back. We explored a bit before heading off to find the Unfinished Church, the old Church, and then to Tobacco Bay for snorkeling. SO MUCH FUN! We saw so many fish and just had a blast for a few hours. Finishing the day with dinner and a view at the White Horse Pub & Restaurant in St. George - then on the busses back to the rental to finish up with a glass of wine.
Day 3: Another early morning of moving around electric bikes to make sure they were all fully charged and enjoying a breakfast on the patio. Then off on the bikes to get to the beautiful Horseshoe Bay Beach. Some swimming (treading) in the waves until they got a little unruly then moving over to the Cove for some floating and soaking in the saltwater and sun. Back on the bikes to get to Coconuts at The Reef’s Resort for lunch (again with an amazing view) before heading up to Gibbs Hill Lighthouse. It was so warm (and the lighthouse had no airflow and was “HOT” according to the guy working the gift shop - so only Kassie braved the 185 steps up. It was so “HOT” but an amazingly beautiful view of the full island. Then back on the bikes to head to Glass Beach. It was a beautiful beach but unfortunately we found out that visitors from ships will take away glass by the bag full so it’s really dwindled in recent years. Finally back on the bikes to drop them off at the Royal Dockyard. An Ice cream break before getting a taxi back to the rental, a quick visit to the private beach, making spaghetti for dinner and finishing off the wine, and catching a phenomenal sunset.
Day 4: a slow day up to finish up some breakfast food and coffee while we packed. A scheduled taxi picked us up for the airport and we enjoyed one last meal before flying back to NYC (and the next day due to a delay - Brad and Elizabeth made it home to Kansas!)
What started as 40 from august to august has expanded to the start of 2023 to August 2024. Due to other people planning things that we want to join… before August 2023. This is the celebration of “omg Kassie survived 40 years - we never thought it would happen.” Maybe the next 40, I’ll be more careful so it won’t be so surprising. 40 “experiences” have to be #1 unique, #2 require the day and night in the location to count, #3 that’s it.
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Originally from Iowa (Kassie) and Kansas (Rick), we met in Kansas in 2005 and immediately found that we had so much in common - including our desire to someday see the world. We now live in NYC and quickly started catching up on travel after our first (just us) international trip to Iceland in 2015. We decided to start making videos for us and our family/friends to track our travels. Kassie is in Marketing, an Author (see her poetry + author videos), and Puppet Creator. Rick is an Engineer and Script Writer (see our current and coming puppet movies!)
YouTube Site: https://www.youtube.com/@KassieAndRick-ExploreManyPaths
Kassie's Author Site: https://www.kassiejrunyan.com/
Joint Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore_many_paths
Kassie's Magazine: https://www.opendoorpoetrymagazine.com/
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Important Links and additional information:
Airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/50418499?source_impression_id=p3_1705263902_mFm1N4livDnmqSAB
Bike Rental: https://www.scootermart.bm/
Bermuda Bus Schedule: https://www.gov.bm/bus
Hamilton: https://www.gotobermuda.com/our-island/central-bermuda
1609 Restaurant in Hamilton: https://www.thehamiltonprincess.com/dining/1609-restaurant/
Crystal Caves: https://caves.bm/
St George: https://www.gotobermuda.com/profile/town-st-george/3102
Unfinished Church: https://office8676.wixsite.com/mysite-1/venue
Tobacco Bay Snorkeling: https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_000010.htm
White Horse Pub & Restaurant: https://www.whitehorsebermuda.com/
Horseshoe Bay Beach: https://www.bermuda.com/horseshoe-bay-beach/
Coconuts: https://www.thereefs.com/dining/coconuts
Gibbs Hill Lighthouse: https://bermudalighthouse.com/
Glass Beach: https://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002fc.htm