Happy 10th Bimini B’day Greetings to the Bennett Twins!: Photo of the Day
I wish I had your life.
As someone whose job entails traveling all over the Caribbean on an almost monthly basis, it’s little wonder that I get this wistful sentiment expressed to me all the time. UC readers and fans, friends, and even the odd U.S. Customs Officer or two have all uttered something along these lines to me in recent months.
It’s flattering, and I appreciate it, no doubt, but to me the joys of uncommon travel pale in comparison to the two “things” that truly make my life special.
Pictured above are Thing One: Austin (right), and Thing Two: Jacob – my identical twin boys.
Born two months prematurely exactly 10 years ago this morning, they came into the world as bonafide miracles and have been blessing my life daily ever since.
So far they haven’t tagged along on too many of my adventures, with multiple trips to Tobago and St. Croix to visit family and friends counting as their primary forays into the region. In honor of their birthday, though, the photo above, snapped last fall on Gun Cay in the Bimini archipelago of The Bahamas, seems most appropriate.
We arrived by boat from Fort Lauderdale (this boat, to be exact) and had barely dropped anchor 30 minutes before the image was snapped. So anxious were they to swim the 30 or so yards to Gun Cay and start exploring the beach that I almost thought they’d strike out without me!
Indeed, Jacob and Austin are budding uncommon travelers in their own right, but that’s not what makes this image so ideal for today.
The real reason is Bimini herself.
Adopted from the ancient Lucayan Indian language, the word Bimini means “two islands,” a nod to the two primary land masses – North Bimini and South Bimini – that comprise the destination.
I guess you can say, then, that Austin and Jacob are “Bimini boys!” Sure looks like they fit in quite naturally there, right?
Happy birthday, boys!