A long delayed trip report and background story

Hello Everybody! Some of you know me but many of you don't. My name is Frank, and I have been a Paneristi, Dallas chapter, for many years now. However, time constraints usually prohibit me from starting any posts (until right now).

My story begins when a good friend sold me his 88, and then I got the bug big time and added a 232.



Alas, while great watches, those 2 just didn't speak to me, so I changed it up a bit. The 88 and 232 turned into a 233, while the 390 and 372 are obviously more recent purchases.



Since then, I've collected a few other Panerai related goodies:







Well, I use to post with some frequency, but as it always turns out, the status quo is bound to change...I met the girl of my dreams, and for some reason (I believe it to be alcohol) she found it in her heart to give me a chance!



Fast forward 3 years to fall of 2012, and this is where our trip report begins...

Where are we?



Indeed, the wonderful Atlantis Hotel in Nassau, Bahamas! This was our first trip to any place with a large body of water (we are from Dallas, Texas) so of course we were super excited!







Ah, but that's not all. Little did she know, I had a surprise for her. I know you might be thinking, "did you buy her a Panerai!?!" The answer is yes and no, since what I did get her costs about the same as an SE Panerai, it was a tad bit smaller in size.



Just in case you were wondering, she said YES!!!

Of course we decided to wander around the Atlantis property for the rest of the day.







Hum...would this make a nice strap?



For our celebratory dinner, we went to arguably the best restaurant in Nassau, Cafe Martinique! And yes, she did call me a dork for doing these "watch" shots!



The Lobster for me:



And she had duck:



Over the next few days, we spent some wonderful time together and had lots of adventures around the island and surrounding cays/keys.













Yes, these are sharks, and yes, we did go snorkeling there!!



More lobster shots:





...and lots of other things that I didn't capture on film because I'm just not too good at keeping up with that. But worry not, I'll be sure to update you fine folks in the future, since my new journey has just begun!

Frank