Back From Bliss

Jeff and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in style! That's right, we went to paradise! We took our first cruise and headed over the Caribbean! (Don't worry, we were not in Italy on the ship that sank. We made it to and from our destination with our ship in one piece!)

Thanks to the Grandmas working in a tag-team effort, we went on our first kid-less vacation in years. The trip was not without it's ups and downs, but Jeff and I enjoyed every second we had together. I will always remember this trip as one that was full of laughter. Even having THREE layovers on our way to Miami couldn't dampen our spirits. (If you're looking for information about any airports, we visited 5 different ones just on this trip!)

From The Runway (aka Rundown) Inn, to the stereotypes of Jamaica, this trip was full of memories that I will cherish, and giggle over, forever!

Miami

Ahhh, there she is. The Norwegian Pearl.

This might have been the topless deck...it was the only time I let Jeff visit.

Here is our one and only $6.00 drink. It was yummy!

Our fancy dinner at the Summer Palace

We were part of a "freestyle" cruise, which means you could eat from a buffet anytime you wanted. But you could also choose to eat at one of the ships "restaurants". We did a combination of both. And yes, the food was in abundance. I think my favs were the veggie pizza and the made to order crepes! (Jeff and I stayed active though, and committed to never taking the elevator...so I came home only gaining 1 lb. Phew.)

The Bahamas:

Our first stop was the Bahamas. Norwegian Cruise Lines owns there own private island in the Bahamas. (The Great Stirrup Cay). Instead of hitting up Nassau, we went and chilled on our own private island. AMAZING water! It was so beautiful. We just spent a low key day hitting around the volleyball, swimming, playing ping pong, and of course, eating!

Look at this awesome beach wheelchair!

A lot of our laughs came from watching the people around us...

notice the guy behind Jeff. That blue Speedo definitely added

to the view.

A slanted ping pong table made for an interesting match!

Jeff under water

Sorry...but it was our anniversary!

And the lady behind Jeff in this one looked just like my grandma!

In a bikini!

(I think there should be an age limit on bikinis. After 40...one piece swimsuits

should be mandated!)

Sunset

A Day At Sea:

The next day we spent the whole day on the ship while we were en route to Jamaica. One of the reasons Jeff choose this ship was because it had so many sporty activities. He played pickup games of soccer several times. We also shot baskets and played volleyball on this sports court. The climbing wall isn't pictured...but it was there too!

And what cruise would be complete without a mini-range

Shuffleboard

A picture of all the drunk cruisers

Now before I continue, I'd better mention some of the good fortune we encountered before we boarded the ship. As we were sitting and waiting to head on to the Pearl, I heard the girl across from us on her phone telling her mom that "church time had changed to 9." Hmmm...I thought. I did the perfunctory garment scan, and, indeed, she was a Mormon. I struck up a conversation with this cute girl and her husband, and a friendship was born.

McKenzie and Cory turned out to be great cruising companions. We went excursioning on the islands together, and had a great time, but we didn't have to be together every second! It was the perfect situation. You're going to see them in a bunch of pictures...

Jamaica:

Jamaica was one of the islands I was most excited to see! I mean, come on! It's what I always envisioned when I pictured Caribbean. But, sadly, it was one of the most disappointing stops on our trip. Poor Jamaica is like the Tijuana of the Caribbean. Dirty and unkempt. Bums everywhere. Everyone trying to scam some money from you. Jeff must of looked like he was ready for a good time, because he got offered pot on every street corner.

Instead of booking an excursion with the ship, we decided to see if we could do things cheaper by going to the locals. A mistake? Maybe. But Wayne, our taxi driver, gave us a lovely tour of the island, and then got us to Dunns River Falls.

After hiking the falls, we went back into town, fended off the locals at every corner and ate some genuine Jamaican Jerk chicken. We were tired and jaded after a day of the Jamaicans bargaining with us. We just spent the rest of the day at the beach.

The Jamaican water was some of the warmest!

Dunns River Falls was Jeff's favorite!

Look at all these tourists! Fortunately, we got to the Falls before most people.

The Goddards and the Allens

We found the church! A little room in an office building!

McKenzie and Jeff in a handstand contest.

Grand Cayman Island:

Grand Cayman was my very favorite! After Jamaica, I was worried that every island was going to feel like the tourists vs. the locals. But Grand Cayman was clean and beautiful! The people were kind and funny.

We went to a sandbar and swam with the stingrays! It was so amazing! Clear warm water and those stingrays swimming all around us.

Afterward we went snorkeling on a coral reef! How peaceful was that? I could have snorkeled forever!

Those stingrays would swim by...grazing our legs...and it would freak me out!

But they were amazing to see and touch!

This is underwater! Can you believe how clear it is?

Snorkeling

Cozumel Mexico:

Originally we were going to go try to see the Mayan ruins of Tulum. But after considering how much additional travel time it would be, we decided to go the scooter route instead. We rented scooters and drove all over the island of Cozumel. The funniest part of the trip was Jeff and I had a totally gutless scooter. The scooter took forever to get going, if we had to slow down at all it would totally die. We ended up taking it back to the shop, where we sheepishly realized the choke had been out.

It rained on and off all day, but it just made the journey more adventurous. You should have seen Jeff driving up on the sidewalks, dodging tourists, and getting scowled at by natives. Our new friend Cory spoke Spanish, and that made the whole day just a little bit easier.

We did end up visiting some of the nearby Mayan ruins. They were smaller than Tulum, but I think that ended up being just fine.

Scootering

Total tourists

Our last day at sea was SO windy! It was the only day I really got seasick! The waves were cresting and swelling and the boat was rolling. I was thankful that the crew members tipped me off and told me to eat green apples. That seemed to settle my stomach!
Saying Farewell:

Our last day on the Pearl was bittersweet. We had had so much fun. But I was ready to see my kids. I missed Eden's funny teeth, and Brighton's brown eyes, and Logan's endless chatter. It was an amazing trip. One that I will treasure forever.

Top Ten Cruise Memories:

10. Watching Jeff get offered marijuana. "Hey mon. You want a Bob Marley CD? No? I got pot?"

9. People-watching in the Bahamas. So many Speedos!

8. Laughing hysterically with the Allen's about Jeff's crazy scooter driving.

7. "Washy washy! Happy Happy! Smiley Smiley!" This is what the greeter to the buffet said to us everyday!

6. Christopher our room steward was the nicest guy EVER!!! We loved the towel animals he left for us. And he was always calling Jeff "Sir Jeffrey".

5. Zipping past some couple on our scooter...but then stopping for a speed bump and they went cruising past us while we puttered along!

4. Wayne, our Jamaican taxi driver told us he could leave our dead bodies on the side of the road.

3. Bartering with a man in Mexico, and he told me he would throw in a "Gucci" bag. The Gucci bag was a plastic shopping bag.

2. Laughing hysterically during a comedy show. One of the ladies acted like a blow up doll...hilarious!

1. Sunshine! Water! And 10 years with my best friend!