A Little bit of Heaven

It's hard to know where to start trying to recap this trip.  I guess a big thanks to Bonnie for getting us talking about a girls trip/reunion.  It was really too bad that Bonnie wasn't able to actually make the trip. . . next time for sure (we're thinking Disneyland so get ready!).  Cruising is by far our preferred way to travel-it is just the best way to enjoy a vacation without having to worry about transportation, entertainment, what to do, having enough to do--it is all taken care of and it's the best of everything!  I certainly count myself lucky to have been able to get away from the family for a week.  I realize that may not happen again for a long time.  I prepped myself before leaving that the kids would be fine, John would survive and I didn't have to worry about them the entire trip.  So, I didn't!  I missed them for sure, but we had such a great time.  It was nice to feel like I was single again-no one to worry about but myself.  *sigh* It was amazing. 

So, I probably have close to 200 pictures and it was hard to not post all them.  You can check out more on Facebook and these were some of the highlights.

Our first stop before boarding was in Fort Lauderdale at Bubba Gumps.  The restaurant is right across the street from the beach.  It was a beautiful afternoon and we sat outside and did some people watching and wishing about living in such a sunny place.  I'm not a huge shrimp eater, so Karrie and I split some fish and chips-they were good.  This is also to show how "white" we were before the trip.

 We sailed on the Ruby Princess.

 Our first stop was the Princess Cays.  It is a private beach that Princess owns so we were the only ship at this port.  We pretty much lounged around soaking up the sun.  Juliann brought some snorkel gear and saw all the cool fish.  I rented a floater that sat two people so we took turns going out on the water.  It is a good thing it was so hot outside because the water was cold.

 We went to a show just about every night.  I got to see some new shows that I thought were pretty good.  We liked sitting in the front rows so we could see the dancers up close and critique there facial expressions and amount of makeup they wore.  One night it was a magician and I got called up on stage.  Good thing the lights really are so bright you can't tell just how many people are staring at you.  I was happy to just have to lock the guys handcuffs and then hold up a piece of material so the audience couldn't see how he got out of the cuffs.  Other people had to do way more embarrassing things.

Our next stop was St. Maarten.  We decided to venture out on our own at this port.  We took a water taxi to the main area and had a nice guy sell us on a city tour.  It was supposed to be 3 hours and stop at a beach, but I think it took closer to 5 hours because of all the stops at beaches, taking pictures, and learning about the island.  It was a long day.  Glad the van had air conditioning and we were the only one's on the tour.  We stopped at the "Orient Beach" which is supposed to be some famous beach.  I think all the beaches in the Caribbean are amazing and one isn't that much better then the other.  Karrie and Emily went for a little walk down the beach and found the "clothing optional" side of the beach.  They said they might be scarred for life after what they inadvertently ran into!



Juliann and I after getting off the ship at St. Maarten



One of our stops on the tour.  There were the coolest sea creatures right in the shallow water.



Our next stop was at St. Thomas.  My mom, me, Karrie and Emily took a taxi to Emerald Beach which was just a few minutes in the cab.  The beach was beautiful and quiet.  Lots of the beaches were packed with people and noise, so it was nice to have a quiet day soaking up the sun.  The water was a bit warmer here.  We'd get really hot laying out and then walk out in the water to cool off and talk. 

The beachfront wasn't too long so I walked down to the end and saw some pelicans diving in the water.  It was funny to watch those birds.

 We also loved Movies Under the Stars.  I think I caught up on all the new releases I haven't seen.  Free of charge!  Love that.  It got pretty windy at night so I'm glad they had warm blankets and I brought a sweatshirt.

 Grand Turk was our last port before heading back.  It is a very small island (7 miles) and we heard it would be a good place to rent scooters.  So, Emily hit the beach (it was a beautiful beach right off the ship) while the rest of us went for an adventure. 

Karrie and I rode together, my mom and Juliann together and Karin on her own.  We kinda joked with my mom about not wanting her to drive on her own because the last time she was on one she had a run-in with a curb and she didn't win.  I don't think she appreciated us bringing that up, but we really just wanted her not to get hurt:)

It was really fun to venture out on our own and explore the island.  We saw lots of wild horses, a few cows and donkeys on the side of road.  We stopped at this pier that had a great view of the water.  We also rode out to the tip of the island where the was an old lighthouse.  We only got a little lost trying to find it.  I know hard to believe considering it was pretty much a one lane road around the island.  Anyway, we found nice people to get us back in the right direction.  It was a really fun afternoon seeing the island from the scooter.  No injuries either-maybe just a little one to our scooter (oops, we thought we had the kickstand down enough!).

 This is on the ship right by our favorite International Cafe.  We stopped there way too many times for yummy desserts, warm cookies, quiche and other things we shouldn't have eaten:)

 The dinners were great of course.  It was the one time during the day that we actually got dressed (besides just a bathing suit).

It was so nice to get some good 'girl-time' and no better place to get it!  I think we all had a good time, but were ready to call it a trip at the end of the week.  I think my favorite part is being tan!  Love being tan:)  I was super happy to pull up and see my boys waiting for me.  Tate still gives me big hugs and says he missed me:)