Anniversary Cruise: Day 4 - St. Thomas, USVI

ST.THOMAS

I love visiting new places, especially warm, new places!!!

Well usually in the morning we had chosen certain activities, but on this day we came into our first port in St. Thomas. We knew that we had planned a "shore excursion" for that afternoon, but after our briefing on shopping in the Caribbean we discovered that St. Thomas was one of the best places to go shopping. We also were given tons of coupons and free stuff certificates.

our ship from the ground - this is deck "0"

I've never been a big shopper, but anything in a tropical country is more fun for someone who grew up in a very cold Washington state. We got off the boat and wandered around for a minute. Just smelling the air made me so relaxed and happy. I LOVE THE TROPICS! Okay, so we found a cab/bus/taxi/whatever to get us to the main part of town and wow were we happy we did. The port and main street were not as close as the map looked. Anyway we were dropped off in this street that reminded me of an upscale market. All of the shops were indoors, but all the front doors stayed wide open inviting people in to shop. Most of the shops on the street were jewelry stores. I would've felt very overwhelmed if we hadn't done the shopping briefing. With the coupons in hand and some shops circled on my little map, I dragged my poor husband around the St. Thomas shopping area.

reminded me so much of Santo Domingo, DR

Most of the jewelry stores were offering free bracelets, charms, necklaces, loose stones, and amazing deals on beautiful things. I wanted to collect the free things for my sisters and daughters and then I really wanted to see a couple of fun shops like "Mr. Tablecloth" which sells what else? Tablecloths! But they are handmade. Along with table linens, and some dresses, they also sold jewelry cases that I loved! My sisters totally made out from this island! Chris and I had saved enough to buy some fun things for our families and for ourselves while we were out and about so I had a lot of fun.

I especially enjoyed the surprise in one of the stores we hadn't planned on visiting. We walked in and I immediately liked the place. It was smaller, cuter, and quieter! Some of the bigger stores were pretty impersonal, surprise! Anyway, the salesperson was so nice and the jewelry was really beautiful. So we played and tried things on and then all of a sudden Chris handed over the money! Holy Cow! The earrings are gorgeous! I love them and I really love how unplanned their purchase was. My sweetheart-so romantic!

isn't she so cute? I loved her!

(I know such a tourist thing to do, but hey, we owned it)

Well after all the fun in the shops we found a taxi back to the boat in time for a quick lunch and a hop into line for our shore excursion. Something so fun about being on a floating hotel is that sooner or later you run into people you've met and seen before. We ended up on the excursion with a family of three that we'd met several times before. He was previous military and the family was really cute. Within no time we were heading to another smaller boat called the "Bimini Breeze" with some guys that were so cliche' in their beach bum-type characters that if they hadn't been right there and being who they were I wouldn't have believed it.

this was such a crazy boat! the guys and the tourists too

Side note: I've realized that cliche's are that because they are so often correct, not because that's the way the movies do it. There are actual beach bum people out there and they are just as fun and interesting and relaxed as they are portrayed. They aren't unintelligent, but they can often give that impression until you're in their area of expertise.

yep, seats and a bar, that's all you need down here!

shhhh - the coolers have soda!

Anyway, so the idea of the trip was to go snorkeling in the Caribbean. It was so AMAZING! No, there weren't a lot of fish or turtles though we did see enough to satisfy. The amazing part is that I got to go snorkeling with my best friend and husband! Both of us had done the activity, but we'd never done it together! We had so much fun swimming around and playing.

did you see it move? - yeah, neither did we

We chased schools of small fish and watched see urchins, chased a turtle or two, and got as close as we could before Chris almost beached himself on some rocks. Good thing he floats well!

too many people for my taste, but I only needed one - my honey!

We went to two different places to swim. The first was a lot of fun and the second was more about turtles and exploring. We saw a couple but were more interested in wandering. We really enjoyed the time to do something we both loved to do and the opportunity to do it together.

don't we look like teens (except for the ring, right)?! Cracks me up!

isn't he amazing? oh yeah, the view too...

One of the most memorable parts of the excursion wasn't the snorkeling it was the trip on the boat to and from the sites. On the way out we were literally on a very wet roller coaster. It scared some of the younger kids, but the adults were having a blast. I'm not a big roller coaster fan, but even I had fun and of course, got soaked. We were wetter on the trip out than almost the rest of the trip! Getting splashed like that reminded me of all the water rides I'd been on as a kid. On the way back they handed out punch and played the music nice and loud. (the punch was "extra special," but was de-specialized for those who were too young or didn't want to be special, like us boring Latter-day Saints : )! ) By the time we got back to the port, the boat was full of very happy and very tired people.

can't tell we like having fun together can you?

It was great. We had so much fun in St. Thomas and very much looked forward to relaxing a bit more. Dinner with our friends was great and so was the rest of the evening. What an eventful day!

I know so sappy, but hey, I married him for a reason right?

Anniversary Cruise: Sea Day 3

DAY 3:

This was our final sea day before we reached our first island. I was so nervous and excited all at the same time. Thankfully, the ship had some great stuff planned so I was able to be distracted from my normal stressful ways.

marriage game - it was the older couple that made us laugh the most!

ice carver from the Philippines

I began by getting up to an alarm. Not for a project or some sort of kid appointment, but for a yoga class. It was great to be up from a good sleep and to go do exercise I like! When I got back to the room Chris was, guess what? Still sleeping! Yep, that's what he likes to do on vacation. He gets so little at home, but wow he's a great husband and daddy. We spent this day a bit like the last one, lounging, eating, and really enjoying the sunshine and all the activity on the ship. Then we hit something that surprised me. We went to a shopping briefing. Here we discovered the other reason a lot of people take the cruise we were on.

Apparently the islands we were scheduled to enjoy are also hot places for inexpensive jewelry buying. A lot of people do this kind of shopping so the people were actually hired just to teach us newbies how to go about doing it successfully. They gave us info on what was available, accredited stores to go to, coupons and discounts for jewelry stores we might want to hit. Several of the locales had other things they recommended we look at. These we actually noted and ended up at as well as lots of the jewelry stores. We intended to buy some things while island hopping and I wanted to make sure we spent our little money wisely. The briefing was thankfully short (neither one of us are big shoppers) and we were more informed and ready to spend our money on those things that we knew would be right for us.

Then I hung out by the pool to finish my novel and Chris hit the spa again. We really ended up spending quite a bit at the spa. That's apparently one of our favorite ways to relax. He got another massage and then we went to dinner. We met up with Myra and Jason again and had a great time. We so enjoyed their company and their insights into cruising. They, as had most of the other travelers, done this kind of thing lots of times. Many of the passengers had begun cruising as children with parents and enjoyed it.

In the theater

After dinner we were able to make another show at the Victoriana theater. This one was called "Jump, Jive and Wail". We sure enjoyed it. That kind of music always reminds me of when Chris was in Jazz Band in high school. He played the trumpet. The band met early every morning before class. I would show up just to listen while I did homework. It was great. So we really enjoyed the music and I, of course, loved the dancing. The stage was brilliantly colored as well as the costumes. We had a lot of fun.

at the show

after the show in the lobby

Then we decided to try something new. The night before we'd been too tired, but this night we decided to check out the comedy club in the International lounge. There are always two types of shows at this club. There is the family friendly and the adults only. If you have decent taste and want to laugh at real humor stay with the family friendly. All the other one does is add crudeness and language to the same jokes.

So, while Chris and I enjoy a good laugh we did not come away from the club feeling like it was something we wanted to do more than our one time. We had hoped that with two types of shows and two different comedians we might have fun, but the fun was mixed with a lot of inappropriate. Not new, just a bit disappointing.

Then we headed back to the room after grabbing a late night snack. The dance clubs were up and running by then so the snack bar just outside the lounge had great treats. We enjoyed it, watched people for a bit and went back to the beautiful room we had.

So, those were our first couple of days on board. Wasn't that fun!? By the time we hit an island we were ready to see things. It was such a great way to travel to the Caribbean.

Anniversary Cruise: Sea Day 2

SEA DAY 2:

Oh my goodness, what luxury was ours this day. Well day 2 fell on the Sabbath so we tried to continue our values even while traveling (not unusual for us) and attempted to keep the day holy even while away. There was no church on board (seriously how many people think about worship when they're on vacation?), but we were able to do a lot of really good things. We woke up at a decent time, not too late, and ate a quiet breakfast upstairs on the Lido deck for the more adult buffet. It was sooo good.

Then we wandered a bit and found, due to Jason and Myra the night before, the adult section of the ship. There are two locations where no one under 18 is allowed. The front of the ship with several cabana-like areas, two hot tubs, several couple hammocks, and lots of luxurious seating perfect for cuddling. The second location is on the main level at the back of the ship with a small pool (more like a cool off area than a pool. It's deep, but not very long and there are too many people to do any swimming.) Lots of lounge chairs and bar and a couple showers and of course, another two hot tubs finish off the adults only area. It was actually a perfect discovery for us. As fun as the cruise can be for a family we really weren't interested in the group games and competitions. We just wanted to be together and relax a while.

So we found a very comfy couch long enough for Chris and close to a main door so the heat was cooled by a sharp breeze from it's use. We began by reading our scriptures for a bit and then quickly fell asleep in the shade of an upper deck. About an hour or so later I think I stirred first and began reading my Austen book a bit more. Chris joined the living again and we decided we needed to eat. We didn't want to leave the couch we'd found because we'd also discovered how popular the area was. So we hit our first snack bar. I got a water and a turkey wrap. It was HUGE! It reminded me of a local sandwich shop. It was healthy, light, and soooo goood! Chris got his favorite, Caesar salad and a water too, it was hot!

We hung out a bit more in the area, but eventually lost interest in doing not much. I had discovered from our itineraries that they placed in our room the night before that there was a class on taking care of our bodies. As it was the sabbath and learning was always something we've done that day, I took the opportunity to learn more from an expert. Chris stayed and relaxed more on the couch. I learned about eating more healthy and how exercise actually helps, but that it's more important to get the right foods in our body than exercise. If our bodies don't have the right fuel all the jogging in the world won't help. While I was there I found that I could sign up for some yoga (my favorite type of exercise). I signed up for the next day.

Then I went back to the room meeting my sweetheart there for a bit and relaxed some more. We had some great uninterrupted conversation and then it was time for dinner in the Posh again. This was the first "elegant attire" night. There were two and though I didn't bring super nice clothes we did have nice things to wear. Thankfully, our table companions didn't do too much of the dressy thing either so we weren't uncomfortable. I was surprised though by how many couples and families really took it seriously. It was all flash from jewelry and cute little bow ties and lovely dresses on both women and little girls. It was really fun and made the night just a bit more special.

The food was great and so were our new friends. We found that we had enough in common to enjoy each other's sense of humor and discuss life situations. It made for an enjoyable meal. We also discovered that Jason and Chris had very similar ideas about food, especially dessert. Of all the amazing fun and new things to try the guys ended up with some sort of over the top meat main course and always the chocolate melting cake. The dessert was so rich I think I had maybe two bites out of all the ones that Chris ordered for the whole cruise. It was so funny!

After dinner we had scheduled Chris for a full body massage with a Swiss massage specialist. He LOVED it. He's so sweet. He usually reserves our cash for me to get the massages, but this time I thought it would be fun to spoil HIM. He was so happy. Eventually he took so long that I got talked into a cheap ankle and foot massage. Oh my goodness, I'm so glad I did. The woman worked my feet, ankles, calves and even had blankets to keep the rest of me warm and a warm compress for my eyes. I almost fell asleep and it was only a 20 min detour from my day. Wow! Finally Chris came wandering out looking very relaxed if a bit wobbly from being asleep.

We were very glad to get out just in time for the first musical family show that they did in one of their large auditoriums. It was all about the Beatles music and we had a blast. The dancing was fun, the music great, and the costumes super great to see. We really enjoyed it. At the end we filed out with everyone else and I heard some wonderful music. I half dragged Chris down to the lobby and found a Latin band playing down there. Of course, considering the port and the destination the fact that there was a relatively large Latin population on board was not surprising. I so enjoyed the music and watching them all dance. We ended up being up until something like 1 or 2am! Not usual for these parents. At some point Chris looked like he was going to collapse so I hurried him to our stateroom before I had to half carry him. He's a big guy! He fell into bed and sleep almost immediately. I cuddled next to him and fell asleep too. It was a good day.

Anniversary Cruise: Sea Day 1

Well hello there! So here I am again. So let's get going why don't we?

After all the planning and preparation and excitement and honestly a little sadness, (saying goodbye to your little ones is really hard), we were finally on our way. We left at something like 4am and traveled down the east coast toward Florida. We made great time. Chris is an excellent driver and though we brought the manual and I couldn't help drive, he didn't complain at all. I love good traveling companions.

We stopped at gas stations and .... nothing else! It was the first time in a very long time we were able to just go like we did before kids. We ate quick and got back on the road. We did stop once in Florida. We realized we were making such good time that a stop over in a local Wal-mart wasn't going to be a bad idea. We'd also forgotten a few things. It was actually kind of fun. We wandered and found things we needed, bought some things that we didn't strictly NEED, but wanted and just strolled without a cart and without any timeouts. It was nice. Then we jumped back on the road and arrived at our park n' ride. A shuttle picked us up and dropped us at our ship. It was HUGE! Ok, not as big as the one next to it, but holy cow! Once you got on the view was amazing! We were so excited!

SEA DAY 1:

Once on board, we voted to eat instead of go right to our room. We probably could have dropped our stuff and been fine, but we didn't want to miss lunch! We ate right on the deck at a fun buffet style lunch place.

Then, of course, the ship's crew went over safety stuff and we found out what to do and where to go if the ship was sinking. Seriously, not the most inspiring thing to do the second you get on the ship! Anyway, after that we hit our room and guess what? It looked exactly like the picture on the website. It was sooooo beautiful. We immediately plopped on the bed. So nice just to relax by ourselves.

(we work very hard as a couple to have regular date nights and to do things we like to do as a couple, but time all alone for more than a few hours is simply blissful!)

Within no time we were moving out of port and we watched Florida float away into the distance. We had a nice balcony and we sure enjoyed it. The ocean was really beautiful. It smelled good, the weather was so nice, and the breeze made for a perfect beginning to our vacation. That's what we did for the first couple hours. We rested. Driving for 10hrs straight does that. Chris fell asleep for a little bit and I began my favorite book: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Eventually, hunger creeped in again and we had to leave our lovely room.

For those of you who don't know, like we didn't, a cruise is about just a few things, eating, playing, drinking, and a little bit of travel. Our cruise to the Caribbean was also about jewelry. We didn't know that until way later. Anyway, so on a cruise there are tons of places to eat. There are the snack bars for drinks and snacks that to me, looked like full size meals. Then there are the kid friendly outside next-to-the-pool buffets, the more adult friendly, but still for kids, indoor next-to-the-pool buffets, and then there are the restaurants and the fine dining. When we had first gotten on the ship we hit the first food place we found because we really didn't know any better. I think it was pretty close to the only time we ate there. Most of our food was in the restaurant in the dining room called "The Posh".

Something else we didn't know abt cruises is that the entire ship usually will follow a theme of some kind. Some of it is more overt like the Disney cruises and some less so, like ours with all the moments in time. We had a 70's locale, a mid century NY type restaurant, and a Cuban cigar lounge from the early 40's. It was kind of fun. Anyway so the Posh followed suit with the theme and though other people we met didn't seem to think the food as great as I did, I loved it. We had a fun table couple (someone else assigned to the same table) named Jason and Myra, very cute, and a great table staff that figured us out by the second night. They knew what kind of water we liked, breads, desserts and what we were most likely to order from the menu. It was so neat!

After dinner, we just kind of wandered around the ship trying so hard to get the layout. It was quite an ordeal, a fun one, but still a bit confusing. Eventually we ended up back at our lovely room. It had been a really long day and we were quite exhausted. And guess what? We fell asleep listening to the ocean and NOTHING ELSE! No there were no cries for more hugs and kisses, no whines because the light had to go out, and no whimpers for diaper changes. I love my children, but after five years straight of serious motherhood, a break to be just my husband's friend and spouse was so nice! It was a great day and an even better night.

WISH LISTS

For those of you angling to get our lists, here they are finally! Check the "PAGES" section on the right hand side of the blog. (if this is an automatic email, you need to go to the actual blog to access the list.)

This is a pretty inclusive list, though some changes may be coming in future depending on birthday gifts for Lizzy.

Hope this helps.

Loves to all!

Our Anniversary Trip - Cruise Planning

So let's finally talk about our anniversary. Normally our anniversary is a quiet, but fun day in October. Recently though, something always seems to be going on in October. For the last couple of years, due to school, pregnancies, or work, we've been celebrating our special day in August. I know, isn't that funny?

Some ladies might wonder how well that goes over considering the day of goes by with just a few happy wishes and a kiss or two. Well, considering the last several years we've been to the Ashland Shakespeare Festival in OR state, Boulder Beach at Silverwood theme park in WA state, and most recently a 10 day getaway to the Caribbean, what do you think? I'm happy that our day is so special my husband makes plans months in advance to make sure we both get a chance to really enjoy each other and strengthen our marriage. How many ladies can say that?

This year was a new challenge. Chris is the vacation planner in our family. He plans the hotels or stop overs, the events to go see and do, and the amt of money it might take to do what we want. Then he asks me to fill in some of the details like mileage, mapping, phone numbers, etc. This time Chris couldn't do the planning, work was just too much for him. So, he asked me to do it. To be honest, I was really nervous. I mean, it's our 10th anniversary. The big 1-0! That's huge if it gets messed up because I forgot something, then I seriously fail! So, he gave me some minor direction to get started and I did the rest. Guess what? I DID GREAT!

I started at our base travel agency because after going online I realized how many cruises and ships there are out there. So I spoke to a very nice lady (Laurie) at the travel office who took down my requirements and helped me find a couple cruise lines I could choose from.

We booked the "Freedom Class" ship from Carnival cruise lines, the Ocean suite on Empress deck.

I chose a nicer room with a balcony since it was our first cruise and such a special occasion. We discovered how nice when we printed off our luggage tags and found VIP on them. That wonderful little upgrade that I would've done anyway allowed us on and off the ship first and also let us skip a very long line to check in. It was totally worth it and made Chris give me one of those "you're awesome" looks. I appreciated that.

We chose to drive down to our port in Ft. Lauderdale, FL for two reasons: one, driving there saved us a bit, and two, we'd never been to Florida. So I also made sure we had a place to park and a shuttle to and from the parking location and ship with maps of course. We chose to stay after the cruise in Ft. Lauderdale so I also made sure we had a close hotel and a beach.

The cruise itself was only 8 days long. We wanted a 10 day because of the special anniversary, but apparently local cruises don't go that long. Only overseas and Alaska cruises go for more than a week. Anyway, we took a couple days in Florida to come down from all the fun of the cruise. That way we were actually rested when we came home.

We had some wonderful friends who offered to watch our kids for the entirety of the vacation. I was floored and gave them several opportunities to correct what I thought for sure was an error in judgement. I am not saying my kids are difficult or in anyway hard to watch, but there are four who are very young and energetic. These friends had three of their own and they stayed in our home for the whole time. That's hard on kids, but it was a good experience overall. I was grateful and relieved at the same time. I knew that my kids would be safe, especially after getting a medical release for them, and I knew that my friends were really my friends because that's only something you do for someone you really care about.

Well, with the money spent (we had saved a good portion of a tax return and saved for about a year), a babysitter found, hotels and parking booked, all that was left was for us to pack (I hate that part), say goodbye to my little ones, and drive the 10 hours to the port in Florida.