Home Sweet Home

Justin and I made it back from our childless adventure safe and sound. Just a disclaimer: nap time is almost over and didn't go well to begin with. So I cannot predict how well, or poorly, this post will turn out.

Day 1: The drive
Justin's mom came over to pick up Cady and then take her to the lake for the day. I cried. As did I the night before. We left out and stopped for lunch in Texarkana in hopes of meeting up with my college roomie, Cindy, before heading out. We were able to squeeze in a few minutes of chatting before heading out. We drove just south of Houston to the Nasa area for our overnight stay. Traffic was great until 8 miles to our hotel and was stop and go until then. C'est la vie. Then we topped off the night at Olive Garden with a gift card. Free dinner! Woo hoo!

Day 2: Boarding
We drove the last 30 minutes to the ship. We ate at McDonald's first to get a quick bite, call and check in with the kiddo, and use the free wifi. I cried while trying to hold Cady's attention on the phone. Check in was a nightmare and very unorganized. We heard several other passengers say that was the worst check in they had ever experienced. But we made it on the ship. Yay!

Day 3: At Sea
My friend Samantha was right. Once we got distracted by the happenings on the ship, I was okay with leaving Cady. I still missed her like crazy, but I didn't cry anymore after that. Gosh I'm a sap! I really can't remember much about these days. We spent most of the time going to events and getting to know the ship. Dinner was a little awkward every night. We were spoiled on our Carnival cruise as far as dinner company goes. We had been paired up with 3 wonderful couples we're still in contact with. One of them is actually my recruiter for Mary Kay! But RC? O.M.G. The first night it's Justin and me, a girl that came by herself because her husband was in the room watching basketball, and another "couple" who wasn't even a couple. Just friends who decided less than a week before to book a cruise, then ended up at our table drunk every night while us other two couples are trying to have a nice dinner out for a change.

Day 4: Cozumel
We didn't do too awfully much here. The boarding call was a little earlier than dinner. We just went to this little swim area/park for Justin to swim with the dolphins and stroll around.

Day 5: Grand Cayman
We had to take tenders ashore this day rather than dock at a pier. The tenders were running late, therefore our excursion started late, therefore we missed our afternoon excursion of parasailing. Justin wasn't too heartbroken since he hates heights. But parasailing is on my bucket list and this was the second time I had come close and then missed out. Sooo, our day in Grand Cayman consisted of a city tour, which included a stop in Hell. It's a beautiful island, but VERY expensive. We finished the tour with a stop at the turtle farm. I got to hold a itty bitty baby sea turtle and it was so sweet. :) We then walked to Hard Rock to get a quick bite and pick up our traditional vacation shirts. Back on the boat.

Day 6: Jamaica
Words can't describe how beautiful this island is! The water, the mountains, the jungles. *sigh  I will say that if we were to ever be fortunate enough to go back, we would just go to a resort and keep our outings booked with tour guides. The region is very poor and you get LOTS of people trying to "sell" you things and take advantage of tourists. In the morning we did the jungle zipline. Then a traditional Jamaican lunch that was alot tastier than I imagined. Then we drove over to the Dunn's River Falls for a hike to the top. We started at the beach and went all the way up. Needless to say, my calves were screaming at me the next day. We had a very active and adventurous day in Jamaica, and that's exactly how I wanted it.

Day 7 & 8: At Sea
We did alot of staring into the water this day. I had seen a school of dolphins the day before and pretty sure I saw a sea turtle. Justin was feeling left out so he started staring off with me. We saw a huge sting ray out in the middle of the ocean. Had to have been 10 feet across easily.

Day 9: The Long Drive Home
We were under the assumption that we had to follow suit and leave luggage in the hall the night before and leave the ship at our scheduled time: 10:30. Ugh! We were in the car heading home at 8:30 with our other cruise. So with wanting to get home to our daughter, we were a little bummed at the late dismissal. But while waiting for our number to be called, we noticed in the departure explanations that there was a very tiny section for "Self Assisted Departure."  *face plant* Ugh! We *could* have left earlier, and it was my fault we didn't. BUT, thanks to teaming up with other Arkansans on the highway, little traffic, and hauling booty, we made up some time and was home in time for Cady's bath and bedtime.  Yay!

Nap time is over, gotta run!