To start the trip off we first headed from Shreveport to near Paris, TX to meet Roger's mom and Skyler to drop the girls off. By far the hardest part of the trip! Never being far from the girls and being with them 24/7 the past 2 years I truly felt as though I left a lot of my heart behind and a big part of my identity. So I cried for about 5 minutes and then tried to focus on the fun about to take place. So from Paris we drove back through Shreveport to Lafayette where we had to stop and get some duck gumbo at one of Roger's favorite restaurants. From Lafayette we headed Covington, LA where we stayed with the Nobles! Always a fun way to start a trip, catching up with friends.
So Sunday afternoon we drove to New Orleans to board the ship. I called the girls one more time before we left and listened to their sweet voices.... cried one more time and then looked for the right place to board the ship. We finally boarded the ship after walking around downtown New Orleans for close to an hour dragging our luggage looking for the right place to board. So that was a lot of words but from now on will be mostly pictures. A lot of pictures.. .not for everyone.. only those truly interested!
From the balcony of our room getting ready to leave the dock
the "beautiful" Mississippi river
First things first! Had to check out the food!
It took close to 9-10 hours for the captain to navigate the ship out of the Mississippi river into the ocean.
So we are on vacation right! We get to sleep in! Yeah, roger was up at 6:30,spark in hand ready to get this show on the road! But what a great view to wake up outside your window.
First day at sea! We ate an early breakfast, walked around the ship, went to a comedy brunch, humored Roger by going to a cooking demonstration, got a hamburger for lunch and laid out soaking up some sun!
Well, I soaked it up, Roger shielded it away:)
The best part of the cruise is the food of course. Each evening we spent a good 1-2 hours resting and getting ready for the evening dining experience. First night was elegant night.
Roger wanted to take a picture on the deck... fail.... note to self.. it is VERY windy in the middle of the ocean. Hour spent on hair... in vain
Try again a little less wind
My dessert and coffee... I pretty much had it every night.
Aftern dinner we saw "The Brits"
Day 2 at sea was pretty much filled with the same relaxing things as day 1.
Day 2 dinner Roger made reservations in the private steakhouse.
All dressed up and spiffy!
We were going to go to a comedy show after but Roge wasn't feeling good (oh yeah he went to the urgent care 2 hours before we left and found out he had an ear infection). So we went to bed around 9:00 like old people. Actually the old people on the cruise were partying way harder than we did. Ha! True Story
So we woke up bright and early on day 3! Jamaica! So excited to see land again!
little bit of land in the background.
Jamaica was one of the prettiest to arrive at
We ventured off the boat as soon as we docked to look around and maybe do a little shopping before our afternoon excursion
Yeah.. Jamaica is scary when you are not on an excursion.. from the bus ride to the shops.. the scary people that push you into shops.. the cab drivers telling you to get in the cabs.
So we headed back to our comfort zone until our excursion.. a little roof top putt-putt
not a bad view for putt-putt
fueled up at one of our favorite spots on the boat! that was GOOD burger
Excursion was much nicer.. a large sail boat to cruise around and do some snorkeling. It redeemed Jamaica for me. Except for all the guy crew members that tried to give all the women foot massages.. weird.. no thank you
Day 4- Grand Cayman Islands! By far our favorite! Felt much safer and the beaches were beautiful!
Had to be boated out to the island from the ship
First we went Snuba Diving.. which I didn't have my phone to take pictures.. but if I ever get our underwater camera developed I will add in the pictures. But it was really fun once you got past the feeing of suffocation and ears popping!
Went down to the 7 mile beach and ate lunch right on the beach.
Never seen this guy this relaxed
Love the Beach! If we had to go to one of the islands and stay for a while it would be Grand Cayman for sure.
Last Port of Call was Cozymel!
The most beautiful blues in the ocean I have ever seen!
So we signed up for a Mexican cooking and tasting excursion on the beach...it was really in a building on the beach .. they should be more specific
Can you get much cooler than that. I sure hope so
Sweet cooking goober...love him and his love for cooking
Basically we followed Oscar.. (the guy with the mic in the background) while he led us though 3 dishes.. cooking at the same time. Then we went upstairs to eat the fruit of our labor. I won't lie I left the building before dessert because the ocean and beach was outside and I was tired of being inside and the time was ticking before we had to be back on the boat.. they will leave you!
So Roger appeased me leaving his dessert behind and headed down to the beach to find the Red Flag meaning no entry into the water because of the crazy waves and undertow. So we walked a little, sat a little and chilled before we headed back to the bus.
Goodbye Mexico!
The last day at sea was terribly rocky and windy and cold so we took advantage of our last day to do absolutely nothing and .... did absolutely nothing. We made sure to eat all our favorite things.. guys burger for lunch... homemade pizzas for snack and last night of leisure dining.
It was an amazing trip! We were more than ready to see our girls!
