Back to life, back to reality...

We had an amazing vacation... It was by far the best vacation we have taken as a family. This is gonna be a detailed overview of what we did.. mainly so I can look back on it next year and remember it all over again.



Sunday (Sept 30th).. We left home at 3:30am..right on time. Arrived at the airport, got the car parked and unloaded and caught the bus out of long term parking. Amohter 15 mins, the bags were checked in, boarding passes in hand, and we were heading through security. 4 out of the 5 of us made it through just fine. Jess had to be hand-wanded as her insulin pump set off the dectors (as we knew it would). Did you know you have to take off you shoes to go through security now? So we get to the gate at nearly 5am, anxiously awaiting out departure at 6:10a. My parents, my sis, bil, and nephews arrive shortly after. The 5 kids are so estactic.. they are beside themself. The plane leaves on time. Jess and I on one side, Matt and the boys on the other side of the isle. Sis and family directly behind us. 43 mins later we are in Atlanta. The kids experience the high fast tram that goes from terminal A to B as we head to the new gate for our next flight. We grab some breakfast while we wait. Finally, boarding time and we are off to San Juan. This time the kids all sa with each other, switching seats mid flight so the others could have a window seat. We arrive in San Juan around 1:30.. Head to baggage claim to get our luggage, and into the transfer line to drop it off for the cruise.. Then we get on the bus and head for the ship. It is raining now. The streets in San Juan were flooding, and driving is completely crazy. We get to the ship, go through the hoopla to get the sea pass cards and walk in to the ship just before 3pm. (eastern time now) The kids are amazed with the size of the ship. We venture to our cabins. Drop off the carry ons, find the room steward (Muricio) to get the adjoining door unlocked, and head to the windjammer for lunch. The kids think it is cool they can get whatever they want to eat and we dont have to pay for it. After eating we head out to the deck for ice cream cones and to look out. After some exploring of the ship we head back to the cabin. 6pm we grab the life jackets and head to the dining room for muster drill. 20 mins later we are finally done. Dinner is at 6:30.. This was the only night shorts were allowed at dinner, becuase all the luggage hadnt been delivered to the cabins. More exploring after dinner, till 9pm when we go to the adventure show in Studio B ( ice ring) to learn about the kids camp. Jess and I head to bed after the show.. the rest of the family went to the welcome aboard show and to the midnight parade before coming to bed.



Monday... Day at sea.. We did a little b-ball, rock climbing, and playing in the pool and on the water slide. We basically had the pool to ourself (it wasnt the main pool, but the kids pool in the back). Breakfast and lunch were again in the windjammer ( buffet style). We werent highly impressed with lunch choices, but we by no means went hungary. Dinner was at 6pm, formal night. the kids lookd adorable in suits and ties. The kids decided to try adventure ocean that evening. 4 of the kids went to Adventure Ocean and really enjoyed it. Matt and Joey watched monday night football, while Tara and I went to a few shows and games.



Tuesday.. in Aruba..The rest of the group we were with decided to join us on our private bus. Marco picked us up on the pier and off we went. He was great. he told us about the island, how it was formed, the education and governmnet. We saw the rock formations, an old fort,and the California lighthouse. Back to the ship at noon for lunch, then grab a Taxi to the beach. The water was nice. The waves were calm. We hang around for about 2 hrs before getting a cab back to the ship. We all stood on my parents balcony as we pulled out of port. Casual dinner in the dining room. It was a good day, althought I wasnt impressed with Aruba. The beaches were beautiful, but the country itself looked run down. It wasnt as pretty as I had imagined.



Wednesday...Curasao We grabbed a taxi to the sea aquirium, about a 20 min ride from the ship. The pace was really neat. It was right on the beach. The "pools that the animals were in were actually in the ocean, just a rock jetty barrier. We started with a sea lion show, followed by me getting a kiss on the check from the sea lion. next we headed to the dolphin show. It was the best I have ever seen. 3 dolphins jumping, while the waves from the ocean crashed over the jetty. The boys and I ( along with bil and youngest nephew) headed to the snorkel area. We are fitted with flippers goggles, and snorkel and a bowl of fish. Into the water. It was divided into 3 sections. The main part was jsut fish.. on one side was a chain link fence and plexi glass wall seperating the nurse sharks from us, and the other side was the same with more sharks and the largest sea turtle i have ever seen. I learned to walk on water and found out I can swim really fast. Jacob and I were near the sharks when I spotted a huge (4 ft long to be exact) black thing with a fin on its back riht behind me on my side of the fence. I got the heck of out there asap. Turns out it was actually a tuna fish. We walked around to see the rest of the animals, then headed down to the public beach. Turns out it was a topless beach. There were only about 2-3 ladies whom were topless, and it wasnt like they were out running on the beach.. they were just laying ion chairs sunbathing. It really wasnt very noticable. We went to the end of the beach. We told hte children tops were optional, but I dont think they really cared or noticed. The water here was even prettier then Aruba. There were crabs on the beach too. A few hours later, taxi back to the ship and some shopping on the pier before we got on. Smart casual attire for dinner.



Thrusday..day at sea We slept in this morning. Finished brunch about 11:30, then went out on the deck. Jacob and I went roller blading. That was a blast and not nearly as hard as I had assumed. We went to a Lowes build a ship project at noon. The kids made wood cruise ships. Jess went to Adventure Ocean for the afternoon before dinner. She made a good friend, Bailey, that she loved to hang out with in there. Dinner was formal. The kids went up to Johnny Rockets for dinner instead of joining us in the dining room

Friday... St Maartin/St. Martin We arrived in St. Maartin ( the Dutch side of the island). We had paid for the submarine excurition, but do to rain and unclear water it was canceled. We then we up the pier and booked a tour of the island. Annette took us around both the Dutch and French sides of the island. It was a raining/drizzly day. The island was beautiful and I would love to go back when it isnt raining. The higlight of this island was drinking from a coconut. The kids had been waiting the whole trip for it. This guy cut the side off the coconut and stuck 2 straws in it. The "milk" tasted like regular cows milk, nothing like coconut. Then the guy split it open and we ate the "meat" out of the coconut, again tasted nothing like coconut. We also let the kids experience sugar cane. We did a little shopping and then headed back to the ship.. This island had water taxi's to take you to town.. so we will definately be going back there (actually in June '09)

Saturday... St. Thomas... this waws by far our favorite island. We again had booked a private bus through godfrey tours. Our driver, Renaldo, picked us up and we headed to town for some shopping. After an hour, we were on the bus heading up the mountain.. The views were just breathtaking.. Absolutely gorgeous island. We went up to Mountain top and had a world famous Banana Daquiri. The one with rum wasnt very good, but the non alocholic ones were yummy!!. Then to Drakes seat, past Blackbeard and Bluebeards castle.. We also overlooked Magen Bay. It was voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world and I couldnt agree more. We headed back down the mountain to Coki Beach. This is the best beach for snorkling. My bil, sis, Aunt, and 2 cousins went parasailing. That was a blast.. It was so great up there and so pretty. Then we all just hung out on coki beach.. the water was the best by far.. you could see clear to the bottom up to 30 ft deep or so.. It made Destin Fl ( where we usually go) look bad. We rented some snorkle gear and all swam out with dog biscuits to feed the fish.. it was unreal. they came up and ate out of your hand. Smart casual dinner night.

Sunday.. Up early. We got off the boat around 9a.. The line for disembarkment was horrible. Got the luggage through customs and dropped off at the delta on pier.. then hit the transfer bus to the airport. Got to the airport way too early.. While we were waiting a band and dancers came through for entertainment. We finally boarded and left around 2:30p.. Arrived in Atlanta with no problems, and headed for home. After landing, getting our luggage, a bus to the van, and driving home, we got the kids settled in bed by 10:30p. They were so exhausted that I let them stay home from school Monday. Joey slept till past noon, and by then Jess was ready for a nap.

A few other highlights from the cruise... playing family feud. Our team was Dad, me and matt, tara and matt.. we lost!! The boys made great friends with Jack, the bartender in the prominade. We exchanged emails/address with Baileys family.. they hope to go on another cruise that we are on and we hope to keep the girls as penpals. The kids loved playing shuffle board. The rude puerto ricans when trying to get off/on the elevator. The head watier always there to cut up the steak for Austin. Jess and Joey getting the usual everynight for dinner ( mac n cheese for Jess, cheeseburger for Joey.. pudding no cookies for jess) The kids experiencing room service for the 1st time. Towel animals, and the boys learning to make them. One of the kids spilling a drink daily.

It was a wonderful vacation. We are in the planning process for the next cruise in Summer of '09.