Finally Home, News of a Funeral, Nephew Weekend, Birthday Party and Much more!

Saturday - September 12th

Finally home! We had a great vacation but there is nothing like coming home to relax =) We got home soon enough to enjoy a few hours with our pets before heading to bed for some much needed sleep.

Sunday - September 13th

Today was a nice relaxing day where we slept in and did nothing. We thought everything was perfect until that night we received news Mike's grandfather wasn't doing well at all. Within two hours we had news he passed away at the hospital. We were sad to come home to such sad news.

Monday & Tuesday - September 14th & 15th

Well the work never ends even though you're on vacation! Mike and I both worked really hard to get our work caught up so we could take off Wednesday for the funeral. Thankfully we have really understanding coworkers who were sympathetic and supportive!

Wednesday - September 16th

Today we attended Wilmer Dozeman's funeral. It was a nice service held in Holland, Michigan. We manged to make it on time with no problems and the day was absolutely beautiful.

Friday - September 18th

After a pretty busy week still trying to catch up on work, I was so happy when Friday finally arrived! We had previously arranged to have my nephew Billy over for the weekend. I left work a little early to pick him up in Indiana. It was a pretty uneventful trip and it was great to talk one-on-one with Billy. He's growing up so fast! Reading big books, talking about girls, and having opinions of his own! I still remember the day he was born! Hard to believe that was 12 years ago...

Anyways, after we got home we picked up Mike and went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant in town. After stuffing ourselves, we decided to go bowling. It was a really fun game and Billy kept up pretty well. It was getting late by this time so afterward we came home and crashed.

Saturday - September 19th

Today we all slept in and after waking up I made breakfast. We met up with Mom and Dad Smolsky and TJ Paul to see the movie G-Force. I thought I lost brain cells in the hour and a half it took to get through it but Mike and Billy loved it. I'm not sure what Mom and Dad thought... Afterward we headed back to Mom and Dad's house and TJ and Billy played in the basement with Lego's.

Once Billy was bored we headed back to Kzoo. Mike played catch and various other sports with Billy for awhile in the yard. They tried to talk me into playing but I'm not much of a sporty girl =) We eventually moved on to making dinner on the grill and watching movies inside. Pretty soon, it was past 11 and time for bed!

Sunday - September 20th

Today was jammed packed with events. First we woke up early and took Billy to breakfast and for a final event to play Laser Tag. It was Mike and Billy's first time playing and I think they both loved it. They had a great shooting each other and I'm sure by the end there was no strategy involved and straight up seeing who could shoot the most shots at the other.

After laser tag we had to get on the road to make it to J.T.'s birthday party. We made it right on time. The party was a lot of fun and J.T. had many friends and some nice presents. Mike and I ate a ton and visited with family. We didn't stay too long because of our long drive home and our busy weekend.

Monday - Thurday September 21 - 24th

Busy catch up week... just same old, same old!

Friday - September 25th

Today I got to leave early because I worked so much during the week I had a lot of overtime. Mike and I had plans to go bowling with our friends Kristen and John and to stop by a party in downtown Kzoo for another friend.

Bowling was a lot of fun. We actually decided on this day to join a league! I've never been on a bowling league before so this should be interesting. I'm averaging at 100 so we'll see how I do by the end of the season, whenever that is =)

After bowling we tried to go downtown for the Irish Fest and to meet up with some friends for a birthday party. Unfortunately the weather was no cooperative. It poured buckets... Mike and I spent 15 minutes standing under a tree trying to avoid getting drenched. It wasn't the warmest day either so it was definitely miserable. Eventually we gave up and decided to go back home before we caught pneumonia. Luckily we didn't make it to Irish Fest so we saved ourselves the entrance fee!

Saturday - September 26th

Today I had a friend's baby shower to attend. I had a great time and I even won a basket of candy for knowing the most in this baby shower game. I still have not told Mike about this basket... hopefully he will read this after I finish all the candy myself. I know... it's selfish but I like candy and I can't have it long around Mike or it will be gone =P

While I was at the shower Mike went to Grand Rapids to pick up a bowling ball for me from his parents (used to be his moms, then it was his and now it's mine!) and one for himself from his brother's friend. Apparently it's very common for people to have bowling balls... everyone seems to have one or a spare. Now we both have balls but we need to get them drilled for our hands.

Sunday - September 27th

Today was another jammed packed Sunday. First we had church in the morning. After church we had breakfast out and then headed home to do some lawn work. We had a tight schedule but eventually finished the lawn in time to go the movies with Melanie and Bruco to see "Surrogates". We made it back just in time to meet up with some other friends who dropped off some free Christmas lights for us and visited for about an hour. After their visit we headed off to visit our neighbor who is in the hospital for some heart problems. We spent some time with her and her husband before we had to leave again to meet up with our new bowling league team to bowl. After a marathon bowl of three games in an hour we returned home exhausted.

Monday - September 28th

Here and I am today catching up on the blog, trying to finish up some laundry and other miscellaneous things. Tomorrow is Lois's birthday so we are heading to Grand Rapids to have dinner with her and I think play another round of bowling with Mike's brother. It should be a fun, eventful night!

Update on the Deck Project

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mike and his dad (Rich) were working tirelessly to finish stripping, power washing, and staining our deck. Here are the sequence of events as they unfolded earlier this month...

Day 1 - Searched board by board to repair broken/missing nails

Day 2 - Stripping & Powerwashing

Day 3 - More Stripping & Powerwashing

Day 4 - Applying the Stain

Day 5 - Still Applying the Stain

Day 6 - The finished product!

Amazing Sighting!

Vacation Day 7 – September 11th

Yesterday we did end up seeing the “Somewhere in Time” show at the theater. It was pretty good. They had a lot of dancing/singing but again, I was slightly disappointed they wanted to make everything so modern. It was based off the movie “Somewhere in Time” but they made all the dances/singing to modern pop songs. They did a great job – I just wonder what’s wrong with good old fashioned dialog! =)

After the show we did some last minute shopping at the ship stores. We got a few more souvenirs and I bought another book to read on the plane. We were a little disappointed we couldn’t get the duty free deal on the alcohol. It’s all at a record low prices (two 1 liter Kahlua bottles for $25!) but apparently we are limited to 1 liter tax free but they only sell them in 1 liter bottles! So, we decided not to bring any home since we would be taxed on anything over 1 liter AND we apparently had to find a place to pack everything in our bags. It wasn’t the great deal we originally thought it was. Oh well. We didn’t need it anyways!

Today was a perfect end to the vacation. We did nothing but relax. First we had a couple’s massage and felt like complete jell-o when they were done. Mike and I both had a lot of tension in our shoulders and both masseuses were quite mean to our shoulders. Afterward it felt great but during we wanted to cry uncle and ask them to stop. After the massage we didn’t want to go out into the sun yet because we were glistening with massage oil and the masseuse warned us we would burn twice as quickly. Instead we headed down to complete ciaos in the promenade area.

Apparently it’s tradition on the last full day of the cruise to promote the cruise’s cookbook. The chefs from all different restaurants make samples of different dishes in the cookbook. Mike and I ate a ton of miscellaneous foods and they were all good. I didn’t think it was so good I would buy the $30 cookbook, but it was still fun to participate with the samples.

Once we were stuffed and feeling slightly less giggly, we made our way up to the pool area. I cooked for about an hour with a book while Mike swam and cooked occasionally with me. I didn’t burn as evenly as I hoped but at least I might come home with a tan. We found a very cool area (of course on our last day) to pull up a chair and take a nap with the view of the ocean and NO people around. It’s not directly in the sun so I guess that makes it less popular. We spent about three hours on deck just snoozing and reading.

At one point we were joined by a few other couples but luckily they wanted peace and quiet too so they didn’t say a word as we sat there. Eventually it was down to just me, Mike and one other lady on the deck area. This lady read for awhile and then looked out at the ocean. It wasn’t five minutes later she started jumping up and down and looking at me to come quickly. She didn’t speak English well but I got the hint. I got up to see what was wrong. Mike was out – glistening from too much sunscreen and tired from a “rough” day – so he missed her summons. Anyways, she saw dolphins! A bunch of them were swimming in the waves of the ship’s wake! I’ve looked all week at various times for any marine life and didn’t see anything so this was very exciting. I quickly returned to Mike and shook his foot to wake him up and when that didn’t work I slapped his leg hard to come see the show before we past them all. He moved quickly after that but only in half awake mode(later admitted he thought someone had fallen overboard) and he was able to see them too. I took a few pictures but it was hard. The little suckers swan so fast and the boat was moving away from them as they swam. It was super cool to see and really made our day.



By this time we had to head back to the room to pack our stuff and get ready for dinner. We signed up for valet service to the airport for our luggage. Basically that means we don’t need to do anything tomorrow with our luggage. They will take it tonight by 11 and they will transfer it to the airport. The only crappy thing about this system is we have to pack almost everything but the basics we need to get by tomorrow. We also have to make sure whatever we don’t pack we can fit in a carry on or get through security. I can’t keep my shampoo so I’ll have to use the ship’s tomorrow morning.

After packing we had dinner at the specialty restaurant and really enjoyed the food. It was a steakhouse so there were a lot of things we actually recognized on the menu. You would be really surprised how much they make on this boat that we have to ask what it is made of before we try it. Everything is so “gourmet”. Anyways, dinner was great and we got some nice pictures of the sun setting and a decent one of us dressed up.


Right now we’re finishing up some lose ends like returning towels and packing our carry on bags. We’ll go out for a bit after this but probably will get to bed early. We have to be off the boat by 9 and our flight leaves at 1:30. We should be home by 8 tomorrow if everything goes smoothly. We’re looking forward to sleeping in our own bed and without the constant movement of the ship =)

Snorkeling & Checking out the Ruins

Vacation Day 5 – September 9th

Today we are in Georgetown, Cayman Islands. I thought it was Cozumel but I guess that’s tomorrow. Whoops. Anyways, we set off pretty early to go to snorkeling. We had two spots to check out – a reef area and a shipwreck. The reef and the shipwreck were pretty neat. We took quite a few pictures under water but it’s on an old fashioned film underwater camera so we’ll have to post any good ones later. The shipwreck was neat to see because, well, it’s a shipwreck but it wasn’t what I thought it would be. I guess the ship sunk in the 1940s but it was built in the 1800s. It was a cargo ship that transported rice and somehow water got into the cargo area and the rice expanded. Since there wasn’t much room in the base of the ship, the rice expanded a hole in the side of the ship! It sank within hours. Since it was near shore you could see the shipwreck pretty clear. The locals decided to blow up the ship (or what was left sticking out the water) so really underwater you see the remains of a blown up/sunken ship. It was definitely different.

After snorkeling Mike and I headed to Margaretville. We had a burger and I had a margarita before heading back to the ship. Overall it was a fun experience with a lot of happening things. The DJ in the restaurant had some competitions going on for free shirts/drinks/etc. He even gave up free shots of tequila. We declined since we would have to go up to the stage and he gave them out by just pouring the bottle into various people’s mouths. Yuck. Anyways, it was fun to watch.


Once we were back on the ship we were tired after another day in the sun so we took it pretty easy for a few hours. I read a book on deck and Mike took a semi nap in the lounge chair. Around 7 we got ready for another formal night and ate dinner with two Irish couples this time. We talked a bit about the ship and they all gave me advice on where we should go if we ever make it to Ireland. I’m happy to have some local people’s advice on the different things to see and do. I’m very excited by the prospect of an Ireland/Europe vacation. Obviously I need to get through this one first but Ireland is definitely on the list =)

After dinner we walked around looking for new places to see on ship. We visited a few new bars and eventually decided we were too tired to stay up late. We called it an early night. We’ve had pretty neat towel arrangements in our room every night but this night we had a really cool one. We think it’s a monkey.
Vacation Day 5 – September 10th

Today, as always, we had an early start but our last trip excursion. Today we are (officially) in Cozumel, Mexico. We were scheduled for a Mayan Ruin tour. It was pretty extensive to get to the ruins. First we took a boat from our boat to get to the mainland from Cozumel. Then we took a bus to the ruins. We stopped briefly at a flea market type place for a restroom break and shopping opportunity. I bartered once again (the “sale” hunter in me loves negotiating prices) for a souvenir. This time I bought a letter open made from some special kind of cooled lava that changes colors in the light. I like it. This is me in a neat swing they had outside the flea market:

Back on to the bus, we travel for a bit more before we finally arrive at the Tulum Mayan Ruins. We piled out of the bus and into the hot (scorching!) sun to walk a half mile to the part entrance. All the tourists are dripping sweat by this time. Even me, who usually likes the heat, felt like a sticky sponge. I was so happy to make it to the park so we could walk around and get back to the air conditioned bus! The park was pretty cool. I liked this ruin’s park 100x better than the Chicheniza (sp?) ruins I saw a few years ago. There are many similarities as far as the ruins look but the Tulum park area was very well kept up and it was more like visiting a state park than some forgotten location locals charge an arm and a leg for people to see. We got some fantastic pictures of the ocean and some of the ruins.

We also saw a lot of iguanas of various shapes and sizes while we were there. Mike had me nervous with one iguana (a small one) because he wanted a picture of it and the poor little iguana was nervous and stuck his tail up and looked mean. Mike still took his picture but at least he moved faster. We didn’t have a long time to walk around since our bus left at 3 but we made the most out of what time we had. Once back at the bus we had to repeat the steps we took to get there. Another long bus ride, boat ride but then we had an added taxi drive. We didn’t leave the port right away though. We went to a local Mexican restaurant and had delicious Mexican food. We bought a few things and took a few more pictures. I was super annoyed by how aggressive the salesmen/saleswomen are in the tourist shops. If you so much as glance their way or try to look at their products they are all over you! Thankfully we have had experience with that kind of thing from our last trip to Mexico so we did pretty good avoiding all of them. I know that’s totally common here but so far from our normal experience at a mall in Michigan. It was still a lot of fun, just an interesting experience!

Right now we’re hot, tired and so happy the excursions are over. Tonight we may catch the “Somewhere in Time” show at the theater and go to bed early. Tomorrow we’re at sea all day on our way back to Miami. We have a massage and dinner at the other specialty restaurant to look forward to. I’m planning to get some last minute sun exposure so people will know I went on vacation. Right now I’m much tanner than I was when I left but not nearly as much as I should be for traveling to the Caribbean! Plus, Mike wants his last chance to swim in the pools. He’s such a fish!

Too Much to Drink & Jamacia Mon!

Vacation Day 3 – September 7th - (cont.)

After the restaurant finally opened up for dinner we took off to once again stand in line for a table in the dining room. Tonight we were sat with two couples from England. They were really a funny bunch of people who all traveled quite a bit and told us about where they’ve been and what they’ve done. They had some good suggestions for future vacation ideas, like other cruises in Europe and even China, and dinner moved pretty smooth. We left early enough from dinner to catch a show at their theater called “Ever After.”

The ship has a decent sized theater for a ship. The production was short by Broadway standards but excellent for a cruise ship. It lasted about an hour which was just enough time for us to stay entertained but short enough we could move on to other events. Overall, we thought the show was fun but it was geared more toward kids because it was about a series of nursery rhymes updated with current music to explain the story lines. Kind of like what Baz Lurman did with Moulin Rouge.

Once the show was over we headed over to the casino so Mike could play craps. I lost another depressing $40, Mike won enough to cover what I lost. We planned to stay to watch a late night comedian show at 12:15 so we had quite a bit of time to kill. We ended up having a drink (I stuck with ginger ale since I still wasn’t feeling 100%) at this place called The Catacomb. It’s a bar/dance club on the ship with an old castle theme. It a super cool place we wish was local so we could bring our friends to see it! We did dance a bit but it wasn’t long before we had to get our seats for the comedy show.

The comedian was hilarious. He only did a half hour show but he really packed it with funny jokes about the annoying things about the ship (slow elevators, anxious staff to take away our plates at every meal, etc). We thoroughly enjoyed the show. By this time it was about 1 a.m. but Mike was still going. He wanted to go back to casino to show me roulette, certain that would improve my bad luck with slots. We played some roulette together and I managed to make some money but then I lost it again. Mike went down and then up and finally made enough we broke even with a little bit of profit. We left roulette so Mike could try craps again and he did well enough we won back the money we came with plus some.

By this time, however, my husband had had far more alcohol than I realized. I didn’t suspect at first because he managed to get drinks from any waiter who just happened to pass by. Before I knew it, he had too many and I realized we needed to call it night. After he told me seven times that he thought the comedian was funny (as if it were a new thought and experience each time he told me) and repeated the same joke he liked best, I started pointing us toward the room.
Luckily Mike is an agreeable drunk so he didn’t question things too much. He said he was thirty (most likely because he was dehydrated!) so we stopped for some non-alcoholic drinks on our way to the room. Poor Mike offered the waiter his card about four times after we paid before the man said, “I’ve seen all I need to see, Mon.” As in, stop giving me your card =) I managed to get Mike into the room and into bed without too many problems. He did insist on putting his own clothes away and meticulously put his nice clothes away before I talked him into sleeping.

Vacation Day 4 – September 8th –

This morning Mike swore off vanilla white Russians and alcohol for some time. Luckily we took Excedrin with us so he was able to take some strong medication to help him through the morning. Today we had a horseback riding/water swimming experience. The boat docked in Jamaica around 9:30 and we stood in another ridiculously long line (5th floor the line ended, we needed to be on the 1st floor). Eventually we made it the through the rat race to the area we needed to be for the horseback riding.

After a short drive we made it the ranch. I was very impressed with the farm and the stables. The area was very clean, spacious and the horses were healthy and well cared for compared to other stables I’ve been to on vacation. Our tour guides did a great job telling everyone how to ride well and we took off shortly after we arrived.



After a thirty minute ride we arrived at the ocean location where we would ride through the water on horseback. It was a very, very cool experience. They literally swam the horses for some time in circles and we were completely over our heads (if not on horseback) several times. The horses ran fast and furious as if that was their favorite thing to do doing the day. With the heat we rode through, I wasn’t surprised they were happy to be completely immersed in the cooler water.

After our swimming event we rode back to the ranch and took off for the pier. We stopped at a small local restaurant (with exurbanite prices!) for some jerk chicken and rice. I couldn’t eat half my meal. It was delicious but so incredibly spicy I couldn’t take it. Mike did better and managed to tread through his meal by washing it down with Red Strip and my diet coke. The cook himself came out and tried to sell us a bottle of the spices but with our mouths on fire, we politely declined.

By this time we were both exhausted. We made our way back to the ship and stood through yet another long line to get back on the ship. We came back to the room and took a nap because we’re on vacation and we were tired. We just got up a bit ago and we’re getting ready for our night at one of the boat’s specialty restaurants. Tonight it’s Italian. I think I would be more excited if I could have my favorite fettuccine Alfredo made traditionally and by a real Italian chef. Alas, I will stick with another bland dish of tomato sauce and pasta…

The restaurant was very nice and as I expected, it was difficult for me to find something Italian to eat that didn't contain cheese! We had a really nice waiter and he was very accommodating. I told him I was allergic to milk (easier to explain it that way) so he changed some things on the menu for me so I could eat everything he brought. Overall the food was great. When it was time for dessert I was disappointed they only had very creamy desserts. I started out by refusing dessert when the waiter came back for our order but when he asked why, I couldn't lie. He told me to give him one minute and he came back with an entire tray full of dark-chocolate covered strawberries! I'm not sure where the heck he found those because I swear they are not anywhere I have been on the ship. Regardless, it was a perfect end to the evening. I made sure Mike tipped the man well =)

The rest of the night we spent in the casino where we lost all our profits from yesterday. Oh well... I guess you win some and you lose some gambling!

Tomorrow we're in Cozumel, Mexico and we're going snorkeling.

Cruising the High Seas...

Friday September 4th

Friday I put a few hours at work to make up my 40 for the week and then I was outta there. I had a number of things I wanted to do before our planned departure from Portage around 5. I ran some errands, picked up some last minute items from the store and cleaned up the rest of the house and pet boxes. Around 3 I started packing. Around 3:30 Mike calls to say he’s late. Slightly annoyed, I try to be patient. Around 4:30, he calls again to say he’s “in transit”. I’m practicing patience but it’s not easy =) Finally around 5 he’s home and starts packing. Unfortunately we don’t make it out of the house until almost 8:30. At 8:45 we realize we don’t have cash so we make a pit stop at an ATM and grab something to eat. Finally around 9 we’re on the road to Detroit.

After a long, uneventful trip to our hotel, we arrive at the Detroit airport (hotel is inside) around 10:30 and drop off our car at the long term parking. Our hotel was surprising nice for the price we paid. We didn’t stay up late since we had to get up early the next morning.

Vacation Day 1 - September 5th

When the alarm went off at 6 it was hard to get up and get going. As always, we somehow managed to gather the strength and lug our stuff half way across the airport to our gate. We paid an exurbanite fee for our four (yes, four) bags to get checked. With that done, we made our way to the long line for security.

My trip didn’t start out well. I had my license and ticket in hand and I gave it to the security guy. He looked at it and then up to me sharply and asked for the “right” ticket. I freaked out thinking, “what the hell does he mean, ‘right’ ticket??” Then he pointed out I had Mike’s ticket. Whoops. At least it was just a mix up and not really a problem. Either way, just so you know, those guys really DO check your name at the gate!

Once we were off the plane we played this horrible stand-in-line-and-wait. First, we waited for our luggage at the baggage claim, then to board the cruise bus, and then finally at the port we waited in this ridiculously long line for customs and more security checks. Over all I think it was over two hours in line. Some guy commented that he felt like we were in line at Cedar Point and I think it was a good analogy.

First off, the cruise is awesome. The boat is the biggest thing in water I’ve ever seen and we were both impressed with how massive everything is here. It’s literally like a small city floating on water. There are shops, bars, elevators, escalators, pools, hot tubs, casinos, clubs, a spa, a portrait studio, gym, game rooms, kids clubs and pools and I’m sure many other things I haven’t seen yet. Our room is nice for what it is. I don’t think the rooms are supposed to be luxurious. It’s neat and well mapped for the space. The bed isn’t a rock so I feel confident I might actually get some sleep while we’re on the trip.

We are disappointed we can’t get unlimited Wi-Fi on the boat. As most things are on vacation, everything good is extra. I can get on for a little while but it will cost us too much to surf for long. We did pay for unlimited diet coke refills because, well, it’s us and we can’t live without diet coke and I can’t imagine paying $2 for a can for every one we’ll drink. Mike will cost me $5 a meal, minimum! The food is free and unfortunately for me, very good. When we arrived they said we could have lunch at this “café”. Yeah, the café is this giant gourmet-type buffet. I wasn’t expecting the choice or size of the place. We ate more than we should have. I am seriously going to gain 10 pounds on this trip.

So far, neither of us has experienced any motion sickness. It is a bit strange to have the occasional jolt here or there to remind you you’re on a boat. But really, you don’t feel much. It’s like small rumblings every once in awhile. Being at sea is very cool though. Just looking out and seeing endless ocean from the ground (as opposed to our plane trip to Hawaii) is far cooler. I will take lots of pictures.
For dinner here you have to dress up according to the day. I.E. It’s either business casual or formal. Tonight is business casual so we dressed up a bit and took off for dinner around 9. We have “our time” dining so we don’t have to eat at a specific time. It’s a bit of a joke though because even with our time dining they take reservations so you have to wait until there is a table available. We had the option to wait for a table for two or sit with a group. We opted for a group and it turned out really well.


We were sat with a couple from England and a couple from India/Minnesota. We managed to find things to keep the conversation going. We spent over two hours at dinner. Mike really wanted to go bar hopping and dancing but I was too exhausted. I talked him into turning in early so we could finally get some much needed sleep! Eventually he gave in but only after I promised tomorrow we would go clubbing.

So far, no animal figures made out of towels yet. Someone told me they do that so I’ll keep an eye out and take a picture if it happens this week. Right now we’re sailing to Haiti. Tomorrow will just be a day at sea. No excursions yet.

Vacation Day 2 – September 6th

Today we slept in until almost 11. I know it was almost 11 because Mike had a panic attack and made us dress at record speed so we could make it to the food court before they stopped serving breakfast. I am not a huge breakfast fan but Mike really loves breakfast. We managed to make it there just as they were shutting down and found some left over breakfast. With the crisis averted, we decided after breakfast we were find a nice spot on deck to get some sun and go swimming.

I found a pretty nice spot and starting reading my other book. Mike decided he wanted to listen to his iPod but he didn’t have iTunes loaded on his computer. He left me in the sun to load the program on the computer. An hour later I was fairly roasted and still no Mike. I didn’t want to leave where I was because the ship is so vast you can easily lose someone. I thought it was about the time he should be back. I gave him two more pina colda’s worth of time and decided it was worth it to lose him rather than roast my fair skin anymore! Exasperated, I made it back to the room and found my husband plugging away at the computer – completely oblivious to the time. He seemed shock to see me so red. I retorted, “What do you expect when you leave me in the sun for over a hour??”

Sheepishly, Mike agreed to take me to get ice cream and stay in the air conditioned area for awhile. My luck didn’t last too long though because eventually Mike wanted to go to the pool since he hadn’t been all day. I finally conceded an hour later and he left me in a chair in the shade (total shade) and I read some more. It wasn’t too long before Mike found out that I did – it’s flipping hot on the top of the ship. He swam for about a half hour and then he was done.


About this time we had to get ready for the formal night. There was a Captain’s reception in the main promenade area and dresses/suits/tuxes are required. We got dolled up and went to join the party. We enjoyed some free Champaign and photo opportunities around the ship before we headed up for dinner. Again, our any time dining was a bit of a joke and he ended up waiting for awhile and then agreeing to eat with another couple.

This time we ate with a couple from Puerto Rico. They were super nice and spoke English very well. She was an engineer and he was a pharmaceutical sales rep. The guy and Mike talked for a long time about basketball and other sports I knew squat about. Eventually we talked about the places we wanted to go on the trip and later the night. Our exciting moment was when Mike decided to be very brave and order escargot – SNAILS! I had my camera ready in case he spit them back out. Nothing nearly as dramatic happen because he ended up thinking they tasted very good and had a texture like mushrooms. Gross.
Once dinner was over we went our separate ways. Mike and I headed down toward the clubs but then I started to feel very ill. Too late, I realized I screwed myself. Some of you may remember that I’m lactose intolerant. Overall, it’s not too bad and I can consume a certain amount of dairy. However, my breakfast with yogurt, snack of Funky-Monkey ice cream, three cream beverages with Bailey’s, appetizer of cheese, dinner with cream sauce and dessert with extra cream finally caught up with me.

First off, Mike is real trooper. I was very ill and unable to do anything but cry. He really wanted to go out and I promised we would. In my defense, I did try a total of three times to leave after I felt sick but we didn’t make it farther than the end of the hall before I felt too sick to go on. Eventually we gave up and called it a night.

Pat me on the back for ruining a vacation night!

P.S. I admit I did smile a bit through my discomfort when this elephant was waiting for us on our bed when we returned to our room.


Vacation Day 3 – September 7th

Today I felt about 60% better. I really over did it so I’m officially screwed for about two weeks on milk products. Good news is I will not be gaining much weight on this cruise. Bad news, I will miss all the incredible desserts and foods that contain dairy! (Did I mention that’s about 80% of the food they serve??) Sigh. Someday I will look at this like a blessing. Just not today.
Today was pretty exciting beside my slight lag in energy. We arrived at Haiti sometime last night or early this morning. Not really such when we got here. Anyways, we got up early to spend the day on the beach. The process was a little frustrating because we had to get on a boat to get to the island. With as many people as there are on this ship it took awhile to get going. Eventually we got to the island and started exploring.


Haiti is very beautiful, or at least what I’ve seen of it. There are more mountainous areas than I thought there would be and the waters are so clear and sparkling. We walked around for a bit trying to find the perfect spot to pull up a chair. I almost stepped on a baby hermit crab! I was very upset about it. Mike looked shocked I knew what it was and I felt a pang of longing for hermit crabs again. (I owned hermit crabs in middle school through college). Anyways, I saved the little buy from the walk way he was in and put him in a better location to climb a tree and get food/water. Yes, I know that is very like me and I doubt anyone is surprised I found something living in my path =)


After our small adventure with the hermit crab, we found a nice spot on the beach and went swimming and sun bathed. On our way back to the ship we took a spontaneous trip on a waverunner tour. It was super, super fun. I haven’t been on a waverunner in almost 10 years. I talked Mike into letting me drive and I made sure we hit some pretty big waves. I’ve never been on a waverunner in the ocean and let me tell you, it’s far more intimidating. First off, the waves are bigger and more frequent. Second, there are JELLY FISH in the water just floating there taunting you to just try and come in the water – talk about warding you from wanting to fall off in any fashion. Third – the sun is far hotter here than any lake I went in. Fourth – I almost had a heart attack when Mike and I were supposed to switch drivers. I’m happy to report I am alive and he did very well as a driver. I only have a few scratches and grey hairs from the experience.

Oh, I bought a… box? or something from a Haitian in a canoe who came up to us on the waverunner tour. The guide said they would come up to us eventually and that we should barter for anything they try to sell us. Otherwise, they will laugh at us later for being such suckers. I talked the man own to half the price but then I didn’t have exact change for half so I ended up giving him $20. I’m not sure the box is worth $20 but it’s handmade, unique and I bartered for it in the middle of the ocean. How many people can say that?


Right now we’re back in the room and blessed air conditioning trying to get cooled down and cleaned up. I have some very uneven sunburn right now. Surprisingly, my makeup has better SPF than the stupid sunscreen I bought. Too bad I didn’t know that before I put on sunscreen instead of makeup this morning. Mike is finally getting rid of his farmers tan to a nice even burn. We’re waiting for the restaurants to open up so we can have a late lunch. I’m finishing up on the blog and Mike is going down to buy all the pictures they took of us since we got here. He really likes pictures.

We’re planning to go to a comedy show tonight and tomorrow we’ll be in Jamaica. We’re scheduled to go on a horseback riding tour and swimming in the ocean on horseback. It should be pretty interesting!