Cruisin

About 6 weeks ago Steve and I embarked on a trip we had been planning for about 8 months. And by planning I mean talking about and scouring the internet for cheap prices. We finally found what we felt like was the best deal out there and seized it! We begged everyone we knew to join us on this fabulous vacation, but there just weren't any takers. So, as sad as we were to be doing this trip alone, we were so excited to go!

We decided to go on a cruise. We talked about doing a lot of different things. There are a lot of places back east that we have wanted to visit and we had saved up our frequent flyer miles to be able to go anywhere we wanted, but ultimately we wanted to go somewhere where just about everything was prepaid. That way we could go and enjoy ourselves without having to worry about money. I'm so glad we did it that way. The cruise was perfect! We relaxed, ate, took naps, wandered the boat, ate, laughed at other people making fools of themselves on the boat, ate, watched movies, ate. It was so great! Here are some pics from the trip...

Steve and I on the deck

Our first stop was Key West. We had never been there before and I loved it! It was so clean! It had all of the cheap shops that you expect on the islands but as you walked further inland you found all the same kinds of shops that we find here at home, only they will barter with you! It was crazy! We saw a lot of interesting fun things...

The Green Parrot Bar is a local favorite. They regularly have big name bands or singers come and preform.

I was in love with the feel of this island. It was so charming and quaint. The houses were beautiful and so was the property. Everywhere I looked the homes were well taken care of and just beautiful!

LOVED Key West. I hope we can go there again someday.

The next day we stopped at Cozumel. I have been here before on a previous cruise, but it had been a long time and when we were there we visited the Mayan Ruins. We didn't do that this time. Instead Steve and I rented a scooter and drove around the outskirts of the island stopping at beaches along the way. We found one that we really liked and stayed for awhile. It was so beautiful. We were worried because a hurricane had hit this island only about 4 days before we had arrived, but the weather was perfect and so was the water!

I don't know if any of you have been on a cruise. But one thing about cruises is you eat. Even if you haven't been on a cruise, you probably knew that. There is food ALL of the time. There are about 3 or 4 different eating areas that are serving food at various times throughout the day. Steve grows a third stomach in preperation for the cruise, and I am not kidding. On a normal day Steve has 2 stomachs. The man eats like a monster and still has the body of an 18 year old body builder. Lucky him, and lucky me ;). When we go on a cruise his eating is like nothing you have ever seen before. He generally orders 2 appatizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. Not only does finish all of this food, but he usually finishes everything I don't eat as well. It is amazing! I encourage everyone to witness this amazing feet. Seriously, he deserves some kind of award.

Dinner on the cruise is a special event. Everyone has assigned seating and dining rooms. Because it was just Steve and I we were sat at a table with another couple. No seat remains empty in the dining room. We were kind of nervous about this. Who were we going to be sat with? We were completely lucky! The first night we went to dinner we sat waiting nervously for the other people at our table to show up. We secretly hoped no one would so we could have the table to ourselves. Or if they did show up and it didn't go well, we knew we could just go to one of the other 3 buffet areas for the remainder of the cruise for dinner. Well, neither of the above two options happened. The couple assigned to sit with us DID show up, and they were awesome! We couldn't have had a better time! We were lucky to be paired with Stacey and Justin. They were just about our age, from North Carolina, and were so much fun to be with. We laughed through our first dinner and knew we would be back the next day for another fun night. We had such a great time with them that we ended up spending the rest of the evening with them going to the show, the dance club, and wandering the boat. It was great! Each day was the same. Steve and I did our own thing during the day, met Stacey and Justin for dinner, and went to the evening activities with them. It couldn't have worked out better. I feel like we now have these new friends across the continent. Pretty cool.

As I have explained, dinner is a very big deal. You sit in the same seat every night and you have the same waiters and waitresses. They serve you everynight and it is fun to get to know them. We had a great group of people helping us. They would bring us things that they knew we would want even if we didn't order it. They were awesome! Another fun thing about the cruise.

The cruise was just what we needed. We took a nap everyday. We layed by the pool, we ate a lot of yummy food, we saw some beautiful islands and beaches, we relaxed, Steve people watched, I read books, we met some great people, we slept. It was perfect. I can't wait for the next one! Can it be next month??? Maybe???

Steve and I in our little room