Day Three: Grand Cayman

We got up extra early to get on the little boat to take us to shore so we could explore the island of Grand Cayman. There was a little snafoo while we were trying to disembark (with 500 of our closest friends). We were late getting into position (blame it on strong tides) so instead of a smooth transition....it was crowded and smelly and angry. But since it is a rule that no one can be angry in paradise.....it was quickly forgotten when we got to shore.
We started in a little area of the island known as Hell. It has an interesting limestone formation that gives it that name. It also has the oldest post office on the island and if you mail a letter from there is will be post marked From Hell.
Our second was the rum factory. Since we aren't drinkers....this wasn't much of a draw. Not even at the promise of the free samples. We hung out outside and took pictures at the pretty beach instead.
Our next stop was the turtle farm. I think it was one of my favorite things about the trip. I got to hold a hatchling and Jim held a turtle that was about 8 months old.
They have a breeding operation there for the Green Sea Turtle that is almost extinct. They have several ponds with turtles of various ages. Did you know that they can't tell the gender of a sea turtle until it is eight years old. Then the males develop longer tails than the females.
While the eggs are incubating the farm can control the gender of the turtles by maintaining a constant temperature. If it is kept at 82* the turtles will all be female. If it is higher than that they will all be male. If it fluctuates....there will be both.
We stopped on our way back to the bus for a snack at the turtle farm's restaurant. Did you know that turtle meat is the official meat of Grand Cayman.....and that they serve it in the restaurant. Yeah...like going to a puppy farm and eating a puppy on the way out the door. Not cool. But The Walkers and Jim were able to try it. Consensus was unfavorable.....like fishy chicken. I'll pass.
Our next stop took us to a boat. We got to sit on the bow, with the sea spray in our faces. Good thing the sun came out cause man was that cold!!

Side note....Another unedited water picture. The water was the most beautiful color!!
We rode the boat out to a sand bar and jumped into the saltiest water I have ever been in!! It stung and burned my eyes like nothing else!!
The water was anywhere from three to five feet deep and very warm. I tried to snorkel....but it will take more practice for me. I kept panicking. But I still loved every minute of it!!
I got a water-proof camera for Christmas. I am very glad I did. This is what the ray looked like under the water. I was hesitant at first to put the camera in the water. Forever I have spent my time keeping my cameras dry....but it worked!!
Then I tried something completely out of my comfort zone.....I held (and kissed...almost) a sting ray!!!
It was slimy and soft. But the captain of our boat showed me how to give the ray a belly rub to keep it calm. You know...that way it wouldn't want to harpoon me with it's stinger....
Then he made me turn around so the ray could rub my back...you know....to calm me down. I hope I made it more calm than it made me!
Jim had a blast on the sand bar too. It really was one of our favorite parts of the trip.
I took my pony tail out on the way back to the shore so my hair could dry. I think I looked like I could sing with an 80's Hair Band by the time we got back to the ship!
There were five cruise ships worth of people on that tiny (8 miles by 22 miles) island. It was a little crowded....but still a highlight of the trip.
We turned in shortly after dinner. We were so tired after all the fun we'd had. Our elephant towel animal was cute enough to snuggle. This was such a good day.

Day Two: At Sea

Bright and early (not sure why it's called that...it was still dark) on the morning of day two our slumber was interrupted by the sound of the all call intercom. Julie (I think that was the name) Julie Whatshername come to the customer service desk. I checked with Jim....it was 5:30 in the morning. Something like 10 minutes later, again the call for this woman. Once more...this time in.every.single.room.....Julie Whatshername.....Come to the desk!! For.Real.

((On a side note...I just want you to know that this photo is straight out of the camera. No editing at all. The water really is that blue!!))
I was able to get back to sleep. But Jim was not. So he showered and went in search of a deck chair on which to sit and read. He said there were a lot of folks talking about the sleep interruption and hopes the woman was having a really good time....
Jim was done with his alone time about 8:00 and came back to the room with some yogurt and a banana for me. HHmmm.....On this ship with all these opportunities for food and he thought I'd be happy with that....funny. I found some food more to my liking and went to change into my swimming suit (but it should be called a sunning suit cause that is all I planned to do in it!!). We sat in the beautiful sunshine (a balmy 80*) for quite some time. Then it was time to meet The Walkers for lunch. The food was decent and plentiful. Mostly it was fun to try a little of the things we had never tried before.
Then we wandered around the ship for a bit. We caught some Karaoke and an ice carving demo. Then it was late afternoon and time for a nap. (This is the life!!)
It was fancy night at dinner, so we duded up a bit. There were gowns and tuxes, folks like us in just "goin' to church" clothes and some even less fancy than that. I thought the mix was perfect.
Lobster Tail and Prime Rib were on the menu....YUM!! Jim got the Alligator Fritters for his appetizer....I got a salad. Both of us were happy with our choices.
Our dinner plates were a little creepy. The ghostly images seemed to be watching us.
And then there was the Molten Chocolate Cake. After having this.....this is all I had for dessert. Oh.My.Yum. It was so good. Perfectly sized too....I didn't feel too glutenous eating the whole thing.
After dinner we went club hopping again (so funny to picture....Jim and I....club hopping). We caught some more Karaoke with the live band and got goofy on the deck. Isn't is amazing that she always looks like a super model.....even in gale-force winds??
It was getting late again (like midnight!!) and since we had an early excursion the next day we decided to turn in. Our sweet room steward (Melvin) made us a bunny.
We were very excited to see Grand Cayman and go to the turtle farm....And the gentle rocking of the ship lulled us into a sound sleep, dreaming of the fun to come!!

Day One: The Ship

On January 23, 2012 Jim and I loaded our bags and our friends, The Walkers, and their bags, into the truck and the early (crazy, dumb, dark early) hour of 4:15 a.m. and headed to the airport. There was a light blanket of icy snow on the ground (the only snow we've had in weeks) but the roads weren't too bad. I think there was a bit of a buzz in the air. The kind you get from starting an adventure so early in the morning. But I could be wrong. It might just have been the cold and ridiculously early hour. It was not time at all before we were boarding our next plane in Dallas...like seriously.....I think I must have slept right up to the point of walking on the second plane. Weird.
The flight from Texas to Miami was fun. I've never flown over water before. Cool. The emergency instructions were a little different...you know in case of a WATER LANDING....I don't think our craft was equipped for a water landing. I think at that point it is a crash. Just sayin'.
The popcorn clouds were cool and the coastline was awesome!! I could hardly wait to get to the ship!! I guess at this point I should tell you that we were headed to the Carnival cruise ship Destiny. How cool is that!
Jim and I are celebrating 20 years of marriage this year and decided that since we never took a honeymoon or really ever had a vacation without the kids....it was time. Our friends The Walkers have a lot of travel experience and graciously agreed to let us tag along with them. We planned and dreamed and schemed for months. When we were finally on our way it felt a bit surreal.
From past experience (Kevin and I went on a cruise [with his ballroom team] just before we moved to MN) I expected to get to the dock and have to wait around for a few hours before getting on the ship. Not so!! We walked in and up to the ticket counter to get our key cards and onto the ship. Wow!! We were really there.
Of course it all happened so fast that my camera stayed right there in my backpack. Oh well. I took a few pictures throughout the week (and a whole lot of us leaving the the harbor)....so I guess it all evens out. First thing we did was eat! It was like 1:00 and we were hungry! After some grub we checked out our rooms and then wandered around until it was time for the muster.
After we knew all about the safety of standing on the deck with the ships entire crew and passenger roster....(holy crowded mess batman!) it was time for some exploring. We rested a bit in there too.
Our dinning time was 8:15....not our plan....but hey, we went with it. After a brief chat with the dinning room maitre de he sat us in the early seating at a nice table with four women. Dinner was nice....at least for me. I went out of my comfort zone and got the chicken covered in green goop. Excellent. Loved every bite.
After dessert (because we had dessert at.every.dang.meal.) we went to the big theater for some Disco dance lessons.
Victor (from Russia...so you have to say it with an accent) and Disco Johnny taught us a short "dance" to get us started. It was funny. Good thing we can all laugh at ourselves pretty well. Then we sat in on a game of Gender Wars. Again....entertaining.
After that our lovely cruise director, Kevin Newnin came on stage and called some guests up and made fun of them introduced them and some pointed out some of their quirks.We all got a laugh and I think everyone had fun with that.
By then it was 11:15 and if you know anything about the schedule Jim and I keep....you know how late that is for us! We are in the early to bed, early to rise camp...But there was more to do and see so we fought through our drowsiness and headed to the dance club.
The music was really good so we went in. The Walkers headed to the dance floor and we headed to the bar stools surrounding it to watch. Jim and I have been known to cut quite a rug...you know, like Fox Trot and Waltz and even Swing....but he just wasn't up for any of the dancing going on on that dance floor.
After being entertained (watching inebriated people dance) for almost 45 minutes we left that club and went to the comedy club where they were doing Karaoke with a live band.
It was way cooler than just Karaoke. Some of the performers were really good. Some were not. But the band was always good! But by the end of it Jim and I were beat.....1:00 a.m. It's been a long time since we've been up that late!!
We said good-night and turned in. What a great way to start our vacation. Because I have a tendency to set my expectations pretty high (and then be disappointed when diamonds don't fall from the sky) I tried to be more realistic. I'm glad I did. This first day was better than I could have imagined. I slept better than I have in months. Being rocked to sleep by the ocean is the life for me!
This is the first of our towel animals.....a seal. Cute. With the itinerary for the next day all ready to go!! I say...BRING IT ON!!

A Quickie

So, I ordered a vinyl Valentine's Day subway art....thing. I got a deal on it from Groupdealz. It didn't cost me much....My kind of craft project. I had the paper in my stash and believe it or not, I have a frame stash too. I bought this one for a couple dollars at Michael's.
I cut the scrapbook paper to fit and then put it in the frame behind the glass.
I centered the vinyl on top of the glass and rubbed it all down.
I (very slowly) peeled the transfer paper off the letters. Be careful when you do this in case your vinyl decides to stick to the paper instead of the glass.
There...finished. That was a quickie for sure!
Here is it's new home. Next to my birds. Love birds even.....
Simple, inexpensive and pretty. My type of craft.
Are you decorating for Valentine's Day?
Find me today at Metamorphosis Monday!!

Baby It's Cold Inside

Wake up in the morning feelin' like P-Diddy.....Yeah, if P-Diddy is the name of your SNOWMAN!! Yesterday morning Jo and I decided it was colder than usual in our house. We usually subscribe to the theory of "If you're cold put on a hoodie and some socks cause I'm not turning up the thermostat so you can run around in your underwear". It's always been how this house has run. Well, with my slippers and sweatshirt AND long pajama bottoms I was still chilly. So I looked at the thermostat and it said 55*....yeah....that's chilly for the inside of my house.
I turned on this glorified space heater (this has got to be the wimpiest fireplace in all the world). It has helped us maintain though...so maybe I shouldn't complain to loudly. *whispering* We've had it on since yesterday morning and we are up a whopping 3*.....WIMP!!
So here I am with the real space heaters. Whenever I sit on the couch with a blanket it is a dog fight to see who gets to sit the closest to Mom. Usually Darla wins....I'm OK with that. She doesn't feel the need to give me a tongue bath...unlike the other dog...ick....
So here I sit. But never fear. The Furnace Man (hahahaha So I totally wrote that to the Trojan man tune....crack myself up!!) will be here some time between 10 and 2. At least we will be warm for the weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday

My New Year Commitment

Com·mit·ment   [kuh-mit-muhnt]
noun
1.the act of committing.
2.the state of being committed.
3.the act of committing, pledging, or engaging oneself.
4.a pledge or promise; obligation

Res·o·lu·tion   [rez-uh-loo-shuhn]
noun
1.a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something.
2.the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
3.the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.

I don't make New Year's Resolutions. I never stick to them. Ever. I have tried and failed so many times over the years that I just gave it up. Then my world was changed (in a whole lotta ways) when we moved to MN. See, I met this girl, Renae....She didn't really make resolutions either. She picked a word that represented a goal or life style change that she wanted to make in the coming year. Instead of resolving to lose weight or yell less she commits to the word CLEAN (for example). She commits to clean up her eating, her house, her life. So much easier to my way of thinking. Some words I have chosen in years past are RUN, CLEAN and LAUGH. I have had more success focusing on one word every year than I ever had making a list of resolutions that were likely forgotten by March first.

The word this year is actually two words. WHY NOT. Why not now....why not here....why not me....I have been suffering from an over active inner critic lately. By asking WHY NOT and giving an honest answer to myself I am sure I can silence (or at least muffle) that nasty voice in my head that tells me I CAN'T. WHY NOT is sure to challenge the almost 40 years of thinking on my part. It won't be easy....but it is time.

What are you committing to this year?? Do you make resolutions? Set goals? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Happy New Year my friends.