Thursday, December 26, 2013

The Good Ship

Day 2 was our first day at sea the whole day.  While I struggled to overcome my sea sickness (and the ensuing Dramamine hangover), we explored the fun offered by the ship.

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The main deck.  If you look closely, you can see the net over the swimming pool.  The ship was rocking so much, they had to drain it.  So, I'm not just a weakling when it comes to sea sickness.  Even the cruising veterans said it was pretty rough that day.

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I can't remember which, but we did make time to venture down the water slide a couple of times one night.  Apparently, being able to go down fast is an ability.  And I don't have it.

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There were always people laying out in the sun, of course.  We didn't do much of that.  In part, because we're both totally white and have serious aversions to sunburns.  But, mainly because I preferred to stand by the rail and look out over the beautiful ocean.

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I wandered over to one of the many bars on board and requested some fresh ginger.  Next thing I knew, I had this fabulous concoction made with fresh ginger, orange juice, and something else that I'm fairly certain was non-alcoholic since I didn't have to pay for my drink.  It was delicious and an amazing sea sickness elixir.  I felt *almost* completely better after.  So, naturally, we mini golfed.

It was so stinking windy.  I did awesome on the side of the course where the wind blew my hair back behind me.  Then, my game completely fell apart on the other side because I couldn't see a thing through my hair in my face.

We never golfed again.

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But, I did make it on as a participant in "Hasbro The Game Show".

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It should have been Blake.  I only landed one of my three shots into the giant Connect Four.  But, to be fair to me, no one made all three.

That night we wandered to the main deck where we discovered a dance party going on.  They taught us a few dances, too.  It was really fun.  Something I don't think we've done since having kids.  Eventually, the dance steps being taught became to complicated for us, so we called it a night.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Bahamas, Baby!

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Our first port location!

We had sort of a slow start, unsure of where to go and what to do.  We almost took a tour with what promised to be a fairly boring and soft-spoken guide.  Fortunately, we bumped into some *family* and wound up on a tour with a really dynamic guide--I think he was our cousin.

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With some mad driving skills, he took us to this fortress place.

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Blake was pretty excited to be there.

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Me too.

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Atlantis!

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A little more excited now.

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I guess this crystal sculpture is pretty famous.  I'd never heard of it.  But, it was beautiful.

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Especially, if you include the top.  But, sometimes asking strangers to take photos for you, results in less than optimal shots.

P.S.  That guy looking at the camera on the left side is our Uncle Lloyd.  He kind of took charge of the group.  I think that's why our guide made him our uncle.  The rest of us were all cousins.

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I think it was a couple hundred thousand to stay in one of those rooms.  Per night.

Again, so pretty to look at!

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And then, we went shopping at this crazy Bahamian market.  Eventually, the pushy ladies kind of overwhelmed us, so we left without buying anything.

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And then we went to this beach.  The sand was amazingly soft.  And the water was ridiculously beautiful.  I still can't get over how blue and how clear it is.

And those colors are a lot more natural than my tan.

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Couples' version of a Selfie.  Couplesie?

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An islander offered to take some photos for us.  He told us to pick up those coconuts to make sure our friends knew we were really in the Bahamas.  Because there are a lot of pretty oceans like that in the North Pole.  But, just so there's no doubt--we did not drink the beverages that had previously been in those coconuts.  In fact, one of them had a couple of those mini, one-use toothbrushes made by Colgate.  Unused.  And definitely unexpected.

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We had several of these.  iphone cameras are hard to use.  Or, he just wanted to make sure he was in our photos, too.

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The Fun Ship!

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Our first fancy night.

Don't let my smile fool you--I was deathly ill with motion sickness.  It was sort of awful.  Fortunately, it didn't last too long.  And was completely gone in a couple of days, never to return.

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And the first of our cute towel creatures made by our room steward.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Welcome To Miami!

You probably already heard, but Blake and I went on a cruise last week.

We left home in the North Pole in temperatures below zero.  So cold!

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I'm pretty sure it was in the 80's by the time landed, got settled in our hotel, and rented these sweet bikes.

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We rode a few miles down to the tip of South Beach.  Such a great view!

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No the most flattering pic, but we only got 3 hours of sleep before catching our early flight Saturday morning.

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The bikes were a really fun way to get around, but sharing the road with vehicles only inches away was a bit too harrowing for my taste.  So, we walked back.  Which ended up being a great way to experience the city.  And find a tasty pizza place for dinner.

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And enjoy a beautiful sunset.

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The view of the canal and city out one direction of our hotel window.

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The view of the beach and Atlantic Ocean out the other direction.

We tried to find a church to go to before boarding the ship the next morning, but the only ones meeting early enough were for those who habla espånol.  You can ask my sister-in-law just how awesome my Spanish is.  Blake's is even worse.

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So, we went for a casual walk along the beach instead.  I love the colors of the ocean!

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And being there with the love of my life.  This was our 10-Year Anniversary celebratory trip, after all.

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Zoom in on this picture.  That guy in the background stood like that for the entire time we were there.  We never figured out exactly what he was doing.  Going for an all-over-tan?  Maybe.  But, he was most definitely quite proud of his physique.

And quite entertaining for us.

Getting Christmas Ready!

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I can't believe how much she's grown!

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Love this crazy man when he's happy!

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I think we officially have more ornaments than branches on the tree.

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My pro decorators.

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She took a break from the festivities.  To read the story of Rudolph.

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Christmas tree back rest?  Check.

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Beautiful necklace?  Check.

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Demure Face?  Check.

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Blankie?  Check.

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Binky?  Check.

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Lambskin rug?  Check Check.

Everything necessary for the best of reading conditions.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Another Post About Lanaya's Hair

I mean, I just had to share this.

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Sincerely Yours,

The Hair Dryer