December Cruise

Wow time flies! I can't believe I haven't blogged since January 5th. It isn't that we have gone undercover for the FBI or decided to go on permanent vacation. Although, the latter does sound nice :) We have been busy with life.

I finally have posted photos from our Cruise! Jeff's and my parents joined us on a cruise over Christmas. It was our first cruise and Jeff's first Carnival cruise. We joined some of our friends and their family. There were a total of 18 in our party.

What an adventure! A few days at sea we saw 14-18' waves per televised information. Those couple of days I felt light-headed, but Tylenol took care of the feeling! Jeff said those days were a lot smoother than other 14-18' waves he has ridden in his wild sea days. :) We stopped in Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica. (The photos are not in order.) I think our favorite was Grand Cayman. We swam with manna rays, went to the town of "Hell" and stopped by a turtle farm. On Cozumel, Jeff and I went to a marine park and enjoyed snorkeling and sleeping in the sun. In Jamaica, we went with our parents and Patty and Andy to a Sandals Resort for the day. It was a nice relaxing Christmas day at the beach. We were surprised that our expectations of a picture perfect Jamaica were distorted. The poverty and living conditions for many was very sad. There were shanty towns and several unfinished projects. We didn't stop along the way but viewed the travesty from bus windows as tourists with big pitying eyes. The Sandals resort was even run down a little, but not so much it distracted us.

When we were planning the trip I was a little worried J would feel like he was working while being on the ship. Well...he enjoyed it to the fullest. I think he felt "At Home". I found I would rather sit on a quiet beautiful beach, have my feet in clean white sand and eat chocolate chip fiber bars than be on a cruise! I do have to say though - It was nice that everyone could do and eat as they pleased. To have all meals prepared and let everyone do their own thing, no need to worry about planning activities or keeping everyone entertained, was priceless!