Day 5, 6, 7: St. Maarten & 2 Days at Sea

Day 5:

Our ship arrived to the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin. This island is owned by 2 different countries; The Netherlands and France. So needless to say, it was very interesting seeing the melting pot of cultures here.

After getting off the ship, we decided to go the car rental route again. We followed the car rental signs that led us to a little building with a bunch of ticket windows. (think of an amusement park ticket window or something) I was laughing so hard because out of each window, there were locals trying to get you to rent a car from their company. I'm thinking they weren't allowed to walk up to you or something because they had their mouths pressed up against the little talking holes in the glass and had their arms sticking out the bottom of the window where you would give them your money. They were all shouting, "Best deal! Over here! We have jeeps! We rent nice cars! Cheap deal over here!" It was hilarious!! So the 4 of us each went to a different window to see what the best deal would be. We ended up finding a super cheap deal on a jeep.

Now it was off to find a nice relaxing beach! One thing the cruise ship warned us about on St. Maarten's beaches, were that ALL the beaches on the entire island were "clothing optional". I envisioned a few women who might not want tan lines when laying on their tummies or something. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that EVERYONE would be in their COMPLETE nothin's!!!! The first beach we went to was called Orient Beach. This is a really fun beach that a lot of tourists from America go to, so most of the people on the main section of beach were clothed. However, if you ventured down the beach a tiny bit, all the sudden, your eyes were blinded with LOTS of bare bums and "such." Now these are not models, or even young people on this beach. They are 50 to 80 year old retirees from Europe. One word: YUCK.

We did manage to find a nice beach chair in the more clothed part of the beach and enjoy some sun, sand and the nice water.

After lunch, we decided to explore more of the island and find a nice,out of the way, quiet beach. So we drove to Fryer's Beach:

This beach was very beautiful, LOTS less crowded, and not as windy as Orient Beach. But this was not our final destination. You can count on me to find the most remote, out-of-the way beaches! I found instructions to visit a beach called Happy Bay. It was only a short 15 minute, beautiful hike from Fryer's, so we took the trail over the hill.

Upon reaching the end of the trail the reward was sweet, Happy Bay was so beautiful!

Now this was my kind of beach. Less than a dozen people on the entire beach. Now that's what I call vacation! So I grabbed my camera and went crazy!

Beautiful palm trees against turquoise waters...it was a photographers heaven!

Even in black and white, the scene is still stunning!

We saw lots of sailboats enjoying this beautiful day!

The sound of the waves lapping up onto the shore was so relaxing! I can't think of a more soothing sound to fall asleep to!

The seclusion that Happy Bay afforded, also brought one caveat...yep, you guessed it, several couples opting to suntan (or burn as the case may be) in their birthday suits. I'm not sure why you would want to sprawl out at the edge of the sand berm and show off all your goodies, but there were several people who did. In some of my pictures, a little photoshop had to be done to carefully place rocks and trees and flowers to avoid seeing old people in their nothingness.

After some much needed relaxing, it was time to hike back to the jeep. The trail was really pretty as it followed along the edge of the hillside overlooking the ocean below. On the trail, we even encountered a wandering donkey. Weird.

The green cactus against the blue ocean was so beautiful.

After getting back to the jeep, we decided to take the long way back to the ship to see more of the island. It is one crazy place. The buildings are all brightly colored and the architecture was so interesting. I did find it very sad to see all the poverty though. Wild hens and dogs running around and lots of trash everywhere. Those areas were found more so on the Dutch side of the island as opposed to the French side, that seemed to be a bit cleaner and nicer.

Crazy stuff: The funniest sign was the Burger King sign that said, "Win a free cruise to the Caribbean!" Uh, aren't we in the Caribbean? Isn't that like saying win a free trip to the Great Salt Lake? (I only got a picture of the side that said win a cruise.)

And then there's always the green airplane turned pub. Or what about your local HP office retailer and a HUGE, bright yellow souvenir shop? My favorite was the Lion's Club Thought of the Month: Be Attentive. Nice. And who can forget the Crazy Leprechaun local bar with it's mooning Leprechaun logo?

Yes, St. Maarten was an interesting day. Despite it's weirdness, the beaches were beautiful and I was able to relax, soak my feet in the soft sand, and take some amazing pictures.

DAY 6 & 7: Fun Days at Sea.

So the last 2 days of our cruise were spent relaxing at sea. It was awesome. I loved doing nothing but eating and sleeping, swimming, and yes, I did hit the gym a couple of times.

I liked the big question mark that was on the front of the teenager hangout. Every time I saw it I was reminded that for 7 days I would not have to hear, "What's for dinner Mom? Oh that sounds gross."

I would not have to ask myself that dreaded question, "What should I make for dinner?"

I would not have to hear crying, whiny voices saying, "Why do I have to clean my room? Why do I have to go to school? Why to I have to do my homework? How come she doesn't have as many jobs as me? When is it my turn? Why do I have to eat all my vegetables? Did the laundry get done? Where is my blue shirt? Why? Why? Where? How come?" Not that I don't adore my kids, but I think every mom can use a break now and again, Right?!

Robyn becomes famous...

During the entire week in the Karaoke lounge, people could audition for certain famous singers they would eventually dress up like and perform in a final show for the entire ship. The female vocalists to audition for were Gloria Estefan, Madonna, Britney Spears, and Aretha Franklin. My sister-in-law tried out for Gloria and of course, got it! I didn't really want to dress like Madonna or Britney and didn't have the voice to do Aretha justice; so I decided not to audition. Plus I was way to chicken!!

Here's what all the costumes looked like for all the passenger performers....Doesn't Robyn look great as Gloria? She sounded even better!




Robyn did an amazing job singing Rhythm is Gonna Getcha. I still think she is so brave to go up on a stage by herself and sing for a couple thousand people. Way scary!! Nice job Robyn!! Here she is in her "Gloria Get-up".

As day 7 comes to an end...

The sunset on the last night of vacation always seems to be the most beautiful. Little tidbits of "real life" start to creep back into your mind, you can't help but wish the sunset would last forever. But it doesn't. And then just like that, the sun dips below the horizon and out of site.


The week long vacation was exactly what it needed to be. Good food, good company, stress free, relaxing, spiritual, and definitely rejuvenating. I loved being able to have a conversation with my hubby and not being interrupted 20 times! I do however, start to miss the kids by the last day. When I finally get home to see them, I hug them a little tighter, I'm a tiny bit more patient, and I appreciate them a whole lot more.

The great part about taking a vacation is that even though the scenery may change, the memories still remain. So whenever I feel like I need a break again, I can always put on my sunglasses, take a deep breath, and see the world through my own "tropical eyes." Thanks for the awesome memories Matt. Love ya!!

Need a recess from stress?

Everyone needs a break from life now and then, how about a massage? My good friend Tammy Parry is an AMAZING massage therapist. In fact, on our trip, I purposely didn't get a massage, because I knew Tammy's would be better! Her prices are SUPER reasonable and she'll even come to you! Check out her website by clicking here.

Day 4: St. Thomas

So, I'm going to apologize for the long, drawn out, daily travel review. Feel free to skip this if you are getting a little worn out with "Erin's lovely vacation review... again." For those of you, like me, who just can't get enough of seeing beach pictures, cool places, and reading about new places, then continue, enjoy!

So day 4 was the beautiful St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Funny actually, we only spent a few minutes on the actual island of St. Thomas. When I found out our itinerary had changed (the day before leaving) I printed tons of information on St. Thomas and where all the cool places were to visit. Turns out, most reviews said, take a ferry from St. Thomas to a small island called St. John. So that's what we did. The very second we stepped off the ship, just walking across the street, we were greeted by this:

I couldn't believe my eyes! Had we stopped at the zoo? Nope! And then just as quickly as we saw it, he was gone.

We quickly found a taxi to take us to the other side of the island to catch the ferry. The only problem was the ferry left in 15 minutes and we had a 20-25 minute drive ahead of us. We told the taxi driver we wanted to make the ferry. He did not take our request lightly. So we all hopped in the 12 passenger taxi van and away we went! Speeding through residential streets, barely wide enough to fit 2 cars; driving on the left side of the road; topping out at speeds around 70mph; up and down hills; winding narrow roads, and blind corners. Yeah, I have to admit, I think I saw my life flash before my eyes. But it worked out! We got to the ferry terminal just as they were getting ready to shut the gate. We made the trip in just under 15 minutes!

After a 20 minute scenic ferry trip across the ocean, we arrived at the beautiful little island of St. John. This mini sailboat was our welcoming committee...

A local then came up and asked if we wanted to rent a jeep. After the expensive taxi experience we had in the Bahamas, we opted for the jeep! The four of us jumped in and away we went! (on the wrong side of the street still!!!) The roads were narrow, but lush and green. Matt did well adjusting to driving on the wrong side of the street. There were so many places to stop and take pictures...it was a photographer's paradise!!!! If only I could have all my photo shoots here!!!We drove to a beach called Trunk Bay. When walking to the entrance, the blueness of the water was breathtaking:

It was a beautiful beach that had some great snorkeling. There were underwater plaques describing the kind of fish and coral you were looking at. So it was sort of a guided tour without the tour guide! There were very unique plants and fish I hadn't seen before. (sorry, I don't have the "old fashioned" film from the under water camera developed yet.) The beach was so scenic and sooo relaxing...just what the dr. ordered!!

This is a view from the road overlooking the amazing Trunk Bay. It's like a scene taken right out of a magazine, except we could feel the ocean breeze on our face...ahhh....

In the parking lot to Trunk Bay were these cool ruins. I don't know what it used to be, I just thought they were so awesome! (Again, if only I could do all my photo shoots here!!!)

So after snorkeling, and relaxing, and swimming, and relaxing a little more, we jumped back in the jeep and drove off to explore the island. St. John did not disappoint. It was extremely beautiful. I had Matt pull over so many times so I could take pictures, it almost would have been faster to walk! Well...except for that mountainous part that Matt drove like we were being chased or something! It was super fun! We stopped to take in sights like this...

Then at the top of the road, the view was awesome. It was starting to rain, so the visibility wasn't super clear, but you could still see the amazing view. We stopped for some local island smoothies and a view of this...

Then it was starting to get late and we decided we'd better get the jeep returned and get on the ferry back to St. Thomas. We tried to hurry, but by the time we stopped for gas and took a very crowded one way street back, we missed the ferry...by only 2 minutes!! We looked like caged animals reaching through the gate shouting, "Come on! Please! Let us get on!" But to no avail. The ferry left. So now we had an hour to kill, in the rain, until the next ferry. So what do you do? SHOP! We found this awesome local shop that sold local made jams, and hot sauces and some delicious chocolate covered apricots....mmm...yummy. Then we found a pay phone and called home. We got to talk to all the kids and hear their sweet voices.

We made sure to get to the ferry 15 minutes early, and make sure we didn't miss this one! If we had missed it, we would have missed our cruise ship leaving port!! We got on the ferry and made our way back to St. Thomas. We got a taxi and headed back to the ship. We rode in the taxi with this super funny couple from Baltimore.

After making it back to the port, I had to go into one more shop, and then we headed back to the ship. We were supposed to be back on board by 7:30pm, so Matt and I walked up right at 7:30pm. You have to take advantage of every minute right? This was the cool night view of our ship...

At this point, we were hungry and headed straight for the buffet. And then a nice relaxing dip in the hot tub topped off this awesome day.

Day 3: Fun Day at Sea

Day three was what Carnival calls "Fun Day at Sea". I like to call it:
sleep in, relax, get some sun, and eat until I can't eat anymore, day.

The views were this....

And this...

And after an entire day of relaxation and sleeping. It was all about the food. Room Service 24 hours a day, breakfast buffet, lunch buffet, pizza, burgers, 24 hour ice cream machines and then it was 6:00pm, time for our formal dinner...

There were 2 "formal" nights where everyone dressed up to look their best. It's kind of fun to dress up for dinner. Here we are:
Ok, back to the food...

My favorite part about the formal dinner was the menu. No prices. No limit. So why not order everything, right? I just had to try the lobster tail, but the penne chicken sounded good too. What to do? Get them all! Our awesome waiters kept laughing at how much food we ordered. In fact one evening, one of us only ordered one entree and he fanned us with the menu and asked, "Are you feeling ok?"

After the delicious appetizers and entrees.....yummy yummy time...DESSERT!! And why should we do anything different? We had to order every dessert! Just to try them all! Yes, people would walk by our table and say, wow, you guys are hungry! No, actually we're stuffed!!!

Every night after dinner we would walk around the ship and pick an activity to attend. There were lots of shows to choose from. I loved walking through the main spectrum area of the ship. It was so pretty. And the ceiling had these cool lights that constantly changed shapes and colors. Every few seconds, the spectrum was a completely different color..see....

And here's the ceiling changing colors....it was super mesmerizing!

And what's a cruise without a little karaoke? I've always wanted to stand up and sing, but haven't dared to. Until this trip, my awesome sister-in-law, Robyn, came up with me. I'm not exactly sure why I need to be nervous to sing in front of a bunch of people I'm never going to see again, but I just was!

We of course sang an old 80s classic...I Think We're Alone Now by Tiffany. It was awesome. Thanks Robyn for helping me overcome my fears!! (Aren't we cute in our matching dresses! We had fun.)

And just in case you didn't get to see Joe's famous chicken rendition of the Righteous Brother's, here is the youtube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8jauKinaEQ

Every night when we were finally ready to get some rest, we came back to our room and found:

Our covers had neatly been turned down.

Our shoes and clothes were neatly folded and organized. (again.)

There were yummy mints on the bed.

And of course, a towel animal...my favorite!!

So if you're getting sick of my day by day cruise review, I don't blame you. You can jump over to Robyn's blog and get a quick review of the entire week. Because, there's more to come! I'm only on day 3 of 7!!

Day 2: Nassau, Bahamas

The second day, our ship docked in Nassau, Bahamas.

A little history: Matt and I had been here before on our first cruise back in 2007. In 2007 we happened to be there on a Sunday. Matt and I enjoy going to church wherever are and so we looked up the local branch and got an address for the building. Well, it turns out we decided not to go because our cruise was only 3 days long and we wouldn't have time to go to church and snorkel with the stingrays. So we chose the stingrays...we're on vacation! Here's a picture of us in 2007.

This time, when we first planned this cruise, we were scheduled to be in the Bahamas on a Friday, so church wasn't an option. So, I did a little research and found a beach I really wanted to visit. The plan was to have a nice relaxing beach day at this off-the-beaten-path beach. Well, since our itinerary changed, we would now be stopping in Nassau on Sunday, and we would only be docked there from 8:00am-2:00pm. We decided this time, we would go for the church option.

We got off the boat and did a little shopping and then hunted for a taxi driver to take us to church. No one we asked had heard of the Mormon church, but finally we found a driver that knew the address and would take us there. This is a picture of our driver, Ray.

On our way to church, Ray asked us lots of questions about our church and beliefs. Matt and I did our best to answer his questions. We had a really great discussion. Just before we got to church, Matt asked if Ray had heard of the Book of Mormon. Ray said he hadn't, but would be interested in reading it. Ray said, I don't have a book though. We immediately chimed, "We'll get you one!" We arranged for Ray to pick us up after church.

We walked into church and were immediately greeted by 4 missionaries, 3 of which were from Utah, and the Branch President. Everyone was so friendly! It was awesome! We asked the missionaries if they had a Book of Mormon we could give to our driver and of course they had one!

The fast and testimony Sacrament meeting was one of the best I've ever been in. I don't think I stopped crying the entire meeting. On sister's testimony in particular really touched me. She was from Peru and had survived a major earthquake that hit 18 months ago. She talked about how she had nothing left. Her home, her belongings, all gone. But, that didn't matter, because she had the most important things left: her family. This is when I started feeling a little guilty. She's lost everything, and I'm complaining because my cruise itinerary changed at the last minute! It really put things in perspective for me.

All I can say is that our church is so awesome because anywhere in the world that you may find yourself, you can usually find an LDS church. And it's the same music, same Sacrament meeting. Love this church.

So after church, we got the Book of Mormon and met up with our driver again. We gave him the book and challenged him to read it. I really felt like a missionary! I didn't serve a mission, so I'd never got to do something like that before. It was really fun! Matt said it took him right back to his mission days.

Anyway, we decided to take the taxi and go to the beach I had wanted to see. We didn't have enough time to stay, but we could walk around for a bit. We drove to Love Beach and this was our view...
The beautiful white sand meets crystal clear turquoise water. It was beautiful. We walked around and I took pictures for 30 minutes or so.

I thought these kayak pictures were cool...

And then our time was up. We jumped back in the taxi and headed back to port. We got to see most of the entire island. The church was located toward the center of the island; the beach was at one end, and the cruise port at another. Ray pointed out different structures and historical sites along the way. The craziest part about it all, was they drive on the left side of the street. It was crazy!

We got back to the ship just in time and headed right for the buffet...of course!

This is a picture of our ship and what the port looks like. The famous pink hotel Atlantis, could be seen right from the port.

We spent the rest of the day laying out by the pool and taking a nice, much needed nap. Ahhh...

Day 1: Cape Canaveral

Many of you know that last week Matt and I took a much needed vacation. We booked a Western Caribbean cruise scheduled to visit Belize, Cozumel, Costa Maya and the Bahamas. Because of the lovely swine flu outbreak, the day before we left, our itinerary changed...completely. Instead of Western, we did an Eastern Caribbean. Our ports included Nassau, Bahamas; St. Thomas, (U.S. Virgin Islands) and St. Maarten (Netherlands Antilles). Our ship was the Carnival Glory leaving out of Port Canaveral Florida.

On our first day, we flew into Tampa, FL and spent the night. The next morning we got up and drove about 2 hours to Cape Canaveral. Since we were so close to the Kennedy Space Center, we just had to stop by! Spencer has been really into astronomy and rockets lately, and has even asked about going to space camp. So we thought of him most of the day, as we visited this really cool place.

We got to go inside a life size model of the space shuttle. It was super cool....

There were tons of life size rockets that showed the very earliest to the most modern. To say the least they were HUGE!

This exhibit was really cool. It was a life size model of the Apollo 11. I can't even imagine being confined in such a small space for such a long period of time. The seats looked like the electric chair or something! It made me claustrophobic just looking at it!!! It truly gave me a new appreciation for astronauts!

They had an Apollo you could get in. So Matt played astronaut.

We missed the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis by only 2 days! It launched May 11th, to make repairs to the Hubble Space Telescope. (we flew home on the 9th)

We had lots of fun at the Kennedy Space Center and are really glad we spent a few hours there. Hopefully someday we can take Spencer there! He would be in rocket heaven!