Paradise!

Sigh. I have been putting off this post for various reasons-- namely because I'm realistically afraid that if I begin looking at these pictures I may end up deserting my family for a piratical life stowing away on cruise ships traveling the high seas... or not. But I did have to allow some time to come to grips with the fact that it's o-k-a-y that my current life as a stay at home mom in Pinehurst involves no cabin steward to make my bed every morning, no Michelin star chef to make my every meal, no cruise director to plan my schedule for me, and no white sand beaches to lounge about on while sipping unlimited Diet Cokes. Reality check! So let's just get this over with and give the reader's digest version of our vacay to paradise and back!

SATURDAY- Bon Voyage!

The vacation to paradise begins with these guys. For some reason my parents felt they "owed" us a cruise for Jon's graduation from dental school nearly 2 years ago. Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, we went along like that was a perfectly reasonable graduation gift to receive, and in fact I think Jon will be graduating with a suspicious online degree again in the near future (wink, wink). Um, can we ever THANK them enough??

The second part of this vacay begins with Jon's parents who very willingly flew out to stay with the kids in order to let us escape. We can't thank THEM enough (a post of what they were up to all week will come later)!! We left early Saturday morning from Raleigh, and met up at the Grand Princess ship in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, pasty white, starving, but ready for anything (engine fires, grounding on coral reefs, Norovirus, etc.)!

A very relaxed, very happy man I haven't seen a whole lot in oh, let's say the last 5 years. Enjoying a beautiful Florida sunset at take-off!

Cruise dinner #1. Where to begin? If you've never cruised, then you can't begin to understand how incredible the food is. All of it. Every night there are 4 courses with 5-6 options to choose from, all of them gourmet, prepared by a Michelin star chef, and FREE. Yes, free. Eat as much as you want, because there is NO check at the end. The first night we dined on shrimp cocktail, prime rib, and passion fruit souffle. Just getting started, people!

SUNDAY- Sailing Day

Our first day out was spent sailing at sea, so we slept in until 9 a.m. I have to record that in particular because I can't remember the last time that happened since....yeah. Can't remember. We had a super lunch of British pub food after spending time exploring the ship, playing trivia (and WINNING), and reading under the Caribbean sun.

After some more sun bathing and relaxing, we headed up to dinner for dining experience #2. This time I was adventurous and got stuffed cod while Jon got the cioppini (fish stew), and an amazing hot fudge chocolate cookie sundae thing for dessert. Mmmmmm.

Every night after dinner there are plentiful entertainment options to chose from, so after checking out the sunset on the Lido deck, we headed to a singing and dancing show in the Princess theater. Or maybe it was a hypnotist that night. I can't remember.

After the night's big show, we would always stake out the lounge and participate in the nightly trivia. We won the first night, but just fell short every night thereafter by a point or two. The rated R movies and cocktail questions stumped us every time! Usually the winners get a bottle of Princess champagne, but since we don't drink we settled for Princess logo clips (seen attached to ears in this picture). Woohoo! Trasher's Forever!

MONDAY- Sailing Day

Monday was yet another sailing day as we made our way to Aruba. It began with some more sleeping in, lazy breakfast, work out in the gym, and lounging by the pool.

Jon entered the ping pong tourney, didn't win, but still had fun when we challenged each other to a doubles match. Watch out for Mad Dog!

We had lunch that afternoon at this little "International Cafe" on the main floor. It served several different cold salads, panninis, bakery items, and mini-desserts, 24/7. It was just too darn easy to swing by on the way to our room and pick up a few little treats. Now you can better understand how we consumed 7,000 calories a day.

That night the dining room dress code was formal, so we got to enjoy an extra fancy meal. I'm not sure why we're hiding in this picture...maybe because I was the only one NOT in my prom dress?

Awwww, we're all dressed up and ready to eat!

This was one of my favorite desserts-- the "Love Boat Dream," which was chocolate mousse on top of a brownie, with whipped cream and raspberry sauce. Drool.

TUESDAY- Aruba

Tuesday we made port in Aruba, which as you can see, is "One Happy Island." Indeed! We got off the boat and rented a car so we could explore the island as much as possible.

It didn't disappoint! There were STUNNING views of white sand beaches and crystal blue ocean, friendly people, and it was perfect weather. I was actually quite surprised at how desert-y it was, there were cacti everywhere and it seemed really dry.

California Lighthouse at the tip of the island.

The first beach we stopped at was Eagle Beach where we were able to do some great snorkeling.

Arrrr, see the pirate ship out there in those waters?? You can just picture "Pirates of the Caribbean" being filmed RIGHT. HERE.

Catching some rays... little did I know that although I'd been fine with my 15 SPF the first 2 days, I got TORCHED that day. Man, I love me a good sunburn! Whoohoo! If only I knew then what I knew 12 hours later...

My hunky husband giving the "thumb's up" that the water is warm and the fish are plentiful at Baby Beach!

We headed back towards town to do some island shopping, and to be back on board in time for the sail away at 4:30 p.m. I love shopping for jewelry!

Dinner that night was again, incredible, as usual. I had an amazing roast chicken with fondue and leeks and asparagus. It was one of my favs!

And although Jon thoroughly enjoyed his dinner, he stopped off for some pizza as a midnight snack after the show.

They say a picture speaks 1,000 words, and this one says it all. My dad, doing the conga line, with some crazy French woman with even crazier hips, all alone. My sunburn just hurt too darn bad. Maybe next time!

WEDNESDAY- Curacao, Venezuela

Wednesday morning we docked in Curacao, an island off of Venezuela. It was a very, very picturesque little place!

Posing in front of our ship! You can really see how enormous it was from this view.

Downtown Curacao-- you can definitely see the European influence in the buildings and cobblestone streets, but those colors are totally Caribbean!

We visited a "floating market" where most of the stands were boats selling fish or fruit, and found Jon's dad some coconut candies, since this was part of the ol' mission long ago. The guys then took a bus tour (and got ditched at the beach) while the ladies shopped around town for awhile. We had to be back by noon in order to sail for the Bahamas.

View of Curacao from the ship. So pretty and colorful!

We met up for lunch at the pizzeria where we shared some pretty delicious authentic Italian pizzas.

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading, watching movies, laying by the pool, and working out (okay, just Jon), before heading to dinner for some more amazing food and entertainment.

THURSDAY- Sailing Day

We spent Thursday sailing to the Bahamas, so we were able to fully relax on board one more day before making our last port. My mom and I didn't mind laying out and reading while sipping unlimited Diet Cokes, while my Dad and Jon were too antsy to sit still and wanted to swim in all 5 pools.

Thursday was another formal night in the dining room, and was the Chef's dinner, so it was extra incredible. These were our waiters for the week-- Irina (from the Ukraine), and Jasper (from the Philippines).

Jon's favorite dinner hand's down, was the lobster. Yum!

I opted for the Beef Wellington, which was very good, but the lobster looked better.

For dessert there was a menage a' tois, which sounds worse than it was. It was a trio of desserts including pana cotta, hazelnut cake, and some kind of mousse.

My dad and I opted for the milk chocolate souffle with vanilla sauce. Hello!

That night was the best show of all the nights (in my opinion), called "The British Invasion." The singing and dancing was really exceptional. I love free shows!

FRIDAY- Bahamas; Princess Cayes

Oh man. We've finally made it to our last and final day of cruising around paradise. Friday we spent in the Bahamas at the privately owned beach called Princess Cayes.

All we wanted to do was soak up sun and snorkel, and we got to do plenty of both all day long!

Ready to see some fish! Jon, my dad, and my mom even got to see a sting ray while snorkeling. Pretty cool. I'm happier seeing that stuff in an aquarium, personally.

For lunch they had a cook out on the beach with burgers, chicken, and ribs. Awww, the cruise gut. I will have you for a few weeks my friend, but you were worth it!

Our last sunset as seen from the dining room window we sat by every night.

Applauding the chefs and waiters for an AMAZING dining experience all 7 nights!

Feasting on Baked Alaska and mud pie. Our last hoorah!

This face explains it ALL... The agony and ecstasy of cruising.

FAREWELL PARADISE!! We shall return!!