Shad wanted to go on a cruise for our honeymoon, but getting married in the middle of a fall college semester didn't really make that practical. And then I was pregnant. And obnoxiously sick. Four years later, we have 3 kids and I'm neither pregnant nor breastfeeding for the first time since our first month of marriage. Timing worked out perfectly for us to take our cruise this month (though we planned to do so in March or April last year). 2012 after hosting my family for Thanksgiving and Shad's family for Christmas and having sickness for Thanksgiving and New Year, we decided we really wanted a vacation. So we planned that out for ourselves this year when selecting when we'd take our cruise. January is also a perfect time to do so, because it's easier to take time off work (everyone else just did for the holidays) and because everyone is back at school and work, travel prices are at an all-time low. Yay! And our adopted family friends, Paul and Mallory, were able to come with us. Double yay!
Our story goes as follows:
It was a glorious slate blue morning the Thursday morning we left. Pris and Levi had come Wednesday night to help finish getting Tom, Katie and Dancy ready to go to their house in Nebraska. They left Thursday morning, and we left an hour later to drive to Denver. Tom was so upset on Wednesday when Nana arrived. He didn't want to wait until Thursday to go to her house! I had fully explained to Tom and Katie that they were going to Nana's house in Nebraska, and that Dada and I were going to drive to Colorado, get on an airplane, fly to Louisiana (where they make Jambalaya), and get on a boat to go to Mexico ("like the Metstican retstrant?"). Yes, Katie, like the Mexican restaurant. I even showed them both on their electronic United States map. Tom kept telling me, "Okay Mom, I'm going to Nana's house in Nana's car. She's picking me up. You can go get on your boat now." No worries about these kids:)
Shad took pictures of each of the kids before we left, so we could have their fresh faces with us.
Tom and Dancy posed.
"Katie! Katie! Katie, look over here! ...Katie, I have something for you..." and she gave us this.
It was a glorious slate blue morning when we left. It was a beautiful contrast to all the white ice in the trees!
Bryan Keiswetter had a sprinkler going in his garden area and it created a wonderland of ice art.
On his tomato cages and leftover plant stalks.
We ran dropped my wedding ring off at Jared's for it's twice-yearly inspection, along with a new rhodium plating (I'm allergic to the nickel underneath). The employee who helped me noticed how easily my ring slipped off my finger. Ever since Tommy was born, my ring finger has been smaller to the point where if my lotion is completely absorbed, my ring will drop straight off! I often wore it on my middle finger to be more secure. So the employee offered to have the ring resized and replace the bottom portion of the ring, which she said had worn thin. The ring sizer said my finger went from a 6.75 to a 5.5! And they were going to have it ready the next day. I told her I needed her to hold it for a week though.
We met up with Dan at Buckley Air Force Base for his re-enlistment ceremony. It was really cool and I took a lot of pictures, but it was all on his phone, so I don't have them. And Shad pointed out that we failed to get one of the three of us. Dang it.
We spent the night with Mark and Robyn Bailey, after staying up til midnight playing Endeavor and talking. Robyn took us to the airport Friday morning at 7, we flew out at 10 and arrived in New Orleans at 1:45 and met up with Paul and Mallory in the airport. We took an airport shuttle to our hotel in the French Quarter. Because it was a shared transfer, by the time we got dropped off, we had gotten a pretty good free tour of the area! We were starving, so we set out in search of food on Bourbon Street, two blocks from our hotel.
We saw this guy on the way.
We ate at Le Bayou Restaurant. Oh, my, there are not words sufficient for New Orleans food! I got a sampler plate of Chicken Etoufee, Jambalaya, and Shrimp Andouille Gumbo. I got lost between the 3 and forgot which was my favorite, but they were all fantastic. Mallory had a muffaletta, which is an Italian meat and cheese sandwich with green olives on an Italian bun with sesame seeds and olive oil dressing, and that was succulent with such a variation of flavors to it. Definitely need to seek out a recipe for that!
We loved all the colors of the buildings, the ornate railings and rustic balconies.
Starting with the airport, there were live jazz bands playing everywhere we could hear. This one is a group of high school boys in front of the St. Louis Cathedral.
Andrew Jackson statue in Jackson Square across from the St. Louis Cathedral.
Washington Artillery Park on the riverfront across from Jackson Square and the cathedral.
Café Du Monde
The beignets were fantastic and I didn't even have time to swallow before our server took the picture. All of us had powdered sugar on our pants afterwards. Mark of having eaten beignets. (By the way, that's pronounced "ben-yays.")
The night was delightfully foggy, and made for a beautiful view of the capital.
If night was exciting in New Orleans (we hurried in to our hotel after dark!), the morning was even better. It was crisp, humid, fresh breeze blowing in from the Mississippi River, and all the women, booze and drugs were sleeping after staying up all night. We walked around exploring more and enjoying the city.
Back of the Saint Louis Cathedral.
On Pirate's Alley.
Cathedral, Jackson, and us.
Grateful Dead bear for you, Dad.
View from our hotel window. That's the Super Dome, and the capital building is the one on the left.
We walked the mile and a half from our hotel to the cruise port with our luggage. Paul and Mallory had suitcases on wheels, Shad and I packed lighter with duffel bags. Mine was bigger though, so we stuffed more in it. Shad thought I was just weak when I was struggling to walk with it, until the last day when he carried it off the ship and realized how heavy it was! I couldn't have it on my side or I'd fall over, so I had to have it in front and then push it with my legs as I walked. It was exhausting!
Bridge crossing the Mississippi River. I just kept thinking Mark Twain and Huck Finn!
Mississippi River about to board our ship on Saturday.
Checking in was so fast and easy. I think we were processed and in our state room within 30 minutes! The captain bumped up the time of the emergency information meetings so that it wouldn't interfere with the Saints/Seahawks game. Poor Saints...Who Dat!
I was exhausted from our walk and my leg workout, so I napped and missed the sunset, but Shad took pictures on his phone since we were still in the US.
Saint Louis Cathedral
This was actually our second towel pet, but we decided to start a collection in our porthole window area. We had a full day at sea on Sunday before we had a port stop. There was plenty of entertainment--exercise room, jogging track, mini-golf (though it was so windy that our balls kept getting blown off the course and we quit on the second hole), basketball, a small 3 foot swimming pool with slide (bit too chilly for that in January!), comedy club, scheduled activities, lounges, the Bronco game, adults only Serenity deck with hot tubs, etc.
We had loved our room steward, I Putu from Indonesia, and had wonderful dining room waiters. There was Costinel, from Romania. He had such a deep gravelly voice, and we weren't the only ones to notice it. Another server from Indonesia or Malaysia misunderstood him one morning when Costinel told him someone needed ham and cheese. "Lemon cheese?" "No!" growled Costinel. "HAM and cheese." "Oh, your voice is so 'RRRRRR! Rowr!' I cannot understand you." It was hilarious. We also had Arman from Indonesia. He said he was made in China though. Every evening, the dining staff provided either a song or dance for entertainment. The night we had Arman as our waiter, they danced to Apple Bottom Jeans, and Arman can break it down! He also looked under the table cloth any time someone was gone from his tables (like when Mallory went to the bathroom). So we decided that I needed to hide under the table so that just once, he'd be right. I gave him such a heart attack just by being there (not that I jumped out and scared him), and he had to take several minutes to control his laughter and catch his breath before he could ask, "What are you doing under there?! Are you drunk? Only kids and drunks under table! How many have you had?" I promised him I hadn't had any and that I was only under there to joke with him. I'm not sure that he believed me. The other waiter who stood out was from India. We don't remember his name, but that night they danced to Gangnam Style and he had so much fun doing the dance. So enjoyable to watch!
Our first port stop was in Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico on Monday.
We chose not to purchase any of the overpriced shore excursions, but to make copies of the appropriate pages from the library's Mexico travel guide book. The entry for Progreso basically said, "Heaven forbid if you end up here. We pity you." We enjoyed it! We found a nice public beach (free!) and hung out there all day. It was Shad's first experience with ocean. The beach was covered in tiny shells and each wave brought a new batch crashing in and tinkling with the others as the water washed in and out. Shad loved that sound! We had a delicious Mexican seafood lunch, and then more beach and water time before heading back to the ship. There were plenty of street vendors and never ending offers for better prices.
Black seagulls soaring overhead at the dock.
Paul, Shad and Mallory walking back to the ship.
Our second stop was in Cozumel. When Shad saw this clear, turquoise water, he couldn't resist getting in it. Snorkeling!
He had told me flat out when we were planning this trip that he had NO INTEREST in snorkeling, so I had resigned myself to waiting 10 years to go with my kids. We found a snorkeling offer for $24 a piece, including transportation to the location, as opposed to $69 each from the cruise line.
We didn't get a picture in our snorkel gear, so there's no proof that Shad did it, but we did. Except for Mallory. She's afraid of fish.
Our last day at sea was gloomy with choppy seas. Shad and I woke up to watch the sunset and were met with cloudy skies. It was still beautiful to enjoy though. We sat on the deck chairs in our robes over our pajamas, sipping hot chocolate. We saw a pod of dolphins! I loved watching the dark ocean with the contrast of the white froth of the peaking waves. It was also fun to watch how the waves would spray in the wind when they peaked.
Our last night of dinner in the fine dining restaurant. I'll admit, at this point, after eating that fine dining food for every breakfast and dinner (there was more basic, buffet food available) my stomach was done with all that rich food. I was quite ready for normal food again.
And with the rocking on the choppy seas, this is how I really felt. It wasn't too bad though, just hit me a few times throughout the trip. We found out that our ship was an older ship (hence cheaper) from 1998, and didn't have the advanced technology of under water stabilizers.
Paul shared my enthusiasm.
Oh, and though that's the camera flash in the window, there really was a full moon out that window. Seeing that reflected on the Gulf was a fun experience. We didn't get to see as many stars as we thought we would, either due to cloudy skies, or the bright lights on all the ship decks. Hey Carnival, you need to have a Lights-Out Star-Gazing Hour!
Thank you, we'll come again!
Oh, and here's a cute video because the story wouldn't be complete without talking about our reunion with our kids and how on the last day of the cruise I cried and cried because all I wanted to do was hold my kids while the awful comedian Thea talked about how awful kids are and how she hates them. Really, Carnival? Let's talk about how that was supposed to be the FAMILY FRIENDLY SHOW! Sorry, wrong place for my rant. But that rant will be had. Anyway, Shad and I got back home Friday afternoon and waited an hour for Pris and Levi to arrive with our little loves. Tom wouldn't stop talking for 5 hours. Katie was all hugs, smiles and, "Mom, did you got a new necklace?!" Dancy took a minute to figure out what was going on, and then she wouldn't stop laughing and talking. Oh, she talks so much now! And she's a sitter. Woot!
