Come Sail Away, Come Sail Away

I recently told you that Ben and I were going/went on a cruise and I promised that I would post some of the pictures from our trip.  It was a Great trip and also one with many firsts.  On this particular trip, we were going with our friends Clayton and Sabrina, which is a first for us.  Typically our vacations are either with just the two of us or with the kids.  This was also only a 5 day cruise, but Ben didn’t want to waste the weekends, so we decided to fly to Miami and spend the weekend before sailing out on Monday afternoon.  I’ve never been on a plane in my life, so this flight to Miami was a first for me.  And it wasn’t half bad!  I am not a fan of landing or turbulence, but everything else was fine.  It was actually very neat to see the clouds that close up; I told Russell they looked like white cotton candy.  And it was nice to be at our destination in 2 hours as opposed to 9 or 10!  Especially when it was time to come home.  Because as much as I look forward to an adult vacation, I look forward just as much to getting home to my babies.  And those extra 7 hours would just about do me in. 

We spent one day in Miami and one day in the Keys, and that was just about enough for me.  Maybe it’s because we didn’t see Miami at night when it “comes alive”, but I just was not very impressed.  It was fine for the weekend, but I’ll pass on a week vacation there.  Same with Key West…It just seemed like a normal tourist stop for me, complete with T-shirt shops, overpriced excursions, and restaurant bars.  Again, fine for one day, but no thank you on a week vacation.  But I do have to say that I don’t know if I’ve seen a prettier sunset than the one in the Keys.  Absolutely beautiful!  

Our ship left on Monday afternoon and headed for Roatan Bay, Honduras.  If you ever get the chance to go here, we highly recommend it!  Ben and I have been twice, and the beach and vegetation are beautiful.  At the highest point of the island, all you can see is ocean.   What more could you want?!?  Clayton wasn’t much of a fan; it was too rural for him and he said he wouldn’t even come visit us there, but Ben and I love it. 

Our second stop was Cozumel, which was nicer this time than the other times we’ve been, but I’d much rather go back to Honduras.  I won’t visit Clayton if he moves to Cozumel.  And he LOVES Cozumel!  Not too sure what Sabrina thinks though! :-)  But we did get to swim with dolphins and even touch manatees in Cozumel, so it wasn’t all bad.  Oh, and I even got to participate in the sea lion show.  Please, don’t be jealous!

I tried sushi, Clayton celebrated his 30th birthday (happy birthday!), Ben smoked his first cigar…He thinks he’s a pro already...   

This trip was great, and it was nice for me to have a friend to hang out with at the pool.  Ben doesn’t give a flip about spending a whole day at the pool, but that was right up Sabrina’s alley, so that’s where you could find us.  We talked and talked, and it definitely helped to distract us from how much we missed our babies.  It was an awesome trip and I can’t wait to go again.  Rumor has it that they are already planning on going again next year, so I suppose I need to keep my calendar open for another invitation! :-)