2nd Sea Day

Well - this was a lazy sunning and relax day. I did make it to "afternooon tea" tea and tea sandwiches. Later we went to see another comedian Carl Guerra, probably would be better with an all adult audience. THen we went to watch Karaoke and met up with Meghan and Ben, then we preceded to Skywalkers - the night club and got a little intoxicated on Log Islands and Diet/Captains. These picture only scratch the surface of the fun we had.

Stop 3: Cozumel

Today we started the day a little different, with a run - yes a run. Then we went to Chauka Park with our guide Renae - who was hilarious! We were on our way to do a GPS based scavenger hunt - very cool. Then we ended with snorkeling where we got to see lots of tropical fish, an eel and a statue of Christ under water. They took a picture of us under water with the fishes - but its not digital so you'll have to wait for that one. Then we went to a local restaurant Palmeros and had some great
fresh and spicy salsa and guac along with our meal. Of course what made us the happiest was the local beer we drank - Sol, pretty good pilsner, not our favorite style but better then what we got on the ship. So I gave in to the typical and bought a bottle of 100% agave tequilla which will make Buffett so much more enjoyable this year. Wrapped the day up with a couples massage and dinner at the Italian place on board, they served tapas style and we got to try bulgar cavier. Great food and the service was great. Later we went to the juggler, who tried to also be a comedian and failed.

Day 4: Grand Cayman

Just to let you know up front, this was our FAVORITE stop and you will know why in a second. First we did a Island Highlight tour (rum factory, Hell, 7-mile beach), just a couple stops to learn about the island then the last stop was the only turtle farm and it was SO COOL. I got to hug a turtle and Joe picked up a turtle, it was great. For those of you who don't know this about me I love turtles, I had a pet turtle when I was younger but my brother let it play in traffic (still love you Dave). When we got back we went to another Margaritta ville and we finally found some decent
local brews - and met Corey, the bartender, who gave us directions to Hammermeads - the local brewery - WOOHOOO. Walked down to Hamerheads and BAM we had some REALLY good beer, Joe drank about 5-6 Black Cherry stout and I had 4-5 of the Island Wheat (not like Leinenkeugal). We met Jimmy, the brewmaster, through 2 other local friends we made Monica and Randi, and he took me on a tour of the brewery (2 rooms in the kitchen). We had some food, bought some shirts and a keg of Island Wheat (they did not keg the black cherry) - and Jimmy comp'd it. Well, Joe wanted to purchase some sunglasses so we were on our way and Randi offered to drive us around to get the sunglasses, we finally found some Dolce Gabana glasses - yes designer eye wear. Then back to the ship - again, tipsy and in need of food. Later on we met another couple from Michigan Megana and Ben that we started to hang out with.

First Port: Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Can you say No Problem Mon? If you can you can pretty much get along with anyone in Jamaica. This is our first shore excursion - zip line through the rain forest. Now that sounds adventureous but was even more interesting was the 2 lane gravel, pot holed road with only enough room for 1 car that we took to get up to the top. Scarey and fun - I laughed while others were almost vomitting out the window (that was a high school student, which made me laugh even more!). After the zip line we went to Margarittaville and spent a bunch of money and got just a wee bit tipsy. Of course then a nap was a necessity before dinner and then off to another comedian. Now let me just say that this was not any regular comedian - we was also a magician, blonde spikey haid and covered with tatoos. (His name is James Michael)

FYI - Joe and I will not be returning to Jamaica, it's just not our scene.

Day 2: Day at Sea

Of course a true honeymoon, we laid in bed all morning watching a movie and the ocean off the balcony. Finally made it to the breakfast buffett - SO much food and TONS of fresh fruit!! YUM! Fresh pineapple. Then it was off to get our tan on - oh yeah we burned and it was awesome. Outside of laying in the sun, we also painted ceramics (yes - Joe painted 2 ceramic coasters). Then we hit the buffett for dinner, not bad and still trying to figure out where everything is on the ship. Later we went to see a comedian, Cary Long, very funny. After the comedian we hit the casino and won $200 at craps - I was rolling like you would not believe!

Embarkation Day

Well Hello! Our lost luggage was delivered and we were very happy :)
WOW the ship is SO big!! It is as long as the Empire State building - so it is possible that I will not gain any weight on this vacation! YIPPEE So of course thing first on the agenda is to get into vacation mode with a couple drinks. Of course there is not any "good" beer available so we figured we'd start with a pina colada, then we tried the daily "special" (another fruity drink). Then we figured it out - let's just get bucket's of Dos Equis!!

Faculty Lounge - face lift

Just thought that I would let you all know, I and another teacher have been asked to give the faculty lounge a face lift. We are painting, covering chairs and getting rid of alot of stuff. We have been doing it gradually so that the CHANGE does not shock anyone into cardiac arrest - but suprisingly the staff has been pretty welcoming to the change. Then atleast I can say I tried to change the mood at lunch by creating a warm, comfortable and happy envionrment.