Here are some views inside the ship:
The grand foyer.
The ceiling in the grand foyer.
Our teeny tiny room.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Our cruise!
Dave and I decided to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary a bit early (it will be Dec. 2009) by taking a cruise. Our reasoning was that we'll just have moved to a new duty station and Dave will be in the midst of training and we need some time for us. My aunt got us a great deal on a 10-night cruise to the eastern Carribean, so we asked Dave's stepmom if she would be willing to help us out by watching the kids. She graciously accepted, and we left on January 1st and returned on January 12th. We drove all the way to Ft. Lauderdale (about 10 hours) to Port Everglades to get on the cruise ship. It was a grand time! We visited St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Lucia, and St. Maarten, but were able to also sneak in a trip to St. John while in St. Thomas. We met a couple on the cruise and went on tours with them the whole time, becoming great friends. Cruises are a great way to get a taste of many different places in one trip.
Here are some views inside the ship:
The grand foyer.
The ceiling in the grand foyer.
Our teeny tiny room.
Here are some views inside the ship:
The grand foyer.
The ceiling in the grand foyer.
Our teeny tiny room.
St. Thomas and St. John
We loved St. Thomas and St. John! It was the most "Americanized" of all the places we visited, because they are part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. St. Thomas is also known as a shopping mecca in the Caribbean, so it was bustling place! We took a boat ride to quieter St. John and went on a nature hike there, complete with snorkeling if we desired.
An imposing view of our ship in St. Thomas.
Our ship docked in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Views of St. Thomas from the top of the Skyride.
A cactus people had scarred up with grafitti.
To "lime" in the islands means to relax and chill out.
The Skyride!
The view from the top of the Skyride looking down into St. Thomas.
Medusa vines on St. John.
St. John
A termite nest seen our our nature hike on St. John.
A coconut on Honeymoon Beach on St. John.
Dave snorkeling on St. John. Doesn't it look like pool water?
Honeymoon Beach.
Sugarcane factory ruins on St. Thomas.
An imposing view of our ship in St. Thomas.
Our ship docked in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Views of St. Thomas from the top of the Skyride.
A cactus people had scarred up with grafitti.
To "lime" in the islands means to relax and chill out.
The Skyride!
The view from the top of the Skyride looking down into St. Thomas.
Medusa vines on St. John.
St. John
A termite nest seen our our nature hike on St. John.
A coconut on Honeymoon Beach on St. John.
Dave snorkeling on St. John. Doesn't it look like pool water?
Honeymoon Beach.
Sugarcane factory ruins on St. Thomas.
St. Kitts
One of the many narrow roads in St. Kitts
Funny birds in a tree.
Rainbow on St. Kitts in the morning.
Caribelle Batik, St. Kitts
One of the first stops on our tour was Caribelle Batik. We toured the Romney Gardens and got to see a woman demonstrating how batik is done. We also had some time to purchase things if we so desired. I loved how all the buildings are so brightly colored and cheerful.
Rock drawing on way to Caribelle Batik, Romney Gardens.
A fan palm.
Romney Gardens.
Woman demonstrating how batik is done.
Rock drawing on way to Caribelle Batik, Romney Gardens.
A fan palm.
Romney Gardens.
Woman demonstrating how batik is done.
More St. Kitts
We really enjoyed seeing the sights in St. Kitts. Our tour was quite an adventure, too (but little did we know how much of an adventure when we set out!) We took a rainforest adventure trip. At first, we got on a truck with an open back with metal gridwork. Some people sat inside the truck, while others (like us!) sat in the open back. Dave and I were the last ones on the back, so, while the truck was whizzing through the streets of St. Kitts, we had an up close and personal view of the street! I would've taken a photo, but I was too busy clinging to the metal bars. :D
Our tour included a few stops at "set up" places where people would pop out of seemingly nowhere to hawk their goods. One of the more interesting stops was with a man who had a pet green monkey on his back, wearing a diaper. He had the little guy hop up onto us and walk around, then wanted money for it. The monkey clearly did not want to be with the tourists and kept trying to hop back on the man, who kept pushing him back up on us. At one point, the monkey hopped up on Dave for some peace. Our tour guide said many people on St. Kitts have the monkeys as pets, but they have to be caught as babies, otherwise they will be too wild.
A "sandpaper tree".
Our tour guide demonstrating that once the vines hanging from the trees get large and old enough, even an adult can swing from them. Fun!
A huge, gnarled tree in the woods.
Can you see the blue ropes in the trees? We literally had to pull ourselves up using those, roots, and trees. Welcome to "Survivor: St. Kitts"!
Our tour included a few stops at "set up" places where people would pop out of seemingly nowhere to hawk their goods. One of the more interesting stops was with a man who had a pet green monkey on his back, wearing a diaper. He had the little guy hop up onto us and walk around, then wanted money for it. The monkey clearly did not want to be with the tourists and kept trying to hop back on the man, who kept pushing him back up on us. At one point, the monkey hopped up on Dave for some peace. Our tour guide said many people on St. Kitts have the monkeys as pets, but they have to be caught as babies, otherwise they will be too wild.
A "sandpaper tree".
Our tour guide demonstrating that once the vines hanging from the trees get large and old enough, even an adult can swing from them. Fun!
A huge, gnarled tree in the woods.
Can you see the blue ropes in the trees? We literally had to pull ourselves up using those, roots, and trees. Welcome to "Survivor: St. Kitts"!
Barbados
We arrived in Bridgetown, Barbados, which was a lot more built up than the other islands. Dave and I aren't city lovers, so this wasn't our favorite stop on the trip. We did go snorkeling, though, which was my first time with it and it was fun! We got to see a couple shipwrecks and all the funny little fish and creatures that like to make homes in them. The beach we were at on Barbados had light pink sand, too, which was pretty neat. :)
After that excursion, we walked around the city for a bit, got some Barbadian dollars (you know Dave and coins!), and bought some neat glassware and pottery. At the end of all that, though, we were really happy to get back on the ship. Did I mention we aren't city lovers?
Bridgetown is so named because there are three bridges one after another in the center of town.
A WWI memorial in the center of Bridgetown.
Dapper policmen keeping the streets of Bridgetown safe.
A pretty blue building. I saw the sign, which said something about "Book making", and thought, "Ah, what a cute publishing house!" Dave informed me that it is a bookie place (and not the Barnes and Noble kind). Oh, well.
After that excursion, we walked around the city for a bit, got some Barbadian dollars (you know Dave and coins!), and bought some neat glassware and pottery. At the end of all that, though, we were really happy to get back on the ship. Did I mention we aren't city lovers?
Bridgetown is so named because there are three bridges one after another in the center of town.
A WWI memorial in the center of Bridgetown.
Dapper policmen keeping the streets of Bridgetown safe.
A pretty blue building. I saw the sign, which said something about "Book making", and thought, "Ah, what a cute publishing house!" Dave informed me that it is a bookie place (and not the Barnes and Noble kind). Oh, well.
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