Cruising

 

Every year Chad and I take a trip together for our birthdays and anniversary instead of buying gifts.  We started this on our 10th anniversary when we went to Russia on a mission trip, and we have just continued each year.  We are very fortunate to have wonderful family members that take care of the kids.  We take turns picking where we go.  This year it was Chad's turn, and he chose a cruise.  This is a good choice for us because it really forces us to "disconnect" from everything. 

Our cruise was out of Fort Lauderdale, so we flew in on Saturday (gotta love airline miles!).  Our hotel room was right across from the beach, and the view from our room was amazing.

Sunday morning we got up and headed for the cruise terminal and loaded the ship.  We spent the rest of the day enjoying the ship and sailing away.
Monday was a day at sea.  It was overcast, so we didn't get to enjoy much sunshine.  However, I did enjoy a day of reading and relaxing and got an entire book read!



  
  That evening was the formal night, and we didn't really feel like dressing up.  We went to a mexican food restaurant they had on board and enjoyed some tableside guacamole, tacos, quesadillas and churros.  After dinner we went to the musical show. Monday night was a rocky night at sea as we hit some rough waters.

We arrived in Grand Cayman on Tuesday and were looking forward to jet skiing to a sand bar, hanging out with sting rays, and snorkeling at a coral reef.  Unfortunately, when we found our meeting spot, we were told that the waters were too rough to take anything out.  We were disappointed as we were looking forward to the excursion, but we enjoyed some more down time on the ship.  We watched some movies that afternoon and went to Johnny Rockets for burgers that night.

Choosing from some oldies but goodies

The staff was dancing to a song, but I don't remember which one!

After dinner, we played miniature golf, and I am happy to say that I finished victorious!  I beat Chad by 2 strokes-which is unusual.

Wednesday we arrived in Falmouth, Jamaica to rain.  We headed out for our excursion, and thankfully the skies cleared up.  We explored some caves first.

The caves were neat EXCEPT for the BATS!  They were all over the ceiling and would dive bomb at times. 
After the caves, we headed to Dunn's River Falls, and it was awesome!

It was definitely our favorite part of the trip!  We got some exercise and enjoyed God's beautiful world!
The bus ride to the ship was an hour long, and we took in all of the scenery.

By the time we got back to the ship and ate lunch, I was wiped.  We took a nap and just went to eat dinner in the cafe.  We arrived back to find this some towel art in our room.

We also received news that we would not be going to our last port on Thursday due to some problems at the port.  We were disappointed because we had never been there.  But, that made for a day of relaxing, reading, and just taking it easy.  We ate dinner that night in an Italian restaurant on board, and had a towel animal waiting when we got back.

We played a game of Phase 10, and I won that as well.  I was on a roll!

Friday was our last day at sea, and the sun was finally out!  I enjoyed some time in the sun with a book on our balcony while Chad spent some time studying.

And by the end of the day, I finished it!  It was more of a political thriller, The Theran Intiative by Joel Rosenberg, but it was good.  We finished the day with dinner in the dining room and another game of Phase 10.  Chad won, so we had to play a tie breaker game.  I won the tie breaker!

We arrived back at the terminal early Saturday morning and headed to the airport to head back to Dallas.
Although our trip didn't go as planned, we are thankful for our time together, resting, rejuvenating,  relaxing, and reflecting.  I firmly believe that it is important for couples to spend some intentional time alone together.  Even if it is a night away, that time together is vital.  If you don't have family to help with your children, maybe you can work out a trade off with friends. 
I'm already dreaming about next year...it will the big 20!  How is that possible?!