And we are home!!

First of all, I want to tell everyone that I missed them.  I missed my friends and family, and all of my co-workers.  But there is someone that needs special recognition.  The Internet.  Oh how I missed you.  Don't get me wrong, it was nice to disconnect for a while, but after a while I found myself fiending for a facebook fix.  I was jonesing for a news update, anything other than the crappy 6 movies that played on repeat in our room. 

Now for the fun parts:
We landed in Miami on Saturday afternoon and took a shuttle to our hotel.  To say it was beautiful would be an understatement.  The view from our room was gorgeous, and the big french dinner we had that night was a good way to start off the trip.  After a cocktail or two I decided to wander off the patio in search of the critter I saw scampering around the grounds.  After I had decided that it was too big to give a hug to, I went back to the table to discuss it's features to determine what it was.  Survey says.......possum.  No pictures though, sorry about that.

The next day we took what can only be described as a handicapped accessible limo to the ship.  We had a very posh bus all to ourselves.

We arrived at the boat.  Its size was staggering.  We gazed upon the floating mall that we would be living on for the next seven days.  Quiet interesting.....

Mike and I waited in the "coffee shop" while our room was being prepared.  Shortly after we set everything in its place in our room, we went to look over the balcony as the ship was pulling out of the....canal....I guess I never really knew where we were parked.  He are some photos of downtown Miami as we were started to move.  Weirdly enough, a lot of the bikers and swimmers stopped to wave as we were leaving town.  I wonder if they do that for all of the boats....

 Our first stop was the Bahamas.  Unfortunately Mike was unable to get off the boat, so we had to appreciate the sights from afar.  My photos are very limited, but from what I understand it wasn't a big loss.  Everyone simply went to a private beach owned by the cruise line, and I am not a huge fan of beaches.

Tuesday we spent the whole day at sea, for dinner that night we went to the teppenyaki restaurant on board.  the food was delicious, and the acrobatics that was performed with the food was well worth the additional cover charge.

Wednesday we made it to Jamaica.  Within moments of exiting the boat, Mike and I found a nice spot on the beach to have some food.

 Mike had his first taste of Jerk Chicken, and I had a delicious Ox Tail lunch.  Don't let the face fool you, he liked it.

We ventured from there into town.  After shaking off a couple of the locals, we were approached by a guy named "Patrick".  Seeing as how I have a fondness for my brother Patrick, we listened to him for a few minutes.  He wanted to be our "tour guide".  If any of you have been to Jamaica, you know that he was just a scammer.  He helped Mike and I navigate a couple of blocks and went to look at a waterfall.  When we stopped for approximately 35 seconds, 2 woman swooped in and braided Mike and my hair.

  It was really pretty fantastic how swiftly they worked.  I wasn't even sure I wanted it done, but sure as shit they were doing it.  After Mike and I have our hair braided, we did a little bit of shopping, and head back to the boat.  We got dressed up and went to the fancy steakhouse on the boat.  Cagneys was delicious.  Absolutely delicious.

 We were at sea all of Thursday, Mike and I sat out near the pool for most of the day.  We drank ridiculous drinks and just enjoyed the sun.

Halfway through the day, Mike decided that he wanted his hair out of the braids.  So after another drink, I started the lengthy process of unbraiding his hair.

    I was not nearly as swift as the Jamaican vultures.  The result upon removal of the braids was the wavy, puffy hair of Mike's dreams.  He could not have been more content.  I told him that next time we could save some money and get him a crimping iron.

Thursday night we hung out around the ship.  I think that was the day that Mike and I entered into a slot tournament (just me) and a blackjack tournament (both of us).  We both got schooled pretty hard.  It was fun though.  Dinner that night was a French Bistro.  We ended up leaving early because one of us was feeling under the weather.  They gladly delivered the food to our room, and even called half an hour later to see if we needed some dessert to go with it.  The answer was "YES!!!".

Friday we arrived in Cozumel. 

There was an unexpected surprise there.  We thought that Mike would not be able to get off the ship, but they pulled up to the dock, and we were well on our way.  We went from shop to shop looking at a lot of the same crap everywhere.  But the artistry on some of the items was immaculate.  Mike bought some luchador masks for him and Kevin, and I bought an Aztec calendar make from fish bone.

We went to a restaurant off the beaten path, and I was able to show off a little of my Spanish skills while we were there.  Mike had his first taste of authentic Mexican food, and I have to tell you, he liked it.  We had our picture taken while wearing sombreros, and then headed back to the ship. 

 

All of Saturday was spent at sea.  Mike and his dad got into another blackjack tournament, this time Mike won and received a seat in the finals.  He did not win during the finals, but received a bottle of champagne as a consolation prize.  Later while playing a different game in the casino, he and I won another bottle of champagne that we would not likely drink.

Sunday we arrived back in Miami.  After a long time waiting, we finally got off the boat and into the waiting van.  Our friend Ron, who lives in Florida, was kind enough to pick us up and bring us to spend some time with him at his house close to Fort Myers.  A new phrase was coined, "Ron-tertainment".

Sunday night we watched wrestlemania (which was coincidentally in Florida) and caught up on old times.  Well, he and Mike caught up on old times, I laughed at all of the stories.

Monday we went to Venice beach for a short period of time, and then headed back to relax and pack our things before the flight on Tuesday.

Today, after what is always a clusterfuck at the airport, we were able to return home in one piece.  Mike with just as many functioning limbs as he left with, and me with my sanity still relatively in tact.

I am happy to be home, I am happy to be back where I have access to my friends and family.  I am happy to be back with my stupid fluffy orange jerk cat.  Most of all, I am happy that we all went.

Thanks for reading.