I am...the luckiest.
So I'm back. With sun-cooked golden brown skin and a raised chance of skin cancer. But also with a huge smile and great memories to share with you lucky people. I'll put this behind the heavenly lj-cut for your annoying convenience.
So let's start with the inevitable boring part: Ashley's graduation. Congrats class of '04, etc., what I say is, "Get the fuck outta town!" Yeahh.
The grad party. Mix a few crazy drama kids...
Danielle with alcohol...
and you get...Kate laughing histerically on the kitchen floor?!
The graduation...I decided to take some of my infamous artful pics...no, not those. Sorry to disappoint.
I would point out Ashley, but honestly, who gives a flying fuck?! thank you.
In a flash she gets her diploma...
Walks down the...isle? ...
..and ta da! She's a high school grad. yay.
That's not me standing with her, it's just my ugly twin. haha.
So holy shit! We're off on a cruise! *rush of excitement*
We drove all the way down to Port Canaveral (sp?) with the grandparents, and met up with the rest of our party of 13.
Here's the port and ship, obviously. I was so astounded at the size (it's bigger than the carnival and disney ships beside it) that I just had to take this pic.
And the size is just the cover...when you get inside, it's just amazing.
And we're off!
While playing put-put golf, I got this pic of the coast of Florida.
We took a quick tour of the ship.
Instead of chocolate, you get...life jackets! Whoo! Nah, don't worry, the chocolate definitely came. Just later.
As soon as I saw the words, "Library...deck 7" I just had to take a look.
We took a trip to the "Dragon's Lair" which turned out to be a late night bar (open from 11 pm to 3 am) for adults only. Oh well, I got some pics.
The place was so bluuue. And cool.
There were glass stairs leading down to more seating and a dance floor. If only I was 18...
Every time you use the elevator, you're reminded of the day of the week.
I swear, they thought of EVERY detail. Every fucking square inch of the ship is well thought out...and astounding. I mean, it was wayy more than I expected. I miss it already.
The Windjammer Cafe was a favorite of mine. Us eating at the bar...
So our grandparents decided that since they were paying for the cruise (gotta love 'em), we were required to all sit at the dining room for the dinners. I figured it was quite the deal.
3 dining rooms. We got "The Sound of Music," which was all purple. Yay! It was all beautiful.
Even though the first night was casual dress, the boys decided that we should still lift up our pinkies like "the rich people" do.
That night we saw this extremely funny comedian from comedy central...trouble is, I forgot his name. But here's a pic.
When we got to our room, we were greeted with a towel dog. That was cool. Really, EVERY detail.
Before going to sleep, I took a pic of myself from a bunk. Hehe.
The next day was a full day at sea. Plenty of time to check out the wonders of Mariner of the Seas. I decided to go rollerblading at the inline rink. Hell yeah. Of course the wind was going at 50 knots, but that's ok.
Cole bladin' for what seemed to be his first time. I of course helped him out.
We also discovered the soft serve ice cream. It was all free, and serve-yourself. Which is good good good.
Brett
Cole...and I swear no photoshop was done to this pic...I'm proud.
I'm also proud of this ice cream creation.
So that night at dinner was formal. It's the lighting! I swear! Don't worry, that farmer's tan disappears within 24 hours. Like magic. Cruise magic.
Brett and Cole!
I was assigned the great role of taking care of Danica, my 7 month old cousin, for parts of the dinner so her mom could take a break. Personally I enjoyed it.
Brett also kept Danica entertained.
All except for the mommy part. Yeah, everyone thought I was a young mother. This woman came up to me and was like, "Aw, how old is she?!" "7 months," I replied. "Oh, she's teething, huh?" "Yeah." "I remember that age, it's tough...so has she been sick at all so far?" "Nope, she's doing great..." "Aw, good to hear. Good luck!" What the fuck? I'm not the mother! No! I'm 16! I'm not Kirsten Dunst in "15 and Pregnant." No.
Thankfully, Ashley took her.
So ANYWAY.
Also that night we rented out a lounge for my grandparent's 50th anniversary party. I took pics of the kids goofin' off.
Danica
Cole
and of course, Brett. Can you tell we're entertained?!
And oh yeah, Ashley played some piano. I always enjoy that.
Again, as with every night, we're greeted with a towel creation. Monkies!
The next day we arrived at their private island, Labadee, next to Haiti. I figured...it has "dee" in it, so it hasta be good.
I didn't get any pictures ON the island because they have problems with theft there...so I didn't bring Quinn. But I'll tell my story.
I went over to the beach with less people to snorkel...and missing the "NO SNORKELING" signs, I went out into the water. There was a ton of rocky coral and sea urchins...and I'm thinkin', why the hell do they let people come out here?! Haha, silly heids. So I had a hell of a time getting out there, scraped my knee, saw some fishies...and then heard a noise. "Muaaosdfsdmmm!" What the fuck? "Muaaam!" *Lifts head out of water* "Ma'am!" Oh. "What?" "There is no snorkeling here. Way too dangerous." It was this dude on a kayak. I was in the water...he was in the kayak...yea, I'm thinkin', I'm gonna get my money outta this trip. So I said "Okay" and asked for a ride to shore. Which wasn't a short trip, since I'm such the adventerous fool. He happily gave it to me, and I was happy too. In fact, people were all talking about "the girl that was taken to shore by that guy!" That was so much fun.
That night's entertainment, in the Savoy Theatre:
was a broadway type show. Quite good in my opinion.
So the next day we landed in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We hired a tour guide with a van to fit our large group. We attempted to go tubing...too expensive. And this is fuckin jamaica...Then we tried Duns River Falls or whatever that's called. Of course that's packed to the limit, so we don't do that. But we DO see a woodcarver dude on the side of the road with this carving of a guy standing up...get this...with a 3' long dick. So that was rewarding, especially as Brett and Cole saw it. "Weenie" jokes the rest of the ride. Joy. But I enjoyed Jamaica, despite that.
After we got back on the ship, I took a pic of the back wake...(from the cafe)
and later the boys and I go play ping pong on the sports deck, deck 13 FYI.
The next day. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. What a beautiful place. Well, not until you used the "tender" service. That was the small boat that took us from the ship to shore, since there wasn't a dock. Let me tell you: the tender service is painful. But that's okay, I got a cool pic of the ship:
On the tender boat...
The first sign I saw was for Hell. Yeah, a town called Hell. Of course I wanted to go! "Mom, let's go to Hell!" She replies with, "Heids, we've already been there." Boy was she right. That ended the conversation.
We went on this boat trip. The guys took us to stingray city and a coral reef to snorkel. Stingray city was a complete blast.
The water was pristine.
Despite the crowds, we had tons of fun. One of the guys caught a stingray for me and let me hold it. Great experience. Of course, no animals were harmed. Or at least we think. We have pics of this and snorkeling, all with the underwater cam, but those will come later.
The snorkeling at the reef was excellent, too. And I hafta mention...that dude (dunno his name) was hitting on me. Which was weird because I could never understand what he was saying. He'd tickle me and say something that sounded like, "Ticklish dlksfjosdf haha!" Riight. He kept staring at me...
Anyway!
That night I went out to the side of the ship. I looked over the side, and decided it was so pretty that I took a pic!
I also headed to the Lotus Lounge, which I liked to call the sky lounge 'cause it was so high up, on deck 14 of 15. (15 is the skylight chapel.) Anyway, in the sky lounge was a live band..at 10. But I got a pic of their instruments! It was pretty.
The next morning we arrived at Cozumel, Mexico. Again, we went snorkeling. But this trip was the best because those Mexicans...they're party people. And they gave us free food and drinks. I took advantage by getting myself strawberry daquiries and pinas coladas. Plus the water was so clear, more so than any other port we stopped at. We were in 10 feet of water and without a mask you could see to the bottom.
Me on the boat.
That night on the ship, we took a few family shots. But of course my MOTHER has to ruin this one by not smiling. How could you not smile?! You're on a fuckin cruise!
Aunt Laura, Uncle Jeff, Brett and Cole. They own that pizza chain in California.
So anyway, the last day was another full day at sea. I discovered the rockwall!
Yeah.
I took a trip to the bow of the ship. Plety of wind and fresh air.
Then I headed to a beach chair to chill. Or actually roast. I read my book and listened to music...relaxing. I also got this pic of my ocean-ified hair. I miss that too.
At night, the elevators were lit up by these star lights.
I read this last page of my book and fell asleep.
The next morning we were up bright and early to get our asses kicked off the ship. Aw, sad. Yes. But I got away with one last box of cocoa krispies.
Then Ash and I waited for our rental car while our parents got them...
I gave no permission for her to take this pic.
Okay, after a while, I got so bored. You KNOW you're bored when you walk in circles around your luggage talking to yourself in spanish. Geeze.
So finally. We gotsies two rental cars, but I think the PT Cruiser deserves the pic.
We drive away and I take this pic of our ship kicking disney's ass.
And the rest comes later, because this has taken way too much time. I miss that ship...I miss that vacation. I miss the 3 pools and the 6 hot tubs and the free ice cream and the free food and the service and the bunk bed and the snorkeling and the sun and the music and the elevators and the shopping mall inside of the ship and the midnight buffet and how the menus had no prices and the free entertainment and even dressing up! AHHHHHH.
I'm done.
So let's start with the inevitable boring part: Ashley's graduation. Congrats class of '04, etc., what I say is, "Get the fuck outta town!" Yeahh.
The grad party. Mix a few crazy drama kids...
Danielle with alcohol...
and you get...Kate laughing histerically on the kitchen floor?!
The graduation...I decided to take some of my infamous artful pics...no, not those. Sorry to disappoint.
I would point out Ashley, but honestly, who gives a flying fuck?! thank you.
In a flash she gets her diploma...
Walks down the...isle? ...
..and ta da! She's a high school grad. yay.
That's not me standing with her, it's just my ugly twin. haha.
So holy shit! We're off on a cruise! *rush of excitement*
We drove all the way down to Port Canaveral (sp?) with the grandparents, and met up with the rest of our party of 13.
Here's the port and ship, obviously. I was so astounded at the size (it's bigger than the carnival and disney ships beside it) that I just had to take this pic.
And the size is just the cover...when you get inside, it's just amazing.
And we're off!
While playing put-put golf, I got this pic of the coast of Florida.
We took a quick tour of the ship.
Instead of chocolate, you get...life jackets! Whoo! Nah, don't worry, the chocolate definitely came. Just later.
As soon as I saw the words, "Library...deck 7" I just had to take a look.
We took a trip to the "Dragon's Lair" which turned out to be a late night bar (open from 11 pm to 3 am) for adults only. Oh well, I got some pics.
The place was so bluuue. And cool.
There were glass stairs leading down to more seating and a dance floor. If only I was 18...
Every time you use the elevator, you're reminded of the day of the week.
I swear, they thought of EVERY detail. Every fucking square inch of the ship is well thought out...and astounding. I mean, it was wayy more than I expected. I miss it already.
The Windjammer Cafe was a favorite of mine. Us eating at the bar...
So our grandparents decided that since they were paying for the cruise (gotta love 'em), we were required to all sit at the dining room for the dinners. I figured it was quite the deal.
3 dining rooms. We got "The Sound of Music," which was all purple. Yay! It was all beautiful.
Even though the first night was casual dress, the boys decided that we should still lift up our pinkies like "the rich people" do.
That night we saw this extremely funny comedian from comedy central...trouble is, I forgot his name. But here's a pic.
When we got to our room, we were greeted with a towel dog. That was cool. Really, EVERY detail.
Before going to sleep, I took a pic of myself from a bunk. Hehe.
The next day was a full day at sea. Plenty of time to check out the wonders of Mariner of the Seas. I decided to go rollerblading at the inline rink. Hell yeah. Of course the wind was going at 50 knots, but that's ok.
Cole bladin' for what seemed to be his first time. I of course helped him out.
We also discovered the soft serve ice cream. It was all free, and serve-yourself. Which is good good good.
Brett
Cole...and I swear no photoshop was done to this pic...I'm proud.
I'm also proud of this ice cream creation.
So that night at dinner was formal. It's the lighting! I swear! Don't worry, that farmer's tan disappears within 24 hours. Like magic. Cruise magic.
Brett and Cole!
I was assigned the great role of taking care of Danica, my 7 month old cousin, for parts of the dinner so her mom could take a break. Personally I enjoyed it.
Brett also kept Danica entertained.
All except for the mommy part. Yeah, everyone thought I was a young mother. This woman came up to me and was like, "Aw, how old is she?!" "7 months," I replied. "Oh, she's teething, huh?" "Yeah." "I remember that age, it's tough...so has she been sick at all so far?" "Nope, she's doing great..." "Aw, good to hear. Good luck!" What the fuck? I'm not the mother! No! I'm 16! I'm not Kirsten Dunst in "15 and Pregnant." No.
Thankfully, Ashley took her.
So ANYWAY.
Also that night we rented out a lounge for my grandparent's 50th anniversary party. I took pics of the kids goofin' off.
Danica
Cole
and of course, Brett. Can you tell we're entertained?!
And oh yeah, Ashley played some piano. I always enjoy that.
Again, as with every night, we're greeted with a towel creation. Monkies!
The next day we arrived at their private island, Labadee, next to Haiti. I figured...it has "dee" in it, so it hasta be good.
I didn't get any pictures ON the island because they have problems with theft there...so I didn't bring Quinn. But I'll tell my story.
I went over to the beach with less people to snorkel...and missing the "NO SNORKELING" signs, I went out into the water. There was a ton of rocky coral and sea urchins...and I'm thinkin', why the hell do they let people come out here?! Haha, silly heids. So I had a hell of a time getting out there, scraped my knee, saw some fishies...and then heard a noise. "Muaaosdfsdmmm!" What the fuck? "Muaaam!" *Lifts head out of water* "Ma'am!" Oh. "What?" "There is no snorkeling here. Way too dangerous." It was this dude on a kayak. I was in the water...he was in the kayak...yea, I'm thinkin', I'm gonna get my money outta this trip. So I said "Okay" and asked for a ride to shore. Which wasn't a short trip, since I'm such the adventerous fool. He happily gave it to me, and I was happy too. In fact, people were all talking about "the girl that was taken to shore by that guy!" That was so much fun.
That night's entertainment, in the Savoy Theatre:
was a broadway type show. Quite good in my opinion.
So the next day we landed in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We hired a tour guide with a van to fit our large group. We attempted to go tubing...too expensive. And this is fuckin jamaica...Then we tried Duns River Falls or whatever that's called. Of course that's packed to the limit, so we don't do that. But we DO see a woodcarver dude on the side of the road with this carving of a guy standing up...get this...with a 3' long dick. So that was rewarding, especially as Brett and Cole saw it. "Weenie" jokes the rest of the ride. Joy. But I enjoyed Jamaica, despite that.
After we got back on the ship, I took a pic of the back wake...(from the cafe)
and later the boys and I go play ping pong on the sports deck, deck 13 FYI.
The next day. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. What a beautiful place. Well, not until you used the "tender" service. That was the small boat that took us from the ship to shore, since there wasn't a dock. Let me tell you: the tender service is painful. But that's okay, I got a cool pic of the ship:
On the tender boat...
The first sign I saw was for Hell. Yeah, a town called Hell. Of course I wanted to go! "Mom, let's go to Hell!" She replies with, "Heids, we've already been there." Boy was she right. That ended the conversation.
We went on this boat trip. The guys took us to stingray city and a coral reef to snorkel. Stingray city was a complete blast.
The water was pristine.
Despite the crowds, we had tons of fun. One of the guys caught a stingray for me and let me hold it. Great experience. Of course, no animals were harmed. Or at least we think. We have pics of this and snorkeling, all with the underwater cam, but those will come later.
The snorkeling at the reef was excellent, too. And I hafta mention...that dude (dunno his name) was hitting on me. Which was weird because I could never understand what he was saying. He'd tickle me and say something that sounded like, "Ticklish dlksfjosdf haha!" Riight. He kept staring at me...
Anyway!
That night I went out to the side of the ship. I looked over the side, and decided it was so pretty that I took a pic!
I also headed to the Lotus Lounge, which I liked to call the sky lounge 'cause it was so high up, on deck 14 of 15. (15 is the skylight chapel.) Anyway, in the sky lounge was a live band..at 10. But I got a pic of their instruments! It was pretty.
The next morning we arrived at Cozumel, Mexico. Again, we went snorkeling. But this trip was the best because those Mexicans...they're party people. And they gave us free food and drinks. I took advantage by getting myself strawberry daquiries and pinas coladas. Plus the water was so clear, more so than any other port we stopped at. We were in 10 feet of water and without a mask you could see to the bottom.
Me on the boat.
That night on the ship, we took a few family shots. But of course my MOTHER has to ruin this one by not smiling. How could you not smile?! You're on a fuckin cruise!
Aunt Laura, Uncle Jeff, Brett and Cole. They own that pizza chain in California.
So anyway, the last day was another full day at sea. I discovered the rockwall!
Yeah.
I took a trip to the bow of the ship. Plety of wind and fresh air.
Then I headed to a beach chair to chill. Or actually roast. I read my book and listened to music...relaxing. I also got this pic of my ocean-ified hair. I miss that too.
At night, the elevators were lit up by these star lights.
I read this last page of my book and fell asleep.
The next morning we were up bright and early to get our asses kicked off the ship. Aw, sad. Yes. But I got away with one last box of cocoa krispies.
Then Ash and I waited for our rental car while our parents got them...
I gave no permission for her to take this pic.
Okay, after a while, I got so bored. You KNOW you're bored when you walk in circles around your luggage talking to yourself in spanish. Geeze.
So finally. We gotsies two rental cars, but I think the PT Cruiser deserves the pic.
We drive away and I take this pic of our ship kicking disney's ass.
And the rest comes later, because this has taken way too much time. I miss that ship...I miss that vacation. I miss the 3 pools and the 6 hot tubs and the free ice cream and the free food and the service and the bunk bed and the snorkeling and the sun and the music and the elevators and the shopping mall inside of the ship and the midnight buffet and how the menus had no prices and the free entertainment and even dressing up! AHHHHHH.
I'm done.