For those of you who don't know, Jeff and I got the chance to go on a cruise vacation, and we got back home safely. I still don't know how we managed to get back safely, but those details will come shortly. Our 5 year wedding anniversary was on July 26th, and we wanted to do something special and get away. When we originally got married on July 26th, 2003, we exchanged our vows on the Carnival Cruise Ship called 'THE SENSATION.' So, for our 5 year anniversary, we decided to book a cruise on the same boat that we got married on. This particular ship departs out of Cape Canaveral, Florida. That is about a 2 hour drive for those of you who aren't from Florida. The port of call that this ship travels to is Nassau, Bahamas. Jeff and I had never been to the Bahamas before, and we were so excited to make the trip. A cruise vacation is the ultimate vacation, in my opinion. It really didn't matter where the boat ended up, Jeff and I just love cruising. We were just thankful to get some time away and reconnect. We asked a few friends to join us on the trip. We were very lucky to have one couple commit to us early on. Kim and Kevin have been good friends of ours for over 2 years now. Kim had never been out of the country before, nor had she ever been on a cruise ship. I was so excited to see things through her eyes. The day before we were scheduled to leave for our cruise, at the last minute, our friends David and Wendy booked the cruise. We were thrilled to have them join us, too!
The first day of our cruise vacation, Jeff and I dropped off our son, David, to his grandmother's house (Jeff's mom). Jeff's parents were going to watch David for half of our vacation, and my mom was going to watch David for the other half. Ashley and Allison were scheduled to stay with their dad, Eddie. After we dropped David off, Jeff and I decided to go to the Hard Rock Casino. We thought that we would 'try our luck' before we left for the port. We were in the casino for about an hour, and we went through $100 quickly. I told Jeff that I had a really weird feeling, and I wanted to try $20 more. I know-- I know.... It's always $20 more, right? LOL! Well, that funny feeling didn't turn out to be heartburn, nor was it the little devil that sits on my shoulder poking me with his pitchfork trying to convince me to do bad stuff. It turned out to be a 'lucky' feeling. I won $500 the next pull on the slot machine. I blurted out a big, 'YAY FOR ME,' not really caring if anybody thought I was being dumb. Then, Jeff and I cashed out and left the building. Woo hoo--- we were equipped with an extra $400 for our vacation. Oh yes... one must calculate the original $100 that I lost.
We met up with David and Wendy at the Falkenburg Jail. David is a homocide detective, and he figured that it would be safe to leave his car at his work, and he also thought it would be a good halfway meeting place. After loading their luggage into our vehicle, we were Port Canaveral bound. We had a lot of fun catching up in the car, exchanging stories and jokes. The 2 hour car ride went by quickly. Then, before my eyes was the gigantic ship--- THE SENSATION!!!!!! I got all warm & fuzzy inside, and this wasn't because I had been drinking. LOL! It was just a really neat feeling that I got married on this boat 5 years prior. We checked into our room, got our luggage all situated, and then we just EXHALED!!! We knew that this trip would be pure enjoyment, total relaxation, and that we would get some alone time together that we needed desperately. Kim and Kevin met up with us, and we all hung out on the deck right outside of our cabin sharing wine and fun. All six of us met up for dinner the first night. As we were enjoying our meals, suddenly we heard Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On.' I don't know about you, but it was really disturbing to hear the theme song from The Titanic while we were on a huge cruise ship. After dinner, we saw an 'ALL ABOUT 80's show.' It was great! It had everything from Flashdance to Dirty Dancing songs and dances. It was a well choreographed show, and it brought back a lot of memories. Then, we headed to the piano bar. I met two girls from Chicago named Stephanie and Kathy. They were a hoot to talk to. While we were listening to songs of the piano man, he heard me singing along. Then, he said, 'You have a good voice. Why don't you come up here and sing?' I got to sing a little ditty, and it always feels good to feel like a star!
The next morning, we were in the Bahamas. I was amazed at the beautiful scenery that looked as though it could grace a postcard. STUNNING!!! We originally were supposed to go snorkeling with Kevin and Kim as an excursion in the Bahamas. Part of the snorkeling adventure included a 'shark dive.' I am very afraid of sharks, but I was really looking forward to conquering my fear and experiencing this. Jeff was really uneasy about the whole snorkeling trip. I told him not to worry because in the Atlantic Ocean where the Bahamas are, there is a sign that is clearly posted. It says, 'No GREAT WHITE SHARKS OR OTHER DANGEROUS SHARKS ALLOWED' in all the snorkeling areas. He didn't think that was funny, but I thought it was genius. LOL! Anywho, I really wanted to go snorkeling, but I also wanted to support what my husband wanted to do. We decided against the snorkeling, and we thought it would be fun to rent scooters instead. We figured that we could roam around the island and see everything this way. Jeff has never driven a motorcycle, scooter, or a moped before. I was really surprised at how easily these things are just handed out. They did give him a 'test run' in an alley before fully giving the keys to the bike to him. I guess he did well enough on the 'test run' because before I knew it I was riding on the back of the bike. Let me just say this--- riding on the back of any motorized vehicle takes a lot of TRUST. You are essentially putting your life in the hands of your loved one. We got a rocky start, but then Jeff got the hang of it. In the Bahamas, people drive on the left side of the road-- not the right. It was really weird to get used to this. We were headed over the bridge to the Atlantis Resort, and Jeff started laughing out loud and said, 'I'm having so much fun.' It was such a beautiful thing to hear him laughing like this. We went inside the Atlantis Resort, and I just cannot fully describe the beauty that this resort possesses. I do have some pictures posted in my cruise album. My jaw dropped at the remarkable natural beauty. We had a lot of fun navigating through the resort. Then, we got back on our scooters and we were going to try to find a private beach. David and Wendy had been to the Bahamas and knew of a beach. We crossed over the bridge from Atlantis (Paradise Island) to the main-land. At some point, David said that we took a wrong turn. So, he turned around. Jeff took a sharp right to turn around, and welllll...... it didn't turn around. Our bike hit a curb, we went up about 2 feet into the air, we missed a tree by 6 inches, and then we managed to land on the grassy median. I let out a big scream, and my heart was racing. We totally dented the back rim of the bike, and a big truck of Bahamian men drove by laughing at us. LOL! The reason that I can joke about it is because we did live to tell our story. LOL! David and Wendy came back to get us, and they were laughing hysterically at us. It's funny because the first street that we saw before we got on our motorized scooter was a street called 'ROGERS WALK.' I think that sign was trying to tell the Rogers to walk and not get on that bike. We should have listened to that sign.
We got back on the open road, and we were headed for the secluded beach that David and Wendy talked so highly of. We rode on... and on.... and on. The scenery changed from these beautiful orange blossom trees and palm trees to abandoned buildings and ghetto-like huts. David and Wendy were flying on their bike. They were probably going 55 miles per hour. Jeff and I wanted to go as fast as they were going but we were scared to go that fast. We kept it at a steady 40 mph. We knew that if David was going that fast that he KNEW we were not in a good part of town. I thought that Deputy David would keep us safe, but he was out for his own safety. I seriously thought that we were going to get a cap in our ass at any point. We were lost, and it wasn't fun being lost in the ghetto. Jeff and I decided to pull over and ask for directions. The person at the gas station was so friendly and so helpful. We finally had directions to get the heck out of there!! I was about ready to have a panic attack and was relieved to have an 'idea' of where we needed to go! We came to an intersection where there wasn't a traffic control device, and cars were just speeding through. I was soooooo frightened that we were going to get hit. Not to throw Jeff under the bus either, but he admits that he is a novice at the whole scooter driving thing, and he was scared too! We made it back to the port, but David and Wendy kept on in their search for their secluded beach. I went back on the ship and laid out in the sunshine for about an hour, and then I went back to the room to shower and change. I had a hair appointment on the boat at 5 p.m. It was the Captain's Gala that evening, and I wanted to be all fancy-smancy looking for that. Formal Night was a lot of fun. After our dinner, we did the picture round. Carnival always has a ton of photography opportunities, and they do such a good job with this service. We got some awesome pictures taken. Jeff and I went back to our room, and then we got changed into less formal attire. Everybody came back to our room and we hung out on our deck. Wendy wanted to play Bingo, and she was very serious about her BINGO. LOL! Even though Jeff and I didn't want to play, we were good sports and played. We caught a comedy show after Bingo. Jeff and I gambled a bit after this. I spent about $100 on slots and lost it all!! BLAH! So, then I got that 'funny' feeling again. I went to the roulette table. I put 2 chips on the number 27. I split 27 and 28, and I squared 26, 27, 29, and 30. The number 27 hit, and I won $105. I, then, walked away and went back to my room with my winnings! Jeff and I are pretty good about knowing when to walk away. If you are good with math, my winnings on this night consisted of $5. Again-- must calculate the original $100 that I lost! Later on that night, we had everybody out on our deck, and we were laughing and having a great time.
On our last day at sea, Carnival calls it 'A FUN DAY AT SEA.' That is an understatement. We had a fantastic, phenomenal, amazing day at sea, and we truly enjoyed ourselves to the fullest. We all laid out in the sunshine, enjoyed the swimming pool and water slide, enjoyed some alcoholic beverages, and Kim taught Jeff the electric slide. They were having so much fun dancing, and two women ended up joining them in synchronized dancing. After our day of fun in the sun, we all got ready for dinner. We enjoyed a great dinner in the formal dining room. Jeff had ordered a cake to celebrate our anniversary. I was BEYOND tipsy. I had consumed 2 glasses of champagne and a glass of wine at this point, and I was giggling and just having a great time. Most people who know me well can tell you that it doesn't take much for me to get a buzz. I'm not a big drinker to begin with, and my tolerance is low because of that. Not only that, but I'm on a heavy dosage of antihistamines (due to my ridiculous allergies), and alcohol affects me quicker because of this. In fact, if you look up in the dictionary 'Cheap Date' there is a cross reference that says 'SEE KARA.' LOL! Because of my low tolerance for alcohol, I generally do not drink when I go out, and I'm actually the best candidate to be the designated driver. But for the purpose of this cruise, I didn't have to go home to any children, and most of all, I was among people who I knew wouldn't judge me for getting loopy and acting silly. Weighing all of these things out, I decided not to worry about my alcohol consumption. O.k.... so back to the whole cake thing. Jeff ordered a chocolate cake to commemorate our anniversary. The chocolate cake that Jeff had ordered was so delicious, and a few of the waitresses and waiters came to sing to us. It was special, but because most of them are foreigners, the song came out as "Happy Birsery." So, it was kind of like a happy birthday and a happy anniversary. Maybe they did that on purpose to cover all the bases. I did end up getting chocolate frosting on the top of my dress. It was a drunk girl moment! LOL! Jeff was sweet enough to get some water and try to get the stain out for me. LOL! It was comical because I didn't have any sense of balance or hand-eye coordination. You know it is love when your man will wash your boobie for you in public!! LOL! Jeff and I went back to our room after dinner and changed clothes again. We knew that we wanted to be comfortable for our last night on the boat. We met up with the 'gang' again. We all enjoyed some drinks and wine. We all danced!!!! After this, David and Wendy wanted to call it a night. It was 10 p.m., and I guess they were exhausted. Kim, Kevin, Jeff and I were ready to party it up! We went to the Fantasia Lounge where cruise passengers were enjoying karaoke. I sang a song with Kevin, then I sang a song by myself, and then Kevin sang a song by himself. What a blast! After karaoke, we went into a night club and we danced, danced, danced!!! Kevin made friends with a big group of guys. They loved him so much. I thought at any point they were going to put him on their shoulders and carry him out like a GOD or something. Kevin is a very fun person to hang with, and evidently these guys thought they could steal him away from us!! LOL! Well, they were successful in recruiting Kevin into their fraternity. Jeff and I retired back to our room. At this point, I was deemed 'alcohol overloaded', and it was time to call it a night. Kevin & Kim danced the night away with their new friends.
I woke up a bit groggy, but I was surprised that I didn't have a bad hang-over or headache. Jeff and I got some breakfast on the Lido Deck. We enjoyed our coffee, and reminisced about all the fun memories we had made on the cruise. It was absolutely beautiful to watch the sunrise over Cape Canaveral. I was glad to be back home! Even though we still had to drive from Cape Canaveral back to Tampa, it is all still Florida! I am a Florida girl in my heart! I really missed the kids while we were gone on our vacation! At the same time, I was really sad for the cruise to be over. We all had such a great time together!!!!! It is back to reality now!!!! I have to cook again, and the calories count again!! BLAH. It's not like I can just go up to the Lido Deck and eat whatever I want--- whenever I want. It's not like I can have people to make my bed for me anymore. In fact, I have to go back to doing laundry and conducting all the other domestic duties that I do. No more care-free days!! WOW-- cruising can really make one spoiled!!! It's all o.k. though!!! I know that I have been abundantly blesssed, and I know in the back of my mind that there is another cruise vacation already in the works for September of 2009. LOL!!!
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