7.01.2013

It's a Boat ... It's a Hotel ... It's a BOATELLE!

Well, really it was a cruise.  With the WHOLE fam damily.  For one week.  That's 7 days.  Seven LONG days for someone (like me) who gets insanely seasick.  To celebrate my mom's birthday. 

We thankfully stopped every morning at different Caribbean Islands; St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Lucia, Antigua, and Barbados, giving me a chance to rid myself of the nausea and stretch my sea legs.

I won't bother to tell you how sick I was.  How much Dramamine I had to take.  How much caffeine I consumed to counteract the Dramamine.  Or how many cocktails I *may* have had to counteract the caffeine.  Because all that mattered was that the kids had fun.  And admittedly, WE had fun.

We hit all the beaches.  The kids stayed up LATE.  The girls went snuba diving.  Matt and my brothers went scuba diving.  We rented jet skis.  We chartered a boat in St. Lucia.  We bathed in volcanic mud.  We snorkeled.  Kayaked.  Surfed in Barbados.

We ate.

And we ate.

And we ate some more.


The week flew by, and soon enough we were on a plane back home.  With nice tans, tons of dirty clothes, and a year's worth of sand memories.



An early flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico



Meeting my family at the port ... our first Cruise photos


L: Our daily itinerary.  R: Never wake a sleeping baby ...


Sheridan LOVED finding this starfish





Relaxing on our balcony?  Don't mind if I do!


Why yes, there WAS a Starbucks on the ship.  And funny towel creations greeting us every night.


Grady clearly had fun in the kids club ... and passed out like this every single night!


Getting ready to ride on the jet skis


The girls didn't like it nearly as much as they wanted to!




I think the cruise agrees with them ...


Chartering a boat in St. Lucia


A drive thru volcano?  I'll order the double magma to go please!


The mineral bath ... heated volcanic spring that was about 110 degrees!  
I think it was literally hotter than hell. 






The Piton Mountains


The LOVE Boat ... Soon Will Be Making Another Run ...




Of COURSE we had to visit our dearest friends in Barbados!  FANTASTIC day indeed!




Love this family photo!




6 comments:

Shannon said...

Sorry about the seasickness, and all. Looks like a lot of fun was managed inspire of that. And visiting friends in the Barbados? Bonus!!

Anna Whiston-Donaldson said...

oh my goodness! I loved looking at your photos! that black and white one is incredible! i'm sorry about the sea sickness. I would like to go on a cruise but I think it will make Margaret sea sick. aren't your kids the ones who puke in the car? how did the motion affect them?

Issa said...

I ADORE that black and white photo. Just love it.

I'm glad you made it out alive. Heh. The thought of going on a cruise and being seasick the whole time, just doesn't do it for me. But I'm sure someday I'll try it anyway.

Daniela Swider said...

Yeah, the seasickness aside looks like you had a fun-packed week and awesome pictures to prove it!!!

Naomi Hattaway @ naomihattaway.com said...

We love cruising! Haven't been in awhile -- need to rectify that! Great photos (great swimsuit, lady!)

Lindsey said...

Bummer about the seasickness. I get sick on/in everything that moves that I'm not driving but, strangely, I did pretty well on the big ships. Now I'm nervous about taking another cruise - thanks a lot! ;-) On the other hand, fabulous pics! Looks like the whole fam had a great time!

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