Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

Okay, couldn't resist opening with the first line from Gilligan's Island. People, we had a GREAT time. Y'all have no idea how this all came together, so I'll just expand on it a little. Walk with me...

Carl was working the ticket counter one day in January, when our friends from church stopped by to say hi to him as they departed for their cruise. Their excitement stirred a flicker in him, a flicker that would soon ignite a flame. See, we had been blessed to take many cruises B.C. (before children) due to the travel industry discounts Carl gets through his job. The last cruise we took was in May of 1999. Our foster kids had just reunited with their family that week and we cruised to Alaska, hopeful for them that their family crisis was over and yet saddened by the silence of our home, a home without children. We returned from that cruise to learn that our foster kids' mother wanted us to adopt her baby (due to be born that July). That baby is our oldest daughter, Olivia. That cruise to Alaska, our last one.

Fast forward ten years. Carl called me from work in January after seeing our friends at the airport.
"Why couldn't we do that?"
"Well,...uh,...I dunno. I guess we could."
And so began the journey of a thousand miles (1024 flight miles to be exact, Indy to Miami). And it began with the proverbial first step. Calls were made. Childcare was lined up. Expenses were considered. And then...

"Why don't we ask our dear friends Big Doofus and Miss Sniz to join us?" There are many reasons we thought this was a great idea, but it really all came down to one; we knew we would enjoy their company. And so we asked. And after another dozen or so details were addressed, it was a go. And go we did, the four of us, to Miami.

We spent the night in Miami to ensure that there wouldn't be any travel related delays and/or fatigue that interfered with our first day on the ship. All four of us were feeling adventurous, so we decided to access public transportation to head over to Bayside Mall for the evening. And we made it there too, in spite of the fact that there were no less than three bus routes that supposedly were "the one" to get us there. We even met an older Jamaican gentleman who was trying to be very helpful as we maneuvered the transfers from bus to rail, but we were so obviously "tourist lost" that he just kept laughing at us as if we were unknowing characters in a situational comedy. Dinner at Hardrock Cafe and a stroll through the artsy Bayside mall were enjoyed by all.

The next day, we were up and moving, ready to head to the port at 11 am. Check in was a breeze and in no time at all, we were on board and welcomed with a complimentary glass of champagne. Have you seen the movie Groundhog Day? If so, then you'll appreciate the part where we all got lost while exploring the enormous Norwegian Sky and found ourselves back at square one, receiving a complimentary glass of champagne. I had to laugh as we boarded, because the crew was standing there in tropical shorts with big smiles on their faces. I couldn't help but hear Ricardo Montalban's, "Smiles, everyone!" as we passed their grining faces.

From that point on, reality blurred with surreality. It was sooo wonderful to be pampered, to enjoy delicious meals amid dear friends, and to make memories that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
We shopped at the straw market,



visited Christ Church cathedral,


and made our way to the Queen's Staircase.


We spent a fun day at sea, sunning to a crisp (this was NOT part of our plan, I tell you. I had 30spf on and still fried.) In spite of our sunburns, it was a truly wonderful day of complete, carefree relaxation.

And we also spent a day on Norwegian's private island, Great Stirrup Cay. This was my third time on the island and I love it as much as I always have. The water is a beautiful turquoise blue. The pines and palms rustle in the tropical breeze. The lighthouse stands magestically at one end of the island (a mile by hike). And of course, there's the international airport (nothing more than a heli-pad). The seas were choppy and the tender ride over was quite bumpy, but it didn't put one iota of a damper on our day. Not one.


I'll share some actual photos with you soon (I'm a slug about uploading photos, which doesn't compliment the hobby of scrapbooking too well). Until then, thought I'd give you an update so you know we made it back alive and well. Sniz has some photos posted on her blog so stop by and check them out.

As for our way home, dh and I were flying standby. We got ourselves on the list for Miami to Chicago. I asked him to login to a gate computer just to double check the standby list and see if we were likely to make the flight. Uh, no. That would be a definite no, what with FIFTY standbys ahead of us on the list. That's right, F-I-F-T-Y. So, we flew back to Indy, then purchased standby fares on Continental into Cleveland (yes, ironically Indy is home and we made it back to Indy but our children were waiting for us at their Nana and Papa's house back in Cleveland).

Toni