D and I never got to take the quintessential honeymoon that so many of our friends got to take. We had so much going on at the time that it wasn't doable much more than a few days at a local bed and breakfast. Still? Our marriage has been blessed beyond measure and we lead a very happy and good life.
The past few years we have both worked very hard to have the things we have and do the things we do. Just the same, we rarely stop working to have what most people call a "real vacation." Last Spring, we got to thinking about how important it was for us to continue to be invested in the quality of our life and our relationship and decided to take the plunge with booking a week long cruise to the southern Caribbean and WITHOUT Miss A. It was all a really big step up for us and we anxiously awaited the big trip.
When the time finally came for us to ship off (literally!), Miss A went down to spend the week with my brother and sister-in-law and their three daughters (all five years and under!) for a "Cousins Camp." Can't say we didn't miss her very much over the course of the trip (I cried probably 4-5 of the seven days we were away because I missed her so much), but I will say that we quickly learned how nice it was to be able to have a sampling of kid-free time where we could go wherever we wanted, keep whatever agenda we pleased, and (BEST OF ALL) finish books and take naps in the middle of the day that were hours on end without any interruption. It was AMAZING.
For this trip we cruised with Royal Caribbean out of San Juan, PR and sailed to Curacao, Aruba, Dominica, and St. Thomas. We did snorkeling excursions in Aruba and St. Thomas and a guided rainforest trek to a waterfall in Dominica. Shopping was awesome in Aruba for both locally made items as well as duty-free jewelry (we got a beautiful cross on a chain for Miss A for her to wear for church and other special occasions) and the food and produce was delicious fresh in Dominica. Every day we had was proclaimed as the BEST and our very favorite day was the last one in St. Thomas when we got to snorkel with sea turtles, sting rays, and some locally known (and kept secret!) coral reefs with the excursion company Bones USVI. We HIGHLY recommend the excursion to anybody who goes to St. Thomas and we will totally go back there and do more excursions with them again someday.
It was our first cruise but it certainly won't be our last. On the list (so far - ha!) of cruises we'd like to take in the rest of our life are the Mediterranean (with at least one stop in Greece), Alaska, down the coast of Asia, and cruising with Holland America, Princess, and Disney even though Royal Caribbean (and the food, accommodations, entertainment, and service) was TOPS!
Monday D and I are back to work/school but we will definitely be dreaming of the Caribbean until our next cruise!
No comments:
Post a Comment