What a wonderful vacation.
A big thanks to Shawn and the Edelen clan who took care of Tyson & Rupert while we were gone...it's a huge relief to know they're happy while we're away. We left on April 18th and had absolutely no problems getting to the ships. My feet swelled, but I had a full week to prop them up! We had 2 great couples at our dinner table, Mike & Missy(from Florida) and Mike and Jen (from Boston). We were almost always the last ones to leave the dinning area every night!
We had 3 days at sea and 3 days at ports. Days at sea are great. We usually had breakfast in bed, went to the gym (
I walked on the treadmill while Scott rode a bike), laid by the pool, played bingo (yes, bingo), and went to dinner. It was the life!
Sunday was our first day at sea. I woke up this morning because I was being poked! This is the first time I have felt the babies movement on the outside of my belly. Luckily, they did it again that evening and Scott got to feel it...INCREDIBLE!
Monday, we went to Ocho Rios Jamaica where Scott and I took an excursion on a bamboo raft down the Martha Brae River. Our guide was Greg and he was a wonderful. He taught us how to say "tings" using local dialect. For example "wha guan?" is used for "what's going on?" Of course, Scott picked up on this much more quickly than me and has enjoyed using the phrases. Because of the limestone in the area, the water was a beautiful shade of blue-green. We saw lots of vegetation too - Mimosa trees that were bigger than we'd ever seen, banana and plantain trees, orange trees, bamboo, etc. There were vendors along the side of the river. We bought a small bamboo replica of our raft from one of them. It was a great time!
Tuesday, we spent the day in Grand Cayman on Seven Mile Beach. It was sunny & hot with a few passing clouds. We had lounge chairs on the beach, but spent most of our time in the beautiful, clear water. This was the first time I had worn my maternity bathing suit. Here's an underwater belly picture for those of you who have been asking for one:
Wednesday was another day at sea and we enjoyed our usual at sea routine: breakfast in bed, the gym, the pool. We met a nice couple from Oregon who were beginning their own journey with infertility. Being able to share our experience helped me realize how thankful I am for where we are now and the things we learned, the people we met, and those who supported us through our journey.
Thursday, we arrived in Cozumel and received bad news from home. Tony called to tell us that Grandma Medley had passed away. Luckily, the funeral was scheduled for the weekend and we would be able to attend. This was the first moment this week where we really wanted to be home. Scott and I took a little time to process the news and then felt ready to go on shore. I picked out a pair of shorts to wear, but they didn't fit even though they fit before the cruise! So, I wore maternity shorts! Although Cozumel was nothing like we remembered from 10 years ago, it was lovely. The people were very friendly and the environment was festive. We rented a jeep and drove all around the island. This was the perfect adventure for the day and being in the jeep reminded us of Kauai! We saw the beaches and ended up stopping at San Gervasio to see Mayan ruins.
Friday was our last day at sea. Today, I began the day with a head, neck, foot, and ankle massage...it was very relaxing and felt wonderful. Then we had breakfast in bed and went to the pool. It was a pretty windy and a little too cool for the pool, but we enjoyed sitting in chairs beside the pool. We got a lot of sun today which was nice.
This trip turned out to be more than we had even imagined. During those moments of silence or when we took naps, we'd look at each other and say "remember this moment". We treasure these experiences we've had before kids and look forward to sharing new experiences with our children. We're sure vacations from now on may not be this relaxing, but we are sure they'll also be ones we'll never forget.
