Come Sail Away

So, as some of you may know, we got back from a wonderful vacation Friday. Last year when we were coming back from Costa Rica, we were voluntarily bumped and paid $2400 in flight vouchers. Well we realized we had to use them but couldn't really afford the vacation after the flight. So, mom got on-line (the next best place to DI) and found a deal. We had a five day four night cruise for $200 per person. That meant we wouldn't have to worry about food, hotels, or much entertainment outside of the $100. Anyway, we roped Linda, Marti, and Nathan into going with us and it was awesome.Sunday we flew to Chicago, where Peter ran me to the next flight so I couldn't try and see LeShel, and then on to Ft. Lauderdale. The kids look really happy when they fly with Peter but they didn't do so well with me. I don't have enough patience and they don't love me enough to let me lay on their laps.
Anyway, when we got to Ft. Lauderdale, I realized I hadn't brought car seats for my kids (I knew I was forgetting something). Fortunately car seat rules don't apply in taxi vans. So, we finally go to our hotel and went to bed.

Monday we shuttled down to Miami where we went to board the boat. The kids were thrilled and they each carried their little backpack. Then, we got stuck. Apparently they don't like you to cruise after you are 20 weeks because they don't want to deal with anyone delivering. So, we sat in the port until they realized they would have to refund everyone's money if they sent me home and they let me on. They were, however, sure to let me know, after we set sail, that if anything happened they would not be able to help and they would just air lift me off the boat. So, we got on and had our practice evacuation.

Tuesday, we arrived at Freeport, Grand Bahama Island and it was so warm we opted not to spend the $10 per person round trip to get into town but to enjoy the straw markets and then relax on the boat. It sounds like a boring day but it was just what we needed. That night, the kids went to the Kids Crew. They opened at 5:30 or 6:00 every night and kept the kids for free until 10:30. They loved going because there was constant entertainment and activity there and we decided it kept them on their Utah schedule anyway. So, each night we went to a fancy dinner (pictures below) and then whatever their free show was. Afterwards we would have a few quick rounds of speed Scrabble and then pick up the kids.
Wednesday was our day in Nassau when we decided to do some excursions. I took the kids on a glass bottom boat (not as impressive as it sounds) where they could look over a waist high wall at some window panes in the floor showing them rather unimpressive grayish fish. We did enjoy the boat ride though. Peter on the other hand had the time of his life. He went diving with the sharks with Nathan. Their first dive, they swam around with about 10 sharks and got pretty close to them. Then for the second dive they had them change into wet suits so they would be black and not so easily resemble the food they would be feeding the sharks. Peter sat on the ocean floor; Nathan refused to wear someone else's wet suit, while they fed 25-30 sharks. Now they took a lot of pictures and I am going to get one to put on here ASAP but I have to tell you they don't even look real. You have little Peter sitting there in the middle of all of these 6-8 foot sharks and they look mean. They are close enough to touch him and they look just like Jaws. It was crazy. It's one of those things you would see on National Geographic and you would say, "What kind of a moron would go down there with those? He deserves to get eaten." But alas, you can always find someone that will pay to do something crazy. When Peter was getting ready to go, Julia asked if he was going to get eaten. I explained that daddy wouldn't go if he thought he was going to get eaten. Now I am wondering if he realized exactly what he was doing and if he wanted to get eaten!

Thursday was supposed to be our day at Great Stirrup Cay, the private island for Norwegian Cruise lines, but it was too windy for them to tender us over there and there isn't a place to dock the ship. So, we spent a day at sea enjoying the sun.

Friday we left the boat after breakfast and went on a little tour of an alligator park. It was facinating. When we were driving there, we drove next to a canal type river and you could see alligators sitting up on the side sunning themselves. I remember my parents talking about something similar when I was little and they took me to the Everglades. Anyway, when we got there we rode on an airboat (Porter looked like Shrek) and then saw a short alligator show. The would let the kids hold a baby alligator for $3 and my kids were too afraid so I paid them each $1 to hold the thing. Then they had gator nuggets, yes they are really made out of alligator, and I wanted my kids to say they had eaten alligator so I had to pay them another dollar to get them to do that-- I know another one of those things I swore I would never do. But Brigham actually didn't mind it with enough ketchup (he takes after his mom) and asked if he could earn another dollar by eating another. I could see where he was going and told him that I would only pay for the first one. Anyway, it was a great tour. We learned a lot about alligators and crocodiles such as alligators have a blind spot and so that is why you have heard of people putting their arms or heads inside. We also learned that if you take a six week alligator and put him on the ground, he will run from you but if you do the same thing with a crocodile it will run after you. They say that is how you really tell the difference, by whether it is chasing you or running from you.
After the alligator park, we got back on the tour bus and took our flight to Dallas, and then home to Utah. It was a wonderful trip. I miss the sun but it is great to be back where we have a bit more room.