West Caribbean Cruise

The Carnival Freedom

We left Salt Lake on the morning of Saturday, September 18th, for Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. I never quite get used to flying!! One of my greatest fears. How I hate that I hate it! But how else do you get to Florida? So off we went for a week of true relaxation. I love to cruise more than I hate to fly.

Our cruise ship was the Carnival Freedom and we left port on Sunday afternoon. We visited Key West, Grand Cayman (Georgetown), and Jamaica (Ocho Rios). We traveled with Brad, Tyler and Ben and since I don't swim and don't snorkel, Mike and Tyler snorkeled in Grand Cayman. Mike said that the coral wasn't as vibrant in color as what he has seen on other cruises but they had a good time. He sunburns so easily so he had taken precaution by wearing a shirt with his swim suit. However, he forgot his sunscreen and forgot that the backs of his legs were not protected. When he returned to the ship, his legs were "vibrant in color". He spent a lot more time on this cruise in shorts ... something we rarely see! (By the way, I like him in shorts! He needs to wear them more often!)

Our highlight of the trip was in Jamaica. At the suggestion of Marc and Gretchen, we decided to try the Zipline excursion. What a blast! We loved it and took several pictures (thank you, Ben!) That is definitely an excursion we would go on again! The workers/instructors were so professional and fun. We were told that we could yell, scream, cry and even use profanity .... that there were "no swear words that the trees of the forest had not heard before". The first line was a bit "breathtaking" but the following 8 were much easier. By the time we had "zipped" down nearly 3000 feet, we were beginning to feel like "seasoned" zipliners! Well, almost! I nearly crashed into a tree on the next to last landing! Once again, the instructor was the saving factor! I think I may have scared him a little, too, but he was willing to put himself between me and the tree!

Mike and I are all suited up!

"Tough" looking group, don't you think?

Getting instructions

Mike "flying" through the trees!

"Here I come! Catch me!"

A long walk up but a shorter walk down!

Taken on our way back to the shuttle. The flowers were beautiful!

Guess who got back first? Youth has it!

We loved the formal nights, the good food, the warmth and even the humidity ..... well, at least I loved the humidity! We did a little shopping at each port but came home with very little in the way of souvenirs. No souvenirs but some really good memories.

All dressed up for one of the two formal nights onboard.

They clean up right nice, don't they?

(Ben, Tyler, and Brad)

It was a great trip! We are ready to book another cruise for 2011. Anyone want to go with us??

September, Family and Good Times!

September has started out to be a busy month. Jake celebrated his 3rd birthday on the 8th. I stayed down at Chris and Niccole's until the 9th. I picked up Ivan on the way back to Logan on Thursday. It was our "time together". It was so much fun to have Ivan with us for a few days. He went to stay with Caitlin to celebrate Cait's birthday on Friday and on Saturday Ivan, Caitlin and I went out to lunch at McDonald's. We then spent the afternoon together before going to dinner at Texas Roadhouse to also celebrate Cait's birthday. Ivan went to play out at Phil and Kristen's because the Roadhouse has too many peanuts which he is very allergic to. We didn't go to church on Sunday but continued to spend time together on Monday. We went out to have lunch, feed the ducks and do all the things that Grandma's and grandsons find fun doing together. I loved the time with Ivan! He is so much fun!

Gretchen had given Ivan $5 to bring to Logan with him. She told him that if he didn't spend it all that he should bring back the rest to give it to her. He also had about a dollar and a little change that was his own. It was a hoot to see how hard he tried to spend the money that his mother gave him. On Tuesday morning he still had the full amount. He begged me to take him to "All a Dollar" to find something to take home. Ivan was to ride back as far as Ogden with Mike and then Gretchen would pick him up there. We went shopping! It was funny! He wanted to spend at least $5 . When we got home he had his treasures from the "dollar" store. Then he drew out a dollar bill. I said, "Oh good! You have a dollar to take back to your Mom." He replied, "Oh, no. I spent my mom's money. This is the dollar that I brought that was mine!" Grandad and I had a good laugh!!

"Ivan's dollar" to take home!

Packed up and ready to go home.

Caitlin is in the saddle to have "Happy Birthday" sang to her while eating at Texas Roadhouse.