Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Top Ten Reasons that a Caribbean Cruise is a GREAT way to vacation!

10. When you cruise the Caribbean, you can jump off from New Orleans, and New Orleans is where you will find Bourbon street, and Bourbon Street is an EXCELLENT place to take young boys on the Saturday afternoon before the Saturday night Florida/LSU football game.
I can't know for sure since there's no way for me to be inside his head, but I'm fairly certain that in this one Noah was contemplating the risks/benefits of following a couple of frat guys into the bar for a margarita . . . until he realized that I was watching.
(BTW - I've decided that New Orleans is a pretty cool city. I'll try to post details on our time there later.)

9. New Orleans also has Cafe du Monde which serves a mean beignet. Everywhere else in the USA a beignet is called a scone, but in New Orelans they dump gallons of powdered sugar on the bread after it is fried and if you say beignet with a French accent you can convince yourself that eating six of them isn't unhealthy. It's French after all, and who on earth eats healthier than the French?
8. My boys seem to like each other more when they are waiting to get on a cruise ship bound for the Yucatan Peninsula. I'm almost positive that if we were waiting to get on a cruise ship bound for the Baja Peninsula they would have been fighting a lot more.
And it wasn't just because they were excited to get going. This one is from the middle of the week in Cozumel. Adam was towing Noah in after Noah got tired of swimming, and they were both laughing. I'm telling you, this water is magical.
And this one is from the last day when we were waiting to leave. Because Noah doesn't have his citizenship yet we had to attend a meeting with other non-citizens before they would let us off the boat. Phil and I were MUCH more cranky at this point because we had been waiting for an hour for Sergio and Barbara to show up before we could go through customs. I know we were waiting for Sergio and Barbara because they were paged approximately a dozen times before they decided to finally stumble in and join the rest of us. We found out later that the debarkation process for the entire ship was held up because of these yahoos. Thanks Serge. Thanks Barb.
(I'm choosing to block out the one ugly incident between the boys when I was in the shower and Phil was on the deck and they got in a fight. Noah drew blood with a fierce scratch to Adam's cheek. We still aren't exactly sure what Adam did to provoke him, but I'm guessing they came out even.)

7. Phil is waaaaayyyyyy more radical in the Caribbean.
6. Noah was near his homeland, and I think he felt it.

He rocked the dance floor . . .
And the dining room . . .
And the beach!
5. I'm pretty sure that Progresso, Mexico is the only place on the planet that after a day at the beach an 8-year-old American boy can barter with a middle-aged Mexican man to get a shriveled shark head for the bargain price of $5. And you'll be happy to know that shriveled shark heads maintain their lovely ocean odor for what seems to be forever. Much like a beloved new puppy, the shark head spent his first night home in Adam's bedroom. After opening the bedroom door the next morning I quickly determined that the shark head would live in the garage indefinitely.
4. Towel animals and mints on our bed every night . . . and, let's be real, somebody else making the beds every morning.
3. Twelve skinny little boys in one hot tub . . . and they were all happy to share the space. I'm sure that the hot tub reserved for the adults that you can see in the top of this picture wasn't nearly as friendly (at least not in the middle of the day).

2. Breakfast on deck with Noah while Phil and Adam snoozed away in the cabin.

This is another one where I can't know for sure, but I think Noah was doing another risk/benefit analysis. This time the question was whether or not the people laying out on the lower deck would appreciate having syrup or juice dribbled on their backs.
1. This is not a chlorinated swimming pool with it's bottom painted blue . . . this is what the Caribbean ocean looks like. Unbelievable.


1a. Cheeseburgers and Pizza for dinner EVERY NIGHT if that's what you choose. Noah did inhale a cheeseburger every single night, and one night he followed it up with a pb&j. Adam mixed it up a little bit and only had pizza half the time.

Phil convinced Adam to have the lobster tail one night . . . (that Phil and I happily finished off after Adam got full),
. . . and after much contemplation, he even tried some escargots. He liked them. According to Adam, they taste just like beef. I think Adam actually gained a pound or two on the cruise. (Notice the scratches on his face? Thanks Noah.)
The escargots were also a hit with Sam. . .
But not so much with Lizzy.
1b. Chocolate Melting Cake! This little cup of paradise was my cheeseburger. I convinced myself that it was calorie and fat free so that I could enjoy one every night. .
1c. 'Nuff said.
I tried to keep it to ten, but seriously, that wasn't going to happen. There's no way. I'll post more pics on facebook in a day or two if anybody is really interested in seeing more.

8 comments:

Amanda Miller said...

Don't forget, dropping off boys at Camp Carnival!!!

Nathan said...

Green with envy doesn't even begin to describe me right now.

Ging said...

How fun!! I have always wanted to take a cruise. I do believe that a pre-cruise diet would be an absolute necessity from all that I have heard. So glad you had such a wonderful time.

The Good News said...

jealous. JEAAAAAAAALOUS. jealous. pick me next time!!!

The Jo's said...

We went on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon! Those chocolate melting cakes were a nightly (and often bi and tri-nightly) hit with my husband. I stuck with the new york cheesecake that was delivered to my room every night. Siiiiiigh...

I am glad you had a great time! We are anxious to find a way back on a cruise ship soon!!

Kelly Hill said...

Jealous.
so frecckkin' jealous.....

Michelle said...

I'm with your sister. so. freakin'. jealous.
But, glad you had a great time!!! Ü

Renae said...

I am impressed you could keep it to ten (mas o menos).
Of course some of them you couldn't describe, you just had to be there!! How about card trick guy messing with Sylvia's reality? How about the first 5 days in Sam's life that he actually ate with good table manners? (before or since)?