We realize it has been an inordinately long time since our last blog update and we apologize to our faithful readers, but we weren't able to get it done before we left Fort Myers Beach (after returning from the cruise - Todd's mom's 75th birthday surprise) and we didn't have Internet access once we reached the Ten Thousand Islands area. Our last update was the morning of March 5th so that's where this update begins. We should also note that this update is split into two posts due to its length and the number of photos we want to post.
Mike & Mary ("What Daze It?") arrived at Bonita Bill's Monday afternoon and stayed until Thursday morning when they headed south to Marco Island to meet up with some friends who drove from Alabama to spend a few days with them on their boat. We had a good time while they were there, beginning with an evening of entertainment featuring The Yard Dogs, a local Cajun band that is playing at Bonita Bill's every Monday night in March. Our "evening" of entertainment lasted well into Tuesday morning, so Tuesday was a mellow day for all of us, although we did venture across the bridge to check out the many "Spring Breakers" hanging out on the beach.
On Wednesday we dinghied over to Matanza's Inn for lunch and then spent Wednesday evening visiting with Mike & Mary on their boat. We also took a dinghy ride late Wednesday afternoon and got pulled over by the Coast Guard on the way back to the boat. They were just checking to make sure we had enough life jackets on board for the four of us, but we told them we did and they went on their way.
Mike & Mary left late Thursday morning to head south and we made preparations to leave for the cruise early Saturday morning. Heath & Tyra, a couple who recently purchased a small sailboat in a slip on our dock, graciously offered to drive us to meet the Cruise Connection bus that took us to the Port of Miami. We arrived at the Port of Miami late Saturday morning and met up with the rest of the group - Jennifer & Mark from Orlando, along with Jennifer's two daughters Shannon and Sara, a friend of Sara's (Natalie), and Mark's son Chris; Todd's parents, Bill & Marilyn; and the Dewey's (Marc, Kim and Garrett) who had joined us at the Lanning gathering in May of 2006.
Mark's daughter Rachel rode with us on the Cruise Connection bus from Fort Myers, so there were fourteen of us in our "little" group. Mark's youngest daughter, Jessica, wasn't able to come so Sara's friend Natalie took her place. After about two hours we made it through the boarding process and were allowed to board the ship. Our luggage arrived a few hours later so we spent the afternoon unpacking and getting settled in.
We left the Port of Miami around 6:00 p.m. and arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico late Monday afternoon, March 12th. In the interim, we read, relaxed and became acquainted with the layout of the ship. There were 2,200+ passengers on board and a good percentage of them were college kids on Spring Break making the most of their time away from class!
These photos were taken from the ship as we left the Port of Miami.
This is Miami's South Beach.
As we entered the port at San Juan, we were able to see the remnants of a neat old fort that had been carved out of stone on one end of the island; however, it was nearly dark by the time we left the ship to go into San Juan for the evening so we didn't really get to see much else of interest. Our group was too large to keep together on the steep, narrow (and crowded) streets, so we split up and spent a few hours walking around the downtown area with Todd's parents who treated us to some upscale appetizers at a quiet little restaurant along the way.
Downtown San Juan with Todd's parents.
By Tuesday morning we had arrived at the port in St. Thomas and were treated to a wonderful view from the balcony in our room. There were several boats anchored in the bay, from sailboats to multi-million dollar mega yachts, and even one boat very much like "Life's2Short!" Todd's dad arranged the services of a local driver who took our group on an exhilarating open-air bus ride around the island on incredibly steep, narrow, winding roads. Our tour included some shopping in the downtown area, stops at some of the island's most scenic overlooks, and a few hours on the beach. Our driver, Hamlet, was great and we all enjoyed a fun day on St. Thomas.
The view from the balcony of our room.
The "little" boat in the lower right corner is much like "Life's2Short."
A group photo taken from a scenic overlook in the hills of St. Thomas. You can barely see the cruise ships in the background.
Another beautiful shot overlooking Megan's Bay on St. Thomas.
On Wednesday morning we woke up in St. Maarten and left early for a snorkeling excursion on Pinel Island which included a 20-minute bus ride to the other side of St. Maarten and then a short boat ride over to Pinel Island. Half of St. Maarten is Dutch and the other half is French, so there are two separate governments, each with its own governing law. Our port was on the Dutch side and Pinel Island was on the French side. The island's economy is solely tourist-based as they do not grow, produce or manufacture anything. There is also no fresh water on the island so all water, food, etc., has to be brought in by ship.
Kim Dewey, Natalie, Sarah and Jennifer prepare to snorkel.
After leaving St. Maarten, the remainder of the cruise was spent at sea, returning to Miami. On Thursday afternoon, some of us decided to go to the ship's version of "The Newlywed Game" where Todd's parents were selected to participate as the couple who had been married the longest (53 years). Of the other two couples, one had been married less than a week and the other had been married 46 years. At any rate, it was fun to watch as Bill & Marilyn compared answers to some rather personal questions! In the end, the true "newlyweds" matched the most answers but all three couples were given a bottle of champagne for participating.
The "Not So Newlywed" Game featuring Bill & Marilyn Lanning.
Friday was our last day on board and it was a beautiful, sunny day, so Todd got up early and grabbed a few lounge chairs so we could hang out on the deck. The weather during much of the week had been partly to mostly cloudy and windy with a little rain off and on and we hadn't spent much time just lounging on the deck, so we made the most of Friday.
By Saturday morning we were back in Miami and it was time to leave the ship, board the bus and make the trip back to Fort Myers. Rachel was kind enough to take us from the bus drop-off to Summerlin Square where we caught the trolley to Main Street and then walked the rest of the way back to "Life's2Short." This brings us up to Saturday, March 17th.
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