I made it home at 1:00 a.m. this morning. A few hours late and a few airline changes later because of flight delays, etc., but home none the less. The same cannot be said of my luggage. It remains flying around the country somewhere or another. Nita's suitcase is hopefully keeping it company and they will decide to return home to Spokane in the near future! Goodness I missed Dennis. I don't think I'll do that again, although I LOVED cruising so much I have already put a deposit down on the next cruise. Now I just need to talk him into going with me!
Here is a quick recap of the first part of the week and then I'll do a follow-up with the second half later in the week.
We stayed Saturday night in Houston. It was pouring down rain the entire time we were there and we ended up literally running next door to get a taco at Taco Bell for dinner instead of walking to a nice Chinese restaurant we had been told to try. We still got soaked but we just went back to the hotel and put our jammies on while the clothes dried.
Here is the view of our stateroom. We had an outside balcony which was wonderful to sit on to watch the view and docking the ship, etc.
Notice the queen size bed. We were supposed to have twin beds. When we reminded the room steward he quickly took care of it and within a couple of minutes, viola, there were two beds instead of one. I was face-timing with Dennis when thesteward brought my life jacket to me before the drill you're required to attend. When he realized I was talking to my husband, he took the phone and told Dennis that he would take very good care of me all week and personally make sure I was at the proper life boat if the situation warranted it! Very funny, but also very nice. I can't believe the amazing service everyone on board provided to us.
Tiny bathroom and shower, but adequate. My bathroom at the camper is actually bigger!
Of course I found a knitting group on board and Nita, (on the left), even brought her crocheting! She's never done that before but did for me. :-) There were 10 other women that met each morning at 9:30 when the ship was at sea. That's Nita my cruise-mate on the left.
Sorry this is a bit blurry. This lady with me is from New York City. We enjoyed each others company a lot. We met in the Skywalker lounge which is on the 17 floor aft, which I learned means rear of the ship. The view up there was spectacular.
The Piazza. Oh. My. Goodness. This was the central meeting area with boutiques and the International Café there. It is 3 floors high. Beautiful day AND night.
Another view of the grand staircase.
The champagne waterfall. Yes. Your's truly did go up and pour champagne but I didn't drink any. I really don't like the taste of champagne at all. I believe there were 750 champagne glasses in the waterfall.
My dessert one night. Ooh la la! How fancy. Going to the lake and having somemores will be quite a difference won't it? Ha! Would you believe I only gained 2 lbs. this week? I think some of that was water retention from flying too. I walked and walked and walked everyday and didn't feel one bit of guilt for the food I ate.
Having a cup of tea on the balcony one morning. It was SO HOT and HUMID. Oh my! I had my hair back most of the trip. Not a flattering look but it was a matter of survival.
Beach day in Roatan. This was so much fun. I have never seen water like this, even in Hawaii. A clear aquamarine color that is indescribable.
The beach.
Another beach view. Look at that water. Those aren't shadows. That's the bottom of the ocean. The water is that clear. And warm. It was like taking a warm bath. Lovely.
The next two pictures were taken from our bus in Belize City, Belize. We were on our way to take a ride in an airboat. I couldn't believe the abject poverty we saw. This house was a mansion and beautiful compared to most. The average hourly wage is $1.50/hour. Until 3 weeks ago gas was over $9.00 a gallon. Just imagine. Working all day just to buy a gallon of gas to go to work!
It was a humbling bus trip.
Soldiers with machine guns driving around in these trucks everywhere. The yellow building looks really nice because it is in the tourist area.
The view from my hidey hole where I would go during the day to knit when I needed a few minutes of alone time. Isn't it gorgeous? I don't think most people even knew this small pool existed. There were so many pools and hot tubs around the ship, but most people used the two big ones on the pool deck.
Thank you to all, who prayed for me this week. I so appreciated it. My wish is for everyone of you to experience what I did this week.
I'll be back later this week for a final installment. :-)
Many blessings to you all,
Betsy
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