Jamaican Me Crazy...

We crossed off another county on our bucket list today.  And honestly, I'm not sure I'd hurry back to Jamaica.  Our excursion was nice enough.  We toured the Green Grotto Caves.  I saw enough bats to last me for the rest of my life, and I saw a boa constrictor in its natural habitat.  NO, I did not pet it or attempt to pick it up.  We walked about 3/4 mile through the caves.  By the end of the walk, the humidity was making me nauseous and I was happy to be done.

The next part of our excursion was visiting Fern Gully.  It was pretty, but not quite what Bill and I were expecting.  It was very narrow, hilly road.  Whenever the road widened a bit, vendors had crammed the space full and were shouting at us to stop and shop.  Our driver, Hugh, said there was no way he was stopping, as he told us the vendors would swarm us like vultures.  So he slowed down a couple of times, rolled down our windows, and told us to take a few pictures.  

After our rather fast, harrowing drive through Fern Gully, we stopped at a few stores.  Our guide told us he'd bring us to a place that would treat us somewhat fairly.  He was right...we got a reasonable price on a few things we had been looking for, but the storekeepers were unnerving.  They followed us everywhere and would NOT let us leave until we purchased something.  Bill and I stood our ground and negotiated better pricing, but after a half hour of dealing with Jamaicans like this, I was tired and ready to return to the ship.  Jamaicans are much poorer than we expected them to be.  The unemployment rate is a staggering 33%.  Their homes are very simple, and it's clear they don't have too many possessions.  Our guide told us that the people of Ocho Rios love having the cruise ships visit, because it has done so much to boost the local economy.  But the downside of that is Jamaicans don't see us as human beings.  They see us as dollar signs.

I don't want you to think we had a bad day.  It was beautiful, and Hugh was a lot of fun.  And I think it's important to see how the rest of the world lives.  Now, on to Grand Cayman!

Relaxing is tough work

Today was a lazy at-sea day.  We went to breakfast in the nicer dining room, since we had the time to spare.  My Belgian waffles with strawberries and cream was fabulous.

Breakfast was so stressful that I had to come back to our room and take a nap.  Both Bill and I also did lots of walking around the ship.  I took some more pictures, including some pictures of the coastline of Cuba.  We had some rain on and off, but it cleared up and got quite warm by lunch time.

Our only disappointment for today was that we had wanted to see the movie "The Butler" in the small screening room.  But because of the rain, lots of other people had the same idea, and the room was full.  Bill opted to have a DVD delivered to our stateroom instead.  I mentioned wanting to see "So I Married an Axe Murderer", but he went with "Of Mice and Men." Yawn.

I had banana ice cream for an afternoon snack. Yeah.  That was...weird.

We often have to walk through the shops on the third level to get from one place to another.  Much to my disappointment, they do not have any aloe vera for sale.  I resemble a greenhouse tomato today.  And, much to my disappointment, Bill keeps checking out the men's watches available in the jewelry store.  The first one he looked at was on sale for a mere $2600.  I told him to PUT IT BACK.  

Tomorrow we visit Ocho Rios, Jamaica.  Bill and I will be going on a tour of Fern Gully (the rainforest) and some caves.  I'm looking forward to it.  And Bill wants to find some Jamaican coffee to bring home.  If we are able to find an Internet cafe, we may post some pictures and do some texting.  I found out the hard way yesterday that pictures upload very slowly when using the ship's internet.  Sucked up 10 precious minutes yesterday uploading those pictures.  Oopsie.  Hope you enjoyed them!

It's time to get ready for the first of our two formal dinners.  I'm going to have my nightly bowl of French onion soup at dinner.  I can't even begin to tell you how fabulous it is.  It's too bad they don't serve it by the gallon.

Bahamas!

People who have never been on a cruise don't know what they are missing. This is my favorite way to vacation. You are treated like you are in a resort, but the scenery keeps changing. 

We spent today on Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas. This island was leased by Holland America from the Bahamian government for 6 million dollars in 1994. The lease is for 99 years. When they leased the island, it was uninhabited. Holland America spent 15 million making it usable. They had to put in electricity, a water plant (they make their own water through reverse osmosis), and built numerous structures on the island to make it comfortable for its visitors. Bill and I took a guided nature walk of the island today and our guide was very informative (can you tell?).

45 people now live year-round on the island, and they are all employed by Holland America.  They are primarily maintenance people who make sure everything stays working correctly.  The majority of the employees (like our guide), live on another island about 18 miles away. She told us it is an hour and a half boat ride to work every day (which, of course, means there is a 90-minute commute home too). No thanks!

We were told to wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen.  I did put on sunscreen.  Really.  But I have two skin tones--pasty white and red.  And, at 37 years old, I still haven't learned to put on sunscreen properly.  So I am hurting right now.  If you touch my shoulders, you'll be hurting too.  That's a threat, and a promise. Haha.  I need to see if the store onboard has any aloe.

We saw some really pretty little blue lizards while we were on our walk today.  Our guide said they are corn lizards, also known as blue-tail lizards.  They are normally very timid, but one ran right up to me.  I may have freaked out a little and encouraged the little guy to move in a different direction.  Our guide laughed and assured me it was not dangerous.  I shot right back, "Well, neither are mice and I don't want one of those on my feet either!"  She laughed, agreed completely, and said I made a good point.  

We also spent some time sitting under a clamshell umbrella on the beach.  I fell asleep.  Yes, I took a nap on the beach in the Bahamas.  You're jealous.  We did not swim.  Bill didn't want to, and I don't like swimming by myself.  I did go for a walk along the shore (thus adding to the sunburn) and picked up a few unique shells to show TJ, Sam, and Nolan when we get home.  I was surprised at how small the shells were.

I can't describe how beautiful the island is, but I'll try. The water is the most amazing shade of blue.  The sand is almost white and it's so soft it feels like you are walking on talcum powder.  There's a sign on the beach that says "I wish I could stay here forever".  I can relate.  It's about as close to heaven on earth as you can get.

But, we have now re-boarded the ship.  Our cabin is in the very front of the ship, on the 6th deck (which is about halfway up).  We have a window that faces out the front.  It's really cool, because we can see exactly where we are going.  Only a couple cabins have this view.

Tomorrow is an 'at sea' day, while we head to Jamaica.  I plan on getting in a nice workout, read a lot, and perhaps doing a little shopping for three boys I know.  I miss you guys!  I hope you had fun with Papa and Grandma Cindy today!

Interesting factoid

Sam got off the bus this afternoon and shared the following with me:

"It's very difficult to go to the bathroom upside down. That's why bats poop when they are flying."

Yes, folks. Those are your public education tax dollars at work!

Heartwarming

Some days, my boys can drive me nuts. Honestly, if I hear one more fart noise, I may need to visit a mental institution. 

But other days, I am just in awe of how loving and supportive my boys can be of each other. A few weeks ago, we learned that whenever Nolan got hot lunch, he was going without a beverage. He didn't know where the milk was in the cafeteria, so he went without (yes, I am more than a little disgusted that no adult noticed and helped my child). Sam eats before Nolan, and his recess ends when Nolan's lunch is starting. Sam has since taken it upon himself to go back in the lunchroom and help Nolan get everything he needs. Nolan no longer goes thirsty at lunch. 

Then there is their artwork. Nolan came home with a simple heart. One side says "I love mom and" you turn the heart over to see "I love Sam". Sam came home the same week with a card he made. The front simply says 'Dear Nolan' and inside it reads, "you are the best kid in the hole world I love you I like you so so much. Sam"

I have no words. I love my boys. 

My poor kids

For Christmas, Nolan was given a 'Boogie Board'. It's like a Magna Doodle, but it has an LCD screen. You draw on it and when you are done, you hit 'clear' and it erases the board. Nolan enjoys drawing on it. And more than once, I've left him silly notes or funny drawings, which he gets a kick out of. 

Bill got a hold of the board last night. And wrote in C# code on it. Something about Nolan needing to keep his room clean. It was totally bizarre, but Nolan wasn't the least bit phased by it. 

I think the odds of my children growing up to be weird adults are pretty good. 

He gets it!

This past weekend, we took the boys on the Amtrak to Chicago. From there, we took the Metra to New Lenox and went to the DeYoung family Christmas party. Taking the train turned out to be a brilliant move, as the roads were awful. Eric's family and Amanda's family didn't even go, the roads were so bad. 

But my boys were beyond excited. They loved every minute of the Amtrak ride and were excited about the Metra because there is an upper level. I agreed that we could sit up there. I had been up since before 5:30, and we had been traveling for about 7 hours at this point. I was exhausted. Nolan, my seat mate, was still going strong. In fact, he was literally bouncing out of his seat. I finally asked him if he would PLEASE just settle down. 

Nolan gave me a knowing look and said, "Why? Am I being annoying again?"