October 2016: Part IV - St Thomas

Our first port of call was St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We had breakfast then took a skyride up to Paradise Pier. The views were gorgeous, and it was cool to get some perspective from there of just how big our cruise ship was. I'm surprised we didn't see more cruise passengers up there. It's reasonably priced and just a short walk from where the boat docks. 

Back when we were childless, we took big trips regularly. This was our first big vacation without children in nearly 4 years. Deja vu! 

Beautiful!

We're still cute together. We just have a few more wrinkles and a bit more gray hair.

We saw a huge digger coming down this tiny, narrow hill where all the rich people live. We were impressed with how easily he turned the machine by planting the digger piece down. We recorded it for Tyler because we knew how much he would have loved watching it in action.

We also found an Iguana at the top of those trees. That whole vacation could have been called "Find the Iguanas!"
After we got our fill of panoramic beauty, we walked to a pharmacy to get an underwater camera for our underwater excursion later that day. We then walked towards downtown, but didn't quite make it there. Many cab drivers tried selling us a ride, but we weren't in a hurry and didn't need to go anywhere in particular, so we opted to just walk.

Pretty panoramas of the bay

We found a little street market and bought some cheap T-shirts and a bandana for Oscar to cover his neck after that nasty sunburn. I also had a hair wrap done for $24 ($2 per inch). I kept it on until we got back to Washington. It was fun to play with.

We took a local bus about 2/3rds of the way back since we had time and didn't want to pay more for a cab. It was kind of neat to mingle with the locals for a bit. This made us think of our kids again since we saw a playground and a mom with a baby on the bus.

We made it back to the ship for lunch then left again to take a boat out to our underwater excursion - BOSS (Breathing Observation Submersible Scooter). We sailed out to Buck Island national preserve, an island where astronauts used to train for harsh conditions in zero gravity.

The BOSS staff told us the lighthouse had been closed for water damage after a massive wave hit the island several years ago. We weren’t allowed to even touch the land because it’s a protected historical area.

Going under the water in our scooters was amazing! I really don't have words to describe it. I've always been a bit of a water baby, so it was right in my element. We started off by swimming our heads down into our helmets, which was then open with air flowing into it. Water was coming into the bubble from the bottom but not filling it up. It was a bit unnerving until you got in but then you could breathe comfortably. There were three non swimmers in our group, so it was a bit rough for them to get into it, but they all figured it out eventually. Two swimmers couldn’t manage it and had to miss out. I watched one struggling and felt pretty bad for her. She looked like an 8 year old from down where I was. We had to focus on popping our ears due to the change in air pressure.

I'd never done anything with extended time underwater, but I’m thinking now I would really like scuba diving. A tiny sunken rowboat we saw looked amazing, so I bet bigger shipwrecks are really cool.

From where I was, it didn’t seem like we were moving anywhere. We were, but it was so slow it was hard to tell it was happening. I found Oscar, who had the camera, and did my best to signal to him how much I was enjoying myself. We hung around for a bit while the scuba staff took our pictures with fish swimming up around us. I'm glad they took pictures since the ones we took were terrible. We really didn't know how to wind that camera properly. I had no trouble smiling because I was having the time of my life.

However, I was sad to see Oscar giving me a frowny face and trying to signal the diver that he needed to stop. They usually don’t have people struggle in the middle of it, just the anxiety at the beginning, so it took the diver a bit to notice his distress. He was incredibly sea sick, and unfortunately it only got worse on the boat. There was nowhere for him to get stable. He's not a water baby like me, and it was just too much all at once. 

I stayed in the water and snorkeled while the other two groups took their turns on the scooter. The water was super buoyant and super salty. I found lots of sea urchins and a few colorful fish here and there, but it all paled in comparison to the BOSS. Still, it was nice to float around in the Caribbean. Our life preservers were cool. You blew the air into them yourself.

I accidentally scraped my arm on an anchoring ball, and it hurt like crazy. The boat captain said “don’t touch my ball. It’s got crabs.” No kidding! It didn’t even leave a mark, but it hurt so bad for several hours, probably because of all the salt getting into the wound. After getting back on the boat I tried these awesome Bindi cookies they had on board. I saved a few for Oscar to eat when he wasn't feeling so sick, telling him “they’re like Oreos but softer with a delicious donut aftertaste.” Later on when he did try them he said “nasty! They’re like stale, wannabe Oreos with this weird donut flavor.” To each his own!

We got back on the ship and Oscar napped while I checked out the pools and waterslides on the upper deck. They had a neat kid’s area within it, which made me miss my little ones. This cruise clearly catered to a much younger crowd than our Hawaii cruise. I then went back for a shower and we took sunset pictures just before dinner.

It took Oscar a good long time to get this time lapse video.

At dinner we met new friends - Ritchelle and Chris, an engaged couple from Puerto Rico. There was also Brigham, Brigham's sister and her coworkers from Indianapolis. They worked in hospital billing and knew where my friend Kara's husband works, though they didn't know him personally. The food on this cruise was amazing, of course. My only complaint is that nearly everything had onions in it (clearly they had Oscar in mind when they were preparing it).

The wait staff danced for us nightly. We liked watching our waiter bust a move.

After dinner we did cha cha class, which was a lot like Zumba. Ritchelle and Chris cheered us on and recorded us. Then we played a Battle of the Sexes game. The ladies won with my knowing Rose Red is Snow White’s sister. We then did this hilarious little bears running around game where he read a story and you had to run a lap every time your name was called (I was Papa Bear and Oscar was The House). They said it got too busy to name a winner, but really, it was the men. Oscar even tripped and fell over from running so hard. Then I shook my booty and twerked to get ping pong balls out of a fanny pack and and won it for the ladies. I earned my first ship on a stick with more to come later. Oscar earned a bottle of champagne since he'd been the men's team captain, so he gave it away to another guy who'd done the little bears game with us. 

We had a neat Yak towel animal that evening.

The next day was our only day entirely at sea, so we took advantage of it and slept from 10pm – 9am. It was awesome! We ate breakfast and then watched "Towel Animal Theater." It was something Tyler would have loved, especially when the bubbles started up. Though if he'd been there he probably would have also had a few meltdowns trying to get on stage. We later did the genius test but only got 14 to someone’s 31 out of 32. We played some minigolf, which is a wee bit challenging on a moving ship, and worked out in the gym. Oscar went back to the room while I did a scavenger hunt with a couple who really knew what they were doing, and we won. I helped by providing a baby picture (something the other teams couldn't get and I had tons of Allison's on my phone), making a bar napkin flower with the design from our napkins when I worked at JSMB, and I took pictures of the golf course and the postcard mailbox. I helped, but I never would have found everything that they did. They were experts. They said they do scavenger hunts regularly. Afterwards we ate a quick lunch then went back to the main theater for Harry Potter trivia. I tied for the win getting every question correct (though I said gray instead of silver on the Slytherin Colors). By then I was up to three ships on a stick. After that we went back for a nap, which is easy to come by with all the rocking and gluttony.

That night was formal night in the dining room, though neither of us was dressed appropriately. I only had flip flops and tennis shoes, neither of which were allowed, and Oscar was wearing shorts since his only pair of full length pants were sweat soaked from our walk around Old San Juan. Fortunately no one could tell once we were sitting down. I'd promised Liz I would eat a chocolate melty cake for her, so that night I did.

Oscar had been hoping to eat his favorite dessert, a bean tostada, but it was never on the menu. :( It was an appetizer from our last Carnival cruise that he enjoyed so much, he ordered it again for dessert. 

October 2016: Part III - Arrival in Puerto Rico

Our flight out of SLC was a red eye that left 5 minutes to midnight. We flew to JFK airport in New York for a 2 hour layover, then flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Neither of us sleep well on planes, so needless to say we were very tired. We taxied with Amber, Lauren, and Raina, three ladies we met in the Taxi line who were also coming on our cruise.

We checked in our luggage then took a walking tour of Old San Juan. It was super hot but thankfully, there was a little breeze. We had on long pants since planes can be so cold then found ourselves in 85 degree weather that felt like 95 with the humidity. This was a sharp contrast from the mid 40's we'd been experiencing in Seattle. At least we'd had the low 70's warmth in Utah to help us adjust a bit. 

I was most interested in the fortresses, so we walked up to Castillo San Cristobal. The entrance fee also paid for the other fortress, El Morro, so we eventually walked over there too. You can see our clothes are sticking to us in the crazy heat!

We got to watch an iguana jumping over a big gap. We got a picture in mid jump.

The ruins are a bit dangerous and they let you climb all around them without much in the way of signs or ropes to warn of impending danger . What! I actually have to use common sense! This is a huge change from what I'm used to in national parks. One of the things that drives me crazy is when hikes and waterfalls are blocked off because people got themselves killed going off the trail or getting in the water. You shouldn't block off what's safe because people ignored warning signs and put themselves at risk.

There was this obvious walkway to a lookout station, but I couldn’t even pull myself up to it. I'm at a loss as to how the soldiers were supposed to get to it in the first place. Oscar was able to pull himself up, with considerable effort, and take these pictures.

Gorgeous views from the Devil's Watchtower

We found another iguana here. They're everywhere in the Caribbean. They're fascinating at first but then when you see them all the time they just look creepy.

We walked around the grounds and watched some waves. Oscar could watch waves forever. It took a lot of persuasion to get him to stop. 

It's interesting how whenever I vacation without my kids, I'm still drawn to places I could take them, even if it's unlikely I'll ever be back. I saw kids playing in the sand and wading in the water just down the coastline here and couldn't help but picture my kids doing the same thing. I also noticed a few playgrounds during the taxi ride and a splash park on our walk.

After we'd thoroughly explored San Cristobal, we took a long hot walk down to El Morro. We kept our eyes out for the free shuttle that goes around the city, but it was full to the brim the only time it came our way.

At last we made it to El Morro. It was like a big city park where everybody was flying kites.

They even had storytime for kids and a chapel there.

We kept trying to get down to the pathways by the shore, but they were blocked off just before you got there.  We had to climb all the way back up and never did figure out how to get to those pathways. At that point were were super hot, hungry, and dehydrated, and Oscar was super burned. He bought a hat later that day to protect his head, but by the damage was long done.

Afterwards we walked along the coast and near a big tree with a bunch of cats.

We found the famous Raices fountain before walking through a public market back to our ship. Along the way Oscar bought a nice belt and hat.

They actually measured him there and punched the belt holes in for him.

We decided to board the ship and get some food. We'd passed lunch time but they still had a few things available at the buffet. I ate an awesome cake pop and filled up on salads. They never served cake pops again and their regular cakes were either hit or miss. There was also a long line to get a small pizza, which tasted way better than the pizza on our last Carnival cruise.

Showering after our long day of travel and walking in the sun felt so good, and it was nice to see my body adjusting well to not breastfeeding anymore.  We laid down to rest but didn’t let ourselves sleep. I was afraid I'd wake up in the middle of the night if we did.

Later that evening we went up to the dining room where we sat across from some honeymooners, Jeremy and Raina from Minnesota. I was pleased to eat some of the delicious strawberry bisque we'd had on our last cruise and a yummy chocolate melty cake. We then went up to the top of the ship to call the kids before the ship left port then sat through a LONG safety briefing and drill. That night I slept 8 straight hours without even waking up to use the bathroom. It was great!