Cruise Vacay Getaway Part One

On the boat and
GRAND CAYMAN ISLANDS


Disclaimer: we were our own photographers, and I failed to take pictures of inside the actual boat... therfore, there are just lots of pictures of US :)

On the boat: Water slides, miniature golf course, pool, Casino, lots of lounges and show rooms. We went to several shows including a juggling show and comedy shows that were a blast.

First night at dinner on the boat.


The first day was a day at sea, which meant the casino, fun shows and relaxing on the boat deck sipping pinacoladas- people looked at us nutso when we asked for non alchoholic-LOVED THESE!


Second Night at dinner on the boat


One of my favorite things to do was to be on the boat deck at night. We lounged on the top deck under the stars, and stood along the railings watching the Ocean below. It was so beautiful and relaxing. Crashing waves, a large moon, a pitch black sky allowing millions of stars to appear, and an ocean breeze dancing around me playing with my hair. Ahhh.. doesn't get much better than that.

First stop: Grand Cayman Island

When we got there we looked in some shops, and got haggled by local people to do excursions and tours. All the excursions if you booked them on the boat were around $100 so we opted out- *Note to reader- always book the excursions on the island, way cheaper!

One guy talked us into a tour of the island. He gave us a history, and inside tips of the local people, more about their culture, etc. It was fascinating. First the tour took us to "HELL". I've been to HELL and Back, Have you?!? No Joke. The town's official name is HELL. We were sad we left our passports on board the boat, cause you can get a passport stamp saying you went to Hell. Here we sent out postcards that were postmarked from hell, to our parents (sorry folks, didn't have anyone else's addresses memorized!)

The Devil's Playground. It consists of natural limestone deposits on the ground (you can see behind us) Under the dirt the limestone is really white. The local people grind it up and use it to whitewash their houses.

We saw huge iguana's in Hell, walking around, laying in trees, they're all over.

This pic from here

They give you a chance to redeem yourself while in hell.

Next stop on the tour was the RUM factory. Grand Cayman markets rum and rum cakes like the orients do rice. It was crazy, they let you drink as much free rum as you wanted while you were at the factory. We opted out of course, but we did sample the Rum cakes...I can't even describe the goodness of the coconut rum cake. (all the alcohol was cooked out :) ) Kicking myself for not bringing some back!

Ahhh rum cake....

pic from here

This was the view walking down the sidewalk...

This was at a restaruant table. I'd eat there everyday for this view!

Next stop was the 7 mile Beach. The beach looks like this for 7 whole miles! There was no one on the beach, couldn't believe it, it was so Beautiful!!

Before we got back on the boat, we stopped at a local restaurant to try the local food.

Apparently the national dish in the Cayman Islands is Turtle stew. We opted for a Turtle Burger instead. It was made from sea turtle meat. Turtle meat is regulated because the turtles are endangered, so you have to buy it from the governement turtle farms. Our tour guide showed us the one restaurant (Above picture)that serves turtle on the island.

People ask what it tasted like. I compare it to lamb. It was different from anything I've ever had. Like Lamb, it has its own distinctive flavor.

We also got some Conch Chowder. VERY GOOD.

The towel animals we found waiting for us in our room every night.

When we left Grand Cayman we sat on the back of the boat on loungers and watched the view of the Islands disappear.

Other places we went not pictured:

The Aquarium where people swim with the dolphins.

The turtle farm where turtles are hatched, raised and released into the ocean.

Next Post: The Cruise continues to MEXICO!

U2 Concert!!

Kev's Brithday Present- Tickets to U2 Concert, a dream of his.

First we went to...

for dinner. We ate slowly to enjoy every bite. INFO WORTH MORE THAN GOLD: THERE IS NOW A BAJIO IN TAMPA, FL!!! Can't tell you how ecstatic we were when we heard the news! Don't know what we were more excited about, Bajio or the concert :) For those who don't know its similar concept to QDOBA or Moe's, but 10 times better. The food has so much flavor. Mmmmm....

At the stadium. Their stage was amazing!

It was at the Buckaneers Stadium- Sold Out

the Pirate ship

All excited before the conert

A little U2 Love-

A Beautiful Day- by U2
Better Video!

Home Sweet Salsa Home

I went home to Indiana to visit my parents at the end of September, my favorite time of year there. Just a weekend trip. It was perfect, the weather, the company, the activities... all of it.

Standing on the parents back patio. (My dad's tornado proof shed)

hydrangeas still in bloom...

The only kids that are still at home.

On the way home from the airport we stopped at the American Countryside Farmer's Market. Beautiful! It's made of beautiful wood and has 3 floors of restaurants and shops full of home made items and home cooked goods (including a lot of goods from the Amish community). We had buffalo burgers for lunch, Yum!

Photo from here

There was a shop in the farmers market called "Sew Cute by Janet Bradburn", where I got this AMAZING purse.

It is machine washable, reversible, can be worn as a satchel purse of regular on the shoulder purse, and the POCKETS ARE TO DIE FOR! There are all kinds of fun prints, I went with a classic look so I could wear it with anything. Seriously favorite purse I've ever owned. When you pick it up, the straps automatically shut the top tight so nothing falls out and no one can see in your purse, when you set it down, the straps loosen and open the top.

A look at the inside. (Sorry, Didn't want to empty it out just for a picture) They use a whole pair of size 9 or larger jeans for the inside of the purse. There are pockets all the way around that are super deep. Everything has a compartment, the only thing in the big section is my wallet and glasses, no more digging for 5 minutes just to find my chapstick. Keys can be hooked on a belt loop. I have everything but the kitchen sink in here. LOVE IT!!!!

Then we were headed home to make salsa. Dad's famous salsa! I'm drooling just looking at the pictures.

Freshly blanched tomatoes, ready for peeling and slicing.

The master Chef himself, making some mean salsa.

Me and dad, hard at work. From 12:30 pm to 9:30 pm

Have I mentioned one of my favorite all time favorite snacks is Chips and Salsa- Good salsa.

The Salsa made it home safely on the airplane. Friends family and co workers who have sampled the salsa we made are begging me to share some more. I called Dad the first day back and said, "Well, the good news is, it's delicious! Bad news is, it's not going to last very long at all!"

Next: Can you guess?

Home Made Freezer Jam. Fresh berries. Flavors: Marion Berry, Iverness Berry, Raspberry.

Yum. Stocked up for the year. I'm already getting requests from those who tasted last year's jam we made.

Then we were off to visit Amish Acres! A fun attraction with shops, games, restaurant and theater revolving around the Amish culture.

The Inn at Amish Acres- wouldn't this be the coolest hotel stay?

The Round Barn Theatre. Dad said the shows in here are good.

Of course we visited all the shops at my request :)

I bought an Amish doll similar to this for my house, Notice how they don't have faces on them? Amish don't put faces on their dolls.

Everything was so country. Loved this-

And this-

You have to stand back and toss the ring that's hanging on the string and get the ring on the small hook on the post. Dad did it- I was amazed!

An after church picture. I was told I looked "very Floridian" with the huge-'ol flower in my hair.

Nothing quite like going home...