Towel Animals

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I have loved seeing the fun towel pets on friends blogs, so in a ode' to the towel, here is a peek at what we found on our bed in the evenings. Each animal would be set out beside our itinerary for the following day and chocolates. There was even a class on the Lido Deck on 'How to Make Towel Animals.'

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Today we returned to Galveston, well rested and ready to return to normal, . . . well, sort of ready.

Mexican Sunset

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Our last full day at sea! This was a relaxing day, we did well what you do on a cruise . . . enjoyed ourselves. We hung out by one of the pool and took on a slide our two. I stopped off at the spa for a mani & pedi (and a Diet Coke) and then checked in with the kids via my laptop in the Library. Jon stopped off at the Rolls Royce Cafe for coffee, and later struck a pose by the Harley outside of the casino. The ship is just beautiful, but what's not to like, clean sheets, fresh towels, chocolates on my pillow, cabana boys that deliver Diet Cokes . . . I'm sure the kids are taking the same great care of Granny while we're here!

Lawn Ornaments Don't Swim

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Cedric and Guinevere grabbed their passport and joined us on the Catamaran. Since there wasn’t snorkeling gear in their sizes they enjoyed a little sun. On the return trip to the cruise ship the two acted out their favorite scene from Titanic! Those crazy kids!

Hidden Jewels

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This morning we came into port at Cozumel. The ocean is so amazing, at Progresso it looked like a London Blue Topaz and in Cozumel it is a Blue Sapphire color and in Galveston it was more of a green Jade.

Today’s big adventure was snorkeling; this was a first for both of us. We took a Catamaran out to a beautiful reef with coral and sponge. We saw so many different types of fish and even an eel. It is so amazing that sitting on land you look out at the ocean and it is so very pretty. But there is a whole other world that is just as remarkable under that gorgeous water. We snorkeled in about fifteen foot of water, for about an hour. It is something I would definitely do again!

Following our snorkeling adventure the Catamaran took us to a private beach on Cozumel where we went Kayaking and played on giant inflatable trampolines and water slides. We did take in a little shopping before returning to the ship.

I Laughed, I Cried, You Moved Me Bob

After a full day at Progresso we returned to the ship for some pool time in the late afternoon. Dinner was another elaborate meal. I may have a tough time getting Jon to eat Hamburger Helper again! The evening’s activities included a comedian. He did a lot of physical comedy and I laughed and laughed. Most of it was silly humor poking fun of people with tattoos in foreign languages; body piercings; and people from Arkansas.

Chicken Pizza

This morning we were up before sunrise for a little breakfast and to debarkation at Progresso, Mexico. Upon entering Mexico, there we were greeted by musicians and dancers, kind of like Hawaii only no leis and Mexican!

We then took a 2 hour tour bus ride to the center of the Yucatan to Chichen Itza, sounds like Chicken Pizza only without the ‘k’ and the ‘p.’ Chichen Itza is an amazing archeological find displaying one of the largest ziggurats in the American continents. It was built by the Mayas. If you knew none of the history of the Mayas or Chichen Itza, it would be amazing displays of beautiful buildings that long pre-date their discovery by Cortez. There is the ziggurat, multiple sports arenas, temples and more.

If you know any of the history, it is still beautiful, but sad. These people were able to calculate star mapping of the planets. They created several calendars, including one calculating the arrival of a child to a 9 month calendar. Another calendar was exactly 365 days calculating simply on the stars without the modern instrumentation we have.

They created an arena with acoustical properties that still can’t be explained. They strategically built the ziggurat positioned so that at the Equinox it looks like a snake descending the pyramid.

A people with great mathematical and astrological wisdom, yet they participated in the tens of thousands of human sacrifices to their god Kulkulkan. Their eventual demise would be from poisoning their own water system with so many dead bodies. It is just so amazingly sad that they thought a ‘god’ would require them to cut out the hearts of their living children. Scripture teaches us to pass down to the next generation God’s word. And this clearly didn’t happen, after the Tower of Babel those people didn’t pass down God. Yes a sacrifice was required but Christ was the perfect sacrifice and willingly did so for us.

Chichen Itza reminds me of the scripture, ‘He gave them over to their own depravity.’ It was still amazing to see, how smart these people were and how advanced, yet so ignorant.

Magically Delicious

Have you wondered what a gnome and mastiff share for breakfast? I was curious too! So I followed them this morning onto the Lido deck. When I peered over the booth to see what they were eating, no surprise, Lucky Charms with Chocolate milk. Apparently Cedric likes the ‘Magically Delicious’ aspect and Guinevere, just likes chocolate!

That's Amore

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Today Jon & I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. The cruise was his gift to me for our anniversary. He made all the arrangements including child care at home for the kids! Today we spent most of the day pool side. We also roamed all over the boat snapping pictures, but mostly spent the day being together. In the afternoon Jon had arranged a spa day complete with massage! In the evening we dined in the Windstar Dining Room. Jon said his Cornish hen was perfect and I enjoyed my lobster tail!
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When it was time for dessert, the Head Waiter had us sit on the same side of the table, while he and three attendents serenaded us and presented a beautiful heart shaped cake that read Happy Anniversary. It was also served with a sweet message from Frankie, Caleb & Abigail. We were also expected to dance while the waiters sang, ‘That’s Amore’.’
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Following dinner we watched the musical country chorus dance line, with spectacular Russian dancer. Lots of classic & modern country music, including 2 Toby Keith songs! I sang along (quietly) with every song.

We also joined in the Karaoke night. Okay, by joined in, I don’t mean we were silly enough to get up and sing, I mean we joined the group of people laughing, and cheering on those singing-along with the LCD screen.

All for Fun and Fun for All

I’m sure by now you are wondering what Cedric and Guinevere do while we are off having a big time. They really love the view out our balcony. Sometimes they just sit there for hours and watch the waves go by!

Let Them Eat Cake . . . cheese cake

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.Our three course dinner was fabulous! Jon had an appetizer of fried shrimp, then a main course of Rib eye, mac n’ cheese and I can’t remember what else. Me, well I had the lettuce wedge for an appetizer and then the grilled fish and roasted veggies for my entrée. You see, I was saving my calories for the yummy gooey molten chocolate cake. Oh, and Jon had cheese cake with strawberries.

After dinner there was a fabulous stage performance, complete with a Broadway dance line, a comedian a musician, just lots of fun. It was the ‘sampler platter’ of entertainment to come for this week.