Crusin' to Cozumel

My awesome husband took me on a cruise earlier this month....we were only able to go because my wonderful mother-in-law, Janice, came from California to care for our kids. Mike's brother, Pete, and his wife, Lisa, also came in from Atlanta to help out and see Chicago before we head down to their part of the country. (as soon as our house sells)

We had such a great time on our second cruise that we hope to go on another one next summer!

I had Lasik on my eyes just a few days before we left and I couldn't get my eyes wet for a WEEK! So we didn't spend any time on deck by the pool until Wednesday afternoon. When we got to Cozumel on Thursday we rented a car and drove to a ranch where we had arranged to go horseback riding. Our guide, Carlos, took us through the jungle and to a small village where there were Mayan ruins. In this photo we are in a cave where the Mayan people used to live - they were only 3-4 feet tall! So I haven't really figured out how to put the photos in the order I want on this blog thing. When I add more photos it puts them above the previous ones so I apologize for jumping all around. On Tuesday night was the first midnight buffet. We didn't stay up to eat but they opened the dining room for photography at 11:30. It was absolutely amazing what they could do with food! It truly looked "too good to eat" but I'm sure it was demolished quickly when the doors opened at the stroke of midnight! Can you believe these are all desserts! True artistry in calories! We sailed on Carnival's M/S Fantasy. It's one of their older ships but we had a great time. This photo is when we were docked at Cozumel. The water there is amazingly clear. It's a breathtaking shade of blue-green but so clean and clear we could see all the way down to the bottom just by the dock. Our new friends whom we met at our assigned dining room table took this photo of us outside the showroom while we were waiting to go in. If we didn't get there a bit early, there weren't any good seats left. More of the midnight buffet--a dragon ice sculpture. We actually watched the artisan carve this eagle out of a 300 pound block of ice right on the stage by the pool earlier in the afternoon. He's an award winning sculptor - it only took him 25 minutes to finish this one! This photo was taken in front of a huge new mural in downtown New Orleans where we stayed on Sunday night to be sure we wouldn't miss our boat on Monday morning. We arrived in New Orleans at 10:30 on Sunday morning and walked all over the city--sometimes in the pouring down rain--but we had a great time! The streets were very uneven and dirty--I can't tell you how many times I tripped. They use tons of different materials on the sidewalks - stone and bricks of all sizes, shapes and colors. This is Jon and Joan from Lafayette, LA who were at our table in the Celebration Dining Room each night. They were great fun! We enjoyed visiting and getting to know them and LAUGHING with them throughout the cruise. Thanks to you guys for helping make it a great week! Since it was only a 5 night cruise there was only one "formal" night. It was fun to have a "grown up" night and get all dressed up but due to the Lasik procedure I had on my eyes the Thursday before we left, I couldn't wear eye make-up for at least a week. I feel like I dressed up but forgot to "put my face on" as I tell my kids when they ask what I'm doing when I'm getting ready to go somewhere.