Spring Vaca - Day 7

Day 7 (Friday 3/27) - we tendered at Grand Cayman around 9:30am.

Jamie and I went parasailing. We tried to talk Makena & Carol in to going with us, but they didn't think it would be fun. (In their defense; Makena doesn't like heights & Carol doesn't like water.) They were so wrong - it was gorgeous! I had our small camera up with me to take pictures, and had someone in the boat taking pictures with my other camera.

The parasailing boat dropped us off at a local beach, where Carol and Makena were waiting for us. We had lunch and enjoyed the beach before returning to the port.

Jamie & Makena looking for shells

We took a taxi-van to get back to the port. The driver kept unfolding seats from every corner of his van; in the end there ended up being 12 of us in this small Euro Van. Not bad for $4 per person!

We didn't have much time to shop back at port. We knew that this was our last stop, and wish we had had more time. After 4 days, I still had yet to buy anything! I couldn't believe it - I didn't come home with a single souvenir. Not a postcard, tshirt, nothing - what was I thinking?? Makena picked up little things at each place for her friends, as well as a new dress, hat and a couple of tshirts for herself. Jamie found tshirts and a hat, and Carol bought little things home too. I must have been more worried about getting pictures of things rather than shopping.

After dinner, we watched another show by the Carnival Valor Dancers.

Spring Vaca - Day 6

Day 6 (Thursday 3/26) - we arrived in Cozumel, Mexico around 8am. Due to the time difference, it was still very early in Cozumel and nothing was open when we arrived. Luckily, we had a shore excursion planned and were busy right away.

As soon as we found our tour group, we were taken to a boat that would be taking us to Playa Del Carmen - in the Yukatan Peninsula. (We didn't learn that we would be taking another boat ride, 45 minutes away from Cozumel, until it was too late. And...the ride bumpy and unpleasant!)
But we arrived in beautiful Playa Del Carmen and were taken to our Jeep to begin our Caverns by Jeep & Beach Combo excursion. Because we were still sun burnt, and the sun was already in full force, we decided to leave the top on the Jeep. We were most thankful for this later on in the day when we were driving down dirt roads! Other's weren't so lucky.

First we arrived at the Cenotes (pool of water in the caverns), and were all given a hard hat. This was so we could safely walk through the caves and caverns.

aren't we cute?

The caverns & caves were beautiful, cool and refreshing. We were able to swim in the sacred waters of a cenote, and learn some about some of the Mayan history. The water was so clear, that you could see the bottom rock formations 20+ feet down.

After the caverns, we headed to a local (private) beach so that we could enjoy some food and the beach. I got some of my favorite pictures this day, on this beach.

the poverty is difficult to see - it's like this outside of the port and resort areas
Makena spent a little time reading in a hammock
I took pictures of my button in different spots during the vacation : )

Jamie splashed Makena

so she chased him, but I don't think she caught him

Another boat ride back to Cozumel (Carol, Jamie & I took a nap while Makena read another book) and we had very little time to shop before we had to return to the boat. And because we were up so early, it was an early night for us.

Day 7 to come...

A & M Landscape Maint.

Apparently Jamie thinks I have a lawn care business, so I've decided to name it A & M - for Amber and Makena. We had our first 'job' at our rental house yesterday. Jamie picked up an electric lawn mower at a garage sale for me to keep at the rental, and thought yesterday would be a great day for me to try it out. Makena and I went there after I picked her up from school.

A few things about the mower - I've never had an electric one before. If anyone is trying to decide between a gas or electric lawn mower - buy a battery operated one! What a PIA the electric one was! I'll admit that it's better than a manual, push-blade mower (cuz I've had one of those!), but the feet of extension cord in the yard and wrapped around me were not a good idea. I LOVE my battery operated mower at home. We've had it for about 6 years and bought it from someone who had used it for a few years before that even. No gas to mess with (and pollute the environment), no pull-cord to start it (whew!) and no extension cords to get wrapped up in.

Due to the length of the grass, it took me about 2 hours to get everything done. I had to mow with the blade set high, and then go back over it with it shorter. I also did small bit of weeding. Boy, is Jamie going to get a bill from A & M Landscape Maint. : )

Yes, Makena helped out a little (I know...shocking) by sweeping the front walkway and driveway. It also took her almost the entire two hours because she only had one hand to sweep with - she had to text with the other one of course! She did come up with a great idea when we left tho, milkshakes from Burgerville. Yummmy - she knows I'm a sucker for Burgerville!! I love Burgerville because they support the use of fresh ingredients, local ranchers and farmers and sustainable business practices, they have a healthy menu and they make a wonderful Black Forest Milkshake!

Amber - Owner & Operator, A & M Landscape Maintenance

Tami

Tam - you are always in our thoughts - we love you!!

Yes, these pictures are from a while ago but I love them just the same!

Dinner Nite

After the egg hunting on Saturday, I went to dinner at Lindsey's house. It was a wonderful dinner and a great time for us all to catch up! Dylona, Tamara, Carrie & Lindsey - love you girls - it's been a long time!

the beautiful dinning room (love that light fixture by the way!)

Carrie made cute little desserts! Lindsey made a wonderful dinner!

me taking a picture of Lindsey taking a picture of me!

Until next time...

Easter Egg Hunting

I got to go Easter Egg hunting with Kylah and Kallie yesterday in Sherwood. It was a fundraiser for a first grader with an inoperable brain tumor - they had a GREAT turn out! We were running a little late, so the girls were rushed to get as many eggs as they could. Kallie only wanted the candy out of the eggs - she would pick one up, shake it and then move on if the egg didn't sound right. : ) Kallie and I then tried to help Kylah find some eggs with her age group, with not much luck. So, Kylah went her mom when it was the adults turn.

Because we were at an elementary school, the girls wanted to play on the playground for a while. All of my pictures are on our Picasa, but here are a few of my favorites. (I'm still working on learning how to shoot white clothes in bright sunlight!)

After the park, we played in their backyard for a while - enjoying the beautiful Oregon sunshine. Thanks for letting me spend the day with you girls!

Spring Vaca - Day 5

Day 5 (Wednesday 3/25) - We tendered outside of Belize around 8am. It took about 20 minutes for each tender boat to reach Belize City - total time depending on the lines to get back/forth. As with Costa Maya, the area where the tourists shop, eat or stay (port) is the nicest area of the city. Our ship's staff suggested we stay in the tourists areas of each city as the poverty outside can be extreme and the streets aren't always guarded by police. The people of Belize City could not get into the tourist area unless they actually worked in the shops and had badges. We had to show our ship card to get in and out. Jamie, of course, decided that we were going to tour the city rather than stay at port. He found someone to walk us around - a 'local tour guide' from the street. : )

Belize City - Port

inside the actual city - small stores & places to eat along the streets

a Flea Market - tents were everywhere in the streets

After walking around for a while, we caught a taxi to a local beach. Again, as with most of Mexico, the beaches are private. You either have to pay to get into the beach or be part of a shore excursion. The nicer beaches in Belize were another boat ride away, so we decided to stay at the closest beach to the city. They had a large pool - which was actually part of the ocean, just bridged off - as well as a zip line over the pool and park, a large water slide, a restaurant and museum.

Jamie getting ready to do the zip line

Once back on the ship, we had to get ready for dinner again. After dinner we went to another show at the theater - a magic show by Rand Woodbury that we all really enjoyed.

Every night, when we got back to our room after dinner or a show, there would be a towel animal. Apparently these towel animals are expected on all Carnival cruises - very cute.

If we were to go back to Belize again, I would like to take a shore excursion across to the other private beaches. I was hoping to do some snorkeling in Belize and apparently that is the only place to do it.

I don't think I've posted any yet, but I took a picture of my feet in the sand and water at every city. No, there are not many pictures of me on our vacation - I enjoy being behind the camera and I don't enjoy very many pictures of myself. : ) I also took several pictures of the food we had (something the comedians made jokes about) as well as all of the towel animals. All of those pictures can be found on our Picasa page.

Day 6 coming soon...