Life on Cruise Control

Here is the cast of characters that flew to Miami the day before the cruise departure (we were meeting up with the other four on Saturday) ....






We stayed at the Westin Colonade in Coral Gables which was very lovely. We wandered the streets surrounding the Miracle Mile ( I have never seen so many bridal stores in one place in my life!) and ate a simple dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen which had something to please everyone's palate.


Unfortunately, the only picture I took of this picturesque area of Miami was this:



My breakfast on Saturday morning at the Westin. Just so you understand where my priorities apparently were. And yes, I did pack the GREEN BATHING SUIT! In case you were wondering- the fruit-filled granola pancakes were divine, as was the fruit in the chocolate bowl on the side....

After our leisurely breakfast, we headed over to the port, and after many lines of security and checking-in, made our way onto the boat. We checked out everything from the pool to the arcade (featuring free PacMan among other games...), ate a hearty meal in one of the restaurants on board, and then we waved goodbye to Miami -- actually I guess I should say we waved Adios, Hasta luego, chau. Because being in Miami was like being in another country. For real.

After a full day at sea, sitting by the pool, eating free ice cream, playing miniature golf, and having fun at the first "Formal Night" ...










...we spent a day on the island of Labadee in Haiti. It was beautiful. (you can click on the picture collages to make them bigger)


But it made me sad to see how dependant the local people are on tourism and selling their crafts to survive.

The next day, we sailed to Ocho Rios, Jamaica. We took a very spontaneous trip to Dunn's River Falls and climbed them all the way to the top. It felt like a major accomplishment for the Turner family. I'm glad we did it then, because I have no desire to ever go to Jamaica again. That's all I'm going to say on that.

On the next post, I'll share the rest of our adventure and our most favorite port-of-call. But right now I need to go see what the kids are doing. I saw them getting the lemonade stand Keith built for them 2 summers ago, out of the shed, and washing out the big wagon. I overheard something about a traveling lemonade stand. I think they may be trying to make some money to go on another cruise. My neighbors are gonna love this....