{Cruisin'}

When a longtime friend sends you a text asking about a mom's only cruise in a few weeks, you text back "give me 24 hours and I'll let you know" and then work furiously to see if there's any way that it could happen.  With the generous friends and family around us, they rallied together and all said "GO!"  So, I did!  6 days and 6 nights with my friend, Suzie...it was glorious! I flew down to Florida super late Sunday evening after the Super Bowl and then we headed to Port Canaveral Monday morning to embark on a week in the warm waters of the Atlantic.  

*I must note that the only reason I took the above selfie was to send to Scott and let him know that I was Mrs. Unapproachable as he wasn't crazy about sending me alone to travel.  I put a hat on, blue lights glasses on and earplugs in listening to an audiobook.  This worked out well until we landed and a complete stranger two seats away asked me about how I was getting where I was going.  I explained that I was going to get an uber and then somehow ended up letting her join me since her stop to her mother's house was on the way to where I was going...or so she said.  Anyways, I shouldn't travel alone ever again and I'm so grateful I was being prayed for.  It was after midnight in an area that I am unfamiliar with and I got in a car with not one but two strangers...and was headed to a very rough area that I didn't even know was until the uber driver was speeding us out of there.  This stranger on the plane seemed nice...returning from a ladies' weekend in the mountains.  She wore funky socks and sandals together and read engineering magazines and was at least 60 years old.  But, once we dropped her off in the roughest neighborhood in just about all of Florida, and the Uber driver realized we did not actually know each other, he laid into me about how dangerous that was.  Whoops!  Lesson learned.  I just always want to see the good in others and help them out.  But, this wasn't wise.  No more sharing cars with strangers for me!  Turns out I wasn't Mrs. Unapproachable after all! 

This was our balcony view once we loaded.  Straight over to NASA! 

I thought the waters were beautiful here...I had no idea what was coming! 

The Good Lord gave us perfect weather all week.  It was in the 70/80s and sunny!  We only had the tiniest bit of a sprinkle shower come through Tuesday morning but it was gone by breakfast.  I have a habit of finding the only place on the ship where just about no one else was.  

Good Morning, Tuesday! 

Room service of a fruit plate and carafe of coffee, please!  

I decided after 3 miles on the treadmill that I could have passed any sobriety test ever.  That was hard with sea legs!  The views couldn't be beat though! 

This was the three floor promenade area with shops, restaurants, etc.  It's quite a sight! 

So special to be on this trip during Heart Day as both Suzie and I have heart baby girls in Heaven!  This was a giant cake in the Windjammer.  

Another day, another view without anyone nearby.  Glory! 

Heart Night Dinner was formal night.  This is as fancy as I got.  They put pink, red and white balloons everywhere.  

Balcony views were some of my favorite. 

The main dining room where we had the best food each evening. Omar was our waiter and he was wonderful.  He made sure I had lots of safe foods to eat...and many times they looked much better than those being served to the masses.  

Sunsets over the water...ahhhhh.....

Ed was our room attendant and he made us the cutest little towel animals each night.  

I loved how the sunlight was breaking through in this...

Good morning, Wednesday and Hello Turks & Caicos! 

Advertising at its finest!  I think we should do this in the USA!

That would be our chairs in the smack dab middle.  I told the guy that I refused to come all this way and look at another chair.  So, I gave him some money to move our chairs to the middle.  I've gone to the beach far too many times in my life to be okay with anything less than staring at the ocean. 

You have not because you ask not!  The nicest couple from Tennessee gave, yes GAVE, me this giant conch shell...all because I asked him to go back in for one for me and that I would pay him for it.  On my return walk down the beach, he came up and just offered it to me.  He had found two and kept one for himself.  I had to laugh at the humor of God...the girls had literally said that the only thing they wanted me to bring back was a mermaid in a seashell.  And here I am with this stranger giving me the biggest shell I'd ever seen in my life.  I managed to find a cute little mermaid Christmas ornament in the marketplace and stuck it in the shell.  The girls dream come true!  God hears those little whispers and He cares! 

There are no words for this beauty...can you even imagine what Heaven will look like???

The beaches are exquisite but the island is devastated.  This was the governor's house.  The government is corrupt so the money that they get from the UK is all spent on selfish gain and not in the rebuilding of the island.  They have little to no healthcare and the houses are slums.  Literally built out of plywood.  Hurricanes Irma and Ike ruined most of the island and nothing has been done to restore it.  The people are kind yet so very poor.  Gas alone costs $8 a gallon here and the majority of their food is imported at a substantial cost.  They eat mostly conch from the sea. 

There were wild donkeys on the beach...and we saw wild horses, too. 

Charles the Beach Patrol {I'm not sure it was an actual job or just self-appointed}...he really liked Suzie and gave her his number.  Bless.  He would do anything to get to America.  We take so much for granted.

Got the shell cleaned up a little! 

The water goes from about 15 ft deep to 7,000 ft deep in an instant.  WOW! 

One of my favorite dinners...tiger shrimp! 

And the chef made this for me according to my diet too.  I finally just started telling them to surprise me because I knew it was going to be divine.  This was probably my favorite surprise! 

Oops!  I may have gotten too much sun! 

Funny towel animals every night! 

Suzie and I were sitting on the balcony when we saw a rainbow going directly into the ocean! 

I frequented the fitness center often...and used their sauna.  It was lovely and always so quiet.  The pool deck may be busy with folks but no one was in here. 

Yes, please. 

Another day at sea meant more laying out and reading and napping and eating and resting. 

Goodnight, Thursday! 

Another amazing dinner! 

Funny Monkey

Good Morning from The Bahamas! 

Apple watch tan line.  This was my gauge...and led to lots of shade from this point forward. 

I had to take a picture.  Y'all.  At the beach in face masks!!!  What has this world come to?!?!

I had the best time walking the beach, talking to God and finding treasures He gave me.  These were a few of them. 

Chickens on the beach! 

This fern was a tree...I had never seen anything like it.  Beautiful! 

We took a trip to a nearby island to swim with pigs! 

There are a few of them walking the beach. 

What a lovely week!  So grateful for the opportunity to go and everyone making it possible at home.  I sure did miss my people but needed this to reset and recharge! I can't wait to share some of these places with them one day...especially Turks and Caicos!