So that was the problem

I lay down this afternoon with a very antsy Rosie to get her to take a nap. She flipped and flopped and talked and talked. I suggested that she pray and ask Jesus to help her to be quiet and have a good nap. So she prayed, "Jesus, please help Mommy be quiet so me can sleep. Amen."

daughterofhope

Which Chronicles of Narnia character are you most like? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Mr. Beaver Mr. Beaver 83% Peter Pevensie 70% Lucy Pevensie 67% Aslan 63% Edmund Pevensie 60% Susan Pevensie 57% Oreius 57% Mrs. Beaver 57% Mr. Tumnus 43% Ginarrbrik 37% The White Witch 13%

Spring photo shoot

Last Friday, we handed the kids a camera a set out to find signs of spring. We had lots of fun, but I think our walk down an azalea, dogwood, and wisteria filled residential street last year actually offered more in spring flower shooting opportunity. We'll go back to that next year.

Happy Arbor Day!

Day 5

I didn't care much for the ship decor. We were on an old ship on its second to last sail, but there was a Carnival TV channel playing in the room and when it showed Carnival's other ships and their common designer, I really found them all to be gaudy and rather ugly. I'd like to see if other cruise lines have nicer more elegant, or just simpler, decor. I'm all for themes, but I prefer the way Disney resorts, for example, interpret them.

That said, our ship's inspiring theme was supposed to be New Orleans. I've been to New Orleans (before Katrina) and it was gorgeous. I really didn't get the feel of it at all here. But this one deck had a few stronger elements with the trolley and trolley line, and the lamposts.

I do think that this Endless Summer Lounge is a really cool room.

I very much wanted to revisit Jekyll Island on our way home. It's so beautiful, and who can get to much of oceans and islands? Besides, we were still feeling lulled. Going from boat to car kept us in that rocking motion, but sleeping while driving is not recommeneded. Brian treated me to a delicious fresh seafood lunch. The man's a gem.

View of the marina from the back porch of the restaurant.

I have a love affair with Spanish moss. It just makes me happy.

See, don't I look happy?

This may well be the softest sand I've ever felt.

Hamming it up.

Pelicans are my favorite seabirds to watch. They're really pretty ugly, but I love to watch them dive. I saw a bunch, but they were to far out to get good pictures. Trust me, I tried. There were, however, plenty of sandpipers and seagulls.

Day 4

I managed to not take very many pictures today somehow. It was a lazy day at sea, and we were lulled by the ship. We slept in, had breakfast, met and talked to a cardiologist about his medical research, got some sun (not that we needed any more after the day snorkelling), took a nap, and took pictures of the sunset. I wish I had read the tutorial on sunrises and sunsets. I took a million shots, but just couldn't capture what I was seeing. And the tropical breezes were now long gone - it was freezing out on deck that evening!

I've always wanted to try karaoke and decided that this was the place to do it - I'd never see anyone there again. :^) Broadway, here I come!

Day 3

Day 3 found me scrambling to get dressed in a hurry

so that we could run up on to an open deck

to watch us pull into the port at Nassau at 8 AM.

Entrance to the city

Souvenir shopping - we avoided shopping as much as possible,

but had to pick up gifts for our kids and parents. I collect magnets and postcards,

do that keeps my souvenirs at a minimum. I kind of wish I had

gotten myself something a little more significant from the islands, but

I guess that that's what my photographs are for. I thought that

I was going to be able to bring home a piece of coral I found on the beach,

which would have pleased me much more than shop merchandise,

but found out that stuff like that doesn't go through customs. :^(

Nassau was a center of pirate activity in the 18th century, and Brian really wanted to see the Pirate Museum.

It was a very nice wax museum and lots of creepy sound effects.

I'm pretty easily spooked and I was sure that one of those guys was going to turn out

to not be wax and was going to scare me to death.

The guy outside turned out to be the only resident pirate. But he more than made up for it.

The locals recommended The Fish Fry on our request for an authentic and "untouristy" restaurant. They also recommended trying conch. I had cracked conch (breaded strips) and Brian had grilled conch which came in a foil packet with peppers and onions. It was served with salad and french fries and we were stuffed! Oh, and a virgin strawberry daiquiri for me - perfect on a tropical humid day. :^) Conch is like a cross between clam strips and calamari. It was pretty good, but I was wishing for the marinara sauce.

We're sitting on the back balcony of the restaurant. Can you see our ship in the distance? click on the picture to enlarge it. It's the ship on the left.

We even got a lesson in how they "crack" conches and cut the meat out.

On the way to the fort, we had to pass these market booths, and Brian met his Bahama Mama. She stuck this coconut hat that she'd made on his head, and said, "Come get a picture with Big Mama." Then she wouldn't let us go until we'd bought coral necklaces and t-shirts from her.

Fort Charlotte

It was time to hit the beach, the buses take you most places for $1, and they stuff them full, but these buses had a unique feature. instead of standing in the middle holding on to a pole, they had little seats that flipped down from the side seats to fill the center aisle.

We went to Cable Beach, thinking we'd find an open stretch of beach. The bus driver, however stopped in front of a hotel casino and told us to go through the casino to the beach. We did, and found a lovely beach a the resort, but spent a little while wondering if we were really supposed to be enjoying the lounge chairs and tiki huts, then decided not to worry about it. And enjoy them (and that gorgeous blue water!) we did.

This is a view of the other two cruise ships from our ship.
The only time I really felt nervous on the ship was out on an open deck on the open sea, in the dark. When the only other mental images your mind has of a big ship cutting through dark water is Titanic, it's a bit unsettling. Hehe.

The guy spinning the plate was our head waiter, Martin. He was a hoot! And our maitre'd was a crazy man. Every night as we finished dessert the lights in the dining room would flash, and he'd whisper "showtime" into the microphone in his French-Canadian accent, and a hilarious five minute show would follow. One night it was Italian night which ended in the wait staff singing "O Solo Mio" in Italian in 16 different accents. Another night it was a congo line. The last night a hilarious farewell song.