Trip O Rama

SO... I have often said that I have been blessed in my life... Great mother who is generous beyond all belief... Beautiful wife who who is a great friend and fabulous mother to my children... two bright, energetic and "what more can you ask for" kids who make everyday challenging, fun and rewarding, Family (jessica's parents in particular) who have been generous and supportive beyond the call of duty and friends who I would not trade for anything, who have stood the test of time. These many blessings and well paying jobs (as well as a car with the ability to go 12 hours on a single tank of gas) have allowed us to experience and travel and do things that I always count my blessings for... and this summer has been a continuation of these blessings. And we still have other friends (Lisa, TJ, Trace... Clemons... you're on notice...) to see before September. SO... that being said, we recount the latest trip and visits...

My Mother was very generous to pay for the Twins and us to go on a cruise with her this past week... dropped the Guinea Pig off at Brandy's and realized I did NOT have the birth Certificates for the twins...OR... gulp... Jessica's Birth Certificate.... Backtrack an hour back to the house and another 30 minutes tearing up the garage and storage shed before we finally got all the proper documentation... Now running way later than anticipated, we managed to get to Aunt Ellen's and crash for the night before heading to Jacksonville early in the next morn... arrived around 11:30ish and slipped thru customs and onto the boat with relative ease.... the kids hit the pool and Jessica and I sat around the Adults Only Hottub, pictured to the right... notice all the adults there, including our twins. Interesting enough, there was an actual adults only section on the ship that I never got to go visit, although I could see it from a higher deck... That location was called Serentity... go figure....

After a day at sea, we did a stop over at an "Deserted Island" called Half Moon Cay and it was actually pretty slick. My mother had secured a Cabana which gave us cover/shade/housing and a place to put towels, drinks ( a fridge ), and cool off ( a misting fan) while the beach lay in front of us.. the view from out Cabana was SPECTACULAR (see left) and the water in the area of the world continues to amaze me with how clear it it.... Jessica and the twins went snorkeling, and the kids swam for like 5 hours straight.... once again, my mothers' thoughtfulness and generosity totally changed that experience, for the good....

The next day saw us do a stop at Nassau. Been there done that, but I did take Ryles over to Atlantis where we saw their Aquarium (illegally, I think). Earlier in the day, Grandma showed us this zoo which was DEFINITELY not like the zoos in the US... Animals just walking around in no cages that you would NEVER see normally. I saw lawsuits all over the place if this would have been at Riverbanks zoo, but here it was normal... and cool. Ryles also got a conch shell and collected more sand for Nanna to analyze from Atlantis. Ryles, Grandma and I returned to the ship via water ferry where we did have to be tortured by some Rastafarian wannabe shilling for money while showing us where the rich people lived.

The last day saw us do another full day at sea, which was kinda funny because the boat seemed to reach a point about 50 miles away and virtually stop in the middle of the ocean. The kids spent most of their days on the boat in Camp Carnival, where they made a bunch of friends with kids of their same age... they had all sorts of activites going on for them ALL day... a very interesting concept. It gives them something to do other than just swim and bump into each other all day in the pool or on the slides.


ITS SIGNING TIME FOR ALEX AND LEAH!!!!!

We then exited the boat the next day and meandered over to see John, Pam and Grace. I have previously mentioned John's generosity in taking me out on the ocean for some fishing. Pam was also generous in providing food and also to let us get some scans (done by John) in her pactice for free that showed us just how much damage our skin had from the sun. Very, very interesting indeed. We also got to visit with their daughter Grace and we all went to Wild Adventure, a Carowinds/Dorney Park type place.... rode some coasters and rides and did the water side of the park- THAT was interesting. I can see where that would be a day all by itself.... We then went back to Tallahassee where we chilled (kids hit the pool, of course), did a firebown and chilled out before heading back home....



So... 9 days in total it took. but...just two (2) TWO tanks of gas total.... and thanks to the generosity of Grandma, Aunt Ellen, John and Pam and the support indirectly and directly of a bunch of others, it was a GREAT time and experience for Ryles and I-Man. Like I said before... a couple of day visits are on the docket, as well as Cousin Madison's birthday, Carowinds with Grandma and church and school starts again... I hope that the future brings more blessings and experiences...

lets see where this goes...