Cruising is the way to go!!

Hello again! A vacation I needed and a vacation I got. What a trip. If I could, I'd suggest everyone take a cruise some day. They are so much fun and so easy, and it really is a pretty good deal. Lets see, I'll catch you all up since the end of September. I left off after my buddy Mike visited. Ah yes, well, my external harddrive crapped out in the beginning of the month so I was livid for a while. I had all my pictures and songs and some important files on it. Needless to say it would have been tragic if i couldn't have recovered them. But luckily it turned out to be just the power cord (which was my original thought when it first occured). So I was pretty busy at the beginning of the month trying to figure that out. And then of course I was trying not to think about my cruise because then time would have creeped by. But soon enough the 10th rolled around and I was off to Pheonix to meet up with Amanda and head to Miami.

We showed up and my buddy BJ picked us up from the airport and we went out to breakfast. Then he had to go get ready for a flight, so he dropped us at the pier and there we waited until boarding began. While standing in line we met some folks that we would end up getting to know throughout the week. When they were finally ready to let us on, we headed up the stairs and started the process of getting checked in and getting our key cards and all that fun stuff...which took WAY too long. Then, we stepped onboard, and the fun was about to begin. I won't go into too much detail, but I'll try to lay the week out for you.

We got underway Sunday afternoon after spending some time on the sun deck and having a drink or two. Then we got some food and that night they had a welcome aboard show that we went to. It wasn't that great, but after that, we went to a lounge, had a few drinks and danced up a storm.

Monday was an at sea day, and so we just hung out on board. A lot of the day was spent in the sun by the pool. I also played some bing, some blackjack, sat in the jacuzi and just enjoyed some time away from work in the sun. Amanda did pretty much the same thing too. Although funny enough, during the week we figured out that we are SOOO different from each other, and so its a good thing we are planning on just staying friends. It seemed like all the shows I wanted to go to, she didn't, and vice versa. But it was still an awesome time. Monday night I ended up at the lounge again, and this time I ended up talking with the Cruise Director a few of his staff members. Funny enough, I got to know the cruise staff very well throughout the week. They are all really awesom people and made the week even better.

Tuesday started the shore excursions. In the morning we pulled into the Dominican Republic and Amanda and I took a boat to Cayo Leventado, and little island with a beach and a lot of other stuff. We ended up swimming, catching rays, and I played some Volleyball with a fun family that was on the island too. We also ended up buying some paintings from a local. Gorgeous! I didn't have my camera with me, so I don't have any pics sadly enough.

Wednesday we were in Tortola, of the British Virgin Islands and Amanda and I went with Daryl and Phillis (the couple we stood in line with at the beginning) to the Virgin Gorda Baths and did some snorkeling and hiking through some HUGE granite boulders. Really awesome sights. First time I'd been snorkeling too!! I almost snagged a sand dollar from the bottom of the bay, but it broke in my hand :( (That night back on board the ship was also filled with a lot of drinking, dancing, gambling, and just plain craziness)

Thursday was at the US Vigin Islands on St. Thomas. Here we had signed up for an Ocean Racing Excursion. So we headed out in the morning and went and sailed a sailboat as part of the crew while racing another boat just outside the bay. What an experience it was. Exciting, and a bit of a workout. Nothing beats being out on the ocean moving through the waves with just the wind pushing you around. (This night was pretty crazy too, but not as bad as Wed. night)

Friday was another at sea day. We tried to make it a little bit more laid back and less crazy, and it worked out alright for me, but not so well for Amanda. The day was great, just catching rays and enjoying the sun...drinking a bit and laughing a lot. Amanda decided to take a nap though, and I went gambling. But when the alarm went off, Amanda knocked her head pretty bad (poor thing) and didn't want to do anything other than just rest and let her head return to normal. So I went to dinner with Phillis and Daryl and his parents like we had made reservations for. (oh yeah, Monday night and Friday night we got dressed up "formal like" and mingled). But after dinner they had a gameshow called the Quest (an adult scavenger hunt) that I played in, and it ended up being a pretty crazy night anyways. Lets just say there was one time when I was standing there in just my socks boxers and undershirt...(but thats not as bad as a bunch of guys who were dressed in bikinis!!)

And then we were on to Saturday. In the morning we pulled into Great Stirrup Cay. A private Island in the Bahamas that Norwegian Cruise Lines actually owns. On the island they had a barbecue and I ended up playing volleyball all day while Amanda layed out in the sun and went swimming. What a gorgeous day. And then it was back to the ship Saturday night and a farewell dance that night. Ended up dancing with Amanda and another girl that I met onboard too....actually, she worked on board, but hey, there's nothing wrong with that!!

And then there was Sunday morning. I was a dumbass and booked our flight for two hours after we docked, so we ended up missing it, but we got on a flight a little bit later and made it back to Pheonix Sunday afternoon. We were both pooped and ended up going to bed pretty early. Sadly Amanda needed to do a lot school work to catch up for the missed week, so she had a bit of stress to deal with :( But then Monday I flew back to Portland, and my wonderful adventure in the Caribbean was over.

I miss it like crazy already and I can't wait to get back on another cruise. But, at least I made some good friends that I hope to see again sometime, including Daryl and Phillis, Jill, and of course I'm still friends with Amanda.

But now that its over, I'm back to work and taking care of the normal business. I took care of a bunch of stuff at work when I got back, and I stood duty on Thanksgiving so that all the people with families could spend the holiday at home. Now its Sunday night and I'm getting ready to go full swing back to work. I hope I survive!!