Cruise Day Seven-Our last day of the Cruise (part one)

Our last full day of the cruise was a blast. Our port of call was Half Moon Cay, a tiny private island, owned by Holland America's parent company. After consulting with Danielle, the travel guide on the ship, and one of the coolest people we met on board, we decided to take one last shore excursion to do, what else? SNORKEL! We signed up for the first trip of the day which meant we had to be on the island and ready at 8:20am. No problem! We got on the first tender off the ship, and before we knew it, we were on Half Moon Cay - a tiny slice of paradise in the middle of the most beautiful water we'd ever seen!







We were very lucky that there were only 5 other people on our snorkel tour with us. It was like we had the whole place to ourselves!



Once we were in the water, we saw some of the most brilliant coral formations that we'd ever seen. It was simply spectacular!












Along with a number of incredible fish, we also saw another barracuda and an eel! (I was only able to get one picture of the eel and it came our blurry, but I did get some cool video of it too.)



It was just a great way to spend the morning.





After snorkeling, it was time explore the island a bit and to let Norm out of the bag (literally) so he could have some fun too...see part two...

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Day Two Continued

Day two was full of dining, drinking, and desserts! (And relaxing, the spa, time in the casino, and napping outside....etc.)

It was awesome!

Norm enjoyed a little shrimp cocktail on the patio. He's so spoiled!



We had lunch in the dining room with two other couples that are also celebrating anniversaries this week. One couple is celebrating their 25th, and the other is celebrating their 55th.

As I mentioned, we ate a lot of desserts today, trying a little of everything. It was ALL good!




















Of course we ate some "non-dessert" food too. I had the "land and sea combo" for dinner and Hubby had the same, and the lamb! That's one of the many great things about cruising - all of the food is included and you can have as much as you want - order every item if you'd like! The only problem is that you'll have to wonder if you pants will fit the next day!





It was also fun getting dressed up for our first formal night.


Tomorrow we will spend the day in Turks and Caicos, and get our real first look at the Caribbean. We can't wait!

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Cruise Day One-Part Two

It didn't take us long to board and get settled onto the ship.



This was the channel the ship was docked in.


Getting ready to head out to sea.


Looking back at the bridge we walked across earlier in the day, and the hotel we spent Friday night in.


We thought it was cool to seethe bridge open.


We are officially underway!


A Royal Caribbean ship left right after us.


Looking back towards land. You can just see the city in the background.



Norm started making friends right away.


Enjoying the pool....


and hitting the nearest bar.


Shaken, not stirred, please.


And he just relaxed with new buddies.


It was a spectacular end to a near perfect day.


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Rock Star Treatment!

We had an absolute blast on our little getaway weekend to Las Vegas! Our friends Shirley and Ed recently moved there, and hosted a dinner get together for friends from San Diego. There were 9 of us total, and the only thing that could have made the weekend better would have been a big win at the casino...Oh well, nothing is perfect.

We started off the weekend with a stop at the cemetery where Hubby's parents are laid to rest. They are in the Southern Nevada Veteran's Memorial Cemetery, which happens to be very close to Hoover Dam. So, after stopping at the cemetery, we went on to see the new bridge that is being built over the river. Pretty darn cool! It's not open to traffic yet, but it will be in Oct.
The first evening we went downtown, and played in some of the older casinos....Binions, The Gold Nugget, 4 Queens, Fitzgeralds, etc.
Saturday was the big night....we were treated to the real "rock star" treatment! I knew we were going to have a limo for the evening, but I didn't know it was going to be a 12 seat Escalade limo! Sweet!

Hubby and I were ready to party! (Do you see Norm, the gnome? Yup, he came along for the trip! He'll have his own Las Vegas post soon!)

Getting ready to head out and go pick up our other friends that came in for the event.

One more stop and we'll have everyone.

After dinner and heading for the strip.

Looking a bit tired, but having a blast.

We had a great time with our friends, and I can't remember the last time I was out until 2am one night, and 3am the next! It was a much needed break and I'm so glad it worked out so well.

Thanks Shirley and Ed, for a fantastic weekend!

Ranunculus Fields Forever

We took a jaunt north today, and made a visit to the Carlsbad Flower Fields. These fields have been planted for over 60 years with ranunculus flowers, and they are quite simply, gorgeous.

Low, and behold, look who we ran into - a whole bunch of Norm's Garden Gnome buddies.
This little guy is my favorite. I really wanted to bring him home, but at $130 I had to pass. Expensive little bugger!

A whole gaggle of Garden Gnome cousins!