We've only been back from our trip for 3 days, but it seems like it was forever ago, so I thought I'd better start a post before I forget it all.

We set sail on the Carnival Miracle on Jan 16th from Ft. Lauderdale. The news in Florida continually referred to the "cold spell" they were experiencing. 60 degree weather is so tough. We were glad to be away from the 20 degree stuff we had at home.

We spent the next day at sea and then were busy hitting 4 ports in 4 days: Mexico, Honduras, Belize, and back to Mexico.

We went to Cozumel, Mexico - which is an island by the way - I did not know that. I'm not really geographically aware.

We went on a Jeep ride to a private beach and went snorkeling. We'd never been before, so it was cool. The reef was new so there wasn't a whole lot going on, but I saw a couple of HUGE fish. The ocean totally freaks me out.


We hit Roatan, Honduras. We were only there for a couple of hours, but I would love to spend more time there. We went to a Dolphin Reserve Park where we met Anthony the dolphin and his family. It was fun to play with him.

After 2 days of "play" we hit more historical sites in Belize and Costa Maya Mexico. We went toBelize City, Belize where we saw the Altun Ha Mayan ruins and and went on a tour of a large river (the river Wallace) where we saw iguana, crocodiles, bats, monkeys, and scenery. It was very similar to the river tour I went on in Costa Rica, but the river seemed less dirty in Costa Rica - I think it's because I love that place so- much.

Costa Maya made me realize how fragile life is. The port has recently opened (I think we were one of the first boats to come back) after Hurricane Dean hit it a few years ago. It's amazing how a 5-10 minute storm can do so much long term damage. The trees are still badly broken and all over the place and there is very little around other than the port - which is a major source of income for the people there.

So after running around we had 2 days to relax on the boat, or as Carnival says have a "fun day at sea". We pretty much just stayed on the deck or were in the gym. We only ate 3 meals a day and weren't at the buffet every 30 minutes like a lot of people we saw. We did have our midnight hot chocolate while playing several intense games of Uno. Yeah, we really know how to party.... :) We had fun though. Our 3rd or 4th day out Toad asked me when I wanted to vacation again. I nearly fell out of my chair - I think I may have started something! I KNEW he'd like vacation.

After the cruise we spend 2 days at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort and Spa. It was great, but after being constantly pampered and being able to do whatever we wanted - the resort was a lot like prison. We didn't have any transportation other than taxi's - by this time we were broke and tired, so we spent all day in the hotel or by the pool - which we were kind of sick of. The worst part of all was having to PAY for dinner -what's that all about :) We were really sad to watch the cruise ships sail off on Saturday night while we were still on dry land.

I wish I could say it's good to be back - there's no place like home, afterall, but I really miss vacation. Do you think we could find a job in the Carribbean lying on a beach? I don't think I could really do that for very long, but I did enjoy seeing my husband. I think we passed the test - we spent 24 hours a day together for 10 days straight and I still love him to pieces. How cute is it that he called me at 6:30 Tuesday morning because he missed me? After 6 years (this Sunday) we are still completely "whooped". Happy Anniversary, Toad.