Tales of Paradise

A couple weeks ago, Scott and I took a break and went on a Carribean cruise with my family...it was amazing! The kids stayed at home with babysitters, and we just had the whole week to worry about nothing except waking up in time to go on our next adventure and making sure we were back in time to eat (and eat, and eat).

The safety drill is always a fun way to start out the cruise and a great way to set a good first impression with fellow travelers while looking your best.



Here we all are (below, from left to right): Cathryn with her boyfriend John, my parents, Steven and his wife Kat, Scott and I, and Brian and his wife Marnae. What made the week so fun (other than the fact that we were in the Carribean, had all the food we could eat, and didn't have to cook or clean) was hanging out with the siblings, and being entertained by my brothers and Scott...they make a hilarious combination. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in just one week before.






Anyway, these pictures are at our first stop, Half Moon Cay, which is Holland America's private island. It was soft white sand and clear aqua-blue waters. Besides just relaxing in the sun, we entertained ourselves by feeding the fish our lunch leftovers. There were about 30 large white and silver-striped fish swimming all together around and between our legs (a little slimy feeling). If you held on to the food long enough, they'd bite your fingers...it felt like baby's gums so no big deal. They were smart though...we would throw a piece of food to someone across from us and they'd all immediately swim over to that person that now had the food. I guess they had pretty good eyesight? Scott discovered they preferred corn on the cob (they ate right off the cob) and bbq beef. Hopefully there weren't a bunch of dead fish on the shore the next day!


Scott, John, and Cathryn feeding the fish...


Our next stop was an island called Grand Turk...not our favorite, but memorable still. We found a little friend on the beach:



Scott snorkeled around that day with a "marking stick" (he's in the background, white stick poking out of the water) so that we'd know where he was snorkeling. He didn't want to get run over by a kayak or a jet ski (instead he only got laughed at):



And I'll definitely remember my poor Dad, who hurt his back and couldn't walk. He had to sit out the next couple of day's adventures:



We went to Grand Cayman again this time. This is the best place to snorkel. Do you see the confused look on my face? I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to walk with these flippers on and not fall...not so easy.



There were so many fish and the water was actually warm (and so blue). Scott was always the first one off the boat. In fact, he didn't really even wait for the boat to stop. Just jumped off the side. (Meanwhile I was still trying to figure out how to get myself over to the side of the boat with those dang flippers on my feet).



Kat, we still love you, even if you do need "special assistance." (flotation aids!):



We also did the Stingray thing again where we held them and fed them. Other than one small run in with some charging stingray's, it was very enjoyable. We were only standing in knee-deep water though and it was pretty windy so I got COLD. I'm trying to warm up in my wet towel here...



Our last stop was Costa Maya, Mexico. It was probably my favorite stop.



I loved the brightly painted buildings. Here we are, waiting for the bus to take us to explore Mayan ruins.





The trees were huge...just HUGE (see the little person at the bottom of the picture?)



The jungle grew right over these ancient ruins and there are still "hills" covered in trees that are really ruins underneath the growth.



I want to plant some of this grass in my yard...I really liked it. Probably wouldn't grow in Utah.



After the Mayan ruins, we went to this awesome little resort along Laguna Azul where we ate authentic Mexican fajitas (so good) and played around in the water. We had the whole place to ourselves. It was great!



Steven did tricks on his kayak....what talent.



Did I mention how much we ate? Look closely, most of us ordered at least 2 desserts (I ordered three that night). And we wondered why we were ALWAYS the last to leave the dining room?...



Marnae did a couple step aerobics classes. I think I got more ab work out of it though, because we laughed so hard, watching the guys get into it. We always drew quite a curious crowd of onlookers.



We ate more...



From the look on Scott's face here you wouldn't know it, but we really had a lot of fun! We can't wait til the next Powell "reunion."