I’m going to let you in on a little secret…I’m not a patient person.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m pretty patient when it comes to other people, but when it comes to me and what I want for myself?  I want what I want now.  Quite honestly, that has been the hardest part of this whole process for me.  Essentially, I’m building a new business from the ground up.  The saying goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to build Rome in a day.  I’m struggling with this concept.  And I’m struggling with waiting and being patient.  It is so not my strong suit.

So what’s the point of this post?  Why the heck am I sharing some of my innermost thoughts on the web.  Thoughts that I might not want everyone to know. Well, simply put, I don’t want to hide who I am.  And I don’t want to pretend that I’m someone I’m not.  Most of all, I want to be able to look back one day, read this and know that it all turned out alright.

This photo was taken on my plane ride home from my Caribbean Cruise Adventure.

6/22/10 Day 5- St. Thomas

When Laura and I were planning this vacation, she asked me what I wanted to do on our shore excursions.  I had only one request, and that was to swim with the dolphins.  We ended up booking an option that was to take place at St Thomas.

This morning we got off the ship and went in search for our meeting place for the dolphin encounter only to find out that it was canceled!  Supposedly due to weather.  By that time it was too late to book anything else.  Yes I was disappointed.  Really disappointed, but what can you do?  Better to move on and get over it than be annoyed all day.  I think I stayed annoyed for an hour or so, and then I got over it.  I’ll just use it as an excuse to book my next cruise!

This was our view as our ship docked this morning.

This was my sad face once we discovered that our dolphin excursion was canceled.

We ended up just relaxing on the ship all day.  It was actually quite nice because everyone was on land doing excursions so we basically had it all to ourselves.

We went to the aqua show before dinner.  They had divers, gymnasts, synchronized swimming, tons of talent in the show!

After dinner, we also saw the Texas Tenors from America’s Got Talent.  I haven’t ever watched the show so this was the first I had ever heard of them.

6/23/10 Day 6- St. Maarten

We did the extreme zip line today which was a ton of fun!  Hot and humid here, but I’m used to that weather. When we first got off the ship to meet our excursion group, it started to rain, but only for about five minutes.  This was right before the rain started.

And then it stopped and the weather looked like this.

We literally zip-lined above treetops, tight rope walked and crossed horizontal ladders for two hours through this forest to complete the course!  It was  so much fun.  I didn’t bring my camera for fear of accidentally dropping it, but I did take this after.  Those hills covered in trees and vegetation?  That’s what we were zip-lining through.

We went to a comedy show after dinner.  I have never been to a comedy show before.  Oh. Em. Gee!  SO funny, I laughed the entire time.  I’m now on the search for a good comedy club in Houston…know of one or want to go with?  Give me a shout!

6/24/10 Day 7- At Sea

Didn’t do much today except hang out by the pool and read.  Again.  That’s becoming a habit with me, but I love it so.  I have officially finished two books on this trip.

We went to a show after dinner that included acrobats, gymnasts, singers…basically super-talented performers.  I loved it!  I wanted to video some of it to post on here, but understandably due to copyright that wasn’t allowed.

I’ll leave you with some final photos while I go plan my next cruise!

This is overlooking another area of the ship called Central Park.  There was some neat restaurants located here.

Every night there was almost some form of live music somewhere on the ship.

Lots of amusing shows during the day to keep us entertained.  This was a personal favorite…the belly flop competition.  I don’t know why I get such entertainment out of watching other people inflict pain on themselves, but I do! 

There was a crew vs. guests pool volleyball competition that took place and was fun to watch.

Our dinner waiters for the week with Laura and me.

These two just got married and were on their honeymoon.  It was such a pleasure to dine with them every night!  We felt like we were saying goodbye to friends by the end of the trip!

Oh, we saw Hairspray last night.  Neither Laura nor I had ever seen it before, not even the movie they made a few years ago.  It reminded me how much I love musicals and live entertainment.  I’m now even more determined to go see Wicked in July when it’s in Houston.

Last night and today have been the first time that we can tell we’re on a ship, aside from looking at the passing water.  It’s not much, but we can feel some sway here and there.  I’m actually a little surprised.  I thought on a ship this size we wouldn’t feel a thing.

Today’s activities?  Lay out by the pool reading a book, catching some sun rays and listening to the ocean.

Nothing else.

Just a quality day of rest and relaxation.  I imagine this is what Harley feels like when she lounges on the couch,  laying on her back with all four furry paws in the air, and not a worry in the world.

A few pictures from Captain’s night.

Where the captain is standing is actually a rising bar that goes up and down in the evenings.  I bought a picture with Laura and me with the captain but it’s not on my computer yet.

After dinner we went to the Love and Marriage Game show.  Hands down, one of the funniest shows I have seen.

Woke up this morning in Nassau.  We did a clear sea kayak excursion and snorkeling.  The kayaks were clear so you could see through the bottom of them and look at the fish, etc.  The snorkeling portion was more enjoyable than I expected.  I’ve been snorkeling once before, but this time was much better!  It was the first time I wished I had an underwater camera with me.

After we got back to land, I went on a hunt for a wooden turtle.  I don’t know why, but I’m obsessed with these and I was determined to not come back empty handed.  I ended up coming back $40 poorer, but one wooden turtle richer!  Yay!  I’ve been meaning to take a picture of it, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.

After returning to our ship, the rest of the day was spent lounging at the pool reading my book.  Very relaxing if I do say so myself!

The bottom left picture is the view from our room balcony.