Fort Lauderdale, Florida- Back in the States

Pardon me please... I do realize the last I wrote we were somewhere drifting at sea, and since there's been all sorts of hurricanes, storms and oil catastrophies... I only hope you weren't too worried about us.

We safely made it back to the States on time and had left the day to explore and enjoy Fort Lauderdale. We had a great last day together... enjoying lunch on the promendade "downtown"...

And walking inland from the beach to look at all the boats and canals, and waterways, and beautiful homes and waterways...

The day was picture perfect and though our feet were sore from all the walking we'd done that week... we kept walking. And I think in the end were so glad we did. Those boats are pretty.

The wind picked up at the beach, but this didn't discourage Fort Lauderdale residents, who spent their afternoons lathering up and taking naps in the warm sunshine.

By this time Brian had really had enough of all the picture taking, and had decided to make faces in all the photos on the last day... here's a good one as he poses with Dad on the beach.

Our beach walk led us by all the condos and big hotels in the area... though just hours from the Bahamas we immediately noticed the difference in the sand color here... as just the day before (for us) the sand was scorching hot and blinding white...

And that's it. With the wind on our backs, we headed home.

Cococay, Bahamas

The last port day we arrived in the Bahamas- Cococay to be exact... a tiny tiny island in the archipeligo just north of Nassau and directly east of Miami. It's a private island owned by the Royal Caribbean cruiseline.

While they're completely right in their description of the island's beauty-- see the bright sun shining through the palm tree below-- the downfall is that you're a captive audience and it's the last chance for the cruiseline to make a ton of bonus money before they bring you back to port.

As we arrived by ferry to Cococay (the water's too shallow and the island's too small for the ship to dock at any pier)... we didn't have a plan. We hoped to check out the kayaking or wave runners to try something a little different... but the wind was strong that day and the kayaks were not being rented, and Royal Caribbean was asking a rediculous price for the wave runners... so once again, we created our own "free" itinerary, and had a blast. Lots of people tried out the excursions though as there were long lines for snorkeling and parasailing and the like. The time at the island seems to get mixed reviews though in online blogs and reviews.

No matter your opinion of the ultimate vacation (and what it should cost when you're there) Cococay provides a great beach day and we had some awesome sunshine.

We decided pretty early in the day to take a walk out into the water and onto some of the sandbars and were AMAZED by the life we saw right under our feet. I went back out with my camera later... but there were bays and coves and tide pools of stingrays, starfish, sand dollars, sea slugs (they were gross), sea urchins, fish and conches. Below's a picture of a bright orange starfish we found hanging out in one of the tidepools.

We touched everything (no one told us not to) and explored the water around the island for an hour or so, followed by a nice nature hike back to the lunch barbeque.

Mom found a sand dollar:

Me, Mom and Brian in a gorgeous cove. I love the colors of the water and sky in this picture.

We made Dad cram in the photo opp too. For Brian's first do-it-yourself shot, I think this one came out pretty well.

Starfish and clams as we explored. Literally almost every step we found

something cool.Mom, Dad and Brian getting some sun.

Heading back to the ship.. another great day at sea.

Cozumel Island

Our second port of call was Cozumel- the place my family was most excited to visit. My parents had just a few years earlier celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in Mexico and spent a day exploring this little island and therefore were excited to share it with the family. And for good reason- take a look at this gorgeous scenery-- from the western side of the island. Do you see that water color?
This shot was taken as we rode the island on metropolitan scooters... or mopeds I guess. We rented three scooters just south of the city (and about a forever walk from our ship) from the same guys my parents rented from a few years back... (you'll see a pattern here, we mostly repeated what they had experienced before, but this time together)... funny enough the place is called Rooster Rentals. The very roughly illustrated map below gives some details of the trip around the island... To give you an idea of the size of Cozumel... if you took the scooters as fast as they can go (maybe around 35-40mph) around the island loop, it'd maybe take you 45-minutes. We took the whole day (maybe 4-5 hours or so) making some stops for snorkeling, snacks at the southernpoint, photo opps on the western side, a popped scooter tire, tequila tasting and some shopping in the city.
So let's talk about this snorkeling adventure... Cozumel is probably most famous for it's reefs, and it's the one thing Mom and Dad felt they missed out on last time, so we rented some snorkel gear, pulled off on the side of the road and jumped in... (we recommend the do-it-yourself tour versus the planned excursions... it just took a little preparing and research beforehand, and we were grateful to have extra time and save some cash)this is my family:

My brother, Brian, is really not one for photos. In protest of me requesting a back-up shot be taken, this is what I got. I guess I asked for it.

I was a little timid about the moped thing in the beginning... having never driven one before. My brother (fearless as always) took off at high speeds without looking back, Dad (with mom in tandem) an always confident driver had no issues, and they both left me behind doing "practice circles" in the supermarket parking lot... eventually I got good enough (maybe comfortable enough is more like it, these things really aren't that complicated) to do some one-handed, photo-snapping driving, and this is what I came up with:

Above: Mom and Dad to the left, Brian our fearless leader to the right. Heading south, back past the ports and the east-coast snorkeling...

Below: Brian had to pull off and wait for us a few times because he was so far ahead. Below, starting his scooter again to get back on the road.

The last stop we made was at "Paco's Tequila Place" -- this is how my parents remembered it having a fantastic experience with their tour guide, Paco their last visit. Actually called, Hacienda Antigua - this time we said hi to Paco, skipped the tour, and went right for the tasting. Though the agave plant is native to Mexico- it's not normally grown on the Cozumel Island, it's more of a central mexico plant-- but these guys bring a little central/native mexico to the heart of this tourist destination, and they don't make bad tequila, so check it out.

I loved spending the day getting a taste for this place, and being back in Mexico for just a moment. There's lots to explore in Cozumel and really does give you the opportunity to taste the whole country- as it's so directed toward drawing in throngs of tourists and welcomes a few cruiseships everyday. While not my favorite Mexican destination, definitely a safe place to explore and get your toes wet in the culture and sunshine. Just be sure to bring your sunscreen.

Key West (Cruise Day 2)

Our cruise's first port of call was Key West... which was a really fun place to start. Though I'm sad to say now there's lots of news stories about this little place as the oil from BP begins to wash up on its beautiful shoreline. They're coping in their own way though...

Key West has a quaint downtown filled with historic museums, lots of bars and nightlife (if you remember the famous margaritaville got it's start in this little place), and tons of touristy beach-shops. We walked all through the downtown and then straight on out of town... by the end of the day, walking the majority of the island on foot... and probably putting a good 8 miles or so on our flip-flops. We walked south... right to the end of the island, where there are beautiful resorts and fishing docks like this one:

The water was clear and warm. We followed the others from our boat to the monument marking the tip of the Key West island as the southernmost point in the continental United States. We also found there a memorial to the cuban lives lost as many have tried to make their way to their dreams of freedom and hope of a better life in the States. It was quite the paradox, to be in the place the locals call paradise, and so close to such extreme distress as demonstrated through the risk so many have taken to get to American Soil.

Above: Mom and Dad at the buoy marking the southernmost point. Below, the house and museum of my most beloved author, Ernest Hemingway. He lived in Key West for about a decade and wrote the majority of his books here surrounded by his infamous cats...it's a beautiful house right in the center of the island.

We also dropped in on the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in the village as Dad and Brian were pretty interested in the pirates and the scuba finds...

The Art and History museum also looked really interesting and had some amazing statues for tourists to admire and play with on display outside... may be worth checking out.

Overall, a great day... and deserves another visit someday.

Cruising 101

Seemingly every college student takes a Spring Break on a cruise ship now-a-days, but it's now well beyond my college days, and I just stepped onto my first massive boat last week (still considering myself super fortunate--- and please in no way should you feel bad for me as I enjoyed some awesome experiences during Spring Breaks in college). Our boat, called the "Grandeur of the Seas" by Royal Caribbean, it's actually one of the smaller ships out there carrying onboard last week about 2,200 passengers.I went with my family- yup that's right, a bonefide family vacation-- with 4 adult family members. Below is a photo of my family at dinner on "formal" night... the food service, quality and quantity on the cruise was outstanding. It was so nice not to think about cooking and preparing or even where to go to dinner, everyday all choices were made for us, and it was truely relaxing.

Our boat was pretty cool, and provided us lots of options for entertainment. We woke up and went to the deck for sunrise almost every morning; spent many hours sunbathing, dancing, reading, cards and game playing; and our evenings often spent here watching sunset... it was an incredible experience to be on the open waters like that, something i've never done before.
One of those magnificent sunsets I was talking about...

Day 1 arrival on the boat: Fort Lauderdale, Port Everglades. Our 5 day cruise included port stops in the Florida Keys, Cozumel (Mexico) and the Bahamas.

Mom and Dad nice and tan on our final night on the ship.

Brian, Me and Mom checking out the view as the ship leaves port in Cozumel.

We loved the whole experience and would if given the chance, choose another cruise... though we did things a little out of the ordinary, in the end taking our own path in each of the port stops versus the planned excursions. I loved the whole social aspect of the cruise and mom and I spent tons of time talking to new people and making friends. The vacation also really felt like a full vacation-- the first I've taken in a long time: we were relaxed, not worrying about a thing- and completely disconnected-- no cell phones or internet for five days. I'd give this cruise and the Royal Caribbean Grandeur staff my stamp of approval.

The one caution I'd provide though...

While the cruise pricing can seem super economical (as they advertise all-inclusive)... there's a lot they can be pushy about purchasing while on board... all alcohol, shopping, soda, some games and activities and workout facilities cost, and at the ports they dropped us off in very touristy locals with pre-arranged activities which could be great snapshots and activities to participate in, but with a little extra research you could duplicate the same experience for a fraction of the cost.

All in all though, again, we had a great time exploring and tasting the flavors of the Caribbean. Enjoy your vacation! (and thank mom and dad for subsidizing this great trip for us)