No January Blues!

Bill and I traded the January blues and valley inversion for the blue of the Caribbean seas and the beautiful Crown Princess ship. We traveled for seven days with our good friends, Bruce and Joan Kenner and John and Julie Hedman.

We dined at this table every night at 6:00 and the attentive waiters were at our beck and call. We ate more than one would think is humanly possible...morning, noon and night, hoping that taking the MANY stairs v.s. the elevator all week would keep the weight down. Maybe it was the afternoon ice cream cones or mounds of french fries, or the late night delicious cookies or lobster claws, but Bill and I gained 3-4 pounds. And what a way to GO! We decided to address the weight issue once we got home and enjoy it ALL while on the cruise!

First stop...the Grand Caymans where we fed and played with the sting rays out on a sand bar. It is said if you kiss a male sting ray you will have 14 years of good luck. It was worth a try!

There were two dressy nights, the rest were casual. After dinner we enjoyed fabulous entertainment aboard ship in the Princess theater.

Bill surprised me with a room with a deck! I thought we had reserved a room with a window to save some $$$, so I thought there was some mistake! It was a wonderful surprise! We loved this deck as it was often the only place that was quiet aboard ship. Our friends had adjoining rooms and the decks could be opened to each other. We loved it. We had a Sunday school class on our decks and enjoyed moments here and there to read a book or visit. The ocean was so beautiful!

The next stop was to be Roatan, Honduras which is world famous for its snorkeling and diving. Bill signed up to scuba dive and was looking forward to this adventure having renewed his certification. Unfortunately, the water was too choppy for the ship to anchor and we moved on to Cozumel where we snorkeled, though we would give it only a "C" experience. Lastly, we docked at this small Bahamian island where the Princess company leased a beautiful beach. While the others walked around I read in the shade under a palm tree with a smile on my face!

The next day we were back in Fort Lauderdale and faced a long day getting home, opening our door in Sandy at midnight which was 2:00 a.m. to us! The heebee jeebie had set in making the flight extra long and sleep slow to come that night. But we had such a wonderful time and loved the break from the winter weather, the sun on our sun-screened skin, the vitamin D, the aqua color of the ocean, the humidity, exercising on treadmills at the front of the ship with panoramic windows, the great food, the pampered care, being out of cell phone reach, and as always, relaxed time with great friends. Thank you, Bill, for this trip to paradise!

Below are pictures moving backwards through the month. A few days before our trip, Bill and I spent a week in St. George which also gave us a wonderful break from the gray inversion skies of Salt Lake. We hiked in Snow Canyon with John and Julie Hedman and loved the beauty of that canyon and the "outside" activity.

The area was called the "Lava Flow" though the rock was white...the "snow" of Snow Canyon. Very interesting and another fun place to hike with the grandkids!

And lastly, though really "firstly," this is a picture of our friends on New Years Eve where we had a lovely dinner at the Hedmans and played Jeopardy which I had put together. Hopefully, there will be a time soon to play it with our kids...a game we really love to play together.

So we made the most of January and now spring is around the corner!