Home, Feb 3 (wah wah...)

Ah, the end of the journey. Everything accomplished and still wanting more. That's the basis of how I felt upon returning to Galveston at the end of the week-long cruise. I loved being able to get away from everything, meet new people (I talked with lots of new people--strangers and the crew), and see places I'd only ever dreamed about. 

{last sunrise...already docked in Galveton}

{goodbye balcony}

One piece of advise from disembarking is to GO EARLY. We didn't want to hang out any longer on the ship than necessary (would only cut into the driving time back). So we chose to hang on to our bags and take early disembarking, which just meant bringing our bags down to deck four and waiting to be lead out in a group. We, luckily, hit the first group and were off the ship and through customs in probably 20-25 minutes (maybe even less!). I will definitely do this on future cruises.

{still amazed by how large the ship is when on lad}

{parting view...sigh}

The drive from Galveston to Wichita was SO. FREAKING. LONG. Instead of stopping for the night, like on the drive down, we powered through and got back in the evening. Still, longest drive everrrrr...

{Sam Houston statue, looming large}

Once back, it seemed totally surreal. Philip and Enu fared well while I was gone that entire time, as I expected. 

{Philp trying out his creepy old man marionette}

{trying on his luchador mask. best souvenir ever.}

{unpacking hell.}

And with that, I'd like to announce that I'm moving to Belize. Peace out!


Jes


PS--Just joking...(sadly). But I'd love to move to Belize someday. Out of any other the places we visited, it grew on me the most.

At Sea, Feb 2

No one likes returning from a fantastic vacation. NO ONE. (And if you secretly do...what's wrong with you?!?)

However, boozing it up certainly helps one forget about being on the downslope of a vacation. That's pretty much what our last whole day at sea consisted of.

Jen and I, along with some other ladies from our group, went to Bartender Paul's second cocktail class. We tasted four fabulous cocktails, including RCCL's signature Razzle Dazzle drink. So frapping good!

{oh yeah, plus it rained...another reason to drink.}

{Annette helping Paul mix up drinks}

{the result: pretty darned tasty!}

{this is what happens when you get to class late...short chairs!}

{tall Jes and short Jen}

{group shot!}

{the fourth and final cocktail...so delicious}

{ah, i miss my tan...}

Our last dinner consisted of Rachel and Jen trying their best "Jes photo faces." The evidence is below.

{the ladies pre-joking}

{one of my photo faces they tried to replicate}

{Jen's attempt is fairly dead-on}

{Rachel channeling me, ha!}

So, instead of depressing myself during our last full day of cruising, I found myself some drinks and an RCCL Catalog to peruse in an attempt to find my next vacation. 

Jes

Cozumel, Feb 1

What's up? It's Friday! Woo! Two months ago on a Friday similar to this, I was in Cozumel! (Well, OK, it was warmer, though strangely cloudier...). I remember that day well...

{Jen showing the RCCL Allure of the Seas passengers what's what}

{breakfast next to the larger ship}

{oh, my poor, burnt forehead...i think it started peeling this day...urg}

{the girls in front of both ships}

{ready for the beach, I think?}

{it really is fascinating to see two ships side-by-side like this. and I thought our ship was huge...maybe some day i'll take a trip on the Allure or Oasis of the Seas}

{Playa del Mia beach...totally made up for the cloudy weather!}

{this was some neat sand. we kept finding seashells in it, and my feet were buffed after walking around in it for several hours}

{the beach really was quite beautiful and well-maintained}

{selfies!}

{"oh, we aren't allowed on this right now? ok..."}

{for $15 more than the regular excursion fee, we got FREE DRINKS all day...worth it!}

{Rachel! PINA! lol}

{stormy skies...it did end up misting for a while, but nothing too bad}

{exfoliating!}

{who goes to Mexico and reads on the beach? these gals.}

{jen posing in the luchador mask i bought my husband as a souvenir}

{woo!}

{view back on the boat}

{magnificent water in Cozumel}

{how cute is that?!? the Allure crew held up a huge hand to wave 'goodbye' to us as we left}

{i stood on our balcony and watch us depart for quite some time}

{at this point, i wasn't thrilled to have to go back to reality}

{our 2nd formal dinner night...we decided to take one happy and one sad photo...the photographers kept hiding this sad face print behind the happy one when on the display, haha!}

{after-dinner drinks at Bolero's with rachel}

{so damned sunburned...}

Only two more days to put on here! It's two months after the cruise, and I wish I was back there.


Jes

At Sea, Jan 29

Hey all! Didn't get to continue my trip updates yesterday with it being Valentine's Day and all. My husband and I worked out at the Y after work, ate some quick dinner, and then I spent the evening making him this:

{used the watercolors he bought me for xmas}

But on with the show! January 29th was one of my favorite days on the ship--the excitement and promise that the upcoming ports of call brought was clouding my mind, I had Best Coast and M83 on repeat on my mp3 player, the sun was especially bright and gorgeous, and I had the most delicious curry ever for dinner. Good times!

{second day of sunbathing}

{a girl could get used to this, i tell ya}

{hanging out in the salt water pool. photo by rachel.}

{later in the afternoon, i went exploring and found the "peek-a-boo deck"}

{"hey, dude sailing this boat, what's up?"}

{even later in the afternoon, we went to watch some of our friends play basketball and rock climb} 

{omg, raccoon eyes! ha!}

{delicious frissee salad with roasted butternut squash and white beans}

{tasty veggie curry with basmati rice for dinner}

{after dinner drinks with my friend, Rachel}

{the end to a perfect day!}

Jes