Day 4 - I Need a Hero -er- Hiro

We spent this day at sea, heading for Mexico.

Grace and I went ice skating in the morning. The rink was pretty small and the ice was pretty gouged, but we can say we went ice skating on the ocean. So it was probably worth it.

We spent the morning playing on the ship. We did the the ten story slide. We did the zipline that was suspended ten stories up. We ate a lot of food. And we took a few naps.

In the evening we went to a concert by Earl Turner, a Las Vegas entertainer. Sam and I enjoyed it greatly; the teens were bored out of their minds.

After Earl we went to the performance of Hiro. Once again the plot was convoluted, but the theatrics were amazing. 

There was diving, trapeze, tight ropes, dancing, and acrobatics. And splashing!

We were all awestruck with the talent of the performers.

One of the performers descending from the sky (the slide is visible in the background, and this is where the zipline is located as well).

An amazing performance by skilled athletes. We left planning to attend their next performance.

We climbed into bed while sailing toward Mexico and our next adventure.

Unexpected Expenses:

• $0. Though I almost had to add replacement cell phone to the list because I lost mine but eventually recovered it from lost & found. Phew!
• Total: $0 + 894 = $894

Day 3 - Bermuda, Bahama, Come on Pretty Mama

Our first port of call was Coco Cay in the Bahamas. We loaded our bags with sunscreen and snorkels and headed for the gangway. We also grabbed our seapass cards (basically keycards to our rooms) as we were warned we would need them to get back on the ship.  The kids were bouncing with excitement, except Ethan, who was still living in a Benadryl haze.

After a brief wait while the wonderful cruise employees rescued my hat that was stolen by the wind and dumped in the ocean, we headed for the beach.

Despite the storm clouds gathering, the weather was great. The sun was shining. The ocean was warm and clear blue. We all enjoyed looking at the fish with the snorkel equipment. Except Ethan. He napped on the beach. Then he headed back to the ship and slept some more. The trip didn't start out well for him.

The rest of us enjoyed the carefully curated day. This island is a carefully manicured slice of paradise owned by the cruise line. The beaches are perfect, the salt water pool is large and has live music. The food is free. It is the stereotypical tropical island. And it was still lovely.

We headed back to the ship in the early afternoon. Without Sam's seapass card. He had lost it in the ocean. We had to go through a few extra steps but we made it back onto the ship right before the heavens deluged the earth. 

We came back sunburned and sandy, but perfectly happy.

Later that evening we enjoyed the wind. The outside decks felt like being in a wind tunnel. If it wasn't tied down, it was going to fly away. Which Sam learned half way through his hotdog as he watched it sail into the ocean. I'm sure a fish finished it for him.

We ended the day with an ice skating show. The skaters were fantastic! The plot was, well, weird and confusing. I would still watch it again, though. The skaters were really amazing.

We crawled into bed that night, exhausted and satisfied.

Unexpected Expenses:

• $120 international call - The child of the cell phone age did not understand that if they called a friend back in the US from their room phone, there would be an $8 per minute charge. This was an expensive lesson that was non-refundable. Yes, the child is paying us back. We also locked the kids' seapass accounts so they couldn't spend anything else.
• $90 per day for gratuities - There was a large miscommunication between our travel agent, us, and the ship. We understood we had already taken care of this expense. Michael bought $25 worth of internet and spent the evening trying to sort this out. It was an expensive mess. We did not come out victorious. We are hemorrhaging money.
• Running total: $119 + 120 + (90*7) + 25 = $894

Day 2 - Come Sail Away

Libby wanted to get up early and see the sunrise at the beach before we headed for the cruise port. My stomach, possibly due to the food from the night before, did not allow us to leave early enough to see the sunrise. After my stomach calmed a bit Libby and I headed to a nearby park with beach access, leaving everyone else still sleeping.

Libby found the cute park with bay access but alas, I could not find a public bathroom, and my stomach was not happy. We jaywalked across the bridge entrance to a neighboring park, which also lacked a bathroom. None of the stores or gas stations had bathrooms either. What is wrong with you, Miami!? I did make it back to the hotel, but it was almost ugly. 

We got back to find something had eaten Ethan during the night and he was miserable. He had a lines of bug bites up both arms, from his pinkies to his shoulder and they had swollen into red angry dots. We were not traveling well.

We also learned I had to redo my COVID test to get on the ship. Everyone else was negative, but I needed another test. It was not a great first morning of our vacation. 

We dumped Benadryl down Ethan's gullet, grabbed our bags and headed for the cruise terminal via two more Lyfts, praying I could get tested and on the ship. Once again our Lyft driver gave us his life story, the run down of the best cruises, and even his cold remedy. The boys driver did not speak.

We arrived at the port and stood in a hot, humid cruise terminal while we waited for the rapid (half an hour) test results, costing just another $115. It was a long half hour, knowing if I did have COVID (no symptoms, no reason to suspect I had it) then our vacation was about to be canceled.

I think I added another eight wrinkles while I waited for the results.

We could only gaze longingly at the ship as we stood in a smelly, humid parking garage, with our clothes sticking to our backs.

The email finally came and I was COVID free! We were free to find our way through the embarkation process and finally board the ship! We were on our way.

The first moment we stepped on the boat, I wondered if we had made a terrible, terrible mistake. There was LOUD live music, bright glittering signs, over-designed everything, and packed with people. It was my personal version of torment. Once we got sorted and left the main level on the ship "The Promenade," things got much better. I made it a point to avoid "The Promenade" as much as possible for the rest of the trip.

It didn't take the kids long to find the food.

And then the pools and boogie boards.

We made it to the ship, everyone was COVID-free, the kids were exploring, and the relief on our faces was evident. We were ready for an adventure.

Goodbye Miami. We will see you in a week.

Unexpected expenses:

• $119 COVID test
• $175 internet for the week a child "accidently" bought (and refunded)
• Total: $119 + 175 - 175 = $119

Day 1 - Leaving on a Jet Plane

This is Ethan's senior year and Libby's junior year of high school. We had to grab the opportunity for one big, grand family trip. After a lot of research, mostly done by Libby, starting almost three years ago, we decided to go on a cruise with stops in Mexico and Honduras. This is our children's first time on a plane, everyone's first cruise, and everyone but Michael's (Canada) first time out of the country. We spent a lot of time preparing, fretting, and saving for this trip. And then on February 11, 2022, the big day finally came.

We got up at 5:30 am to catch our 7:40 am flight out of Boise to Miami. As we made our bleary-eyed way through security, the girls reminded us they had never flown before and were sore afraid. They wondered if we should just turn back now.

With a little bit of convincing, we made it through security, to the gate and on to the plane.

We managed to snag seats all together, despite Southwest not offering assigned seats.

As we lifted into the sky we flew into the sunrise, and headed out for our adventure.

The girls did much better than they expected. They went white knuckled during take off, landing, and through the frequent turbulence, but they endured.

We had a brief layover in Denver with a few pre-packed snacks.

Grace even found a bird best friend in the Denver airport.

At eleven we climbed into the plane headed for Miami. This leg took four hours in the plane, six hours with the time change. It was long and boring but included a view of the Mississippi.

We left Boise with frost and snow on the ground. We arrived at Miami to 80 degrees, 80% humidity, and blue skies. We were shedding layers and snapping photos like all the other tourists.

We arrived safely in the city, all people and bags accounted for. We took two reserved Lyfts (there was no way our luggage and selves would all fit in one) to our large, overpriced hotel room. Our (me and the girls') driver gave us the rundown of what to do in Miami and where to play in the ocean. The boys' driver barely spoke to them. Regardless, we all arrived safe and sound to our hotel. Also sweaty and sticky.

Thankfully our hotel came with a pool. Even though the skies opened with a deluge, we still jumped in the water. The rain was just as warm as the surrounding air.

With no lifeguard on duty we had to play chicken. I still have the bruises to prove it.

After a swim, Ethan and I went on a walk in search for the legendary fried chicken available at Publix Grocery. Alas, they were completely out. Dinner ended up being fast food close to the hotel.

Ethan did find an opportunity to break the law though, so not all was lost.

We climbed into bed, exhausted from travel, but looking forward to boarding the ship on the morrow.

Ethan's New Cooking Channel

 Ethan made a throwing hatchet at a young's men activity. This is the result. I think I'm proud. Sometimes it is hard to know for sure.