I'll try and refrain from using ALL CAPS and shouting at you, but I went on a kid-free vacation with Dina!! IT WAS GLORIOUS! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.
I definitely came home feeling refreshed and relaxed. Thank you Dina for an awesome birthday trip! And thank you, Dan, for being the best, most understanding husband ever! Love you!
My friend Dina and I decided to celebrate our big 35th birthdays together by leaving our kids and husbands at home. Fortunately for us, our husbands are amazing and both agreed to our plan. Since the cruise left out of Florida, I actually took Zahara with me so that she could get some quality time with her grandparents and Dan would only have Asher. Win-win!
Dina and I went on a Royal Caribbean cruise from Miami to Coco Cay, Nassau, and Key West. It was four nights, which was a perfect length for us. The entire goal of our trip was just to relax. We wanted to sit by the pool, sit on the beach, drink fruity drinks, and eat good food. I'm happy to report we were successful on all fronts!
The only planned activity we had was a glass bottom boat tour in Coco Cay that we booked through the ship. It was amazing! Our guides, Quick Draw McGraw and Cardinal, were fantastic! I thought we would just be seeing the sea creatures from the boat; but Quick Draw would spot something, then dive in the water and go get it for us to view on the boat. We held star fish, lobsters, conch, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers*! We saw sting rays too! It was awesome!
To be honest, Coco Cay itself wasn't that fantastic. It still was super relaxing as we hung out by the hammocks, but they were doing some construction on the island, so the view wasn't that nice--nothing a pina colada couldn't fix!
To be honest, Coco Cay itself wasn't that fantastic. It still was super relaxing as we hung out by the hammocks, but they were doing some construction on the island, so the view wasn't that nice--nothing a pina colada couldn't fix!
It was kind of the same thing in Nassau. We opted to go to the public beach that was only a 15 minute walk from the port. Junkanoo Beach is easily accessible and was exactly what we were looking for. It had soft white sand and warm turquoise water. As we were right by the port, the view left something to be desired, but who cares? I grabbed my book and a local beer and suddenly everything was right in the world.
Key West was really relaxing as well. We had a nice leisurely breakfast on the ship and then just walked down the main street (Duval) until we hit the water. We stopped for a drink at the southern-most point in the Continental United States at a cafe appropriately named Southernmost Beach Cafe. The drinks were delicious, and the fries were incredible! The seasoning has a little sugar in it, which was is unusual and tasty. Later, Dina grabbed a chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. So refreshing on a hot, sticky day!
We had just as much fun on the ship as we did off it. We sat by the pool and read--I read 3 books in 5 days! We played trivia and Scrabble--they only had the Spanish version, but we played in English anyway. We drank delicious drinks and ate great food. I even worked out a couple of times. And, we gambled, and won! We played craps every night and had an absolute blast.
Key West was really relaxing as well. We had a nice leisurely breakfast on the ship and then just walked down the main street (Duval) until we hit the water. We stopped for a drink at the southern-most point in the Continental United States at a cafe appropriately named Southernmost Beach Cafe. The drinks were delicious, and the fries were incredible! The seasoning has a little sugar in it, which was is unusual and tasty. Later, Dina grabbed a chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. So refreshing on a hot, sticky day!
We had just as much fun on the ship as we did off it. We sat by the pool and read--I read 3 books in 5 days! We played trivia and Scrabble--they only had the Spanish version, but we played in English anyway. We drank delicious drinks and ate great food. I even worked out a couple of times. And, we gambled, and won! We played craps every night and had an absolute blast.
I definitely came home feeling refreshed and relaxed. Thank you Dina for an awesome birthday trip! And thank you, Dan, for being the best, most understanding husband ever! Love you!
*Here's an interesting/gross story about sea cucumbers. Did you know that when they get stressed (like when they're out of the water being passed around by a bunch of tourists), they throw up their intestines? Yeah, that happened.
Read more about my adventures with Dina:
Read more about my adventures with Dina:
Baltic Cruise
Mediterranean Cruise
Caribbean Cruise
Read about our past birthday celebrations:
2016
2014
2013
2012
Mediterranean Cruise
Caribbean Cruise
Read about our past birthday celebrations:
2016
2014
2013
2012
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