A passport, as I'm sure you know, is a document that one shows to government officials whenever one reaches a border between countries, so the officials can learn who you are, where you were born, and how you look when photographed unflatteringly.
~Lemony Snicket
On September 23rd, 2011-- two days before my hunk-a-burnin'-love's birthday-- we flew into Orlando, Florida, and boarded the Disney Magic Cruise Ship to sail away to the Caribbean Sea.
The first morning we woke up away from land and treading water in the wide expanse of the Atlantic Ocean, we had breakfast with some of the kids' favorite Disney pals.
I wasn't sure how Peyton and Chloe would react to the characters coming to the table, but they were absolutely ecstatic and excited to talk to, take pictures with, and hug their 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' friends.
Our server made each of us a napkin hat-- here Chloe is modeling her Minnie Mouse bow.
Peyton rocked his green Peter Pan hat.
Blurry as we are, here Troy and I are with our napkin origami.
Troy was Aladdin, and I was Pocahontas.
But the highlight of the morning came shortly after the boys left to go find the restroom and Chloe's very favorite character came out to visit. We love Minnie Mouse!
Another trip favorite for our stowaways were the Mickey Mouse ice cream bars that they had every night after dinner. They were in a sticky, melty, chocolate/vanilla heaven!
Delicious faces!
"You have pretty eyelashes."
Nearly everywhere we went on board the ship there were endless opportunities to take pictures with the gang. Sometimes we ran into them in the halls, and once we waited in line so we could have pictures with fancy Mickey and Minnie (pictures further below). Also present (which we never seemed to capture) were several Disney Princesses, and even Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
Speaking of origami, napkin hats weren't the only thing that got folded on the ship. Here, our towels were conjured into the shape of an anteater wearing my shades.
Our first official stop and location of our excursion was St. Maartin Island. It was smothered with diamond and jewelry shops, high end fashion wear, fragrances, liquor and cigar stores in a slummy, graffiti ridden, run-down French Quarter-ish looking area. Though we had fun deep sea helmet diving here, we weren't as impressed with the ambiance of this location. Our taxi driver told us that he was, "99% sure that we would be back again." Troy and I had a good laugh later about that one!
The yellow lines going into the water belong to our boat. The other hut and boat belong to "the competition".
Even cloudy, it was beautiful!
Troy and I enjoyed our little excursion under the sea together, though I must admit-- I was a little trepidacious going under the water at first!
How cute-- we have matching bubbles! :)
This prickly little sponge grabs on to your hand really well.
Troy gave it a good pet, too.
See, no hands!
The guides gave us some bread (bread?!) to feed the fish. Our instructions were to hold our hand low so that they could get our faces in the shot.
It's a little nerve racking feeding the fish-- they have teeth! I had a little nibble taken out of one finger and was pretty shocked. But, it was amazing to be under the sea. Well worth the battle-wound. ;)
Here's a picture of "The Mickey Mouse boat" which must always be said with exclamation points!!
'Little Dude, Big Attitude'. Yep, that's about right. Here's the interior of one of our cabins.
Excursion number two: Mountain Biking on Water Island across from the isle of St. Thomas.
The sun was extra brilliant when we posed for this picture. Hence, my watery eyed smile. :)
Troy wasn't so sure about this excursion at first but he was happy in the end that we did it. Once the group set off, he was gone!
I tried to tan on our trip; really, I did. Here I am in my pasty paleness getting ready to bike it down the mountain side through mud and pot holes.
Our guide stopped us in front of this sign to tell us that the hours posted here are pretty typical of island life. I took a picture because it was just too funny. On the right, it reads: Hours 11-7. Open most days around 11 or 12. Occasionally as early as 9 and sometimes as late as 1 or 2. We close about 6:30 or 7. Occasionally about 4 or 5, and sometimes as late as midnight, or later. On some days, we're not here at all, but lately we've been here alot, unless we're not.
A baby turtle! Our guide was really excited to see this little guy because turtles are pretty rare on the island and the sight of this slow mover meant that the island was teeming with new life.
At the end of our bike ride, we ended up on Honeymoon Beach which was man-made by a couple of return G.I.'s after World War II. The water was beautiful and clear, though the sand was a little rocky.
Another view of paradise.
Our last stop was Disney's own Castaway Cay (that last part is pronounced "key" not "kay"-- it threw me for a loop when I first heard it said aloud!)
From the smiles in the next few pictures, you'd think that Chloe was a beach baby to the core.
Not so.
That girl screamed and fell apart the moment her feet touched sand. She had done the same thing about nine months prior in the dinosaur exhibit at the Dallas museum when I set her in the interactive fossil dig that had tons of sand and brushes. She wanted nothing to do with that sand! I thought maybe she would have gotten over it, but I guess the fear lives on! Here she is giving Donald some love.
They're both smiling at once? Amazing!
Once we left the beach (which was a very short-lived foray) the kids had great fun at the splash park.
That night, they had a 'Pirates IN the Caribbean' Party. They handed out free bandanas and temporary tattoos which the boys donned right away. There was lots of dancing on deck, Mickey zip-lined across the entire ship, and there were even fireworks!
More Mickey and Minnie action!
One more for the road.
Besides getting food poisoning (me), we had a really fun time on our excursions and on the cruise in general. We also enjoyed listening to a comedian, a ventriloquist, and several Disney mini-musicals. I can't forget to mention Troy's favorite-- the endless buffets!
I wonder where in the world we'll go next?! :)