Celebrating Life On A Cruise and In The Bahamas

Family vacations are always refreshing. It was such a blast to see the excitement and curiosity in our children's eyes. This was Nolan and Haley's first cruise. We departed from Port Canaveral and traveled to Nassau, Bahamas. The weather was perfect and the sea was mostly calm until the last night. We cruised on the ship, Carnival Sensation. Some activities onboard the ship included putt putt, ping pong, dance parties, break dancing, the 80's show, the pool party with the hairy chest contest, get to know who you are traveling with the spoon and string game, the water park, the hot tub relaxation station, the photography studio, the casino, the fitness center, and the hot stone massage. We had a wonderful time dressing up for dinner each night and sharing stories and laughter with our family and dining room staff. The kids enjoyed the magic tricks each night at dinner with silverware and dental floss. On the island, we visited the Atlantis and the Aquarium. We shopped at the Straw Market. Then we spent the day at the beach. Nolan and Haley spent most of their time jumping off a pier. After dinner, we took a night taxi tour of Nassau with a native Bohemian. The kids couldn't believe that we were getting in a car with a stranger. We saw both sides of the Bahamas this way, the rich and the less fortuate. We learned that real estate was a real mess with many lots having signs of several owners so if you bought the lot it might not really be yours. Many multi-million dollar homes were vacant because of this. People would lose them after purchasing beacuse of several owners having the lot. We visitied the cemetary of Anna Nicole's grave, we saw Nicholas Cage's vacation home, and the town's Friday Night Block Fish Fry with the Battle of the Bohemian bands preparing for their Christmas showdown. In the evenings we wold take walks on the decks and enjoy God's natural beauty, go to shows, and have a blast dancing. Nolan was a fabulous dancer. Haley mostly watched everyone else. The kids loved having ice cream at all hours of the day and night. Ryan loved the never-ending pizza buffet. Celena couldn't get enough of the chocolate covered strawberries. After relaxation and exhaustion, it was always a pleasure to return to our tidy, little room with our nightly towel animal creation with chocolates. Another memory of authentic blessings with our beautiful children.