I’ve just returned from a cruise.  Before you start thinking this was a dream vacation, hold that thought.

Last October my mother brought up the idea of an ‘all girls’ cruise.  All girls except my niece, who apparently was shunned because she’d just had a baby boy.  That actually worked out okay since she is currently pregnant with baby #2 and has spent the last month moving across country. 

The ship was fine - Carnival - or as I like to think of them . . . the Frat Boy cruise line.  A few too many hairy chest contests and drunk-before-nooners for my taste but then again, I wasn’t footing the bill so who am I to complain.  So my mother, my sister my daughter and I spent 7 days together.  And I mean together.  The ‘stateroom’ (Carnival’s term, not mine) was about 180 square feet.  Two Twin beds (mother and sister got those); a vinyl sofa that was covered with bedding each night for me and my daughter got the pull-down upper berth.  It was . . . cozy. 

My daughter had the time of her life.  They have this teen thing so you basically see your kid for an excursion off the ship and at dinner, other than that, they’re off on their own.  Yes, I had mom issues the first night - I kept stalker calling her since she had free roam of the ship and had a one AM curfew.  She hooked up with some nice girls, found three boys worthy of a crush, and generally had a great time.

Selfishly, I selected excursions I knew my mother would balk at on purpose.  Too much togetherness - especially when the people gathered together have a tense at best relationship - isn’t my thing.  So . . . Katie and I did parasailing in Key West, snuba in Jamaica, snorkeling in Grand Cayman and horseback riding in St. Bart’s.  I’m patting myself on the back for the horseback riding thing - I know how to ride but I also have a fused spine so it was excruciatingly painful but worth every second.  You ride down to the ocean, they remove the saddle and then you ride bareback into the surf (okay, so there is a small pad) and the horse swims out into the deep water.  It is, in the words of my daughter - wicked cool!

Well - here’s a photos of our adventure.

Oh, and what adventure is complete without a minor disaster?  Mine was while someone else was connecting the cord for her camera to my laptop so she could see her pictures and accidentally allowed my laptop to slide down her legs, past her feet and through the small opening between the balcony railing and the ocean below.  Somewhere between Cuba and the Florida Keys is a Sony Viao at the bottom of the sea.  The camera and it’s cord are fine though.  And me?  I made lemonade and ordered myself a cute little pink replacement!

Enjoy your day!

Rhonda