CoCoLoco

WARNING: Very long post ahead!

But first, a side note, remember the days before digital? I mean way back when people would break out the screen and slide projector and force you to sit through tons of vacation photos? Funny how the people who went on vacation enjoy looking through the pictures so much more than those who were not there. Thank God for digital! Now, you can choose which pictures to look at or which ones to ignore, all while in the comforts of your own home! So, if you're interested in our recent cruise to the Bahamas, keep reading. I've highlighted just a couple of pictures. Then, I've sorted the rest into albums. You can choose whether or not to check them out. Remember, I'm just documenting my life...you may not be interested at all, and I totally understand.

Scott and I were very excited about joining Missy and Ryan on their 5th cruise. We became addicted after cruising to Cozumel last year. We woke up bright and early Friday morning, drove to Port Canaveral, dropped all our luggage off with the trustworthy looking baggage handler in the nice shirt, and then parked. Who knew that we were not to see either of Missy and Ryan's two pieces of luggage until the last night of the cruise...

Poor Missy and Ryan. They spent most of their vacation at the customer service desk being promised that every single room was being checked for their luggage. Meanwhile, they had no change of clothes, no swimsuits, no personal items. And the worst part, Missy had been working on stockings for her, Ryan and both the kids for years. The stockings were in her luggage! Anyway, they remained in very good spirits throughout what will certainly be a memorable cruise for so many wrong reasons.

We were not planning on going into Nassau Saturday but rather spend the day poolside. However, because Missy and Ryan needed several things, including swimsuits, we went shopping. I love this picture of them. While they kept their humor through it all, it was obvious that the ordeal was exhausting and frustrating.

Nassau was okay. It was really just a lot of shopping. Standing on the bow as we came into port was lots of fun. Scott and I decided we would buy this house and then invite you all to come and visit us:

The most fascinating thing about Nassau to me were the Christmas decorations that were still hanging all around town. I loved the juxtaposition of the year-round hot weather and the lighted snowflakes stretched across the streets! We also found a shop that had a great sale on down-filled ski jackets! Coming back to freezing temperatures at home, we regretted not taking advantage of the sale!

We got back on the ship as soon as we could to enjoy some lounge chair reading and watching the sunset over Nassau. It was formal night in the dining room. We all dressed down since Missy and Ryan had no choice. We actually had more fun dressing down and being different. It was kinda scandalous to walk into the formal dining room wearing flip-flops!

(As I write this, I just flipped through the channels to find something else to listen too. Titanic is on. Susan, don't read anything into the irony. It's just a coincidence!)

Sunday turned out to be one of the very best days of my life. Several of the items listed on my life's to do list were checked off that day. It was a perfect day from start to end!

The day started very early. I woke up at 4:30 and did some reading in bed until my booklight died. At 6:15, I decided to go up on deck and watch the sunrise. I never saw another person until about 6:50. I felt like I had the whole ship to myself. Everything was so quiet and peaceful. I didn't go up to the top deck like a lot of other people ended up doing. I was on a lower deck, all by myself, photographing the most beautiful, magical sunrise I've ever seen. I couldn't help getting caught up in the moment and talking to God, thanking him for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me and praising him for loving us so much that he creates such beauty in the world. It was a very emotional time for me and I truly felt God with me as I stood in awe of the sun rising and took hundreds of pictures.

I met up with Scott and we ate breakfast then got ready for our day on the beach. We were on the first tinder going over to Royal Caribbean's private island, CoCoCay. When we got on the island, we claimed a hammock and some chairs that were standing alone, away from all the other chairs that we knew would fill up later. We felt like we had the island all to ourselves for about two hours until people started showing up. I snapped a lot of pictures as soon as we got there. See our little island within an island? It was the perfect location for relaxing the day away!

We missed Ryan and Missy, though. They had to stay onboard for yet another meeting with yet another manager. They eventually joined us at lunch time and were able to enjoy a few hours on the island.

We all found our happy places on CoCoCay. Scott could have snorkled all day. (Sorry, no pictures!) I had always dreamt of swimming in crystal clear water and spending a day in a hammock on the beach. I tried to savor every moment so that when I returned to work, I could escape back to CoCoCay. So I have two happy places. If I ever seem to have drifted far away, this is probably what I am picturing in my head and dreaming about:

My other happy place involed floating for what seemed like hours and enjoying the island's signature drink, a CoCoLoco.

Missy and Ryan REALLY needed a happy place! After enjoying massages, they retreated to a shady spot.

After an incredible day at the beach, we returned to our rooms to get ready for our last dinner on the ship before packing up and getting ready to leave first thing in the morning. Imagine the look on Missy's face when she opened the door to her cabin and found her luggage sitting there, pretending that nothing had happened. The very large, very obvious labels with their room number were stuck securely in place. It appeared that the bags had not been opened at all, nothing had been shifted around or was missing. The priceless stockings were safe and sound! And not one member of Royal Caribbean's staff has any explanation about where the luggage had been for the entire cruise or how it ended up at their door. Hmmm...even though they assured Missy and Ryan that they had been searching diligently. Whatever! I guess we'll never be able to solve the mystery since the luggage ain't talkin'! Kudos to Missy and Ryan, though, for not letting it ruin their vacation. I'm not so sure ours would have been so wonderful had it happened to us!

We started the long ride home early the next morning. Everyone was quiet as we tried to accept that we were so ruthlessly kicked off the ship and had to start facing the real world that was waiting for us at home. However, our spirits were lifted as we used Scott's iPhone to search for and begin planning our next cruise!

(Missy and Ryan, Thanks for vacationing with us! We had a wonderful time...and learned lots of lessons about packing for next time! We can't wait to do it again. And remember: "Enjoyment....is a form of entertainment!" Love, Scott and Sunny)

And now, I'll break out the slide projector and screen! Digital, of course, so you can pick and choose by clicking on the album(s) you want to see!

To see 36 pictures of us throughout the cruise:



To see 28 pictures of CoCoCay:



To see 18 pictures of Nassau:



To see 13 pictures of the glorious sunrise:

To see 16 pictures of the sun setting over Nassau: