Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain
And we're back... from a wonderful Barros family vacation: a five-day cruise to Mexico! And what an adventure it was!
Jeff and I were set to leave last Friday to fly to Houston. Lo and behold, a snowstorm tried to get in our way! To avoid the heavy snow and traffic, we decided to stay Thursday night in Denver. That was helpful, except our flight was cancelled for the morning! We booked an afternoon flight only to wake up the next morning to its cancellation as well. Southwest Airlines must not like snow. Continental flights were still going out, so we had to book a last-minute flight to get to Houston. After de-icing the plane for about 30 minutes, we were finally off and had an uneventful flight to Houston. We even had time to spend with my fam before heading to our next hotel room. I finally got to try my Dad's famous Star pizza! Not bad, Daddio.
Saturday was a shuttle back to the airport to be picked up in a bus by Carnival for transport to Galveston. That ride wasn't so bad, but our cruise ship couldn't dock on time due to fog. We found a delicious restaurant, Fisherman's Wharf, to kill time in. After hours of waiting we finally boarded the ship and the vacation could begin!
Now I'm not a huge fan of boats. Scenes from the Titanic and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner are usually what spring to mind when I think about bobbing about in the middle of the deep blue sea with no land in sight. I'm still getting over that swaying feeling of still being on the ship, but we all really had a great time on the cruise. The food was delicious, the shows entertaining, and the stops exciting.
It was so fun to watch our niece, Amelie, experience so many firsts. Her first show actually kept the little two-year-old entranced and she squealed with laughter when a giant Chinese dragon made its way through the crowd and to the stage. Her first time on a beach was in Progreso, Mexico. Not a bad place for a first beach experience. She loved the sand and found lots of seashells she insisted on calling "mermaids." All in all it was a great trip with great family.
Superbowl Sunday was actually a blast. We got to watch the game on a huge screen in a theater. I have to say, there is nothing but pride that swells in your heart when an auditorium full of strangers all rise for the National Anthem and applaud our soldiers when they show them on the screen watching the big game overseas. You get this overwhelming sense of connection with these people that you've never met.
Monday was definitely a highlight for me when we went on an excursion to see Mayan ruins. We went to a site that was not a city, but a trading post within the Mayan civilization once upon a time. Very cool place. We also got a tour of a cathedral and a cemetery where both Mayan and Spanish are buried.
Tuesday was laying on a beach in Cozumel. It was beautiful, but we didn't put on enough sunscreen. We are paying for that now... :/
Overall, great vacation. Enjoy the pictures!
