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Hi Wolf! Yes, we did, very much so.
I do wish we had more time in the Bahamas...but we packed in as much as we could. We spent the day at Atlantis on Paradise Island. The weather was sunny and gorgeous.
I grabbed my phone to text Kanga...and I was sooooooo mad! I didn't have her cell phone number. So I thought, oh, I will just wait for her to text me. Unfortunately, she must have been waiting for me to text her first.
She desperately missed me, didn't she?
How have you been?07-12-09 03:47 PM - I've been great. Your email cracked me up. Telling me no BBM, only text. Hello Carol, can't do either mkay!
How do you not have Kanga's number? Wish you'd emailed me, I'd a thought about giving it to you. 
Yes, she missed you. I tried to substitute, but knew the instruction guidance and inspiration you've been giving only from my perspective, which of course she already knows.
I'm glad you had fun Carol. Did you tour the "aquarium" at Atlantis? Get to hang out at the pool. If you did I know the kids loved that. And did you get the opportunity to go around Paradise at all. I know it's pretty restrictive now, but there are some beautiful gardens and sculptures, nearly across from the miniature Acropolis.07-12-09 04:02 PM - I didn't buy the international data plan so I couldn't BBM or send emails. I could send a text for 50 cents and to receive one was only 5 cents.I've been great. Your email cracked me up. Telling me no BBM, only text. Hello Carol, can't do either mkay! How do you not have Kanga's number? Wish you'd emailed me, I'd a thought about giving it to you. Yes, she missed you. I tried to substitute, but knew the instruction guidance and inspiration you've been giving only from my perspective, which of course she already knows.
I'm glad you had fun Carol. Did you tour the "aquarium" at Atlantis? Get to hang out at the pool. If you did I know the kids loved that. And did you get the opportunity to go around Paradise at all. I know it's pretty restrictive now, but there are some beautiful gardens and sculptures, nearly across from the miniature Acropolis.
I thought I had her number in my contacts..but when I looked it wasn't there! She has always been the one who called me.
We spent the whole day at Atlantis. The kids couldn't keep up with me...Not bad for an old lady turning 45 on Tuesday! lol. I had been there before and knew we had a lot of ground to cover in a short period of time.
I paid for all of us to enjoy the AquaAdventure...which is all the pools, waterslides, beaches...etc. It was so much fun. They have a 1 mile tube ride with lazy river, rapids, waves and big drops etc. They loved it. We laughed so much. We must have walked that whole place. It really is beautiful. We went to the shops by the marina...unfortunately, it was Independence Day, so a lot of the shops were closed.
Next time I would be tempted to just fly there like I did before. You have so much more time to enjoy the beauty of the Island. But, then again, next time I am heading to some other destination in the Caribbean.07-12-09 04:57 PM - I couldn't agree with you more. While cruising is fun, I would never want to take another 4 day cruise. You loose so much time! Get me to an all-inclusive and I'm there. Now a 2 week cruise, or longer, that's the ticket. I want to do two to Alaska. One in the dead of winter to see the Aurora Borealis, and one in the summer to see the beauty of the state.
07-12-09 05:12 PM - Yes! That would be two perfect cruises.
I found myself pondering the pros and cons of the cruise. Yes, it was nice not to have to cook, or hear "What's for dinner?" or "There's nothing to eat". The food was mediocre, but they did love the free room service, which had better food then at the buffets. Luckily, we only ate when we were hungry...unlike a lot of people who think they must eat all the free food their stomachs can handle. lol.
The ship only had ONE pool. One SMALL pool. It also had waterworks waterslide area for the smaller children. I have never seen so many bodies crammed in a pool. 2 jacuzzis also packed. lol. All I could think about was how many people were probably peeing in them.
So I found myself thinking...hmmmmm...I'm from sunny Florida, I have a beaches and a pool...wtf am I doing here on this boat with 2000 other people.
The ship docked at 12 noon in the Bahamas. Last transportation was at 6:30pm, unless you chose to stay and take a taxi. You had until 6am to get back on the boat. I wore these kids out making sure they saw ALL of Atlantis. The excursion to Atlantis AquaAdventure was $500 for all four of us. Between that and touring the grounds...whew. That is why I wished we were in port longer. Too rushed.
Now, do I have any regrets? Nope. The point of the trip was to spend quality time with my kids. That I did. We laughed so much. It was fun just being together and watching them enjoy everything. Even at bedtime, being in the cabin together, laughing and joking.
I let Amelia bring a friend along. Smart decision. They were able to do teen activities...which they loved...scavenger hunts, karaoke, spa day....while my son and I went to the gym, the sauna and went to the adult shows. Then we would meet up to dine, go to more shows and spend time on the top deck talking and just being together.
So, was it worth $300 a person? I suppose so. Between flight costs, a hotel room and feeding them three meals a day for four days on a vacation would have cost a lot more.07-12-09 05:50 PM - Oh and here is a funny story that had the kids in hysterics the whole cruise...
We find our cabin. By now I am trying to get my "sea legs", but more importantly, my "head". You know, that dizziness from your equilibrium being thrown off, that feeling like you are buzzed. lol.
So, the kids are in the cabin, and I leave the door open to go a few doors down to my sister' cabin. When I walk back I enter the cabin and don't see the kids. I see the bottom of the bed ruffle moving and think, the lil brats are playing a joke and hiding from me. So I say..."Yeah, right! Don't think I don't know you are under the beds!". Suddenly, I see a body coming out from under the bed. I am horrified to realize...it's not my kid! lmao. Just as I realize it..the kid's father is behind me! He says to me..."Wellllllllll, hellllllllo! I was hoping I'd meet someone on this cruise!". I laugh and apologize and with humility run out of his room as he is yelling..."You're going to come back and visit me later, aren't you?".
Well, wouldn't you know every time I turned around...there he was. Making comments and asking me things like if I was going to go to dinner with him, would I go have a drink with him, would I go dancing with him...etc. Turns out he was a single parent taking his two kids on a cruise too.
So, of course, the kids had to run with that...laughing and saying "Oh, Mom has a boyfriendddddd" and other silly jokes. It got to the point where they wanted to run into him just to hear what he would say. Little terds. lol.
Oh well, it made them laugh and that was all that mattered.07-12-09 06:14 PM
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