I first have to give a HUGE shout out to my parents for so generously watching Parker, Ryan, and Kate for 10 days so Mike and I could do this!!!!

I don’t know who was more excited for this cruise - the kids or I.  Parker had a calendar in his bathroom that he was marking off until the day we left… because that meant he got to go to Nema and Hepa’s house and then to California.  I’m so grateful that my parents did this and made it such a fun week for my kids.  Mike and I truly enjoyed our get-away!  And although we missed them quite a bit, we LOVED every minute of relaxing, playing, and only being responsible for ourselves.  Wow… what a treat!

My amazing husband planned the whole thing.  He did so much research and it really paid off!  We were able to score some amazing deals and had a PERFECT time.  We ended up on Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in the world.  In a later post, I will post pictures of all of the amazing things the cruise ship had to offer.  We went all out on a high-adventure cruise… zip lines, scuba diving, parasailing, rock climbing, swimming with dolphins, climbing waterfalls, kayaking, etc.  Today, I’ll share our first port of call… Labadee, Haiti.

I thought Haiti was BEAUTIFUL!  I loved the rich green hills and the clear blue water.  I only had my point and shoot camera with me this day, and just did not get any great pictures to do this country justice!

This shot of the cruise ship was taken in Labadee, Haiti.  We were on top of  a “hill” about a mile away from the ship and yet it still shows off its ginormous size.  And yes, that is a real word.

This was on the way up to the “Dragon’s Breath”.  This beautiful tide pool had a rock formation that allowed water and air to surge in and out as the waves came in.  Each time the air would escape through the sand and rocks and would make a noise that sounded like a dragon breathing.

This was on top of the zip line… Mike getting strapped in for flight.  This zip line was 1/2 mile long and went across this “little” bay - right out over the water.  It is the world’s longest zip line over water.  I think Mike and I were most excited for this excursion.  Needless to say, it was quite a rush.  Mike had the job of video-taping the flight; and um, he is soooo fired!  The video camera was not lost at sea, but he does need to learn the difference between “record” and “standby”. Oh well.  I suppose even the best of us still have minor faults.  I still love you, honey!

And here is the view from the top of the zip line platform.  The only disappointing thing about this was you could only go once!

There were so many local merchants trying hard to sell their art and crafts.  We even heard one guy shout out… 1 penny… I give it to you for one penny.  Really?  So sad.

Lots more to come… if you want to see more.  Let me know by leaving a comment.  I don’t want to bore you with all the vacation pictures if no one is interested.