Day 8 of the cruise was all about pulling into port and getting off the ship.
I had scheduled my family to be in the first group of people debarking the ship, so I rose at the dark hour of 5:30. I wanted to make sure I got breakfast (Holland America tries to ensure that passengers leave the ship happy). I took one last stroll around and caught these pictures…
I always say that sunset is my favorite time of day, but sunrise ain’t half bad either…
Another ship had pulled into port beside us. It was soooo pretty…all lit up…
I managed to catch sight of this boat on the horizon…
Guess what else I saw…
Another plane! A fitting way to end the trip given all of my “plane sightings” throughout the cruise.
I eventually returned to the room, woke up the kids and the Mr., and finished some last-minute packing.
And then we waited.
This is often the longest part of the cruise…waiting to get called to the gangway.
While I sat, I went through some of the literature we had acquired during the trip and found this map of the ship (sure wish I’d found it on Day 1!!)…
My group was finally called, and we emerged to find that tho sun had risen…
Somewhere in the parking garage (pictured below) was our car…
Bex wanted one last photo session before leaving Ft. Lauderdale…
So long cruise ships…
As we exited, we thanked everyone we saw. We were so pampered throughout this trip that leaving was uber-hard.
A HUGE thanks goes out to Grand Pooba and Coupon Queen for their generosity. This was an AMAZING trip!
Day 7 of the cruise was a cold one! I couldn’t believe the wind as I opened up the door on my cabin deck to take a peek.
My group ate a quick breakfast and headed out to catch the slip to Half Moon Cay, Holland America’s private island.
The wind was cold as we made out way through the water. I saw people riding horses at the water’s edge…
We could see people already frolicking in the water…
Sure, there were people in the water, but the sky looked ominous…
The sun refused to peek through the clouds…
The flags bore witness to the wind’s speed…
We got to the beach and found front-row lounges, where I took the opportunity to photograph Bex in front of the clear, turquoise water…
It was a little strange to see the ship sitting a couple hundred yards off shore…
The neat thing about this island…besides the water…was the soft, creamy sand. I’ve visited many beaches over the years. Beaches on the eastern coast of Florida have a lot of debris on it. The Gulf Coast’s beaches consist of white sand with very little “trash” in it. So, the sand on Half Moon Cay reminded me a bit of home…
We braved the cold, wrapped in towels. I dug my toes into the sand…determined to wait for the sun to make an appearance…
It was comforting to see a lifeguard on duty…
The kids eventually got in the water. They said it was warm once you got in, but they were quick to wrap up in towels when they came out. The sand caked on the bottom of Chicky’s feet while she tried to warm up…
Super D, my brother-in-law, is very artistic, so when he saw the sand, he quickly realized he had a huge canvas to work on. This was his work of art…
Auburn almost delivered in THE BIG GAME...but not quite...
And still we waited for the sun…which finally made a brief appearance…
The towels came off as we took the opportunity to tan our legs…
From left to right...Grand Pooba, Coupon Queen, and the Mr.
The island had a few amenities for its guests. One was a tiki hut. This sign was posted above it…
On a warmer day, this sentiment would have been especially true
By 11:00, we were starving and more than ready for the barbecue lunch the ship’s crew had prepared for us. There was a band playing “island music,” which added to the Caribbean feel.
Later, I saw people walking around with some kind of koozies, and I just had to have one. I was already seeing myself taking one to work…filled with ice water, of course.
The koozies were being sold in the tiki hut I’d spied above, so I did what any vacationer would do and got myself one…
By this time, Chicky and I were ready to head back to the ship. We had never completely warmed up and were eager for hot showers, so we caught a slip back “home.” I saw the sun make an appearance…great…perfect timing, as usual…
Once aboard, I walked around the ship, taking photos of the island…
From this view, you can sort-of see how the island gets its name...from its half-moon shape...
The sun invited me to come back out to play, but I resisted…
Bex insisted on another photo...
While the others were still playing on the beach, Chicky and I began the dreary process of packing…
Later in the afternoon, after everyone had returned to the ship, the kids and I attended the Debarking Session. Passengers were lured there by the promise of free champagne…
Dinner that night was melancholy as we had to say goodbye to our table attendants…
Trisna was a very humble, quiet man who unobtrusively filled our water and iced tea glasses.
We were treated to a parade of the Baked Alaska, which had been specially prepared by the chefs. It was a wonderful way to end the trip.
As I lay my head on my pillow that night, I thought about all of the sights I had seen and the nice people I had met. Although I was sad the trip was coming to an end, I was starting to get excited about seeing my furry babies.
But still, I had the morning of Day 8 to look forward to…
Day 6 of the cruise was Thanksgiving! It felt a little strange not prepping for lunch at Chez AuburnChick, although I will admit to a bit of guilty joy at not having to coordinate the cook times of half a dozen dishes.
As the ship lazily made its way northwestward, we settled in for commitment-free day.
We all took time to admire the bling we had acquired during our recent shopping forays…
Rooster's new shoes...from the exotic store Foot Locker, which was located in St. Thomas.
I really like the bracelet I purchased in St. Thomas.
The shop on the ship held a big sale outside on the poolside deck. Rooster picked up this…
Because I ran out of t-shirts during the trip, I felt justified in getting these…
The frogs on the white shirt reminded me of Senor Frog in Puerto Rico
Despite our lack of activity, we managed to keep our room stewards busy. They left us this cute animal after their morning clean-up session…
Dog!
Days at sea are all about relaxing in the sun…
And knitting…
I took a peek at the daily program, which listed a bunch of activities…
The kids and I took in a movie, enjoying the popcorn that the crew provided in neat little snack sacks.
Lunch came and went, as did Team Trivia. The sun continued to shine…ahhhh…so beautiful…
What a lovely day it was, only enhanced by the fine dinner awaiting us…
Shrimp Cocktail...so yummy that I ordered a second (I'm such a pig sometimes)
Steak! Not very traditional for Thanksgiving, I know, but the turkey came with sweet potatoes, which I can't stand!
Fruit and cheese for dessert
Super Sis got the dessert below. If you look closely, you’ll see that her pie is broken into two pieces. We teased her because she had given our table attendant a fit when trying to order her dinner. She changed her mind so often that she confused him. Hence, we told her the chef was mad at her and sent out an imperfect dessert. heehee
And so ended Day 6. As the waves rocked me gently to sleep, I began to dream about Day 7…
On Day 3 of the cruise, I awoke to find the sun shining brightly.
I stepped onto the deck and saw this sign greeting the boat…
The water was absolutely GORGEOUS…
As I scanned the water, I spied this sailboat…
Grand Turk is a rather small island. It boasts a hotel, which I easily spotted from the ship…
Looks like an oasis, eh?
My crew ate quickly. We were eager to explore…
Yeah, the sign looked exactly like it did from my view on the ship. Imagine that.
The ship looks really big when you stand in front of it…
We walked through the “Welcome Center” and faced a courtyard of Tourist Traps…i.e. “shopping.”
I let the crew do the shopping while I took a seat outside, capturing the following pictures…
I love the palm tree in the next picture…so “island-y…”
My nephew spent some of his vacation money on this little guy…
After everyone got the tourist thing out of their systems, we were ready to tour the rest of the island.
We paid an exorbitant amount of money, splitting into two groups and climbed into our respective taxis.
The “tour” was mainly a drive across the very small island. The driver provided various facts about the island, and I was saddened to see the state in which a majority of the population lives.
We got dropped off in the “shopping district,” which was, in reality, a few small open-air shacks. You had to feel bad for the ladies running them. It was, after all, about 85 degrees. The humidity must have been near 70-80%, so it felt even hotter.
We decided to go for a stroll and saw the island’s museum…
I took the next picture to show that Grand Turkans (can you call residents of this island that?) drive on the left side of the road…
The next photo shows the famous establishment where emancipation was loudly proclaimed…
We saw real flamingos (now I know where those Miami folks get them)…
At the next sighting, we were told that John Glenn’s capsule landed about 14 miles away from the island, and he was taken to Grand Turk for physical examinations after he returned to earth. This is something that island residents are very proud of…
After our trip back to the ship, we were ready to cool off and play trivia. Don’t ask me how that went.
While we were gone, our room attendants had been busy…picking up discarded towels (yes, I actually showered BEFORE leaving for that hot, humid island), making up our beds, and creating this work of art…
Butterfly!
We re-visited our cabin decks, where Rooster spotted (pun intended) the following…
Yep…it was a cow…way in the middle of the island. How he saw it is beyond me.
I filmed a bit of video (the quality isn’t the best) to give you an idea of just how small the island is…
The ship left the island fairly early in the afternoon, once again heading across the open sea…
I had my afternoon mug of peppermint tea and a cookie, which is mysteriously gone from the following picture…wonder where it went?
I did a bit of knitting…
My brother-in-law, Super D, spotted this mini-rainbow…
It was soon time to get ready for dinner…
Scallops (I think) made a delicious appetizer
Time for the entree…
Tortellini!!
Super D’s entree looked…um…interesting…
I hit the jackpot with dessert…
And yes, I did order two, thank you very much. It’s my party, and I’ll eat two desserts if I want to…you’d order two if it happened to you (sing that to the tune of “It’s My Party”).
This was some sort of apple thing. I took two small bites and handed it over to my nephew in a pre-arranged deal to make me look like less of an oink-oink…
Do you think I shared my chocolate mousse?
AuburnChick + chocolate = the glare of steel if you even think about it.
After that dinner, I had full belly and turned in early to prepare for the next day’s adventures…
AuburnChick's Adventures 