Cruise musings

  So, I had intended to blog about my vacation en route, but unfortunately Carnival charges an arm and a leg for wi-fi so it didn't really work out that way.  Instead, please enjoy all my random vacation thoughts jumbled up in a single post!

  I have to say, my very very very favorite part of a vacation is the anticipation.  I love sitting at the airport (in my quickest-slip-off shoes, overpriced latte and pre-printed boarding pass in hand) and waiting for them to call my row.  That's the peak of the vacation roller coaster, when you've waited your turn, buckled yourself in, and chugged slowly up that first long rise, and all that's left is the ride stretched out before you.  I actually find myself swinging my feet and bouncing in my chair like a little kid, watching planes take off out the windows.
  Of course, it helps when the ride you're looking forward to is a sun-drenched week with your besties in another country...

  This was the first time I've ever been on a cruise.  I was a little nervous that it would be small and cramped, crowded with tourists in every corner.  But even with thousands of people on board, those ships are HUGE!  Once or twice we had to camp out, waiting for the really good deck chairs, but that was the worst of it.  Even the dining rooms (which we visited OFTEN) always had plenty of space.
  I also really liked that Carnival has an adults only space on board called Serenity Deck, where we could sit and relax with no little ones running about.  There were comfy chairs, two hot tubs, and guys who would bring coconuts filled with fruity liqueur right to you.  Not gonna lie, we spent more time there than anywhere else on the ship...  LOL

This is me WITH a tan...

We did this whole 'Michael Scott in Jamaica' theme that week.

One of my favorite shots from the entire trip.

  The first full day, we were at sea all day.  We checked out the buffet, I checked out the coffee bar, and then we hit the waterslides and Serenity.  That night, the ship had an 'elegant dress' night, which of course suited our aristocratic casual bunch just fine.  Angie and I had been planning outfits for this trip for months, so we were pretty excited to get all dolled up for dinner.
  We also went dancing at the on-ship club that night, which was probably the only room on board that didn't look vaguely like a casino.  Sooo fun to shake it to loud music with my besties!  Angie is a great dancer, and Will is a lucky guy. ;)  Also, I have to mention that I had a moment of hometown pride at the club.  A song came on that I wasn't familiar with, and everyone started doing the same dance, all at once, and all I could think was, 'Yeah, we don't line-dance in SLC.'  LOL

  When we weren't lounging or partying, rockstar-style, we were enjoying our touristy-but-fun shore excursions in Mexico. We had two days in port; the first in a small city called Progreso (Where we docked at an SSA port, and I was so excited I had to take a picture. Carrix Group representin', yo.), and the second in Cozumel. In Progreso, we decided to check out a Mayan ruin site called Dzibilchaltun. Probably the only thing I disliked about the cruise was how little time we had off-boat, because I would have LOVED to spend more time at Dzibilchaltun. History has always been fascinating to me, the older the story the better. Listening to our guide, Jose, brought back all these memories of the Maya units we did in school, learning about trade routes and exotic animal deities.The most famous structure at the site is a building named The Temple of the Seven Dolls.The archeologist who unearthed it found seven small statues inside, each with an intentional malformation;

a hunched back, or a missing arm for example. The archeologist, thinking these effigies represented illness and were placed there as a sort of physical prayer for health, named the building Seven Dolls. Turns out, though, that the building is an astronomical one; on the equinoxes the sun rises exactly through the windows, and the summer solstice through the door, illuminating the white road before it.  The dolls, rather than symbols of weakness requiring correction, where simply representatives of the royal court.  People born with what the archeologist saw as deformities, the Mayan people saw as gifts from the gods.  They were special, given important roles, seen as prophets and soothsayers.  Jose told us to imagine what it must have looked like to see someone whose body was shaped differently, covered in bright paints and robes of fur or feathers, ornate headdress spilling all the way to the ground, striding purposefully down the huge rock stairs of a temple to address the people on a holy day.  I know I'm a big ol' nerd for being so fascinated by it, but the thought gave me goosebumps, standing there in the heat hundreds of years later.

The Temple of the Seven Dolls

  The other great thing about Dzibilchaltun is the cenote.  Until about a year ago, I'd never even heard of a cenote, but they are the COOLEST.  It's like a grotto that goes deep into the ground, winding through tunnels in the limestone until it reaches back to the sea.  Ever since seeing one, I've desperately wanted to go scuba/spelunking in one trip.  The cenote we went to was kind of small, but sooo beautiful, especially in contrast to the bare, rocky surroundings.  Angie and I, nerds that we are, mermaid-ed up, and took some pictures there.  Still doing edit work on those, but I will share pictures later!

  The next day we debarked in Cozumel.  Our excursion was at a national park called Chankanaab.  I say 'national park' but this place seemed more like a resort.  They had scuba, snorkeling, kayaking, shows where you can swim with dolphins...  It was epic.  The sand was so white and soft, it was like a dream.  We snorkeled, lied out on the beach, and (of course) took a few more mermaid pictures.  Some of the other cruise-ers asked where we got our seashell tops, they thought we'd bought them in Mexico.  :)  We all agreed spending a whole week right there would make for a pretty great vacation!  

Little fish swimming right over my feet.

This will EVENTUALLY be two mermaids on the beach, thanks to the wonders of Photoshop.

  Our last day on the ship, we found out there wasn't a second dress-up day planned (which we had been expecting).  So, other than our usual feasting and hot-tub hopping, we decided to dress up in our nice clothes and play mini-golf, just for kicks.We got a few weird looks, and a lot of catcalls, so naturally we had a blast.  It also went along quite nicely with Angie's and my plan to do a second Aristocratic Casual shoot while I was visiting.  I still have a bit of edit work to do on those, but I'll upload them later as well.

We are such rockstars.

  We had soo much fun, some of it's blurred together in memory and I don't even remember quite when it happened.  We went to a comedy club, sang karaoke (Angie did the best Cheap Trick evah!), saw a couple game shows, went to the spa (Hot stone massage, also the best ever), went shopping, and took literally a thousand pictures.  Such a great vacation!!  I vote we do it again next year.  ;)

Happy vacation!

This is why I'm awesome

Things that did not make me cry:

• The Notebook (never saw it)
• anything Twilight (never read/saw it)
• jewelry commercials
• Hallmark commericals
• Taylor Swift songs

Things that did make me cry:

• DC Comics Superman #75 "The Death of Superman"
• EVERY time I've watched Lord of the Rings, including several at the theater
• The final cut-scene from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• Steve Carell's last episode of "The Office"

Joyous day!

Today, when I left work, it was still light out.  It was a good day.  That is all.

Happy NLASSM!

  In case you're not savvy on the lingo, it's National Learn-A-Snow-Sport Month!  Since snow sports are about the best thing Utah has to offer, all sorts of local places are bribing newbies with deals too sweet to skip.  I've been dying to really learn to snowboard since probably junior high.  To that end, I'll be setting out to Snowbird tomorrow afternoon for an introduction to the slopes.  I've actually taken a snowboarding class once before, last winter...  But I have a feeling tomorrow's instructor will believe I've never been without a question.  :)
  Still, I'm looking forward to being good enough to actually use my own snowboard someday...

 If anyone else is looking to hop on the NLASSM band-wagon, check out learnasnowsport.org for all the info.