Sail away, sail away, sail away.....

Better late than never. Join us as we take you on our cruise to the Eastern Caribbean and relive the memories with us.

** October 9, 2010 - Embarkation Day, Port Canaveral, Florida **

We woke up on the early side today and were so excited with what awaited us in Port Canaveral. We got ready and headed out for breakfast in Cocoa Beach at Simply Delicious cafe and bakery...and man was it delicious. After we ate we decided to take a chance and head to port. Upon first site, I became overwhelmed with emotion and began to cry.

From Carnival Dream 2010

The Dream was not only enormous but absolutely beautiful. We made our way to passenger drop-off around 9:30 and were unloaded by 9:45. Eric took the rental car back to Cocoa Beach and was then brought back to port. We hung out in front of the terminal for awhile and then was asked by the porter who helped us with our luggage why we were still outside. We told him the line was for VIP's and he he chucked and said that we were all VIP's.

So we headed in and were checked in by 10:30(ish). An announcement was made that boarding would begin around 11:00. We were on board by 11:10. Unheard of!!! That first step on to the ship was one I had been waiting for, for months.

From Carnival Dream 2010

All of the planning and waiting had finally come to an end. The ship is just gorgeous. The atrium is TWELVE stories and a sight to be seen.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We headed up to the lido deck (along with the quickly growing masses) and found some lunch at the Grand Buffet. We slowly started catching up with our friends from Cruise Critic and picking up where our online conversations had ended. After lunch we headed to the spa for a tour and to get our wristbands for the week.

This is one of the thelossial lounge chairs. It is heated mosaic tile and it quickly became one of my favorite spots for watching the world pass by.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We were then able to check into our rooms and we couldn't wait to see our home for the next 7 days.

From Carnival Dream 2010

We dropped off our backpacks and then headed down to the atrium for an informal meet and greet with our Cruise Critic roll call friends. Many laughs were had and we knew the week was going to be amazing. We had our muster drill at 3:30 and then headed up to the Serenity Deck (adults only) to get ready for the sail away party.

From Carnival Dream 2010

What an incredible experience. Pulling out of port and seeing all of the people on land waving farewell to us and just watching the land become smaller and smaller gave me such peace and I knew that all the stress and frustration of the past month was no longer hanging around. After awhile we headed to our room and then on to dinner. We selected your time dining which gave us the freedom to dine when we wanted. We could do a 2 top table or be seated with others. We decided to table share that night and met 2 great couples. One couple was from North Carolina, in their 70's and were newlyweds. They were so cute. The other couple was from Texas and we ended up bumping into them several times through out the cruise. After dinner we headed out to walk around and check out the ship. We ended up on the Serenity deck for awhile and just felt so relaxed and at peace.

From Carnival Dream 2010

I could sleep up there, that's how peaceful and relaxing it is. lol. We had wanted to go to the All Aboard Show but it was standing room only so we just headed back to our room. We eventually ordered some room service and before we knew it, the day was closing in on midnight. We decided to call it a night and get ready for Nassau the next day.

New York...concrete jungle where dreams are made of...

Eric and I hopped on Amtrak and headed to the Big Apple on Friday for my first visit ever. It was a little overwhelming to say the least but so worth the trip.

Here is a picture of us from our trip to see Lady Liberty to whet your appetite for the rest of our adventure.

From NYC

They're doing it green in Roanoke...

One of the cutest places we've ever been and it is literally tucked back into an alley. They are doing it green here at this restaurant as our table was a refurbished wood door.

The food was excellent as well. More to come...

From Pineapple Grass Bracelets

90 days and counting....

In 90 days...we'll be saying bon voyage with our cousins Robert and Kelly and setting sail on the Carnival Dream to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary.

We're coming for you Maho Beach...

From Pineapple Grass Bracelets

It's a white Christmas....

south of the Mason-Dixon.

Wishing you all a very safe, happy and fun filled Christmas.

Cheers!

Buy me some peanuts....

Eric and I along with our friend Ben headed up to Baltimore, Maryland today as the Detroit Tigers were in town for a 4 game series. We were excited to see Camden Yards from the inside as we usually only see it from the outside when we are up in the city. I was also very excited about seeing my Tigers. :)

We got up there early and got some sweet parking, then headed about to find a late lunch. We ended up eating at the Diamond Bar which is in the Hilton right across the street. We enjoyed a very delicious lunch along with this great view of the park.



We eventually headed back across the street and then inside to look around and find our seats.



After a stop to watch batting practice from what i nicknamed flyball alley we headed on to find our seats.

This is a view from the standing only area (aka flyball alley).



We eventually made it to our seats and were awe struck by the awesomeness that was to be our seats. We were in the front row right along the 3rd baseline. It was AWESOME!!!

Pre game:


During the game...this is our view towards home plate:


We had a great view of the Tigers Pitchers doing their warm-ups.



Joel Zumaya tossed us a ball during warm-ups and Ryan Perry came by and autographed it for me (and stopped for a quick photo op ;) ).



Towards the 7th inning we got a drink and of course I had to play with the camera settings. This is a view of the warehouse that appears attached to the stadium but is actually about 20 feet or so from the stadium. It is connected by a bridge a few stories up.



We took advantage of the 7th inning stretch for a group photo and to stretch our legs.



We ended up leaving before the start of the 9th but the final ended up being Detroit 6 - Baltimore 3 so here is a picture of the scoreboard with the "final". ;)



While the seats were awesome (location) the seats themselves were NOT big booty friendly. We had an awesome time though and can't wait to get to our next ballpark to see the Tigers play.

Thank you Ben for joining us on this awesome trip. :D

Ohana means family.....

Our final morning in Florida greeted us with more humidity then we had been used to for awhile. I felt like I needed a knife to cut through it. ;) We packed up our memories from the trip and made our way one last time over to Walt Disney World to meet up with Andrea at Disney's Polynesian Resort (http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/resortLanding?id=PolynesianResortLandingPage) for breakfast with the characters. Once we arrived we found out that we would be dining with Mickey, Pluto, Lilo and Stitch. I was so excited and felt like one of the many kids.

We were seated at our table and presented with some delicious sweet breads and fruit. We were then served our breakfast platter which consisted of eggs, potatoes, sausage, bacon and biscuits. They also came around with Mickey waffles which were too freaking cute.

I am usually not a fan of sausage but man was this really good.



While we were eating they had a parade with the characters and kids. I wanted to jump in the parade but decided not too. heh. After the parade the characters came around to meet everyone and take pictures. This was the highlight of my day. :D

Here are Eric and I with Stitch.



With Pluto.



With Lilo.



With Mickey. I love this picture.



After we finished breakfast we headed down to the lobby to check out the gift store and to say our final goodbyes.

This is my favorite picture of Andrea and I.



After we said goodbye Andrea headed to work...boo and Eric and I headed over to Downtown Disney to putz around as we had ample time to kill before heading to the airport.



We checked out a few stores and then headed out in search of something to do. We ended up just driving around, found some cheap gas and then headed to the airport...early.

We had an amazing trip and Walt Disney World was everything and more than I had ever imagined. I can't wait to go back again and be able to spend more time exploring the parks. I can't thank Andrea enough for being such an awesome tour guide and friend.

Goodbye from Orlando....