Bahama Mama

After a fun filled day at see we anchored at our last port of call, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas. This happens to be the only stop Andy and I had not previously been, so we were excited by that, but also not expecting much because it is just a small private island owned by the Norwegian Cruiseline. Well we were pleansantly surprised. It was so gorgeous! The weather was perfect, the sand so clean and soft on your feet and the views were breathtaking. Andy and I are already planning on building our dream house and moving there. We started out the day burying daddy in the sand. Olivia joined him for about one minute under the sand, but that was long enough for a two year old. Later, Andy enjoyed some snorkeling time out by the volcanic rock while Olivia did some activities organized by the Kids Crew staff from the cruise ship. We started out with feeding lots of colorful fish. The staff have learned how to lure the fish in with hotdogs and buns. Then they give pieces to all the kids in the water and the fish swim up all around you and the kids get to feed them. Olivia started out a little leery with so many fish right next to her, but quickly warmed up to them and had a ball. Next they had a scavenger hunt for the families, which proved to be quite the workout. Olivia didn't quite like the feeling of the sand on her feet required me to carry her the entire time. We had to comb the island for a staff member from Jamaica, a diver who lived on the island, and someone playing in the sand for signatures. Also required were photos of us doing weird things and just checking off that we'd found various items on the island. It was fun and a good time filler. My calf muscles were so sore the next day, but after eating all I had on the cruise it was a needed workout. Andy appeared back just in time for the family water balloon games. They had a variety of fun water activities planned that Olivia as well as mommy and daddy enjoyed partaking in.

This is the only family photo we managed to get on our camera during the cruise. I realized that day that we hadn't had anyone take our photo so I asked a nice couple who were more than willing to oblige. There were so many friendly people aboard and it truly is such a small world. We met people from Battle Creek, and woman who used to live in Kalamazoo, and even a lady from Coldwater who is a niece of one of my coworkers. It was a wonderful trip that we will not forget. Cruising with a two year old was a completely different experience than past cruises, but remarkable and memorable all the same.

This is just a photo we snapped looking down at the water from up on the rocks. I thought it was neat.