Tagged

"Amy, you are tagged! You have to share 7 random facts about yourself on your blog! I'll be checking to make sure you are doing it. Ha ha!"

My friend, Melissa, left this comment on my page a few weeks ago and I'm finally catching up. I guess I'm supposed to tag 7 people too after I'm done so blogger friends beware! For now, here are 7 random facts about myself?:

1. I LOVE macaroni & Cheese...I could eat it everyday!!

2. I'm a hopeless romantic...I still have those little girl fantasies where I'm expecting prince charming to come rescue me from my troubles. Haha :)

3. I'm a Survivor/Amazing Race addict...I've seen every episode and don't forsee every missing any episodes in the future.


4. I love being in pictures. Haha, I like taking a lot of pictures but I usually don't want them unless I'm in them :)

5. My favorite author is Sophie Kinsella...she wrote the "Shopoholic Series". Whenever she writes a new novel I'm waiting in line for it. Her most recent book was "Remember me?"


6. I sleep with a stuffed animal :) Haha...and I'm not ashamed! I sleep with a stuffed pic and I use it as a pillow. However, I can sleep without it needed.


7. I have a disney movie collection...all of the collecter's editions, of course. I also have the Duck Tales series on DVD. They just don't make cartoons like they used to and when I have children I want them to be able to enjoy the classics :)

A new boyfriend?

Well, well, well...I don't know if my special someone reads my blog and by chance that he does, I have to be extremely vague. I'm dating someone at the moment and I'm so happy!! I just can't contain myself...I like him :) If you noticed in my title, I put a question mark with it because, honestly I'm not quite sure what we are. I've asked what's going on and he always says, "why do we need a title?" I'm not sure how I feel about that but I guess he's right. I know he likes me and he's not dating anyone else so what's there to worry about? It's still very new and in the beginning stages where I'm not quite sure what will happen so I'm trying to relax, be patient and enjoy the ride.

If you know me well, I'm not the kind of girl to sit back and let things happen. I'm a control freak and I always want to know what's going to happen. It's like Alice and Wonderland when Alice curious and follows the rabbit into his hole. She just has to know what's going on. Her curiosity gets the best of her and she falls into the unknown world. I'm totally in that stage right now.

So, my friends, I'm falling down the rabbit hole into the unknown. I'm excited, happy, nervous and scared all at the same time. I don't know what's going to happen and I'm not sure where I will land, I only hope I land on my feet when I get there.

Last Stop: Bahamas

Our last stop on my family reunion cruise was in Nassau, Bahamas. It was supposed to be at Great Stirrup Cay, which is NCL's private island but the seas were too rough to tender in so we went to Nassau instead. I didn't mind since the weather was cloudy there wouldn't be much to do at a beach.

Nassau is home to Paradise Island, which houses the hotel Atlantis. They had an aquarium there so we walked around and looked at all the fishes (I know that's not how you spell it but I like to say it like that). I always thought I would want to go to Atlantis but I'm glad I went there for the day. It's nice, but I don't think Atlantis and Nassau is somewhere I would want to spend more than a day or two. It wasn't quite my style and I wasn't feeling it. My family stayed to look around the hotel and I took a water taxi back to the main island to shop, of course!

There was a flea market with ton of shops but they were all the same thing so it was a little annoying because I wanted to find a nativity set from the Bahamas. I collect nativities. Most of the stuff they sell are fake designer hand bags. Had I brought more cash I probably would have bought one but oh well. Next time...haha, if I go. Not to knock the Bahamas but I didn't really like it as much as the other ports. However, I should mention that it was Good Friday when we went so almost everything was closed. Had more things been open I might have had a more enjoyable time...and if it was more sunny :)

On my way back to the boat there were some guys about my age selling conk shells on the pier. They started whistling at me. Yeah, like that's going to get my attention. One of the guys came up to me and said "you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Haha, I replied back, "then you must not have seen a lot of people in your life, but thanks." Haha!! He was a bit taken aback by my response. What did he expect? It was a fun day.

The Drive

So, this is a little out of order but I forgot to write about our drive. My family and I (Mom, Dad, sister, brother, me and sister's boyfriend) piled into my brother's Ford F250 truck. We left DC around 1pm and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale at 5:50am! Two people slept in the back with all the bags, yet on a campers mattress. My Mom and I got the midnight shift so it was nice to be able to spread out and sleep while we drove through the night!
I remember when I was a child road trips were a lot different. We haven't done a family road trip in at least 10 years so I was wondering what it was like. We used to have disney children's songs playing and we would sing along. We had a luxury van that had a couch that laid out to a seat in the back so we could lay and sleep, play cards and have space in the back. It was nice. We also always had a cooler filled with sandwiches and drinks and other goodies. It was good times. This time around we had 3 laptops so we could watch DVD's. My brother also had a wireless internet card so we could get on the web during the drive. Modern technology certainly made the drive a lot different than when I was a kid. It was nice. Plus, sleeping a lot helped the 18 hour drive be a little quicker.

When we arrived it was still dark and a little too early to call the family to meet up for breakfast so we parked at a beach and watched the sunset...or at least my Mom and I did and the rest of the fam slept in the truck. Here's some pictures I took when we arrived...
This is me trying to look all cheery at 6am!
Here's what it looked like when we arrived.
The next few pictures are the progression of the sun rise :)




This picture is fun...we had to do safety drills on the boat before we sail so I took a picture of me in life vest :)

Sea Day!

If you've ever been on a cruise then you are aware of "sea days." When you leave your destination, for us it was Miami, it usually takes a day or so to sail to your first stop and then after going to a few stops you might have another sea day to head back to the final destination. I love sea days. After going to 3 different countries and trying to see as much as you can there in one day you get tired. Plus, after stuffing your face with the endless amounts of food on the cruise, it tends to take a lot out of you. Or at least it did me. I was trying to eat healthy for the last 3 months so a week of junk was a little heavy so I was ready for a day to relax.

The purpose of our cruise was a family reunion so on our sea day we spent a lot of time together. We met in the buffet (of course we did) to play cards and dominoes. I also spent a lot of time working on my tan...I couldn't come back from a cruise and not have a little color :) In the evening we all met for dinner and then posed for family photos afterward. That was an interesting undertaking. To the right is just the cousins.My idea was to have everyone where black shirts and jeans and almost everyone did except as you can see from the photo in the right, my dang sister had to go and where white shorts. What was she thinking? Oh well, at least we have a picture of everyone. My aunt also ordered us some family t-shirts, which were awesome, so we got a shot with all of us wearing that too. The gang's all here!
Here's all the real cousins, with no significant others...we were having fun.
My brother, sister and me...I think I might be adopted!

Wasting Time...

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Green

You're green, the color of growth and vigor. Good-hearted and giving, you have a knack for finding and bringing out the best in people. Green is the most down-to-earth color in the spectrum — reliable and trustworthy. People know they can count on you to be around in times of need, since your concern for people is genuine and sincere. You take pride in being a good friend. For you, success is measured in terms of personal achievement and growth, not by status or position. Rare as emeralds, greens are wonderful, natural people. It truly is your color!

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=colorogt&c=50652

Wow...that certainly sounds nice. I'm not sure if it's true or not. I would like to think so but you can't always tell with these things :)

Catching Up!

It's seriously not that fun to try to catch up on all these blog posts I have to do. I still have like 8 more places to write about. When I'm in Costa Rica this summer I have to stay on top of my blog entries more. To any of you world travelers, how do you stay on top of it?

Also, I have to let you know the changes in itineraries. As much fun as all my plans were to go on two cruises, Jamaica, Hawaii and to Costa Rica with about a week in between each, I realized that trying to finish my master's degree at the same time was not working so I have canceled my trip to Jamaica and Hawaii until further notice. So sad :( It's good though, I have a month to work and save some money before I head to Costa Rica for two months. Also, I'm dating someone (YAY!) and don't want to keep leaving all the time, but enough about that for now.

3rd Stop: Cozemel, Mexico

The third stop of the week was in good ol' Cozemel, Mexico. Back when I was 10 or so my family went on a week long trip to Cancun and we took a water taxi to Cozemel for the day. Not that I would remember much from 14 years ago but since they were hit by a bad hurricane a few years ago, pretty much nothing was the same so it was like going somewhere new again. I was pretty excited to get to this stop because once again I could practice spanish. I didn't plan any excursions for the day. I only planned to walk, shop, talk to people and just enjoy the day. I was also alone this day because everyone else planned something. I actually started to like the loner thing and might just have to travel somewhere on my own one day. I thought the day would be awesome, however, it really wasn't. I did get to see the world's smallest Hardrock Cafe and Senor Frogs so that was fun. I went to Senor Frogs in Cancun when I was 10 and remember the waiters trying to get me to go through the tequila line (yeah right) and my Mom trying to get them to turn the music down...haha!

On my walk around I talked to some people to get directions to the post office so I could by postage stamps. I had a few stares from the men and some heckles that I didn't particularly care for. After I went to the post office I started walking through little stands selling things and other little shops to see if there was anything I wanted to buy. All I wanted was a little turtle, a postcard and a flag pin for my lanyard at work. I usually like to collect nativity sets but I have a lot from Mexico so I didn't need to worry about that. I was also look for a Mexicano for my friend, which wasn't hard to find. It reminded me of my friend from Puerto Rico and I know he would like it so I got one. We took the picture to the right last summer. We were making fun of the little statues so it was an appropriate gift.

On my little adventure I had about 5 guys ask me if I wanted them to be my boyfriend...um, that's exactly what I was looking for, to come to Mexico for a day and get a boyfriend. Yeah right! I told them that I had a boyfriend (technically not true but I am dating someone so it wasn't completely off) and they said "that's okay, I'm not jealous." Haha, I heard that from at least 3 of them. Well, maybe they're not jealous but I do want to date a guy that's taller than me! I tried to ignore all the offers and walking around but then one guy started talking to me while I was looking in a shop and he put his arm around me and started to try to lead me closer to him. I forcefully stepped back and said "no me toque" or basically don't touch me and walked away. I was a little creeped out by that and decided I had all the things I wanted to buy and went back on the boat. I was only out for 2 hours or so and was a little sad I didn't get to do more. If I ever get there again I will make sure to not be walking around there alone...ick! On the boat ride back to our ship I did happen to spot the hottest looking man I saw all week. If you know me well then you know that I'm a sucker for men with brown skin. I love chocolate! Haha. I like white guys too but sometimes you need a little flavor. This man was sitting across from me and since I was wearing sunglasses he couldn't tell that I was staring at him the whole ride back (that sounds stalkerish but it was eye candy). Haha, that was the best 5 minute boat ride I ever had.

For the rest of the day I laid on the pool deck and worked on my tan. That night 5 of the daring family members met at the sushi restaurant...well, not daring but the one's who love sushi. We ordered the sushi boat to the right. It was so awesome! It had about 100 pieces of sushi and sashimi. I loved it, what a great night, it made up for the creepy afternoon :)

2nd Stop: Belize City, Belize

Our 2nd stop was Belize City. I've also already been there but we went on a canopy/zipline tour and didn't really get to walk around since our time at the port was so short. This time around we didn't plan any shore excursions. It ended up being a good thing because the water was so choppy the cruise ship took a long time to tender everyone out to the shore. Belize is too shallow to dock at so ships have to anchor 5 miles out and take little boats to shore. The picture to the right is my uncle, brother and sister's boyfriend on our way to shore. The boat ride took a while because the waves were pretty big but we made it.

My sister, her boyfriend and I walked around the city on our own. We were on the hunt for local food and finally found a place but were scared off by the high prices, then realized later that it was in Belize dollars so it was actually cheap but we were already gone when we realized is so no local food for us. Oh well, next time. While we were walking we passed this building (picture to the left) and saw a group of boys jumping off the docks. Of course my sister's boyfriend wanted to join in because he's all about doing outdoorsy things so he jumped in the water and swam to them. When we got there the gate was closed so that was the only want to get to where the boys were. When he got to them they took him somewhere in the building where we couldn't see them. My sister got all nervous and worried so I said I'd go see what was up. We figured out a way through the gate and I walked to the building. The guys were jumping from the roof when I got there and I guess they were screaming (I didn't hear it). My sister heard the screams and thought it was me and was freaking out. Luckily, it wasn't anything to worry about. It was kind of funny. The boys were just having fun jumping into the water. Joe ended up cutting his feet up on the coral, ouch! We talked to the boys, who were on vacation from Mexico, for a bit and then continued our journey. I bought some fruit and sugar cane, yummy.

I left my sister and went off on my own to talk to people and shop around. I met this one kid who worked at a little shop and talked to him for a while about Belize. He was maybe 18 or 19 years old. I think he liked me. Haha! When I was leaving he told me I was the nicest person he met and he wanted to give me a hug. He said no tourists every stop and talk to him like that. I wanted to know about the country, I didn't think it was that different but I gave him a hug and then went on my way. After my shopping I headed to the port to take a boat back to the ship. I got to ride on a boat named Amy!! I saw it there 2 years ago when we were there and took the picture to the left. I was excited that I got to ride on it and of course I told the guys that owned it that my name was Amy too. They let me sit on the top by the steering wheel and I thought that was cool but later regretted it since I got drenched by sea water on the ride back. It sucked because I got salt water in my eyes and I was soaking wet when I got back to the ship and their A/C was cranking. It was cold! All in all it was a good day. Belize is nice to visit for a day but I don't know that I would want to go back for a week. We'll see, if I become super rich and travel everywhere else I want to go first then I will head back there for more time. I've heard they have good scuba diving but I didn't get to do that there. The canopy tour was pretty cool when we did that. I love zip lining!

1st Stop: Roatàn, Honduras

I went to Roatàn on a cruise back in 2005 with my family and remembered it was my favorite stop. I was pretty excited to get to go again, especially since my nativity set I bought there broke and I would be able to replace it.

We sailed from Miami on a Sunday and had a day and a half before we would arrive in Honduras. The first night of the cruise my sister, Travelin' Tracy, got food poisoning or something and was throwing up all night. The ship wanted to be sure she wasn't contagious so they quarantined her in the room on Monday. Haha, that sucked for her! Well, that same night I started to feel sick and was worried I would have what she had and be throwing up all night too. My fear was that I would be too sick to leave the boat the next day when we arrived in Honduras. Luckily, I think it was a combination of eating a lot (cruise boats always have a ton of food) and a rocky boat. I threw up once and felt fine afterwards. Thank goodness :) I'm not a fan of throwing up but it was a little nice to know I wouldn't have to worry about those few extra calories because after working out all the time you really feel icky when you eat really bad. Don't worry, the rest of the cruise I just worked out every day to make up for the extra food!

We arrived in Honduras and the weather was beautiful. My family thought it was too hot but I loved it, I hate being cold so I embraced the heat. We were greeted by punta dancers and I even danced with them for a little while. It was pretty fun. I've done it before so I kind of know how to do it but I wouldn't classify myself as a punta dancer just yet.

My brother, sister, my sister's boyfriend and me went horseback riding for a couple hours. After the ride my family went snorkeling and I walked around and talked to people in order to practice my spanish. I also wanted to get to the post office to buy postage stamps (I've discovered it's a cheap souvenier that every country has). When I was walking I would stop and talk to people and practice my spanish. It was fun, they were very friendly. I even had a local Honduran man walk me to the post office so I could find it and he took me to a local restaurant to eat local food. It was pretty good except the beef had fat and bones on it so that kind of grossed me out but I still ate it. I'm not a picky eater but meat with bones is the one thing I can't handle but if someone serves it to me I will eat it with a smile on my face, even though I'm gaging on the inside! I saw my family later on and they thought I was crazy for walking with some local guy but it wasn't dangerous, the city is really public so I wasn't worried.

I loved Roatàn and wished I could've spent more time there. If you are a scuba diver then this is the place to go. I didn't do a dive on this trip but my sister and I dove there when we went in 2005 and it was beautiful. We got to dive with sharks, touch an octopus and see lots of really cool, beautiful fish. The people are nice and the food is pretty great too. I give Honduras two thumbs up and would love to spend more time there in the future.

Where to start...

I just returned from two cruises this week and I saw a lot, it's hard not to when you visit 11 countries in 16 days! I'm not quite sure where to start. I guess what I'll do is write about and put pictures from each country and tell my favorite story from each place. I do have to say that I did get a real look at all the countries because it's a little hard to really take in the culture of a country when you're only there for a day. I did however get an idea of where I would want to go back and spend some serious time and I will be giving my recommendations :)