Key West

We boarded Enchantment of the Seas Monday afternoon and enjoyed eating and exploring. Our ship had a theater (pictured below), several pools and hot tubs, a rock climbing wall, bungee trampolines, a casino, shopping, a spa and fitness center, and several places to eat. We thought the ship was huge, but we've since learned that it is Royal Caribbean's second smallest!


Our new friends



Our first stop was Key West, Florida. We had no plans when we got off except to find a place where Tyler could get his hair cut. We found a little barber shop and the old man in there happened to be LDS. It was quite a coincidence. We walked around the city a bit and went to the southernmost point in the continental U.S. Then we ended up renting a jet ski for an hour and going crazy in the ocean. It was tons of fun.


This place had tons of statues all around it


Near the southernmost point



The southernmost beach




We didn't pay to get in, but I would have liked to


Our nice ship


I couldn't leave Key West without eating key lime pie ice cream!


Formal night (my hair looks horrible!)


The little friend we found in our room


Our room, which was much nicer than the one we stayed at in Fort Lauderdale


We could have consumed all this for only $42.35

Everglades National Park

On Monday morning, we rented a convertible and made a quick trip to Everglades National Park before we had to board our cruise ship that afternoon. We wished we could have spent more time there, but the fact that we saw a gator made the trip worth it! That and the fact that Tyler nearly stepped on a black snake and did a dance to avoid smashing it while I attracted lots of attention by screaming!

The dive we stayed at in Ft. Lauderdale


Tyler lovin' his ride


Florida panther


Gumbo Limbo Trail



The gator that was right off the side of the boardwalk. We could have touched it!





We saw tons of these birds

Day cruise to Bahamas

Since we knew we'd get to Florida a few days before our cruise left (we made sure to leave in plenty of time in case there were any problems making flights), we booked a day cruise to the Bahamas. I'm so glad we did. We were only there for a few hours after spending five on the cruise ship there and back, but it was so beautiful. I'd say that it was my first "real" time going out of the country--walking from San Diego to Tijuana and driving over the Canadian border at Niagara Falls hardly count.

We finally got to see an East coast sunrise


Where we lounged (and slept)


Getting ready to dock



Our Bahamian friend


THREE different dudes on the beach asked Tyler if he wanted to buy a "doobie" or "ganja". Those crazy Bahamians!


Beautiful water


Bahama Mama




Our ghetto ship, Discovery


Last shot on land


Off into the sunset!

Our trip: the West coast

Dang, we've been home from our cruise for over a month. What've I been doing since? Wishing we could go on another!

Tyler's sister gave us buddy passes last year which expired October 31. We planned on going to Florida in Sept. or Oct., but then when we looked at cruises we saw how cheap they were and we were sold! The trip ended up costing a lot more than we thought, but it was so worth it.

We were supposed to fly to Long Beach on Friday afternoon and then take a red eye to Ft. Lauderdale. The evening before, we realized that there was no way we could get to Long Beach flying standby, so we had to leave Friday morning for San Diego. We had all day to spend there, then the plan was to drive to Long Beach and catch the red eye flight that night. Well, after spending an enjoyable day on the West coast, we ended up missing our flight (Tyler thought it was an hour later than it really was)! We had to find a hotel, then get to the airport early the next morning to catch a flight to NYC, then from there to Ft. Lauderdale! It all worked out in the end and we made it in plenty of time for our cruise.

We spent most of our first day in Coronado, where we went to the beach and ate frozen yogurt.

Touching the Pacific Ocean, thinking that the next morning we'd be touching the Atlantic



Wish we could've stayed at the Hotel de Coronado!




On our way up to Long Beach we stopped and got pedicures! This was Tyler's first


West coast sunset


Newport Beach LDS Temple. If we hadn't have stopped here, we would have made our flight!