2nd Half of the Western Caribbean Trip

Continued from Ist Half of the Western Caribbean Trip

Our fifth day was probably my favorite one. Shonni and I went ziplining in Isla Roatan (off the coast of Honduras) and it was the COOLEST THING EVER! I had been repelling, but never ziplining before. We talked the lady at the Pirates of the Caribbean Canopy Extreme tour down to $40 from $80, including the transportation to and from the zipline (Shonni asked my permission to play the "my friend just lost her job card" and it worked). We weren't sure at first what the helmets were for; if we fell from the zipline we didn't believe the helmets would help. We decided they were for the jeep ride to the first zipline, because it was crazy bumpy and we hit our heads on the top of the jeep a lot! That first line was intimidating. It was the highest up (328 feet) and also the longest, so jumping off that platform was freaky. What a rush!! I loved it! The rest of the lines were a snap, barring a few where I wasn't heavy enough to make it to the end and had to be rescued. I would recommend ziplining to anyone who asked. It was so fun!

After the zipline, we had 20 minutes to play at a beach before we had to get back to the ship. Below is my favorite photo of myself from the trip. Pretty much sums up the whole experience for me.

That night on the ship, we had a midnight party on the Lido (top) deck. We danced under the stars, ate a mexican buffet, and cheered for our team when we won the "attendance" competition. (Did I mention that the ship was split into teams based on our room number? We received points for the various games we played during the cruise. I have no doubt my Red Team won, but I don't know what the prize was...)

[below: me, cruise director Ryan, and Shonni at the deck party]

Day six, Aaron, Shonni and I joined a group for some snorking and swimming with stingrays in Grand Cayman. Our tour guides took us out to a sandbar off the coast where there were a plethora of stingrays swimming around. It was a little freaky at first to be standing around and then realize three stingrays where swimming past me. I made good use of my snorkle mask. Stingrays are so elegant and smooth (I shied away from the tales). Our guides even caught one, and took photos as we all held it, kissed it, and let it rest on our backs. I was terrible at holding that thing -- too nervous. I dropped it four times so they had to chase it down. Finally they said, "Why don't we have your brother hold it and we'll take a picture of the two of you?" That worked! After the stingrays, regular snorkeling was a letdown, but at least we got it in!


That night was the second formal night. I love this dress and the purple shoes, but I was genuinely surprised at all of the compliments I received!

I also took the opportunity to get my Dolly Parton on during my last foray into karaoke. I sang "9 to 5" which I thought was deliciously ironic because not only were we on vacation, but I had just lost my job. Ah, irony! It went well and felt good, even though I kept my eyes glued to the screen to make sure I had the words right. A couple strangers even asked when I would be singing again (sadly, I did not have another chance).

Below is a photo of a group singing jazz songs. Jared is an amazing pianist and brought a book of songs with him. We found a piano and sang songs like "Stormy Weather", "Someone to Watch Over Me", and "I Got Rhythm." How I love to sing! And singing at midnight with a great pianist rocks!


Aaron and I, the last day of the cruise. I miss sitting out in the sporadic sun and constant wind of the moving ship! Michelle and I even slid down the water slide several times -- hooray for warm weather! I had run out of sunscreen by that point. Luckily, I only got a mild tan rather than a nasty sunburn. I freely acknowledge that I deserved worse. I was still the whitest person on the ship, but at least I could show off a tan line!

[below: Michelle and me]

There was a Canadian country singer named Brett Kissel on the ship. He was there for a "cruise tour" and had quite the fan following. Michelle and I watched his last concert on board, and I must say, I'm a fan. (Yes, I don't hate country music.) He is quite good!

After dinner, pretty much everyone on the ship piled into the cabaret to watch the Legends karaoke show, starring our fellow cruise guests. It was hilarious! Nothing better than watching regular people like you and me impersonate such music legends as Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and Frank Sinatra. The Frank Sinatra singer was probably the highlight. He had been left in Cozumel (day 3) and had to take a series of buses to meet us in Belize! (I am so, so glad it wasn't me. At least he spoke Spanish!) He altered the second verse of "My Way" to tell his tale; the rest of us cheered and applauded wildly. Doesn't hurt he was a good singer, too!

I danced in the disco and hung out with newfound friends until about 3 am. It was hard getting up at 6:30 to get off the ship. I should have just slept in since my flight wasn't until 2:35pm, but when I got to the airport at 9:30, one of the check-in people took pity on me and bumped me to an earlier flight. Not only did I get to leave at 11:30, but it was a direct flight to Houston. Before I had two layovers (in Minneapolis and Houston) before getting home, now I only had one! I didn't, however, get bumped to an earlier flight to Salt Lake, so I had an 8 hour layover in Houston. I spent the time sleeping, reading Outlander, and watching CNBC on the big screen by my terminal. It was a long day, but not a bad one :^D I got home at 11:30pm, and was glad that my luggage was there to greet me! I was even more glad to hug my mom when she picked me up.

Like I said in the previous post. It was a great trip and I'm glad I got to go! I'm glad I paid for it all three months ago so I could just go and enjoy. It's always hard coming home, but at least I have new friends and fabulous memories! Can't wait for my next trip, whatever it may be!

1st Half of the Western Caribbean Trip

My cruise to the Caribbean was awesome! I can't believe it's over already, but it was just about as good a vacation as I could have wished for. Plenty of dancing, karaoke, tropical weather, gorgeous scenery, and fun people to play with! It was rainy and cloudy most of the trip, but since the "cold" was a good 70 degrees I won't complain too loudly! I am so glad I got to go! Perfect timing :)


First day: I took a red-eye flight to Miami, and found Shonni (above) after we had both checked in and made our way onto the boat (here, I am pictured with the first of many, many soft-serve ice cream cones). We were roommates with two girls we didn't know but who were great. That first day was spent mostly hanging around the ship meeting people, attending a mixer, eating really, really tasty food, and sleeping through the introductory cabaret show. Busy day!

[below: Shonni and I with our creme brules]

The second day was our first day out to sea. There was lots of volleyball, laying out, and, yes, ice cream. I was proud to wear my new swimsuit. I feel so sassy in it!


Also, that first night at dinner was a "formal" night. I absolutely loved my purple dress! I can't wait for another opportunity to wear it in public. It was fun seeing everyone dressed to the nines! The photo below is of Shonni and I with our two charming dining partners, Jared and Pat. We were assigned a table near the front doors, so we had plenty of opportunity to greet friends and take photos as they came in. It was fun to share meals with them each night, talking about what we had done that day and making plans for the next. They were good guys.

[above: posing with a "Zonkey" - zebra and donkey - which I think has something to do with a restaurant]

Day three, we stopped at Cozumel. I joined Michelle B and her friends at Playa Mia for some sun, relaxation, and swimming in the ocean. The water was colder than I thought it would be, but it was worth it to swim out to the trampoline just offshore. Michelle and I even kayaked for awhile (and sang, too, of course. We love to harmonize). I had wanted to spend at least one day at the beach -- I got my wish and it was a wonderful day!
[below: Michelle, my brother Aaron, and I at the beach. Notice the newly acquired braids and beads around my face.]


That night, I tried out to impersonate Britney Spears in the final night's karaoke "Legends" show. I didn't get the part, but at least I lost to someone freakishly talented. Aaron tried out for Ricky Martin and lost to a guy who did not sing well and looked horrible without a shirt on (I know this because he removed it during the performance and it was funny but painful to watch). Michelle and I later sang "My Boyfriend's Back" and we both agree it was a disaster. She didn't know the song very well, and my voice was failing. Oh, well.

I discovered on the first day that my cousin Shelby was on the cruise, too! Small world, eh? We didn't spend much time together, but she and Aaron sang at least one karaoke song together. (There was a lot of karaoke going on with our group.)

[below: me, Aaron, and Shelby]

Day four, we took a ferry to Belize, where Shonni and I joined a big group for some cave tubing. We hiked through a gorgeous, lush jungle and then floated through some caves and then in the sunshine while wearing head lamps. It was nice and relaxing, but not terribly exciting. Now that I've done it I probably don't need to do it again. The group we were with was really fun, though, and I met a guy with a British accent, of which I am always a fan!


Continued in 2nd Half of the Western Caribbean Trip.

Gettin' Outta Here!

My Caribbean cruise is coming up fast! Finally! I am so glad I had the foresight last summer to sign up for this trip. I really, really need this vacation and I cannot wait. Tropical beaches! Terrific food! Fabulous friends! Ensuing hilarity! Sunny sun (I hope)! I am excited that my brother Aaron, my best friend Michelle, her friend Brooke, and my friend Shonni are all coming. With them around, every place we go will become a dance party! Aaron even speaks Spanish, which will be most convenient where we're going. Oh, and Michelle has a reliable source that says the South Jordan Fire Department will be on this cruise with us. Sweeeeet!

I've done waaaay too much -- and yet just the right amount -- of shopping in the last couple of weeks. I have some really cute clothes! I love my sassy new swimsuit so much I put heels on and pretended to be Karen from Mean Girls. And I bought the most ROCKIN' purple cocktail dress and shoes last week at Macy's, both of which were 75% off! I would like at least one more suit, and I am in need of flip-flops; otherwise I think I'm ready to go, apparel-wise.

I am SO READY to get out of town!

Me in St. Maartens in 2008

D.C. Vacation, part 3: Around D.C.

The day after the long, lovely birthday at Kings Dominion was a Tuesday. Shonni was up bright and early for her first day at a new job, and Aaron had the day off but a lot of work to do, so he wanted to go into work for a few hours. I wanted to spend the morning at the Washington D.C. Temple anyway, so Aaron dropped me off while he went into work. Oddly enough, I had many adventures during my four hours on the temple grounds!

It started when Aaron and I pulled up. There were four young Elder (not elderly) missionaries taking photos, so we asked them to take one of Aaron and I, and we took some of the four of them. The missionaries mentioned that recently some folks had tried to steal the angel Moroni statue from the top of the temple spire. Apparently, they rented a helicopter and managed to remove it from the spire, but were caught before they could get away. I tend to think that story is an urban legend...

The endowment sessions take place each hour on the hour. Aaron dropped me off at 11:15, so I had some time to kill. I decided to be bold and ask to see everything they would let me see within the temple. I walked around the floor where they do marriage sealings, saw the Bride dressing room, and found the cafeteria. I wanted to buy a Snickers from the vending machine, but didn't have any cash on me. Oh, well. The Celestial room was so beautiful that I literally stopped and gawked when I walked in. I love the symbolism in that room. I sat and gazed about for the longest time. For some reason, I couldn't find the baptistry, and I chickened out asking for directions. Being there for a noon session on a Tuesday, I feared for a few minutes that it would just me be, the four Elder missionaries, and one other guy there in the session. Fortunately, about 10 minutes before it started, 30 people showed up. It was awesome! Hooray for people going to the temple on a Tuesday afternoon!

After the session, I walked outside and called Aaron to let him know he could pick me up. While on the phone I went around the corner of the temple, and two deer who had been quietly grazing about 20 feet from me bolted! I was shocked! That's when I realized how idealistic the setting for the temple is. It's in the middle of the forest, and it's beautiful. I walked around and took photos of the trees, the exterior of the temple, and the six deer I saw. I also bought a Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD and a subscription to the Ensign magazine at the Distribution Center.



When Aaron arrived, we went into the Visitor's Center to change into jeans. One of the Sister Missionaries stopped us and asked if we were interested in seeing one of the exhibits. They had several photographs from the Hubble telescope on display, along with information and scriptures that describe each. It was really cool. Aaron and I walked around for quite awhile discussing the differences between dying stars, forming galaxies, and how it all relates to the Church's stance on the creation. By the time we left, we realized it was nearly 4pm! We picked up some insanely tastey sandwiches at Potbelly (a sandwich shop I cannot recommend highly enough) and drove home to wait for Shonni.

Shonni, Aaron and I ate dinner and headed out to the Mall. We wanted to see a couple of the Smithsonian Museums, like the Newseum and the Pop-Culture museum. Unfortunately, we learned that as of Labor Day -- the day before -- the museums all closed at 5:30. Guess what time we got there? You got it: 5:32. Whoops! Instead, we walked around some of the sculpture gardens and regular gardens. It was a very pretty night, and Aaron, Shonni and I can fabricate fun out of any situation!

Above: Aaron and I with The Burghers of Calais by Rodin; the only sculpture we recognized and liked

Above: me outside the Smithsonian Castle

When it started to get dark, we made our way to the Pentagon. Shonni and I had never seen the September 11 Memorial there, and seeing as the anniversary was only a few days away, we very much wanted to go. It was a sobering sight. There was a bench for every person who died that day -- those who had been in the building and those in the plane that hit it. I looked out at that sea of lit benches, and then at the plaques that listed the year each where born. Did you know the youngest was just a year old? She died with her brother and parents, who each had their own benches, too. I remember September 11, watching the news broadcasts and seeing the rescue efforts. The same awe and horror I felt then returned as I realized again that the people who died that day were real. They had lived and died doing their best to lead good lives. How can I do anything less than honor their memories and try to do the same?


Even though we had a late dinner, we went over to the Good Stuff Eatery where I ordered a Prez Obama Burger and a Milky Way Malt, and all of us shared an order of delectable Spike's Village Fries (with rosemary, thyme, and cracked pepper). It really was "good stuff." We even got to watch a cop pull over a car who totally deserved it, having stopped and gone in reverse in the middle of a busy intersection :P

We were exhausted by that point, but when we drove past the Marines Memorial we had to stop and take some more photos. There are a lot of people who have sacrificed their lives for my country. I wanted to take a few more moments, while in the nation's capitol, to honor them.



The next morning, I said good-bye to Shonni before she left for work, and then packed up all of my luggage and souvenirs. Aaron took me to the Baltimore airport -- with a quick stop at McDonald's for some breakfast. I ate my breakfast and bought an extra yogurt I hoped I could take on the plane to eat later, but the guards wouldn't let me, so I ate before going past Security.

The plane ride home was fairly unremarkable. I bought an Italian sandwich at the Potbelly in the airport so I wouldn't starve on the trip, walked around the Minneapolis Airport during my layover, and remained seated in Salt Lake so the serviceman who was accompanying the body of a fallen comrade could exit the plane first. My mom picked me up from the airport and took me home, where I realized my car had been towed... but I think I've already covered that whole episode!

And there you have it. Sorry it took me so long to fill you in on my trip. Hope you weren't bored, because I had a great time!

Thank you, Aaron and Shonni, for making me feel so welcome, for taking care of me, and for making such an effort to ensure my vacation was a happy one. It really was. I love you both!

D.C. Vacation, part 2: Kings Dominion

Monday, Labor Day, was my birthday, and I was more than a little upset to see that the skies were just as cloudy and forboding as the day before. We had planned to visit an amusement park, and although there are plenty of other things to do in the D.C. area, I kind of had my heart set on riding roller coasters for my birthday! Fortunately, Aaron and his friends checked online and discovered that the weather was far better in the part of Virginia where the park is located.

Shonni wasn’t feeling well so she stayed home, but Aaron and I met a group of six other people from the singles wards in the area. I was surprised to see it was such a reasonably small group of people, five boys and three girls. We split up into two cars with four people in each and drove the hour and-a-half drive to the park. My car stopped for gas and a snack on the way; apparently, so did the other car, because we managed to beat them there.

As my birthday present, Aaron paid my ticket into Kings Dominion, which I thought was delightfully generous. Thank you, Aaron! Our group of four, which included Aaron, me, Shandy, and Matthew, went into the park, took a photo and made our way to the nearest roller coaster, Anaconda. We couldn’t get ahold of anyone in the other car, but figured we’d meet them there. They arrived at the coaster just as we finished the ride, so we went a second time! Then we went crazy, making the rounds to all of the rides one at a time.

I like to think of Kings Dominion as the “Lagoon” of the East coast, because there isn’t a running theme for the park – it’s just a bunch of roller coasters, rides, restaurants and souvenir stands all grouped together. They had some Hanna-Barbara (the Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, the Flintstones) and Nickelodeon-themed stuff, but that’s about it.

Because it was a holiday, we were very surprised to find how few people were at the park that day. We imagined the rain might have something to do with it, but then… there was no rain until 6:30 that day. There weren’t even that many employees. We walked past a face-painting station several times and never did see anyone who would paint my face! The best part about so few people being there was that the lines were SHORT! We didn’t wait longer than 10 minutes or so in any one line. It was SWEET!

We had a quick lunch at a Chic-fil-A in the park, where we learned that Adam had brought his own lunch along, complete with lunch meat and vegetables. He bought a bun at the restaurant and made a sandwich, and generously shared with the rest of us.

I made sure to take motion-sickness meds that morning, because I really like roller coasters, and I did NOT want to miss out! Not on my birthday! Nearly every roller coaster had multiple loops and upside-down twists. I admit, the one I liked the least was the one everyone else liked the most: the Volcano. There was something about the hydrolic push at the beginning, and the fact that our feet were dangling, and that third loop seeming so slow that I just did not like! We got to the end and I said “I am NOT doing that again!” Tyson had to laugh. I sat out while everyone else did a second go-around. It took them awhile, since they all wanted to be in the front. I didn’t mind too much. It gave me time to get a really, really stale pretzel, and have a park worker ask me – with much concern – if I was okay (I was flopped over on a rock. It was a long day!).

We stayed at the park and ran around from 10:30am to 6:30pm (oh, and guess which day I forgot to wear my pedometer? That day. I was so annoyed). We had a ton of fun and were exhausted by the end and kind of glad when it started raining. We were already wet anyway, since we did a log flume as one of the last rides, and although Adam and I managed to get past the splash without getting much water on us, the spectators with water pistoles got us good! I was turned around at the time, so they just got my back, but Adam was soaked. Of course, after that, we had to stay and try to get as many others as we could.

I bought a t-shirt and then we all piled back into the cars. We wanted real food, so we decided to eat at Cracker Barrel. I had never been to that restaurant before, and it was good! We had fun looking around at the kitchy items and yummy candies in the store, and I got excited when I saw there was maple candy (I was thinking of that episode of Friends where Ross eats all that maple candy…). Five minutes later, Shandy bought me some as a birthday present. How cute is that? I’d never had maple candy before and I quite liked it!

Oddly, when the others asked if I wanted the waiters to sing “Happy Birthday” to me, I said no. I was too tired, even if it was my actual birthday. It was a little lame of me. Oh, well. It was a great group of people to celebrate with. Aaron, Rich, Lorrena, Tyson, Adam, Shandy, and Matthew made it a great day!

Aaron and I returned to Shonni’s place about 10:30 or 11, and found her feeling much better. We told her about our day, cuddled with Baxter, and checked my Facebook page.

Thank you to everyone who called, texted, emailed, and posted on my FB page to wish me a happy birthday! I felt happy and loved and I really appreciate everyone who thought of me!

What better way to turn 31 than by riding a crazy-lot of roller coasters all day, and basking in the love of people that I love, too? My thirty-second year started off pretty darn good!

Above: Tyson, Shandy, Rich, Lorrena, Adam, me, Matthew, and Aaron