Cruise: Day 1

Well actually, let's back up. Dac's parents (David and Terese) are celebrating their 30th anniversary in June and they SO generously decided to take us kids (Dac, me, Austin and Valerie) with them on a cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate. =) We've been talking about it and planning it for months and it was finally here!!!!!

Unfortunately, before we even left... I got big time sick with some awful flu-type bug. It. Was. Horrible. I haven't been sick like that in years and I was even more worried sick that I'd miss the cruise we'd been anticipating for months. Yikes! The next day (Friday) I was feeling a tad better. I was still only eating crackers and Sprite, mind you, but it was definitely an improvement over the day before. I went ahead and worked half a day then headed to Derby with Val and Terese for some last minute shopping and to get our nails did. =) Yes please.

Now, we're ready for Day 1. Our flight left bright and early from Wichita and I won't even go into the mess that was the Wichita airport but thankfully we made it on the plane and after a pit stop at Atlanta, we were on our way to the boat in Jacksonville, FL.
Here we are setting sail and about to go under the bridge in Jacksonville.
For not feeling a 100%, I sure managed to slip into vacation mode pretty easily. =)
My toes in my comfy new flip flops. Love these. They're perfect for my Fliinstone feet. =)
That first evening we basically just watched dolphins swim by (be still my beating heart) and explored the ship. Here's the atrium. I have more boat pictures that will come in another post.
Val and I feeling cruisetacular after a long day of travel.

Dac and I watching the sun set on the Serenity Deck.Pretty, no?

The moon was the closest it had been in like 18 years that night... we missed it while it was still at the horizon so this is the best we could get.In all the excitement we missed our designated eating time in the main dining room. So, we ate a casual dinner on the Lido Deck... followed by duh... an ice cream cone. (Note: I have been craving ice cream non-stop ever since. I miss the 24-hour ice cream service in a big way, haha.) After more exploring, everyone pretty well hit they hay early, but Dac and I went to the Welcome Aboard show which was totally cheesy but pretty fun too. Then we went to another lounge to catch a comedy show that was pretty funny. I MAY or may not have fallen asleep at some point during that, so we headed to bed too as soon as it was over.

Our first towel animal of the trip was waiting for us when we got back that night. I got the biggest kick out of these. The "Fun Times" was also waiting for us. (Note to future cruising self: READ THIS CLOSELY. You'll learn all kinds of useful things, like, how your cell phone time will get all screwed up so when you wake up at 6 a.m., it's actually 9 a.m.)Day 2 was a Fun Day at Sea. More on that later!