Tuesday, August 23, 2011

The Cruise

In one word, our vacation was AWESOME.  You know you had a good time when you realize vacation is over and you immediately start to plot in your head when you can go on your next one. 

This was my first cruise.  It was a short one...a 4 day-er to Key West and Cozumel and then back to the port in Miami.  For us, it was the perfect length, plenty of time to relax and let loose, but not so much time that we were starting to look forward to getting off the boat. 

We traveled with friends.  Camdyn had a pre-school friend to keep her company and Cam's "boyfriend" was also there.  She simply adores that child, you can just tell from the photos.  We spent time with our friends at the casino, lounging by the pool, and at the comedy club in the evenings.  We spent our time off the ship together, shopping and exploring and in the evenings our dining table was full of laughter and friendship.

For me, the best part about cruising was that there was no "work" involved in this vacation.  There were no meals to plan, restaurants to decide on, roads to navigate, laundry to do, counters to wipe down, crowds to beat, etc.  We made our own schedule, we relaxed the way we wanted to, and we just enjoyed BEING.  Isn't that what vacation is all about? 

For us, it was a good decision to leave Chloe home.  I don't think she would have tolerated our late nights, missed naps, etc. the way Camdyn did.  One evening we checked Camdyn in to Camp Carnival (which she loved) at 9:30 pm and didn't pick her up until 1:15 am.  This was followed by ice cream and a bedtime that was shortly after 2 am.  Fun? yes.  For a 2 year old? No.

The next time we do this...it'll be with both the girls!  I'm already looking forward to it!

On this trip I decided not to bring my DSLR.  I didn't want to be responsible for it.  I didn't want to lug it, and I didn't want to spend most of my time trying to get good shots.  Do I regret it?  A little.  There were a lot of great opportunities for fantastic photos.  Although, my point n shoot still captured the memories and now I don't have that shadow hovering over me that is "I have a ton of photos to edit." I was in the moment.  I am happy for that!   

**This is my first slide show thrown together in Lightroom.  It's not perfect, but I didn't have time to tinker with it.



Enjoy!

6 comments:

Ashley Sisk said...

I'm going to need a tutorial on making slideshows in LR. Too cool.

Jennifer said...

What a great idea to do a slideshow!! I had to watch it twice to get all of the pics...LOL! It looks amazing. I am in need of a vacation like this. The boat looks like there is so much to do...mini golf, pools and the huge waterslide. Cam went on that?? Glad you had an awesome time, now back to reality :)

Sassy said...

Now I want to go on a cruise. :) Looks like you guys had fun! How great that you could squeeze it in before Cam started school!

Moments and Impressions said...

What a great way to start off the school year - telling everyone about the coolest cruise your mom and dad took you on!

Ashley said...

I'm so happy to hear it was a success!! Love the idea of leaving your DSLR behind and just enjoying the trip!

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

I'm so glad you had a great trip!