Hi, there!

I’m not sure who was around at a certain point during the reception, but I sang a song (and played guitar) that I wrote for Corinne. I know of at least one person who was in the bathroom and didn’t get a chance to hear the full song. As part of a birthday gift to Corinne I recorded the song I wrote. Click on the link below to hear it, or right-click and select “Save As…” to save it to your computer. I’m pleased with the way the recording turned out I think, though it’s not near professional quality.

10.18.08

As per request, the lyrics:

When I look deep inside your eyes
I can see forever
When I see your smile I know
We were meant to be together

Summer turns to fall
And I give you my all

I’d give my life just to be with you
I cross my heart I swear it’s true

Because you know that I know
And I know that you know
I love you

Will you take my hand
And hold me ’til I die
Will you keep on loving me
For the rest of my life

And this mid-October sky
Never seemed so perfect
And this mid-October day
Will be remembered all my life

It’s happening on Dec. 15!  It’s going to be exciting to finally see Kendra graduate. She’s been working very hard the last couple of years to get to here and I know she’s real excited about finally being done!

I’ll pick up where Dan left off!

After we got back on board the ship, we were on our way to Belize. This was one of the tender ports. And actually, we had to be about 4 miles off the coast because of the extremely shallow water. The water wasn’t nearly as clean and clear as in the other Caribbean ports we visited. There were alot of boats going in and out of Belize City. After about a 10-15 minute tender ride, we were on dry land. This was one of the 2 nice days we had all week! The sun was shining and it was beautiful! We didn’t have an excursion pre-planned for Belize, but that was no problem. There were many different tour groups to choose from, and at a lower price than Carnival was offering. We ended up booking a tour of Belize City and Altun Ha, the Mayan Ruins. We were jammed into a mini van and started our 1 1/2 hour ride to the ruins.

The city of Belize was nice in some places. Like Roatan, they used speed bumps rather than stop signs. And only when you are approaching a school, church, or hospital. After a long ride, we finally arrived at the ruins. It was just amazing to see the huge, antient temples! Our tour guide, Joe, told us about the man that owned the land on which the ruins sat. He wasn’t even aware the existed because of being so over grown. There were about 4 temples in all. In one of the temples, teams discovered a jade head; the single largest carved jade object yet discovered in the Maya area. It i weighs about 9 3/4 lbs and is about 6 inches tall.

They call it the Crown Jewel of Belize. Unfortunately, Belize City does not have a museum, therefore, they have no place secure enough in which to display it. Once a year, they make an announcement to the public the place and time it will be on display, and the people have one hour to see this jewel. Our guide, Joe, has never had the chance to see it in all his life.

After Altun Ha, we toured the less fortunate areas of Belize City. The houses were rundown. Clothes, trash, dirt, broken-down cars, etc. were all over. The streets were narrow, the shops were empty, the kids ran around in the streets. It made me appreciate everything we have here in the USA.

We got back to the docks and hopped on the first tender back to the ship. Once everyone was back on board, we set sail for Cozumel.

We woke up and were docked in Cozumel. This was the 2nd nice day all week! We had an awesome day planned. We booked a Deluxe Sail, Snorkel and Beach trip. We, along with about 60 other people, climbed aboard a Catamaran and started our day. We took a 5 mintue ride to the snorkeling location. Everyone was given a mask, snorkel, life jacket and flippers. We were able to swim around and explore the water. They had a photographer there, taking pictures of each couple underwater. Dan and I had bought our own underwater camera on the ship, so we were taking some photos with that. The water was a gorgeous crystal clear. You could see all the way to the bottom, which was about 20 feet down. We saw all sorts of fish and coral. It was a great experience.

After about 45 mintues, everyone got back on the boat and we were off to our private beach! During the ride, we got to relax to music, drinks, and dancing. 30 mintues later, we docked at our beach. They had a floating trampoline and a rock climbing ice burg out in the water. Very cool! They also had kayaks, rafts, beach chairs, more drinks, and a restaurant. We had a awesome time! We walked the beach on the lookout for some cool shells. We found a few and scooped them up. An hour after we arrived, they blew the whistle letting us know it was time to go.

Once we got back to the dock, we did some shopping in the local stores, and was on our way back home. Since it was Halloween, the Carnival Fun Crew threw a party, costume contest and parade. I wasn’t feeling very well, so unfortunately, we missed all the festivities..

Saturday was a full day at sea, with plenty to do! Carnival has so many activities planned throughout the day, it was impossible to do it all. We went to the main theater to watch The Marriage Game. They had a newly-wed couple, a couple married 25 years, and a couple married 41 years all compete against each other. The couple married 41 years were the winners!

On Sunday morning, we woke up docked at the port of Miami. We gathered all our things and proceeded down to start the debarkation process. Alot of waiting.. Finally, we were off the ship. We got on a bus and took a tour of the Art Deco area of South Beach, Miami. The houses were beautiful, and all declared part of the historic district. It was raining all day, so we ate at the Casa Blanca restaurant, walked about 45 mintues, and got back on the bus for the airport transfer. We waited in the airport for about 6-7 hours till our flight that night.

All in all, we had a wonderful trip! We will have the memories of our honeymoon from our time on board the ship, at each of the very different ports of call, and everyone we met, for the rest of our lives! We are so blessed to be able to share it all with family like you!

Looking forward to the holiday season, to celebrating and to making new memories with all of you!

<3 Corinne

We had a great time on our cruise.

Corinne and I got back from the honeymoon a couple days ago and we had a great time. For those of you who don’t know, we went on a Caribbean cruise, stopping in Grand Cayman, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. There were a few bad weather days and rough sea days, but overall it didn’t ruin our time too much. However, now Corinne is sick and we’re not sure if it’s from being dehydrated or she caught something. Her throat is sore and she can’t stop coughing.

Other than that it was wonderful. There was tons to do on the ship and no way we could possibly have done it all. They had great shows every night with a variety of acts including comedians, magicians, and Vegas-style revue shows. If I went through the entire trip in one post, it would be extremely long, so I’ll just go through part of it right now. Maybe Corinne will add to it or make another post later.

After taking a week off following the wedding, we flew down to Miami to catch the boat. Somehow we got bumped up to VIP status, though it wasn’t in Carnival’s system. They decided to give us the courtesy of checking us in as VIP members, and we were able to board extremely quickly. Since our room wasn’t even ready yet, we had a chance to walk around the ship and take a few pictures. It was quite impressive that so much could fit on a boat and still have it float.

A view of the lobby from a few decks up.

The next day was a full day at sea as we traveled to Grand Cayman. During this time we had plenty to do (and eat!) and tried to make the most of our day by exploring the ship some more and checking out some of the activities on board. They even had a small mini golf course on the very top deck.

Finally we reached Grand Cayman, and found out that our ship wreck and reef snorkeling got canceled due to the rough waves. They were so rough we had to dock on the opposite side of the island and take a taxi downtown. We waited for the rain to subside before we left for Georgetown to check out shopping. Other than the fact it was a gloomy day, Grand Cayman was pretty cool.

When we got back on board we were on our way to Roatan Island off the coast of Honduras. The ship’s calypso band led the “sail away” party up on the main deck, Lido. They had music, dancing, and some fun games led by the Carnival crew. There were a couple more of these parties throughout the cruise, only skipping when we sailed later in the evening.

The show that night was a pretty cool revue show “traveling” through popular night clubs of the past. They included all kinds of styles of music and dance, and the performers were fantastic. It was a full-blown show with lights, pit band, dancers, singers, and even pyrotechnics. We awoke the next morning docked in Honduras.

The monkeys were very cool.

Honduras, more specifically Roatan Island, was the highlight of the trip for Corinne. This is where we got to play with the monkeys! We also saw and held very pretty parrots, but the monkeys were really cool. Especially the baby monkey named Peter we got to hold. Corinne was in heaven I think.

When we stepped off the ship at the port we were greeted with music and dancing. It was a much different vibe than the impromptu Grand Cayman port. People were dressed in native costumes and they were dancing and singing and playing instruments. It was a pretty cool experience.

Just outside of the gated port was where things looked like typical Honduras. Shacks and rundown houses held shops and people were walking the narrow sidewalk trying to sell their crafts. Military-armed police kept watch of the entrance to make sure no one but cruise guests entered.

It was heart-wrenching for me to see the living conditions these people had. And this was considered the more prosperous tourist area. Many of the houses didn’t even have doors or windows, just holes in the wall. Skinny dogs wandered the streets looking for anything to eat. It was very humbling and eye-opening to see that even bad parts of Reading are much better off than these people.

More to come later about our trip. Click here to check out some pictures in the meantime.