Cruisin'

View from our airplane on our way from SF to Cinncinnati.

Tristan and Danielle had a balcony room at the hotel in Tampa.

Us ladies are enjoying the night before heading to sea.

Danielle, My, Peggy, Kristal, & Laura

The Carnival "Inspiration" ship that we were aboard.

There were 2400 guests - 600 of them were kids, plus 900 employees.

The large water slide on the back of the ship... that we enjoyed.

The first Sunset (Saturday night)

The Wilmes - immediate family.

Parents of the couple: David (dad) and Judy, Tony & Lori (mom),

Danielle, Tristan, Peggy & Brad

The Bride (Danielle) & The Groom (Tristan)

Craig & I at the formal dinner with the BEST waiter on the ship - German (from Colombia) Philip, myself, Laura, Kristal, & Matt before our Snorkeling excursion.
Craig - repelling from 65' in the air
I was conned into trying the middle-sized tower right away... about 50' to the top.

Me... walking across a rope bridge through the trees...

Craig and Kristal raced to the top of the 65' tower (tallest one).

I still have my "sea-legs" on and we have been on land for 2 full days now. My brother, Tristan, got married last Saturday on a cruise in the Carribean. It was an awesome experience for all of us as very few people in our group had ever been on a cruise. Here is an outline of our vacation"

Friday: Flew from SF to Cinncinnati and then on to Tampa Bay, Florida.
Saturday: Arrived at the port at 10:00 and were on the ship by 11:00am. It was super nice to be in a "wedding group" as we were one of the first groups of people on the ship. The wedding was at 1:30pm and lasted about 1/2 hour. It was a very nice service and everyone looked nice. After the wedding they had a reception for 1 hour where the drinks were FREE!!! After the reception we were free to do whatever. Every night we were scheduled to eat supper at 8:15pm - where we would meet with the rest of our group and eat at the same table and have the same waiter (German). The workers on the ship come from all over the world (55 different nations) and not one of them was unpleasant. It was just amazing how happy and friendly they all were.

Sunday: We really started to enjoy the weather as it was in the 80's. They have a running/walking track on the upper level of the ship so Kristal and I enjoyed a nice 2 mile run (yes, I know... we were on vacation but if you know anything about cruises it's all you can eat food). The water was just beautiful... this is one of my first times being out of the country so I was just in awe. We layed out in the sun and also enjoyed the large water slide that was on the ship.

Monday: We docked and were shuttled to The Cayman Islands where Craig, Kristal, Philip, Laura, and myself enjoyed snorkeling and swimming with the sting rays. The water was nice and warm (& salty) and the views all the way around us were just awesome. We had to take a shuttle back to the ship and start off for Cozumel that same day.

Tuesday: We arrived and docked in Cozumel where Craig, Kristal, Philip, Laura, my Mom and Dad, and myself enjoyed rock wall climbing, repelling, and zip-lining. We weren't able to snorkel due to the high winds and huge waves but were given quite the deal for 2 for 1 drinks at the bar. We hung around after our excersion and visited some shops where the bargaining began. The ships entertainment for the night was "The Love & Marriage Show". We got Tristan and Danielle up on stage and it was an AWESOME laugh.

Wednesday: We attempted to enjoy our last day at sea... it was really cold and windy so not much sun tanning was going on. The men enjoyed the casino where the women enjoyed the little shops and BINGO - I actually won a game however had to split the $150 pot.

Thursday: We arrived back in Tampa and were off the ship in no time - however like I said before I still feel like I have my sea legs on. I could swear that my house is on the ocean. It's a crazy feeling.

It sure was nice to be home and sleeping in my bed and seeing the boys again. I can't believe how much they changed in the week that we were gone. They did well with us being gone as they had SUPER people taking care of them. Payton stayed with Trent and Jackie and the girls and it sounds like they had more than enough things to keep them entertained. Brooks and Braxton stayed with Gma Bev and Gpa Doug and it sounds like they too kept very busy. We couldn't possibly Thanks them enough for taking on a challenge like that for a whole week... I sure missed them but had no doubts that they were being taken care of.