Coco Cay, Bahamas

Today started off as a lazy day. I slept in until 9:00, then went up to breakfast with Colette. (Right - Coco Cay, we with my beach bag that I bought in Nassau) When we were almost done, Lorana saw us on her way out. She waited for us to finish eating, then we all went to get on the boat that would take us ashore. Coco Cay is a privately owned island that belongs to Royal Caribbean. It is beautiful.
Right away, I went swimming. Then I walked up the beach with Kristi. We ended up looking for shells. After we walked a ways up the beach, we turned around and headed back. I swam some more before deciding I was done.
I had set my stuff near a chair and laid my towel out on that chair. When I got up there, Chris was sitting on my towel in my chair. I asked if he had moved my towel, which of course he hadn't. (This, by the way, was the same person that was rude yesterday). He gave me his towel instead. That would have been all well and good except I checked a towel from the pool and he just brought a towel from his room. If I lost that towel, I would be charged $20, which I definitely don't want.
I didn't worry about it too much because I wasn't planning on sitting there. Instead, I went walking with Colette and a couple other girls, Jaime and Jenny. (Left - me, Colette, Jaime, and Jenny near the Island Oasis. If you look in the background, you can see our cruise liner) We got some good pictures. The island really is beautiful. We saw several iguanas. One was HUGE!
We also did a little shopping. Then we went back to the beach where we dried off in the sun. I was frustrated and more than a little upset to discover that Chris had taken my towel with him when he left the beach and went out on a sail boat. That made me very upset because it was MY money on the line, not his. At 3:30, we went back to the ship.
I needed to head back at that time to make my Gotta Dance Rehearsal. When I first arrived, there were only two other girls there for the dance. (Right - Colette and I enjoying an hammock in paradise) A little later, Lorana arrived and another lady joined us. All in all we had 5 women performing our dance. We rehearsed a little and then went off to shower and get ready for dinner.
After I showered, Lorana called down to my room to invite Colette and I over for aloe treatment on our sunburns. We went over there. That felt really good, and I think it was necessary. My shoulders are pretty badly burnt, at least in a couple spots. And I even put sunscreen on! Also, strangely enough, my left ear got burnt. My right ear did not...
Then we got ready for dinner. (Left - Colette, Jenny, me, and Jaime on the beach in the Bahamas) It was our last night in our fancy restaurant, so we got our tips ready. Colette and I forgot to take our envelopes with us to dinner. Luckily, we had already prepaid, so we didn't have to worry about that.
I had to leave quickly to get ready and make it to the final performance. At the end of the final performance, I got up on stage with my fellow dancers and we danced for everyone. It was a lot of fun, and rather short. But, now I can say that I have performed a dance for an audience on a cruise ship. How many people can say that? Of our 2600 passengers, only 5 can (unless some have done it before . . .)
After the dance, I went back to my room to finish packing. During that time, Colette called around to try and find out which room Chris was in so I could get my towel back. (Right - Postcard worthy spot) We couldn't find him, but we got a hold of Kory who said he had picked up an extra towel on the beach. I knew it wasn't mine, but he agreed to go up to the pool with me to explain (he had already returned it). They took the towel off my account. It was a huge relief.
Then I went to Karaoke. I only caught the end of it, but then went to see Battle of the Sexes. That was a lot of fun. I made it in time to have my shoes stolen to be put in a pile with a bunch of other shoes. They were trying to see which team could pile the most shoes onto a square area. The guys got 78. When he was counting the women's shoes, he got to 80 and stopped. There were probably 100 or more there. But women's shoes are often smaller and more compact than the tennis shoes that most guys wear. The guys' pile was twice as high, too.
The next competition was to see how many people you could have touching a pillar. I piled on, more piled on top. It was quite uncomfortable, especially since I had my face stuck in someone's armpit. But, we won that too!
(Left - BAHAMAS!!!) The final competition (I missed the first one) was a kind of relay. 4 people had to take turns blowing up and popping a balloon on one other victim. Again, the women won. The host said it was the tenth week in a row that the women had won the game. It was fun.
After Battle of the Sexes, they had an 80's dance. We stayed a little for that then went to the comedy show. That was great, but I think you would have to be there to find it funny. After the show, we hung around, took some pictures, exchanged information and then went up top to play games. We didn't end up playing anything. Instead we talked until everyone went off to bed. After all, we have to get up early tomorrow to get off the cruise. It is almost over. It is almost time to return to the real world . . .

Above - me, Colette, Jaime, and Jenny

Above - Wild Iguanas. Look below to see how close I got to these particular ones. There were two more on a rock near the bridge.

Nassau, Bahamas

We arrived into Nassau this afternoon. Because of that, I slept in this morning. I ended up waking up at 9:00. (Left - Melanie, me, Ryan, and Kelly on our boat in the Bahamas) It was weird because I couldn't tell that it was that late. In fact, I kept thinking it was early because it was dark in my room. If I had a room back home like this, it would be way too easy to sleep the day away.
I got up, showered, and got ready. Then around 10:00, I looked at the schedule and realized that we had games/social activities at 11:00 and that breakfast ended at 11:00. So I woke Colette up to tell her that, and went upstairs to get breakfast while she got ready.
In the Windjammer, I walked around until I found a table. It was just a little two person table. I put my stuff down and tried to ask a couple to watch my table, but apparently they didn't speak English. So I left my stuff and went to get food. (Right - The island near which we went kayaking and snorkeling) When I got back, there was a guy sitting across the table from me. I didn't want to find a new table, so I sat down to eat my breakfast.
After a little while, the guy started talking to me:
"What's your name?"
"I'm Rachel, what's your name?"
"Chris. Where's your boyfriend?"
"Not here."
Maybe I should have left it at that, but I like to talk to people, so I asked him where he was from and who he was traveling with. He is from New Jersey and is traveling with his family. He asked me more about my "boyfriend" so I told him that I didn't have a boyfriend. It didn't take long for him to ask me to be his girlfriend. I was a little surprised and told him that we hardly know each other. (Left - Me in front of some festival creature in Nassau, Bahamas) According to him, that's why we get to know each other. I told him that we lived far away from each other, but that didn't deter him, either.
At some point, he asked me to hang out with him later. I didn't know how to respond to that . . . So I just ignored it. He also told me that he was taking a risk by talking to me. I told him he was brave (but I thought, that doesn't mean I have to say yes).
He asked, "Do you know why I'm asking you to be my girlfriend?"
"No."
"Because I broke up with her because she cheated on me. I need a better girlfriend."
How do you respond to something like that? Well, I asked him what made him think that I would be a better girlfriend. He didn't really have an answer for that. (Right - sunset over the Bahamas)
At one point he said:
"You're very pretty."
"Thanks . . ."
"And I'm in love with you, that's why I'm sweet talking you."
"I don't believe that."
"What?"
"You don't even know me! I don't believe you can love someone you don't even know!"
In the end, I convinced him that he didn't want me for a girlfriend by asking if he drinks. He, of course does, so I said, "Well I don't drink. . . And I don't date anyone that drinks."
"Oh, never mind then."
It was quite an interesting and unforgettable breakfast. I've never had a guy tell me that he is in love with me before (I've had OTHER people tell me that a guy was in love with me, but never the guy himself), and I've never had a random stranger ask me to be his girlfriend. (Left - Cruise lines in Nassau's port, the middle one is my ship)
He was probably a few years younger than me, too, maybe 22 or 23. So it was doomed from the start.
After breakfast, I went down to the conference room where we met on the first day. There we played get-to-know you games. It was fun. We only had an hour because a wedding was scheduled in the room for noon.
When we got kicked out, we didn't know what to do because we weren't in port yet. We stood talking with a couple of people, but one particular guy was extremely rude. There were four of us talking and he was obviously interested in talking to just one person. He looked only at that person and talked only to that person. So Colette and I left. (Right - Senor Frogs)
We walked around a little, then I went to get ready for my shore excursion. There were a lot less people on today's shore excursion than yesterday's. We entered the Bahamas and found the place where we were to check in. Then we headed off to the pier where we got on a boat. The boat was really slow, but we went out to another island. I don't remember what it was called, but it was an island that was actually on top of a coral reef. There some of us got into kayaks and others put on snorkeling gear. I got into a kayak. It was clear so that you could see into the water, but it was hard to see. After a bit, I realized that it would be easier to see by snorkeling, so we went back in and I put on snorkel gear.
I wish I had brought my water proof camera case because it was awesome. It was way better than snorkeling in Key West. I saw a yellow stingray, touched a sea cucumber, and basically felt like I was swimming among the fish. It was great. I even became comfortably enough snorkeling that I attempted diving down. I think I could consider myself a pro now.
(Left - Independence decorations in Nassau) Eventually we had to go in and head back to Nassau. From there I hurried into town to get some free pendants and a free charm for my charm bracelet. Then I went back to the ship for dinner.
After dinner I was going to head out on the town with a couple of people, but I had to go to the bathroom. When I was done, I thought they had left the dining room. Later, I found out that they were waiting in there for me. Oops! It's so easy to lose people on a cruise amongst all the other people.
So since I couldn't find them in the dining room, I decided to check if they went downstairs. They weren't there, so I decided to check outside. (Right - Night in the Bahamas) They weren't there, either. I thought about going back inside, but I figured by the time I got back in, I wouldn't be able to find them, so I decided to walk around. I got some nice pictures of the sunset, and walked down the town. All the shops had closed early because it was Independence Day for them, so the streets were pretty deserted. After awhile, I decided I shouldn't be walking around by myself. A key factor in that decision was being propositioned by a 14 year old native boy. He came up to me and said, "I'm a virgin and haven't had sex, would you have sex with me?" I was a little taken aback, but said no and continued on. On my way back to the ship, I ran into the people I was going to go out with originally (along with a bunch of other people).
Since I was now with a large group of people, I decided to stay out. They didn't believe me when I told them what had happened.
We went to Senor Frogs, a famous bar. There wasn't too much going on when we got there, but we started dancing. (Left - In the front: Kristi, me, Diane, Kelly, Trisha; In the back: Trent, Ryan, and Chris) Soon after, other people started joining in. We started the party. Then we kept it going when Shane, a guy from our group, was pulled onto stage. He had to dance, and if he did good he would win everyone from Utah a free shot (he is from Utah). If he did excellent, he would win everyone in the bar a free shot. Well, he won everyone a free shot (we didn't take ours, though). We danced some more, then I got pulled onto stage with a bunch of other females to dance. After awhile, I got down. It turned out I got down just in time because it went down hill from there. Shortly after, we left.
We heard from others later that after we left the party died down (what can I say, we are the life of the party!), but then the alcohol started to take effect and it got really bad. (Right - Elephant towel creature. Housekeeping would leave various towel art in our rooms. It was pretty cool and interesting) We cut out just in time.
We walked around a little more and relaxed. Then we went back to the ship.
Back on board we went to see the Love & Marriage show. That was funny. Then we went Latin dancing. That was fun, but since I'm not very good, it wasn't fun for too long. Plus, I only know how to salsa, and only a little. Soon, we went to watch the ship leave port. We ended up talking into the wee hours of the morning.

Key West

This morning, we arrived in Key West (which is part of Florida, which means it is still in the US. I guess people often think they are in a different country while there). I got up early to go on a shore excursion. (Left - again, the air was so humid, that you couldn't really see through the moisture in the air. This is a picture of the ship through the sticky air. I tried to get a picture of myself, but I am hardly visible. I've never seen such humidity before, and I wouldn't want to live in it. Though if I had to, I suppose I would get used to it. I just hope that I would have air conditioning, otherwise I would have to get used to always being wet) We went out on a catamaran and went to a portion of a reef where we went snorkeling. It was fun, even though it was hard to see anything. I did see a giant lobster. (Right, me on the catamaran with our cruise ship in the background). That was pretty cool, but I wish I would have seen a shark. Oh well. Maybe some other time.
We rode back to Key West and arrive in the afternoon. From there we went shopping. I guess Key Lime Pie was invented in Key West, so we stopped at Kermit's Key Lime Store. I got a piece of Mango Key Lime Pie which was delicious. Then I continued on my way. (Left - Melanie, Kristi, and I on the catamaran)
There is a hot sauce store that is famous. I guess it was featured on the food network, or something like that. I stopped there and tried a few of their sauces. Then I continued shopping with a few people. I bought a skirt and a swimsuit cover up. I also received a free charm bracelet from Diamonds International. It was pretty cool.
Some people from our group ate lunch at Wendy's, but I couldn't bring myself to do that when I can eat at Wendy's anytime that I want. (Right - if you look closely, you'll see some fish that I saw in this picture. I have no idea what kind of fish they are, so don't ask. The fish were kind of small, so that made the snorkeling a little disappointing. It was pretty, but it definitely could have been better). Instead, I went back to the ship for lunch. I ran into Colette in the Windjammer, so we were able to have lunch together.
After lunch I went to the Gotta Dance dance rehearsal (to perform at the final show). (Left - Can you see the lobster in this picture? He kind of blends in with his surroundings, but he is there coming out from under a rock. That was probably the most exciting thing that I saw while snorkeling). There were a few people from our group. I have a feeling that most of the people who came will not actually be performing with us on stage. (Right - Me in the water. Don't snorkelers look so cool? It was much easier to stay afloat than I remember. But that may have been the aid of the vest . . .) After rehearsal, I sat down with some people and talked with them. Then I went to get ready for dinner. It was formal night.
I really enjoy dressing up every now and then. I stayed in my dress after dinner, went to Karaoke (I dance during one song, and sang with a bunch of people for another one). It was fun. They didn't have a very good song selection, but I still enjoyed myself.

After Karaoke, I changed out of my dress because there was a pool party. I didn't want to dance a lot in my dress and get it all sweaty. We danced for a while, but they started repeating the music. (Left - Kermit's Key Lime Shoppe) A bunch of us went up to the top of the ship to talk. Again, I was out late, but it was worth it.

Jenny, Ryan and me inside the hot sauce store. I learned that Jenny and her friend Jaime both went to Jerusalem the spring after I did! It was pretty exciting to find someone else who had shared a similar experience to the one that I had had.

Formal night, waiting at the elevator to go up to dinner

Miami

Yesterday, Colette and I began our trip by driving 6 hours to Minneapolis. It was a long drive, but we made it safely to our hotel. This morning we woke up early to take a shuttle to the airport. (Right - me at the Minneapolis airport) The flight was long, too. I didn't realize the flight to Miami was such a long one. When we arrived in Miami, we stepped outside to wait for our ride to the pier. It was so humid, you could SEE the moisture in the air. It was crazy. Of course, it looked like it had just rained, and shortly after we arrived, it started to rain again.
The ride to the pier wasn't too long, and even the lines to check in and get on the ship were not too bad. After we stepped on the ship, I was a little overwhelmed. I had no idea which direction to go. Luckily, once I got used to it, it wasn't so difficult to find things.
Colette and I had an inside stateroom on deck 2. (Left - Colette and I on the shuttle to the pier) We went down to our room to drop off our stuff. Then we decided to get some lunch. We went up to the Windjammer where they have a buffet of food. It was pretty good.
After lunch, we walked around the ship a little, taking pictures, getting used to the layout, and waiting for the meet and greet set for 5:00. Before that, we had a muster drill. I'm not sure what muster means, but everyone had to be on deck and accounted for. (Right - me inside our stateroom. I slept in the bed on the left. In the foreground on the left you can see the door to our bathroom which was tiny. Still, it's not like I spent much time in this room . . .)That was rather boring because we had to wait until all 2600 passengers were on deck. Then we walked around some more.
At 5:00 we met some of the other LDS singles traveling our our cruise. Supposedly there are 60 people in our group, there were maybe only half of that at our meet and greet.
After that, we watched the boat pull out of harbor before heading up to dinner. Colette and I dressed up in skirts for dinner. It was very fancy. We have 6 other people at our table besides the two of us.
(Left - me on the deck of the ship with Miami in the background). After dinner, we went to the welcome show. That was good. I learned that who ever wants to will have the opportunity to learn and perform a dance before the entire ship. I think I'm going to do that. It'll be fun. After the show, we walked around a little before running into some people from our group. We went to see the end of Finish That Tune. It was a fun game to watch. Right after that was a salsa dance class. Naturally, we participated. We learned three steps: (excuse the spelling) kumbiya, singer, & mambo. After we had learned, there was the chance to actually dance. (Left - Colette holding up our fancy restaurant's menu. For the most part the food was good. But if we didn't like it, we could always send it back) We stayed for a bit, then went up to a different party to dance. That was the Top 40s dance. It was fun.
We stayed out late, and on my way to my room, I walked with a friend through the Schooner Bar. As we walked through, a group of people called out to us. We didn't know them, but joined them for a bit before we continued on. (Left - Buddy, Diane, Colette, and I at the Welcome Performance). It was fun.