Walk on the ocean

We had lots of fun line dancing on the pool deck, and listening to all the cool live bands they had on the boat. We even made it to the spa to get massages, and I even ran 13.5 miles during the week. Try running on a boat! It's not as easy as it sounds. And don't forget shuffleboard! Neither of us was very good, but you can't be on a cruise ship and not play shuffleboard.
We had lots of fun excursions. Our first island stop was Aruba, where we rode on the super-fun banana bus. Just picture a huge black bus driver, open windows, a multi-colored banana bus, and some jammin' tunes...good times. We rode the banana bus to a pier where we got on a pirate boat called the Jolly Pirate. This was probably one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. We rope swung off the pirate boat into the ocean, and they took us out to some cool snorkeling spots, including a sunken shipwreck. Here we are at the helm of the ship enjoying the "hammocks".
Later that evening as we were wandering around Aruba, we came across a local festival, where we got to experience some live music and dancing. I love all the bright colors of the Caribbean! We also made friends with the steel drum band player, who promised to mail us a CD of his band!
Our next port of call was Curacao. This town was so stinkin' cute! I love the colorful waterfront buildings. We went mountain biking with Hank and Frank and searched all over for a music store.
Here we are in St. Maarten where Caron is getting a lesson in steel drummage. We also went kayaking and snorkeling on St. Maarten and got rained on. The snorkel guide brought fish food so all the fish were swimming right around us...very cool.
Our final island stop was St. Thomas where we got in touch with our inner pirates. I am related to Sir Francis Drake, the pirate himself, so it runs in my blood! Here we are at Blackbeard's castle. With all the pirate paraphenalia I bought, I will have to throw another pirate parrrrty soon.
Also on St. Thomas, we went to Maegan's Bay Beach, which apparently is one of the Top 10 beaches in the world, according to National Geographic. It was simply lovely. Mr. Maegan, who owned the land, refused to let anyone build there so it would be open solely for beach use.

So there you have it. Fun, sun, indulgence....loved it all. Now it's time to start planning my next vacation! P.S. Check out Caron's blog for her version of the adventure!