Cruisin'

We're finally on board!  We hadn't planned a get-away this year and as the summer rolled on, working in the yard and in the office and around the house just got the better of us, so here we are in late October, on board the Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas, looking forward to 9 days of fun in the sun.  We started out Thursday morning, with a trip to the temple and then on to Baltimore, where we parked and walked right into the terminal (just like going to the mall).  Once on board, the world just went away.  The weather couldn't have been more beautiful, we could actually wear our bathing suits on board while still in Maryland!

We came across this gheko while walking the streets of San Juan.  He posed for the camera.  I think he was thinking, "if I don't move, they can't see me."

Paul climbed over a wall and down an embankment to get to this rock.  This area of the San Juan shoreline is littered with rock wall ruins, some even out into the water.  We walked along the waterfront road to a public beach (about 1.5 miles) across from the Marriott there.

Just off the ship in St. Thomas - we walked to the downtown area where we shopped the quaint stores hidden in the rocky alleyways.  You can see our ship docked in the background here, as Paul, once again braved the boulders (all the while juggling two frostys). 

Our view of St. Thomas from the ship.

On Samana, Dominican Republic.  No need for a beach umbrella - just park your chairs under any of the readily available palm trees.

We were forced to walk through these beautiful views to get to the beach on Samana.  The grass was as lush and thick as a down mattress and the palm trees were doing a graceful ballet to the rhythm of the island breeze.

Our last port - Labadee, Haiti, where we took the leap out of the dragon's mouth.  Actually, we road a zipline (called the dragon's breath) from the top of a 500 feet mountain on one corner of the island, across 2,600 feet of ocean to the beach on another corner of the island.

This area is called the dragon's breath because a pool of water nestled in the rock to Paul's right has an opening that runs to the shore.  As the waves crash, it creates a sound within this pool that sounds just like a dragon breathing - eeriee

The rock on Labadee must be volcanic in nature - it is very sharp on every edge.

This part of Labadee is leased by Royal Carribbean and was one of our favorate ports.  There are many beaches, the food was included and hammocks are plentiful; But, there is no place like home and we were anxious to get back and start the holidays.