Tuesday, September 21, 2010

15th Anniversary

Kristen and I took our first vacation without kids to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. We sailed for seven days on Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas. I highly recommend it.
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We left from Miami.
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Miami Beach as seen from our balcony.
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The dining room was gorgeous and the wait staff was friendly.
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Night number 2 was a formal night.
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Kristen's sister Cami and her husband Aric joined us on the trip. They were the perfect travel companions.
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We avoided hurricanes but did catch some rain once or twice.
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Each night we were greeted by a different towel animal.
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Our first port was in Labadee, Haiti.
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Kristen and I went on a jet ski tour of the coast. Aric caught this picture of us on the wave runners from the ship. We are on the far right.
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Strolling around the beach.
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Haitian Coast.
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Royal Caribbean leases this private peninsula for its guests. The merchants were locals and had a Haitian flavor, but the rest of the beach seemed more like Disneyland.
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Outside the Sphinx Lounge. Many game shows and activities were held there. I went 7 or 8 rounds on their version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, but I missed the grand prize of free dinner at their specialty restaurant.
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Pulling into Jamaica.
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Jamaican port Ochos Rios.
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Kristen getting prepped for the zip line in Jamaica.
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I'm ready.
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Here comes Kristen through the Jamaican jungle.
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Look how buff she is.
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My version of Tarzan.
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Pancake fungus.
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Jungle Jane letting her hair down.
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Taking tender into Grand Cayman.
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The cruise ship parking lot in Grand Cayman.
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Some jetty.
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Some snorkeling.
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We took a boat to snorkel by a shipwreck and a reef.
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Pirate Ship.
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Prancing around the ship on Formal Night #2.
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A view of the ship's central promenade at night.
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The ferry boat that took us from the island of Cozumel to Playa Del Carmen on mainland Mexico.
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Kristen in Playa Del Carmen.
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A beach club in Mexico.
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We took a tour bus down to the Mayan ruins of Tulum.
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It was hot out.
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But the views were cool.
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Tulum is on the coast.
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The water was spectacular. I can see why the Mayans chose to build a city there.
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Another shot from the ruins.
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After Tulum, we drove down to a beach for lunch and a swim.
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I would have liked more time just relaxing here.
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I could see getting used to this kind of beach.
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We got back to the ship in Cozumel fairly late in the evening.
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The ships at dusk.
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We sent emails to the kids when we could. This is a picture of our stateroom.
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The casual dining wasn't too bad. There was always something good available. We especially loved the incredible views from the Windjammer Cafe.
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The "Titanic" view from the bow.
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The End.
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