Our Anniversary Trip

 We have talked about doing something special for our 10th Anniversary since probably year #2.  We started saving two years ago because I knew we couldn't do it otherwise.

 We looked at lots of options and figured a cruise would be our best best.  We've always wanted to go on a cruise and since one ports from Galveston (5 hours away), it was reasonable.

 On our way to Galveston we stopped in Houston. We heard there was a neat water feature near downtown, so we stopped to check it out.  It was cool. (top 2 pictures) 

 We got on board the ship around noon Saturday.  We looked around and then ate lunch.  Lots of people were already living it up on the Lido deck where there was a small pool, huge jumbo screen, and flowing drinks.  We decided to check out the onboard spa so we could enter to win some freebies.  We also took an official tour of the ship, but bailed after a bit since we could hardly hear the guide.

 We spent the day at sea on Sunday.  Joel and I played an Ultimate Couple game, competing against 5 other couples on stage.  Joel named every article of clothing I was wearing (down to the name brands!) when the guys were blindfolded and had to remember their girl.  Then I did the best job wrapping my guy with toilet paper to resemble a mummy.  We ended up taking 2nd place because Joel couldn't quite hold a coin between his cheeks long enough to drop it in a bucket.

 We had no idea the whole game was being recorded and would be broadcast constantly on the ship's channel in every single room for the rest of the cruise.  For the rest of our trip, we got random comments as people would pass us saying "you're that couple; good job" or "we were routing for you".

 We enjoyed having a nice dinner every evening.  It was a treat not to cook or meal plan or decide what someone else was eating for so many days!

 We stopped in Progreso, Mexico on Monday.  We took an excursion to see the Mayan ruins at Uxmal.  Our tour guide was great--giving us lots of information but without boring us.

 We chose the ruins at Uxmal because you can climb them!

 The structures are amazing.  This particular building was designed in a way that caused voices to be amplified.  The leader could climb up about halfway and speak to the people and be heard by everyone.

 These ruins aren't just one or two little buildings.  The grounds are quite expansive.

 We stopped to get some lunch and do some shopping on our way back to the ship.

 We stopped in Cozumel on Tuesday.  We were one of three ships porting that day.  

Talk about tourism...10,000 people coming to one city for one day!

 Joel really wanted to snorkel in Cozumel but we both agreed we didn't want to pay a lot just for that.  So, we didn't sign up for an excursion.  Instead, we got a taxi once we were off the ship and had them take us to a little place where we could rent snorkel gear and just relax.  Our little beachfront was a small area, but the guy at the snorkel hut took us out to explore.  He stirred up a stingray, pointed out a variety of fish, and caught a shrimp to show us up close.

 Even with lots of sunscreen, we still got scorched!

 It was so humid outside that my camera wouldn't unfog unless we were inside.

 Every evening we were greeted with our beds turned down, 

a program for the next day's events, 2 chocolates, and fun towel creations.

 We had plenty of time to just be silly.

 With our skin a little pink from too much sun, we decided to hang out mostly indoors on our last day at sea.  We took a class in towel sculpting.  We also enjoyed the comedy shows, karaoke, and evening performances.

 It was a great trip.  We were really glad we made the choice to go on a cruise and 5-nights was just the right length for us.  We felt spoiled rotten the entire time and had lots of time to reconnect, reminisce, and recharge for the days, months and years ahead. 

Joel Fletcher, I cannot imagine my life without you.  The last 10 years have, indeed, been wedded bliss.  I look forward to many more decades of adventures by your side.