Yes, that's right. We do still blog...at least for a while. Yes, I will eventually go back and post pictures and details of Aruba, London, and Seattle as well all the goodies about being newlyweds in a 50 year old house. First and foremost though, it's cruise time!
As our first anniversary approached, my 30th b-day passed and Brad's approached, I decided that we should celebrate with a quick getaway south of the border. I had spent many a long weekend over the past 15 years enjoying mother/daughter (and one mother/daughter/father) trips down to Cozumel as well as mother/daughter cruises to the same destination, but Brad had never been. I thought it was time my husband got to experience my little getaway and be able to join in on the Cozumel conversations. After a week of scouring the internet for good deals, we finally found the perfect cruise...the 5 day Carnival Ecstasy cruise to Cozumel and Progresso. It was the best of all worlds...Brad would get to see Cozumel and experience a cruise, we would both pick up a new destination in Progresso, and best of all, it was SUPER cheap.
For months, we talked about the cruise, the excursions, the drink of the day, the sites and attractions. We read up on Progresso, tried to find the best snorkeling spot in Cozumel, and started shopping for shorts, sunscreen and new flip flops. The excitement was uncontrollable, and the weeks seemed to drag slower than they had even before the wedding.
Yes, we discussed the whole drug cartel war going on in Mexico (remember that?). People were being beheaded! But none of them were American tourists that we knew of, and certainly no red-heads, so I felt we were safe. Regardless, we promised the parents that we wouldn't be going on any unauthorized journeys into the jungles searching for Mayan ruins just in case the drug people were waiting for us. And then one Friday night late in April, I flipped on the news and heard this little blip about a flu bug spreading in Mexico. Flu? Who cares? Big deal. They spent less than 20 seconds talking about it. Saturday, it was still just a blip. Sunday, it wasn't even on the news. But Monday? Ah yes, swine flu. Need I say more? Suddenly the world was forbidden from travelling to Mexico. Carnival and the other cruise lines stranded passengers on cruises to nowhere. Imagine just swimming in circles around the Gulf, waving to Cuba, Mexico and the oil platforms and tankers as you passed. AGONY! We were 2 weeks from travelling and they were cancelling all Mexico ports of call. What were we going to do?!?! I didn't want to just sail around for a week.
With a week to go, we finally got the news. Our 5 day cruise to Mexico was now...a 7 day to Jamaica and Grand Cayman! Go swine flu! (ok, not really go swine flu, but you get the idea). Off to Galveston we went!
Galveston was still a war zone from Hurricane Ike. I couldn't take pictures because I was too busy just staring. Entire blocks of homes were leveled to the ground or fenced off for demolition. Every home and building still standing was undergoing repairs. The old oak trees that once lined Broadway were either dead or sick. Stores still didn't have basic supplies. The old hotel that one stood on the water was missing a huge chunk of its wall and all of its bridge. And it was here where we began our adventure...
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment