WOW...I can't believe I've neglected this Trip Report for so long. My summer was completely insane and the start of the school year has been almost as crazy! Finally, it seems like things may be settling into a routine and I'll be able to finish this report. Thanks for not giving up on me!
So...Where were we?? Oh right, in the
Bahamas! (Sounds fabulous right about now!) Anyway, we had just finished up our day of sightseeing in Nassau and Jeff and I were getting ready to get back on the beautiful Monarch of the Seas for dinner and the rest of what the evening had to offer. As we made our way through Festival Place with the rest of the cruise ship crowd, there was one thing we needed to do before reboarding. We had not been able to call home since we left Port Canaveral on Monday as our cell phones did not have at sea service and I wasn't going to pay the $7.95 per minute for Ship-to-Shore phone service. I had told my mom that we would call from port if we could get an international calling card. So...we went in search of one. There was a whole bank of payphones in the terminal, so we went about getting a calling card out of a cute little vending machine. Not as easy as you would think....after many complications with it refusing our bills we managed to get someone to help us and we got the card. UGH..nothing is ever as easy as it seems!
Card in hand, we made our way to a pay phone and dialed our home number. It was about 5:30 or so and we had deliberately waited till later in the day so that the boys would be home from school. My mom answered the phone and after initial hellos she sounded kind of funny and said to me, Before you talk to Jonah I should tell you something. Oh boy...that doesn't sound so good. Apparently Jonah was not well.
On Tuesday, he had spent some time in the nurse's office. There was no fever at that time so after letting him rest, he went back to class with no call to my mom. He went to school Wednesday and was not feeling well again, so went back to see the nurse. This time he was running a fever and they called my mom to pick him up. Awww...poor Jonah! He was complaining of a sore throat and really just generally not feeling good. Luckily, I had left a medical release for my mom and she had already called and spoken to the pediatrician. If Jonah was still running a fever the next day, she was all set to take him in. My mom is really a rock star! After updating me on the day's events, she put Jonah on the phone. Poor little guy! He started crying as soon as he heard my voice.
I felt horrible. Here I am in paradise and my baby is sick and misses mom. I did my best to let him know I loved him and that his Grammy would take good care of him and then passed the phone to Jeff. ( So I could get all emotional, of course...can't have Jonah hearing how upset I am!) We talked to all 3 boys and my mom got back on the phone. She knows me so well...she told me DON'T WORRY. Jonah will be fine, I'll take good care of him. You just have fun and don't worry about things here. Easy for her to say.
Well, what was I to do? After air kisses all around, and agreeing to call again when we docked in Port Canaveral on Friday, we said good-bye and headed back onto the ship. I knew my mom was fully capable of taking care of Jonah and I had to just trust that. Honestly, she probably babied him more than I would have! You know how Grammy's are...she had already bought him special popsicles and played games with him all afternoon. He was in good hands.
Back on the ship, Jeff and I wandered around for a bit and made our way up to the top deck for a pizza snack. With an 8:30 dinner, we needed a little something to hold us over!
After returning to our cabin for a little rest and showers, we were ready for dinner around 7:45 and decided to head out on deck to enjoy the beautiful evening. We were not set to sail out of Nassau until midnight so we could see the city at twilight and watch it come alive with nightlife. This is a picture of me at the stern of the ship looking out toward Paradise Island.
Paradise Island is where the Atlantis Resort is located. Although we didn't go there, I did snap this picture. It looks like a beautiful place.
Looking out over the tip of Paradise Island. This strip of land is said to be where all the celebrities have their vacation homes.
Just a cool shot looking up at one of the lifeboats.
The beauty that is Nassau Harbor at night.
All ready for a FABULOUS dinner!
These are our tablemates trying to figure out the trick our waiter was doing. He would come around with glasses, knives, straws, napkins, etc and tell us what we needed to do and then let us try to do it. When we were stumped, he'd come along and show us the trick. It was very entertaining!
After a delicious as always dinner, Jeff and I went back to our cabin to change for the evening's festivities. We were planning to catch the Love and Marriage game show and also the Quest...both of which we had been told not to miss! This is what we found waiting for us.
The Love and Marriage show was a HOOT! It was a take on the Newlywed game and 3 couples were chosen from the audience, a newly married couple, a couple married at least 10 years and a couple married over 40 years. The couples they chose were HYSTERICAL and we laughed a lot!
So fun!
Next on the evening line up of entertainment was something called the Quest. Now we had heard about this from our tablemates and had been warned that it gets CRAZY! It was actually only for guests over 18 so I had a feeling we were in for some adult humor. I was not disappointed! The game consisted of several teams that were pre-organized , from what I could gather. Meaning, that if you wanted to participate, you pulled together a team and got a team number. The Cruise Director had a list of things the teams had to present to him and they got points if they could do so before the allotted time ran out. At first, they were tame things like a copy of today's Cruise Compass (the daily schedule), but soon turned a little racy. Like, for example, at one point he asked for a MAN to bring up a woman's bra. There were women's shirts flying off all over the room! At one point there were men WEARING bras...YIKES!
It was amazing to me what dignity some of these people were willing to sacrifice for whatever silly prize the winners got! LOL!
Anyway, it was fun to watch!
Following that CRAZINESS, we were about ready to head up to the pool deck for the Midnight Buffet and Pool Party! We met up with out tablemates G & T and went up to check it out. The pool deck was packed with people and the buffet was INCREDIBLE! There was roast pig, barbecue, tables of fruit, breads, cold cuts, and tons of traditional Caribbean cuisine. We got pulled into a Conga line at one point, but mostly just sat and observed the festivities and enjoyed the food!
At some point, the ship departed Nassau, but we were too busy partying it up to notice much!
Yupthat's a pig's head.
Beautiful fruit carvings.
A view of the party!
It had been a long day and, at this point, we were getting sleepy. It was just past 12:30 am when Jeff and I decided to finally call it a night. We slowly meandered our way to Deck 3 exploring the ship as we went along. We had now been aboard for 2 ½ days and we were still finding things we had not seen. Like this little gem that I took a picture of just for all of you!
And this cool sculpture type thing that ran down the wall by a staircase.
What a day!! We had seen the beautiful Ardastra Gardens, took a walking tour of Nassau, gone to the Pirate Museum, eaten a local lunch, shopped in the famous Straw Market, enjoyed a delicious dinner, seen two hilarious game shows, and partied under the Bahamian stars. A good day by any stretch of the imagination! Tomorrow was our at sea day, so we had no plans but to relax and enjoy all the ship had to offer. Can't wait, but for now, off to bed!
I want to go to Nassau with you, Missy! You can do my haggling for me and I'll cut you in on the deal! 
I can't wait to see what you decide! The Key West/Bahamas area is a beautiful trip....and cheaper than either the Eastern Caribbean or Hawaii! 
for an update!! Glad to see you back Missy!
It sounds like you've had a very busy summer! We've stayed pretty busy around here too! Although, the boys are starting to get on each others nerves...which is how I know school is just around the corner!
I know I'm way behind, but I just read through your last two updates. Looks like you guys had a fabulous time! 
But I'm sorry to hear it involves a sicko at home! 
My summer has been CRAZY, but school starts next week, so hopefully, I'll get some more DIS time. 
