Back to Work

On my first morning back to work, I was greeted by flags flying at half staff.  Reality hits hard at the end of R&R.

Back on KAF

We lose time flying back to the Middle East.  I left Orlando Saturday evening and arrived in Dubai Sunday evening.  I ended up waiting 2 hours for Bimi’s flight to arrive then we took a “ladies only” taxi to our hotel.  I jumped in the shower while Bimi went to the hotel restaurant to grab us a salad.  Just four short hours after we were in bed, we were up again.  We caught a taxi and headed to the airport for our flight back to KAF.  Luckily there was a Starbucks in the small local terminal where we could get a coffee and muffin.

Flying from Dubai is not direct and we had to make a stop at another military base on our way.  The first flight wasn’t full so Bimi and I had our own row of seats across from each other.  I quickly fell asleep and was woken by the flight attendant telling me we were landing.  During the layover we are allowed to walk around but we cannot get off the aircraft.  I watched a movie on the second flight and got back to Kandahar just after lunch.  By the time I got back, Mike and the kids had already had two full nights of sleep in their own beds.  From the time I arrived at the Orlando airport until I walked into my room was 37 hours.

Day 17 – End of Cruise and Sad Good-bye

We were up early and enjoyed one last buffet breakfast together on the ship before I disembarked to get the rental car.  Mike and the kids hung out in the cabin to wait for our scheduled departure time.  I was glad to be able to get through the maze of people and onto the shuttle without being encumbered by luggage.

In my research I found that renting a car was actually less expensive than a shuttle to the airport for four.  It also provided the opportunity to do something other than wait at the airport.

Yesterday the movie “One for the Money” came out.  I am on the sixth book in the series by Janet Evanovich and the movie was based on the first one.  I really wanted to see the movie so we went looking for a movie theater.  Following the turn by turn directions on my phone we ended up back at Universal Studios City Walk.  There was no entry charge but it still cost $15 to park.  The movie was rated PG-13 so I was willing to risk taking the kids.  Sadly, I didn’t think the movie was good at all.  I do not recommend seeing it.  If you enjoy the books, I definitely do not recommend it because it ruined the characters I envisioned in my head (which are of course way better).

After the movie we made our way to a Wal-mart so I could pick up another bottle of moisturizer to take with me.  Then through a drive-through and off to the airport.

It is so hard to say good-bye.  Holding a crying 8 year old while watching an 11 year old try not to cry makes it worse.  Because we were leaving from the same terminal I expected to be able to sit with them at the gate but once we were through security I realized that I had to take a tram to my gate.  We said our final good-byes and with a heavy heart I was off.

My flight was uneventful.  Luckily this direction has a tail wind so the 16 hour flight to get the US takes only 14 hours to get back.  But really, 14 hours on a plane is insane.  I am sitting at the airport waiting for my friend Bimi to get in.  Her flight is over an hour late but all we are doing is going to the hotel to rest before our early morning flight so I’m in no hurry.

The Dubai International Airport is a fascinating place to people watch.  I am not much for fashion but I am completely intrigued by how people dress in the Middle East.  In addition to the clothes, the shoes alone are interesting.  Because Dubai is such an international destination, there is a great deal of diversity.

Day 15 - Cruise Day 7 – At Sea

Sadly today is a day at sea and the last day of our vacation.  The kids were up early and out with their new friends.  They spent the whole day together leaving Mike and me to relax and enjoy the quiet.  We made our way to some afternoon trivia and entertainment but it was otherwise uneventful.  We were able to enjoy one last meal as a family.

Day 14 - Cruise Day 6 – Costa Maya, Mexico

We woke again to an alarm to get the day started early.  We were at breakfast when we docked at Costa Maya at 0700.  I had made reservations with an independent tour company, Native Choice, instead of booking through the ship.

The Costa Maya port itself was a destination

Chi-Chi in Costa Maya

We disembarked to dark clouds and made our way through the port to the small check in counter.  We were ushered to a nice air conditioned van where four other people were waiting.  With our driver and tour guide, the ten of us headed to the Chacchoben Mayan ruins.  It was very humid but fascinating.

Where's Chi-Chi?

Spider monkeys were quite the distraction.

Wrapped arround the tree is a "strangler" fig.  It
shoots upwards to form a canopy of leaves and
roots grow downwards to reach the nutrients and
water of the soil.  Over a number of years however
it will be competing with the host tree for
water and light.

In come cases the Fig wins, resulting in the
death of the host tree.  In the photo above, the
dead tree has rotted away.

It looks so innocent in the beginning.

After exploring the ruins, we headed to a public park.  Under a beautiful shelter we were served wonderful chicken fajitas with rice and beans.  Then we had an hour to swim in the “blue lagoon”.  The water was a gorgeous color but too cold for us.  Mike and I sat on the beach enjoying margaritas while the kids played in the sand.

Samantha gave the water a try but she didn't get far.





After we returned to the ship I wasn’t feeling well so I laid down while the kids took off with their new friends.  Turned out that Jason’s new friend Vincent has a sister, Cassie, who is also 8 years old.  The kids all ran around together for the rest of the night.  Mike got me up to try dinner but I was quickly back in bed.  Mike stayed with me and watched TV.

Day 13 - Cruise Day 5 – Rotan, Honduras

We were up early for our day in Honduras.  I thought we docked at 8am but it turned out to be 10am so we had a little extra time.  I had decided on a private driver for this port.  I had hoped to visit a Honduran elementary school and donate school supplies but when I contacted the school I learned they would be on a break.  There was a place we could play with monkeys so we did plan to do that but other than that we were planning on playing it by ear and following the advice of our private tour guide.

After breakfast we were in the room packing up for our day when the captain made an announcement.  The winds were too rough to dock safely so we would not be able to stop in Honduras.  We would spend the day at sea slowing making our way to arrive at our next port as scheduled.  We were obviously disappointed.

Surprisingly Carnival didn’t have a boiler plate plan to roll out so we waited while they came up with a schedule of activities for the day.  Jason headed out to find his own entertainment.  When he surfaced again he told us he had been playing corn hole and that he and his partner were smoking the other players and he wanted us to come play with him.

When Mike and I got down there we were amused, but not surprised, that he had made friends with a sizeable group of seniors (the grey haired kind, not the high school kind).  He had been playing with them for a couple of hours and was his charming self.  He spent most of his day there. 

Mid afternoon the whole family went to play Win, Loose of Draw in the theater.  The group was divided into two teams and the host selected the drawers to come up on stage.  Jason was called on early in the game to draw.  The first two drawings were “goat” and “Elvis”.  When Jason reached in and selected what he was supposed to draw, the hosts asked him if he knew what it was and he said no.  They whispered to him, he nodded and was set to draw.  He successfully drew enough to get one of the guys on our team to call out the correct answer… “Push Up Bra”.  We got a point and the whole theater good a good laugh.

Jason went back to corn hole while Sam went to get an airbrush tattoo.

Sam took a break from her Chi-Chi writing
assignment to show off her tatoo

Late in the afternoon there was a laser tag game.  An inflated bounce course was set up in the theater.  Only five people were allowed to play at a time with each game lasting five minutes.  The waiting players sat in rows in the theater.  Jason sat next to another 11 year boy from Michigan.  They decided to play mini golf together.  Sam, Mike and I went to play mini golf too, only we stayed behind them a few holes.

After dinner we had a quiet night in the room and were in bed early in anticipation of another great port.



Kids in their room



Day 12 - Cruise Day 4 - Belize City, Belize

Wow!  We are two for two on amazing shore excursions.  Today we were in Paradise…also known as Belize.  Ships are unable to dock and must anchor offshore and tender to the shore.  I had researched the different options and numerous reviewers were frustrated that passengers booked on Carnival excursions were able to tender first.  The cave tubing sounded interesting but the hour long trip to get there didn’t.  We learned from our last cruise that long bus trips should be avoided.  We booked a Carnival tour that left directly from the ship so we didn’t even have to tender.

The excursion was a “Barrier Reef Snorkel with Beach break”.  A 65’ two story, high speed catamaran picked us up right at the side of the ship.  From there we took a 30 minute ride directly to our snorkel location.  Sam wasn’t interested in being in the live version of an aquarium again and opted out of the snorkel portion.  Jason, Mike and I had a blast.  Unlike Cozumel, we were out in the middle of the sea without shore in sight.  Even though there were plenty of guides, both in the water and in kayaks, I still felt better having Jason close to me so I spent most of the time snorkeling with one hand on the tail of his lifejacket.  The coral was beautiful and we saw lots of fish trying to hide as well as a couple of little stingrays.

After an hour of snorkeling, we took a quick ride over to Bannister Island.  It is a tiny private island with chairs, tiki huts, restrooms and a bar.  As soon as we disembarked from the catamaran, we found some chairs in the shade.  I had read that it could be quite crowded but today it was just our boat and a handful of others so it wasn’t crowded at all.  We had a large breakfast so we weren’t ready for lunch before we left.  I had gone to the deli on the ship and got sandwiches for all of us and stored them in the zip lock bags to bring with us.  Snorkeling worked up an appetite so we took a few minutes to enjoy lunch under the shade of our cabana.

There were some complimentary kayaks on the shore that we decided to take for a spin.  Sam was Mike’s passenger while Jason and I teamed up to row together.  We we’re far from shore when Jason and I flipped.  It was hard to get back into the kayak and laughing didn’t help.  Luckily Mike rescued us and we were back on our way.  Jason did a great job and we made quite a team. 

Back on the island, Jason went to explore the rest of the island while the three of us swam.  It was absolutely perfect.  Delightful temperature, beautiful scenery…  Mike and I enjoyed imagining a life here.  We don’t consider ourselves a sit on the beach family but I had never been to a beach like this.

Sadly we had to head back and we boarded the catamaran for our final trip back to our ship.  The rock and roll music with the unlimited complimentary rum punch set just the right tone to end our amazing trip.

Day 11 - Cruise Day 3 - Cozumel, Mexico

Cozumel was amazing!  Wait, we only went one place so maybe I should say Chankanaab Park in Cozumel was amazing!!!

Whenever I go to a new country, I feel obligated to do and see as much as possible.  This trip I was in such a need for a break, the scheduled activities were much more laid back.

When Sam found out we were headed to Florida, she said she didn’t want to go to Disney.  That wasn’t negotiable but I did e-mail both kids and asked them what they did want to do.  Jason wants to go skydiving.  I looked into it but he is too young.  Samantha said she wanted to see Winter (the dolphin with the prosthetic tail), which we did, and swim with dolphins.  As is typical for me when planning trips, I did extensive research on where to go.  Dolphin Discovery in Cozumel seemed to be preferred slightly over Discovery Cove in Orlando (run by Disney).

The cruise lines have no-compete agreements with Dolphin Discovery so cruise passengers are unable to book dolphin swims directly… unless when they ask, you tell them that you are staying at a rental instead of coming in on a cruise.  Not only did it save us over $200, but we were on our own instead of being packed in a tour group.

When we were in line at the buffet for breakfast, the woman behind me asked what excursion we were going on.  With Sam in earshot, I told her we were going to Chankanaab Park.  As Sam walked away she said they were going swimming with the dolphins.  I told her we were too but that the kids didn’t know.  She said “I’ll see you on the tour”.  I said, “No you won’t; we booked direct”.  She said that she had tried and was told she had to book through the cruise line.  She asked how I was able to do it.  I said “I lied”.  She said “What a great idea…I didn’t think of that.”

Mike had a conversation in the buffet line too.  When the woman in front of him learned that this was all of our first times snorkeling, she told him to bring corn flakes.  Hold them in your hand until you get into the water then when you open your hand, all the fish will come.  So we grabbed some little boxes of corn flakes from the buffet on our way out.

As soon as we were off the ship, we took a quick taxi to the park.  I had read that the park was a wonderful place to swim and have lunch as well, so we planned to spend the whole day there.  (Another advantage of not booking through the ship.)

The park had not been open long so we easily found beach chairs.  I had purchased snorkel equipment at Wal-Mart before we left and we checked out life preservers.  Armed with our gear, we hit the water.

Before my last tour, Mike had purchased a camera for me that has rubber seals.  The thought was that it would be better to use in the super dusty environment of Afghanistan and I didn’t want to ruin my good camera.  It turned out that I didn’t love the camera with the seals and I brought the good one back to Afghanistan after R&R.  On this R&R Mike brought the camera with the rubber seals because it was also an underwater camera and it worked great under the water.



Samantha



Samantha's feet

Jason

Jason's feet

Mike and Jason



Samantha



Mike, Jason and Samantha

I loved snorkeling.  I am really glad that Mike learned about the corn flakes too because the fish were all over us.  Three of us enjoyed snorkeling.  Samantha was not a big fan.  She didn’t hate it, but she was the first to get out of the water.  She didn’t like the salt water and she wasn’t a big fan of the fish being so close to her.

After snorkeling we ordered lunch from the waiters on the beach.  It was fabulous and reasonably priced.  Our dolphin swim was scheduled for right after lunch.  I was a little worried that Sam might not enjoy swimming with the dolphins after her experience snorkeling, but she didn’t seem apprehensive.

We met at our assigned time for a quick orientation.  Then our group of 8 went to get life jackets and joined our trainer in the water.  The dolphins are in the ocean (Caribbean Sea) and a chain link fence creates the enclosure with a deck walkway on top.  There are smaller pens on both sides and a big open space in the middle.  We were tossed around some by the waves and even little fish could get through the fence and join us.  It was a very natural environment.  The dolphins appeared to be treated very well.  The water was a refreshing temperature that we adjusted to quickly.

The interaction with the dolphins was an amazing experience.  I had planned this event for Samantha but I enjoyed it just as much if not more.  We were allowed to take pictures but we bought the CD of the ones they too.  We had several interactions with the two dolphins in our group. 

Give a Kiss

Receive a Kiss

Dancing

Swim up and touch our hand

Cradle in our arms

Dorsal Tow

Sam missed them on their first pass.

Foot push (Sam passed on this one.)

Check out his feet.  All the way out of the water.

It was an absolutely amazing experience!  I loved it.  The tour description says the experience includes 30 minutes in the water with the dolphins.  It felt like much longer than that.

After the specific behaviors, the dolphins chatted and did some leaps.

That is our cruise ship in the background.

They also danced with us.  The trainer told us to put our arms up like ballerinas and twirl around.  We did and the dolphins came over and did it with us.