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posted by Stephen @ Thursday, March 05, 2009 Comments: 0

Our Cruise

Bahamas

We just came back from an amazing cruise to the Bahamas. We left from Norfolk Sunday June 1st and came back Saturday June 7th. We visited Nassau and Freeport in the Bahamas.

We had a blast and I've put up lots of pictures. We bought an underwater case for our camera and took some great pictures in the crystal clear Caribbean water.

The ship itself was massive. 2,700 passengers 1,100 crew. There was a movie theater on the Lido deck which you could watch from the deck chairs. There was also a water slide, saltwater pools and hot tubs. There was a large indoor theater inside which had shows every night. I got pulled up on stage one night to be part of a 'silent movie' skit which we have on DVD. There were activities each day like trivia games, comedy shows, bingo, dance lessons, and much more. There was buffet food available 24 hours - we must have hit the ice cream at least 3 times a day. In the evening, there was a sit down dinner. Twice on the cruise this was a formal dress occasion. We had the same wait staff each night, so they knew what we would like each night (tea/coffee, beverages etc).

Every night our room steward would leave us a towel animal on the bed, which was cute. Our balcony was awesome. We spent a lot of time on it watching the ocean, the stars, arriving and departing ports etc. I fell asleep on it twice. The balcony was worth the extra money as I knew that we would enjoy the time away from the crowds to enjoy the beauty of the Caribbean alone.

When we got to Nassau, we battled our way through the local vendors who are posted just outside the cruise dock. It was a colorful town and the port was right in the middle of it. We searched out a local beach and brought some goggles and the camera. We saw so much life in the shallow water - urchins, crabs, colorful fish.

The highlight of our trip came the second day in Nassau. 'Stuart Cove's' brought us to 3 reef spots on their boat the 'Zambizi'. They organize snorkeling and scuba excursions. Stuart Cove's is famous - they have been highlighted in Discovery Channel's shark week, helped film 2 James Bond movies, Flipper, Jaws 4, and much more. They had pictures of every star you could imagine that went down to dive with them, including Patrick Stewart, Matt Damon, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, Salma Hayek and lots more.

The first site was a shallow reef where we spotted lots of fish. There was so much to look at it was hard to take it all in. I wish we were there for hours. The best part of the first site was a stingray that swam under us shortly after we got in.

The second site was at a plane wreck. We brought fish food with us this time and it sent the fish crazy! I got bitten twice by some feisty yellow tail snapper! The wreck was about 25 feet below the surface and Heather showed me how to free dive down to it. She also grabbed a huge starfish off the bottom for a great picture.

The third site was with some Caribbean Reef Sharks. They get to about 12 feet and are scavengers eating mostly dead or dying fish. We had to hold on to a rope from the back of the boat for this one, as the palms of our hands are the same color as the chum that attracts them to the site. They came within kicking distance of us. What an experience! When we got out, the ship's crew threw some feed into the water for the yellow tail snapper. The snapper then went crazy, which in turn sent the sharks into a feeding frenzy as the snapper thrashing for the feed acted like dying fish. The sharks that had been swimming peacefully with the snapper moments before were now frantically gobbling them down. It was an amazing 'show' which made it clear why they call it a feeding 'frenzy'.

After that we went back to our beach in Nassau for one more dip in the ocean there. We saw a huge hermit crab, angelfish, parrotfish and what we think is a nudibranch - a slug like creature about 15 inches long.

When we got to Freeport, we had to get a cab out of the port which was industrial. We went to Port Lucaya and went banana boating there. There was just the 2 of us on board. The water was choppy there so no good underwater pictures from there.

Once we left the Bahamas, it was nice to get back. Even though we couldn't have done half of the activites with her, we missed Ciara a lot. It was great to see her reaction when we got back "Mommy!.....an' Daddy!"

To see all of our pictures click on the picture above. Make sure you read all the captions. The best way to view them is to click the "SLIDESHOW" button in the gallery. The pictures will all be full size and the captions will appear at the bottom of the screen.

posted by Stephen @ Sunday, June 08, 2008 Comments: 5

Graduation - Bronnadh Céimeanna

Daniel's Graduation

This album has pictures of when I went down to Mississippi for Daniel's graduation. He graduated Summa Cum Laude - with a 3.95 GPA. One of only 2 in the Business School and top of the Marketing/Management class. You go girl!

We met up with the Lowerys when we were down there. That was great as most of you know they're all extended family to us. Also I got étouffée when I was at their house. mmmm.

The little dog you see is Seamus, Daniel and Chasity's new family member. He's unbelievably tiny and cute. The lad in the brazil jersey you see is Dwayne and beside him is Scarlet. They are friends of Daniel and Chasity - which means they're friends of ours. The wee girl is Aidan, Scarlet's daughter. I had a great laugh with them, they're a lot of fun.

I was only gone for a few days, but it was amazing how much I missed Heather and Ciara. I was glad to see them again when I got back, though I hate leaving family behind. Seems no matter where I go I leave someone behind. We'll have to work on all moving to the one area sometime in the future!

Oh and I threw in a few more pictures of Ciara.

Click on the picture above to see the album. You can then click on each image for an enlarged version.

posted by Stephen @ Friday, May 16, 2008 Comments: 6

Of couches, buttercups and football

More of Ciara

There are 2 sets of pictures here. One is Ciara destroying our living room, er, I mean lining all (I mean all) of her toys on the couch. The other is of her discovering the joys of football and buttercups on a freshly cut summer lawn, with Pooh of course.

Click on the picture above to see the album. You can then click on each image for an enlarged version.

posted by Stephen @ Thursday, May 01, 2008 Comments: 4

Shawn and Krista's Wedding

Shawn and Krista's wedding

April 5th Shawn and Krista got married in Gloucester, Virginia. Shawn is Heather's cousin, who's more like a brother. The pictures were (expertly) taken by our friend Elizabeth Judson. The other wee baby that you'll see in the pictures is Keagan, Shawn and Krista's son, Ciara's first first cousin (not a typo - think about it).

Click on the picture above to see the album. You can then click on each image for an enlarged version.

posted by Stephen @ Thursday, May 01, 2008 Comments: 3

Tornadoes

Yesterday a few tornadoes hit Virginia. Two were in the Suffolk area, about an hour south of us. Also one hit Richmond, about an hour north. One of the tornadoes was, according to early reports, at least an F4 that left a 25 mile long trail of devastation (F4 = Winds 207-260 mph). Thousands are without power as you can imagine.

200 people were injured and miraculously there are no reported fatalities.

posted by Stephen @ Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Comments: 0

Busch Gardens - na Gairdíní Bhusch

Busch Gardens!

Here we are at Busch Gardens on the 13th April. Ciara had a blast on the rides and got soaked in the kids' water park. She met some new friends along the way and flirted with some boys on the boat ride!

Click on the picture above to see the album. You can then click on each image for an enlarged version.

posted by Stephen @ Monday, April 14, 2008 Comments: 4