Day 71 - Home!!

Well I don't really know if it should be Day 71 or 72 as we lost half a day coming over the International Date Line! The flight from LA to Sydney was long (almost 15 hours) but not too bad considering. The chairs recline right back so you can actually get to sleep. The kids slept for most of the night- Caitlin and Josh were too tired to even wake up for dinner, Kaleb was awake but too tired to eat. I had Kaleb asleep on top of me for a long time which made it hard to sleep but after he moved I must have had quite a good sleep too, I only managed one movie on the whole flight!

We arrived a few minutes late into Sydney which was a bit stressful as we only had 90 minutes between to make our connecting flight. We raced to get our bags and waited and waited.... By the time we got through customs and over to domestic transfer our flight had closed. Luckily there was another only about an hour later so we didn't have too long to wait.

Managed to watch two movies on the Sydney to Perth leg! Arrived in Perth and walked through arrivals saying to Kaleb, 'wouldn't it be nice if just once there was someone to meet us at the airport'. We walked through the doors and there was Rachel and Susan!!! And balloons!!  It was so good to see them and lovely to have familiar faces welcoming us home.
  

Back home and the house looks fantastic thanks to our amazing housesitter, Deb!  The animals are almost cuddled to death by the kids they are so happy to see them.

Kids were all asleep by 4pm as I unpacked and started washing.

 

By 7pm Ian had joined them. I'm still going with the washing and getting ready for work tomorrow. Not bad considering it is now 11.30am Miami time and I haven't slept!! Back to reality! 😥

Until next time........

Day 70 - Los Angeles

Well this is it- our last day!! Up early to finish packing and then down for breakfast before heading off for the long trek home! Drove to Fort Lauderdale where we had to drop off the car, stopped for a quick Docker photo for the boys and then checked in for our first flight to Atlanta. Only a short 90 minute flight, just enough for us all to watch the new Diary of a wimpy kid movie (well almost all of us- Ian watched Beauty and the Beast!).
 
A short wait in Atlanta and then back on board for our flight to Los Angeles! Managed to fit in another couple of movies before landing. Now sitting at LAX awaiting the long flight back to Sydney and then home! It's going to be a long night!

Day 69 - Miami

Our last day!! I don't want it to end! Got up and had a really nice breakfast at the hotel, scrambled eggs, waffles, pastries, etc. (I'm so needing to go to the gym when we get home!)

Decided to head to the Everglades and have a look. It's amazing, we drove only 20 minutes out of Miami and we saw alligators and turtles in the little canal running along the highway! We got out to take some photos but there were so many gigantic mosquitoes we didn't last long out of the car!!

Headed down to the Indian village and started driving down the Tamiami Trail and then realised we had somehow missed the entrance to the Everglades! Drove back and missed it again. Tried one more time, found it and it was closed! The road was flooded and there was a ranger there stopping anyone from entering. We then saw the signs on the ground, obviously Hurricane Irma had wreaked havoc on the Everglades and their signs.
  
We decided we had seen enough alligators anyway and definitely enough mosquitoes so we headed back towards Miami. We stopped on the way at The BBQ Pit for some fried gator and frogs' legs. I must admit I'm quite impressed with how adventurous the kids have become with their food, even Kaleb! The gator was quite nice, a little tough I thought. The boys loved the frogs' legs, I couldn't bring myself to do it! I kept picturing these little frogs hopping around and I lost my appetite.
 




A quick last stop at Dollar Tree (the kids favourite store) for some plane supplies and then back to the pool for the afternoon relaxing and swimming! I can't believe this is our last day!!


Took a vote for where to have our final dinner- Cici's or Denny's. Unfortunately the girls were outnumbered so it was boys' choice which was Cici's! Yummy food though and the dessert white chocolate pizza is to die for!!

Day 68 - Miami

Pulled into Miami about 7am. We got up and finished packing and then headed up for breakfast. People were already disembarking but we weren't in any hurry. Enjoyed a leisurely breakfast (another yummy omelette) and then went to lounge by the pool for one last time. The kids and I tried to fit in one last game of mini golf but we didn't have time to finish it! 😥 As we got off they were already putting up the welcome signs getting ready for the next lot of cruisers.

Caught our shuttle to the hirecar place and picked up our car. Still no USB port for Harry Potter - Joshua was devastated!😂 Went to our hotel, Comfort Suites, the same one we were meant to check in to last week! Luckily this time, they were open, but we were early and our room wasn't ready. We went and layed by the pool and had a swim for a couple of hours until it was ready and then headed to Wendy's for a quick bite. The salads are so yummy!!

Came back to the hotel and everyone except me had an afternoon kip and then we headed off for dinner and the baseball. Dinner was Taco Bell, the new favourite! Quite ridiculous that you can get a taco, a burrito, a quesadilla, con queso dip, cc's and a drink for $5!! And it's yummy!!

Then headed to Marlins Stadium to watch the Miami Marlins take on the New York Mets. It was a really cool, indoor stadium that until a couple of weeks ago had a fish tank behind home plate. Recently it was hit by a foul ball (who would have thought??) and cracked! 😂
  
There were heaps of foul balls and some t-shirt giveaways but nothing near us and Kaleb was getting desperate lol! He waited until the girl wasn't looking and then snuck down to the front where he managed to get 2 baseballs. Then one of the guys threw one to Caitlin so they all got one!! Very lucky!  The Mets not so much - went down 13-1!

  

 

Day 67 - At Sea

Up again at 8am, with only 2 full days on the ship we didn't want to waste them sleeping in our cabin!

Another yummy breakfast at the Lido and then headed to the pool! After a little rest and a few chapters of my book I went to the gym, thought I should do something to try and counteract all the food!
 
Josh and Caitlin went off to their club which was doing a scavenger hunt around the ship. Ian and I stayed around the Lido deck, reading, swimming, relaxing, drinking....a perfect day really! We watched the Hairy Chest competition which was pretty funny.
 
Ian, Kaleb and I went to play bingo. Kaleb was very upset he missed some of the bingo the first day lol!! First game we were looking for a line. There were people standing up (meaning one number to go) after only 5 numbers out!! There were 7 people standing when Kaleb's second last number came out and he jumped up out of his seat he was so excited! The very next number was the one he was waiting on! He was so excited!! He ran down to the front and did his happy Bingo dance. Unfortunately someone else won as well so they had to share it - $75 each! We were pretty happy with that. We had spent $52 on bingo so we still came out on top!

Back to the pool for another cocktail and a bit more mini golf and beanbag tossing before heading for showers for dinner. Another beautiful dinner although I think everyone was really still full from lunch! The waiters all got up and did some dancing which was fun. The kids were very brave and tried the escargots!
 


We all went off to watch the comedian Lester Bibbs in his first show (the PG rated show!). Ian and Kaleb both ended up on stage, it was pretty funny.


Kids went off to the clubs and Ian and I went and watched the show. It was all really good music and dancing and singing.
 

There was a 80's and 90's music trivia on afterwards at the Seven Seas Lobby so we headed there. It was so much fun. It was run by Felipe the cruise director and Isaac who ran the bingo. They were hilarious. They played a bit of the song and as soon as someone knew the title they yelled Stop so sometimes you only got half a second! At the end they asked for the title and then everyone sang the song. There were so many people watching and singing and dancing, on all 3 levels and even in the elevators!! It was awesome!

Went back to the room afterwards, was planning to check on Kaleb and head to the next comedy show but couldn't get in! The card wouldn't open the door! Went searching all over the ship for Kaleb, who as it turns out had gone back to the room, deadbolted the door so our keys wouldn't work, and fallen fast asleep! No amount of yelling or knocking could wake him. We had to call security to let us in!
Packed up our  bags to put outside- can't believe it has gone so quickly. We had pizza and watched Back to the Future on TV while we were waiting for Caitlin to get back.

Day 66 - Nassau

Arrived in Nassau about 8am so by the time we got up and out to breakfast we were pulling in to Nassau. It was amazing watching this giant shop manoeuvre into a parking spot next to the other cruise shops lol!  We had breakfast (the omelettes were delicious!!) and then went for a bit of a swim and relax by the pool. The boys were waiting desperately for the waterslide to open but it was still closed. We went and did the Harry Potter trivia quiz. Joshua was really good and knew 16 out of the 17 questions!
 
After another quick swim we got off the ship to have a look around Nassau. It was very hot and a bit like Bali with people bugging you for taxis and to get your hair braided. We wandered around and looked at a few shops. We went past the straw market and had a bit of a look there too- it was really hot though so a bit hard to get interested in shopping (hard to believe I know!).
  
We walked down to Junkanoo Beach which was one of the few free beaches. It was packed but it was gorgeous. Beautiful, clear water and lovely to cool off in. The drinks were really cheap too but the kids (especially Kaleb) were keen to get back on board the ship.
 
Back on board we headed to the pool where we spent most of the afternoon. Had a swim and a spa and a few games of mini golf, and managed to fit in a yummy cocktail while lazing by the pool reading my book. The waterslide had finally opened up so the boys had a great time going up and down. We all joined in the beanbag toss competition. Josh was leading for ages before he got beaten.
 
Had showers and headed up to dinner. The kids were keen to eat early so they could head off to the kids clubs- it was awesome!! The dinner was beautiful and it was just perfect sitting by the window looking out over the Bahamas. Can't get much better than that. After a delicious meal and scoffing down the dessert the children all left us for their clubs and Ian and I had a lovely, quiet time chatting and finishing off our dessert and another glass of wine!
 
We went to watch the really bad comedian  again - thought we'd give him another chance. He was actually much better than last night! Stayed to watch the second comedian Lester Bibbs who was really funny!  We then went to watch the show where we were meant to be meeting Kaleb after his club finished. The dancers and the costumes were fantastic. I was a bit worried that I hadn't seen Kaleb come in but thought he must have been watching it from downstairs or gone back to the room. Went downstairs after the show and there he was - as soon as he saw me he burst into tears. 😥
Took him back to the room and put him to bed and then Ian and I went to watch the midnight screening out on the pool deck - John Wick 2 - it was really good but a bit violent. Caitlin was enjoying the freedom of her kids club being open until 1am! She is going to be so grumpy tomorrow!

Day 65 - At Sea!

Up this morning and all packed to head off on our 3 night Bahamas cruise aboard the Carnival Victory! The kids were so excited- especially Kaleb!! The thought of 24 hour food is almost too much for him lol! We had to check out by 11am but weren't due to check-in at the port until 12.30pm but with no car we just headed straight there. Arrived at the port by 11.30am and we were sitting down at the buffet by 12pm! It was such an easy check in! All Kaleb kept saying was that it was the best day of his life!! 😃

  

  
Went for a wander around the shop while we were waiting for our cabin to be ready. Checked out the gym and the pool and registered the kids with the kids clubs. By 1pm we were in our room, changed into our bathers and ready to go! We went and sat around the pool which had no water in it. I was a little concerned about this! By later in the afternoon it had been filled so we were able to have a swim and a spa. The waterslide was not open though so the boys were a bit disappointed.
  
 
We went up and played some mini golf which Kaleb absolutely loved! I think he would spend all day there if he could!
 
We had an 8.15pm dinner time slot but wanted to make it earlier so got ready and headed to the restaurant. They changed it no problems and gave us a beautiful table right by the window. The food was delicious and the kids were all very adventurous and ordered off the main menu rather than the kids one.


Caitlin and Joshua went off to their club after dinner and we dropped Kaleb at his. Aahhh peace!! We went to play Bingo, no winnings for us 😥, and then picked Kaleb up and went to the show. It was really good but pretty quiet in there. We took Kaleb back to the cabin and put him to bed and then Ian and I went to watch the comedians. First up was Lester Bibbs. He was really funny and there was a huge crowd in there. The second guy was not great. I felt really sorry for him as everyone was leaving and no-one was laughing!

We went for a wander to check out the late night pizza but the line was so long we gave up- it's not like there won't be more food (and copious amounts of it) tomorrow!