Day 9- Jan 1- Georgetown, Grand Cayman

And so we returned to Grand Cayman for the third time.  We had a popular excursion planned-Stingray City- but it wasn't until about noon, so we left the ship early to shop.  We figured we had better get it done before we went swimming in the ocean rather than after, when we'd feel gross.  This meant we had to drag our stuff on the boat to the sandbar, but it turned out not to be a big deal.  We went with Maddie.  Becki had a shopping spree at Del Sol (a store full of stuff that changes color in sunlight), but the only thing I bought was a small gift for Kim and a fun wrappy skirt thing that matched my bathing suit.  We also stopped by a store for a free replica pirate coin.  They had real ones there, but they were way expensive!  Kinda cool to see, though.

 The first time we were in the Grand Cayman, Nicole wouldn't let me stand near the sign, and I was not pleased (top).  This time, I got prime sign standing rights (bottom).  Take THAT, Nicole!

My new wrappy skirt thing.

When noon rolled around, we met up with the rest of the family for the excursion.  I squeezed in some time for a hot dog at a little bar nearby.  It was seven dollars, but it was indisputably the best hot dog I've ever had.  And I'm not just saying that because I was starving.  It was all cut down the middle and perfectly grilled and awesome... that hot dog will be in my dreams for the rest of my life.  If I ever go back to Georgetown, that bar will be my first stop.

There was a short van ride to the boat, during which the only thing we learned was that Grand Cayman was an expensive place to live.  The boat ride was only about a half hour, and it was warm and enjoyable.  When we reached the sandbar, all the people on the boat were crowded in the back to get off.  It took forever to get to the front of the line because people were being real sissies about the temperature of the water.  They took their sweet time and I watched multiple people jump in and scurry right back out in a panic, as if the water was giving them boils or something.  I was so fed up by the time I got there that I went down only a step or two before pushing off and catapulting into the water.  "That's my girl!" Aunt Eileen commended me.  It wasn't really that bad.  It was cold, sure, and I shivered for about two minutes, but our bodies quickly adjusted and we could enjoy the stingrays.

 $5 million houses

This excursion was just as fun as I remembered.  We were surrounded.  Big ones, little ones, the stingrays were everywhere.  I had purchased a disposable waterproof camera that I quickly used up.  Hopefully I got some good pictures; the film hasn't been developed yet.  The only downside to the whole experience was that we didn't get to feed them because the excursion leaders ran out of squid.

I like this one the best!  Don't I look like a stalker? :D

When we got back to the room, we immediately ordered a bunch of food from room service.  As a result, we weren't hungry for dinner and decided not to go.  We watched the new movie Going The Distance on pay-per-view.  Then we watched the ship sail out.  Right before we were ready to leave, the small model pirate ship sailed next to the cruise ship.  We waved at the people on it, who waved back.  Once the pirate ship got to the front of our ship, the 'blew' one of the cannons at us and we could hear them all laughing.  It was hilarious.  Before leaving the harbor, our ship made a complete 360, spinning around in a circle, to celebrate the new year.

I'm going to add that the little pirate ship made Becki and I yearn to watch Pirates of the Carribean.  Now, on my previous three cruises, I have brought this DVD in the hopes that I could watch POTC in TC.  However, on my previous cruises neither I nor anyone else felt the urge to ever watch it.  So OF COURSE, on the ONE CRUISE I leave it behind, we ache to see it.  Of course.

Day 10- Jan 2- At Sea

Alas, the final day of the cruise was the worst.  It was spent mainly packing and trying to get things straightened out.  Luggage tags, room bills, prepaid gratuities; it was a nightmare.  And packing, packing, packing.  We had a lot of stuff.  For dinner, I had New York strip steak, which was dry, so Becki won dinner with her turkey.  This made the final score for the cruise Becki-4, Paige-4, so we tied.  Everyone wins!  After dinner we tried to sort out the last of our issues, but this wasn't resolved until about 11:30.  We had been planning on going to the casino, but by the time we got there, our $6 blackjack table was filled up.  We decided to play the single deck table, where the minimum bet was $10 instead.  I put down $50 and Becki $40 and we got to play for a good long time before we left, me with $116, and Becki with $100.  We decided that paid for our claddagh rings pretty well.  We went back to the room and straight to bed, around 1:30 AM.

Day 11- Jan 3- Travel, travel, travel

I am writing this on the plane ride home, so this all happened today.

We got up at 7:15 and had breakfast at the dining room on the ship.  After sitting around forever, we left the ship and sat around again in line (If you've ever undergone a debarkation, you know what I mean.).  Once safely back in America, we went with Adam and Zachary and their parents to the rental car place.  Since our plane didn't leave until 5 and it was now around 11, we were planning on finding a mall to hang out at.  They gave me the map, and miraculously, I got us to one!

The first thing Becki and I did at the mall was get some real, outside-world food.  Dinners aside, eating on a cruise ship for ten days was a bit like eating in the Student Union as a freshman.  You start to appreciate new tastes.  Then we went to a bookstore, where I discovered a book series I remembered reading when I was 13.  I remembered enjoying it, but the library didn't have all the books back then, so I gave up on it.  I haven't seen it since, but here it was, re-published in a new form, three books in the series in one big book.  I recognized it immediately, despite its new appearance and the fact that I have long since forgotten its title.  I guess it's always been in the back of my head.  It was a great find.  We'll see if my 13-year-old self had good taste in books.

After the mall, the rest of our day was spent at the airport.  Adam's family's flight left an hour before ours, so we had a while to wait.  The highlight of my day?  Getting to talk to Will again!  I missed him so much!  Oh, and my parents.  I guess I missed them too.

So there's my trip, guys!  Thanks for staying tuned, if you made it all the way to the end!