Fun in the Sun!!

Our beautiful and gigantic ship!

Our state room--we absolutely splurged for the one with a balcony!
It was perfect actually because Don and Shelly and our new friends, Mike and Diane, and us were all in a row so we opened up the balcony separators to have happy hour!


Our friends Ken and Chad who donned bath robes and captain's hats the first day as we set sail! It was hilarious actually and they got lots of laughs from fellow sailors.

Okay, since I'm an equal opportunity poster I had to include this one for those of you have seen me dance. It's a sad, sad sight and it's even sadder that Charlie got a picture! ;) They didn't call me "Elaine" for nothing!

A view of St. John

we took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John and visited the most perfect beach although it was a near death experience getting there in the back of a pick-up truck up winding mountain roads! See below...it may look like we're smiling but really we're just trying not to freak out!

This shows a very small portion of Charlie's scratches from the Eco-Death Hash. Luckily he didn't get stung but his arms and legs had the worst scratches of the group.

Charlie tried out the ship's surfing and boogie boarding

I preferred to stay in the sun with Shelly and Beth

Don and Shelly at dinner one night

Beth and Russ

luckily all 6 of us had the same table!

I didn't get in the pool once, but I hit the hot tub every day!

A Red Dress Run is a traditional Hash event so on the last night everyone busted out their red dress finest. We got lots of looks and lots of questions, especially in the dining room, but it was fun! This picture is off all the KC hashers (minus Russ actually)

Here's a picture of our whole group. There was 30 of us which seemed like a good number because we could get to know just about everyone by the end of the week.

So I know it's Thursday but I've had a long week since Sunday!! :) It's hard to get back into a real schedule that doesn't include lounging and eating at my will, not to mention transitioning back into snow and ice...blech! This past week Charlie and I were able to take a cruise without our children...can I get a whoop whoop?!

For a number of years now Charlie and I have frequented the local Hash House Harrier group and although we love to hash, the kids have put a bit of a damper on our outings. Well this year we were notified of a Hash Cruise event and it was an offer we just couldn't refuse. Luckily we have some super amazing family members who were able to watch Sophia and Leo so Charlie and I could get away. Charlie's sister, Anne, and his mom, Sue, stayed at our house for the first part of the week and then took the kids over to my mom's house to finish up the week. I left presents for the kids to open each day and we called in about once a day too, although for the first 4 days Sophia was just too busy to talk to us! LOL! The kids did great and Charlie and I had just an amazing time!

We boarded Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas and set sail from Port Canaveral to Coco Kay, St. Thomas, and St. Martin. The island weather was perfect and I literally forgot it wasn't summer back home...big mistake! ;) Anyway, our group of Hashers was mostly from the US, one couple from Scotland, but we were closest with two couple friends we see regularly. It was great traveling with them again! Beth, Shelly and I went to Vegas last spring and decided that we're excellent travel partners since we have usually the same agenda, although I think I shop too much for them, so we signed on for more fun with the cruise. On board the ship we did a couple hashes plus there was a "hash" scheduled for St. Martin that was such a disaster it was later dubbed the Eco-Death Hash. Long story short it was a nightmare when 15 hashers got lost in the jungle with no trail and no water for more than 3 hours! Luckily they all made it out with nothing more serious than scrapes and wasp bites and everyone made it back aboard the ship, although it was a bit touch-and-go for a while!

We're really hoping that maybe (maybe??!) this could become a yearly trip for us and if not with the group then definitely something without the kids. It was so nice to reconnect with my darling husband and just be together. It was just so fun...one person even asked us if we were on our honeymoon!