Monday, February 29, 2016

Castaway Cay

Castaway Cay, Disney's Private Island, far surpassed our expectations.  After the fabulous day we had there, we are a little bummed we didn't get to go there last cruise.  The weather was warm and just the right temperature.  We relaxed, explored the island, had the famous Castaway Cay lunch and did a lot of snorkeling.










 The girls used the rest of their underwater cameras and took them on the waterslides.





 But the snorkeling was beyond wonderful.  Just Denny, Em and I snorkeled and we spent several hours doing so.  They buried old pieces of boats, a Mickey and Mini statue and an old piece from the 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride,  It was awesome and the three of us enjoyed doing it together.
Sea Cucumber














Castaway Cay was the perfect last day!!!

Stingrays in Grand Cayman

In Grand Cayman, we did a Stingray Excursion that took us to Playa del Carmen.  The boat ride there was nice and the weather was wonderfully warm. Once at the sandbar, we got to hangout in the Caribbean and learn about, hold and touch wild stingrays.  It was pretty fun. The guides would swim over the stingrays and catch them just the right way to hold their tail and stinger.  We got the girls underwater cameras, so these are some of the pictures that came out.













The water so clear and fabulous I could have stayed there all day. 

Rio Secreto in Cozumel, Mexico

In Cozumel, Denny, Em and I went on an amazing excursion.  We were a little concerned when we first looked into this excursion, as it was for 8 hours.  We talked to Disney and they assured us they wouldn't leave us and that this excursion was well worth the 8 hour time commitment.  We were some of the first off the boat in Cozumel. Along with about 10 other people, we got into vans and drove about an hour.  From there we got into wet suits, helmets, lifejackets and water shoes.  We were briefed on some instructions and then hiked for about 15 minutes until we got to the entrance of the caves.  This excursion explores underground Mayan Caves. Our group of 15 had a guide and he explained how we had to function as a family and at most times, stay single file when hiking over coral, stalagmites, stalactites or swimming. And that instructions would come from the person in front of you.  We spent over an hour swimming in these caves 70-80 feet underground.  It was one of the most surreal and beautiful things I have ever seen. So peaceful and amazing.  There were scary moments for sure, as Denny and I would look at each other and wonder if bringing our child underground was a good idea, but that feeling would pass quickly and Emerson enjoyed every minute of it. It was a once and a lifetime experience and we are so glad we got to do it together.   


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

The Characters

She still loves seeing and taking pictures with the characters and would look at the days schedule and plan out which ones they wanted to see.