spring break

about a month ago, jeff and i went on a cruise to st martin, st thomas and castaway cay.  jamie, carrie and the girls also went. because of jeff and jamie's work we got to go on this trip a few weeks before the new ship, the disney fantasy, actually launched.  think of it as a final test run for the crew and cast members to make sure everything is just right before they officially open to the public.

before we went i had this sinking feeling that spending days at sea might not be the best way of travel for me.  pretty soon after we arrived (maybe 48 hours later) i succumbed to seasickness and it stayed with me for the rest of the week. no matter what i tried i still felt queasy.  the bonine didn't work.  the sea bands didn't work.  nothing really seemed to help.  i guess it was a self-fulfilling prophecy.

that being said, the ship was beautiful, the state rooms were very comfortable (trust me, as i spent the majority of the trip in bed feeling nauseated), and the spa treatments were amazing.  i had an 80 minute hot stone massage looking out onto the open water and they also have these incredible ridiculously warm ceramic beds that you can lay on and read for hours. if you have kids who love disney it is definitely a great travel option.  every parent there seemed to be thrilled to have time alone with their partner while their kids were beyond ecstatic to get to spend copious amounts of time at the oceaneer's club, soaking in all of the disney magic.

thankfully, on the last day i was feeling better and we went kayaking and parasailing while we were in castaway cay.  even though i am terrified of flying, i absolutely love to parasail.  it's so peaceful being way up in the air, soaring ever so slightly through the sky.  if you have never done it i strongly recommend it.  jeff and i actually did a tandem parasail, which meant that i ended up hanging from him like a baby bjourn.  definitely odd, but it was so wonderful to be the only two people way up in the sky for those five minutes.

as always, jeff is our family photographer and does a phenomenal job at capturing all of our travel moments.  so below are a few snapshots from our trip:

in the beginning, everything seemed to be going so well

 
 and then it happened

while stuck in bed, i read a lot

i mean a lot

 

while i was lounging in bed, jeff was relaxing and having a great time. thank god jamie, carrie and the girls were there. (but i should note that he was very concerned about me, but who wants to be stuck with a sickie all day?  i had to push him out of the room, assuring him i was fine.   again, great husband.)

every once in a while i peeked out onto our veranda and got this lovely view

and we had the sweetest housekeeper who insisted that "jessica, you need monkey to cheer you up" when i was having a rough day

we rented a car in st martin

 

and for some reason, this guy's campaign made me happy, so jeff made me happy and took a photo.  after all, he cares. (*i need to follow up and see who won the election)

and running across little moments of beauty like this make you forget about feeling terrible. this is one of my favorite photos jeff took. we were crossing under a bridge on the beach and he stopped to notice this.

i didn't last very long on our day at st thomas, but here's a great view of the island

 

back on the ship, we did have some great meals

and emma and addie were loving every minute

thankfully i was better for our planned adventure day of kayaking and parasailing on castaway cay

and then when i was feeling better, my goofy side came out. (for the record, someone once told me i looked like a seahorse. i had thought it was time to put that to rest.)

i have to admit the morning we arrived at port canaveral, i was super happy to be getting back on land