Travel – Page 14

Categories: Travel

Carnival Glory | Eastern Caribbean Cruise | Day 3

Our third day of the cruise was Monday, May 18, and it was an at-sea day! We desperately needed a calm, relaxing, peaceful day after the crazy that was the previous day.

I woke up around 9 a.m. but my mom was fast asleep, so I took my time getting ready before waking her up and forcing her to accompany me to brunch. 🙂

We ate brunch in the dining room and toasted each other with mimosas. The brunch was okay (I ordered a bagel and an omelet), but not outstanding. (I’m also not much of a breakfast person, so take that as you will.)

After brunch, we made our way outside to the Serenity Deck, which is located at the top of the ship. We found chairs, lathered on the sunscreen, and spent the next few hours relaxing in the sun. So divine! I read for a bit, played some games on my iPad, and then listened to a podcast. After a few hours, my mom and I took turns on the water slide (which was awesome!) and cooled off a bit in the pool.

A little after 1:30, we decided to pack it up and head down to the lido deck for lunch. We both opted for a burger and fries from Guy’s (gosh, so good! I miss it!) and watched the Hairy Chest competition while eating. (Not as gross as it may sound, haha!)

After our meal, we decided to head up to the room to get out of the sun. I had missed a few spots with my sunscreen and was already developing sunburn in those areas, so I needed to get inside! We played a few rounds of cards and then decided to take naps. Ah, glorious!

We woke up around 5:30 because we wanted to do a quick workout before dinner. We attempted to go for a walk around the jogging track but it was just too windy for my liking, so after just a few minutes, we found our way to the gym. I’m not sure what it was, but the minute I stepped into the gym, I felt this nostalgia for the gym environment. I didn’t realize how much it filled me with excitement to work out! There was just this energy flowing through the whole place. I definitely want to join a gym here in Tampa because you just don’t get that kind of energy from a tiny apartment gym – at all!

I used the stationary bike for 20 minutes and whew, was it harder than the stationary bike I have at home! Their level 1 resistance felt like what an 8 or 9 is with my regular bike. (I’m not sure what that means – is my bike at home too easy? Is the bike at the cruise gym too hard?) It was nice to bike with a beautiful view, though!

Workout

After our workout, we went back to the room to get ready for dinner. Tonight was elegant night, which meant dressing all fancy!

And dinner was fun! I really enjoyed our dinners on the cruise. The food was delicious and the company was outstanding. After our terrible dinner mates on our last cruise, I did not take this group for granted. It was so nice to have a personable group that got along so well!

After dinner, my mom and I went out to the lounge area to have fancy portraits taken.

We took two different sets of pictures – one in front of a cruise ship background and the other on a “fainting couch” with a plain white background. When we saw the pictures the following day, I was not expecting to love any of them. (I typically hate pictures of myself!) But I loved them all. Two of the pictures in particular really stood out for me and I hemmed and hawed about buying them. The only problem is that ONE 8×10 is $22. At the end of the day, the cost was just too much for a picture I’d probably never put up in my home. As much as I loved the pictures, I couldn’t justify the price. Womp, womp.

After taking pictures, we headed back up to the room, played a few rounds of cards, read for a bit, and then it was lights out at 11:45. Tomorrow would be a super fun day – speed boating and snorkeling in St. Thomas!

Categories: Travel

Carnival Glory | Eastern Caribbean Cruise | Day 2

On our second day of the cruise, Sunday, May 17, my mom and I woke up in Half Moon Cay, the Bahamas! This is Carnival’s private island and it is an incredibly beautiful place.

We had to meet for our excursion at 9 a.m., so we got up around 7:30, got ready, and headed up to the lido deck for breakfast.

A little after 9 a.m., we were taken by tender boat into Half Moon Cay and waited for our excursion tour guide to call us. We had booked a bike and hike tour for the morning and would have plenty of time to enjoy the beach afterward. So, we got our helmets, found the bikes we wanted to use, and then proceeded to begin the tour.

No less than thirty seconds into the ride (I mean, we seriously hadn’t even biked past the area where the bikes were kept), my mom hit an uneven spot in the road and fell off her bike and into the wooded area next to the road. It was so scary! I immediately threw my bike to the side and went to help. She had to have help getting up because these woods were sloped downward, so she couldn’t even figure out how to get up herself! Oh, boy.

When she got out of the woods (ha), we discovered the right side of her face was bleeding, so we had to go immediately to the medic to get it cleaned up, which meant we wouldn’t be able to continue with the excursion. We were bummed, but I was just glad my mom was relatively okay! She had a cut on the side of her face near her eye (and she eventually got a black eye), a cut on her arm, and then bruises on her legs. And also a major headache, which is understandable!

What followed was honestly one of the worst parts of the cruise. See, the problem was that we left one of our bags in a locked container by the bike location. This bag had our swimsuits and coverups, so there wasn’t a whole lot we could do in our workout gear! (Plus, we had to stay nearby the excursion place to get our bag back once the tour finished!) We got a drink at the bar and people-watched before walking over to the bike location to wait for the tour to end and retrieve our bag.

The tour ended up finishing 30 minutes past the time we thought it would (due to it getting started later because of Mom’s injury!), and then the tour guide lost the key to the container and we had to wait another 30 minutes for them to find it.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you know it will just be a small snippet of time in the grand scheme of things but when you’re in the moment it just feels like it will never end and you’ll be stuck in that moment forever?

Yeah. That’s what these hours felt like. The time just went on forever; it felt endless and annoying and frustrating. I felt like we were wasting away the short time we got to have in Half Moon Cay. I wanted to explore! (I probably wasn’t at my nicest at this point in time either. I’m a real brat sometimes, I must admit.)

Finally, though, the key was found, our bag was recovered, and our first order of business was going to the BBQ lunch (which was FREE since Carnival hosted it. Wahoo!) The lunch was okay, but since we got there so late (the barbecue started at 11:30, but we didn’t get there until after 1), there wasn’t much in the way of offerings.

After scarfing down lunch, my mom and I changed into our swimsuits and went to explore the beach! Since Half Moon Cay is a private island, there isn’t a whole lot to do, aside from the beach and excursions through the cruise ship, but I was really excited to spend a few hours relaxing on the beach after my stressful morning/afternoon. We actually managed to score a covered cabana. We swam in the ocean, in water so clear that you didn’t even need a snorkel to see fish and other sea life. We don’t have water like that in Florida, that’s for sure! And the water just felt… clean. Whenever I swim in the beaches near me, I always feel a bit gritty, but I felt so refreshed after the dip in the waters of Half Moon Cay.

I wasn’t sure how I would feel about being on a private island, but I loved it. I wasn’t too impressed with the Bahamas when I went last year (we stopped in Freeport and Nassau), but HMC completely changed my opinion. It was nice to have an island that was solely for cruise guests. It felt really safe and it was nice that it was just us. And HMC is also stunningly beautiful. I would go back in a heartbeat!

After our swim, we relaxed for a while on the beach before heading back to the ship, since the ship would be leaving port soon. (And I’m an anxious freak and must be back on board an hour before we’re supposed to be. Seven cruises in and I’m still scared of being left behind!) It was around 3:30 at this point, so we took showers, played a few rounds of cards, and then took naps! We’d had such a crazy day and had been in the sun for most of it, so we were really worn out.

That night, we got ready for dinner earlier than usual because we wanted to see the comedy show beforehand. My mom and I have found that we don’t really enjoy the “adults only” comedy shows because they are just… not to our taste. They can be a little vile, I’ll just say. (And let’s be honest: you don’t really want to sit and listen to sex jokes when sitting next to your mom!) Thankfully, they have a clean comedy show that’s for all ages nightly, which is the kind of comedy we enjoy! This comedian was pretty good (we already had a taste of his type of humor the previous night at the Welcome Aboard show) and there were laughs all around!

After watching the comedy show, we hightailed to the dining room for dinner! We enjoyed a very yummy dinner (I had a super delicious steak dish that I wish I could eat again!) and then explored the ship afterward.

And, since we are not very exciting people (well, I’m not. My mom definitely is!), we went back to the room, read for a bit, and then it was lights out at 11:30! I was really looking forward to the next day since it was a day at sea. I needed a calm, relaxing day!

Categories: Travel

Carnival Glory | Eastern Caribbean Cruise | Day 1

We left on our cruise – the seventh one for both of us – on Saturday, May 16. We had driven to Boca Raton the previous day, staying in a hotel (overrun by school-age boys who looked like they were competing in some sort of lacrosse match) and driving to Miami in the morning. While we could have driven up on Saturday, it’s a 5-hour drive and would have meant rushing around on Saturday morning. This way, we could wake up leisurely, have breakfast, and make the one-hour trip to Miami with ease.

Getting to the port and checking in was a breeze. We got there around 11:30 with all the other early birds, and it was probably 30 minutes from the time we got to the port to the time we entered the ship for the first time. Such a smooth process!

Since we didn’t have access to our room until 1:30, we found a spot on the lido deck and grabbed lunch from Guy’s Burger Joint. It was already pretty busy!

Around 1:20, we decided to make our way to our room and relax inside until it was time for the safety demonstation, which is usually around 3:30. Our luggage got delivered during this time and I unpacked while my mom slept (she wasn’t feeling too good at this point in time and I was worried about her!)

At 3:20, we left our room to head to our muster station, which was easy to find and thankfully, the safety demonstration didn’t take all too long! Afterward, we went up to the Serenity Deck for the rest of the afternoon. We got fruity drinks and watched the ship set sail from Miami! Eventually, people started leaving to get ready for dinner, so we were able to score a cabana where I took the most wonderful nap.

Around 6:30, we left to get ready for dinner. We decided on the late dining time again, but next cruise, I think I’m going to opt for early dining, just because we miss out on a lot of great shows with late dining.

I was really, really nervous about our dinner mates on this cruise. On our cruise last year, my mom and I were seated with a couple that we just didn’t mesh well with. Dinners were very awkward and we even opted for the buffet one night, just to avoid another awkward dinner with them! Well, I am happy to report that our dinner mates this cruise were AMAZING. They were so friendly and personable, which made the dinners so much fun.

We sat with two sisters, one of whom was around my age and the other a little bit older; two brothers who were around my mom’s age; two friends, also around my mom’s age; and also a mom and her daughter and her daughter’s friend, although they only came to the first dinner and then switched to the earlier dining time. It was a great group and we had lots of good laughs and conversation.

After dinner, my mom and I walked over to the Amber Palace, which is where all the shows happened. We watched the “Welcome Aboard” show, though it was less like a show and more like the cruise director talking about the shows. Hmm. We did get to see the two comedians on the ship do their bits! They were hilarious! (Especially because there was this stodgy old man sitting in the front row with his arms crossed, not finding anything they said funny… so of course, the comedians heckled him a bit.)

After the show, Mom and I went back to our room, got comfy in our jammies, read for a bit, and then went to bed around 11:30. Tomorrow, we had a busy day planned in Half Moon Cay – bike riding and hiking!

Categories: Recurring Series, Travel

A Weekend in Pictures: Savannah

My Savannah weekend was wonderful! I am so glad my mom and I decided to do this race and spend the weekend away in Savannah. It was a quick trip (we got in late Friday afternoon and left early Sunday morning), but it was really the perfect amount of time. Let’s recap! (And sorry… this post is going to be insanely long!)

Our drive to Savannah was easy-peasy! We hit a few slow-downs, but nothing major. We arrived around 3:30, checked in to the hotel (Hilton Savannah Desoto in the historic district.) The above picture was the view from our hotel room – pretty sweet!

After checking in and dropping our stuff in our room, we immediately headed downstairs to the expo. We were given some incredible swag – my favorite being the New Balance tote bag! It is roomy and made of really great material, so I can’t wait to put it to use! We also got a drawstring backpack and a pretty magnet. At the expo, Publix was there handing out free gifts: a strainer, earbuds, sunglasses, and an infuser water bottle. Fleet Feet was also there, and they had a fun wheel you could spin for some awesome prizes. My mom won a 20% off coupon and I won a 10% off shoes coupon. I’m hoping I can just go online and use it because what a great prize, yeah?!

After checking out the expo, we headed back to the hotel room with our loot and then relaxed for about an hour before heading out for dinner. I remembered Crystal Beer Parlor from the list of recommendations Jess had given me last year, and when I realized it was just half a mile from the hotel, I jumped at the chance to go! This place has so much history. It opened in 1933, making it Savannah’s second oldest restaurant. But this place first started operating in early 1900’s as a family grocery store.

For my dinner, I ordered the Classic Crystal Burger with a side of fries and a cider. All were fantastic! The burger was juicy and delicious, the fries were crisp, and the cider was yummy! (Cider, fun fact, is the only “beer” I will drink, and that is because it is not really beer. At least, that’s what all my beer-loving friends tell me, haha. It’s more like sparkling apple juice than beer.)

After dinner, we walked over to Forsyth Park, since it wasn’t too far from the restaurant. It was beautiful as the sun was getting ready to set and the park was pretty empty. We found the finish line of the race (!), which was pretty fun. And we walked around the park – with me sighing in delight about how pretty this park is and how much I love being in Savannah – until deciding to call it a night and go back to the hotel.

From there, I took a shower, read for a bit, and then fell asleep at 9:15. Because I know how to party.

And then it was race day! It was cooooold Saturday morning. Florida had been having straight-up summerlike temperatures the past few weeks, so I’d been feeling a wee bit spoiled. It was 40 degrees on Saturday morning and I was not prepared. I’m glad I had my long-sleeved pullover, but it definitely was not warm. Luckily, we only had a 10-minute walk to the race site, so we didn’t leave the hotel until about 7:10 and the race started at 7:30. By the time we got down there, took a few pictures, and got in place, it was time to go!

The race itself? It was okay. I knew I was going to have a tough time when I was struggling barely half a mile in. Eventually, I decided to adopt a run .1 mile, walk .1 mile interval. This worked quite well for me! I managed to hit all the intervals and it allowed me to walk slowly and recover since I could catch up my pace with my runs. It also made the race go by at warp speed, which was nice.

The course measured long (3.22 miles) and I wound up with a finish time of 47:30, which is not the >45:00 I wanted, but I am still happy with that time. It puts me under 15-min/miles (all throughout training, I was averaging 16-17-min/miles), and I honestly cannot be mad at myself for not finishing in what I might deem a “better time.” And that’s all that matters… the fact that I feel good about how I finished.

After the race, I met up with my mom who finished way before me and we found mimosas! The perfect way to end a race, if I do say so myself.

Races that give you a medal for completing a 5k are my favorite kind of races. 🙂

We didn’t stay long in the park after the race because it was still super cold and we are Florida girls with thin skin! We can’t handle it! So, we walked back to the hotel and decided to eat in the hotel restaurant for breakfast. We just didn’t feel like venturing back out in the cold. Their breakfast was… okay. Nothing special. Just meh.

After breakfast, Mom and I went back to our hotel room where we took the most deliciously pleasing naps. Postrace naps are the best kind of naps, yes?

(We actually planned to just nap until housekeeping came in to clean our room and give us new towels. Except at 1:45, we were still waiting on housekeeping. We finally had to call the front desk to have them bring us towels so we could take showers! I would never recommend this Hilton location in Savannah – it’s a rundown hotel with walls so thin you can hear your neighbors talking. Definitely not worth the price at all.)

Eventually, we were able to procure towels, take showers, and get ready for the day! Saturday afternoon was beautiful! We checked out an adorable bookstore, had ice cream at Leopold’s, and walked down River Street.

Around 5:30, we wandered up to Rocks on the Roof for some pre-dinner drinks. My mom got a beer and I ordered a Savannah Tea, which was good but a bit too strong for my liking.

For dinner, we decided on Huey’s on the River (another Jess recommendation!) I know this is the go-to brunch spot that I must try the next time I’m in Savannah, but I did enjoy their dinner menu! We actually decided to sit at the bar rather than wait for a table in the restaurant, which was an A+ decision. The bartenders are phenomenal and made me immediately feel at home. (Also, one of them bore a striking resemblance to Sam Jaeger, or Joel from Parenthood. For a second, I though it was Sam!) (I wish I had the courage to mention this to him!) (Safe to say, he was very, very, VERY cute.)

For dinner, I got a simple burger and fries meal, though I wish I had tried their red beans and rice. I was just in a mood for a burger, even though I had had one the night before. (I rarely eat burgers nowadays, so it felt like such a treat!)

And that caps off our trip to Savannah! After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and I took a bubble bath, read, and then fell asleep at 9:30. I want to feel lame for being 27 and on vacation and falling asleep before 10pm… but I just can’t. That’s just the perfect epitome of who I am – a girl who has one drink and doesn’t want anything else, who fancies a good meal with fun conversation, and who just wants to take a bubble bath and read at the end of the day more than anything else.

We left Savannah early (around 8am), and got back in town around 3pm. And this guy was super happy to see us! He went to “camp” while we were away, and he had a blast (they texted my mom three pictures of him having fun – I love that they do that now!) He spent most of Sunday night in a deep sleep. Poor guy was tuckered out from all his camp adventures! 😉

And that was Savannah! Such a wonderful weekend, such a wonderful city. I still feel deeply that I will move there someday. I’m not sure when, but Savannah is where my heart is. Simple as that.

How was your weekend?

Categories: Travel

A St. Augustine Getaway

It’s no secret that I love to travel. So, when my boyfriend suggested we do an experience gift for Christmas rather than a physical gift, I was 100% on board. And when he brought up a weekend in St. Augustine as a possible idea, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. I’ve wanted to visit St. Augustine forever (I almost opted for that for my birthday trip over Savannah), so I was super stoked about our trip.

Some of the highlights…

Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum – I’ve actually never been to one of these museums (there’s one in Orlando I’ve wanted to visit, but just haven’t gotten around to), so I thought it was pretty interesting. And Alex got the biggest laugh watching me walk through the Revolving Tunnel. That thing is a TRIP.
Mi Casa Cafe – If you visit St. Augustine, please do me a favor and visit this amazing little place. They have incredible sangrias. The best I’ve ever had (not that I’m a huge sangria connoisseur, so take my opinion as it is.) It was just a really fun little bar with a great atmosphere and fabulous live music.
Columbia – We have a few Columbia restaurants in Tampa, but I had heard it’s a must-visit in St. Augustine, so this was our fancy dinner out. I’ve never been to a Tampa area Columbia restaurant, so I had nothing to compare it to, but I enjoyed my meal! They give you a huge hunk of Cuban bread (which was honestly my favorite part. I’m super classy, is what I’m saying.), we had more sangrias, and a delicious meal. Now I need to visit the ones in Tampa!
St. Augustine Lighthouse & Museum – This was the #1 place I wanted to visit while in St. Augustine, and I loved it. It’s one of the few places in the city you have to drive to get to, but it’s not more than five minutes out of the city and totally worth it. We climbed the 200-something steps to the top, and the views were pretty incredible. It was a bit foggy (we went in the morning), so my photos didn’t turn out great, but it was still super special. After climbing to the top, we headed over to the keeper’s house, which was filled with artifacts and interesting tidbits about life as a lighthouse keeper. Highly recommend!
Castillo de San Marcos – I mean, you have to visit the fort when you’re in St. Augustine. You just can’t not do it. It’s so beautiful and historic, and a must-visit spot in the city. We took our time walking through all the rooms and even got to see the cannon shoot off. There’s not much I can say, other than goooo.
Local Heros Bar & Grill – We went here for a drink on Friday night but we’re underimpressed. Then, on Saturday afternoon, after walking around to find lunch (I was basically at my breaking point by this time. I was dehydrated, hungry, and tired, and I could just feel myself shutting down. In other words, I hit my Introvert Wall.), we finally decided to try this again. And I’m happy we did! Our food was delicious and we had incredible service (the service the previous night was meh). It’s one of those hole-in-the-wall places you wouldn’t really think to visit, but I’d recommend it, if only for a cheap but good lunch.
Wolf’s Museum of Mystery – Our waiter at the bar implored us to go here after Alex asked for a recommendation on something to do. My thoughts? Creepy. Weird. Not my thing. Here are some of the exhibits: a remade Lizzie Borden bedroom, an alien mortuary, and an exorcist bathroom. Not. My. Thing. I was happy to leave!
Milltop Tavern – We went here for dinner on Saturday night, and it was okay. They didn’t have much in the way of food (or at least food I wanted.) I think it’s more of a place to go for drinks and appies, than an actual sit-down meal. And the service was pretty lame. So. Meh.
Whetstone Chocolates – I am still dreaming of the chocolates we got at this place! They were so good. I ordered a sea salt caramel and a chocolate-covered peanut butter Oreo. I forget what Alex got, but we were both basically moaning in ecstasy while walking down the street eating our chocolates. We’re classy folk.
Ghost Tours of St. Augustine – This was the last excursion we did while in St. Augustine! I love doing ghost tours because it’s fun to learn the haunted history of a city and a city as old as St. Augustine is bound to have some cool stories! But I really was underwhelmed by this tour. Our host was okay, but she didn’t really give us the history of the different spots she took us to. Rather, she told about times people have seen a ghost (and most times, she couldn’t even tell us who the ghost was or what significance he/she had.) I bought this as a Groupon ($13 for the both of us), and I’m really glad I didn’t pay full price. Next time, I’m going to scope out a better ghost tour!

And that’s our trip in a nutshell! (A long nutshell.) I had a super fun time with Alex, and we travel really well together. We both liked to get out there and do stuff and see the city, but we also needed quiet time in the hotel room to regroup and relax. As an introvert, that relaxation time is suuuuuper important to me. That’s what energizes me. We had a good time, saw some awesome sights, and have already been talking about going back soon.

Have you ever visited St. Augustine?