MaryS

Oh no! I cut DS's ear once, and we are still both a little gun shy around them. DH does his own.
 
It's about 5 hours - we're between Dallas and the Oklahoma border and we stay south of Houston in Clear Lake/Webster. Typically we stay at the Homewood Suites in Clear Lake because they have two bedroom suites for us, but the last couple times they seemed really overdue for a remodel. This time we are staying in the Hilton family but trying the Hampton Inn, just down the road in a 1 bedroom suite. Bedroom has 2 queens, and there is a separate living room and kitchenette for DH in the morning.
 
Yep, #31 comes out in November I think. It is a tad annoying, especially when they threw in Diesel from some other series Evanovich writes. Now she's trying to pick from 3 guys, but only when he's in town?
 
  When I grow up, I want to be like Grandma Mazur! Living off my kids and a give no sh!%s attitude.
 
I got the kids 90% packed this afternoon and had to stop because DH and I had a dance lesson. We just got home and threw the last load of laundry in the wash. We're probably 50-60% there. We don't really need to leave until around noon tomorrow, so I'm not stressing. Since we just did the mini vacation at Great Wolf, we're not going to do anything in Houston this time. We'll just check into the hotel and then go to dinner. There is a mall close to the hotel with a Cheesecake Factory. Right now the plan is to eat there - I have a few gift cards and everyone can just get what they want. 
Time for a glass of wine - we're on vacation!

Nope she still hasn't picked yet.  I love Grandma Mazur too and Lula just makes me laugh🤣 

Newsflash: I did not CocoCay today. Is anyone surprised? 😂
I stayed on the ship and worked. When I finally left my cabin I was greeted with another casino instant certificate..oops 😂
We are late leaving CocoCay because of a medical emergency but the captain assured us we will still make it back to Miami on time.
Saturdays at the Port of Miami are crazy, so that should be fun. I have a late flight home so I can wait out the crush and leisurely make my way to the airport. No plans to do anything to pass the time. I do have a car rental reservation just in case but I most likely will just hang at the airport for hours. Maybe ride TriRail back and forth like an excursion 😂

Ok, we made it to the JW Marriott Marquis.
I booked this with points and they were nice enough to upgrade us to a suite.














 
We don’t have a lot planned tonight other than dinner and bed.  Need to prepare the liver for this week 😉 

Hello Miami!

On our flight, next stop Miami!

 

 
it’s getting real now!

She's still writing these???? I think they last one I read was #20 because I got so fed up with Stephanie not choosing Ranger or Joe. Just pick already! Hahaha I do love me some Grandma Mazur, though! 😂

Meanwhile my wife left me with a tiny bald spot the one time she tried to shave my head (with clippers) a very long time ago. I thought a single length buzz cut was fool proof, especially since I do it myself, but if you accidentally knock the guide off and then go in with just the blade... 😱🤣
I was willing to give her another chance but that was the first and last time she was willing to try, lol.

Tonight playmakers for dinner then off for the headliner show.The show will be Mac Savard. We also lost another hour today at 2 pm

Up today for our walk then off to breakfast. We decided to try something different so we were off to windjammer.tried it but no bueno

Yesterday we had  Chops for lunch 
dinner Izumi hibachi
Aqua 80’s always and forever the best to date of all ships Aqua show  then off to adult comedy at Blaze. These to guys were absolutely funny. We had a great night

Made it to the airport and the United Club, which is already getting interesting. 

not sure what’s going on there….😂. But I’m sure that will be me at some point tomorrow.

I love Stephanie Plum.  I live across the Delaware river from Trenton (in PA) and have been to that section of Trenton a few times (some really good Italian restaurants).  I like fluff too😁 

DS came downstairs this morning and DH was working on his laptop. He said, "You know it's the day before vacation when I start my packing list!" He's the perfect combination of engineer and procrastinator. That list won't be done until this afternoon, but it's going to be an organized and color coded masterpiece!🤣
I added a couple books to my kindle - Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum #30 and Maui Murder. I like fluffy, don't have to think about it kinds of books on a cruise. I'm also 2/3 of the way through the 8th book in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. I think I've been working on this one for a year. I just can't seem to get more than two or three pages read at a time without falling asleep. At 800+ pages each, I feel committed to finish all 14 books though. I'll probably go ahead and take that one too since we're driving, and I don't need to conserve the space that a paperback takes in the suitcase. Maybe if I read it in a lounger by the pool instead of at bedtime I'll get further?
Today I need to hem a pair of pants (I've been putting that one off for about 6 weeks), give DS a haircut, and drag out the suitcases. Our doggos are not going to be happy about that, and I waited as long as I could to not stress out our older pup. He is 14 and has gone deaf, can barely see, and is starting to have hip problems. Fortunately, he still does well at the kennel and in doggy day care when we travel. The other one is about 6 and has enough energy for both of them.

It's not just Club Royal, it's Royal Caribbean in general.  I guess that was obvious, but just wanted to point that out in light of my post above.
 

Flight is on time and I'm happy to report that I'm packed and I didn't for get my tie or my underwear. 😉 Sorry @SweetPea, I couldn't resist......

The people (not all) in the WJ are often a special breed. I will never forget that kid sucking that sausage and putting it back, the mom seeing but not telling the staff. 

On this episode of Windjammer guests behaving badly...

I watched a lady just stand there at the wall next to the condiment pumps and eat her dessert..and then she just left and walked off.
This was after I watched another guest taste test stuff as she put it on her plate..just full on picking it off her plate with her hands. 🤢
 

Ok, with our flight to Miami less than 24 hours away, I'm happy to report that Kelli is completely packed, and I.....am not.  But don't worry I have plenty of time to have things squared away before the car services arrives to take us to the airport in the morning 😉. 
One interesting thing of note that I'm not sure I've seen mentioned before.  It seems that Hard Rock Hotel has teamed up with Club Royal.

Sounds fun and exciting 🙂 
And we just found out that both Phoenix and DSB will play on this sailing!  We love live music, so this is a real treat!

 
We are also checked in for our flight and ready to go in the morning!  The plane we are taking starts the day in Houston then makes a quick turn in New Orleans and then back for our flight at noon.
The excitement is building!
Tic Toc

I am doing my first Alaskan cruise this Sept on Quantum. I too normally cruise regular. We are in Interior VB and have excursions planned for 3/4 ports. So, I am looking forward to this blog. 

Thursday, day 7.  Due to call at St Kitts today but not arriving until 11 AM.  Nothing planned for today.
We have been blessed with beautiful weather and calm seas for this entire trip.  So fortunate !
Off to breakfast at Giovanni’s.  It’s one of my very favorite Pinn perks.  

Tonite dinner was Izumi.  There is no hibachi on EX so it’s always sushi only….which is fine with me.  I’m not a fan of the hibachi menu (or the “show”) anyway.  This was night #2 of our 3 night dining package.  Chops on night #9, the last night.
Insider tip:  if you see chopsticks nearby, this is probably NOT guacamole.

We went to the casino after dinner (who’s surprised) and it was a mixed bag.  Dan and I played some Dancing Drums (b/c the pigs were all occupied) and we lost a little bit.  Dan went and played some video poker and won while  I played some UTH and lost.  Ugh.  Back in the room now.
Tomorrow is St Kitts (again) and we have no plans to get off.  Today was another visit to Grenada and we just got off for a little while and browsed the terminal shops.  I bought Dan a couple of new Caribbean shirts which he DESPERATELY needed.  He’s been wearing the same sad ones we bought in Aruba probably 12 years ago !  Most of them are missing buttons and I’m a terrible wife who has never fixed them for him.  It’s easier just to buy some new shirts !  He now has 2 new ones…

Adding my 🫨. Holy crud. That's really unfortunate. Pretty sure we only use our range bag for the range but now I'll be paranoid and extra cautious. I've accidentally brought aboard airplane bottles of liquor that they gave me on the plane and i kept in my bag and didn't think about. Or heaven forbid the time i forgot i had some gummies in my bag that were never caught (thank God). You often forget that what's perfectly legal and normal in your every day life doesn't translate when you travel. 

Today we are in Nassau. There is Liberty to my left.

And Anthem to my right.

I feel like the inside of a Royal sandwich.

I did not get off yesterday in Bimini. I could see it from the ship and it didn't look worthwhile to get off. I do not adventure solo so when I'm on a solo trip. If I get off I just walk around the immediate port area if there isn't an excursion that gives a generalized tour of the area with no water activities or beach breaks. If I wasn't solo I would have likely rented a golf cart and explored.
It was Caribbean night in the MDR and I still went despite the uninteresting menu. My table neighbors are all nice. My table is a 2-top in a row of other 2-tops so we're all super close like one big table. Fortunately this cruise everyone shows up early and there's less waiting around for ordering and food delivery.  Makes the meal go faster.

I would never use a bag that had previously been used with firearms or ammunition of any kind. Just too many things can go wrong.  Sniffing dogs, for example.  Why add that risk of suspicion and attention.