Florida and Eastern Caribbean

We left on February 21st for a two week trip that included Florida and the Eastern Caribbean. We stayed with Bob's sister, Lynn, in Palm Bay, Florida for 3 days before heading to Ft. Lauderdale to embark on our cruise on the Eurodam.

The cruise left on February 25th with the following itinerary: Sunday, a day at sea, Monday, Grand Turk, Tuesday, San Juan Puerto, Rico, Wednesday, St. Marten, Thursday, a day at sea, Friday, Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

We very much enjoyed our cruise. Bob's sister went with us and we shared a veranda cabin. We snorkeled in Grand Turk and enjoyed the beach there followed by Pina Coladas or Margaritas at Margaritaville. The next port, San Juan, Puerto Rico, was interesting. We visited Fort Morro which was built over a period of 250 years. It had 6 levels with very thick walls. Puerto Rico was used as a strategic location to ship gold and riches back to Spain.

Our next port stop was on St. Marten, U.S. Virgin islands, involved a taxi to Red Hook, a ferry to St. John and snorkeling and then a taxi to Caneel Bay. We snorkeled there for about an hour then walked to Honeymoon Bay. The location was beautiful as well as plentiful fish. The person we were with (we met her coming off the Grand Princess) saw a sea turtle while snorkeling. We had already headed back so missed seeing the turtle.

Our final port stop was Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas - Holland America's private island. We were tendered ashore to a perfect beach. There were restrooms, bars (about 5 or 6 of them), a water play area for the kids, and from 11:30 to 1:00 they had hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, and cookies for lunch. We snorkeled there, but it wasn't great - not many fish. We really enjoyed the day there - the water and sand were so beautiful. We visited Captain Morgans pirate ship where one of the groups from the ship performed - Darlene and the Halcats.

Saturday we had to face reality and disembark from the ship. Sunday brought a whole different experience. Bob's family lives in the Daytona Beach area and we were able to see most of them. Daniel, Bob's grandson, and his wife, Tara, hosted the gathering at their home in Ocala. Amanda, Bob's granddaughter, and her two boys, Logan and Lantry, and her fiance, Greg, were there along with Kayla, another granddaughter, and her son, Ryder. Also in attendance was Amy, Bob's daughter, along with her three girls, Lexi, Zoe, and Holly. We were so happy to get to see all of them.

Monday, we flew home to Wenatchee (via Seattle) arriving at 11:30pm. It was a long day, but we were grateful that all of both of our flights were on time.