Grad Cruise

    Those 3 ragamuffins, Acey (brother), Dylan (first cousin) and Logan (first cousin, looking away) are all high school graduates amongst other things.  I am very pleased with them, it's easy to forget how that was 14 years in the making. The plans for a graduation trip floated around for a while: should we go to the Keys? Washington DC? Nashville? After a bit of bickering we landed on a cruise, a first for all of the boys. Two of my best friends, my Mama and my Aunt Tracey, decided that we would accompany them, all the while enjoying their success too ;)
    The cheapest option by far was a cruise for 3 days to Nassau, Bahamas leaving from Miami. Boy! That was a trip, 5 hours for me and 7 for the Georgians. On Friday morning we left my house at 4am- bare in mind we fell asleep at 1:30- to try our best to make it on the ship early. We stopped for breakfast, made a quick dip in Walmart for 12 packs of coke's and Bank of America to fix my debit card. We were in extremely high spirits as we got ready to get on the ship.
    Finally we made it on board! This time I felt rather seasoned since the layout was generally the same. Also, we loved the room on the 7th deck, the Empress level, which was pretty central to everything and also adjoined the boys. We ended up with with a kind and funny steward named Izzy who would say "Mees Mechele, Mees Laycey, Mees Traycey- how are YOUUU?" While everything was going on us three girls clung together as the three boys ran amuck, exploring every nook and cranny of the Carnival Ecstasy and we would always meet up for supper and various times throughout the day. The Graduates carried their Ship and Sail cards with pride as they bought video game tokens, wristwatches and other trinkets. Mama, Tracey and I spent our time enjoying many meals, laying out in the sun, sporting our new clothes and watching all of the drunkards warble out the words in karaoke.
    I enjoyed our trip to Nassau much moreso than my last cruise. We did not book an excursion, instead we decided we would find a local beach to spend the day. As everyone purchased going home gifts and Bahamian items, I ended up getting directions from a local to Junkanoo Beach. We really enjoyed this place! It was a 5 minute walk from McDonald's, which we stopped to grab a bite from, and only 20 from our Port. The beach lived up to our expectations as the crystal water lapped up on the shore. There were not lots of annoying salesmen, as I predicted, plus it wasn't too overcrowded from other tourists. Since it was gorgeous place without all of the undesirables that often hang overhead we were able to have a grand, relaxing time.
    I think there were many times when all 6 of us really had a ball on this trip. We laughed until tears came (particularly over a lesbianesqe embrace the photographer made us do), occasionally huffed and puffed (dinner time was hit or miss for some people, ie: Dylan) and made some lasting memories ("I have ears like a Hawk!"- Logan).
    I am super grateful for the 3 young men who we celebrated, they all make me very proud with every new step they take in life. They really are all good boys with lots of spunk and work ethic; I feel confident they will go far in life. I love each of them so much more than I can say.