Safe and Sound Hounds

Shame on me for not updating you on our cruise sooner! All this build up to the big event, then nothing, for weeks! And here you were, worried this had happened to our ship.

It didn't, of course, cuz here we are, back in the blogosphere where we belong!

Our die-hard fans (hello you two!) have already seen the pictures on the gallery. For everyone else, a quick recap! We had a very wonderful and relaxing time. Unlike most of our trips this year, this was NOT a working vacation! While out at sea we never checked our email, and only received one business-related phone call. (But if you knew the caller, you'd know it was a miracle only one situation came up!)

We started the trip by driving to Galveston. The hotel we stayed at was very nice, and we had a room overlooking the beach. Without being too unfriendly, let me just say how much I miss California beaches. It also feels completely disconcerting that the sun does not set on the water. Makes for a totally different "sunset at the beach" experience.

Nevertheless, we boarded our boat the next day without incident. It was a huge ship and took us nearly the whole week just to figure out how to get around!

The first two days were out at sea while we traveled to the Caribbean. We soaked up a lot of sun, saw a few shows, ate a lot of food, and took a lot of naps. Seriously, that was one of the best parts.

Wednesday we arrived in Jamaica. The weather was perfect! We got on a catamaran that took us to a nice snorkeling spot. On the way, the crew gave us foot massages with fresh aloe vera. That was one of my other favorite parts of the trip. They dropped us off at the beach after that, and we did some more snorkeling. We got brave and walked a ways through the city to go to Margaritaville. It was scary, to say the least. People are very overbearing and it is crowded!

A storm came in the second half of the day, but we were already back on the ship, taking a nap, of course!

Thursday we arrived at Grand Cayman. The water was a startling shade of turquoise. We went snorkeling again and this time was probably the best. We saw the biggest fish we've ever seen, at least 4-5 feet long. They were tarpon, coming to feed, and scare little children. Feed on chum, not little children. We again went to the beach, had some fried calamari, then went back for more snorkeling. (See a theme yet?)

Friday we arrived in Cozumel. This was supposed to be the most amazing snorkeling tour, but it was unfortunately canceled as a big storm was rolling in. We trading that trip for a jeep tour around the island, including a different snorkeling stop! The jeep was fun, but it was kind of cold that day.

Saturday was the last day at sea. By this point we were ready to come home. We exhausted ourselves with all of the excursions, and trying to gorge on as much food as the days and our bellies would allow.

All in all, a very wonderful time. We arrived home to chilly and rainy weather. But lots of progress had been made on the home, so that warmed our spirits.

They've just finished texturing, and are getting ready to install baseboards, trim and doors. The outside is ready for brick but is waiting on something - subcontractors, I'm guessing.

It's been full speed ahead since we got back. Thanksgiving came and went so quickly I thought I might have been dreaming! We had a nice day at our makeshift home - eating lots of food, watching movies, playing games and guitar hero. I can't wait to have people over to our new house when it is finally done! We're aiming for March to be in. But I'm secretly hoping for February. We're more than half way there, and construction only began at the end of September.

You may have guessed our trip to Virginia to see Bob got canceled. His dad was in a car accident, broke his leg and needed surgery. So Bob flew home to take care of him. Please send big Bob your thoughts and prayers. He's recovering well.

So our last trip of 2007 is coming up next weekend when we leave for two weeks in LA. Work and play again.

By the way, we've finally gotten our business website live. It's funny how much a completed website changes people's view of what you do for a living. Suddenly you're the real thing, even though the IRS has known about you for years. Check it out! Oh, and do you need your own website? Because I happen to know a great team to help you ;)


Stay tuned for the newest feature coming soon, "Nothing but a Hound Blog!"

Web Hounds, out.