All good things must come to an end, right?

I suppose. Although I was quite excited about celebrating Christmas with our families the following week, I was very sad to leave this paradise! We soaked up every lazy second of our last day on the cruise. Russ and I laid in bed all morning watching a movie with our balcony door open with the sound of the waves. You may think this is a waste of a tropical day, but I disagree. You know that when you are at home, there is rarely - if ever - a day that we can just lay in bed and watch movies. In my case, Russ would be wanting to go work out or run or something else productive. So, I've come to cherish those times when we are able to not feel guilty or pressured to do something. Then, around lunch time, we emerged to the top of the ship to lay around some more in the sunny blue skies with the rest of the family!

Russ is really not into "laying out"! Ha!

But, I love it!

Our fabulous balcony - Russ and Lee rigged all our balconies so that they would adjoin. All I can say is...make sure you close those curtains if you don't want your siblings or their "significant others" to see you unclothed! Ha!

Our last night, we ate dinner at Cagney's Steakhouse, and it was fabulous! Yummy food and a nice atmosphere. This is the night we went around the table telling our favorite part of the cruise. The two highest votes were the first night and the ATV ride, I think.

Party of Two

After dinner, we meandered around the ship making last minute purchases and playing all we wanted to play before disembarking for the final time the next morning. We also enjoyed a comedy show by Second City before heading our own directions, purchasing our pictures from the cruise, and heading to bed.

Russ and me

Mary and Dustin

Lee and Kristin

Mama and Daddy

Before Russ and I went to our room, we stopped to get some cheese sticks for a good night snack.

Yummy!

We didn't sleep much at all that night because Russ was up every hour or so looking at the lights of the USA and trying to take pictures as we got closer. He had also gotten up around 2 that morning to visit Kristin and Lee. So between all that, I was not ready to wake up quite yet.


But we did.

We woke up, ate breakfast, gathered all our belongings, left our stateroom for the last time, and...

...headed for the elevator.

The Smith family...piled in like sardines!

What a wonderful week! I cannot thank my parents enough for treating us to such a fabulously fun vacation! I know the word is that there won't be another for five more years, but maybe you'll recover before then!

Day Six - Cozumel

Thursday morning, the Epic tied up at the port of Cozumel, Mexico. Russ and I stopped here on our honeymoon cruise. It was our favorite place then, and I think it was our favorite place this time. We needed more time.

Me and Russ....Look at that crystal clear blue water!

The children singing Christmas carols near the port...if you look closely, you'll see Dustin and Daddy in the background. Some more "Where's Waldo?" play

Mama ready to go!

Our excursion for the day was an ATV ride through the jungle. Now, if you know me at all, you know I was first concerned about SNAKES! Then, they asked us to bring old shoes, bug spray and bandannas for our faces. I was quite nervous. I tried to act excited about it, but I was honestly a nervous wreck....which made me on edge the closer we got to the ATVs. We got our instructions, which I didn't listen to, and loaded onto our rides.

We put our helmets and bandannas on before cranking our ATV and taking off. Let me try to describe what it was we actually rode through. At least we had a trail....so it wasn't actually through the jungle greens! Ha! We had a dusty, boulder-filled, root-filled, muddy, muddy puddly, and FAST ride through this trail in the jungle. Now, I understand the bandanna and the old shoes!

Party of Two Bandits

We made our first stop not long after we started just to make sure everyone was okay and for our guide to ask us if we were ready for the real ride. Uh oh! Ha! Dustin, Daddy, and Russ were driving at one point. This is when the race started. They began passing each other or trying to pass, which made us all speed up over these boulders and huge roots sticking up out of the ground and the big holes. At one point, Russ and I went airborne! Tears were shed. Apologies said. Then, Russ and I sped up to catch back up with the group. Obviously, Russ tried to stay out of the racing for fear of his life...or was it wife? Ha! Then, we stopped to view one of the underground caves.

Dustin and Mary

You could see the water line from the last hurricane that swept through the area. I can't exactly remember the specifics, but this cave used to be several feet under the water and used as a water source. It is now completely dry and used for shelter during hurricanes. I hope I got that right. I'm not very good at listening to guides with such a thick Spanish accent.

Me and Russ in the cave

Right outside the cave, we saw this huge iguana. Once iguanas find a place, they stay there. This iguana, according to our guide, has been at this place for four years! Crazy, isn't it!?

We jumped back on our ATV and took out on a journey back to our starting place. We were only half as dirty, dusty, and muddy as we would be in the end! Ha! At this point, we all just wanted to see how muddy we could get. Who cares now that it's caked three layers deep! Let's make it five! Ha!

The whole dirty crew

Russ and me...with Lee and Kristin behind us

After we parked our ATV, we walked toward the little building where we could sit and wait on our taxis to take us to the beach. On our walk, we saw these amazing parrots. There were three of them, so we snapped several pictures.

Once back at the final destination, we were able to assess everyone's filth. I just hate I didn't get one of Mary. She had mud caked all the way up to her bottom! Ha!

Dustin's uni-brow

Mine and Russ's legs...somehow the passengers ended up worse off than the drivers!

Our taxis arrived and took us to a private beach for lunch, to clean off in the ocean, and to relax on the sand. We went straight for the food after we dunked our shoes in the ocean to attempt to clean them off. You don't even want to know what happened when we blew our noses! Imagine what it would have been like without the bandannas!

Russ's dusty forehead

Russ and Lee immediately went for snorkeling equipment and headed out to the ocean. They saw neat fish and a huge stingray. Kristin and I, of course, found a chair to lay in on the sandy beach. Mama and Daddy visited with Mary and Dustin at the table and enjoyed the breeze and the view. It was a nice ending to a rough ride!

Lee and Russ snorkeling

Me and Russ looking a bit cleaner

The taxi ride back to the port was nice as we looked at the scenery of Cozumel. We saw a man riding a donkey to get where he was going and a few dune buggies riding through the area. Cozumel had SO much to see and do near the port. We walked around the shopping area until it was time to load the ship. Russ found some Cuban cigars, and he decided to enjoy the rest of his shopping with one. Ha!

Russ looking Cuban! Ha!

We also found some Christmas decor...Cozumel style! Merry Christmas from Cozumel!

Santa Russ

Megan the Snowwoman

I think we all ended up with a handmade bracelet, and we even got a few for Christmas gifts. We enjoyed the local smells, sights, and atmosphere. Russ and Lee enjoyed bartering for goods. I got ripped off because I don't enjoy bartering! Oh well! Ha! It was a beautifully fun day in Cozumel all the same!

Russ with the city behind him

Russ, me, Kristin, and Lee getting ready to board the ship

Just as we were getting ready to board the ship, the sun was setting. I couldn't help but watch this beautiful sunset God created in Cozumel.

Whew! What a fun and exhausting day! We all went straight to our rooms to strip and shower after such a dirty day! Ha! Kristin, Lee, me, and Russ had quite the party in our room. You just shoulda been there. There's no way to explain what all took place there! Ha! Unforgettable! We finally got dressed for supper at an Italian restaurant, La Cucina. I ordered pizza, of course, and it was yummy!

Russ and me

Several of us agree that Cozumel's activities were the most fun. It's a toss up between Cozumel's ATV ride with beach time and the first day on board! Ha! Either way, Cozumel was a great way for the trip to start coming to an end. We only had one more day at sea before our final port of Miami.

Day Five - At Sea

Our fifth day started a little cloudy and rainy. No worries though! There was PLENTY to keep us busy on the ship. We spent most of our day playing darts, air hockey, and family time at the two bowling alleys. Yes, we had TWO bowling alleys on this ship! We stopped playing only for lunch at one of the included restaurants onboard and went right back to playing something else. We all voted that our bowling game was off because of the ship's movement. Ha! That just HAD to be it!

Once the sun peeked through the clouds, we all went to our rooms to change and headed outside. It was still a little cool with the breeze on top of the ship, so we all loaded into the hot tub. Remember, that I was severely burned on my legs. It took me a good 15 minutes to inch myself into the water. And, when I got out, I could barely move at all. Every time I put pressure on my feet, my whole leg was in pain. I suppose that was a bad decision after all! But it sure did feel good while I was in it!

Me, Russ, Dustin, Mary, Kristin, and Lee

We had an early dinner, so we didn't stay in the hot tub long before heading down to our rooms to get ready. Our dinner was at the Manhattan Room again, and it was just as delicious the second time! We enjoyed the band and the dancing from other passengers while we ate.

Mama and Daddy

Mary and Dustin

Kristin and Lee

Russ and me

After dinner, we had plenty of time to spare before the entertainment for the evening, so we went bowling again! We all bowled in our nice clothes and had a great time!

I think Mama may disagree. She left the game early to save us seats at Legends in Concert. I'm not sure if you've ever tried to save 8 seats by yourself before, but it's not easy. My mom is pretty good at it. But, apparently, our game lasted a little too long and put us there only 15 minutes before the show started. Mama had already gotten in trouble three times for saving seats and had lots of "evil eyes" from others looking for seats of their own. She says she is not doing that ever again! We had great seats though thanks to her!


Legends in Concert was a concert by people who LOOK and ACT and SING JUST LIKE the legends they represent. It was amazing! Rod Stewart, Brittney Spears, and Michael Jackson were the legends being honored tonight. I wish I had a picture of all of them and a video of them singing so that you could see how much they were JUST LIKE these legends. But, of course, we couldn't take pictures in the show. Russ and I did get our picture taken with Michael though.

In case you were wondering, Michael Jackson holds one of the most embarrassing moments of my childhood. It was the fourth grade talent show when I decided to perform my jazz routine to Michael's "Smooth Criminal." However, when the music started, I forgot every last move! I improvised by SKIPPING around in a circle for the full 4 minutes and 17 seconds of that song. OMG! So embarrassing! My mom recalls sitting there watching me skip around in that black and white striped leotard complete with a red sequined necktie and matching hat thinking, "What is she doing?!" Needless to say, I didn't win.

The legend, Michael Jackson

All in all, I'd say we had a wonderfully fun and relaxing day at sea. Our next and final port of call...COZUMEL!

Day Four - Roatan

Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday to Me!
Happy Birthday Dear ME!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Our second port of call landed us in Roatan, Honduras for my 27th birthday! The fact that we were in a tropical location kept the thought of 30 creeping up on me out of my mind. Ha!

Megan and Russ in Roatan, Honduras

As we disembarked, we heard the beat of the drums and other instruments played by the locals welcoming us to their country. It was fun to watch the ladies dance around as the music played.

Roatan locals

Right beside the boat

Our excursion for this day was not quite as active as our others. We planned to spend the day at a private beach for my birthday. In fact, it was called the "Tabyana Beach Party!" It was a little cool and cloudy when we first arrived at 9:30, but after a while the sun peaked through and the temperature rose. In fact, this is the day I became severely sunburned all over the front of my legs! Ouch!

Mama on Tabyana Beach

Look how pretty this beach is!

The birthday girl keeping warm when we first arrived

The sun came out!

Daddy slept nearly the whole day!

There's not too much to say about laying around on a beach in Roatan listening to a local band and relaxing in the sun until you're burnt to a crisp except that it was fun and relaxing. Totally relaxing for Mama, Kristin, and myself! Why us, you ask? Take a look at what we were treated to...

Mama

Me

Kristin

Yes, we received a 30 minute massage by a Honduran woman on the beach, and it was DI-VINE! We were happy, content, and a bit disoriented when we slid off the massage table. Ahhhh....

Kristin, me, and Mama

Dustin and Mary enjoyed the day playing around as well. I'm not sure what they were doing, because I didn't see them much. But, apparently Russ found them long enough to take their picture in front of what looks to be a Grease background.

Mary and Dustin

After a relaxing day at Tabyana Beach, we headed back to the port for a little shopping before stepping on board the ship. Mama, Daddy, and I watched the interesting feat of preparing to sail away from the pier while the rest of the group slept. Then, we got ready for a fun dinner theater, Cirque de Dreams.

Dustin and Mary

Lee and Kristin

Daddy and Mama

Russ and me

After I opened gifts from the family, we all enjoyed a yummy meal while watching an incredible show. Cirque de Dreams is a take-off of Cirque de Soleil. There were so many amazing tricks and skills. We sat right next to the floor so that we could see everything! Daddy was even called on to ring a cowbell! No problem there! Ha! We couldn't take pictures during the show, but we took a group picture with two of the members afterward.

The "kids" with two performers

Once again, another cruise day a success! We played around on the ship and enjoyed our extra time watching dancing, shopping, and simply having fun! Once we had enjoyed as much as we could in one day, it was time for bed! Thankfully, our next day was a lazy day at sea!