Grand Cayman Island

We didn't have a plan for today.  We're all burnt and peeling so not keen on a beach day.  Figured we'd go into port and see what was available.  We picked an island tour.  Our guide Meleina was great.  We learned lots.  She drove us from Georgetown to Hell.  To Hell and back.  We were stopped so we could buy postcards and stamps to mail to ourselves proving we'd been to Hell.  Wild.  We declined.  Surprisingly there were a lot of people at the post office.  Kai fell asleep on the bus so I stayed with him and missed out on visiting Hell.  Then to see the Govenor's mansion.  Completely unimpressive.  Then to see the island's oldest house that was 14 years newer than ours.  Haha.  Then the tour went to a rum factory but we were offered more time at the turtle farm instead.  Our guide was taken with the boys and thought they'd prefer turtle time.  They are charmers.

We all loved the turtle farm.  Lots of pictures taken.  It was hard to narrow down to a few.

Finally to 7 mile beach but we skipped it and went back to the port.

Pretty hot out for us.  We were back to the ship an hour earlier than than the last shuttle.

Jia was pretty concerned about being in Hell.

Not lava bed.  Jadite.  Same as my bangles.

Coming out one at a time for a scrub with toothbrushes.

Hard to tell, but these are full size.

Harsh moments realizing one had to die for there to be a shell.

She's been waiting for this fresh coconut water.  It wasn't all that she dreamed.

Jia didn't care for it either.  She did like the jelly flesh though.  

Kai was the only one that liked fresh coconut water.

Cruise 2

How fun.  Easy getting to the port.  Love Uber.  Wheelchair got us priority again.  Lovely lunch.  Now settling into our rooms.  Balconies this time.  Beside each other but not adjoined.  Hoping we can get the balcony divider opened.

Off to get kids registered in kids club.  Boys are excited.

Kids registered.
Safety meeting done.
Balcony divider opened.
Explored the ship and the Glory layout is the same as the Victory.  So there is a slim chance we'll figure our way around over the week.
Have already enjoyed watching the other cruise ships leaving port with us.
Littles giggling away and playing with Lego.
Feet up until dinner time.

Miami

We left the cruise ship.  Took taxis to our hotel.  Check in was 3 so we dropped our luggage and took off to explore.  We took the monorail.  Interesting.  No seats.  Hard to stand.  We did the loop and got off.  We had noticed a sign for a river walk so went to do that.  Our hotel is beside the river.  Long walk.  Too hot.  Beating sun.  Made it to the end...yup...the ocean of course.  Walked right to the cruise ship!  Hillarious.  Lili and Fei went for a Citi bike ride.  The littles went to a play ground.  I sat on a bench enjoying the view.  We made it to an open air mall.  Had lunch at Bubba Gump, to Eric's delight.  We're checked in.  Hotel is alright.  You never know with hotwire ;)   The littles and I are lounging.  Eric, Lili and Fei are out looking for dinner.

Kids get so excited to see pools.  

Hang on!!

Miami vice.  So many gorgeous boats here.

Strikes me as funny that we inadvertently made it back to the port.  

This perfect pose was by accident.

Balmoral Island

Our port was Nassau.  We got on a foot ferry (that was an adventure in itself) and went to Balmoral Island for a private beach day retreat.  We had fun.  Very beautiful.  The resort was beside a Sandals resort.  Prices for food were shocking.  So we skipped lunch and had a snack. We got to see dolphins and stingrays.  We rented snorkels.  Lili and Fei had fun with that.  They reported seeing lots of different fish. Fei lost one of her rings but miraculously found it and dove down to get it.  Eric took Jia out next but she wasn't totally secure and didn't last long.   The beach wasn't crowded and Luk made a friend.  On any other day we would have thought the beach was amazing but right after Half Moon Cay it paled in comparison.  On the way back we were dropped outside of the port so got to shop a bit.  We were so tired.  Port days are exhausting.  Another nap.  Another evening of kids club.  Eric and I definitely enjoyed the dining room without the boys.  Lili and Fei joined us every night for dinner and then took off to their club.  Friends were made.    

Kai fell asleep on the ferry. I was worried he'd fall out of his chair and roll off the deck.  So he got a cuddle for the half hour ride.  

Balmoral Island.

Stingrays.

Bits of rain.  A slight breeze.  Still warm and definitely added to our burns.

Wifi at the resort.

Check out Kai's smile.  We don't catch it very often.  He was really enjoying the wind.

Kai spotted both his and Luk's name!

Too funny watching Jia get drinks from the bar on the cruise ship.