March 14-18

March 14 - Miami, FL

We got to Miami from Disney World without anything exciting happening (whew!). We spent a couple of precious hours sleeping at a hotel before returning the car to the airport and getting a taxi to the Port of Miami. I'm glad we were there an hour earlier than they suggested for boarding the ship - things always go so much more smoothly with the kids when their parents aren't panicking. Go figure!

Here is Miami from the ship.

March 15 - At Sea

I spent the day sleeping off my cold. Craig spent the day developing an ear infection. All good. We introduced Liam to the kids' centre. He wasn't too eager at first, but the promise of a Teddy Bears' Picnic convinced him. Plus, everybody else needed a nap!

March 16 - Samana, Dominican Republic

0930: Craig goes to the doctor, who gives him some drops, but says he doesn't have an ear infection. Craig spends the day in our cabin, his ear/head hurting too much to move.

I took the kids around the ship, but I still wasn't 100%, and Samana appeared to be pretty underdeveloped for me to feel like taking the kids ashore by myself.

1600: The doctor's office opens again and Craig is waiting for them. The doctor says he's never seen an ear infection develop so quickly. At this point fluid is coming out. Not a good thing. Doctor gives Craig antibiotics (oral and ear drops) and Tylenol 3's. Also tells him not to go ashore the next day, or to get his head wet.

A picture of Samana from the ship....

March 17 - St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

I am feeling better by now and decide to venture off the ship with the kids. There are no tenders involved here, which makes it easier for me. Hooray for the new stroller. Having done my research (aha!, told you it would come in handy!) I knew that the gondola was within walking distance. So off we went, stopping in a few shops on the way. I was a bit worried to be by myself - having those little guys to be responsible for sure makes you think twice about things! There were so many sirens when we first got off that I actually thought about turning around; sirens = not safe, to me. Turns out the Holland America ship next to us had a small fire on board. We finally made it to the gondola, then realized we would have to leave the stroller at the bottom because of all the stairs to get up to the platform. They must have felt sorry for me: They only charged for me! We went up the gondola, walked around the top, saw the bird show, bought some water, met some people from Saskatchewan who were wearing their Rider T-shirts, looked through those binocular things that you put money in and went back down. Because by then we were beat! And our stroller was still there. Deep sigh of relief!

March 18 - Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Unfortunately Craig was still too sick to get off the ship. So off the three of us went again. It was a fairly long, hot walk to town, with tents selling things along the way. Once we got to buildings, it seemed like it was going to be a lot further before getting to anything touristy. So I made the executive decision (with the help of some whining) that we would just find a place to sit down and have a drink. I must have gone completely opposite from the touristy stuff, because we ended up at a "real" restaurant where clearly people have business lunches and moms with kids don't come along looking for a cold drink. Fortunately, it was after lunch, so not too busy. We had lemonade, but their other drinks looked very appetizing. I wasn't sure I'd be able to steer the stroller back to the ship, so I had a lemonade, too.

Sunset that night, from on the ship.