2008 Cruise

So here it is...almost 2 months late, I know….the post about one of the most amazing trips I've ever taken! Our family had booked this cruise vacation over a year in advance. And although that seems ridiculous, it made the year building up to this vacation so much better. We saved big time on the expense and we made memories just talking about what we wanted to do while on this trip.

On Saturday March 1, 2008 we boarded a plane in snowy Cleveland, Ohio and had a direct flight to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The flight was wonderful and in just 3 hours and 53 minutes of taking off from Cleveland's 20-some degree weather we were in beautiful 80-some degree weather! After arriving at the hotel we headed to the beach.

After we visited the beach for awhile, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for dinner. We went to a little place for pizza. It was pretty good. On our way back we stopped at a little store and me and dad bought a beer and went to the hotel roof. Up there we met some people from Detroit who were going on the same cruise as us. I told them maybe we will see you around the ship....laughing inside because what are the chances with 3,700 guests on the ship, not including staff. The first day on the ship we were at the pool and there they were, hanging out on the top deck. What a small world! It gets better because that night we went to dinner and they were sitting at the table right next to us! Geez! They were great people, except for the fact they were Michigan fans…BOOOO!

Anyways, back to San Juan! On Sunday we got up early and took the bus to Old San Juan! We went to mass at the Cathedral and then walked around a little bit!
After we checked out of the hotel we headed down to the pier to board the ship! We were all really excited! This was Ben’s first cruise so he was quite shocked when he saw the ship! We boarded the ship and headed straight to the windjammer for lunch! Aahhh! It was good! We waited for our rooms to be ready and once they were we headed that way.
Day 1 we were at sea the entire day! It was a great day to explore the ship and just relax! We spent time at the pool and enjoying the beautiful sea!
Day 2 we arrived in Aruba for a fun-filled day! We had booked an excursion called the Kuku Kunuku bus tour which took us to two landmarks and then to Palm Beach! It was a fun-filled time! We had a blast!

Oh, I forgot to mention that our first night at dinner on the ship we met our dinner mates for the duration of the trip. There were 3 of them. A mom, dad and their daughter, who happens to be the same age as me. Her name is Shawna and she spent quite a bit of time hanging out with me, Lisa and Ben!

Day 3 we arrived in Curacao and were super excited for our excursion. What could this excursion be you ask? The Dolphin Swim of course!! At first I wasn’t going to do the dolphin swim but after thinking about it for a few months, I decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I really should do it. I was extremely nervous but it was so incredible. We had a blast. Oh, Shawna came with us too!

Day 4 we were at sea again all day! Another fantastic day to lie in the sun, sleep and explore more of the ship! The days went by so fast!

Day 5 we were in St. Maarten! St. Maarten is such a beautiful island. This day started off rough (I was having some slight health problems) but turned out to be a great day! We went to Orient Beach (the nudist beach) where the water and beaches were incredible. If I ever get to go there again I will be sure to spend more of my time at the beaches! They are gorgeous! We took a tour and it dropped us off for shopping which wasn’t that great in the area they took us too! They do have excellent shopping near port though!

Day 6 we were in St. Thomas and since my parents had been to St. Thomas 3 times and me and Lisa had been there once before we decided to take a ferry over to St. John’s Island. It’s about a 45 minute ferry ride and we went to Trunk Bay for snorkeling! I think St. John’s was by far my favorite island. It is an incredible island. I would go on my honeymoon there and I recommend it to anyone who is looking for a vacation. This would be a great place to go for a week to relax.

Day 7 we were back in San Juan and sad to get off the boat! We had an incredible time and would soon find out that back in Ohio everyone was getting hammered with a really bad snow storm. We hadn’t really seen much news related stuff while on the ships so when we checked into the hotel in San Juan we turned on the news to see the snow storm! This really made us wish we weren’t going back home the following day!

Here are some great pictures from the trip!!

San Juan Beach
San Juan Beach

Rooftop view from hotel in San Juan


Cathedral in Old San Juan


Fort in San Juan


The Adventure of the Seas!!! (our ship)

pool deck

my room :)

Me, Lisa & Ben in Aruba

Palm Beach in Aruba

Dolphin Swim

Ben

Me, Ben, Lisa & Shawna

Me & Shawna

Orient Beach in St. Maarten

Me & Lisa on the Ferry in St. John's

Dad & Ben on the Ferry in St. John's

St. John's

Snorkeling

Our Dinner Waiters (Lisa, Prinson, Primo, Ben & Me)

Mom at the Fort in San Juan

Me, Lisa and Ben

We had a great trip and are very blessed to have been able to go to such fantastic places!! I hope to go again someday!!

Little Wonders

I feel really bad that i'm posting a blog about something else before I post about my trip! Things have just been so busy and this news is so exciting that I had to post it now! :)

One of my best friends, Jill and her husband Andy, welcomed their second child into this world on Sunday March 16, 2008 at 1:16am! What an eventful weekend it was! I arrived home from our amazing trip on Monday evening and had talked to Jill. She said she had been having contractions but she was suppose to be on bed rest and see where things went! As the week progressed she seemed to know that someting was going on.

On Friday night they called me and asked me if I would stay the night in case they had to get up in the middle of the night and go to the hospital. They didn't want to disrupt their 2 year old daughter while she was sleeping. Their 2 year old daughter, Catelyn Clare, is my godchild! So of course I headed over to their place and when I got their Jill was having some pretty good contractions but she still wasn't sure if she should go to the hospital. So she decided the just go to bed and get a good nights sleep. At approximately 6:00am I heard footsteps and her husband knocking on the door to the room I was sleeping in. He said that he water broke and they would be leaving for the hospital shortly. I ran up to see her and for Jill's sake I won't share that story! :) So they left for the hospital and I was graced by the precence of a 2 year old for a day and a half. She taught me so many things and it was a great bonding time for the two of us! Throughout the day we receieved updates from Andy and even Jill at one point. The progress was slow and her labor was long but after 20 some hours of labor she deleivered a healthy baby boy named Connor Pierce weighing in at 6lbs 15oz and is 18 1/2" long! He is adorable! Here are a few pictures from the hospital!

I cannot wait to get pictures of both Catelyn and Connor together! What a special bond they will have as siblings! She will teach him so many exciting things! As soon as they are home and settled I will be over to see them and will defintely do a post after that! (and i promise to try and get a post up about vacation soon too)

I'm BACK

It's a bummer but it's true! I'm back from the big trip! It was a fantastic vacation and it couldn't have been more perfect. I just got home last night and I have a ton of laundry to do, work, school (midterms..yuck) so I don't have any pictures to put up but be on the look out soon! I'll do my best to sort through them and get them up!

I'm also hoping to be publishing a post in the near future on the newest addition to the Lieser family! My god-daughter is going to have a sibling arriving and I can't wait to meet them! Ok, I better get back to work so check back soon!