Our life looks pretty cool online!

Time for the classic "make you jealous because my life looks really awesome when I post some parts of it online" (or simply, "vacation in winter") post. I've been a little deep or even melancholy in my posts lately. I'm certainly not pulling my weight in the make yourself feel bad compared to your online friends category. So here goes!

Abe and I recently arrived home from a wonderful week of vacation! I think this was our first full week off together this academic year. It feels like we have been go-go-go for months, being on-call a lot and through the holidays, recovering from our burglary, not seeing each other much, etc, so this was a much needed and appreciated vacation.

(The other) Amber and Erin

We arrived in Baltimore on a Saturday. Strangely enough we realized we have a bunch of friends in Baltimore. My childhood friend Amber picked us up from the airport and we met her little (or not so little) kiddos and saw her husband Brett again. Amber is one of those friends who just feels like home. No matter how long (8 years?) it has been, it feels like we just pick up where we left off.

Roof top deck: Do you think we could add one of these to our house in Iowa?

We stayed the night with our friends Kyle and Katie in their adorable row home in downtown Baltimore. The exposed brick, multiple levels, and rooftop deck made us wish a little bit we were living the exciting life in the city instead of our Iowa reality (but traffic and crime made me grateful for home). They were nice enough to chauffer us around and help us arrange a dinner with some other friends for Abe's birthday (the Londons and "Uncle" Sterling and his cute family).



Who knew we had such a "crew" in Baltimore? It was great we could have a REAL party for Abe's birthday.

"Fishing" with the girls at the Harbor

Then they said Bon Voyage as they dropped us off for our cruise.

As if it wasn't enough food, I arranged to have more brought for a birthday surprise.



Just getting on the ship and enjoying the best part right away: food!

Wondering a bit if we were on a Titanic adventure, waiting in our room in the Harbor in Baltimore.



A little windy but hey, no coats!

Yes, we left out of Baltimore, which was a little strange, I know, but actually pretty great. The Baltimore weather was in the 50s and overnight it was warm enough to swim out on deck. We didn't swim out to the deck (isn't that what that line sounded like?), but after walking, could swim on the deck if we wanted. After a few days at sea, we arrived in Florida.



Feeling triumphant on the beach after receiving texts from home about the Iowa weather

We spent a day at Cocoa Beach. We laughed that we were swimming in the ocean when there was a 2 hour delay for cold and snow back home. What a wonderful break from winter!




Bahamas!

The next day, we arrived in Nassau, Bahama. We rented a scooter and braved the "wrong side" of the road driving to explore the island. We found a few quiet beaches and toured an historic fort. A lot of the people on our cruise said they liked our next stop, Freeport, Bahama better, but I really enjoyed Nassau. Maybe it was the freedom of driving a bike in the open air (it's been way too long since I've been on a motorcycle) next the sea with my honey close, but it was pretty great.



Our third destination was Freeport, Bahama. We had no plan for the day but hoped to find a beach. When we got off the ship we noticed there wasn't a lot happening at this particular port. In fact, it was pretty industrial. We sat on a bench trying to decide what to do when a group from our ship came and asked us if we would like to join them on a private chartered trip to a local beach. Not having a better option, we said yes and hopped into a van with a dread-locked Bahaman and a group including a dopple-ganger (sp?) for the grandpa from Duck Dynasty. We got a tour of the island as we drove and sure enough, spent the morning on a very quiet, almost private white sand beach (the same beach as the house where Johnny Depp stayed while filming Pirates). The water was warm and clear and blue. We drank pineapple juice and enjoyed the sunshine until we had to make it back (way too early) to our ship.



We enjoyed another afternoon in the sunshine on the deck as we headed back up the coast toward Baltimore. Unfortunately, the next day at sea was stormy and cold. We had really hoped for one more day of sun, but we were happy for what we got. We spent the day reading and napping and getting just a little fatter before getting ready to come home.

Starting to get a little chilly for the swimsuit alone

What a great trip! I don't know if it was the vacation itself or the timing (man, we needed a vacation -- a break from work and winter, not to mention some time together!) but that was the best vacation I can remember.

Who wants to come with us next time?