Way back in May

Scott and I got crazy and went on a Caribbean cruise with some friends. Best. Vacation. Ever.

Here we are the first day on the cruise ship. It was crazy stressful getting out the door for this trip, but worth the total relaxation and fun of being with the guy I love best of all. Making it even more fun was that during our 7-day cruise we had a fun group of friends to entertain us.

Scott, Zac, Jared, Marc

Nicole, Lindsay, Kim, me

Our first port was in Haiti, where we rode a zip line over the ocean. Here's the view from the top:

Once we'd done that, the rest of the day was spent soaking up the sun .

The next day we ported in Jamaica, where we toured the Jamaican ghetto, caught some lovely ocean views, and shopped.

Scott and the guys trying on the merchandise.

Our third port was probably our favorite. Grand Cayman would be an easy place to spend a week or two. We took a smaller boat out to the sandbar where we were greeted by some very friendly stingrays. Some would say they were a little too friendly.

I can do many things, but kissing unattractive aquatic animals is not one of them. I wish I had a picture of my friend Lindsay literally jumping into my arms when a stingray swam up against her. They took some getting used to.

We spent about an hour with the stingrays then snorkeled the coral reef. I love snorkeling, although it's always over too quickly. Then we had lunch and hit the beach.

We strolled down the sand, swam in the turquoise blue ocean, and took naps in the blazing hot sun.

Our final port was Cozumel, where we opted for a dust-coated inland adventure involving one of these:

We drove our dune buggies over wildly bumpy jungle trails to Jade Caverns, which turned out to be a sulphuric bat cave and not the exotic aquatic paradise we'd hoped for. Still, it was an adventure and I had a blast.

Once we'd taken an outdoor shower to remove the inch-thick layer of dust covering our bodies, we headed to a restaurant in downtown Cozumel that was recommended to us by a local. It did not disappoint. We had a little time left for shopping and photo ops before heading back onboard the ship.

Our last day on board we literally spent HOURS by the pool. We enjoyed so many things while on the ship: the surf simulator, massages at the spa, comedy shows, musical performances, dodgeball tournaments, endless Diet Coke, 3D movies, poolside reggae bands, singing Jamaican waiters, the dance club, bottomless onion rings at Johnny Rockets, miniature golf, spectacular ocean views, and people watching that in itself was worth the price of admission, but it's hard to beat an uninterrupted hour at the pool.

Scott and I are ready to go again next year!