Christina's Wedding & Festivities

I've worked with Christina since I started at the Census Bureau in 2006. It took her a bit to warm up to me but now I'm sure she can't imagine her life without the Guidos. She's all married off now...here is how we got there...

Step 1: The Bridal Shower

Back in April, we gathered in Bel Air, MD for a bridal shower honoring Christina. Food, gifts, the works!

Me, Chrissy, Cynthia, Jill (Census girls)

Step 2: The Bachelorette Party

In May, we headed up to the Baltimore area for some wine tasting and dinner.

I loooved the TangoPeach wine I tried!

Step 3: The Wedding!

It was a beautiful affair on the 18th of June. Beautiful weather, lovely church, delicious food, good dancing...everything a wedding should be!

Congratulations!

I think we looked pretty spiffy too :)

Step 4: Happily Ever After

Milestones

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

That's Aunt Laura to you!

Or at least it will be to future Baby Evans. That's right, Paul & Amie are having a bambino.

Congratulations to them. Baby Evans' ETA is the end of November. Looks like I better get shopping! Hahahahaaaa....

Vacation Recap - Day 7 & 8

Day 7 - At Sea

Well, this was technically our last day of vacation. We left Grand Turk and were headed back to Ft. Lauderdale and the real world. The weather was great so it was nice to sleep in and spend the day by the pool. We found a shady spot with a good view and managed to finish our books before lunch.

But, if you ask us what we really remember about the last day, it would definitely be the little visit we got from the coast guard. See, around noon time the captain (and his very thick Italian accent) came across the loud speakers to tell us he had a very important announcement. Someone was going to be air lifted off the boat. The coast guard's ETA was 2:15 and we were instructed to be cooperative with the staff. Grreeeaaaat.

I had a feeling things were about the go haywire so I suggested to Joe that we run and grab lunch ASAP. We did just that and returned to our pool chairs to chow down. Within minutes, the staff started clearing the upper decks (where a lot of pool seating is located). Everyone had to get up, the chairs were packed up, etc. We also began hearing that the other pools were completely evacuated and the places we had just gotten lunch from were closed. Somehow we had managed to select some of the only seats that day that weren't forced to move. Thank goodness!

In the end, of course, the coast guard was even later then expected so our "at sea" day was really interrupted. Most people weren't allowed to return to the pools or chairs until around 3:30. But, the little rescue effort was quite impressive to watch. The helicopter hovered over the ship, while we were still moving, and dropped the basket down to pick up the passenger. It seemed like the blades were so close to hitting the boat. They made it look so easy.

After things go back to normal we spent a little more time by the pool and got cleaned up for our "last supper." After dinner, we enjoyed a show put on by two of the comics we saw previously on the ship. Then, we switched locations for what was listed as a Family Feud style game. We had just planned to go and watch, but the turn out wasn't terrific and we were convinced to become a team. Well, turns out, Joe and I were quite good at it and won 1st place and a bottle of champagne. Woo hoo! Since we had to stay awake and polish off our prize, we went to the final show which was staff member's hidden talents. Finally, it was time to go to sleep.


Day 8 - Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

We awoke to the lovely (ha) sounds the the ship docking in Florida. *sigh* Vacation was coming to a close. We had to pack our suitcases the night before so we hadn't held much behind for getting ready. Needless to say, it didn't take long to head out of our room. At this point, we were both quite sick of seeing food but we managed to find room for one more breakfast buffet.

We signed up for one of the latest times to get off the boat since our flight wasn't until the afternoon. This being, 9:30am. Disembarking and customs were a sintch and it wasn't long before we were in line for a taxi to the airport. The couple in front of us in line offered to share a taxi which was an offer we couldn't refuse. Still, we ended up at the airport four hours before our flight.

And so, that's what we did for the rest of the day: hung out in the airport. At 2:30, we flew back to Baltimore and were glad to survive the windy and shaky landing. 55 degree temperatures welcomed us home.

Overall, I think this trip did improve my opinion of cruises. It was nice to be so well fed and always have a lot of options for things to do at night. The crowds and lines weren't too too bad, although I still prefer vacations where I can be around fewer people and don't have to worry about claiming my chair by the pool/beach/etc. We had a great time! Check it out for yourself:

Eastern Caribbean - Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 7 Days

The End!

Vacation Recap - Day 5 & 6

Day 5 - St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands

Shortly after leaving St. Maarten, we cruised to St. Thomas. Both Joe and I had been to this island previously so we decided on an excursion that would take us to the island of St. John. There was a little confusion after getting off the ship. Usually when you do excursions you are given a time and place to meet your group and then you proceed to that location and look for someone holding up the name or number of your trip. Welllll, for some reason, that whole holding up numbers concept wasn't very good in St. Thomas. Eventually, though, we figured out where to go and waited for the ferry that would take us to St. Thomas.

It was about a 60 minute scenic ferry ride to St. John - the water is so blue, the land so mountainous, the weather so beautiful. We then taxied to Trunk Bay which was once voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It was great! 75% of St. John is owned by the national park service and therefore remains preserved and uncommercialized.

Our excursion was actually a snorkel trip despite my hesitation. Joe was quite the trooper sitting by the pool and on beaches the entire trip so I thought it would be nice to do an activity for him. Well, the park service actually set up a snorkel tour at this location. Just like going to the zoo, there were plaques underwater to describe what you were seeing. Very cool!

This was the second formal night so once we got back to the ship, we cleaned up and spiffied up for a fancy dinner. Joe had lobster and shrimp and I had beef wellington. It was very yum. After, we saw a comedy/magic show which was interesting to say the least. Following that, we went to see a game show based on the Newlywed Show except they used a couple married that day, a couple married 7 years, and a couple married 25 years. It was one of our favorite days of the trip.


Day 6 - Grand Turk, Turks & Caicos

So Grand Turk...this port is owned and maintained by the cruiseline and therefore it was very similar to the experience we had on our Bahamas day. Excursions were available but not necessary because the beach is right next to where the boat docks. There were also pools right next to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. It was a little resort.

It was a very hot day and we sought refuge under some palm trees. It was a relaxing day in and out of the water. That's what I look for in a vacation.

We ate dinner in the dining room again. I can't quite recall what we ate but I think I had sea bass and Joe had some sort of beef. I do remember that I had some excellent cheesecake for dessert. I wish I could have boxed up tons of that to bring home! We saw some traditional cruise entertainment that night - a tribute to pop stars. Well, I didn't quite agree with their idea of pop star but it was something to do. Afterwards, we caught The Blind Side on the tv in our room.