Happy Easter!!!!

Phew, I’ve gotten so behind guys, I apologize!!! I suppose I can back track to February 14th, Valentine’s day, and also the day my parents and grandparents came to cruise!!!! I was so excited to show my grandparents my life aboard a cruise ship because it was their first time cruising with me! It had also been a long time since they had seen me dance so I was really happy they got to come! 

The Independence is a beautiful ship and I had a lot of fun showing my family all the different venues and amenities.  The first two sea days were spent exploring the ship, catching up, and my first show, Invitation to Dance. Grandma and Grandpa really liked this show and recognized the different styles of ballroom. The first port was St. Maarten and mom and dad took a tour to swim with the dolphins. After flying rehearsal, I met up with Grandma and Grandpa for our island tour. Our tour guide was named Freddie and he was hilarious. Freddie told us that St. Maarten is the “friendly island” or the “sunshine city”. According to him, when it rains, it’s liquid gold! 

We crossed over the smallest international bridge, which is actually in the Guinness book of world records, to get from the Dutch side to the French. There is no jail on the French side, so people have to be transported to the other side to be incarcerated. We drove past beautiful rolling hills, where movies like King Kong and Jurassic Park 2 were filmed. There are no snakes, mongoose were imported to the island to get rid of them. We spotted several giant iguanas that were also brought to the island about four years ago. Freddie informed us that there are no exports, he jokingly stated the only thing they make there is children. They learn French, English, and Spanish on the French side, Dutch, English, French and Spanish on the Dutch side. 

We passed a statue of a lady holding a lantern. The French side abolished slavery fifteen years before the Dutch and hundreds of people tried to escape to the other side. She represents those that were killed trying to run for freedom. There were several statues in the roundabouts that represented the historical people from the island. I like that they commemorated even some one as common as “the traffic man”, a kind man who volunteered his time to guide traffic safely. It’s nice to recognize people who aren’t the rich and famous, but the islanders that make a difference in the community. 

The tour stopped in Marigot, the French capitol. I took Grandma and Grandpa to my favorite bakery to get some delicious French pastries. We enjoyed delicious meals and finished off with slices of raspberry and apple tarts. DIVINE! 

In San Juan, the Doherty clan, Edwen, Joce and Lucky and I all booked the tour to the Yunque forest, the only rainforest in the US! We had a great time walking thru the trees, listening to the birds and frogs, looking for the butterflies and other creatures. I also got to hug my Freddie (my bestie from my last ship) because he’s on a Holland America ship and they were ported with us that day. Sadly, our ship leaves early from San Juan so I didn’t get much time with him but finally getting to hug him again was perfect. I hadn’t seen him since he left NY for rehearsals a few weeks before I left so I was glad for any face time we could get! 

I think the main highlight from the Doherty cruise was getting to watch two generations on the dance floor. Our ballroom couple, Allie and Dima, taught three classes throughout the week and we attended all of them of course! Grandma and Grandpa were obviously pros, and Mom and Dad were twirling dervishes!!! I can see where I get my passion for dance from!

Labadee day was rainy but I was grateful for the time to chat with my mom. I am so lucky to have supportive parents and such an amazing family. They are my everything. They are there for me in good times and bad, no matter what. I lean on them and though I love traveling, being away from them is hard. That’s why I was so excited to have the rents and G-rents come, so we could travel together and make memories that will last us a lifetime! Having them come makes me even more ecstatic for our Doherty trip to China!!! 

After I said goodbye to the fam bam…..and yes there were tears…the cast found out that we were extended for two extra weeks. I miss home a lot but I’m trying to stay focused on the positives; more time to accomplish things on my Caribbean bucket-list, to have a late sail away from San Juan so I can actually go to dinner in a port this contract, and a chance to go to Cozumel again! Since that news, I have had a few more highlights of my trip:

-I finally made it to Stingray City, a sandbar in the ocean where boats stop and attract stingrays. You can swim, hold, feed and even kiss them! Feeding them was quite the experience, their mouths are on the bottom and they suction in the food, it felt like a powerful vacuum!! Leconte, Chris, Joce, Lucky, and I had an absolute BLAST trying to sneak up on the stingrays to take a selfie! We got some great video and pictures with our underwater cameras. Our boat also took us to a good spot for snorkeling and I was impressed with how well I’ve improved with my snorkeling skills. I was able to calmly float along, observing the fish, while everyone else was kicking up silt and scaring the animals away. 

-For Edwen’s birthday we had amazing sangria in an adorable bar in San Juan. Definitely a spot to remember for the late sail away!

-Megan, Luke, Lucie, Joce, Lucky, Leconte, Edwen and I all went to the Ice Bar in Grand Cayman, where we froze our bums off, laughing and having a photo shoot with our faux fur coats. 

-Leconte, Joce, Lucky, Tom and I found reef sharks and stingrays swimming along the ocean floor while we were snorkeling in Coco Cay. It was a bit eerie seeing their dark shadows in the turquoise water but they were just swimming along, not bothering the people wading in the water. 

-Luke’ mom, Luke, Edwen and I went to Airport Beach in St. Maarten where you can stand beneath large planes as they fly into the airport. Their powerful force nearly knocks you over! 

-Edwen and I found beautiful unique art made from butterflies in glass cases. It was bitter sweet, walking thru the displays in the San Juan shop called Butterfly People. The colors were stunning but you can’t help but feel sad because they are dead butterflies. The artist creates gorgeous shapes and color pallets with the delicate creatures. 

-I took Edwen for his first Fro-yo experience! It was hilarious to watch his reaction when he discovered all the different flavor and topping options. Needless to say, he’s a fan and I can’t wait to take him to the yummy places we have in Colorado!

6 cruises left and I’m counting down the days til I get to see my lil nugget Rylee again!!!! I need to hold her in my arms, kiss her and tell her how much I love her!!!!! Until then, I’ll keep you updated on my adventures here in the sunny Caribbean!!!