Vacation 2016 Part 1.

May 4th: Becke is released from Wake Med Cary! She’s eating normal food for the first time in months, she’s off TPN, her belly is closed and no more fistulas! It’s a glorious time and a long over due celebration is in need. I did buy her a new car, she saw commercials and kept talking about how she really liked this and it looked nice so I went, test drove it and with the help of a good friend Jose who went looking and tracked down what she wanted, who’s a salesman at a local Deacon Jones Kia Goldsboro dealer, Becke now owns a 2016 Kia Sorento, which I presented to her when she got out!

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May 7th: It was 12:45am, we were staying with my Mom at the beach and I was now waking everyone up, making them get dressed, and telling them to get in the car we have to go! Luckily, my mother, Becke and I pre packed everything the night before. Kids are in a panic because they didn’t have clothes packed, no iPads or cellphones and were already mad that I picked them up from school at 1030am on Friday and drove strait to the beach. Luckily, I planned for that and had all new clothes ordered and sent to my moms, and had their phones, iPads, headphones and etc pre hidden in the car. And now we set our course for a 9.5 hour drive, to sunny Port Canaveral, Florida!

We started driving and made great time. Luckily I wake up for work at 1230am, and go to work between 1-2am for the overtime, so I had no problems driving. We get to South of the Boarder in South Carolina, make a pit stop, grab a drink, bathroom and keep on driving until we got near the last quarter of Georgia when we stopped and I met up with a great friend and his family, as they were heading back to their house in Sc. They basically went to where we were headed but the week before us.We got gas, cold drinks and a bathroom break, and back to the driving, we finally arrived at our Marriott hotel around 11:30am Saturday in beautiful and overly populated Cocoa Beach, Fl. Get unpacked, have a break and we went into Orlando to visit Hard Rock Cafe! Had a wonderful time at Universal Studios City Walk as I rented a wheelchair so we could let Becke enjoy more time out with out wearing her self out, food at HRC was great, and that was HR1 of the trip. Should have been 1&2 but we didn’t go to the rock shop next door at Hard Rock Live, I completely forgot. So we headed to the hotel, and got comfy. The kids thought that’s all we were doing and Sunday we were heading back to NC as they had no clue what was fixing to happen.

May 8th: I picked this hotel for two reasons, 1: as a Marriott rewards member I get discounts and rewards points plus its a great hotel in Cocoa beach, and 2: it was a 15 min drive up the beach to the cruise line parking plus the hotel offered 50% off coupons for parking prices. So being so close we got to sleep in some and didn’t have to rush. So once we were ready, we packed up, checked out and left, drove 15 min up the road and the cruise ships were in port, and the kids made the comment of how huge they were so I said “lets see if we can get closer” and proceeded to act like I got lost and ended up in the parking area by accident. Oh kids, by the way, SURPRISE!! Everyone was super ecstatic as no one has been on a cruise before. Well I have but many years ago, so we get Becke a wheelchair, and I’m going to praise Carnival because the amount of customer service we received for getting into a wheel chair, the, escorting us and keeping us 5 together and checked in was outstanding (A lot of props to Carnival for that). 

Once we got on the ship, I explained very clearly the rules for the kids, which were 1: You MUST leave a note in one of our rooms with where you plan on going (deck number and area), 2: You WILL be in the cabin by whatever time we set for that day.  3: you will keep your Sail & Sign card with you at ALL times. no questions asked. and 4: Eat whatever and as much as you want (seriously I didn’t care as Becke was just released from the hospital and its not every day you’re on a cruise). Off we went to explore, eat and relax. Becke really enjoyed relaxing in the wheelchair on Deck 3 starboard side (right). It was the smoking area, but the deck was more than large enough and with the constant wind you didnt have any smoke in your face issues. you were close enough above the water to see any sea life that may come up next to the ship.

May 9th was Monday, 8:00am and we got to Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, Becke wasn’t feeling to well so she unfortunately stayed on the ship all day and slept most of it. So Cindy (my mom), the boys and I went into the port area and walked around got some gifts, our pics taken and headed back to the ship. Its my experience (this was my second cruise) to explore and do more ship things during Port days as most passengers are off the ship. On the ship we walked around, swam, ate and when I say we ate, I swear we ate enough for a small platoon of soldiers. I tried more new foods than I would any other time I would. If you have not been on a cruise, all food is included (unless noted, like Scarlett’s steakhouse with Carnival Cruise Line, Dr. Seuss Green eggs and Ham breakfast, or specialty drinks like mocha’s, latte and etc), this includes room service, because nothing says vacation like a Turkey sandwich, slice of cheesecake and orange juice at 2am. Also 24/7 Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Pizza (which the pizza pirate staff learned Jesse very well and even had his little pizzas ready as he was seen walking up, two slice of pepperonI and two cheese, the whole thing is the size of a 10″ personal pizza) So I highly encourage to try ALL foods, if you don’t like it, then just move on. That night we got all pretty and got pictures taken. Another perk of cruising is all of the professional photographers on the ship. Get your self all dolled up and head to Deck 5 (same deck with the Casino and stores on Carnival) and walk up and down “Hollywood Strip” and you’ll have a new background every 8 feet. Total of 12 I think, and this doesn’t include the new backgrounds on the second and third nights! Not to mention the ones you get as you leave the ship, or are taken randomly during the whole cruise. Head down to Deck 4 to the Pixels gallery to view them and then you can resize, them and purchase the pictures. It can be expensive depending on how many you get, but its the only time we get to get pictures of us all together as a nicely, clean dressed family so its worth it. Actually as I just re-read that last line, I made it sound like we’re hoodlums, meh, oh well, you get the idea.

May 10th was Tuesday, 8:00am and we were now in port at the infamous Nassau, Bahamas. Home of legendary pirates of the 1700’s, beautiful clear teal blue waters, and Atlantis (and wouldn’t you know it’s located on Paradise Island in Nassau). I woke everyone up, made them get ready and got Becke out of the bed long enough to take a wheeling down the gangway to disembark the ship. We walked down the long piers and walked around a few blocks, and yes, we went to Hard Rock Cafe #2 NASSAU! Unfortunately we couldn’t eat there as it was not wheelchair accessible. We got our pins and continued walking around the island before heading back to the straw market and going back on the ship. Becke and Mom had an appointment to have a pedicure, my treat to them. They got some full fire and ice blah blah, me and the kids went and ate ice cream because, well, ALL YOU CAN EAT! After Lunch, Becke wasn’t feeling to good and we got her to the cabin, where she ultimately went to sleep and slept for the rest of the day and into the mid hours of the night. After she woke up we spent a few hours at the outside bar and Pizza Pirate bar at the aft of the ship on deck 10. Enjoying the open air and ocean sounds. I enjoyed a few Guinness and she enjoyed pizza and mr. pibb.

May 11th was Wednesday and it was our SEA DAY! The whole day we spend slowly cruise around 10 knots heading back home in the open ocean. Honestly, this is one of my favorite days, get a nice chair on an empty deck around 430am and just watch the sun peak its head over the horizon. One of my favorite things ever in this world. Becke was declining in health again so she stayed in the room for breakfast with the rest of us going to  the Dr. Seuss Green Eggs and Ham breakfast. One of my favorite artists and authors to date, so I was not going to miss this, plus Jesse is also a big fan which works out for me. After the breakfast we hung out, went to the arcade and I won Jesse some kind of skeleton plush figure from Minecraft or something, I don’t know. I almost won me a plush stormtrooper but the crane cheated me out of it since I won the skeleton thing. Damien honestly spent almost all of his time at the pool or the Teen club O2, Jesse didn’t really want to hang out at the younger kids club Circle C so he just hung out with Becke and his Nana. This is also the saddest day of the cruise because it almost always means that when you wake up the next day, you’ll be forced off the ship back at home. 

May 12th was Thursday, and it was  7am, we were getting our stuff, and heading into the US Customs and Border offices to declare our citizenship to re-enter the good ole U.S. of A. ‘Murica! So once we got back to the car (again the Carnival staff to help us with Becke and her wheel chair from off the ship to the car was amazing). We drove from the island to Orlando and went to our hotel at the Marriott Orlando airport. Rested up and went to dinner, at, you guessed it HARD, nah just kidding, we actually went to Downtown Disney Springs and walked around and ate at House of Blues! Went to the largest disney store, lego store, Raglan Road Irish pub & Store, Disney Pin shop, then we headed back to the hotel.

Next was Friday the 13th and that day will require me to edit the second video and pictures and write about that day by it self. So, stay tuned!

-C