Skip to main content

Shipps on a Ship Part 2: Two Stops in the Bahamas

Day 2: Nassau, Bahamas
        By the time we woke up on Tuesday morning, the ship was docked in the Bahamas. At breakfast, Matthew speculated that the island was just going to be a tourist trap and that we'd be back on the ship within an hour. We all called him a cynic, but it turned out he was exactly right. We went into this incredibly overcrowded market where I almost got all 21 of us signed up for a bus tour of the island (oops) and then walked down the streets and saw everything there was to see without dropping any money in about 30 minutes. So, just as Matthew predicted we got back on the ship, changed into our swimsuits, and headed up to the Cabanas for lunch and quality tanning time.

Glamour shots on the spiral staircase while we waited for everyone to come downstairs.

At the port with our ship in the background! It's the one with the blue base!
Couldn't resist the ultimate tourist picture. 
My personal favorite moment of Tuesday was after we went to see the nightly show on the ship. It was called "Villains Tonight" and featured many of Disney's Villains. We deemed it an hour of our lives we will never get back. As we were leaving the theater laughing about how terrible it was, my cousin Chris saw a shiny button and naturally decided to press it. It turned out it was a fire door that slid shut in front of the theater's exit. The door started slowly shutting on everyone leaving the theater. Most of us made it out, laughing so hard we were crying. No one knew that someone in our family was responsible for sure! :) We relived it many times during our nightly gathering on Deck 11 for late night snacks! 


Day 3: Castaway Cay AKA Disney's Private Island:
         Castaway Cay being Disney's exclusive PRIVATE ISLAND became the butt of many jokes throughout the day. Every time a bird would fly overhead, my Uncle Dave would comment that Disney had probably programmed that bird to fly over the ocean at that exact moment in a picturesque way. But, it was a pretty perfect day at the beach. We swam in the almost unbelievably blue ocean water, rented inner tubes which we tried to relax in until Chris and Jake took it upon themselves to flip us as many times as possible, rented bikes and biked around the island to an observation deck that we could climb up and overlook the entire island, enjoyed a delicious barbecue, and then biked the island again to work off all the food! The island was truly stunning and it was a gorgeous day! Disney's PRIVATE ISLAND definitely delivered!


The beautiful beach with our ship in the background!

We really could be on a Bahamas postcard

Top of the observation deck. 




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Birthday Shoutout to my Favorite Missionary Cousin!

What better way to return from my unintentional blogging hiatus, than to write a birthday blog in honor of my favorite cousin? Whenever I describe Matthew to my friends I refer to him as, "my cousin who's kind of more like my brother." In honor of his birthday, this weekend I was reading through some of our e-mails that we've written to each other while he's been on his mission and selected my top 10 favorite quotes that encapsulate ten of my favorite things about Matthew. 1. He will forever be a matchmaker.  "So a guy in my ward sent you a message on Facebook. He was going to say that he's single and looking for a girl to take to the temple. I said that would probably be a little strange." Side note: He sent it to the wrong Sarah Freeman, so I never got it.  2. He appreciates good television.  "So I've been e-mailing Michael Scott. I thought you would appreciate that he's been working in the mission office. Please think about th...

Shipps on a Ship Part 1

        It truly feels like just yesterday my grandparents gathered our family in the living room of our rented beach house and told us that they were taking us on a Disney Cruise. In reality, it was a year and a half ago and at the time it seemed like November 2014 would never come. It still almost felt like a dream even as we boarded our plane to Orlando last Saturday after MUCH airport turmoil, i.e. Michael forgetting his carry on at security, Jonathan getting a bloody nose, and me almost losing my debit card. Against all odds, the Shipp cousins made it to Orlando in one piece. I always get teary-eyed when I see my family after a few months away, and this time was no exception! Just as we were getting settled into our hotel room, we found out that our toilet was broken, so we had to move rooms! Once we were finally settled, Uncle Dave was kind enough to take as many cousins as could pile into his van for a McDonald's run. We spent Sunday in Downtown Disney, visiti...

Life Changes and New Adventures

          I thought that I had the next couple of years of my life all figured out. I am a prime example of a chronic over-thinker, and the queen of the pro/con list. I had carefully thought out every recent decision I had made. I was settled at the school where I had been working, I had a good apartment and ward, and I had just been accepted to a 2 year long Master's of Education program, which would fulfill one of my long term goals. Yet something still felt off. Despite the fact that I thought I had a good direction in my life, I felt confused and unsettled. It felt like I was trapped inside a box. I would walk in one direction, hit the wall of the box only to turn in another direction and hit another wall.          The problem was, I just could not figure out what it was that wasn't right. I started taking the long way driving home from work each day and praying about my concerns. It took a couple of weeks of this before seemingly o...