Miami Bound...For Our First Cruise!

So....I want to tell you about our cruise!

Ryan has been on multiple cruises before, and he said the worst thing ever is to cut the flight too close to the cruise departure time. Well, I hate cutting things too close...so we headed out a whole day early so we could ENJOY our vacation.

I'm not sure if you can enjoy this...but this is the time we got up Saturday morning to leave for our cruise!

We packed up the car, said our goodbyes to Braeya, and met Ryan's mom, who provided our shuttle service to the airport. Here's our really bad departure photo. Sorry. 3:30 is not our finest hour.

See that little speck over on the right side of the picture...on the freezer? Yeah that's a baby frog. So now you know just how fake that smile is on my face. I was freaking out inside. Frogs are so...jumpy!

We went to the airport and got all checked in. Security went better for me this time than it usually does. I'm the kind of girl that something goes wrong for EVERY TIME. I was so nervous - SO nervous - to fly. I don't love it ever, but this time, for whatever reason, I was extra nervous. Soon I'll have to tell you about how God worked in my heart....it was a sweet time we shared there on that plane.

Ryan was good to comfort me...before he fell asleep, that is.

The flights were fairly uneventful - and I enjoyed my first chance ever to fly on a clear day, so I got to see a lot of scenery from above!

Beautiful mountains on our way to Charlotte!

Welcome to Charlotte!!  Well...thank you! It was my first time to be in that fine city!

And just so you know - this is NOT what you want to see when you look out the window. EEEK!

Our wing is broken!!! {Not really. But I was a little freaked.}

I was not even in Charlotte long enough to eat a whole granola bar before we were BACK on a plane - this time bound for Miami, baby!

Saw the Steelers' plane as we were fixin' to leave Charlotte. Hope they made it to their game in time!

Loved flying over the coastline - isn't this pretty?

We arrived in Miami around noon and caught a shuttle to our hotel. It was a GORGEOUS day in Miami...but now I know why they call it the Miami HEAT!

And the rest of the day was filled with lovely lounging. We made our way to the pool...and loved our lounging time.

Sorry I look so mad. It was just bright. :)

After we soaked up some sun {read: fell asleep and got burned to a crisp before the cruise even STARTED....} we headed out for dinner. The hotel recommended a Cuban restaurant across the street, so we went there and ate the massive portions put in front of us. Okay. Half of the massive portions.

My favorite part of the dinner was our waitress. She was SO nice and when Ryan asked her story {because he's nice like that}...she told us her husband came to the States from Cuba two years ago to look for work, found a good job, and a year later sent for her and their daughter to join him. She got a job as a waitress, they found a nice apartment, and she's hoping within a year or so, they can add to their family! Stories like that remind me of how blessed I am to have a nice home and a good job!

This was just not a stellar day in the looks department, but it was a blissfully wonderful day!!

And in case you've not had enough of us...a small video version of today: