Thursday, September 4, 2003
09-24-2003, 8:50 p.m.

Thursday, September 4, 2003�

I was not taking any chances this morning. After missing the docking yesterday morning, I was determined to be up in time this morning. I set the wake up call for a little after 5:00; which was way before we were supposed to be there. I got up and dressed, amazingly enough without waking my parents up, grabbed my camera and headed for the horizon for a cup of coffee. I made it to go, and took it to the front of the ship with me, where I settled in to watch the sunrise. It was still really dark out, but I could see twinkling lights in the distance, from St. Maarten, which was still a ways off. It was such a beautiful morning, the weather was perfect, and before long the sun began it�s rise into the sky. It was beautiful, first all blue and pink, with the sparking water beneath it and then totally golden and beautiful. It was amazing, and I felt so peaceful standing there watching it. I got some really great pictures too, and really enjoyed my morning very much. As we got closer to St. Maarten, I was struck by the beauty of it all. It really is indescribable, watching the ship pull so close to the dock, it was so cool.

After we docked, I was going to walk on the treadmill for a bit but I was really so tired, so I decided to go back to bed for a while instead. At least until room service showed up.

Our day in St. Maarten was really nice. We were worried that we were not going to be able to go there at all because of the weather, so it was great that we were able to. We later found out that we were the first ship allowed in for several days, so we really did get pretty lucky. We didn�t have any plans for excursions here, and instead decided to do one of our favorite things, shop. It was so very hot though, almost 110 degrees with 96% humidity. It was horrible, like walking through water.. hot water at that. We had so much fun though, shopping for Caribbean wear for the Caribbean night which will be held tomorrow night. We wanted to get dresses or something, and a shirt for dad, so we looked and looked for the perfect ones. Mom and I are so alike, and we always like the same things, and so that was a lot of fun. Even shopping together, we managed to buy gifts for each other that were surprises when we got back to the ship. How, I have no clue, but it was fun. Dad was really hot after a while, so we sent him back to the ship. He had bought us wrist bands for the water taxi earlier, so we could use it whenever we wanted, and he said that he would come back later if we stayed out much longer. We shopped for a while more, but we were getting really hot, and we needed to get back to the ship earlier anyway, because we had appointments for manicures and pedicures.

On our way back, we ran into Dad, who told us about this little old lady who seemed lost. He wanted to help her, but didn�t want to freak her out, so he was hoping that someone would come along. We went to talk to her, and found out that she had gotten separated from her group and her friends somehow and she was really worried and upset. We told her that we were headed back to the ship, and asked her if we could take her back with us. She was so sweet, and she seemed so grateful for the help. We took her back to the ship with us, and watching my parents help her so much really reminded me once again just how kind and generous they are and how proud I am to be their daughter.

When we got closer to the ship, we actually ran into her friends and they were so happy to see her. She went back with them, and we were going to go back ourselves, but I told mom and dad to go ahead, that I wanted to stop and try to call Stephen. I am missing him so much and I just wanted to hear his voice so badly. I bought a phone card and called his office, only to get his voice mail. I was so bummed, but decided to call his secretary to see if she knew where he was. As soon as she heard my voice she got excited and told me to hold on. He was right there and she put him on the phone. Oh man, that was the best moment of the day, hearing his voice. It was so wonderful to talk to him and the time went so quickly. He couldn�t talk freely because everyone was around, but I didn�t care, it was great. We said our goodbyes too soon, hehe, but he had to go. I still had some time left on my card though, so I decided to give quick calls to Jen, Cory and Tonny. I figured that I would surprise them! I got to talk to Jen and to Tonny for a few minutes, but Cory was on lunch when I called. I was so sorry to miss her, and knew that she would be disappointed too. It was so nice to talk to Jen and Tonny though. I really miss them a lot too.

I met mom and dad back at the room, and mom and I had to get ready for our spa appointment. We got a great deal since it was a port day, by going before the ship left, so that was cool. Mom got called back right away, but I had to wait a couple of minutes. As I was waiting though, the captain walked by and he stopped to talk to me, which was really cool. It might sound silly, but I was thrilled by this. He asked how I was doing with the rocking and all that, and said that he hoped that we were having a great week. I couldn�t wait to get back and tell mom.

Our pampering sessions were wonderful! This was mom�s first ever manicure and pedicure and I was so excited for her. I knew she would love it, and she totally did. The girls who did them were awesome too, and we just had such fun, especially getting to do it together. The ship pulled out of port while we were getting our nails done, and we had a great view from the spa, it was really a neat experience.

After we were done, we went to find dad to show him our beautiful nails and toes. We found him on the balcony, watching St. Maarten in the distance with his new binoculars. We both put on our new rings and then went out to show him how great we looked. We were out there for a bit, just watching St. Maarten disappear and chatting about our days. Mom finally decided to go take a shower, and when she went to open the balcony door she gasped. I thought she was kidding us at first, but it was no joke� somehow when I had closed the balcony door behind us, the lock had latched, we were locked out on the balcony. We laughed so hard, it was hysterical!!! Luckily for us, a lot of people were out on their balconies at this time (thank goodness it was still close to sail-away time and people were watching it from their balconies), and we called to the guy on the balcony above us. We told him the situation and asked him to call for help. He was laughing so hard, but managed to go call. It was so funny actually, and we just about died when they sent one of the ships officers of all people to let us out. He was cracking up, and I asked him to tell me that we weren�t the only people to do such a bone-headed thing. He said that we were the third cabin that day! It was really such a funny moment, and something that I will always remember from this cruise. I can�t even imagine what would happen if we got stuck out there at night, giggle. The funniest part though, is that this dumb door never locks when you want it to, but you can bet we will be leaving it open a little when we are out there now.

Since Fabian is still affecting the water, the ship was really rocking again, and I started feeling a little sick. I laid down to take a nap and when I got up I felt so much better! We decided to go have dinner, but none of us wanted to get dressed up, so we just went to the buffet. It was really nice and we had a good time. Afterwards, mom and I decided to swim, and headed for the pool at the front of the ship. We went through the spa, and I was shocked to see that the carpet was soaked, and wondered why. I didn�t have to wonder for long. As I said, the ship was really rocking tonight, and it was affecting the water in the pools. There were literally 10 foot waves in the pool, not an exaggeration at all. We went in anyway, and ended up having the best time. The water was hitting the walls so hard, and flying into the air and even landing in the hot-tubs. The people in there were laughing telling us to stop splashing them. Mom got pulled under, and got concrete burn on her butt at one point. We were just cracking up. Eventually we decided to go check out the other pools, and went to the one in the middle of the ship, which is bigger and deeper. Oh man, it was the most fun ever, being thrown from one end of the pool to the other. We would drag each other to the sides of the pool to hold on, laughing the whole time. It was hard to swim sometimes, but it was just so much fun. We must have stayed in there for over 2 hours, and when we got out, we were exhausted. We both agree though that it was just the most fun. After we got dressed we decided to go to the casino for a while. Dad was already there so we went to see what he was doing. At one point he called me over, and told me that mom was looking for us. For good reason!! She had hit a jackpot on the slots and won 1200.00. She was so excited, and wouldn�t you believe that this was the first time I didn�t have my camera with me. Figures!! She even gave me 100.00 of her winnings, hehe, awww� but we were so very tired at this point and the boat was rocking so very much, that we decided to just call it a night and go to bed. I really don�t feel so good. Mom and Dad decided to go raid the buffet, but I can�t even stand the thought of eating, all I want to do is go to sleep. It was such a great day and I am having a great time, but this rocking sucks. Everyone we talk to (people who work here and stuff) keep saying that the boat NEVER rocks this much. Just my luck, coming when there is a hurricane. I know we are safe, and all that, but I could do with just a little less motion. At least I am not constantly sick now, just occasionally, but I do have to sleep a lot. Okay, on vacation THAT is not a bad thing. That is where I am going now, I was trying to wait for mom and dad to get back, but I can�t keep my eyes open. I think I am going to go to sleep and dream about my Stephen, and his voice.