Caribbean Cruise Day 5

On our fifth day of the cruise we went to the country of Belize. Due to shallow water and coral reefs, we had to be tendered to the  country of Belize. While we were on the tender boat a man who worked their told us to tell Dion to give us a good deal on a renal van and to say that Big Bird sent us. Doubtful we met Dion and after bartering Dad and our deacon talked him down from $50 a person to $25 for adults and $15 for the kids. Due to our bartering we got Erol for a driver who wasn't completely there. On our way to the Mayan ruins at Alto Hi we passed a sign that said 16 miles to the Mayan ruins at Alto Hi. Erol informed us psychologically it was more like 60. He also said that President Nixon was the most loved President and that "Joe Osteen is his man because he makes the Bible all cozy". This is wrong because the Bible should make you uncomfortable at times such as when Jesus was nailed to the cross and died for all of us. When we finial got to the ruins, Erol decided to be our tour guide and climbed  on top of the burial grounds to get a leaf from an allspice tree for us to smell. While we continued our tour people came up to us and told us not to listen to Erol. After completing our tour, we were driven back to the tender boat where we met a man who used to be a missionary to Belize and was revisiting the churches he had started. Once we got back to the cruise boat we changed unto some formal clothes and prepared for diner.

Caribbean Cruise Day 3

Departing the cruise ship.

 Our first stop was Cozumel; Mexico, here we rented a taxi to take us around the island. First, our driver took us to a family owned chocolate shop which still used an Mayan recipe. Second, we drove around the city and then to a  less populated area of the island. Then we ate at an Mexican restaurant, walked around the beach on the Caribbean Sea. While walking on the beach a man approached us asking if we wanted to hold Alberto his iguana. Me being the animal lover that I am gladly took his offer.When Dad went to get my picture we were told that pictures were five dollars. After our time on the beach we went back to the boat. While at a gas station near the boat the car wouldn't start so we 

Cozumel means Island of the Swallows.

walked back to the boat and enjoyed a good dinner of Fettuccini Alfredo and Crème Brûlée.

Caribbean Cruise Day 2

Church sermon

On day two at sea my family and I along with our friends attended a church service put on by one of the crew members from Alabama, U.S.A.  After singing a few songs he shared his mission statement which was "I'm just a nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody." I hope that everyone who is reading this knows the Somebody which is Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. What I liked about the preacher was that he had a love for the Lord and wasn't afraid to share it. After the sermon we ate breakfast and played Canasta. When we were done, we met up with some of the other members in our group and ate lunch. Once lunch was over my family and I learned how to play a game called Joker.

After mastering Joker, we went to our rooms to get

ready for formal night. When we finished eating an excellent meal, we left to watch a show called "Baby do you want to Dance?" Before we knew it day two aboard the Caribbean Princess had went over board.

Learning Joker

The Atrium

Andrew, Laura Ashley and I on the deck.

Caribbean Cruise

The Caribbean Princess

Last month my family and I went on a cruise with some friends. The cruise took us to Cozumel, Mexico; Roatan, Honduras; and Belize City, Belize.
 

Boarding the boat

Saturday morning after feeding all the pets and making sure that they were all okay, Dad drove us to a hotel near the Port of Houston where we met up with some of the people we were traveling with. At the hotel Dad found out that there was a four hour delay. Due to the delay, we went to Target and then to where our deacon and his wife                  were staying. After visiting with them for a few hours, they went with us to see if we would be able to board the cruise ship. Despite having to wait a long time in traffic we were able to board the boat with-out  any problems. 

We found our rooms but our bags hadn't arrived yet so we met up with our friends and ate dinner. Then we explored the ship. I found out that the boat had eight restaurants, a poolside movie screen, a theater, two spas,a exercise room,a casino, a sports deck, Kid's and Teen's Centers, a Library, a café, an Art Gallery, shops, and lots more. It was getting late so we went back to our rooms and unpacked our bags.

The boy's room

The boy's bathroom

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Youth Trip

Eating at Cheddars 

At the beach

Sorry for not blogging lately, one reason was we went on a church youth trip to Lake Sam Rayburn and New Boston. We rented a cabin at Lake Sam-Rayburn, but arrived 2.5 hours late due to a trailer tire blowout. We checked out the campgrounds, went swimming, and ended the day with a Bible study.


Day 2 started with a devotional, then a rented pontoon boat for a day on the lake and TUBING (it was my first time). That evening we played games, ate hamburgers, went snipe :) hunting, had a Bible study, and made smores.

 the Youth group at U air trampoline park. 

Day 3, we packed up and headed for New Boston. Meanwhile Mom, Dad, and Andrew went to find a clinic because Andrew's hand had swollen up after being bitten by an unknown insect. They met up with us at a gas station; where we found out that we had a tire which was bad and needed to be changed.
After a second new tire, we drove to Air U, which is an indoor trampoline park in Longview. After a fun time bouncing and playing dodgeball on trampolines, we decided to take a quick trip to the Longview Mall for lunch in the food court.  We also played glow in the dark mini golf, then continued on to New Boston.

Once we arrived at Faith Missionary Baptist Church; we unloaded, ate dinner, visited with the youth from the Faith Missionary Baptist, then listened to a lesson from Brother Josh.

The youth group from F.M.B.C and the youth group I'm in.

Both youth groups at Pizza Inn

Day 4, started with a Bible lesson and then some games. These included a game where you had to dip a broom in a bucket of wet oatmeal and empty the oatmeal from the broom into a cup that your team member was holding with their teeth. The team who had all of their cups full first won.  After we finished the games, we went swimming at church member's homes.

That evening we got in the church vans and went to Texarkana to Chuck E Cheese to play games; but ate dinner at Pizza Inn where they had a buffet and private room where we had a bible study. The neat thing about the restaurant was, another youth group was working there to help pay for a youth trip.


After dinner we went back to the church and played underground church which is best described as a version of hide and go seek in the dark.


Day 5, (the last day of the trip) had a bible study and started packing our bags. Then, we played another game of underground church. Before leaving we helped clean up the church and said our goodbyes to the other youth group. On the way home we had another trailer tire blowout. Yes, you counted right, this was the 3rd trailer tire for our trip. We arrived safely back at the church without anymore blow outs and then my family and I got into our car and headed home.

Me tubing at lake Sam-Rayburn. 

Don't get me wrong, I had a great time and got to know our church's new youth minister better, plus had some bonding time with the other youth; but I felt that we didn't really get to help or minister to others.  I am already looking forward to our next trip being a mission trip so we can help others in need.

Alabama

I have skipped Mississippi because we just drove through it and will be telling you about what we did when we reached our destination in Dauphin Bay, Alabama. Mom and Dad had surprised us with a beach house which they had rented out for us called Sunny Pit. The weather was not too sunny but we had a lot of fun. The island had the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Mississippi Sound on the other. Our house was on the gulf side and the waves were really choppy.

Sunny Pit

Sunny Pit had three bedrooms and two baths; my little brother Andrew and I shared the room below which has the twin beds. The only disadvantage was that we had to bring our own sheets and towels which took up extra room in the car.

 

The waves

Another thing that we did, was visit the Historic Fort Gaines which was probably one of the most educational war museum which I have ever been to. I loved it because it was really hands on and you could get to explore the old fort that became famous during the civil war. Of course being in the south it was a Confederate fort where the famous words D*** the torpedoes took place. The fort had amazing views of Mobile bay where a famous battle in the civil war was fought. Fort Gaines had underground tunnels, secret rooms, and lots of civil war memorabilia  If you like learning about our country's history you should defintly go. There is a small fee of  around five dollars. To learn more, they have a website here.

Louisiana

I will be doing two posts about a vacation we took, here go's. The first state we went to was Louisiana, we drove to the town of  Baton Rouge and spent the night in a hotel. The next morning, we drove to the Oak Alley Plantation, just outside of New Orleans. As their website states "It's more than a house. It's a majestic place by the Mighty Mississippi River where 300 year old oak trees have held root through times of prosperity and through times of suffering". This southern mansion is commonly called "The Grand Dame of the great river road" and that is what it is A beautiful house right next to the mighty Mississippi River. The admission to tour this house is $20.00 an adult, $7.50 for children 13 to 18 and $4.50 for kids who are between 6 and 12 years old. Even though this house is on the expensive side to tour, I would say that it is well worth it. The house and grounds take around two hours to see. My favorite parts are the antique vehicles and learning the history about the house. My favorite room of the mansion is the dining room. In the middle of this room, hung from the ceiling is a wood piece with fabric hanging from it.  A slave would have a rope tied to it and would slowly pull it to create a comfortable breeze. The dining room once had marble floors, but when the house was abandoned, cows got inside the house and cracked the floor and made a mess so the floor had to be changed into a wood floor.  I really enjoyed this tour and would go back again if I had the chance. The first image below is a video of the house taken from their website.

Master bedroom.

Bedroom.

Slave Quarters.

Grounds of the mansion. 

The parlor.

The dining room. 

Another thing we did in Louisiana was drive to the French Quarter in New Orleans and eat at Deanie's Seafood. To tell you the truth, I have had better seafood. After that, we drove to Mississippi; but that is an  another post....

A helpful tip for when visiting Louisiana is the following:  Louisiana is known for its gambling, so when driving through do not get tempted to do evil; for James 4:17 states "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin".

                                  Louisiana Facts                                       

                                         *State nickname is Sportsman's Paradise.

                                     State Motto is "Union, Justice, and Confidence "

                                  The Catahoula Leopard Dog is their state dog breed. 

                              Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the U.S.A

                                   Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV.  

                                        State mammal: Louisiana Black bear.