Wimberley Weekend

So this weekend was the last weekend that we have miss Brit with us before she and Ben head back to Jupiter (just north of West Palm Beach). We figured it would be fun to head to Corpus Christi so she could spend one last weekend with her cousin, Lauren, but it turned out that Lauren's family had other plans... they were going to be renting a house in Wimberley for the weekend.

Luckily, her family is extremely inclusive, and although her mom is no longer with Ben's brother, she was very kind and extended the invitation to us to come and see them. So, we packed up the truck, picked up Jasmyn (youngest niece on this side of the family, age 12), and headed to Wimberley for the weekend. The girls were going to stay with Lauren and her family at the house and Ben and I decided to stay at a bed and breakfast since afterall, we did just celebrate 15 years of putting up with one another! :)

The house was beautiful... five bedrooms, great kitchen, and a nice pool with a hot tub to boot! After spending time out here, Ben and I have made the executive decision that our family will be doing this from now on. It's so nice. Everyone is on neutral territory, no one has to worry about hosting, you can literally spend ALL DAY floating in the water relaxing, the men can be manly and grill, and at the end of the day you are just spending time being with the people you love!

After spending the entire day relaxing, Ben and I headed to our Bed and Breakfast, Highpoint Manor. It was only about 15 minutes away from the house, so an easy trek to get to. It was super quiet and we were met by I think the son or son in law of the owner and his cutie baby girl, Brooke. He informed me that they would have plenty of gluten free options for me at breakfast. (mmmm, I like this guy). Then he pointed out a tray of carrots and told us to take a few and feed the animals. ANIMALS! YAY! Let's see some animals, shall we?

After hanging out with the peacocks, tail-less cat, three legged dog (not shown), miniature horses, donkeys, and the llama, we hung out at the pool and then spent a while in the hot tub relaxing. Great way to end the night!



Got up the next morning and woke up to the smell of bacon (I don't like the taste, but I can very much appreciate the smell of it) and coffee and knew that we had a great breakfast coming. Thanks to these guys...

We had a great breakfast of farm fresh eggs, pancakes (well, Ben enjoyed those and I must say, they were QUITE fluffy), rosemary potatoes, homemade salsa, fresh fruit, juices, coffee... mmmm... it was delightful. So here we are, well rested and well fed and ready to spend another lovely day with family at the pool. Great weekend!



Oh, and today's happy gluten free tidbit... Bartlett's restaurant (used to be Houston's) has a gluten free menu. Happy day!!!

Whole Foods... Fail.

Well, I survived the weekend. I was a bit mopey but I stayed pretty preoccupied. Every now and then I would have a thought that would make me really miss my cousin but I know that things are really good for her right now. She's finally getting to LIVE with her husband, who spent the first year of their marriage in Afghanistan, and she's going to get to go to school - which is such a great thing for her. We spent Saturday afternoon out on the lake with some friends of ours and enjoyed some fun in the sun. My friend Kris was kind enough to bring me a sampling of a new gluten free beer... I think it's called Greene? Because the only one I can find in Round Rock is called Red Bridge. (which actually isn't bad at all!) Being out on the water and hanging out with these folks was a really good distraction. We got home and took a quick power nap, had some Jason's Deli for dinner (they offer a GF menu) and watched So You Think You Can Dance. Then I proceeded to have insomnia all night. LOVELY. Ben let me sleep in a little, though, so that helped.

We decided today to conquer WHOLE FOODS. I tend to shop at Sprouts. I really like it. It's small. It's reasonably priced. It's not so predictable that there is a music video about it. But Ben has been talking about going to Whole Foods and I humored him and said, SURE! Let's go. So the three of us piled in the truck and headed down to Capitol of Texas to Whole Foods.

$100 later and still needing groceries at HEB... we left Whole Foods. Do you know what was REALLY surprising to me? Whole Foods did not have Gluten Free worchestershire sauce. Lee & Perrins is GF and you can find it at any Grocery store. So I had to go to HEB to get it. It's little things like that that really annoy me. And I think that Ben learned that Whole Foods charges a premium just so you can say, "I got this at Whole Foods." Jeez. I'm just a Sprouts girl. There's nothing wrong with that.

I got something really thoughtful in the mail today. Beth Anne's mother in law (greg's stepmom) is celiac and is very active in the celiac community. She goes to conferences, meetings, etc. She and her daughter, Ellie, (who is also celiac) just got back from a national conference in Orlando. Upon her return she sent me some literature, some magazines, and a thoughtful letter and invited Ben and I to have dinner with her family. She specifically asked for my favorite dessert so that she can challenge herself to make it gluten free. I thought that was pretty sweet. :)

I'm making the fam gluten free meatloaf tonight; taking one of my old favorite recipes and using GF bread crumbs rather than the standard ones. Wish me luck that it doesn't fall apart...

Stupid La Margarita. Stupid Kansas.

Ben is not much of a mexican food fan. I'm okay with that because I'm lucky to work with a group of people who are so I frequently get my fix. However, Ben and I finally were able to compromise with a restaurant called La Margarita. He loves it because they have these disgusting Mexican White Wings that for some reason people tend to obsess over.

Chicken, wrapped in bacon, with some buffalo type seasoning and a jalapeno in the middle. I don't see it. But if it makes him eat at a mexican food restaurant with me, he can eat them all he wants. In fact, he takes them with him everywhere he goes. He takes them to parties. He takes them to friends' houses. The man likes his white wings.

Anyway. Since I've been learning the hard way that even though things appear safe to eat, they aren't always what them seem, I decided to ask the question... "I assume that my order is gluten free"? (My constant order here is bean chalupas.) NOPE. These people make their chalupa shells with a mixture of corn and wheat flour. *cry*. Which is also how they make their chips. So nachos are out. Oh, and they make their corn torillas on the same surface as their flour tortillas, so eat at your own risk. And their fajitas are in a marinade that has soy sauce. So essentially I'm screwed. Which is what I kindly told the waitress. I was a bit pissed. Completely not gluten friendly, and it's disappointing because I literally would eat there at least once a week with either Ben or my coworkers. Guess I'm eating salad.

My sister got the results of her celiac blood work this week and it turns out that her numbers are positive for celiac. Her GI wants to do an endoscopy for her on Monday. She's super stressed about it but I am so glad she's moving forward with the process. There are a number of things that I'm hoping will help her. She's plagued with Migraines and Lactose intolerance... both of these are things that may improve with a gluten free diet. I've been doing a LOT of reading about this and as much as it sucks, at least we can work through it together!

We went to a roast for my boss last night, who just celebrated 15 years at Dell... the roast was at a bar called Cover 3. I looked at the menu and pitifully asked if there was anything that I could eat... the waitress was very kind, asked if I was just eating GF or if I was celiac, then made a recommendation. She brought me a delicious dish of ahi tuna served over spinach (instead of noodles, which is how it's typically served) and informed me that the chips were made in a separate fryer and they were absolutely GF, as was the queso and guac. Turned out to be quite delightful and I'll now ensure I visit this restaurant!

So it was a nice evening until I had to go to my cousin's house to say goodbye. :( That sucked. Stupid Kansas. Laura made sure to remind me that it's all my fault, I introduced them. Love you cousin!

Happy Fourth!

I have had a long, but good weekend.

I went to Dallas on Friday to go see my sister and her husband and my oh so beautiful niece, Ida Pearl. We took Ida to the Dallas Aquarium.. I was really surprised by how pretty the aquarium was... it's modeled as a rain forest and it doesn't have just fish, it also has an array of animals... otters, monkeys, penguins... just a really pretty, relaxing jaunt through the rain forest.

On my way to Dallas I had some friend drama that I had to deal with, so it was really nice to spend the evening with my sister and Greg and Ida. They are really good therapy. :) I was still in a bit of a crappy mood but they helped me to get over it a little faster at least. But of course, I'm already irritated and we go to dinner and the damn queso at the restaurant isn't gluten free. Come on, people. There are a number of things that I have to do without in this life now... QUESO? Not okay. Oh well.


The next day I went to my friend Priscilla's baby shower. I have known Priscilla since we were 13 years old so it's really fun for me to get to help throw a baby shower for someone like her. The girl looks amazing. She's 36 weeks pregant and is all baby. The woman is STILL going to the gym. Really? She's a nut. I threw the shower with two of her friends, Valerie and Sooh. We looked at a few options for throwing the shower and decided to use a caterer eventually to do all the food. Omigosh, best decision ever, thank you Sooh. If you are in Dallas and need a caterer for a party, I highly recommend this caterer... I'm too lazy to get the card so the name will have to come soon. :) She was awesome not only because the food was excellent, but also because she was able to clearly articulate what was in each and every dish she made. A good percentage was gluten free so I was not starving at the shower. (SCORE). People hung out, but I was the only one who ended up staying with Priscilla and Simon for the night. I had the chance to catch up with the both of them, which I don't get to do all that often and I love each time I get the chance. We ended up staying up late flipping through channels, and I kid you not, we found a movie called Ticked Off Trannies with Knives. AWESOME. Needless to say the little pregnant lady didn't want to watch that for very long and we turned it off about twenty minutes in. It was horrible but dammit, I can say I watched part of it!

Came home on Sunday and went to a BBQ that Sheila and Justin had... Betsy brought Tom and Kate over and JJ and Gwen came as well. I made some kick arse Burgers with Bleu cheese and red onions... hey, I just realized that this was quite patriotic of me... (didn't have the bun, but the burger itself was quite tantalizing). We hung out, had tasty beverages, hung out with the kiddos ranging from 2 months to 19 years and had a really good time. It was definitely quality time, which was the most important thing. We left there and this morning had round two with Sheila and Justin as we went to Blue Hole in Wimberly. We had brittany and her boyfriend, plus Lauren and her boyfriend and his cousins... then we had Justin and SHeila, and we met Lindsay and Travis and he had his stepdaughters with him... so a big group. We brought a nice sized picnic and laid out in the sun half the time and hung out in the ice cold water just relaxing. A great way to spend a fourth of July. I may make a new tradition out of this. We packed up camp about 4:30 and headed back to town so we could get up to Georgetown, one of the only local areas with fireworks since the drought is so horrible out here. I'm so happy I saw my fireworks, the fourth just wouldn't have been the same without them!

I'm now sitting on the couch with the dogs... the boys are playing a video games, Brittany is passed out on the couch and Lauren is doing laundry because she leaves tomorrow. :( I always miss her when she leaves, she's good people. I guess I should retire for the evening, I'm exhausted. Been a long weekend for a number of reasons but it ended up being really good.

... and it just gets better

I've had a rotten few weeks getting used to this gluten crap. And I know that people are sick of hearing me talk about it. I ended up in tears the other night because my husband said, "what can your gluten intolerant self have for dinner?" He didn't realize that I'd had a bad few weeks; well, he kind of did because I'd told him a few things here and there but things just start to snowball and then one comment just sends you over the edge.

Brittany came into town for Memorial Day and we took her to Tomo, one of our favorite Sushi restaurants. Ben and Brit sat down and started going through the menu... and I did too... and I slowly realized that all of my favorite rolls except for one have tempura. Which, of course, is on my bad list. So Ben and Brit order a few of the rolls that I can't have, and I order the one that I think I can still have and a new one that Tina, waitress extraordinaire, recommends I try. Oh, and I get to try the gluten free soy sauce. Yay. At least they had it and I didn't have to stoop to being that person who pulls the huge bottle of soy sauce out of my bag. We have dinner and I get kind of quiet because at this point I'm starting to really realize that this is sucking, especially as they are devouring rolls that I have always enjoyed. And really, 95 percent of the rolls on the menu have tempura. Now I know that I don't have to have rolls. I can have sushi, I can have sashimi. But I really like Tomo's rolls. I did order some sashimi. Mmmmm...

Life goes on, right?

The next weekend I fly out to Jupiter to pick up Brittany to drive with her back to Austin. On my way to West Palm, I eat at Pappadeaux and order a salad... there's something hidden in the salad that decides to attack my system. Now that was fun, feeling totally sick for a 13 hour drive from West Palm to Mississippi, where we had a two night stop.

We get to Mississippi where we stay with my grandparents... I hadn't been to Mississippi in about 10. maybe 11 years. My grandmother is a phenomenal cook. especially southern cooking. Brittany had made the special request months ago that Lala, my grandmother, would make her chicken fried steak; since I make it for her and Ben on occassion and she wanted the original chef to make it. :) If you'd ever made chicken fried steak, you'll know that you dip it in seasoned flour prior to frying it. So that means I can't eat this recipe anymore. My grandmother is awesome. She did some homework and created a gluten free version of chicken fried steak for me. She used rice flour instead of wheat flour and though the texture was a bit different, it was still delicious. She even made me my own gravy! Now that's love, people! I thought it was really sweet that she did for me.

We got back to Austin and since I've been back, I've been trying to be really good; reading labels, coming home for lunch more than going out so that I don't have to play a guessing game at restaurants to figure out what is and isn't gluten free... I'm not comfortable yet being that person in a group who has to ask the waiter/waitress questions about how food is prepared, is it seasoned with flour prior to grilling it, etc. I'm just not there yet so it's easier just to come home and make a lettuce wrap. :(

I was told by my GI to meet with a nutritionist. We've met twice now. The first time we met she looked over my symptoms and asked me some questions and told me that she thinks there is something that I've been eating still that has gluten. I racked my brain and couldn't figure anything out. Finally I sent an email to the cafeteria at work... every morning, I get to work. I dock my computer, I get my wallet and go to the cafe. I go to the breakfast bar and Jose makes me a breakfast taco on corn tortillas with refried beans and red onions. It is my happy way of starting the day. All the above ingredients are safe, but I thought I should check, just in case.

I get an email from the cafeteria manager:
The refried beans have SOY SAUCE. WTF. WHY!?!?!?!

So now I can no longer have my damn daily breakfast taco. Steal more joy from me, celiac. Keep it coming.

Nutritionist had me take a zinc test. She dropped zinc on my tongue and asked me what I tasted. Uh....nothing? Evidently this means I have a severe mineral deficiency. I'll use that as my excuse for having thin hair, crappy nails and being short. YES!!! So she now has me on four supplements that I have to take with my meals (temporarily, this is not permanent) to help with getting some of my innards working appropriately again and hopefully speeding up the process of healing so I can increase my nutrient consumption.

Whatever.

So on Friday Brittany and I have a date night where she and I go to sushi. We go to Tomo again. I order and I ask for the gluten free soy sauce and this time I ask the waitress if the tempura is MAYBE made with rice flour? No such luck... but this triggers her to realize that I can't have the wheat and she tells Steve, the owner.
1.) It turns out that my favorite sashimi dish that I like to have - I shouldn't have been eating that, Steve had to modify that. (it still tasted good, so it's okay)
2.) The two rolls that I was able to order that time with ben and brit... yeeeeeeah... they served them both to me, this time with absolutely no tantalizing sauce which makes the dish that much better. Just naked rolls. No love. It was depressing and quite honestly a really good lesson. I do need to communicate with people when I order about this stupid situation because I don't know what is in the things I'm eating, even if I think I do.

So although I've been trying to be good, I've still got a LONG way to go.

I think I'm going to eat in more and try and do more research on restaurants before I go to them if I possibly can.

This. Just. Sucks.

On a postive note, I do want to recognize my friend Bryan at Vino 100 Round Rock. We had a party for my cousin who is moving away (waaaaaaah) and he was kind enough to make me awesome gluten free mac and cheese since we served mac and cheese to everyone else. For those of you who haven't been there, Vino is not just a wine bar, it's also got amazing food... and the mac and cheese is out of this world!!!! So though the situation sucks, kindnesses like Bryan's effort, (plus he made a super sweet (no pun intended) dessert), my grandmother's chicken fried steak, and efforts of my friends who try to understand and proactively send me links and tell me about foods and things they learn about are pretty damn cool.

I'm BACK!

So it's been more than three years since I've posted anything on a blog. But recently I've had something that I really want to vent about and I'm sick of talking about it so I think that blogging about it is a great idea.

I've had the chance to go to the web and see a lot of blogs that are out there about this particular topic (a lot) and now I GET IT. I understand why people blog about this. Because it's frustrating and it SUCKS. What am I talking about? Celiac. Yes. That. So I decided that rather than bend everyone's ear, I'm just going to start blogging. I figure that this can be therapeutic.

All my life I have not been a fan of some of the simple things in life... bread. Pasta. Pizza. My friends would tease me and tell me I was a freak of nature. "Who doesn't like BREAD?" "Really? You don't like Pizza? You're weird." Over time I realized that really, when I would actually be polite or humor my husband and go to an italian restaurant for dinner, I would feel really sick after eating one of the above items. I always wondered in the back of my head if I had an allergy or something but I figured that my body just wasn't used to dealing with that type of food and so I had a hard time digesting it. Well, about three months ago, I ran home for lunch. We had no food in the fridge that looked decent. All that I saw that appeared remotely edible was some Velveeta Mac N Cheese. How much harm could that do, right? Within 30 minutes I just wanted to die. I sat at my desk for the remainder of the afternoon and wallowed in self pity. I still didn't take any action but I realized that I really did have a problem.

Luckily, since I live in the Austin metro area, the capital of ALLERGIES, I had an appointment with an allergist, Dr. Thomas Leath. AWESOME allergist, btw. I asked him to test me for a wheat allergy. I sat there for my 15 minutes of itching, with many allergins poked in my back. I waited with excitement to get the results... and nope. No allergy to wheat. Dammit. So he sent me to the lab and said that he would send my blood to be tested for celiac disease. I knew that the chances of that being the case were pretty slim.

A week later I get a call from Dr. Leath. Lab results are in and I've tested positive. My initial reaction was honestly one of utter joy - in fact, it shocked him. But I explained to him that I finally felt validated that I wasn't crazy! And hell, I don't like bread. I don't like pasta. This can't be that bad, right?

Next step: go to my GI and get an endoscopy just to get that final stamp of confirmation.

I go to GI a few weeks later and he reviews the test results - based on the blood work he doesn't doubt it but still needs to do the endoscopy. He schedules it for the next week. I won't bore you with the details; but I will tell you that I had the best nap ever during that endoscopy and I will raise my hand to have that done any day. Results come in and everything is confirmed. This girl has to go gluten free from now on. Again, this can't be that bad, right?

My brother in law's stepmom has celiac as does her daughter. She was kind enough to send me an email with tons of resources for me to read and review. I went out and bought a book, The Gluten Free Bible, which she recommended and proves to be pretty interesting reading. In addition, I bought my first of what I anticipate to be many cookbooks. This is easy.

It was a Tuesday night, which of course means it's Taco Tuesday at the Bernfeld house. When it's beef taco night Ben particularly likes to use Taco Bell dinner kits (which is endearing since I love Taco Bell) - Don't JUDGE. I open the box... I take out the shells... all is good. I put them on the tray. I put the beef in the pot. Brown. Smells good. I take out the seasoning. Ingredient number one... WHEAT FLOUR. DAMMIT. Luckily I had some extra Penzeys seasoning that my sister bought me for Christmas and they looked safe so I used those. Ben started to sulk and I had to start explaining to him that life was going to be changing. Okay, so maybe this wasn't going to be so easy after all...

March 22, Coming Home!

Last day.

We woke up and were already docked back in San Juan. We packed up our stuff, headed off the ship, and found the others who were still around. Although I would have loved to explore San Juan some more, we headed to the airport with Lindsay and Bret so we could get rid of our luggage.

Although I absolutely loved the vacation and had an incredible time, I'm looking forward to being on land for a while. Me thinks that I'm more of a destination person, where you are one place and truly become familiar with your surroundings. Cruises offer you a taste but not the full flavor. Regardless, it was a relaxing experience... we were completely spoiled rotten, and we saw the marriage of two people we love who were born to be with one another. That is something that I, for one, will always savor the taste of. Bon appetit.

March 21, at Sea

We woke up pretty early on Friday morning and went and had breakfast on the deck of the ship. We were talking about how it was likely going to be a long day. Ironically, this day flew by.

After breakfast, we explored the ship some more, and we ran into Heidi and Jeffrey flipping through pictures from the wedding.
We all sat and enjoyed images of the ceremony for a while. When the show was over, Ben, me, Lindsay and Bret headed to the Aquaspa Whirlpool. In contrast to the normal swimming pool, the Aquaspa Whirlpool is a heated pool of chlorine and seawater. On the longer sides of the pool, there are these metal bars that resemble a picnic bench in the way they are structured. You roll your body over these bars and lay yourself out while the bubbles envelop you. On the narrower ends of the pool are a number of faucets in which water streams out with just enough pressure to create a fabulous neck and back massage. We hung out in the spa, then getting some lunch before Ben was going to participate in a poker tournament. He was ready.

He was psyched.

He was the first one out.

Poor Ben. In fairness to him, he was taken out by a four of a kind... a rare hand as it is, especially when you have 11 people playing. Ben typically does okay so it was a bit of a blow to the ego!

We stayed in the casino for a few hours chatting with anyone who would listen, and Ben did a little bit more gambling. No comment on the success factor, or lack thereof. Bret, on the other hand, put $100.00 in the slot machine that Ben kept flirting with and came back with $500.00!

Not bitter. At all. Actually, he deserved it more than anyone since he was sick the entire cruise and was miserable for a good portion of it.

So the last thing that I wanted to do was get a treatment in the spa. I'd read about this amazing "detox" treatment - pulling the toxins out of your body --- and I figured that I'd go for it since it's not something you can find just anywhere.

So I go to my appointment and Frances, my spa person, puts this serum on my arms and my stomach, then explains step by step what's going on. She then creates these mud/clay packs that she covers my arms and my stomach with... then we have the metal plates that are put in the mud. Hmmm... Then we have the controller, in which good ol' Frances starts to amp up the ELECTRICAL CURRENT. Basically, every few seconds, electric pulses would stimulate the nerves in my muscles, causing them to contract. I'm in essence paying to be tazed. All was well and good until I managed to move my arm, resulting in the plate moving and stimulating the nerve more. Out of nowhere, my arm goes FLYING up in the air, and then back down. Again... BZZZZT... arm flies up in the air and shakes a bit, then goes back down. This results in me getting a complete and total case of the giggles because it was such a relex rather than my having any control at all. In addition to the arm flying, my fist is clenching up and I can't control throwing my towel across me. At one point Frances sat down and held the other side of the towel so that I don't throw it across the room. Thirty minutes later and many arms flying, it was over and I was "detoxed".

I came out and ran into Lindsay, who had just gotten a NORMAL massage, and Heidi, who was on her way to get one. The bride was a bit giggly so I definitely felt sorry for the masseuse. I headed upstairs to take a shower and got ready for our final dinner!

Since it was the final night, everyone made sure that they showed up for dinner, no one did their own thing. We played musical chairs and ate with different people, which made it all the more enjoyable. After dinner there was a cruise Talent Show and Emily (girlfriend of Hayden, brother of groom) was participating. Miss Emily is a contortionist (really!) and so we went to cheer her on. We all arrived at the club for the Talent Show, watched Emily contort, and then the show was over! Only three acts!

We left the area and went to listen to Heidi's dad, Juan, playing the piano and singing the songs he wrote for Chauntelle's wedding and Heidi's wedding. he has a sweet voice and the lyrics were extremely heartfelt. After Juan was done, Ben made me play, followed by him playing some tunes as well. Our own mini talent show! We left there to go to the dance club, where Salsa Night was in full effect. After a bit of Salsa Dancing, the troops started to drop off, one by one. We said our goodnights and goodbyes and headed to bed.

March 20, Aruba

The next morning we arrived in Aruba.

I've always heard about Aruba and now I understand why people praise these beaches. We arrived and headed down to the beach as soon as we got on land. We had about twelve hours to kill in Aruba and had nothing planned. We learned that March is a windy month in Aruba, resulting in turbulent waters. Right off the beach that we were at, the waves were 3 - 4 feet, with an occasional wave that would knock people off their feet. We rented some beach umbrellas and camped out, but first we got some lunch. We sat at the very corner of a pier in which a restaurant/bar was set up. We ate and as we finished, we headed back to the sand. I picked my camera up off of the table and started walking. Next thing I know, a HUGE wave hits the pier and goes OVER the table we were sitting at. (Thank God I'd remembered my camera!) We were fortunate to escape the wave; however, this poor baby was asleep in his strolelr and the water just poured over his little head. I can't recall if there were tears but his dad sure did push him out of there quickly!

Once we returned to the beach, Ben immediately got in and started body surfing.


Three hours later he got out. Can we say waterlogged? He would have stayed in longer but I pulled him out to tell him that we were going to go on an ATV Tour. We'd initially tried to secure this excursion but it sold out. Luckily, our friends were all the participants and they realized that if they just doubled up rather than riding on their own ATV, then we could join. So we headed out to "Rancho Notorious" where the ATVs were waiting for us. The tour was incredible! It enabled us to see other parts of the island that we otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity to experience.

Our first stop was a lighthouse called the California Lighthouse. Evidently the lighthouse was named after a ship called the Californian, which received distress signals from the Titanic as it was going into the deep waters. The radio operator was asleep during this time. Sadly, the Californian went down off the Aruba coast a few years later. I have since also learned that this is the infamous lighthouse where Natalie Holloway was taken just before her disappearance.
We then headed out and drove on the coast for miles. the waves in this area were incredible. 8 - 10' waves were crashing upon the rocks. On the shore were rocks that were piled up everywhere you looked. Evidently this is a phenomenon that has been instigated by tourists to the island, for good luck. Ben created his own tower of rocks. Ben has now made his mark on Aruba!

Next stop... church.

Next stop... church. The chapel was built in 1952 on the site of the original Catholic church that was built in Aruba back in 1750 or so. It sits on a hill with an ocean view and looks as if it's a model. Completely surreal. We stopped and went inside to the tiny place of worship - there were prayer candles lit on each side of the building, so apparently it's still an active part of the community. The church was so peaceful and the setting so beautiful. Unfortunately time was slipping away and we still had some things to see.

Next stop, Natural Bridge. The erosion from the water has created a bridge like piece of nature. Eventually, over time, the "bridge" will collapse, as others have in the area. However, for now, it's just a majestic landmark. We climbed up on top of the "bridge" and looked out as the waves continued to pound the shoreline.
Unfortunately, we had to continue on our journey and then headed to an old abandoned Gold Mine that now sits in Ruins. Supposedly this place ran for 90 years and produced 3 million pounds of gold. The windows peer out to the ocean and deep blue sea was in plain view. Awesome sight.
Lastly, we were taken to a small little place to grab a drink and rest. We were so dirty it was unbelievable! I literally had reverse raccoon eyes and I had to get the layer of dust off my sunglasses, they were so filthy. Sadly this was our last stop and we had to head back to the Ranch since we had a boat to catch. We navigated through the streets of Aruba - some areas paved, some not. On one corner would be a gorgeous home - the next a tiny shack with chickens running around. We all agreed that this was the best excursion. Just a good time and a chance to see things that we would not have seen otherwise.


Back on the ship we went, cleaning up and getting ready for dinner shortly after arrival. It was a pretty low key night. Ben was feeling a little ill this night, so he went up to the room and went to sleep. I stayed out and had a martini with Lindsay, Heidi, Lawson, Chauntelle, Greg and Stacy. I went to bed shortly thereafter so that I would be 100% to survive a full day at sea!

The boat left Aruba around 7:30pm and we sailed for just shy of 36 hours!

March 19th, Bonaire

We sailed throughout the morning so Ben & I took advantage of this time to explore the ship. We ate a late breakfast then checked things out.

We headed to the casino, where we immediately lost $20.00 in the Wheel of Fortune Slot Machine. We didn't stay long, needless to say. We then found the Internet Cafe, where we checked email and logged on to hiphounds.com to see the pups play. Sebastian and Delilah appeared to be having a fine time so no worries there! We discovered an art gallery, where they had a small selection of original Dalis, Picassos, and Rembrants to name a few. We then found the shops and mosied around until the started shutting things down due to the pending docking of the ship.

We went to our room and went to the balcony to watch the Island come into our line of sight.
Bonaire's shoreline is colorful and appears to be more economically sound than some of the other locations that we've been to. The buildings are quite picturesque, and the water is so clear that when docked you can see the bottom of the ocean. We de-boarded and were excited to see incredible colors displayed in the marine life, just off the boat. Evidently Bonaire doesn't have the best beaches, but it's known for the snorkeling... so when in Rome...

A number of us headed down to Bongo Beach, where we were able to rent snorkling gear. Immediately we saw a large number of people in the water snorkeling and I figured that there was no way we'd see many fish with all those people out there. How wrong I was! Blue fish, yellow fish, orange fish... big, small, long, short, puffers... crabs... all were hanging out with the swimmers. It was as if looking at an artist's pallet with all the colors. And then... I learned about FIRE CORAL.
This is something that if you touch it, a pain hits you out of the clear blue. You don't even realize that you've irritated it... I thought that maybe I cut myself on it... but nope, miss accident prone of the cruise had royally pissed off this fire coral, so I had a pretty red welt on my leg. Once I did this I officially became known as the accident prone person for the duration of the trip. Nice! Since the Bonaire beaches were pretty crowded and Bret (Lindsay's boyfriend) wasn't feeling well, we headed back into town to grab a bit to eat. Only one issue... we could not find ANY restaurants that were open to serve food!!! I think Bonaire has an unofficial required siesta or something. I mean, Seriously. Finally one restaurant owner was kind enough to recommend that we went to Papagallo's... they would be open. YAY!!! We wandered around Bonaire and after searching for around 15 minutes or so we spotted it... finding this restaurant brought a feeling to the surface akin to crossing a finish line... or reaching the top of that blasted net in Dominica! We sat, laughed, we're happy and laughing and excited for food... and then the waitress comes to the table.
"I'm so sorry, we have to close the restaurant. They've shut off our water!" AHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I was NOT a happy camper at this point. I wanted food. We finally gave in and just returned to the ship. Bret returned to his room and Lindsay, Ben and I hit one of the ship's restaurants. We hung out until more people headed back in at which time we joined them at the back of the ship. We were all just telling stories and relaxing when all of a sudden Ben says, "Hey! Look at the dolphin!" We focused in on the water and sure enough there was not just one dolphin, but an enter school (is that the right term) of them... there were at least 2 or 3 dozen dolphins that were jumping up out our the water. It was something that I've never seen and it just blew me away. (if you look closely you can kind of see the dolphin in this picture)

After the dolphin show we headed to dinner... it was relaxing and it took a long time so most everyone went to bed right afterwards, including us. I was asleep immediately. Then, in the middle of my dream, about 1:30am... I was woken up by a fast knocking on the door... knockknockknockknockknockknockknock BEN! knockknockknockknockknockknockknock BEN! knockknockknockknockknockknockknockknock BEN! Over and over and OVER. Ben was in sweet slumber so I gladly woke him up... he stumbled to the door and there are Jeff, Jen and Ashley. "Ben!" Jeff says, "I lost my key to my room!" Ben, who is anything but nice when you wake him up prematurely empathetically (HA) says, "Well, what do you want ME to do about it??" Next thing I know, Jeff, Jenn and Ashley rush at Ben and dogpiled him and me on the bed, laughing hysterically. Upon dogpile conclusion and giving me a near heart attack, they went on their merry way. (Let's just say Jen was in a wee bit pf pain the next morning...)

March 18th, Grenada

The boat docked at 7am in Grenada and we were departing at 9 for the wedding destination.

We got in buses and arrived in a Caribbean PARADISE. The service would be right off the water, so all you could see and feel was crystal blue water mixed with the tranquility of the event. Jeff looked handsome in a beige suit and white shirt and was an amazing host. All the women were given a flower to put in our hair, and all guests were given a necklace that was made of spices... I kept putting mine up to my nose because the cloves smelled divine... An hour later our bride arrived. Everyone got their drinks and sat down, anxiously awaiting the nuptials of those who we traveled so far for. Suddenly the steelpan band started playing Here Comes the Bride. Chauntelle, sister of the bride, gracefully walked towards the Priestess - and then all were graced with the beautiful bride, Heidi. In a simple cream dress, she was absolutely radiant. Jeffrey saw her and started to bawl like a small child, which SUCCESSFULLY brought down the entire house. Not one dry eye to be seen. The ceremony was quick yet beautiful. They shared a sand ceremony which I've never seen. There are two colors of sand, each of which signifies something different. One is happiness, one is love. After the Best Man and the Matron of Honor pour some sand together, the Bride and Groom do the same. The visual aspect of the experience was incredible, what with the flowers, the sand, the couple, the water... just gorgeous.

The group moved in and pictures were taken while appetizers were served. We finally headed in and as we waited for the food, toasts were made. Now, I hope that you who read this have had the experience of knowing couples who are honestly meant to be, and I don't say this lightly. It's a momentous experience to be in the presence of two people who love anything, everything, and each other completely. I've had a few of those weddings that I've attended, and this would absolutely be one of them. My friend, Jeff, the best man, gave a sweet toast that spoke volumes about the couple. Chauntelle, the sister, gave a heartfelt speech that brought tears to many... I think she spoke to many little sisters in her speech! A few more toasts, and then... the groom... he toasted. Suddenly, in the middle of this toast, this large huggable man is a puddle AGAIN, speaking of his new wife and the goodness she embodies. He started to choke up - and I'm not taking a little, I'm talking a lot... and his emotions just pelted everyone in the crowd, men and women alike. NO ONE had dry eyes at this point. As it was, it was a very intimate gathering of people... to see this raw emotion, it was absolute joy and I was so honored to be a part of it.

Lunch was fabulous on the island, followed by some dancing and then a too quick departure back to the ship. The buses brought us all back to reality and so we all put on our suits and went out poolside... I quietly recapped the day in my notebook and watched my oh so entertaining friends for a while.

After dinner, a handful of us decided to check out the nightclub on board. After sending the inebriated bride to bed, we headed out to people watch and do some dancing. We made it a relatively early night, leaving about 1am and headed back to our rooms.

March 17th, Dominica

7am the next morning we hit our next destination, Dominica.
Dominica boasts hills and tropical foliage, but I was surprised to see how poverty stricken so much of the island appeared to be in contrast to other things that we had seen. We had an excursion scheduled at 11:45am so we left the ship at 10 and explored a bit of the town. After handing out a bit in the town, we discovered a little dive called Ruin Rock Cafe. It literally looks like a Ruin, in which this great bar sits in the middle. We sat down and grabbed a beer... Kabuli is the national beer of choice in Dominica. Tasty, too! Initially we thought it could be fun to try their rum punch but after checking out the surroundings we felt safer with the beer. As we waited for the beer we noticed the varieties of rums that they made, sitting and marinating on the counter. On the far right, after looking and then doing a double take, we realized that there was a SNAKE. Yes, a SNAKE.
Marinating in the rum. We now know what snake rum is... and we didn't DARE drink it! Our new friend, Albert, (Albert, mon), chatted with us for a while, telling us about places to go and things to do. We left after dodging Albert trying to convince Ben to take a shot of some "aphrodisiac" rum... we left shortly afterwards. We headed down the road, dodging numerous Dominican women who were bidding to braid my hair. We fought our way through the crowd and found an adorable restaurant. Our server, Cathy - otherwise known by her customers as Pumpkin - hooked us up with some Rum Punch for me and a Kabuli for Ben. That rum punch was STRONG. I didn't dare drink more than a few sips! Topped off with nutmeg, we told us that the punch is a 1-2-3 down drink. One you are okay, two you're tipsy and three you're DOWN. Scary!

We met up with our friends, Rusty and Jen, and Ben told them about the snake rum. Of course, Rusty wanted to try it... the four of us headed back to the Ruin Rock Cafe and Albert greeted us at the door. Ben told him we were there for snake rum... after hearing the the group at the counter speaking in a whole other language, we decided to change direction and try the aphrodisiac rum... quite tasty, but no effects akin to the description! We headed out to meet our tour navigator and then we were headed out to zip line across the Dominican jungle!

Let me just say that as I journaled this experience, I was a battered and bruised woman. Normally Ben is the less graceful of the two of us... this time, not so much. In Costa Rica, Ben and I did the zip lines... very fun, very painless... In Dominica, not the same!

We started out climbing a very high ladder and maneuvering across a variety of ropes courses.

We zipped, we zagged, we struggled to maintain balance. On one line we had to go step by step across a section of huge logs... but we were stepping across the diameter, not the length. VERY SCARY. We continued on along a variety of ropes courses and zip lines. Finally, we arrived at... THE TARZAN JUMP.

Out of a group of 10, I think that 6 or 7 opted to do the Tarzan rather than the safer, easier route. As soon as the gentleman assisting us asked if we had upper body strength I should have known. TURN AROUND. But no! I am invincible! Although it looks intimidating you have no idea what is in store for you. Picture this...you walk across a tight rope wire with only a long rope to hold on to at your side, sliding along with you so not providing very ample support... you get across the role, then you come to a platform... you are strapped onto a ROPE. You then step OFF the platform and swing through the air like a bird in flight (without the grace) and you HOPE that you can grab the net across the way and climb up to the top.

So I'm on the rope course heading towards Tarzan and I see a young woman flying through the air... then getting her FOOT stuck in the net and hanging upside down until finding a way to pull herself up. (tremble). Then our group started going. Rusty, Jen P, no issues... Dan slices his finger in the rope so he slows down the line. Not only is this uncomfortable for him, it creates a wait and we have to see for a longer period of time exactly HOW FAR DOWN the ground is from the platform we stood on in the tree. Jen H is in front of me and I hear the panic in her voice. She hesitates, then finally steps off the edge, shrieking along the way. She swings, the net comes, she misses. Swings again, this time she grabs on and manages to climb up.

Now it's my turn.

I get clipped in and get into position, staring down at the ground ... what seemed to be billions of feet below. I started to step, then panicked and stepped back. Then I held my breath and WHOOP! OFF the platform. I swing and I SCREAM like a squealing pig.

And I miss the net.

So I swing again... at this point, I'm cracking up at the fact that I'm swinging back and forth like a pendulum. I head towards the net... I grab on... and don't hold on so BACK into a swing I go. At this point I'm saying bad words and giggling non-stop. The net comes back at me one more time and I hear everyone scream, HOLD ON!!! I held on. It's really deceiving fow much strength you really need to not only hold on to but to then move up the net. I can honestly say that climbing that net was one of the hardest things physically that I have ever done! Now, had I have been smart and grabbed the net the first time I would have grabbed the net up high and had a short climb. However, I had grabbed the net down low due to the swings getting shorter each time... so I had to climb from near the bottom to the very top and over the net. (To gauge the strength, they use a similar net in American Gladiators in the final challenge!) OH MY GOSH it hurt. I had to find strength in me that I didn't know existed. I made it to the top and they pulled me to the side to put OINTMENT on the MASSIVE ROPE BURN on my arm. It's pretty. It's my war wound and I'm proud. After this my knees were knocking and my arms were shaking for a good hour later. But man, was it COOL!

We got to the ship and went to our room to clean up a bit, then joined some folks poolside for a pina colada, sunshine and good company. (And yes, Janet and BA, I was slathered in sunscreen). We finished up at the pool and went inside for sushi. Not bad, but not really all that good. However the sunset was worthy of a million moments to gaze at.


We went down later for dinner and the sea was ROUGH. I had had an appetizer, my soup and my salad, but by then the rocking of the boat really affected me. Between the rocking of the boat and the smell of the risotto in front of me, I had to leave the dining room. :( I felt so bad leaving the festivities but I really didn't want to hurl in public. So I went to my room. Took some Dramamine and all was well. BA, I don't know if you'd be able to handle a cruise if it affected me so much! There was one night we had ten people at the dinner table and 5 left due to the boat moving so much!

I slept the remainder of the night, which was nice because I was well rested for the wedding the next day.