chasing summer

Last Saturday,

the six of us pictured above,

boarded a cruise ship and set sail to chase after summer.

Needless to say,

we had a wonderful time.

It has been thirty years since Bubba and I went on a cruise.

This one did not disappoint!

This is the big bridge that we cross over when we travel to

The Hollingsworth house,

Town Center in Jacksonville,

Disney World.

This time we went under it instead of over.

Our Captain turned this big ship around in the middle of the St. John's River.

Then he took us right out into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where we headed south.

Destinations....

Nassau, Bahamas,

&

Half Moon Cay, an amazing private island.

The excitement level was extreme at this time.

After we passed under the bridge,

the sun put on a show for us.

That's the city of Jacksonville in the distance.

We had lots of small boats to escort us to the mouth of the river.

In the picture below,

you can see our balcony.

The highlight of everything for me was to sit out there and watch the big blue ocean go by.

We kept the door to our suite open so that we could hear the sounds pf the ocean.

I kept a little bit of a journal along the way.

I will share from that in the next few days.

First Impressions

It's finally here ~ the day of our cruise.

When we first booked I received a notice by e-mail....

55 days until you sail.

Well 55 days sped by and now we are on the way.

We will meet Amanda & Mark & Jake & Eli

on the dock in a couple of hours.

I packed everything in one suitcase.

(Bubba bought me a big one)

We have a suite at the very top of the ship

and our own private balcony.

I plan to spend an inordinate amount of time there

looking at and savoring the ocean that I love so much!!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights in whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."

James 1:17

This trip is a gift from God...

a celebration of coming back to life after more than four years of

the deepest and darkest of depression.

As Jake so aptly said as we were boarding the ship.

"Let's get this show on the ocean."

The Carnival Elation stands tall and regal by the dock

with it's wide expanse of staterooms 

and it's whale tail shaped stack.

Since we have a suite,

we are considered "priority."

Because of this we are whisked through all of the 

long "get on board" stuff and set off to find our room.

Tiny House Living

King size bed, sofa and chair, a nice bathroom

and the most glorious view of the ocean.

This will be different ~ this will be good.😃

Lunch on the Lido deck and then two little ice cream cones.

I could get used to this!🍦

Then off to set up our room.

Organize ~ everything in its place.

That's what will make tiny house living for almost a week work for us!

The best part of the day was the "Sail Away."

Once the "muster drill" was over,

we headed to the very front of the ship

 to pass under the beautiful bridge

 and watch the sun set on our first day.

Thank you Lord for letting us do this!!

I am amazed and so very thankful@