We tried to get an early start this morning and were off the boat by 9:00. We headed toward the main part of Castaway Cay with the intention of meeting characters and getting the shopping out of the way so the rest of the day would be more relaxing. That's not quite the way it turned out, but we did get our shopping done early, and we got to see Mickey and Goofy.
Then we headed to the bike rental. Sam was getting grouchy - his water shoes were giving him blisters, and even though we put band-aids on them, they still hurt. So we got the bikes, and the first part of the bike ride went pretty well. We stopped at an observation tower and got to see a lot of the island from a few stories up. But after, that, you couldn't really see much on the bike trails, even though it was sold to us as a great way to see the island. Sam's mood continued to deteriorate, and that brought everyone else down as well. So we returned our bikes and headed to the beach. We picked up our snorkeling gear and tubes to float on, and found seats under umbrellas on the beach. Ben left us there to go back to the boat and get another pair of shoes for Sam. The kids messed around in the ocean for a few minutes while I sat on the edge of the water. We couldn't get over how clear the water was, and the sand was different that other beaches we've been to as well. At one point, Maria brought me a beautiful shell she found, but freaked out a little when I pointed out that there was still a creature living inside it.
Ben returned, and he and the kids put on their snorkeling gear and headed to the snorkeling area. I stayed behind with all of our stuff. Soon, Sam came back to me crying - apparently he and Ben were not getting along as Ben tried to help him to snorkel. I think maybe Sam got scared when he couldn't breathe through his nose, and then wouldn't do what Ben asked him to, and they both kept getting more and more frustrated with each other. But regardless, this did not help everyone's mood. Maria, by the way, was a natural at snorkeling and seemed to enjoy it too.So we headed to lunch where we decided to try to start over. After lunch we killed a little more time at the beach and then headed to our Stingray Snorkeling Adventure. This didn't sound nearly as much fun now since Sam decided he wanted no part of snorkeling. But he promised me he would try, and I promised him I would stay back with him if he felt uncomfortable. We had a nice long lesson on stingrays, and then we got into the water where we each got to feed them. Sam wouldn't even come all the way up to the table, and would not feed a stingray. Of course, it didn't help that Maria and I both got bit during our feeding time (they say stingrays don't bite, they use "plates" to grab the food, but these plates left marks on our fingers for several minutes and hurt). During the snorkeling time, Sam did not want to put his mask on and I didn't make him. Instead, he stood at the waters edge and watched me snorkel in shallow water. The water was so clear you almost didn't need the snorkeling equipment. Ben and Maria went out to deeper waters. After about 10 minutes, I quit snorkeling and Sam and I went back into the hut. I returned with the camera to get pictures of Ben and Maria, and by the time I was done Maria and Ben were done snorkeling as well. The kids and I headed back to the boat while Ben headed to another snorkeling area.
Back at the boat, Sam and I headed to the Aqua Duck while Maria showered. Once we all got cleaned up, the kids went to the Holthouses room (Ross and Kathy took the kids to the show) while Ben and I went to a "Couples Swedish Massage." Neither one of us had ever had a massage before, and it was wonderful. When you're done, they give you an analysis, and they determined Ben and I are both very tense and should get regular massages. What a surprise. Pretty sure that's not going to happen, though!
For dinner it was Pirates IN the Caribbean night, so we dressed Pirate-like and had a Pirate menu for dinner. Before dinner there was a Pirate dance party, and then after dinner there were fireworks (although not many), and another dance party at 10:30. The kids really enjoyed this - Sam really got into the line dances. The adults hung out and danced/drank. Then the kids went back to their clubs for a little while, and Ross, Kathy, Ben and I tried a different night club area, where I got the worst drink I have ever tasted. Ever. But we still had a great time. Vacationing with the Holthouses, even though it happened by accident, was great fun. We did our own family things during the day, but then had adult time in the evenings, and we spent most of our dinners telling stories and laughing a lot. We had a very late night - 12:30 when we all got back to rooms - but we planned to sleep in tomorrow.
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