My First Doodle Cruise! What a Fantastic Trip!

[Leslie and Halas]

I was lucky enough to participate in Doodle Cruise 2013!  It was my first, but not my last.  I think y'all are stuck with me.  And my mom.  Here are some of my thoughts on the events of the week.

Here we are as the ship left the port.  Ronna pointed out how she is posed like Flat Laurie in this photo.  But this was before any of us had met Flat Laurie.  Coincidence?!  Or a clear sign that Flat Laurie and Ronna had a very special connection?  Please refer to Flat Laurie's picture below for a comparison.

Right after lift-off, or whatever they call it, a few of us made our way to the Lido Deck for our first Liquor Juice of the trip.  Every day, the ship featured a special drink of the day.  It was always just 3 or 4 liquors mixed with a couple of juices.  So by day 2 or 3, we just started referring to the drink of the day as Liquor Juice.

A few of us went stand up paddleboarding in Key West.  Here we are right before we got into the white, nondescript windowless van for the ride to our starting point.  It all turned out OK.  The only casualty of paddleboarding was Ronna's sunglasses.  Sure, there was a lot of falling off of the paddleboards, but it was a great time, and the mangroves were beautiful!

Here's one of Flat Laurie's Key West photo-ops.  Please compare it to the first picture above.  Notice how similar her pose is to Ronna's.  This was way back when Flat Laurie was still kind of a "good girl," but that reputation was fading fast.

Key West should also be known as The Port of Silly Hats, because THREE silly hats were purchased by Doodle Cruisers.

My mom bought this lovely Octoberfest Chicken hat for herself:

Ronna was able to wrangle this stunning cow hat (wrangle - see what I did there?):

And Laurie bought this birthday hat for my mom.  Her birthday wasn't until the 21st, but we celebrated on the cruise.  She loves the hat!  Thanks, Laurie.

In Grand Cayman, we rented cabanas for the day.  The beach was absolutely beautiful.  A few of us went on a banana boat ride, which was sooo much fun!  The signal to tell the driver to go faster was a thumbs-up.  So you can see Doris giving him the signal in this first photo.  We were dumped off the banana shortly after that.

Grand Cayman group photo:

In Ocho Rios, Ronna and I did the Jamaican bobsled thing, followed by rum drinks in an infinity pool.

The rest of the group relaxed and shopped, and we caught up with them later.

And a few more pics, just to round out the trip.

Loved our Fatheads, even though we didn't win.

Since Laurie is 5' 12", we decided my mom must be 5' 12" minus 12"  This made it really difficult to take their picture together.

And a crowd favorite...

Hearing people laugh is one of my favorite things, and we got a lot of that on this cruise.  We all laughed until tears ran down our faces.  And sometimes laughed until some other bodily fluid ran down some other body part.

My mom and I had the most amazing time.  Within a few minutes, we felt like we had known everyone forever.  I'm still working on having my mom microchipped, since several people threatened to steal her.  She already has a file at the vet's office, since they removed that tick from her last year, so I don't think the microchip will be a problem.

It was so nice to meet everyone in person, and I love hearing all of your voices now as I read your comments.  I know that we all made some new forever friends and some very special connections.  If any of us ever needs anything, we just know the others will be there.  That's just a feeling I get. ;)  <3

Thanks to Ronna, Doris, Laurie, John, Nicky, Dori, Deanna, Kathy, Elizabeth, Jim, Jane, and Bob for making this a wonderful trip for my mom and me!  We think all y'all are the best!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Thank you, Leslie. Even though I cant be there with  you all, I really wanted so much to see a post about the trip.  More pictures please. 

Just from some of the pictures, it really makes me smile.  

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

Thanks Leslie -- those of us who were land-locked have been waiting for some more pictures and a post!  All of you look wonderful...and I can see why people would want to steal your mom :)  She's adorable!

[Leslie and Halas]

Cheryl, they're so cute at that age!

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

So true :)

[DJ & Chance]

Wonderful blog, Leslie.  What fun!!!!!!  Love your mom too.

[Adina P]

Oh goodness...you had me giggling.  That last photo of you and your mom prom date...hilarious!  Sad to have missed Doodle Cruise #2...  I hope to be there for Doodle Cruise #3 though!   *crossing fingers and toes and legs*

[Leslie and Halas]

Adina, keeping your legs crossed is a good idea. That can help with the "other bodily fluids" issue. Hope to meet you next year.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Now I feel like I was there. Thanks for all the wonderful photos Leslie. I imagine people from all over the world are still talking about all of you. I also think the hat vendors are so relieved that someone took those creations off their hands.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Sounds like you all had a wonderful time.  Wish I'd been there...  Oh wait - I was!!!  Best time ever!!!!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It sounds so wonderful, Leslie.....just how I remember the first DK cruise.  I'm just hoping my family will be healthy enough to go next year.  Your pictures are great.....like we're there with you.

[Leslie and Halas]

We were sorry that we didn't get to meet you and your family this year. But hopefully it will all work out next year.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh, too funny! I have to plan my life better so that I can go next time! I was up to my ears in puppies this fall! Looks like it was a blast and thank you for sharing...your mom seems great. Makes me miss my mom, gone for 12 years now. Enjoy your time together.