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!

[Jennifer and Jack]

Love times a million! I love the fat heads so cute!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Looks like you had a blast!  Thanks for sharing

[Lonnie &amp; Libby Lu]

Leslie I love your story and of course it had me laughing and brought happy tears at the end!  What a fun cruise you all had and I love your pictures.  Your Mom is adorable and how nice it was for her to meet our crazy amazing DK group!  Thanks for sharing your trip with us and maybe next year some of us will be able to join the "party"!

[Lonnie &amp; Libby Lu]

Leslie, I can't help but notice the picture of you ladies in front of the jewelry store, with drinks in hand!  MY kind of ladies, a little retail therapy never hurt anyone, even on a cruise!  LOL

[Leslie and Halas]

The more you drink, the less you pay. That's what their sign said!

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

I am pretty sure that was a lie Leslie. I was flat drunk and walked out with those gorgeous Roberto Coin braclets..... You did tell me they matched my eyes and new watch. LOL

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

ROTFL, Ronna!!

[Leslie and Halas]

They do! And when you add the cow hat? You just can't put a price on that!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

OMD....I just saw this.  Ronna, I'm thinking it would be so dangerous to shop with you.  I can hear it now.....(Me)"I've really always wanted a Roberto Coin bracelet"....I love them!  (You) "Then you should get one because they're really gorgeous and Leslie says they match your (fill in the blanks)".  (Me) "I think you're absolutely right, and I know Dave wouldn't think of getting it for me, but he would sure want me to have it".  (You)...hurry up and buy it so we can go get a "Liquor Juice".  Sound about right????

[Ronna, Murphy & Wilson]

Jane, that is almost exactly what happened! Only it was Doris and Leslie " helping" me with my purchase. Had you been with us I am positive we could have " helped" you buy a set of Roberto Coin bracelets too!!! My DH and I had a no PUI ( purchasing under the influence) vow in our wedding vows but a few ( many) liquor juices and some supportive girlfriends like Leslie and Doris and that all went to hell!!!! I can't wait to shop with you next year Jane!!!

[Leslie and Halas]

I do love to help people spend their money. Did I not mention that before the cruise? Helping people justify purchases is one of my super powers.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I love you Ronna and Leslie!!!!!