Ocho Rios, Jamaica

 The island of Jamaica

 We took a plantation tour on Jamaica.  This is our guide showing us a cocoa bean pod.

 The cocoa beans were inside of these slimy, white things.  The guide told us we could each suck on one, but not to bite it or swallow it.  It didn't taste anything like chocolate.  It had a  sweet, fruity taste.

 This is how they carry the bananas out of the jungle.  How do you think you'd do with 50 pounds of bananas on your head?

 This is the lower part of Dunns River Falls.  The falls are one of the main attractions in Jamaica.

 One of the excursions you could pay to go on was to climb the falls.  Watching people slipping, sliding, and falling past us on the rocks made us glad we hadn't chosen that excursion.

 Some of my towel friends.  I always looked forward to going back to our room after supper to see what the next animal was.

I'm showing my age and my computer illiteracy here, but I can't figure out how to rotate this picture in blogger.  You can still see how beautiful this watermelon is though.  I can't imagine doing something like this!  Somebody is very talented!

Grand Cayman

 On the island of Grand Cayman is a place they call Hell.  This is the post office at Hell so you can send a postcard from Hell.  If you walk down the sidewalk that leads behind the post office, this is what you will see...

 This is a bunch of eroded limestone.  That is all Hell consists of....an area of eroded limestone.  I didn't get what was so special about it that they commercialized it so much. I guess it seemed a little "sacrilegious" to me too.  Hell is no joking matter.

 The Cruisers

 I'm trying not to put too many scenery pictures on here, but this is one of my favorite ones from Grand Cayman.

 We went to a turtle farm while on Grand Cayman.  That was fun & interesting.  I wish the girls could have been there.  They would have loved to hold and pet the turtles.

This is our ship, the Carnival Freedom.  The little boat in front is a tender boat that ferried us to and from Grand Cayman because the ship couldn't get close enough to land.  At all the other ports, we were able to pull up close to the dock.

On both Key West and Grand Cayman, there were chickens running free all over the island.  On Grand Cayman, we learned to watch the roofs of the houses and other buildings for iguanas.  One church we drove past had 4 or 5 iguanas on its roof.  I guess you'd get used to that, but I thought it was a little creepy.  They can keep their iguanas.

Key West, Florida

 The first day of the cruise we were in Key West, Florida.  We took a bus tour of the island.  The island is only 2 miles by 4 miles, but they squeeze a lot into that small space.

 We also went to the butterfly conservatory while on the island.  I loved it!  I had butterflies landing on me.  They were swooping all over in large groups.

 This was a picture of one of the islands from the window beside the table where we ate our lunch on the ship.  Isn't the water beautiful?  There were so many different shades of blue water.

 We had a window in our room.  I loved to sit on the bed or lean on the ledge and watch the water.  I think next time we should get a room with a balcony so I can sit outside and watch the water!!

One of my favorite things about the cruise was the towel animal the steward left in our room every evening while we were at supper.  I enjoyed them so much that I bought the book that shows how to make them for the girls to have fun with.

Grady James Stratton

Although Grady wasn't due until November 26, he decided to come early before his Gammy left on her cruise.  He knew she'd have a much more relaxing time if she knew he was here safe and sound before she left.  

On Monday night, Autumn called me around supper time to tell me she thought her water broke.  She called the doctor, and he said to get ready and come on down to the hospital.  Labor was pretty light and slow during the night, but it kicked into gear about 9:00 the next morning.  Grady arrived at 10:45 a.m., November 6 (the day before Autumn's birthday).  He weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long.  Mother and baby are doing fine!

At the time of this writing, Gammy & Pop are in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in their hotel waiting to board the ship in the morning.  Jamaica, here we come!