I finally got around to writing my post about the Allen Reunion Trip through the Caribbean. I was 19 weeks pregnant when I left on the trip and 20 when I returned. Here goes:
We flew into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and were all pretty exhausted. My grandparents and uncle, Chad, were the only other ones who took the red-eye flight and flying through the night at 19 weeks pregnant was NOT fun. I couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep, which is a common problem for me on planes, but adding pregnancy to that made it ten times harder. Not to mention we were famished when we arrived in Florida, but didn't get the chance to eat because we went straight to the ship. After the hours it took to get situated and on the ship, we ate, and then I slept until dinner and went right back to bed after dinner. Travel is exhausting!
Then we had a sea day and I slept most of the day away, waking up to eat, read, and lay out by the pool before falling back asleep.
On the third day we were in Labadee, Haiti. It is beautiful! Haiti was honestly my favorite stop on the whole cruise, and we didn't even have food with our excursion! The weather was 90 degrees Fahrenheit and humid, which made swimming in the ocean a million times more refreshing! I could have spent days on Malfini beach. The excursion we took was limited to 25 people, so we had a really private experience. A few memorable things happened. The first is that my mom and I were swimming in the ocean while Sierra and Sky were on the beach, when we noticed that NOBODY else was in the water and instead everyone was on the shore pointing at something near us in the water. If we were in a movie we would have been eaten by Jaws at that point - but instead kept swimming, ignoring the worried crowd, and later found out that there were rumors of someone seeing a barracuda near us. The other memorable thing that happened was while I was sitting on the shore in a beach chair, with my toes in the sand and the water lapping at my ankles. I was reading my Ina May book and out of nowhere I felt baby kick, hard. It startled me and when I looked up to see if anyone else noticed (I know, my logic is flawed, but I was startled) I saw a butterfly circle around me. It circled me a few times and then flew away, and Sky also saw it. I felt really at peace in that moment.
Day four we were in Falmouth, Jamaica. We took an excursion with all of the Allens (all 21 of us!) to Ocho Rios and went tubing down the White River. Midway through tubing we stopped at a deep point in the river and many of us jumped off of the 15ft. platform into the water below, myself included despite pleas from some of the Allens to not endanger the baby that way. I was fine and it was wonderful! After tubing we went to the Dunns River Falls where I was told not to participate by the park owners because I was pregnant, so I sat out with my Grammy and Gramps for almost two hours in the heat under spider webs bigger than myself and spiders as big as my hand. It was not the way I wanted to end my experience in Jamaica but I'm glad that I got to experience the tubing!
Day five was spent in Grand Cayman. This was one of my favorite excursions, and one I won't forget any time soon. We took a boat to Stingray City, which is a sandbar in the middle of the ocean! We waded into the chest-deep water where we got to feed, hold, and kiss these beautiful wild stingrays. I loved that they weren't contained in a net or tank and were free to roam as they pleased but knew when it was feeding time and were comfortable with people. One of my favorite memories of Stingray City was when I got to hold a baby stingray and he cuddled with my belly, laying completely calm and still.. until they brought out the squid for feeding time, but who could blame him! We also got probably my favorite picture of all time with my siblings:
Day six was spent in Cozumel, Mexico. It was probably the biggest disappointment of the trip. We showed up to check in for our excursion, which was snorkeling and Playa Mia park, only to find out that I would not be allowed because I was pregnant - even though there was no disclaimer on the internet when we booked the excursion. Instead I got switched to do just Playa Mia, while my mom took Sierra and Sky to the original snorkel excursion. At the beach (Playa Mia) I bumped into Tommy and his family and Heather and her kids. One of the first things they asked was if I was going to get into the water immediately, or wait a while. I said I'd probably read a bit first but little did I know that would get me stuck watching their belongings for over an hour.. alone. Then when they came back they asked what my plans were and I said I wasn't sure, and didn't really have a plan, I'd probably read, get a drink, and dip in the ocean on occasion. Tommy then asked if after getting a drink if I would watch their things while he walked his kids to the waterslide, if he was back in 15 minutes, tops. They came back over 30 minutes later. Then my mom and siblings showed up and I was finally able to eat! The buffet had delicious pulled pork for their fajitas and I felt much better after eating! I was able to take a dip in the ocean with my mom after eating, while Sierra and Sky did the obstacle course, and then they had to leave with their excursion so I was alone again. I didn't really get any pictures in Cozumel, which is a bummer, but it was my second time there in this calendar year so I wasn't too upset about that. Back in town I bought a traditional Mexican dress and bracelet for baby girl. :) After dinner my mom and I met up with some of the Allens to see the cruise performance of "Once Upon A Time." One of the singers was god awful, but the rest were great! It was only an hour from start to finish but it was a cute performance.
The next day was a sea day. I did the "Walk for Wishes" with my mom, Heather, and Candy, which is a charity walk around the jogging path on the ship for the Make A Wish foundation. I spent the majority of the day reading and listening to music while laying out, and then watched the movie Cinderella, under the stars with my mom.
The next day was Father's Day and we went to the Florida Everglades with the most of the Allens. Tommy and his family decided they didn't want to see it again so they went up to Universal Studios early. It was HOT and pretty miserable while we were waiting for our airboat tour. However, we saw four alligators and got to spend the day with family which was really nice. I even got to hold a baby gator!
After the Everglade tour, we said goodbye to the Allens and drove up to Sanibel Island, Florida. It was a beautiful place! I didn't keep track of what we did day to day because it was what you would expect: play on the beach, explore the island, and eat. I hit the halfway mark in pregnancy (20 weeks) and was feeling wonderful! The ocean was bathwater warm, probably the warmest waters I've ever been in, and full of live sand dollars! My mom and I were able to sneak away for lunch together one of the days, just the two of us, which was wonderful. By the end of the few days spent in Sanibel I was ready to be home. It's difficult to spend 10 days with no private space with my siblings, especially when they had no patience for the difficulties I had with being pregnant and present - but it was a trip I will cherish forever because it was the last trip with us as just a family of four out of the country.
And there you have it! I can't wait for the opportunity to go back to Haiti, and will not miss Jamaica. Although, writing this post has me missing the ocean and beach!
