Take Me to Sea. . .

The sea is a place full of wonder and inspiration. It seems as if it never ends as it hits the horizon, and with the cool air blowing through my hair, I finally realized what it meant to rest. I did not realize how much this year had caught up with me, and I needed this therapy more than anything. Just looking out over the water, the sweet waves, never ending skies, it calmed my heart and I finally realized that Jesus was teaching me how to rest. This is how my adventure began this December. My family had the amazing opportunity to embark on a cruise ship that would travel to the island of Coco Cay and Nassau, Bahamas. It was such a sweet time to spend time with my family, and I loved every single minute of it. Monday was the day we set sail, and it was definitely interesting. I found out what it meant to have sea legs, and the boat was making me feel a little unbalanced. We all got to rest, unpack and get ready for an incredible week. 

Tuesday was our first excursion: Coco Cay. Coco Cay was my absolute favorite, it is a private island with oceans blue and so clear. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. We found some shells, fish, and little crabs, and laid out in the sun for hours. It was so perfect, my heart is definitely at the beach, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I could have adventured around the island for hours, I was just absolutely smitten. 

Erin was the little explorer. I swear she isn't ever afraid of anything. She went parasailing and snorkeling, she just loves being out in the water. It was fun to watch her find bitty crabs at the bottom of the ocean. She kept them for forever. If they would've let her take them home, she most certainly would have. I enjoyed watching her daring heart just fall in love with what was under the sea. 

I spent most of my time closer to shore. I swam out a little past those rocks in the picture, but not much deeper. I so wish I wasn't so afraid of sharks and big fish with teeth, but unfortunately I am. Maybe one day I will conquer my fears and swim far, far out into the deep blue water. For now I was just ok to discover the little invisible fish minnows swimming around my feet. I will have to say, it was quite magical. There is nothing like being in the clear blue, salty ocean. I could have stayed on this island for days.

Lauren was also adventurous. We had so much fun finding bitty, unique shells. She even found a shark tooth that had washed up onto shore. We both laid out in the sun for a while, but then we decided to explore the island. We walked around for a while and found some amazing hammocks up in the palm trees, so we rested there for a while. It was so relaxing to just lay out in the sun and rest. She was so much fun to explore with! 

SO many little treasures.

Even the bittiest of shells stole my heart. 

This absolutely took my breath away. 

My sweet, sweet parents. I love them both to pieces.

Sweet memories were made that day in Coco Cay. This picture makes me smile because we took it right before it started to down pour. The rain was so rough that our boat actually ended up having issues attaching to the cruise ship. We ended up being on this tiny boat in the very rocky waves for about an hour and a half. Thank goodness for motion sickness meds! I may not have made it with out them :)

Haha, this is what happens when your boat director tells you that you might not make it back on the cruise ship for a while. We all just looked at each other in a panic. Hahaha! It was definitely the scariest part of the trip for everyone, the waves were so high, I thought someone might fall off the boat. But we all ended up being safe, and were finally able to quickly enter the cruise ship after a good little wait. 

Day 3 was spent in the Bahamas in the city of Nassau. On Wednesday morning, I awoke to a city so bright and colorful, I was immediately ecstatic about the adventures for that day. The colors are what inspired me most. It seemed so cheerful, and hearing the loud celebrations on New Years day were exciting. They had put together a parade at about 1 a.m. and did not stop until 2 p.m. that afternoon. The culture and people of this island were like nothing I had ever seen before. They helped ring in the new year with celebrations throughout the entire island.

For whatever reason, this was my very most favorite ship. I think I was just obsessed with the color blocking and rusting bars. It just made me want to go learn how to fish, it seemed so happy atop the crystal blue ocean. 

Sunrise.

Color was everywhere. I am still not sure as to what those squares are, maybe they are storage units, but I was so in love with how each of them was paired with different colors. The colors made the entrance of the city seem so exciting. 

And here is our cruise ship, Enchantment of the Seas. It was just lovely. 

These conch shells and starfish were for sale at the corner of one of the streets. I didn't get one, but there are times where I wish I had. They were just so colorful and perfect. I can honestly say, I have never seen a conch shell or starfish that large! It was so incredible. 

The parade was so incredible. Everyone had on such elaborate costumes and decorations to celebrate another year. It was amazing to see another culture like this. It was a little crazy, but so much fun to watch.

Mom and I spent the morning shopping and discovering parts of the city. It was definitely an interesting experience, but I am so thankful we got to spend sweet time together in the streets of Nassau. 

I am not sure why this is my most favorite moment captured, but I think I just loved the progression and movement of the color blue.

This is a little snapshot of the straw market. Nassau has one of the largest straw markets in the Caribbean. Let me tell you, it is no joke. Never have I ever felt so overwhelmed about shopping. There had to have been about 75-100 more "booths" just like the one above. They all are filled all the way up to the ceiling, and each artisan will try and barter with you about any object you look at or touch. It was extremely overwhelming, but it was amazing to see how much these people were capable of making. The little wooden safari animals and soapstone elephants were so charming. 

Here is a man working on hand carving some little animals for his shop. The poverty of this city absolutely broke my heart. I wanted to just help them all and tell them all about Jesus. Poverty didn't stop these people from working hard to make a living. It was inspiring to see them put so much heart into what they were making and selling. 

Here are some of the hand-carved wooden creations.

The day at Nassau came to an end, and I got to spend the rest of the day with these two. After this trip, I feel like we bonded so much more as sisters. I learned a lot about both Lauren and Erin that I didn't know before, and it was such sweet time that I will never be able to forget. I love these girls so much. 

On day 4, instead of snorkeling, Mom and I got to go get a manicure up at the spa. It was so relaxing and wonderful. The spa had a wall of windows that overlooked the sea as we were traveling, and just watching the waves and getting my nails painted was just perfection. It was so fun to spend time with mom. This was our last day on the ship, and we enjoyed every last second of the cruise that we had. 

I didn't get many pictures of the food (now I wish I had!), but here is one of the yummy desserts we got to eat one night. The food on this trip was hands down the best I have ever had. It was SO incredible, and I loved getting fresh fruits, veggies, and seafood every night. The staff was so sweet as well. Our servers were DonDon, Alexsander, and Robin. They were all from different countries, 46 different ones total. I loved this cultural experience, it made the trip so interesting and unique. 

On the last day of the cruise, we all got to lay outside in the sun and tan. It was about 90* out, and it was weird thinking that it was December and it was so hot. These little pineapple drinks made everything so much better. It was perfect to end the day with sunnies, blue skies, and strawberry smoothies in a pineapple. 

This picture I just had to save for last. Meet Panda. This guy took care of room service and just kept the trip so happy. He always, always, always had a huge smile on his face and would make sure that we had everything that we needed. He was just the best. I mean, when three girls share a room for almost a week, there is always a guarantee of a mess of hair accessories, bobby pins, curling irons, and nail polish. He had to put up with a lot, bless him. And he always did it with a smile. This trip wouldn't have been the same without him and the other staff on the cruise. It truly left this vacation unforgettable.
I am so sorry this was quite long, but I just HAD to tell you about all of the exciting places and things we got to experience this past week. I was simply smitten, over and over and over again.