{CARIBBEAN} Day Fifteen - HOME!

Hubby and the kids arrived back in Fort Lauderdale, Florida early this morning, and thankfully the ship DID NOT do a u-turn... Ha!

They bid farewell to their home for the last couple of weeks...

and set off on the long drive back HOME, arriving just before midnight.

I'm sooo very happy to have everyone back in the same state, and COUNTRY!

Until next time...

More {CARIBBEAN} 2023 Fun

Days One & Two - Palm Beach, FL + AT SEA

Day Three - George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day Four - Roatan, Honduras

Day Five - Xunatunich (Belize City, Belize

Days Six & Seven - Tulum (Cozumel), Mexico + AT SEA

Day Eight - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Days Nine & Ten - Princess Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas + AT SEA

Day Eleven - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Day Twelve - Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Days Thirteen & Fourteen - Amber Cove, Dominican Republic + AT SEA

{CARIBBEAN} Days Thirteen & Fourteen - Amber Cove, Dominican Republic + AT SEA

So, yesterday Hubby and the kids were set to dock in Amber Cove, Dominican Republic, and had a grand ziplining adventure planned. Hubby got the kids up early, grabbed breakfast, and got ready to disembark first thing, but alas, plans are only plans...

THIS is about all they saw of the Dominican Republic...

For some unforeseen circumstances (the captain said it was the winds), as they pulled into the port, they did a u-turn!

What a bummer!

So, yesterday became an at sea day, and kind of morphed into today, another (previously planned) at sea day...

Over the last two days, the kids spent some time in the hot tub...

went for a run...

and enjoyed the onboard entertainment, including Voice of the Ocean!

Planning to finish up the trip back in Fort Lauderdale tomorrow. Let's hope they don't do a u-turn there!

More {CARIBBEAN} 2023 Fun

Days One & Two - Palm Beach, FL + AT SEA

Day Three - George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day Four - Roatan, Honduras

Day Five - Xunatunich (Belize City, Belize

Days Six & Seven - Tulum (Cozumel), Mexico + AT SEA

Day Eight - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Days Nine & Ten - Princess Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas + AT SEA

Day Eleven - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Day Twelve - Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Day Fifteen - HOME!

{CARIBBEAN} Day Twelve - Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Today, Hubby and the kids docked in Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos...

Grandma and I were a bit sad to miss out on this one, as it would have been a new stop for us, but the rest of our crew did it justice, covering most of both the town and the island on their own with Hubby leading the pack...

 They checked out the beach...

and some flowers and shell architecture for me...

{I'm really proud of how they (the girls, mainly) took over the photography in my absence!}

before grabbing lunch at Barbie's Restaurant...

where our crew gave ox tail a try!

This was quite reminiscent of them trying haggis in Scotland a few years ago!

After lunch, they went to visit the Grand Turk Lighthouse...

and saw lots of island donkeys along the way!

They capped off their trip with dessert at Bon Ice Cream...

before bidding farewell to Turks and Caicos...

They're headed to the Dominican Republic (or DR) tomorrow, but Grandma and I actually got to go to the DR TODAY... Well, the orthopedic kind, at least!

As suspected, her fibula is broken, right above her ankle, but she DOES NOT need surgery! Hallelujah! She was fitted with a boot, and we are celebrating this WIN!

More {CARIBBEAN} 2023 Fun

Days One & Two - Palm Beach, FL + AT SEA

Day Three - George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day Four - Roatan, Honduras

Day Five - Xunatunich (Belize City, Belize

Days Six & Seven - Tulum (Cozumel), Mexico + AT SEA

Day Eight - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Days Nine & Ten - Princess Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas + AT SEA

Day Eleven - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Days Thirteen & Fourteen - Amber Cove, Dominican Republic + AT SEA

Day Fifteen - HOME!

{CARIBBEAN} Day Eleven - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Today we docked in San Juan, Puerto Rico...

and well, well, well...

THIS is the point where our family trip became not ONE, but TWO "adventures" running simultaneously...

Grandma and I disembarked early, went through customs, caught a taxi to the airport...

and began the journey HOME...

as we were not particularly interested in checking into the hospital in San Juan... Good thing we've both visited before (San Juan, that is, NOT the hospital in San Juan...and keeping it that way)!

Meanwhile, the rest of our crew stayed on board to (hopefully) finish the journey (barring no one else breaks any bones ~ maybe I should stop while I'm ahead... Wait, am I ahead?!?!?).

After all, our car was still in Florida...

Hubby and the kids took a shore excursion tour over to El Yunque National Forest...

the only tropical rainforest in the United States National Forest System...

They visited La Coca Falls...

the Baño Grande...

and Yokahú Tower...

with breathtaking views from the top...

From there, they headed back to the ship...

about the time that we were taking off...

We landed at our home airport a bit before midnight and were met by one of my dearest college friends who had bought a wheelchair and was waiting curbside to drive us home... 

All smiles...

except for the reality of this...

but, nonetheless, thankful to be HOME safe and sound...

More {CARIBBEAN} 2023 Fun

Days One & Two - Palm Beach, FL + AT SEA

Day Three - George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Day Four - Roatan, Honduras

Day Five - Xunatunich (Belize City, Belize

Days Six & Seven - Tulum (Cozumel), Mexico + AT SEA

Day Eight - Fort Lauderdale, FL

Days Nine & Ten - Princess Cays, Eleuthera, Bahamas + AT SEA

Day Twelve - Cockburn Town, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos

Days Thirteen & Fourteen - Amber Cove, Dominican Republic + AT SEA

Day Fifteen - HOME!