CARIBBEAN QUEEN PT. 3 - ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS - DARE I SAY -

KISMET

THURSDAY - John’s family had the same excursion as my family. We were all on the Kon Tiki in Martinique. This was nice because we didn’t have to split up families and John and I could be together. This day was a blast! On board the Kon Tiki, there was free rum punch and limbo dancing. When arriving at Martinique, we then rode on paddle boats around the bay. Andi, Jesse (another guy that was following her around) and Kevin rode on one boat and John and I rode on another one. That was great fun.

Drinkin Rum and Coca Cola

On the way back, there was a great limbo dancer providing the entertainment and the Star Steel Drum Band.

Shortly after getting back to the ship, Andi, John and I turned right around, went back to Martinique and went to eat at a good little restaurant where we had omelettes. Very good.

After eating, we didn’t have much time and we were in a rush to get back to the ship. We got stuck in rush hour traffic and had only 20 minutes or so before the ship left. But through effort and extra money to the driver, we made it. WHEW! It was an adventure, but a fun one.

Andi went straight for the pool and John and I went to my room and took a nap. This was a wonderful day. John told me that he knew, whether I believed it or not, that he was in love with me. I was beginning to truly believe it. We spent most of this day in each other’s arms. That’s all I wanted to do.

From Left (clockwise) John & me after Grenada Kon Tiki, 2) John dressed up for our date, 3) WE are dressed up about to go discover nite life in St. Thomas

FRIDAY - All six of my group went to St. Thomas for our excursion to snorkel. Only Andi, Doris and I snorkeled. It was beautiful. But, I wished I was with John the whole time. I saw him in the water as our boat passed him by. God, how I wanted to be with him. I got quite a bit sunburn that day. The water was beautifully clear. When we came back, John put aloe vera lotion all over me. It felt good.

After napping, we took showers and met later for dinner. But, this time dinner was quite special. We went into St. Thomas to Bluebeard’s Castle restaurant. The ship didn’t leave until Midnight, so we left the ship about 7:30 or so and stayed until 11:30 p.m. The dinner was THE best dinner I have ever had in my whole life. For appetizers, we had escargot and little, flaky biscuits. Delicious. I had never had escargot before and found it wonderful; I had Bacardi and Pineapple to drink. (wish I had more pics here - my FAVE part of the whole trip! - when I am having a great time, I don't write as much)

Then from there we ordered our main entree, lobster (both escargot and lobster were already prepared out of the shells) over linguini with a cream sauce over all. Wonderful. To drink alongside all this extravagant meal, we had champagne. Of course. After eating, he made a toast. He said “To this week and forever.” Never a more perfect toast ever made. A beautiful night.

When we came back to the ship, we went to the Grand Salon for last night dancing. Even though we were quite sunburned from the day’s events, we had a blast dancing. We managed to get in our favorite dancing songs for the week; “Footloose” “Part Time Lover”, “Carribean Queen” and wonderful “King for a Day.” A great time. We then went onto the deck for a cooling off walk. Believe you me, it cooled me off. TEE HEE! I had on a sundress with a full skirt, well, as I walked up some stairs to get to the top deck (with John behind me) the wind caught my skirt and up it blew. I mean, over my waist! Luckily, it’s tight around the waist and above so nothing else blew up but it certainly gave John a thrill. He said he really liked that dress. I was rather embarrassed, yet it was very funny. Oh, I was falling for him by this time. We spent the rest of the night (until Andi came in) holding each other. If truth be known, I was truly falling in love.

LAST DAY OF PARADISE

People will Say We're in Love

SATURDAY - All day in San Juan after leaving the ship for good. Boo Hoo! But, because John is from Richardson, we were lucky enough to spend the whole day with each other. I went everywhere he and his family went. We walked all over; went to Pablos Casals Museum, ate lunch at a favorite place of theirs (first time I had black beans) then went to a ritzy hotel and played nickel slots until time to go to the airport.

When arriving, I looked all over for Mom and Dad (they had my ticket) but couldn’t find them. I just sat around a while and then John and I went looking around and spotted them. Dad said “Hello Stranger. Do you remember me?” I really didn’t see them much outside of dinners (and not all of them) so it was understandable that he said that. But he was kidding. He told me he had something for me. I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to him, until I opened up the strange, small plastic container and realized it was an 18 emerald and 9 diamond ring. It’s beautiful. I flipped. I had been eyeing the emeralds all week and he got me this one. I was so excited I almost cried right there in the airport. I ran right over and showed John’s parents. I said he gave it to me for no special reason. John’s mother said “Well, it’s not like you’re a good kid or anything.” and everyone laughed.

It was finally time to board the airplane. John’s family and mine were on the same flight. Bizarre, huh? Or Kismet? After a while of sitting alone, John came over and said “You better come over and sit by me or I’ll be upset.” He managed to arrange an empty seat for me to sit. I was so excited. We laughed and cut up all the way home. Oh, how I was falling for him. We hardly ever stopped jabbering except when we’d catch ourselves just smiling at each other (so much our cheeks would hurt.) What fun!

At the DFW airport, we stuck around each other until the very last minute when we HAD to go in different cars to get home. Dad told me later that John came out and knocked on his car window, shook his hand and said “Mr. Boren, it was a great pleasure meeting you, and if you don’t mind, you’ll probably be seeing much more of me.” Dad was really impressed by him. Mom too. She said he is the best, most sophisticated and exciting guy I have ever dated. I think she’s right.

THE CRUISE WAS NOW OVER; BUT NOT THE ROMANCE!