Labor Day Weekend

Oh MAN! what a weekend! we had TOO much fun :D We got really lucky with the weather this weekend as it only down poured when we were not planning on being outside! crazy good luck for Miami! We also ate most of our meals in our fabulous dining hall to help save on money since we were going to be spending so much in other areas this week. BUT we justified it because we don't usually go and do this stuff ourselves and were kind of waiting on friends to come down to do it with! haha. Anyway, Kristen and AJ really liked the dining hall too so it was not a big deal at all that we ate there. :D

We started out the weekend by taking them to one of our fabulous Miami beaches :D Here is a picture of AJ getting ready. lol


We spent most of the day on the beach and then decided that we were going to try out the Casino in Hollywood. AJ LOVES black jack and pretty much the casino in general, so we figured we could try it out while they were here. When we got there it was just like it was in the movies. John and I had never been in one, so it was a neat experience. Since it was a Friday night all the tables were really expensive to play on and the cheaper ones were full and really hard for AJ to get on. None of us ended up spending money and left. We told AJ that there would be a casino on the cruise we were taking on Sunday, so he was cool with that. Unfortunately, you cant take pictures so I don't have anything to show you :(. However, on the way to the casino there was a huge check point where they were testing everyone to see if they had been drinking and driving. it was crazy and I have never seen anything like it! They directed all the traffic into this huge parking lot and were testing people. We got SO lucky because they cut the line off 1 car before us! Not that drinking and driving was an issue for us, but we would have been there FOREVER. There were literally a ridiculous amount of cars in this parking lot and more cops in one place than I have ever seen! talk about getting lucky and not having to waste all that time!

Anyway, when we got back Friday night we were EXHAUSTED! a full day in the sun and driving a good distance to the casino took it out of us! We hung out for a bit and got ready for the next day and then went to bed. Early, I know- BUT we were waking up crazy early to drive to Key Largo!

KEY LARGO! I love this place. it's one of my favorites so far!! We decided to charter a boat for the day! the charter started at 8 am so we left Coral Gables around 7am. When we got there the boat was waiting (sadly, we didn't get there until 9)! We loaded up and set sail! here is a picture of the boat :D



Our first destination was the furthest out and is a famous snorkeling spot. Apparently, there is a huge Jesus Christ statue under the water there! It was a few miles from where we were, so it took a bit to get there. Unfortunately, it was kind of stormy out so the water was rough. It made for a very interesting and fun ride out there! However, when we got there and hook the boat up (you cant drop anchor because of the reefs) the boat was very rocky. It made Kristen feel really bad so she didn't get out and snorkel with us. It took us forever to find Jesus. LOL. but we finally found him. Our little joke was that John, AJ, and I finally found Jesus. haha. here are some pictures:

AJ and I on the hunt for Jesus...


Jesus!

John convinced me to try and dive down so I could get a picture with him and Jesus. I don't dive down so I was proud of myself for getting this far! It really hurt my ears :( I think if I new how to not make it hurt my ears so much, I wouldn't mind diving down as much. I guess that just means I need to go back and practice:D

Anyway, all of this actually took a few hours and Kristen was feeling pretty bad so she wanted us to take her back to the car. I felt really bad because I didn't want to drop her at shore and go have fun without her! Luckily, she started feeling a bit better on the ride back and we found this sandy spot where a lot of other boats were and got out and chilled in the water. She was able to hang out for the rest of the afternoon after that. We had packed our lunch the night before so we had lunch and just hung out for a long time. next time we are definitely bringing floats! We got creative and used the life jackets. LOL! it worked though! the water was perfect and the day was just SO relaxing! More pictures:



When we had about 1 1/2 hours left we took the boat out to drive some. It was SO much fun. Now I want a boat. lol. We stopped at another point and tried to snorkel again, but there wasn't much to see :(. it was still a lot of fun tho! I think the only thing missing from this trip was Krystal and Josh- Josh LOVES boats and wants one, so I wish they could have been there to enjoy it with us. don't worry, Josh! we'll just do it again when you come visit!!




So Saturday was even better after all of that because it was the FIRST STATE GAME! WOOO! we got pizza and took it home and made it just after kickoff. I dont remember the last time I was so tired! I ended up falling asleep during the game :(. I woke back up at the end of it tho. I was STOKED to see that we have a live mascot now! of course it would happen the year that we leave :( but at least it happened!

Sunday, was another amazing day. We got up super early again and drove to Fort Lauderdale. Our day cruise was leaving from there at 8:30am. The line to check in was SO long, but SO worth it! We got on the boat and had an awesome time. The trip included a breakfast buffet, dinner buffet, all the drinks we wanted, and of course a stop in the Bahamas! On board there were a few decks that you could lay out and tan on and there was a pool. There were also game rooms, a casino, and a few places where different activities were taking place. The boat wouldn't get to the Bahamas until 2ish so we spent a lot of the morning hanging out, played some trivia, checked out the boat, and just had a lot of fun. We tried to stay out of the sun though because Kristen, John, and AJ were fried from the previous days. I don't know how I didn't really get burnt! Boat pictures:


Around 2pm we got to Freeport. It was absolutely beautiful. I want to stay a night or two next time we go! When we got there we were STARVING. So first up was lunch. We didn't have a ton of time on the island, so we tried to go fast. We asked our cab driver (because you have to take a cab to get from the port to anything really. there is nothing around the port) what he recommended and he said Zorba's. We weren't sure about it and asked this lady that started talking to us and she recommended the same place, so that was where we went. It was pretty good. John and I split a cracked conch dinner, which included fried cracked conch, white rice, and plantains. YUMMY! we also go conch chowder to share. I could have done without the "chowder." It was basically vegetable soup with conch in it. It was good, but could have done without it. lol.


After lunch we walked around the marketplace some and then headed toward the beach. Everything was SO clean! the water there is even clearer than it is here in Miami. I couldn't believe it! It was really breathtaking and hard to believe that it even exists! God is an amazing creator! Next, we went souvenir shopping. Since we collect shot glasses we were trying to find a fun one and not the same old ones. We couldn't really find one so we didn't get one this trip. Next time I want to save up some spending money because they have some really neat stuff! Here are some pics:



This looks like a fake picture to me!


When we got back to the boat it was almost dinner time so we hung out for a bit and then ate dinner. We watched most of the sunset, which was beautiful and then went and watched some Karaoke. was fun but there was this really annoying kid who kept signing up to sing. I don't remember the last time I wanted to hit a kid- but this one made me close to actually doing it. lol. then when the boat got closer to land we hung out on the deck watched.

It was great. We will definitely do it again- but probably not just him and me. It's much more of a friends hang out thing. Good times tho. We didn't get home until 12ish, hung out for a bit and then passed out! After those few days I was EXHAUSTED! We just hung out around UM on Monday. I gave them a tour of campus and then we played some cards and watched a movie. Then it was time to say goodbye :(. Great trip tho!

It also just so happened to be AJ's birthday weekend, so we had a lot of fun with him turning 25! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AJ! :D

Overall a VERY successful weekend and SO much fuN! I cant wait until we save up some money and get to do some of it again!!

Finally a picture of the 4 of us...