This morning we were up before 7:00am so we could have our beverages and cinnamon rolls before meeting the kids in the Windjammer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At 7:30am all the kids met us at the buffet. We enjoyed a small breakfast before getting off the ship. Ayva was hobbling because she smashed her ankle on the waterslides yesterday. Apparently, she knows that the best thing to do when you are sick, on antibiotics fighting a bacterial infection, and can\u2019t walk is to continue to stay up super late. We all told her to rest but what do we know \ud83d\ude44<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We met again in the stairwell on deck 3 at 8:15. Ten minutes later we were making our way off the ship to meet someone from The Scooter Rental company. Our 6 seater scooter met us at the entrance and took us to the rental place. Ayva was not in the best spirits but she was relieved to learn that we rented a buggy for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our first stop was to fill it with gas. The cost was 2.22 \/li which came to $33\ud83d\ude33 I was relieved to find out that was under $19 usd. But I think it was cheaper to drive the Volvo \ud83d\ude1d. I feel like we paid for someone else\u2019s joy ride because it was still full when we returned it \ud83e\udd14<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By 9:00am we were on our way to explore the island. Our first stop was down a path that I didn\u2019t think was a path. We passed 2 vehicles that had been abandoned and parts removed. We also went through a very narrow path with bushes lining both sides and no view of the other side. Of course I was a bit nervous but on the other side was beach. Not a nice beach. There was a lot of seaweed and it didn\u2019t look inviting. Tavis went to turn us around and back tires had sunk in the sand \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2640\ufe0f.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everyone but Ayva got out. Tavis and I pushed while Ari drove. I also got some sticks under my tire. With a bit of effort and time, we got unstuck. Addison was our next driver. He drove us to the next stop which was a lookout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across the road from the beach where we stopped and looked at the view, Addison spotted someone on the hill. Obviously that was our next destination. Ayva stayed in the cart while the rest of us hiked up an unknown hill without any trails. We did our best to avoid cacti and sharp bushes. We also kept our eyes open for dangerous critters but all we\u2019ve seen so far are iguanas. The view from the top was good and the breeze was refreshing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we got back to the scooter, we agreed that Tavis should drive the rest of the time. We continued around the island. Our next stop was a gorgeous beach in the French side. We drove through many towns with tiny rundown buildings. It wasn\u2019t super inviting. Another stop was a ruined fort on a hill with another great view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From there we made our way to Maho Beach back on the Dutch side. This is the beach next to Princess Juliana airport. We arrived around 11:30. We parked the buggy across the street from the parking lot and found a table at the open air restaurant next to the beach. We ordered a few drinks and relaxed while we waited for the big planes to arrive. The largest plane was a KLM flight which might have been an A330 arrived 30 minutes early at 12:30. Most of the large planes were early and by 1:30 we had seen 3 large ones. We decided to start making our way back toward the cruise port.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the way back we drove thrown Phillipsberg. It was a very long street with lots of traffic. About half way through the one road town we turned off and bypassed the rest. We dropped the kids off at the cruise port then Tavis and I dropped the buggy off. When we got back it was really hot and we realized that telling the kids we would meet them at a store was not a great idea because Addison had Tavis\u2019 cruise pass. Luckily Ari was thinking and stayed at the gate to wait for us. We wandered around looking for Ayva and Addison. Eventually we found Addison who informed us that Ayva started toward the ship. As we walked back to the ship it started to rain and it felt welcoming after the hot sun all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We found Ayva sitting at a bench. They had passengers walking on at the front and the back was reserved for disabled. I asked if Ayva was considered disabled as she slowly hobbled along and they let her and I get on without any line ups (and without walking to the front and then to our rooms at the back). The boys were way ahead so it worked out well. Ayva took the elevator up to her room and I took the stairs to mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Tavis arrived we made our way to the pool deck and to our surprise, they were fixing the slide! They had the new pieces prepped and ready. It looks like they are replacing both glass sections with the orange and yellow. It seemed to be an all day process though to remove the broken panels. They finally had it removed by 4:00pm and made a barrier of loungers so passengers couldn\u2019t get through. I guess they will put the new section up tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We had a nice snooze on the deck then made our way to the Aqua Show. it was quite elaborate! We took the standby seats but decided when we go for our actual reservation we need to sit in actual chairs at the top of the roped area. We left before it ended to get to our dinner reservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was only 4 of us for dinner again as Addison opted out. After dinner I brought Ayva her medication which was in my bag from earlier. Both boys were already in bed but the sick handicapped one was heading out for the night \ud83d\ude44.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tavis and I had a nap to digest before going down to the running track for our evening walk. I think we were in bed by 11:00 tonight. We were tired and tomorrow we arrive at St. Thomas at 7:30am so we wanted to have an early night.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This morning we were up before 7:00am so we could have our beverages and cinnamon rolls before meeting the kids in the Windjammer. At 7:30am all the kids met us at the buffet. We enjoyed a small breakfast before getting off the ship. Ayva was hobbling because she smashed her ankle on the waterslides yesterday. … <\/p>\n