I'm Baaaaack!

I am back, and totally rested, relaxed, and tanned! On Valentine's Day I left, along with HWH, my sister and her hubby, my Dad and his girlfriend, on a 10 day Caribbean cruise.
We cruised on the Emerald Princess. The ship was nice - but overall, I enjoyed cruising on Royal Caribbean much more. I have sailed twice on RC and thought the layout of the ships were better, and the food was much better on RC.
Our first stop was Antigua where we took a taxi to the beach and enjoyed the clear blue water.
Then, we stopped by St. Lucia - HWH and I went 4-wheeling on ATVs and had a blast.
Next was Barbados where we found another beautiful beach on which to sunbathe.
In St. Thomas we went out on a sailboat (the type they sail in America's Cup)and learned to sail, then raced 2 other sailboats. After that we shopped, shopped, shopped.
We were unable to make the stop scheduled for St. Kitts (I have been to St. Kitts for a 1 week vacation before, so I was not too upset).
Lastly, we stopped at Princess Cays in the Bahamas and enjoyed the beach and shopping.
I love cruising. I am not a real adventurous type and I don't have the desire to traipse around foreign countries sightseeing. I am more of an introvert - I love to relax by laying out in the warm sun, reading, socializing with my little circle of friends or family. I enjoy the short, planned visits into the countries we stop in, but mostly I just follow my HWH or sister around there.
I read 4 books while I was gone:
The Choice by Nicholas Sparks - LOVED IT! Probably my 2nd favorite Sparks book - behind The Notebook of course!

Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carobini - A great read. Enjoyed it even more than her first book, Chocolate Beach, which was fabulous.


The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross - Interesting. I had read about this book on several blogs when it was released. I liked the book and could really identify with the feelings of both mothers in the book. I will warn you there are some scenes in the story that were a bit steamy and a few curse words.
7th Heaven by James Patterson - I like his books, quick reads, short chapters, interesting characters. Some curse words and gory scenes. I did feel like this was one of the best in the Women's Murder Club series.

I plan on giving away Truffles by the Sea in March - so check back soon for that Pass It On giveaway! Hopefully I'll post cruise pictures soon too!

Have a great week!