Our family absolutely loves to travel. My first time flying in a plane was when I was in 8th and it thought it was super fun getting to experience different places. Every year since my freshman year in high school my mom, brother and I would take trips, usually outside of the country, to have family time. We’ve been to Mexico, Bahamas, and smaller islands as well.

Every year my mom would search for a new place the go to after we get back from our trips, so we have something planned for the coming up year. Our last trip we went on was to Grand Cayman and Cozumel, Mexico. During our trip so many interesting and fun things happened that will always be memorable.

A week before our trip I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to leave Washington and get a break from everything. I was counting down the days till we left a month before, and had a few sleepless nights thinking about it. We planned to leave on a Friday after my brother’s basketball game to drive to Vancouver. We were boarding the plane at 6 so we decided to stay at my mom’s fiancés house and take a nap before we left to the airport. Around 3:30am my mom woke my brother and I up so we could get ready to leave. I’m not a morning person what –so-ever, so I wasn’t thrilled about getting up that early. It was freezing cold there and it started to rain, I wasn’t happy about the weather and being tired at the same time was a bad combination. When we all four got to the airport I was starting to wake up and get a little more excited because I realized the trip finally began.

We left from Vancouver to Salt Lake City and that’s where my grandma met up with us all. My grandma lives in Seattle so she was bundled up in layer and layers of clothes, not realizing we were on our way to Tampa, Florida where it’s still pretty warm. As we boarded the plane I started getting re-tired and irritated considering I got my tooth extracted less than a week before, so I wasn’t in the mood to fly, but I kept strong and pushed through the pain.
We finally arrived to Tampa around 2pm. As soon as we stepped off the plane I was in heaven, the feeling of the warm tropical air changed my mood within seconds.

Before our trip actually got started, we stayed in Tampa for two days, walking around looking at scenery, and of course, doing a little shopping. My mom and grandma Stephanie did the most shopping while my brother my mom’s fiancé Chris and I walked around and sat a majority of the time. My mom and grandma both can shop all day without eating. By this time we’ve been at the mall for four hours and I wanted to eat and lay down. So I came up with this idea that my brother, Chris, and I leave them shopping while we go back to the hotel and eat. That’s exactly what we did.

It was our last day in Tampa before we went to the docking ship where we would be boarding the cruise ship. Once again we had to get up super early and be to the boat around noon. Everyone was up and ready by 9:00 with our luggage and bags ready to go. My whole family was super excited to finally have our actual vacation begin, and this was where all the fun started.

Checking onto the boat was a long process. We had to go through security, escalators and more security. The whole process was about an hour long before we actually walk on to the boat. My brother and I were getting super impatient because we had to carry everything, sometimes my mom thinks she’s too cool and doesn’t like carrying anything besides her purse. Lucky us, we get stuck with everything. Time was going beyond slow but eventually we made it on to the boat where the fun finally got started.

Walking on to a cruise ship was absolutely gorgeous. There were lights all over the place, it was I was walking into heaven, where I would want to stay all the time. After we get checked into our rooms it was lunch time, my brother and I speed walked to the buffet where they had plenty of choices of foods. Every day the food changed into something different and new. The grill always has hamburgers and fries and little bit of the other stuff. I was still in pain and the only thing I could really eat at that time was pasta. So I got pasta and it was super good. It probably wouldn’t have tasted super good to other people, but it did to me because it was real food. For the rest of the day we walked around and hung out, and of course I had to take a nap. The rooms come in three or four different sizes. My brother, grandma, and I were all sharing a room while my mom and Chris were next door to us and they were sharing a room as well. For the next two days it was called “Sea Day.” Sea day’s are where we’re on the all water for two days, and by the third day we were in Grand Cayman, and that was our very first stop. A month before we left my mom asked if I would swim with sting rays, and I’m the type of person who loves doing different things and being adventurous so I said yes.

After we docked in Grand Cayman we had to get up kind of early so we would be ready to go and meet with our tour guides. By 9 my mom, Chris and I were dressed and decided to go eat breakfast in the diner to waste a little extra time. As soon as we finished breakfast we headed down to the bottom of the ship and were ready for our adventure. We had to take a bus ride to this lake area that was then going to take us to the sand bar where the sting rays were. The bus ride was about 10-15 minutes long and we also got a small tour as well. The island was beautiful and very clean. The part of the island we were at there was no garbage or loitering on the sidewalks, grass or streets. I could tell that they cared very much about their island.
Eventually we made it to the boat and off we went. The weather there started out alright, it was sunny and cloudy at the same time. 15 minutes into the boat ride it started pouring for a good 10 minutes and everyone was soaked. I was a little disappointed because I didn’t want to get in the water when it was raining, thinking the water was going to be freezing.

30 minutes later we get to the sand bar where we see other boats and tourists. The water was diamond clear but it looked freezing. I was a little nervous to get in the water because the sting rays were huge, I wasn’t sure how deep the water was and I wasn’t sure if it was going to be cold. My mom and Chris slid into the water with no hesitation as I took my time getting in. One of the guides went to get a sting ray from another group and bring it to ours. He went over the rules where I could and couldn’t touch the sting rays at. The guy said the stinger is on their tail and will only poison me if they stick me with it somehow. So my nerves calmed down a bit.
He passed the sting rays around asking if anyone wanted to touch or feed them. A few people fed them and their reactions got me a little nervous. So I decided not the feed them and only touch. My mom went first, then Chris, and then it was my turn. I slowly stuck my hand out to pet it and it was the coolest feeling in the world. Some people said it felt like a wet mushroom which was true, but I thought it felt like wet rubber. My mom wanted to take a picture with it on her back so the guide stuck her on my mom and it looked cool, so of course I wanted to try it. I was scared not realizing what it was going to feel like so I went for it anyways. The guy put her on my back and she slowly slid down giving me a massage as they call it. It was a gross feeling but at the same time it felt really good. We spent about an hour and half with the sting rays, then it was time to go to our last and final spot.

Another 15 minute boat ride and we made it to another addition to the sand bar. It was apart of the island with a beach, a food shack and a lot of trees. It looked like a private resort. By this time the weather was super hot and I felt like lying down and relaxing. Later on we got food and that’s when the weather decided to change on us. It started pouring and cloudy with a slight breeze, it lasted about 15 minutes then it stopped and got sunny but it was still a little chilly. After we ate we had about 20 minutes before we had to leave, so we went into one of the gift shops they had there and my mom purchased a few things. The only weird thing there was that she had to pay in exact change because they didn’t have American money.

I was looking forward to our boat ride back to land because I love boat rides and they put me to sleep easily. We sat on the top of the boat and I noticed that I was a little small, and I didn’t want to fall asleep and somehow start sliding through the poles. I managed to stay awake for the boat ride even thought it was hard. On our approach back to the dock I started seeing these massive iguanas on the trees and bricks. They were so pretty and colorful with bright greens, oranges, and reds, some of them blended in with the trees and some stood out. As we got off the boat all I could think about was a shower. The salty water on my face and body made we feel gross like I had wet slime dripping off me especially since I had sting rays all over me. My mom, Chris and I made It back to the boat and we met up with my brother and grandma back at the rooms.

The boat left Grand Cayman around 5:00 and we were headed to Cozumel, Mexico. After everyone took a shower and got re-dressed we went down to get food and finally get a little snack before dinner at 8. I was looking forward to dinner because they always have good food on the boat. Before dinner we wasted a few hours and walked around trying to get an idea of how the boat worked.
We then went to dinner and sat for about two hours then left. Every time we sit for dinner we end up talking about random stuff and visiting with the waiters. Sometimes they have slow nights and the services tend to be a little slow. My mom has this thing with pictures, she absolutely loves taking pictures of people and getting pictures done. So of course she made my brother and I take so many pictures and it was starting to get annoying.
The next morning we wake up and we’re in Mexico. The view from the boat was amazing, the weather was a little questionable, it was muggy and very cloudy and lots of rain. All four of us go back to our rooms to grab jackets and then we follow the crowd down to the bottom of the ship where everyone was getting off. As we’re waiting to exit I saw a table selling ponchos and a lot of people were wearing some as well. I knew it was raining but I didn’t think it was raining that hard. We all got off the boat and ended up soaking wet in the first five minutes we were outside. We spent all day in Mexico with wet clothes on and around 7 we went back to the boat to end our day.
The next two days we were boating back to Tampa where we first started our voyage. We spent most of our time getting our bags together before we got off the boat and made sure we had everything. We finally made it back to Tampa and off the boat. The next morning we had to get up early and fly back to Portland, and my grandma was flying back to Seattle. By this time I was physically and mentally drained for all the traveling we had done that whole day.
This trip meant a lot to me because it was our last one as a family before I go off to college, and before my mom gets married. We become more of a family on the trips we take, and I hope we can all go on another trip after my mom is married and when everything is settled down. We always have the best times when we go on vacations and I can’t wait for this tradition to carry on.