Half Moon Cay (said "KEY")

Half Moon Cay, is a little privately owned island in the Bahamas. It is owned by Holland America Line, a subsidary of Carnival Cruise Line. They anchored the ship out in the ocean and then we took this little hummer out to island. The wind was really blowing on this day, so the ocean was tossing these little boats all over the place. It was fun to sit comfortably in my little seat and watch other people get on the little boat and try to walk to a seat. :-)

I don't have a picture of Brent and I in front of the sign. When we got off the ship there were a million photographers and people and it was crazy, so we just rushed past all this business. Then on the way back to the ship, I forgot. Michelle and Robert didn't, so you get to see them by the sign. :-)
This is what the island looks like from out on the ocean. Even now, looking at the pictures, the color of the water is so unreal!! I love it!
Because of the wind, many of the excursions were canceled. Any of the water sports, the parasailing, and even our snorkel excursion. We were supposed to take a boat out into the ocean, and then snorkel out there. The water was too crazy to go out too far from shore. Luckily we had also signed up for a bicycle tour of the island. This one started at 9 am, and I am so glad that Brent chose this one. Not only cuz it didn't cancel, but because I got to ride this super cute Purple Schwinn bike! :-)

The tour took us all over the island (which is thankfully rather flat). They would take us to different areas, and let us get off and take pictures and share some fun facts about the island. The girl who was our tour guide told us that she and others that do excursions on the island actually live on a near by island and they commute in every day.
We rode around to a place that was like a bay. That is where they do a lot of their excursions out of. The water was kind of yucky over there... I'm guessing from the boat pollution? The little dots out there in the water are Michelle and Roberts Kayaking Excursion group.
This is what they looked like up close. Their excursion got canceled in the middle of it too. They had a difficult group of people who weren't listening to the instructor, and they were fighting some wild water, so they called it quits on them too. Robert, however picked himself up a really good sunburn.
Brent took this pic of my backside while we were riding (thanks hun) But it shows what a beautiful and unique experience this was!
The bay type spot that we went to on our tour was also home of the "Air Port" Basically a place where a small airplane could land on the water in the case of an emergency.
The sign says "Half Moon Cay Airport: Passport n Shoes not required"
Nicely framed picture of the ocean and our ship. :-) (good job Michelle)

Our day that we spent at sea, AKA "Fun Day at Sea", was Sunday, and so we missed Church. So while we were at Half Moon Cay, Michelle spotted this here "Bahamian Church"
So we went to church...
Perhaps it would have been a better story had we sat together, or even if we sat in different spots. :-)
Robert bore his testimony,
And Brent didn't go to church, he was sunning on the beach! :-)
Actually, I wish I had a picture of Brent on the Beach at about 3pm. He was hiding under towels, his poor fare skin was cooked and he knew it. I eventually took him back to the ship cuz I felt sorry for how hot he was.
He did take a swim... he was the first of the four of us to dawn his snorkel gear and go out looking for some life with in the boundaries that were set for swimmers. The water was too crazy to go beyond the boundaries.
Most of the fish that were in this shallow area were the same color as the sand or clear, so it was very difficult to spot them. Brent was good at finding them tho. Eventually, all of us were out there, but Michelle and I didn't last very long. The water was quite cool, and I could only stand it for so long. Brrrrr. I think that I would have lasted longer had there been more to look at.

Carnival does a bar-b-que for all the cruisers right there on the island. So nice to not have to buy food, or go back to the ship for it. They had pavilions and tables set up in the middle of some trees, kind of secluded from the rest of the island.
They served JERK CHICKEN on the island..... YUMMMM!!! I love Jerk Chicken. Slurrrp. I went back for seconds!
A little shot of me and my sweety right before he had to go into his shelter from the sun.

Again, Breathtaking!!

Brent bought me a Pina Colada to drink on the beach. Yummy! They sure melt fast out there in the sun! Michelle and Robert got their drinks in this here fancy cup holders. Too cute.
We headed back to the ship around 3 and showered up and got ready for dinner.
Our funny waiter Santi skipped out on the entertainment from the night before, and we had teased him for that. He more than made up for it tonight, as he danced to "Low Low Low" LOL!!!
He was really boogieing down!!
We then went to some entertainment on the ship. We went to "Liar's Club" which was essentially "Balderdash". We got to listen to 3 of the employees come up with funny definitions of silly words and pick which one was telling the truth. The one that I remember is Whisterpoop, which means a slight smack up side the head. LOL He told us that it comes from the phrase "I wis ta poop you in the head." It was really funny.
We watched others do the "thriller dance" and then we played "60 Second Challenge". Michelle and I played the scavenger hunt game, where we had 60 seconds to collect a variety of items, one of which was a $100 bill, and someone actually gave me one! Course he was right there when it was over, but I thought that was pretty cool! I should have won, but "Island Girl" as she liked to be called, gave the prize to a man that we named "Jokes" on day one. Apparently the item that said 12 left shoes, actually counted each shoe individually! If I'd have known that i would have definitely gotten those! So we did not win, :-( Boo hoo.
Then Brent and Robert played a game where they were on a team of 5 men who had to strap a sand pail with a ball attached to it, to their waist. Then with hands on head, they were to swing their hips to gain momentum and land that ball on a string, up in the pail. It is VERY funny to watch. They WON! They both did such a good job, naturals I tell ya!
And they got the all coveted "Piece of Ship on a Stick!!!" This silly grin on Brents face, needs an explanation, for you will see it several times from this time forth. There was a guy dressed in Pirate garb, going around the dining room taking photos with everyone. He moved swiftly from one person to the next, making the exact same face on every person. It was hilarious to look at all the pictures printed together because he looked like a cardboard cut out, it was that consistent! So we made fun of this face for the whole rest of the trip.
Here they are, proudly posing with their major awards!!

If I remember correctly, we went and played cards after this, and had a great time!

It was a fabulous day!!