Ruidoso

     It's been two years since I've realIy snowboarded. It's my favorite thing,  but due to a minor snowboarding injury (broken tailbone) I missed my opportunity to go-until this last weekend...

     So I was torn between going to Cloudcroft, NM and Ruidoso, NM, but when I found out that Ski Apache had a Gondola, it was a no brainer.

The prices are very high and there wasn't much snow, but the snow they did have was not bad. It was warm warm warm, and there were some muddy and snowless spots but I like snowboarding enough I could care less. Whatever you do, don't rent from Ski Apache-that would be $$$. Rather, I'd recommend going to Saint Bernard Ski where you can get a much better deal. Plus the staff was awesome.

  The view from the top was awesome too-even if you don't snowboard, I'd recommend getting a Goldola ticket just to see that.

Really I liked everything about the trip. Ruidoso is such a nice place, I didn't want to leave the beauty

The Village Inn Lodge was so cozy with its fireplace and hot tub (and for cheap!)

And to spend time 

with friends was so awesome, as always. These newbees did pretty good too- they kept me entertained for sure :)

For more pics and videos (and other super random stuff), check out my Instagram- username loves2hang

Cozumel

   Our last stop (sigh) was Cozumel, México. Once again we met up with our friends on Carnival,  and hit the city in search of mopeds. After a little bit of much needed help getting out of the high traffic areas,  Bianca and I (who have never driven a moped before) joined tge group.  I gotta say- I think I need one now. I loved it!  We went from beach bar to beach bar just enjoying the sun, the sand, the water, and the wind in our hair.
   The first place we hit up was the Moneybar, where we snorkled more awesome reefs, soaked up the sun, and ate some yummy octopus ceviche with our drinks.
   The second place we enjoyed was Playa Palancar. At the end of this road was where we took the photo of that neat little boat we stopped at. Surprisingly,  the tacos here were a highlight of my trip mmmmmmmm.
   On the drive, we saw an alligator in the road too! I do like my Mexico! Watch a video of it all here

Belize!

No, I didn't get a whole lot of pics in Belize, but I was way too busy having a blast to even think about it. The plan was- cave tubing, followed by zip lining and lunch. It didn't all work out but they still made sure we had a good time. When we arrived by tender, it was pouring rain. I whipped out my poncho for warmth and loved every second of it. Unfortunately,  though,  the rain caused the caves to flood, and we were unable to do that part of our tour. We did this through cavetubing.bz The guide reimbursed us for what we were missing and we headed out to the mountains. Someone found a tarantula and you can view our video of that excitement here. The ziplining was pretty good, but really it was all about being surrounded by beauty. To view this experience you can go here. After ziplining, we ate some delicious, authentic Belizian food and drank some awesome rum punch the whole ride back. Our driver was even kind enough to stop at a liquor store so we could stock up for cheap liquor including the delicious and vanilla-y One Barrel Rum (you must try this-I mean it!) It was so awesome to meet up with all friends on this adventure.

update!!!  I've added a video of Belize. See it here!!!

Honduras

Roatán, Honduras was indescribable. Nothing I could say could put a word picture that would even compare to the beauty I saw.  The town was so fun to look at and the shops were so cute.  There are some people that are a bit in your face (like they walk with you everywhere you go and expect a tip for showing you around) but overall I loved the smiles and just people watching all in all.  The water was a breathtaking  aqua-such a beautiful color, the air was humid and warm, and the plants were unbelievably rich and healthy.  I couldn't have been more happy to be there. We snorkled at Upachaya, held a live sea urchin, held live starfish (don't take them out of the water or they will get air in them and float, leaving them vulnerable to predators), saw a sting ray, a puffer fish, a lion fish, and so much more on the reef. The property was wonderous and the vegan lunch was exactly what I needed on a day like that. You can see a video of the whole thing here http://youtu.be/BPanXtkV8Kg

The Ship (Shows/Games and Photos)

       There's so much on the ship it was hard to cover it all. My favorite of all the shows we saw was definitely the ice show.  It blew my mind how awesome it was and the music -I wish I had that playlist. You'd just have to see it. They also had karaoke on two nights (wish it was every night) and some really fun and funny game shows where everyone was involved.  All of us girls loved being in the battle of the sexes :) And I can't forget Dodgeball. For us being the only team with girls, I think we did pretty good getting 4th place out of 8!
       Another thing I really appreciated was the photographers.  Although the pics were spendy, I think most of us don't get our pics taken professionally on a regular basis,  so having people take nice pics of you and your group was a nice addition to the vacation, and we did nice ones, and funny ones.

The Ship (Rooms, Food, Dancing)

The rooms were small but who cares? There's so much to do on the ship so who'd want to hang out in your room anyways. Besides, a vacation like this was at such a good price I was happy to have such a good deal. My house is small so I felt right at home,  except I didn't have to cook or clean,  got free room service breakfasts,  and cute little towel animals daily. Ok so nothing like home, you got me.

The bed split into two if you felt the need, but Bianca is family, so we don't fuss.

I am a sucker for free food and cruises are full of that! It was all so delicious.  It gave me an opportunity to try so many new foods because if I don't like something they would just bring me something else free of charge.  Everyone who works on a ship is so nice too.  I was very happy with our waitstaff. 

I am such a dancer. I would dance every day if I could. There were opportunities to dance everywhere!  I danced all night in "The Dungeon", danced on the pool deck when there was music, and danced in the salsa bar. I had a blast. There were even opportunities for dance lessons often, so of course, we learned the cha cha.

The Ship (Hot Tubs and Pools)

People told me before he cruise that the hot tubs are Cold Cold Cold. I am a girl who loves her a good hot tub,  so I was prepared for disappointment.  Really, though,  It just depended on the tub.  Some,  I froze in, while others,  were great.  The adult tub was by far the best though.  I would recommend hitting up the tubs first thing on the ship and late late late at night if you want to avoid people.

 They serve you drinks poolside, upon request, and occasionally we'd hop out for a swim in one of the salt water pools,  which I find kinda awesome, especially when the ship is moving and you get a little tide in it.

Yeah I know, my brother in law is awesome and you all want to be him.