#VSSportsBra Vox Box

* I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.*

Influenster did it again. They chose me to review some super awesome products, but this time, they were fitness related!

Not only were they fitness related, they are from Victoria's Secret, so they are super high quality. When they sent me the email saying I was in to test them, I practically jumped up and down from excitement.

What was in my box:
1 VS Sports Bra (in a weird orange mesh style)
1 VS Sports crop pants (in black)
A whole bunch of 25% off coupons to share with friends!

I'll keep the review short by saying that both of these are amazing! I'm in love with the leggings and I wear them all the time. Even though they're expensive, I would consider buying another pair just because they are that good.

The color of the bra never really grew on me, but it's also super comfy. I would definitely consider buying more VS Sport Bras in the near future!

Thank you Influenster for the amazing box!

Oops I Did It Again... The VA Ten Miler

Once upon a time I used to think people who ran the Virginia Ten Miler were crazy. Well, now I know they're crazy, but I'm one of them for the second time this year and I couldn't be happier.

Not much about the race itself has changed since last year, and you can read about that in this post.

I'll try to make this post short, so I'll cover a few of the highlights.

Packet Pickup:

I was all set and ready to pick up my packet in the middle of my school day, but due to a traffic accident they got started late and I had to send my husband. He's never been to a packet pickup before, but they were nice and organized. He didn't have a bit of trouble figuring it out (not that he's dumb, sometimes races are just really unorganized).

I'm in love with this year's shirt, it may be my new favorite.

Race Day:

Now that I have moved, I live 1.5 miles from the start. What better way to warm up then to run to the start? I have to say it was one of the best racing decisions I have ever made. I got nice and warmed up, and didn't mind shedding my jacket as soon as I got to the bag drop off. I even ran into one of my favorite high school teachers as he was prepping to spectate!

The actual race itself was amazing as always. I felt great, much stronger than last year. I even managed to be able to run up most of the hills, something I never thought possible. The spectators were encouraging, and a lot of the people on the course were inspiring. There was an entire color guard that ran carrying flags to honor our country, military, and fallen heroes. One man ran the entire thing in Army fatigues, boots, and with a full pack. Whenever I wanted to stop, I  kept thinking that if they could do it, I could do it with no extra weight.

There's still something magical about running through your hometown with 4,000 other people. I really can't describe it, but its something you have to experience for yourself one day.

Something else magical happened during the race, I too an attractive picture while running. something that never happens.

I kind of want to print this out and frame it.

Post-Race:

I really didn't stick around for much of the post race activities, it was getting hot and I had to slog my way back home. I did enjoy some amazing food (thank you Dominos for the pizza!) in the food tent after.

Oh, and of course there was the best part of any race, the medal.

Isn't it gorgeous? Last year was the 40th anniversary medal, and I have a goal to run it every year to get every medal from 40-50.

I haven't been very good about blogging lately, and there's some older topics that I want to cover, but I'm trying to get back on track so look out for those soon!

I'm also running a half marathon this weekend, so expect a post on that, too!

Goal Setting

For those of you who remember my blog posts about running class last semester, I'm back and at it again. I'm training for Richmond with one of the greatest Ultrarunners out there, David Horton.

You can Google him and all sorts of cool stuff comes up. He's done too much for me to list, but he did set the record for running the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. He may not be able to run now (due to an injured knee he just got replaces), but he's super awesome and trains us all on a bike.

For class each semester, we have to set 3 goals. He does this to push us to see what we can accomplish.

1. What we hope to accomplish this semester.
2. What we hope to accomplish within the next 365 days.
3. What we hope to accomplish within our lifetime.

The goals can be anything, but have to relate to running. (And they have to be good enough. He'll make fun of you if your goal is to do a Color Run).

I've decided to share my goals, and put them out there to be accountable.

1. I want to finish the Richmond Marathon in under 5 hours. I'm not a super fast runner, and 5 hours may be asking a lot for such a hilly course. 
2. I want to run both the Holiday Lake 50K and Promise Land 50K in the Spring. Holiday Lake is considered a good beginner Ultra, but Promise Land is brutal. My reasoning is if I can finish 26 miles in November, 30+ should be no problem in February and April.
3. At some point in time, I want to finish the entire Lynchburg Ultra Series. It consists of the Holiday Lake 50K in February, Terrapin Mountain 50K in March, Promise Land 50K in April, and the Mountain Masochist 50 Miler in November.

I may be crazy to attempt all of these, but that's never stopped me before. 

Now, to go out and work for it.

Let's Talk About Locklaces

When I first started running, my toes kept going numb. Also, my shoes came untied all the time.The solution to both of these problems? Lock Laces!

What are Lock Laces? They're easy to use, stretchy laces that never come untied! They also keep your shoes on without keeping them too tight, which stops toes from going numb.

The people over at Lock Laces were nice enough to send me a few pairs for free if I blogged about them. I fully believe that every runner should invest in a pair as soon as they get new shoes. There isn't much to review other than the fact that they work, and I love the huge variety of colors that makes it easy to coordinate with your shoes. (Because we all know that is important!)

Since getting my first pair of laces, I haven't had a single problem with my shoes coming untied, falling off, coming "unlocked" or any problems at all.

13.1 in the Pouring Rain- The Drenchburg Half

Okay, so it's not really called that. It's a loving term that those of us give Lynchburg because it rains a lot here. (It started on Friday and is expected to end around Tuesday night. It is raining as I write this.) Somehow, in a year and a half of running, I have avoided running any races in the rain in Lynchburg (I ran a 5K in the OBX in the rain once).

However, that all changed Saturday.

When I woke up to get ready and let the dog out, it was just barely drizzling. I thought to myself "Oh, running in this won't be so bad, it's better than the 90 degree weather we could have had!" So I donned my race gear: coordinating tank top, tutu, compression sleeves, and shoes, and I headed to the start line.

As soon as I started walking to the start it started pouring. We all huddled under the tent that was protecting the results computer and made small talk. I met some new friends. Small talk helped to calm my nerves.

We all stared out at the rain dreading the moment we had to go stand in it. That came all too fast, and soon we were lined up miserably as we got soaked. Then, we started.

If you have never run a half marathon in the rain, let me give you a recap of my thoughts during the 13.1 miles:

Miles 1-3 were good. The course was flat, and at the first turnaround we got to run through some mud. Once I was thoroughly soaked it felt amazing.

Miles 4-8 were really hilly. There was a lot of walking up hills and by mile 6 I could feel blisters growing on my feet. Running in the rain is not advised for long distances. The fun had started to wear off by this point and I was having a mental battle with myself. I just wanted to stop and go home.

Miles 9 and 10 were back down the giant hill. They were nice and easy and more scenic than what I had been looking at. However, at mile 10 my stomach decided it wanted to rebel and I felt horrible. I started walking.

Miles 11 and 12 were the lowest point of any race I have done. I felt so sick I just walked them. If I tried to run I immediately had to stop. My legs were screaming, my shoulders hurt, and it was a struggle to just put one foot in front of the other. I was pretty much alone on the trail too, which is good because I'm pretty sure I started talking to myself. I didn't say very nice things.

Miles 12.6-13.1 something clicked and I felt better. I managed a slow run to the finish and got my medal.

This was by far the toughest race I have ever done, mainly because of the mental struggle. I hadn't trained very well, the weather was depressing, and the course was tough. But I managed to finish and I can call myself a 3 time half marathoner!

Overall, here's how I felt about the race:

Course: Not my favorite. The hills were expected, but it looped back too much for me. Half of the course was around a building and not scenic at all. We had to loop through that section twice and it was mind-numbingly boring in the rain. The part of the course that was on Blackwater Creek Trail was pretty much just trees, which was also super boring. I'm assuming there are usually spectators, but the rain drove them away. 

Pre/post race: Packet pickup was pretty chill, and the packet itself was just a shirt and bib. There was an Adidas rep at pickup letting us try on the new Boost (which I have decided is going to be my next shoe, they're amazing!). Post race there was a wide variety of food which I really liked.

Finisher Medal: Originally it was stated that only the first 175 finishers would get a medal. That kind of stressed me out because I am not a fast person and over 300 people had signed up by the time we got an email with race info. However, I'm assuming they realized that was unfair because that sentence was taken off the event page and we all got a medal! Which I love, by the way. It displays my hometown on the map, and it's pretty gorgeous in person.

Race Shirt: This is probably my favorite shirt of all the race shirt I have. It's super soft, women's cut, and not an unsightly neon color that's only good for running in. I'm not going to lie, I wore the shirt for two days afterwards because it was so comfy. (All I did was lie around the house recovering).

Overall, I enjoyed the race. The rain wasn't ideal, but I would much rather be a little uncomfortable than have to worry about dehydration and sunburn. The course wasn't my favorite but it was more because it was boring and repetitive than hard. I'm going to plan to do this race again next year, and hopefully decrease my time a little!

Race Recap: Percival's Island 5 Miler

Boy, has it been too long since I've raced.

I'm not counting the Castaway Cay 5K as a race since it was miserable and untimed (not to mention free), so that puts my last race as the Liberty Mountain 5K back in April.

Not having a race to look forward to really zaps the motivation out of me, so I went out on a limb a couple weeks ago and registered for the Percival's Island 5 Mile Footrace even though it was in July. I'm always leery signing up for summer races since the humidity here is so terrible. But the lack of motivation won and I decided if nothing else I would just go out and have fun.

I picked up my packet Friday, getting there right at the start to be guaranteed my t-shirt (I was a bad runner and didn't register before the deadline) which came in a men's and women's option! I love when races have tech shirts but hate it when they are all unisex cut, they end up swallowing me. The women's was even pink!

The weather on race morning could not have been more perfect. It was in the 70s, and completely overcast with a light drizzle. Even though the humidity was 100% the clouds and rain kept us cool.

The race course is pretty boring. 2.5 miles out and back on the flattest part of Blackwater Creek Trail. The flatness is nice for racing (and rare for hilly Lynchburg) but there's pretty much nothing to look at except trees and other runners. There are two cool bridges to cross, but that's about it.

At least one of them if not both are old railroad trestles, hence the train on the shirt.

I ran the race with my friend Drew and we were able to keep each other motivated. I secretly wanted to finish in under an hour, but didn't know if it would be possible. When we turned the last corner and saw the that the timer said 58 minutes, I was ecstatic!

Overall the run felt great. Once I got past the initial mile of torture, we fell into an easy pace and kept it up almost the whole time. The only issue I had with the entire day is where the water stops were. They were about .25 miles before the turnaround which made them fall .5 miles apart. They were both too close together and too far from the start/finish. I would have liked them to be about 1.5 miles in so I would have wanted water the second time.

Percival's Island was exactly what I needed to get that "I LOVE RUNNING" boost that it had been months since I had felt. I'm resting today but I can't wait to see what this week's training runs bring!

Forgot to turn my watch on until we were already going.. but I finally snapped a picture of the famous LOVE sign!

Next on my race calendar: the Lighthouse 5K presented by Outer Banks Runcations on July 30th!

Surf's Up Vox Box

After my last VoxBox, I was convinced that it would be a while before I was chosen for another one. However, about 2 weeks ago I was sent a link with a survey to see if I qualified for any of the summer programs. I took it and didn't hear anything for a long time, so I kind of assumed I didn't get in to any of them. I was wrong! I got an email saying I was getting the Surf's Up VoxBox and I couldn't have been more excited!

Since my last box only had one product, I was excited to get something that represented more than one brand. At last, the box arrived!

Because there was so much going on, Influenster actually gave us a cheat sheet to keep all our social media needs straight.

Box contents:

• CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara
• First Aid Shot Therapy
• Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion
• Sinful Colors Nail Polish (in Ocean Side)
• Voucher for a Jamba Juice at Home Smoothie Kit

Here's my reviews in the order I tried them!

Sinful Colors Polish

I want to start out by saying I would not have picked out this color for myself. I haven't painted my fingers blue since I was about 14. However, my toes still had on my purple polish from my wedding and it was starting to look rough, and I figured I could at least paint them for an Influenster picture. 

I loved how easy the color was to apply! It wasn't clumpy or thin, and it only needed one coat to be completely opaque. The color even grew on me after a couple of hours! For some stupid reason I keep forgetting to buy top coat whenever I go to the store, but the polish worked fine without it.

In reading other reviews, I have found that a lot of people found it hard to take off. I used the makeup remover I use for my waterproof mascara and it worked fine.

CoverGirl Bombshell Mascara

My favorite kind of makeup is mascara. I currently have 5 different kinds in my makeup bag. I was pleasantly surprised with how well this one worked! It's a two step process, meaning that the tube has two wands, each doing a different thing. 

The tube is really fat, so I found it hard to apply the first time. I got the hang of it, and was able to easily apply it the second time and my lashes turned out great! Definitely would consider buying in the future.

Hawaiian Tropic Silk Hydration After Sun Lotion

This stuff smells amazing. It's like suncreen without the SPF. I'm seriously considering buying a large bottle just to smell like summer all year long.

Usefulness wise, it's also great! It's thin and goes on nicely without making you feel slimy or sticky like some lotions have the tendency to do. I am definitely taking this to the beach in a few weeks to keep my skin hydrated!

First Aid Shot Therapy

Today, I slammed my foot into a door frame pretty hard. I'm actually pretty sure that my pinky toe is broken. I really needed some medical tape to buddy tape my toes, but I had to wait for Zach to bring me some from work when he got home. I was going to take some ibuprofen for the swelling/pain, but then I remembered about this thing, so I gave it a shot.

It was half expecting the Berry flavor to be like that of a Five Hour Energy (which is disgusting). It wasn't quite that bad but it wasn't something I would describe as pleasant. However, it did work really quickly and within 15 minutes my toe stopped throbbing.

(It is not taped to it's neighbor if you're wondering.)

I don't think I would ever buy these, because I don't see the point when I could just pop a pill. Plus the taste isn't all that great.

Jamba Juice At-Home Smoothie Kit

I really love smoothies. In fact, I make my own every morning for breakfast when school is in session. The kit obviously couldn't contain the actual kit to make the smoothie since it was frozen, but it did contain one free item coupon, and one $1 off coupon. I went to my local Kroger and found that they had almost all the possible flavors!

I picked out three because I'm indecisive: Caribbean Passion, Green Fusion, and Orange Dream Machine. The only one I've tried as of writing this is the Caribbean Passion.

To make them, you mix the packet of frozen fruit and yogurt chunks with 8 oz of apple juice. Luckily, my blender has ounces measured right on the side so that made the juice measuring easy. Then, you just blend! The package says it makes 2 8oz smoothies but I just poured the whole thing into my tumbler and drank it. It was absolutely delicious!

The only thing that I didn't like was the price. If I was going to consider buying them in the future I'm not sure I would at almost $4 a piece. The whole point of making smoothies at home is that it should be cheaper. If I wanted a $4 smoothie, I could just go to the actual Jamba Juice on my college campus and have them make it for me.

After completing a list of tasks for these products, I am now the recipient of 3 brand new Influenster badges on my profile! They make me eligible for extra prizes and future programs!

I just got an email from BzzAgent saying I qualified for a product testing campaign over there too. So be on the lookout for more of my product reviews!

*All products in this post were received complementary from Influenster for testing purposes*

Disney Fantasy Day 7: Castaway Cay 5K Recap & Relaxation

Castaway Cay, Disney's private island, is probably one of my favorite places on the planet. The whole thing is absolutely gorgeous. The water is crystal clear and calm, the sand is perfectly white, and they have several beaches for different age groups, including an adults only one.

But before I get to the relaxation, I have to recap our experience with the Castaway Cay 5K.

For about a year going into our cruise, I was super excited about this race. I mean, how often do you get to run a race in the Bahamas? I read blog posts written by people who had run it whenever I could find them, and the general consensus was that everyone enjoyed it.

I guess I'm the exception.

It all started at 8am when we were supposed to check in to get our bibs. There were way more people running than I would have guessed and it got cramped really fast. A lot of people didn't realize that you actually needed to register for the race, as in you needed port adventure tickets, and so there were some grumpy people sent off to the floor below to officially sign up. I really didn't understand how people missed that because it was in our Personal Navigator every day.

The other problem that made people angry is they didn't realize that they needed a photo ID to get off the ship. So even more people had to go back to their rooms to get some form of ID, which just ate up time that was unnecessary.

At 8:30 we lined up to debark. We were meeting on the 4th floor, but debarked on the 1st floor. There were so many people that when we lined up it took up all of the flights of stairs and then some. Zach and I were toward the back, and people were still coming to check in at 8:35 and I could tell the crew members were pretty frustrated because they had already packed up their stuff. But, they were nice enough to check them in.

So after we finally got off, we had to walk about halfway across the island to get to the start.

See how the 5K map only shows half the island? Anyway, I was under the impression that we would be running before the rest of the people on the ship got off. We took so long getting off the ship, walking across the island, and stowing bags that it was about 9:15 before we were lined up and ready to start. Debarkation for the rest of the ship was at 9 so I knew we would be fighting bikers on the path.

The run itself was horrible, and not just because I had been eating junk all week. The course was pretty much two loops around the bike path, which was boring. The only things to look at were trees. And asphalt. I like looking at trees here in Virginia, but all these trees looked identical.

It was also about 88 degrees with 100% humidity, and I found myself struggling to catch my breath. At about the 1 mile mark I caught up with Zach (who was more miserable than me, not being a runner at all) and we wound up walking the rest. There was no shade and I was dripping sweat, and I was overheated to the point I thought I was going to throw up. All my runs at home had been in about 70 degree weather, so I just wasn't prepared for the heat.

(I actually remember telling Zach that I hope it's 32 the day of my marathon or else I was going to die. I'm not sure what else came out of my mouth).

We actually raced the last quarter mile, and thanks to my short legs and his long ones, Zach beat me by like 2 seconds. We got our plastic Mickey medals, and I decided that the run was worth it, but wasn't my favorite by any means.

My finishing face

Zach's finishing face

Since the race was free (with purchase of a cruise) any memorabilia you wanted had to be purchased at the gift shop (conveniently located by the finish line). I was hoping to grab the women's cut shirt I had seen online but all I could find was the unisex. It wasn't the prettiest but I wanted to buy it. When I was in line, an employee brought out an armful of the women's ones and the day was saved. However, having worked in retail I was amazed at how unprepared they were for the rush of people. The run happens every time a ship docks.

swag

Overall, I thought the Castaway Cay 5K was poorly organized over every aspect. Yes, it is a cool idea, but it should not take an hour from check-in to start, the course should have something worthwhile to look at, and all the merchandise should be put out at one time.

(If you only care about my running blogs you can stop reading now)

The rest of the day was spent in Serenity Bay, the island's adult only beach. I can't even describe this place to you, so here are some pictures.

While we were on the beach, a storm actually moved over another part of the island, hence the dark clouds in that middle picture. It never actually rained on us, though!

Pretty much all we did until it was time to get back on the ship was nothing. We did eat lunch but other than that we sat in out chairs and read. It was absolutely wonderful!

Dinner was bittersweet because it was the last time eating with our new friends. However, it was also at Animator's Palate, which I have already said is my favorite.

There was a special dinner show that involved drawing a character and having them come to life on screen. Because that took up so much time, the appetizer and the soup only had one option and we only got to pick the main course.

Appetizer: Sampler trio: smoked duck breast on duck confit, sliced mozerella and tomatoes, and dill marinated lobster and shrimp. All three were delicious.

Soup: Baked Potato and Mac & Cheese soup. It only had a few macaroni noodles in it, but it was really good!

Main course: Seafood Linguini. I had to get seafood as my last dish! It was delicious, except the mussels. They were too much work for such little meat, so I just let them sit there.

Dessert: See Ya Real Soon Sweet Temptations. Cappuccino mousse tartlet, celebration cake (kind of a layered strawberry cheesecake) and Chocolate Decadence (rich chocolate cake). The tartlet was my favorite, but they were all amazing.

The show involved the characters we drew being animated and put on the screens. It was really cool! They gave us an "Official Disney Animator" sticker on our drawings when we got them back.

The next morning, I really didn't want to leave. It was a perfect, magical cruise, and the best honeymoon we could have asked for. Here's to hoping we can do another in the future!

Disney Fantasy Day 6: Another Day at Sea

I meant to finish these posts a few days ago, but I've been a little busy taking care of my new puppy! I'll post more about him later, I promise :) But for now, let's start to wrap up the trip.

This day was really uneventful, sorry.

We were really tired from staying up past midnight the night before, so we decided we wouldn't set and alarm or anything, we would just wake up whenever we felt like it. Sleeping in for me at home is 8 since my body is adjusted to waking up early for things like work and school. By some miracle we both slept until 10. Of course that made my stomach all sort of confused because that's when I usually eat lunch so I scarfed down a bunch of breakfast.

Then we headed for the deck to lay out, but parts were actually closed because we were experiencing 30mph winds. Zach and I were lazy and used the spray on sunscreen, and he got a nicely striped sunburn after a few hours.

We took that as a sign to go inside and spent the next few hours watching Ice Princess and The Game Plan in our room.

After resting for a while, we tried out the Midship Detective Agency. Basically, you are given a badge and a map of interactive paintings around the ship and use the badge to solve various crimes. It was pretty cool, and very tiring, there were 11 decks with paintings, and we took the stairs everywhere!

Dinner was at Royal Court again, and the dress was semi-formal. There was a midnight premier of Maleficent, so we planned to look fancy in the theater that night.

This night I was pretty bad at pictures, but I'll still give you the recap.

Appetizer: Herb marinated shrimp. Nothing special, they tasted like shrimp. At this point, all the shrimp tasted alike.

Soup/salad: Minestrone. Pretty much it tasted like vegetable soup without any chunks of vegetables in it. I liked it, but it was boring.

Main Course: Oven Baked Lobster Tail. While it was beautiful, I really didn't like it all that much. I think it was the fact that it was baked, but it was tough and I had a hard time eating it. There also wasn't much flavor.

Dessert: Banana Creme Brulee. I knew after the mini creme brulee a few nights before that I wanted to try this. It was absolutely delicious, even if it isn't very photogenic.

After dinner we went to The Tube, which was an adults only area to watch a few game shows. They were very entertaining!

Then, it was time for Maleficent, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I actually kind of hate the original Sleeping Beauty, so I enjoyed the way they turned the plot around. But that's all I'm going to say about that.

Like I said, not to eventful. But we had just been through 3 days of ports so it was nice to just sit back and relax. After all, we were on vacation!

Next Installment(s): Castaway Cay in Two Parts

Disney Fantasy Day 5: One Love, Jamaica (and a Pirate Party)

Jamaica was my absolute favorite. I want to get rich and buy a vacation home there one day. The people were amazing and friendly, the scenery was beautiful (it actually looked a lot like Virginia, but with different foliage), and I basically fell in love with it.

For our excursion, we chose to go river tubing. After debarking the ship, we boarded a tour bus that contained one of the best tour guides I have ever seen. She informed us a lot about Jamaica and it's culture, and even taught us how to speak a little bit like Jamaicans. In Jamaica, the official language is English, but they also speak Patois, which is a blended French language. When two Jamaicans speak to each other, they usually speak English but they are impossible to understand because they speak so fast. It's kind of funny to listen to .

Our bus eventually arrived at Chukka River Adventures (Chukka means play) after a very bumpy and entertaining tram ride through a coconut/orange grove to the river, we donned our life jackets and went off into the Martha Brae river.

Tubing through the jungle was amazing. There wan't any wildlife (unless you count the ants, termites, and spiders that kept falling on us when we bumped into the banks) but the foliage was amazing. We passed by and under some really awesome tropical plants. Of course I can't remember what any of them were now but I promise you, they were cool.

After our one hour tubing adventure, we explored the complex for a while. Chukka is based in an old plantation, and they have preserved a lot of the old buildings and reconfigured them into things such as a rum tasting building, a coffee shop/ ice cream parlor, and a cafe where people can try Jamaican jerk chicken (which we regret not trying).

Zach and I tried the ice cream, which I'm pretty sure was made in Jamaica and featured a lot of interesting flavors. I got coconut and Zach got grape nut. I loved the coconut, it was the perfect taste to accompany our jungle adventure. I tried the grape nut too, which I can't really describe. It did have what looked like grape nut cereal in it, and it was pretty good.

Going back to the ship, we had a very informational bus driver. Some of the things we learned on the ride back:

• The main source of income in Jamaica is the tourism industry.
• The port in Falmouth exists becuase Royal Caribbean cruise lines invested $170 million dollars to help rebuild it. It just opened in 2011.
• 2.8 million people live in Jamaica, but 1.2 million of them live in the capital city of Kingston. 
• Kingston is where all the rich and/or famous people in Jamaica live. 
• Usain Bolt is from the province that Falmouth is in, and they are very proud of him. He now has a house in Kingston.
• Jamaica's main exports are sugarcane, rum, coffee, bananas, oranges, and coconuts.
• Bananas take 9 years to reach the point that we eat them in the US. The Jamaican people will harvest them when they are about 2 months old, boil them, smash them, and eat them like potatoes. 
• The main religion in Jamaica is Roman Catholic.

After a shower and obligatory nap, we headed to the deck to see the start of the Pirates IN the Caribbean party, which was fun, but definitely for little kids.

Dinner was back at Royal Court, and the attire was pirate wear!

Even the menu & table setting were themed to the occasion:

This was probably my favorite menu of the trip (except dessert).

Appetizer: Jumbo crab cake. What is there not to love about crab cakes? Not to mention that this one was one of the most pure crab cakes I have ever had, with barely any filler.

Soup/salad: Caribbean Conch Chowder. Slightly spicy, but perfectly so. This wins for best soup of the trip. I've never had anything like it, and probably never will again.

Main course: Seafood pasta. Nothing stellar, but was delicious. I couldn't get enough of their scallops!

Dessert: Fruit cobbler. It didn't say what kind of fruit and I honestly don't know myself what it was. I think it was mixed fruit. Nothing exciting.

After dinner we went to see the fireworks show. Disney is the only cruise line that does fireworks at sea. They were kind of short, but impressive for being out in the middle of the ocean! Of course, they were synced to Pirates in the Caribbean scores.

We stayed and talked to our new friends until well past midnight, and watched the storm that was brewing out in the ocean. The lightning was as fun to watch as the fireworks!

Finally, we made it back to the room. That night, we had a monkey hanging out in our room.

Next installment: Another Day at Sea