(Cruise Day #2) Love & Mystery on the High Seas

What a better place is there to enjoy Valentine's Day than on a cruise? This was our first full day at sea and we spent all of it just lounging by the pool, in and out of the hot tubs, frequent trips to the buffet and soaking in the sun!

Adventure Ocean is the child care program on board that Sawyer just LOVED going to! He was in the Aquanauts Group (ages 3 to 5) and they got to do all sorts of fun stuff! Every time I went to pick him up he was having a blast and wearing something that he had made or won: crown, medal, chef's hat, valentine's day something, sword, guitar ect....they went on treasure hunts, had talent shows, went on a pirate parade, got to make Valentine's Day cup cakes and mini pizzas.....he had a blast!

I felt a bit guilty the first couple of times that we dropped him off there to have some time to relax, but then Bill pointed out that he had much more fun at Adventure Ocean than he did just hanging out at the pool with us!

One of the perks that Sawyer and Uncle Alex really enjoyed was the Ice Cream station on the pool deck that was always open! Somehow every time we passed it, we ended up with a chocolaty mess dripping down our chins!

That evening, we had arranged to be a part of a Mystery Dinner Theater! If you have never been to one, you should go! Throughout the course of dinner, you are introduced to characters in the murder mystery and you try and figure out 'who done it'. So we started the evening on the top deck Moon Light Lounge with champagne and there we were introduced to an over-the-top cast that surrounded the mystery of the diamond necklace murder. The characters were funny and outrageous and it was fun to really get into it!

From there, we proceeded down to Portofinos (an intimate Italian restaurant) for dinner and the rest of the show. The food was to die for! We started out with bread baskets full of different kinds of lovely carbs along with dipping sauces and spreads. Then we had salads, soups and then this wonderful antipasto Plate (picture above) with arugala, melon, prosciutto, fresh mosserela, cherry tomatoes with pesto, olives, and grilled zucchini topped with a balsamic glaze.

One of the great things about being married is being able to share dinner selections if you can't decide between two! :) So, Bill and I shared this file mignon with truffle mashed potatoes and baby veggies.

.....and also this shrimp and asparagus dish....which was D-lish!!!

On to my favorite part of any dining experience: Dessert! It was a perfectly layered Tiramisu with raspberries......

Through the rest of dinner the characters came in and out, revealing a little more of the mystery. During dessert they came around to each table and we were able to ask whatever questions we wanted it help us in figuring out the killer. After we filled out our guess cards, the murder was revealed and Dani actually guessed right!

This was such a fun interactive evening to spend together! Bill also got me a rose and a sweet card and that topped off a wonderful Valentine's Day at sea!