We are happy to be home after a wonderful vacation. Although we were only gone for 10 days, it feels like we have been on vacation for about 3 weeks!! 

We celebrated Fiona's bar exam results that evening at dinner after a lovely day in beautiful Aruba! 

The cruise ended on a sweet note, when on Friday, March 24th, Fiona found out that she passed the Louisiana Bar Exam (her fictitious "name" was Joey Kangaroo as you can see from this screen). The Bar Committee received the final Character & Fitness certificate on Fiona today, so hopefully she will be sworn in at her Admissions Ceremony on April 13 with all the other successful Bar candidates! 

We swam in some beautiful locations, such as Trafalgar Falls in Dominica.  

Our cabin steward would make us little towel "animals" and leave them on our bed every night.  

We enjoyed some cool shore excursions such as exploring Harrison's Caves in Barbados, which reminded me (Fiona) of Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains near Sydney. 

Jeni, the ship's pizzeria attendant looked after Zev when Zev stopped by for some pizza. 

We went on our first cruise aboard the Carnival Destiny, which is a large ship that fits 3000 passengers and over 1000 crew. We managed to find our way around the ship just fine though! Zev had no trouble finding the 24 hour pizzeria.  

Puerto Rico is a place rich of culture, history, good music, great food and beautiful beaches.  

We enjoyed a few days traveling through beautiful Puerto Rico with our good friends, Mike and Deanna, and then toured the Southern Caribbean on a 7 day cruise together. We had a lot of fun in the sun! 

Zev and I enjoyed walking through beautiful and historic Old San Juan ("Viejo San Juan"). It reminded us a lot of the French Quarter in New Orleans. 

Zev and Fiona at Kevin Costner's concert!  

Kevin also brought his new wife along to the concert. She was dancing right behind Zev and I!! 

Kevin Costner put on a free 80 minute concert for the base tonight. Disney paid for free drinks and food for all, to thank the base for support during the making of the movie called "The Guardian" which has been filming around Shreveport and on base over the past few months. 

Zev summed it up well when he described Kevin Costner's music and style as a college band....he wasn't too bad!! 

Mardi Gras celebrations in Shreveport!

Louisiana is well and truly in Mardi Gras season! All around our base, people have decorated their homes with the traditional Mardi Gras colors of Gold, Purple and Green. Just to explain the Mardi Gras tradition for people not familiar with why it is celebrated, here is this little explanation courtesy of Google:

Mardi Gras, also known as Fat Tuesday, is the celebration leading up to lent. Mardi Gras season officially begins on Twelfth Night, or the Feast of the Epiphany, and concludes on Shrove Tuesday, just before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of lent. Traditionally, it is a time of feasting and celebrations before the onset of the upcoming sacrifices. In the old days, and to many Catholics today, this most meant the giving up of meat, hence Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, which in years past was known as Boeuf Gras. Boeuf Gras was in homage to the feast of meat (beef) before the culinary austerity of the Lenten season.

From 1872-1901 a live ox graced New Orleans' Rex Parade. Today, a papier mache symbol of Boeuf Gras takes its place.

We just enjoyed seeing Shreveport come to life and the experience of catching some beads!!

This was the "Krewe of Boeuf Gras" float which is a homage to the feast of meat (hence all the krewe members dressed up as butchers). 

As they say here in Louisiana, Laissez les bons temps rouler!! (Let the good times roll!!!) Happy Mardi Gras!! !
 

It was a VERY chilly night so I (Fiona) had a waterproof blanket wrapped around me!! After the first "throws" where the people on the floats throw beads and cups, I learnt to not smile when the beads where being thrown (because they kept hitting my teeth!) Zev caught the best beads for me!! 

Each Krewe has its "Royalty" meaning that they have a King float, a Queen float and Dukes and Duchess float, which you see here.