Little French Key {Family Caribbean Day 5}

"I can't believe this is my first day going to the beach when I'm five and a half."  -- Harper as soon as she woke up this morning.  Random (but true) fact.  She can't exactly wrap her head around what "Roatan, Honduras" means, but she defnitely understands the beach, and that's plenty to have her excited.

Our ship didn't dock until 11:00 a.m., so we got to have an easy going morning with full breakfast, and then pack up a bag for the day. We even got in a little pool time before getting off the ship. 

Before we left the U.S. I looked into things to do near Roatan on TripAdvisor.com, and Little French Key came up as the number one ranked activity.  On the website, it said you could make reservations or just make an impromptu visit, either way is fine because there is always a driver waiting there at the port.

  

 
Well, when we made our way off the ship, it was the usual crazy port area.  Lots of vendors, shops, tour guides trying to sell you their service.  We make our way out to the transportation area, where fifteen different drivers are trying to convince us to get in their cab.  When we mentioned to one that we wanted to go to Little French Key, he quoted us a $60 cab fare.  Just to get there.  Eek.  So, we kept looking, and eventually found Larry & David, the drivers listed on their website.  Well, Larry sent us with another guy to take us there, which was a little bit sketchy.  His side door didn't work, but he showed us his tourism license and told us he was employed by LFK, so we felt okay about hopping in.  Forty-five minutes later, we were pulling up to what looked like a little resort.
Roatan is one of two ports on this itinerary that I actually decided what we'd be doing before we left Roanoke.  And though Little French Key certainly wasn't the most inexpensive thing we could do for the day (it ended up being around $140 for our family of four), it looked like something the girls would really enjoy.  So, from that little resort area, we hopped on a ferry that took us to the private island.

 

 

  

And Little French Key did not disappoint.  As soon as the girls hopped off the ferry, they were greeted by a well-maintained zoo area with monkeys, lions, and deer.  The grounds and scenery were beautiful.  We quickly found some chairs and made ourselves at home. 

We ran into some people we had met onboard the ship who also were visiting LFK for the day, but had purchased the food and beverage package as well.  They said their kids weren't going to eat the seafood platters, and handed us two cards to eat with, which saved us around $50.  Our girls loved getting to eat lobster tails for lunch.

 

Harper absolutely loved LFK because of all the fish.  Right before we left, I Amazon-Primed (is that a verb yet?  because it should be.) some goggles that arrived just in the nick of time.  I'm so glad they did because I don't think we saw anything but a hairbow and a backside bobbing on top the water for two hours this afternoon.

Willa loved cruising around the beach area, and even jumped off the side of one of the dock areas.  Sam had jumped off the top deck jumping area into the water, and was trying to coax Harper into jumping off the lower one to him.  Willa cheered for her to do it for a minute, and then decided she'd just do it herself, so off she went first.  I love how this trip is making her braver.  She's a lot like her mama in that sense-- cautious in most things, but so much more adventurous on vacation.  It's so fun getting to see this other side of her.

 

Around 3:00 p.m., it started pouring.  We knew the forecast had called for rain, and really, we were so fortunate that it hadn't rained a drop before then, but it was a soaking rain.  But, our little fish didn't seem to mind.  Since there were no thunderstorms, they were welcome to just keep swimming and dancing in the rain. 

As we were waiting for the ferry to come back and get our group, the zookeepers brought the monkeys out for everyone to meet.  Sam was one of the first to try with a monkey who had only been at the zoo for about 6 months.  They said he could be aggressive, so they preferred for the kids not to handle him, but he didn't seem to mind Sam.  He did prove to be an aggressive guy, though, because he jumped down and stole the slice of pizza WK was eating right out of her hand!  Harper loved getting to hold the little howler monkey, and after some convincing from her, I did, too.  And I hated every milisecond of it.  Haha. 

 

We made it back to the boat around 6:30 with two exhausted little girls.  We hurried with showers, and debated on whether or not we should do a quick dinner or go to what has become our "usual" restaurant Aqua.  We were all really hungry, and even though we were completely risking it taking two kids who had played all. day. long. and hadn't had naps to a formal, sit down dinner, we thought it was worth a try.  As an escape plan, I told Sam if Willa started struggling to behave, I'd just take her out, and we'd get room service. 

The best "eating" tip I can give to friends going on a cruise with small children is to find a server who gets along well with your kids and accommodates your family, tip them, and stick with them throughout the week.  On the very first night in Aqua, our server Devi interacted sweetly with our girls, and brought out their food with our appetizers.  She didn't look at us strangely when we told her we'd like for them to order off the adult menu (they do provide a kids' menu with the usual hot dog, chicken fingers, macaroni & cheese, but we figure they can eat those at any restaurant, any time.  They are great eaters, so why not expose them to some different things?).  Without us even asking, Devi brought two cartons of chocolate milk for the girls to take back to the room.  So, that first night, we left behind an extra $5, and we've asked for her each night since.  And each time, she almost immediately brings our drinks and takes our full order, and we are on our way within 45 minutes, which is really, really quick for a cruise dinner. 

That same courtesty and efficiency is what let us have a peaceful dinner, even with two exhausted little ones.  Tonight they tried the striploin roast and the blackened tilapia.  Willa did not have a single bit of tilapia left on her adult-sized entree plate.  They colored sweetly, and chatted with the server and their newfound friend Gabriela, the assistant maitre'd.  The girls have fought and been challenging, but really only during our times of transition (i.e. riding in the car on the way to Little French Key.  Heaven forbid someone be closer to Mommy than the other.).  On the ship, their behavior has been amazing.  Sam's mantra of "act like a princess, and you'll be treated like a princess" seems to have made sense to them because they've been polite and friendly and sat through adult meals like little darlings.  Maybe I'll start setting my table with two forks, two knives, and cloth napkins to try to replicate that for mealtimes at home.

At dinner tonight, Harper looked over unprompted and said, "Hey mom, thanks to you and Dad for paying for this cruise for me."  I love how appreciative they've been.  They're getting it.  Memories mean more than stuff. 

Here's the rest of our cruise fun!