One Cool Playground...

After jet skiing, the kids set their eyes upon this inflatable water playground. They paid for a one-hour session and had a blast. Here Andrew is bouncing Ariana into the water.

And here is Ariana bouncing Ashlynn into the water.

No surprise that our biggest kid had to get into the action. That’s Julius making his way down the slide, while Jimmy’s leaping into the water next to him.

And that’s Ashlynn leaping into the water from the trampoline.

Carl’s New Bathingsuit...

Frankly, it wasn’t surprising that Carl was hesitant to come on our cruise. Not only had he never been to Europe before, he didn’t know any of the other passengers. While I had been in their wedding and had seen Holly several times over the years, I had only seen Carl twice in the past 20 years. Thankfully, he took a leap of faith and I don’t think he regretted it at all as he clearly had a great time.

He has a great sense of humor and couldn’t resist getting a European-style bathing suit. Here he is reenacting the old Charles Atlas ads that we grew up with.

Personally, I prefer Holly’s bathing suit.

Taking Turns...

After the initial round, a bunch of us took turns. As a licensed driver, Ariana got to enjoy taking a jet ski for a spin. Here she is with her brother Max.

Tony took Julius out while his parents were out for a run.

Tony also took Andrew for a ride. Sally wasn’t convinced that he’d like it, but he loved it enough to go out a second time. David missed out because he was sleeping off the half marathon that he ran by himself.

Ariana took Ashlynn back out. Veronica also missed out because she was napping after her late night out.

Just before the time ran out on the rental, Jimmy and I finally got to take a turn. I was too chicken to drive, but was happy to hold on.

Let’s Get Moving...

Before returning the scooter, Jimmy took Vivynne for a quick ride around town.

After they returned, it was time for a more exciting ride on a water scooter, otherwise known as a jet ski or personal water craft. Vivynne and Tony took the controls for the first round with Ariana and Ashlynn along for the ride.

Vivynne had the good luck of picking the faster machine, leaving Tony far behind.

This was Ashlynn’s first time on a jet ski and she loved it!

Clubbing Time...

For some crazy reason, Jimmy had promised to take Veronica to the Deep, a nightclub in a cave in Makarska that we had gone to back in 2008.

Veronica really enjoyed getting to know Grace and was very excited to be going out dancing together. Grace gave Veronica lots of good advice on how to stay out of trouble during a night out on the town.

Late that night, a taxi drove Veronica (who wasn’t even 16 yet) with her Auntie Leigh and Uncle Mike along with Grace and her parents into Makarska to go clubbing. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the memo that it was pirate night, but they had a fun time anyways. Jimmy rented a scooter so he could pick up Veronica at 3 a.m! Good thing he wasn’t drinking, because he got stopped for taking a shortcut down a one-way street.

Enjoying Podgora...

Those of us who went canyoning ate a very late lunch back on board the Nikola, so we weren’t in the mood for a big dinner. It worked out great that there was a food festival that evening just in front of our ship. These grilled calamari were yummy and very cheap, as was the wine.

The Nikola was the only ship at this port. We were surprised how many people posed in front of it for photos.

This anchor was also a popular photo spot as Darlene and Mike demonstrated.

Change of Plans...

After canyoning, the bus drove us to meet the Nikola in Makarska, a city that Jimmy had requested to visit because of its nightclubs. He wasn’t pleased when the first mate informed us that we were heading further down the coast to avoid the party ships in Makarska. Turned out this change in plans worked in our favor as we all loved our new destination.

Jimmy, Jan and I took a long walk along the coast in time to watch the sun set.