What a GREAT Vacation.!

Here it is…our vacation. What a great vacation it was too.! Let’s start the story a week before it’s time to leave…..
Thursday, January 10th, at 4:45 a.m. Jim wakes me up in horrible pain, asking me to take him to the E.R. He does tolerate pain well, so I was really worried. He had a kidney stone over 20 years ago, and was sure that’s what this was. Of course our insurance doesn’t allow us to go to the hospital nearest to our house. So after blowing through the stop light by our house, we got to Mercy about 10 minutes later. I didn’t think Jim was going to make it. To make a long story short, yep, he had a 3mm stone at the top of his ureter (in English, it was going to be a while before it passed.!) Problem was, we had friends coming to stay with us for a few days. Jim wound up passing a stone earlier on Friday morning..so we thought…YIPPEE….but, he still wasn’t feeling well. Our friends came, we went to the mall and out to eat on Friday, all while Jim was feeling a bit better, but still in pain. He wound up driving himself back to the E.R. at 3:00 a.m. Saturday morning. He brought his treasure with him (the first stone) and they said…”Ummm…NO, that’s not the 3mm, it’s still there.” OUCH. So he went all day Saturday and Sunday in constant pain. He went through a whole bottle of Percocet.! FINALLY, right before I was leaving for church at about 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, he finally passed it. We’re out of the woods…..NOT. Monday morning he’s back home again in pain. We’re supposed to be leaving for our trip this Sunday.! I called all around for a Urologist on Tuesday to see what was going on. Finally after the fourth call (everyone was booked for at least two weeks.!), I got him in. (That’s a whole other story for another time). He said his urine was clean (no blood), and felt he was residual pain from the stone passing in the ureter. He wrote us a prescription for an antibiotic just in case, and we were on our way.
So that brings us to that following Saturday. Orey (Landon’s friend who he brought on the cruise with us) and Landon flew in that night. We had been hounding Orey to make sure he didn’t forget either his driver’s license or his birth certificate. (He had lost his DL, and had barely got his new one in the mail a few days before we left. He had to have it (a photo ID) to get on the ship). So the first thing we asked the boys was “DO YOU HAVE YOUR DRIVER”S LICENSE AND YOUR BIRTH CERTIFICATE?”. Yes, they said. So Darc and Josh come over that night so they can say hi to the boys…and we went to bed fairly early. We were all packed and ready to go…..or NOT. At 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning, an hour before we’re ready to leave, there’s a knock on our bedroom door….it’s Orey. With a look of death on his face he says “I don’t have my birth certificate”….WHAT???!!!!! We asked you if you had it.! Then here comes the story….He had just got the title to his truck in the mail, and he had put his birth certificate by it. Well, they are both official government documents, and look very similar. He had grabbed his title by accident. OH MY HECK….what are we going to do?? We are boarding the ship at 11:30 that morning. So he calls his dad back in Utah. We already knew the ship wouldn’t let us board without our original birth certificates. So his mom and dad flew into San Diego, and we met them by the ship. That boy is lucky he has parents that would do that.! So….our cruise FINALLY begins…..
To see that huge ship is amazing itself. Ours was 15 stories high. It really is a ‘floating hotel’. Since 9/11 the security is huge. We have to show our driver’s license to even get into the building to check in. Then fill out paperwork, and yes, show our driver’s license and birth certificates. We check in our luggage, and then we are issued a boarding zone number (kind of like airplanes do). We wait for about a half an hour, then it’s our turn to board. How exciting.! We enter into the Grand Plaza, and boy is it just that…GRAND. It’s 4 stories high. The boys’ eyes light up, and ours do too. We are told where our rooms are at, and head that way. It seems like it’s the longest hallway in history. We’re at the back of the ship, which we find out later is a good place to be. Good to walk off all of the food you eat.! Anyway…we find our room and WOW….even an ant would find this place small.! But we soon find out that room size doesn’t matter. You’re never there. You’re only there to sleep and shower. So the room was great. We got the inside rooms, and the positive advantage to that is, it’s always dark, so the sun doesn’t wake you up.! Jim and I actually slept until 9:00 a.m. one morning, it was great.
So we found our rooms, it’s now time to check out the rest of the ship. We don’t leave for about 3 hours, so there’s plenty of time. We head outside to one of the pool areas. How fun is that.! Then…what do we see?? They are serving food already.! We’re hungry since we hadn’t eaten since breakfast at 5:00 a.m. We head to the buffet. We’re having a great time already and we haven’t even left yet.! The boys then go explore why we go out on deck. Finally at about 4:00 p.m., we leave. But…we come to a stop….we have to wait for an aircraft carrier to pass. It passed right by us. It was escorted by a Coast Guard helicopter. That was cool. OK, so now we’re off. I love the water, so I loved just sitting there and watching the ship sail. Soon enough it was dark, and we were able to watch the California coast, and then the Mexico coast.
We were at sea the rest of Sunday, and all day Monday. We soon found out that you will never be bored on a cruise ship. There are a TON of things to do while at sea. We watched live shows in both the Princess Theatre and the Vista Lounge. They had dance shows, singers, comediennes, and my personal favorite…BINGO.! Did I mention the food? There were two main restaurants, a pizza restaurant, a hamburger grill, and two huge buffets. We were never hungry. They had a library, basketball court, several pools, and even more hot tubs (which we never got to visit). So much fun.!
I get the prize for finding the boys two girls to hang out with for the whole week. Before we even got to leave port, we had to do the whole ‘life jacket’ lesson thing. So we met in our “muster room”, the Vista Lounge (the room a certain area of the ship meets, if something happens. It’s great, it’s full of windows, so you can watch yourself sink from inside) The boys are still checking out the ship’s amenities, so they weren’t in there yet. Sitting next to us are these two younger girls, with the look of massive boredom on their faces. So I take the opportunity and ask “How old are you girls?” One says she’s 16, and the other says she’s turning 19 on Friday. I say…”PERFECT.!!” We have two 18 year old boys.! Let me tell you, 70% of the passengers were 60+, so finding kids the boys’ age was a miracle.! And girls too…what a plus.! So the boys finally came, I introduced them, and the rest they say…is history.

CABO SAN LUCAS

Our first port is Cabo San Lucas. Cabo is beautiful.! The weather was fairly cool, but still nice. Landon came into our room early that morning and said he had just watched about 20 dolphins swimming alongside our ship. So Jim and I hurried outside, but we weren’t able to see any. What we did get to see were manta rays and sea lions. So at this port, we had to ‘tender’. The dock was too shallow for a cruise ship, so we had to take smaller boats out there. The boys had signed up for an excursion for that day…swimming with the dolphins.! We were a little nervous about letting them get off of the ship without us, but there were several other people from our ship (mostly older) who were also getting off, and said they would watch over them. So they tendered off of the ship first, and we met up with them at the tanks later. We weren’t supposed to take any pictures of that excursion, but Jim snuck one in anyways. They had a GREAT time, and fun memories.
So after the swim, we went along the board walk where there were no shortage of yachts, and people selling their ‘goods’. “Goods” as in…Orey was offered some jewelry, when he said “No thanks”, the guy then offered him some pot.! Oh yeah, we were warned about that. Luckily we had two good boys with us, and never worried about their integrity. So we went more into town, and found more shops. They basically were all selling about the same things. Not too exciting, but exciting to see the ways of Mexico. We did come on one corner, where this man had what looked to be a cat in a black garage bag. So as we’re walking towards him, he kicks the bag at us, and it sounds like this cat is screaming.!! Scared the crap out of all of us.! Of course there was no cat in the bag, but he was selling ‘whistles’. One sounded like a cat, another like a bird, and I can’t remember what the other sound was. So Orey was hooked, and bought a 3 pack. We then had lunch at Sammy Hagar’s (Van Halen) restaurant called “Cabo Wabo”. GOOD FOOD.! We did some more shopping, then headed back to the ship. On the way back to the ship, while walking down the boardwalk, the boys start talking to some people eating….a whole table of them.! They were some of the cruisers who got off of the ship at the same time. Then we were asked “Oh, so you’re the parents of the boys.!”. Did I forget to mention how popular these boys were on the ship?? While eating one day, a couple said “Are you the boys from Utah”. We’d be walking all over the ship, and people would wave and say “hi” to them. We were just ‘the parents’…it was funny to watch. So back on the ship we were at about 4:00. Cabo had one of the most beautiful sunsets on our whole trip.

Mazatlan

MAZATLAN
Next port was Mazatlan. Now to back up a bit, Cabo was beautiful. So we get to Mazatlan, and the first thing I can think of is…EWWWWW.! We ported (is that a word?) on their industrial side. It wasn’t very pretty at all. Smog….industrial buildings…and shanties were all we saw. I even had the thought of not wanting to get off at all.! But we did. We were all together that day. So we got a quick education on how to hail taxis. Before you get in, you settle on a price first. They should have told us to make sure our life insurance was up to date too. These taxi drivers are INSANE.! They aren’t more than oversized open golf carts, and our taxi driver thought it was OK to blow through stop signs, and cut off buses.! Thank goodness we made it alive to the Cathedral and flea market area. So we walked around and shopped for a while. We had lost the boys at one point, and I panicked. Our cell phones didn’t work, and all I could think of were these boys lost forever in Mexico. They were only two aisles down, being harassed by two younger Mexican ladies wanting them to buy shirts for girls.! (Orey was suckered in and bought) but they were by my side for the rest of the day. In this open air flea market, not only is it a shopping area for tourists, but it’s a food market for residents. WOW…is about all I can say. They cut their meat right there, of course no gloves are used. After they cut the meat, they just lay it out unopened for anyone to buy and touch. (I personally wouldn’t be touching pig heads, or cow livers) It was just a different atmosphere altogether. After we were done shopping, the boys really wanted to find the beach. That was on the other side of where we had docked, about 10-15 miles away. So we got another taxi (oh gosh.!). NOW we were in the nice side of Mazatlan. It was gorgeous.! The boys wanted to go swimming so bad, but they hadn’t brought their swim suits. So some Mexican guy who was trying to get us to rent his boogie boards says in his heavy Mexican accent “You swim in underwear.! Lots of people swim half naked here.!” So….they did. They had a blast, and it was hilarious to watch them on the Mexico beach, swimming in their boxer briefs. We were ready to call it a day after that, so they got dressed (minus the wet underwear), and we hailed another taxi. Well, the boys thought it was a good idea to hang their underwear out of the taxi to dry. That had to be the FUNNIEST part of the entire trip. You should have seen the hysterical looks we got.!! We laughed so hard at people’s double and triple looks, then watching them burst out in laughter once they realized what the boys were holding.! Another tourist in a taxi driving alongside ours, almost snagged Landon’s right out of his hands.! Oh my gosh…I still laugh at that. So we got a picture of the taxi driver and the boys holding their underwear. Only one problem. Orey (forgetful boy that we know he is.!) forgot his new bag he had bought, and his souvenirs that he stuffed in there. THANKFULLY, he had put his camera and wallet in his shorts pocket. We waiting for over an hour before we docked the ship again, hoping to see that taxi driver come back though, but he never did. Orey has a good attitude, and didn’t let it get him down. He was more bummed about the $3.00 bag that he lost, than anything inside of it. When we got back to the ship, there were some “Federalies” there. Now in Cabo, we had asked if we could take our picture with one there, and he said “NO”. So we thought..what the heck, we’ll ask these guys. They were MORE than happy to oblige.

Puerto Vallarta

PUERTO VALLARTA
Our final port was Puerto Vallarta. It was warm (about mid 70’s) but very humid. We wake up to see the beautiful mountains, and….Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club.! Yep, right there at the dock are these American stores. How exciting. So we got off the ship just for fun to check out Mexico Wal-Mart. It had junky stuff that was expensive. It looked even more expensive because everything was marked in pesos, which is about a 10-1 ratio on the dollar. So something that would cost $19.80 in America was marked $198.00...ekee.! So the boys had signed up for the “Jungle Canopy Adventure” for that day. They were to meet at the dock at about 1:30, and wouldn’t be back until about 7:00 p.m. OK, that one made me a bit nervous, because #1-it was an hours drive away (it was in the mountains) and #2 - it involved riding donkeys, repelling, and riding a zip line. But of course the boys couldn’t wait. While they were doing that, Jim and I caught a taxi (a much safer ride than in Mazatlan.!) to the flea market/boardwalk area of P.V. It was very pretty down there. Mostly all of the same shops as before, but just a little cleaner. We saw an older Cathedral there, then walked a few blocks to “Senor Frogs” to eat. Another good restaurant.! Both places had guacamole to die for, and the food was delicious. This place had signs that they would put over people’s heads. For example, one sign said “75% blonde”, and another said “Mama’s Boy” and another one said “Silicone?”. So they bring a sign and put it over Jim’s head that said “Celebrating Divorce.!” We laughed so hard. So off to the boardwalk we go, and we see the neatest sand sculptures ever. There were about 4 men who travel up and down the coasts of North and South America just doing these sand sculptures. He said he did one around Christmas time of the Last Supper that took them about 3 weeks to complete. They were amazing.! Of course they ask for donations, and that’s how they make their living. After lots of walking, we headed back to the ship. This was our longest, and last day, so it was kind of sad. The boys wound up not getting back to the ship until around 7:45 p.m, but they had a great time.

The Odds and Ends to a Great Time

We had two formal dinners in the nicer restaurants that were fun. Steak, prime rib, lobster, and prawns…yummy. It was a 5 course meal, and the boys were in heaven once they were told they could order as many desserts as they wanted. I think we all ate at least three times our body weight that week. On the first formal night, the whole crew was introduced, and the captain spoke for a minute (who on earth was steering the ship??). He was very nice, and stepped in to take a picture with us. He even asked one of his crew members to take the picture.! After the second formal dinner, the boys decided they wanted to do Karaoke in the club called “Jammers”. Oh my. They sang Shania Twain’s “Man, I Feel Like a Woman”. If that didn’t draw a ton of laughs….
On Friday the ship had a contest called “Passenger Feud” which was like Family Feud. So I signed us up.! They really needed 6 contestants each, but they would take four. They had so many people sign up, that they had to draw names. Only 4 groups would be able to play. Well, we were the 3rd group called.! At the last minute, I saw one of the girls that the boys had been hanging out with, and her mom, so I told the boys to grab them. So now we had six players. We swept the first round, then it was the finals. The question was “What’s the first thing that reminds you of Baywatch”. Jim was up, but the other team rang in first. It was a guy…and his answer was “David Hasslehof”….ewwww. That was actually the 2nd or 3rd answer…so Jim got to guess. Of course his guess was Pamela Anderson, which was #1. Then Landon guessed “beach”…then Orey made this gesture of slow motion running…and well…some things bouncing. He got it.! So we now have 4 correct guesses out 6. I can’t remember what one of the girls guessed, but one was right, and one was wrong. Then it was my turn. I was totally stumped. Then I thought back to Senor Frogs, and the “Silicone” sign….and Orey’s little slow motion moving, and I said “Silicone.!” Then Mike, who was the assistant cruise director and MC, turned to Karen, another assistant cruise director and said “What do you think Karen?” And she said…YES.. That’s a good answer.! Oh my gosh…you would have thought we just won a car. The real answer was “fake boobs” so it was close enough.! We won these lovely Princess tote bags, and once again, the boys were the bomb.!
Saturday, the 26th, was Landon’s birthday, and one of the reasons we were on the cruise in the first place. We went to one of the formal dining rooms to eat that night. They sang him “Happy Birthday” and brought him a mini cake, that the waiter managed to cut into 4 slices. On the second day of the cruise, he had 3 hanging birthday balloons by his room door, that stayed there the entire week.
Before one of our Bingo games, we could see through the window, Landon, Orey and the girls walking outside, so Jim went over to knock on the glass to get their attention. Of course with the glass being at least an inch or two thick, they didn’t hear us. But we saw what they were running to see. At least 100 dolphins swimming behind us.! It was an AWESOME sight.
On Saturday it rained most of the day, and didn’t stop until we got home later Sunday night. The rain didn’t stop us from having a good time. We met a ton of fun people, and Jim actually got to RELAX. We already put a deposit down for our next cruise, where ever that might be. It’s good for four years, we get onboard ship credit (which you’ll need…the boys racked up quite the fruity drink bill.!) and 100% refundable. We’re thinking Alaska might be our next trip. We highly recommend a cruise. The food, entertainment, ports, just everything is out of this world. We booked on VacationsToGo.com, and I would do that again. We got a great discount, and wound up even getting ship credit which we weren’t expecting. Any questions, please email us