(Warning: If you have a short attention span, read this entry in spurts, or just turn away now. Or you can just click on the picture below for more pictures.)
I have been back from Mexico for exactly one week and am just barely blogging. I am not a super-blogger like some of you. I am just trying to teach you patience! :)
Here is the play by play action of MY AWESOME CRUISE TO CABO SAN LUCAS, MEXICO. I went with my coworkers (and friends) Marla, Brittany, and Heather. It all started Friday, April 2.
School seemed to drag out on
Friday (the day before Spring Break). The kids didn't want to be there, and in my mind, I was already cruising since my bags were packed and ready to go. Finally, school was out and we were able to leave school at 4pm and drove down to Vegas where we stayed at one of the girl's aunt's house. We drove the rest of the way to San Diego on
Saturday. It was a long drive, but it sure made us that much more excited to reach our destination.
My mom and dad were waiting for us and as tradition has it whenever someone comes home, we all went out to dinner. Yes, Miguel's was the place. Good Mexican food- perfect for getting us in the mood for a Mexican cruise. We then went down to the pier to check and see if our boat was there. It wasn't, which was sad, but we still had fun playing around.
Sunday was Easter and this was my first time being home for Easter in 6 years. Nothing too special, but it was nice to be with family and to eat mom's cooking. That morning we went to Coronado Beach to start our sunbathing early but instead ended up covered in sand thanks to the wind. It was still relaxing. We got home and were sitting around the living room waiting to eat dinner and all of a sudden, we felt this shaking. We looked around thinking it was someone shaking their leg, but no, this was more than that. We all looked out at the pool to see the water splashing everywhere. EARTHQUAKE!!! It lasted for about 30 seconds and as the news later reported, was a 6.9. We were all ok and nothing was damaged. It was a first for my coworkers, so they were a little shaken up (no pun intended) but everyone turned out ok. Needless to say, it was great dinner conversation!
Monday was the first day of our cruise. My mom dropped us off at the pier and we quickly passed through security and boarded the boat. It was huge! We were told to go to the buffet section where we were immediately offered alcoholic beverages. Kind of interesting, but oh well. The food was a great way to start our vacation. I later found out that the average person gains 2 pounds a day on the cruise. Let's just say that all my life I have been above-average, and this was no exception.
Monday night I participated in a round of Jeopardy. Thankfully I didn't shame the title of teachers. I won by a landslide. I even received a 24 Karat Plastic Piece of Ship. It was pretty awesome.
Tuesday was a full day at sea and we just laid out working on our poor Utah tans. Quite enjoyable to just lay around all day. That night at dinner it was formal attire. That was fun to dress up. Dinner was normally pretty elegant, but it was even more so on formal night. I ate this really yummy steak and melting cake! That night I also karaoked for the first time. I uploaded the video, but listen at your own risk. Just note, I think the Warm Chocolate Melting Cake might have had some alcohol in it! I seem a little tipsy (or at least that is what I am claiming!).
Wednesday we arrived in Cabo San Lucas. Marla and I signed up for a shore excursion to zip line. We were put in a van and drove for 1 hour and 10 minutes to this Outdoor Adventure spot. It was pretty hot and so the van's AC was on full blast. Well, with my luck, I sat in the seat with a broken vent cover, so as everyone cooled off, they shut their vents but I was left to freeze. My legs were numb by the time I got out of the car. Awesome!
The zip lining was super fun. I wasn't able to get very many pictures because they didn't allow us to carry cameras for safety reasons. They had a guy taking pictures for us, but in the end, each picture cost $12. Yes, that is right, $12 for one printed picture. I bought two pictures, so you can see those, but by far, this was awesome. I was able to zip line, repel, cross on ropes, rock climb, and even do some hiking. I would recommend this for the adventurous out there. Oh, it was also kind of funny because the whole time one of the workers was hitting on Marla, even to the point where he gave her a card with his number on it. I didn't have the heart to tell him she is married. It was quiet enjoyable to watch her squirm.
After the zip lining, Marla and I attempted to do some shopping. If anyone has ever been to Mexico, you know that shopping there is not like shopping in America. I had people hooting and hollering for me to come look at their shop, I was called a special senorita, and I was offered "special" prices. It was kind of frustrating so I just stuck to buying a t-shirt and some earrings. We then went to check out the beach before heading back to the boat.
Thursday was another full day at sea with more laying around and relaxing. I also went to my first tea party (herbal tea) and to be honest, I am not a huge fan.
Oh, I forgot to mention, each night there was a showtime performance. We had a comedian perform, a hypnotist, and the Carnival dancers. The hypnotist was the best. He had people up there do some crazy stuff and it was totally real. Those people were out of control!
Friday was our stop in Ensenada. We traveled to the Blow Hole at La Bufadora which is a place where the waves come toward the rocks and spray everywhere. It was here that I was offered a "Free Mexican Boyfriend" and offered some super viagra. Let's just say those were easy offers to turn down. I bought some cheap Mexican jewelry and a purse and then it was back to town. I also bought this hideous mask for Paul. These masks were everywhere in Mexico and I couldn't resist. It reminded me of Nacho Libre (for those who have seen it).
Since Friday was our last night on the boat, we stayed up pretty late taking random pictures and being silly. For the people who didn't know us, they would have believed we were drunk.
Saturday we prepared to disembark and were one of the last people off the boat. That kind of stunk because all we could do was sit around. Most places were closed and getting ready for the next load of people. My parents picked us, drove us home, helped us put the luggage in our car, and then said goodbye. I feel kind of bad for ditching out on my parents after 5 minutes of being home, but we decided to drive all the way back to Utah so that we could have Sunday to recover before school started. The straight drive back was exhausting and depressing because we all knew it would be right back into the mill and grind of things. It was a hard reality check.
All in all, I enjoyed the cruise. I would definitely go again. My favorite parts: the 24 hour soft-served ice cream machine, showtimes, zip lining, elegant dinners with 4 courses or more if you wanted, and just relaxing. There were about 2,500 people on the boat, of which 800 were kids. That is pretty high which was frustrating because here we are teachers trying to get away from kids, but it wasn't too bad. We survived! If you are still reading this, I am impressed! Interested in going on a cruise? Just let me know!
