Cruisin'

Sailing the Sea! Cruising the Coast! Bobbing like a cork in a bathtub! Ahhh, a 4-day cruise is the only way to go! We thank Kristine for making the arrangements and allowing us to tagalong on her high school graduate’s (she who will not be named on a blog) cool graduation gift. What fun we had – just wee girls acting like a bunch of teenagers at girl’s camp or Biggest Loser contestants before our initial weigh-in (okay, I speak for myself). We packed in walking, eating, relaxing, reading, yoga, movies, a massage, a facial, shows, exercising, exploring, card games, shopping, and more eating. Hey, I’m ready to go again!
We slowly made our way from San Diego to Catalina Island, which was supposed to be our one and only stop. The Swine Flu panic took away our stop in Ensenada, Mexico (or so we thought), but Carnival gave us each a $150 ship credit to sooth our sadness, anger, or inconvenience! Since Catalina Island is only 26 miles from Los Angeles, I’m thinkin’ the captain had to put the ship in reverse in order to buck the current as we puttered away at 2 mph (knots) on our 12 hour journey to the island. Whew, the G-Force!
My parents spent their honeymoon on Catalina Island in 1941. They danced at the famous Avalon Dance Hall, built in 1929 by the Wrigley (gum people) family. Everything inside the hall is original, with the exception of the carpet. I took a tour of the dance hall, a very cool place, while the young and energetic took a tour of the island using Segway Personal Transporters.

Lean forward? Backward? Sideward? Whatever!

Which way should we go? Sushi? No, the Bake Shop sounds better!

Shopping? Only if we can find the facilities!

Cute hat to go with a cute smile!

Love this jacket!

The pause that refreshes!

Card games -- an essential late night activity.

Darling, I love your French braids. Shauna was feeling creative so...my hair was too short, the youngest member of our group declined, so the new style fell to the most adventurous.

There's always a sale on something in Mexico!

Carnival had been docking in Ensenada, Mexico, since the Swine Flu scare, but passengers weren’t allowed to exit the ship. About an hour before arriving, we were informed that we would be the first cruise ship allowed to dock AND exit. The local news filmed the first passengers exiting the ship. A big deal it was! We weren’t the first. We wanted to eat (on the ship, not in Mexico) before we explored the town.

We commissioned our Mexican friend to make 20 personalized bracelets.

Friends forever!