California Vacation - part 1

December 24 (Wed.) - We headed out at 2:30 p.m. to go as far as Saint George. Right around 5:30 as we were just leaving Cedar City, a huge blizzard started. We were happy we had gotten as far as we had without any weather issues, but were hoping to get through without any problems. We had some pretty scary moments where we were nervous, but eventually made it to Saint George without any issues. The kids were so excited to swim in the swimming pool at the hotel. The water was the perfect temperature and the hot tub felt awesome! We enjoyed out time at the pool for about 1 1/2 hours. I didn't want to get into the pool, so Camille had Bradley in the water. Every time she tried to have him get out, he would run back to her. He was having such a great time.

December 25 (Thurs.) - We left bright and early in the morning to continue on to California. The kids all did relatively well throughout the whole drive. We made it to Corcoran around 2:30 p.m. We enjoyed visiting with the family that was there.

December 26 (Fri.) - Byron & I left at 10:00 a.m. to head to Long Beach, CA. We were heading out on a 3-day cruise with Carnival Paradise - YEAH!

We arrived in Long Beach right around 1:00 p.m. and could board the ship at 1:30 p.m. The process of getting on only took about 30 minutes. After getting on we headed to our room located at M124. There are 14 levels on the cruise ship and we slept on deck 5. Our room was actually nicer than I had envisioned it. We had two twin beds pushed together to make a larger bed, a TV mounted on the wall in the corner, a desk with mirror above it, two closets, a bathroom, shower, and a small table and chair in the corner. The funniest part was having what looked like a curtain for a window, but after pulling it away discovered that all there was was the wall.

We headed upstairs after settling in and ate lunch. The food was amazing! I can literally say that for 3 days I never felt hungry since I would eat before I even got to that point. There were so many different types of foods to choose from. We decided upon some chicken and potatoes. I went back for some salad afterwards. There were so many fun desserts available also. Byron couldn't get enough of their ice-cream and I enjoyed some chocolate cake.

We enjoyed walking around the ship to find out where everything was. I couldn't believe how incredibly huge the ship was! I am so glad that Byron was able to maneuver around without any problems - I constantly felt like I was lost.

At 4:45 they had a boat drill where everyone was required to attend. We had to bring our life jacket from our rooms with us upstairs to the meeting area for our floor in case of an emergency. The drill lasted about one hour. We had to put on our life jacket and then eventually be led outside where the boats were located. I was sure glad when this drill was over - not a fun part of the cruise, but if there really was an emergency how smoother it would have run.

The ship was supposed to sail away from the port at 5:30 p.m., so we headed to the front of the ship. We wanted to watch it leave. We made it there just in time to see it start moving.

Byron & I were feeling pretty good until we headed down to our rooms to watch some TV. While we were laying on the bed the ship started to pick up speed and we were really starting to feel sick. I could barely move without the sick feeling. We decided to head up to the store to see if they had anything for sea sickness. We ended up purchasing some pills like Dramamine. They really did help. I could still feel slight movements, but wasn't getting the sick feeling any more.

We had signed up for the 6:30 dinner, but ended up being put on the 8:15 instead. We would be eating in the Normandie Lounge. At 8:15 we got there to a huge group of people all waiting for the room to be open. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were allowed to enter to find out table. The dining area was beautiful. We were seated at a round 10-person table. All of the couples at our table were really nice - it took going back each night to get more comfortable with them. Our waiter, Walter, was amazing! He made each one of us feel so comfortable and was so good at bringing our food in a timely manner. We usually ordered 2 appetizers each meal, one main dish, and a dessert. The food was presented in such a beautiful way. I have never seen such dishes. We both came away eating way more food than we should have. The food was delicious!

After leaving the dining room around 9:30 p.m. we headed over to see the "Welcome Aboard Comedy Show." I have not laughed so hard in a long time. One of the comedians, Seth Buchwald, was hilarious.

I was so tired by the time we finally made it to our room. The medicine we had taken previously had just wiped me out and made me very tired. We both slept great.

Here we are before entering the ship. Below Byron is on the top deck overlooking the water. It was about 60 degrees outside with a light wind.
Above I am also on the deck with Long Beach in the background. Below Byron is in the hallway outside of our rooms. Above is one of the fun towel animals we got on our bed every night. This one was probably my favorite. We also had our bedding pulled down with our schedule for the following day and 2 mints. Below I am drinking our favorite of the trip - hot chocolate. They had the coolest dispensers that we could get hot chocolate 24/7. With the cooler evenings, it really hit the spot.
December 27 (Sat.) - We woke up around 7:30 a.m. to hear that we had arrived into Ensenada over the speakers in our room. We got ready and headed upstairs to eat breakfast. After we ate we got off of the ship. We took a bus into the middle of town where there would be some fun shops to go inside. There were so many street vendors also. We found quite the fun deals for our children while on this street.

We ate some tacos at a street vendor. They had either beef or fish for $1 each. They were absolutely delicious! I got 2 fish tacos and was able to add guacamole, salsa & cabbage to them. Byron got 3 of the steak tacos and later said that his favorite part of our cruise was eating those tacos.

We spent about 2 hours here and then went back to the ship for some more food (like we needed any more:).

At 1:30 p.m. we had a tour planned for the blow hole in Ensenada. This is one of the 3 blowholes in the world. We went in a bus and it took about 45 minutes to get there. Our tour guide was awesome and continually was making us all laugh. When we arrived at the blowhole we found out that it was low tide and never were really able to see it go off. We did get some beautiful pictures of the water, though. We enjoyed shopping some more at some shops and had some really good churros.

I had the hardest time keeping my eyes open both ways on the bus. I think the medicine from the previous day was still in my system.

After arriving back we got onto the ship.

Dinner was elegant attire. We got dressed up and then went upstairs to have some pictures taken. Dinner was fabulous as always. Byron enjoyed lobster and shrimp. I, on the other hand, was the only one at my table that didn't take advantage of this delicious meal. I ate chicken instead. We had some entertainment from the waiters/waitresses. They danced to a song.

After dinner we played a game of bingo and then watched part of the entertainment for the evening "Here's Hollywood." We ended up leaving during the show due to the skimpy women. I was so upset that they would have the performers dress this way when I had heard so many wonderful things about the entertainment on the cruise ships.

We headed back to our room, changed out of our clothes and went up onto the deck to enjoy the night life. We had some hot chocolate and enjoyed talking with each other.

Me outside of the ship - it is absolutely massive.

Me with a beautiful hill with houses all around it in Ensenada. Byron at the taco shop. YUM! Below are the delicious fish tacos.

Byron & I back on the ship after eating lunch. Byron is enjoying his ice-cream cone while looking over Ensenada.
The beautiful view from the blowhole. This was the fun towel creation that evening. Byron & I in our evening attire - it was fun to dress up and be able to go to something elegant for once.

December 28 (Sun.) - Today was "Fun Day at Sea." We were travelling very slowly back to Long Beach, so we couldn't feel the movement on the ship like we had on the previous Friday. Relaxation was the name of the day - we enjoyed going to the back of the ship and relaxing in the sun. We both were able to spend time talking, reading, looking at the water, etc. There was a swimming pool and hot tubs on the top of the ship, but we definitely weren't thinking that at all with 60 degree weather. Since there was really nothing to do we were able to just spend time together without any stress in the world. I don't even think we could have been reached by cell phone.

We went to an art auction and were able to see some beautiful pieces of art on display on the ship. We didn't end up buying any, but enjoyed watching the auctioneer.

After the art auction we headed back outside. We were looking over the edge of the ship when all of a sudden we saw a school of dolphins swimming right below us. I quickly tried to grab the camera and was too late. I actually wish I had just enjoyed watching. Byron & I could see them jumping up and down in the water quite a ways behind the ship. What a beautiful sight! After this we watched in the water for quite some time to see if we could see anything else. All we were able to see were a lot of seagulls flying all around the ship.

We went back to our room to relax and watch some TV. Byron ended up taking a nap and I ordered room service - what an awesome thing! How fun to have food brought to your room for free:).

In the evening, we ate dinner and I remembered to take some pictures of our dishes this time. The food was just incredible. The only thing that Byron got that he wouldn't eat was a dish with raw salmon. I know I gained weight from all the great foods available. Eating a dessert after each meal was so fun - we never order desserts due to being full already and also an added cost. I guess being full didn't stop us each night. Byron always made sure to get this sherbet ice-cream and I would choose something different every night.

We ended up packing up most of our stuff since we would be heading out pretty early in the morning.

I have never been waited on hand and foot quite like this before. We will definitely have to try it again in a few years.

Me relaxing on the deck with a book. Byron over looking the water.
Our beautiful dinner table - notice how many knives, spoons and forks at each setting.
Byron & I before we ate dinner.
Byron's salmon he ordered for his main dish. Byron's appetizer he got with raw salmon - I have never seen Byron not eat something - well this was the dish:).
I got this for my appetizer - it is fruit and salad - it was so good!
Me outside of our room.
Byron relaxing after dinner.
Our bed with the lovely towel decoration.

December 29 (Mon.) - Our morning started early. We wanted to see the sunrise from the ship and get up to be ready to head out as soon as we could. We ate breakfast right next to a window and was able to see the sunrise. It was so beautiful!

We went back to our room to finish packing and wait out our departure. We had to wait until our floor was called so we could leave. Our floor was finally called around 8:00 a.m. - we had to lug our heavy luggage all the way back which made for some very tired arms. Leaving the ship was sad, but such a great break and we were ready to be back with our children.

We headed to Corcoran - which is 3 hours away - to spend time with my family and to see our children again. When we drove up, Janessa brought Bradley out to us. He was anxious to see us, but didn't seem too sad about our departure. He must have had a great time without us there being spoiled by his Grandparents, Aunts & Uncles.

We spent time playing games and enjoyed being with my side of the family for the rest of the evening.

Byron with his breakfast on the ship. Notice the hot chocolate - loved it! Parker with his gift from us - Superman was very high in the tree - maybe he thought he really could fly:).
Hailey and Johnathan playing on the hammock. All of the kids were having a great time in the backyard. The weather was just gorgeous.
Bradley being as cute as ever!
Dad & Mom enjoying some relaxing time.
THANKS DAD & MOM FOR WATCHING OUR CHILDREN!!! What an awesome present you were able to give us!