California Lovin'

A few months ago, our friends Landon and Che' called with an interesting offer. They proposed the idea of going on a Cruise to Mexico with them, with a little stop by Disneyland before boarding the ship. They told us to think about it for a couple of days and decide if we were interested and then get back to them. Well, it only took a quick 10 minutes to check over finances and make sure we could afford it before we called them back with a big fat, "YES!"

We had been talking about saving up for a trip this summer already and when this opportunity came along we didn't want to pass it up. Plus, the last time we Cruised we thought the next time we did it we wanted to go with another couple because it would be more fun. Perfect, right?

Our trip was a crazy 10 days! That seems like a long time, but it flew by! We drove to Anaheim on Friday May 4. That was a long 10 hours! By the time we got to the hotel we were all exhausted and fell asleep pretty early. Plus, we needed our rest because the next day was DISNEYLAND! 

Who wouldn't want their picture taken in a tea cup?

Can I just say that Disneyland is amazing? Also, it really is the happiest place on Earth. Everyone needs to go to Disneyland. Shocking but this was our first time ever. Landon and Che' are big Disneylanders so they made sure we saw everything and did everything we needed to.

A whopping 14 hours later our feet were aching but we had smiles on our faces!

Loved it!

They actually made us row the boat! But I was horrible at it and threw off the flow so I didn't row much. Landon was sitting behind me and I kept hitting his paddle with mine and he was obviously frustrated. Ha!

 We went to the Parade that afternoon. So magical.

Mickey playing drums.

Princesses

Yes, he is this terrified of my real driving too!

Bff's

Walking through Mickey's house

Yeah, we met Mickey Mouse...I mean, he's kind of a big deal.

Turkey legs! Gigantic, greasy, smelly turkey legs that Landon MUST eat every time. Now I'm afraid that Jared will have to. They were disgusting and I truly believe it is only a food that men would like. Sick! At about midnight when we went to Denny's for "dinner", I could not even eat anything because all I could smell and think about were nasty turkey legs.

Gross.

Baby your a FIREWORK!



Downtown Disney.

 Words cannot say my true feelings about Disneyland. I will throw out some adjectives to try and express my thoughts; magical, festive, happy, cute, fun, memorable, amzing, terrific, fantastic, thrilling, enjoyable, favorite...just to name a few.
My highlights of Disneyland: Pirates of the Carribean, Soarin' over California, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Indiana Jones...I liked the rides! And the magical-ness of everything. Everyone is just happy and I like that!
Lowlights of Disneyland: The pain in my feet at the end of the day, Jared being terrified for every ride only to realize that it wasn't scary, but the one that takes the cake..Tower of Terror! What the heck?! I almost passed out during that billion foot drop! Would I do it again? Maybe if I was drugged..

Mexico...

Sunday morning we left Anahiem for Long Beach where we boarded our ship, the Carnival Splendor.


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Just a couple pictures of our Port in Long Beach.

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After we had set sail. I appreciate that the ice cream cones made it into the photo, because those may have been my favorite part of the Cruise.



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Waiting in the Spectacular Lounge to play Bingo. Did we win? Um, that is a big, fat, "no." That was the worst Bingo game I have ever played! I don't wanna talk about it anymore..


Sunday and Monday were Days at Sea, since the ship had to get to Mexico. We laid out, ate A LOT(that will be a common thing), played lots of cards, and just hung out. It was good times.

Tuesday: Cabo San Lucas Day 1...
Yeah, we had 2 days in Cabo instead of going to Mazatlan(apparently its dangerous for tourists).
I was not complaining though, I love me some Cabo.
So the first day we decided to try some snorkeling. Landon made a deal with one of the locals and he took us on a tour of Lovers' Beach and that area and then to go snorkeling.

On the water taxi on our way to Lovers' Beach.

Crab

Kind of some fish under the water. The water was so pretty but the tide was so high that the snorkeling was horrible. Also, turns out that I freak out with my head being covered with water, especially gigantic waves that carried me back to shore.
So snorkeling was not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed hanging out at the beach anyway.

This is part of our little tour. I love the arch. So beautiful!

Livin' the Dream!

On the beach where we snorkeled.

See the little cave? The reason they call it Lovers' Beach is because there is s rumor that when 2 people go into the cave, 3 people come out! Ha!
We didn't try it, but maybe we should have.



They were feeding the sea lion fish so he would just catch a ride on the boat.


After we hung out at the beach for a while we walked through downtown Cabo and did a little shopping.

Then we went back to the ship for a nap before dinner. Being out in the sun all day really wears you out. And Jared may or may not have gotten a terrible sunburn the first day at sea, but don't worry he wore sunscreen after that

Wednesday, Day 2 in Cabo:
We decided to have a lazy day and just chill at the beach. We thought about going Parasailing but Jared was a little scared of it. Sorry dear, but its true. Also, it was a little more expensive and we wanted to splurge the next day in Puerto Vallarta so we decided to save our dough.
We rented an umbrella, relaxed, and played in the ocean. I enjoyed this water much better because it was calm and didn't freak me out.

Nice sunburn!



Our ship from the beach.

Splashing Jared. I'm sure he deserved it!

I love how pretty it is. I could live by the ocean and not be sad about it.

Thursday: Puerto Vallarta!
This was our favorite excursion! We went Zip Lining! And IT. WAS. AWESOME! I had been before in high school at basketball camp and remembered how awesome it was but Jared had never been. To say he was nervous is a huge understatement. As I have mentioned a time or two, he is not a fan of roller coasters, heights, or adventure really.
So yeah, he was kind of scared.
However, the scared faces in this photo have nothing to do with being on our was to the zip lines, but more to do with our CRAZY driver. He was out of control and I thought we might die at several points.
But we made it...thankfully.

My only sad thing about the Zip Lining is that we didn't buy the pictures. They had a guy follow us around and take photos of us on the lines and everything and they were so cool, but we were being a little cheap and didn't buy the disc. We are super regretting that move. We looked so cute and awesome in our harnesses and helmets. Jared was even throwing out a little "thumbs up" in one pic. Adorable! Just thinking about it makes me sad again.

Anyway, the zip lines were crazy! We had to do a lot of hiking up to some of the lines and they were super high.
Hiking plus 90 degree weather and crazy humidity plus helmet equals very sweaty us. My hair was not a fan. But the lines were so fun. Nothing is better than Zip Lining through the jungle. We thought it was bomb! Our tour guide dudes that took us on the lines were cool and one of the guys kept calling me Sarita. On the last line they let us go Superman style!
Loved, loved, loved it!

Afterwards, we hung out at the natural water slide(basically a rock that was naturally formed like a water slide) and everyone except me jumped off the rocks into the water. Remember the part about me not liking my head under water? Ya, it was my turn to be chicken. But I watched everyone else and that was plenty fun for me.
Oh, and don't worry I slipped on a rock and went down. I couldn't just leave the trip without getting bruised up somehow.

After our Zip Lining adventure we went into downtown Puerto Vallarta..

Have I mentioned how I love the ocean?

Our day in Puerto Vallarta was quite a long one. We got off the ship at about 9 am and we weren't setting sail again until 9 pm. Our Zip Lining slash swimming slash shopping took until about 3 pm, then we headed back to the ship or some lunch and a shower and maybe a little nap. Then since we still had a while before dinner we got back off the ship and walked around some of the shops outside and took some photos.

Oh and we walked to a gas station for some much needed Coke. They didn't have Mountain Dew..poor Jared. Btw, in Mexico they call it Coca Cola Light instead of Diet Coke. That is what Che' is pointing to even though the pic is blurry.

That night we went out on the deck and took some photos with Puerto Vallarta in the background since we hadn't set sail yet.

The Lido Deck aka my favorite part. It's where the ice cream is.



Yes, that is a Wal Mart. They are everywhere!



Waiting for the elevator. You can't tell me all that pink isn't stylish!



The other side of the Lido Deck. They usually had movies playing every night that people would go watch. We never did but we talked about it like it would be a good activity.

So when we weren't laying at the beach, Zip Lining, snorkeling, shopping, etc. what were we doing?
This is us hanging out in one of the lounges listening to Tommy Green Jr. play acoustic and sing. He has a mighty fine voice and he also isn't too shabby on guitar. He would play some covers and some of his own songs. I may or may not have bought his cd and made a fool of myself by touching his arm and squeeking out, "I'm a really big fan.."
Embarrassing!
I don't know why I just shared that. Probably because I know when Che' reads this she will cackle at that line.





Tommy Green Jr. from the side.



Tommy Green Jr and me....Just moments before the infamous making a fool of myself. I just felt like we were friends ok! I mean, we were at like all of his shows and we talked to him on the Lido deck about how he deserved a raise. He looked right at me when he sang the line in his song about "blonde curls".
(yes Che,' he looked at me and not you!)
We were friends! And friends can tell other friends that they are fans of their music and touch their arms and it's ok, okay?!
So lay off!

And we played a lot of cards. Spades and Play Nine. Pretty much we always sat on the Lido Deck looking out over the water and played cards. It was so much fun. Oh and we were usually eating while we were doing this. Rolls, or ice cream, or Mexican Buffet at midnight. What? Is that unhealthy?



Yes, please!



Hey, its us at dinner! We loved going to the dining room each night. We had the most wonderful waitors, Ramoncito and Andres. They were great and I'm pretty sure we were their favorites. In fact, you can kind of see Andres in the background. Awesome!


And it wouldn't be a Cruise post without some famous towel animals. Just a few of my faves..

Needless to say, we had an amazing time! Thanks so much Landon and Che' for inviting us! You guys are awesome and hilarious! We had a blast! Probably the funnest 10 days ever!