DAY 1: We flew out at 6 am from the Eureka airport. I am definitely not a morning person so it was a little tough to get up at 3:00 to get ready. However, I was pretty excited so that helped a lot. We got to San Diego around 11 am.
When we arrived at our hotel, they told us it was too early to check in so we went for a walk. We were staying in the Old Town area of San Diego so we checked things out. We found a mexican restaurant/bar and grabbed a quick beverage before heading to lunch. Clint had arranged for us to have lunch at Bareback Grill in San Diego. He sells his Eel River Organic Beef there so we had to check it out. He even bought our lunch... thanks Clint! The burgers were AWESOME! Probably the best burger I have ever had. They also have these really great fries that come with this totally yummy wasabi-mayo dipping sauce. If any of you get to San Diego, check it out!
After lunch we took a walk out to see the beach. Some nice person walking by offered to take our picture....Joy, Julie, Denise, Kelly, Christina, and me... The sun was out but it wasn't all that warm.
DAY 2: The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and headed to the cruise ship dock. We got there a little early and thought we'd have to wait. They have these cool pedi-cabs that you can send your luggage in on... for a few bucks. Once we got our luggage sent thru, we were able to go thru the check-in process to get on the ship.
Here is the ship from the street.... it is so huge!
We got checked-in but had to wait about an hour to get on board. We finally were able to board the ship around noon. We were greeted by lots of waiters with drinks for us. All of the 39 "Girlfriends" had matching bright green t-shirts that said "Girlfriends just wanna have fun." We got lots of comments and questions about the shirts.We had some lunch but we couldn't get into our cabins until around 1:30. Christina and I shared a cabin. Once we got our luggage delivered to our cabins, we unpacked and then headed to the "Spa Carnival" for a tour. They had plenty of specials going on and, of course, encouraged people to book a treatment. Christina and I each booked a massage for 6 pm. It was a nice and relaxing way to start out our cruise!
We went to dinner in the Inspiration Dining Room at 8:15 that night. We had a really fun group of "girlfriends" at our table. When we got back to our cabin that night, our room steward had left us this cute little towel animal...
DAY 3: We woke up to an announcement that we wouldn't be able to get into our scheduled port of Catalina Island because of the weather. The port had been closed due to the rough seas. Carnival decided to reschedule our "Day at Sea" from the last day to this day. They had some activities planned to keep us all entertained. Because of the rough seas, there was lots of movement on the boat. I had been taking motion sickness pills the whole time, just in case. And I am so glad I did.... we were told that the ocean had 20 foot swells that day... and I believe it. It was rockin'! I did okay until we went upstairs to play bingo in one of the showrooms. It happened to be at the front of the boat, which apparently is the worst place to be in weather like that. I made it through the bingo game but had to go lay down after that for awhile. Then I felt better... that was the day of two naps!
That evening was formal night on the ship. It was fun to get all dressed up. First, we went to a cocktail party hosted by the captain. This guy, Funship Freddie, came up behind me at one point....
Here's part of our group at the cocktail party.... Jamie, Kristi, Denise, Christina, and I...
Christina and I having a lemon daiquiri... YUM!
Our mini group of 12... Christina's family and me!
After dinner we went to a comedy show which was pretty good. I liked that there were different shows that we could pick from.
DAY 4: Catalina Island... finally!! We had to take a tender boat over from the ship to the island. The weather was okay... not too warm, but not raining when we got there.
The ship from the island....
Looking down the street with lots of little shops....
Christina and I walked up and down the street shopping a little bit. It was getting cold so we found a bar to grab a drink to hopefully warm up. We went into Del Sol because it was one of the stores that Carnival recommends. All the stuff in the store changes color when it gets out in the sunlight. They were having a drawing right when we walked in so we signed up. Guess what? I won the drawing!! I got a whole bunch of stuff including two t-shirts (one for me and one for Andy), a tote bag, hat, hairclips, nail polish, key chain, etc. I was pretty excited because I don't usually win things like that!
We met up with some of the other ladies to grab some fish tacos for lunch. It was starting to rain so we decided to head back to the ship. We got in line to get on the tender boat. It was kind of long because everyone wanted to get out the rain. The line was starting to move a little when this older lady tripped and fell right in front of Christina and I. It was horrible. She couldn't get up, but luckily we were right in front of the lifeguard station so they called for help. Once we got on the tender boat, we kept smelling nail polish. We both looked in our bags and Christina saw that her new nail polish had broken and went all over her new shirts from Del Sol. We got off the tender boat before it left port and headed back to Del Sol. They were so nice and gave her all new nail polish and shirts. After that we finally headed back to the ship. Then we took a nap... naps were one of my favorite part of the cruise!
That night Carnival hosted a private cocktail party for the "Girlfriends" as a way of apologizing for changing our original itinerary (and missing Cabo). I really don't think Carnival had any idea that the Girlfriends could drink so much!
After the cocktail party, we went went to a Comedy Hypnosis show, which I wasn't too crazy about. I don't really believe in hypnosis anyway. Then it was onto the Karaoke bar.... and no, I didn't get up and sing.
DAY 5: Ensenada, Mexico! We got off the boat about 10:00 that day. The group I was with really likes Tequila and thought it would be a good way to start of getting to Mexico. Notice I am behind the camera... Tequila and I don't get along very well!
We took a short bus ride into town, where we got on another bus to take a tour out to the blowhole (La Bufadora) and the flea market.
Here's La Bufadora.... it wasn't blowing too much when we were there.
Our group...
After an interesting experience of shopping at the flea market (all I bought was a yellow John Deere hat for J.T.) and the best fish taco I have ever had, we headed back into downtown Ensenada to do a little more shopping. Christina and I went in a few shops and each bought a couple things. We both bought silver and citrine (sp?) pendants. After about an hour we met up with our group, and got on the bus to go back to the ship. It was a great day, especially because the sun was out!!
Once we were back on the boat we grabbed a drink and took a few pictures from the boat looking out towards Ensenada...
Looking down the street with lots of little shops....
Christina and I walked up and down the street shopping a little bit. It was getting cold so we found a bar to grab a drink to hopefully warm up. We went into Del Sol because it was one of the stores that Carnival recommends. All the stuff in the store changes color when it gets out in the sunlight. They were having a drawing right when we walked in so we signed up. Guess what? I won the drawing!! I got a whole bunch of stuff including two t-shirts (one for me and one for Andy), a tote bag, hat, hairclips, nail polish, key chain, etc. I was pretty excited because I don't usually win things like that!We met up with some of the other ladies to grab some fish tacos for lunch. It was starting to rain so we decided to head back to the ship. We got in line to get on the tender boat. It was kind of long because everyone wanted to get out the rain. The line was starting to move a little when this older lady tripped and fell right in front of Christina and I. It was horrible. She couldn't get up, but luckily we were right in front of the lifeguard station so they called for help. Once we got on the tender boat, we kept smelling nail polish. We both looked in our bags and Christina saw that her new nail polish had broken and went all over her new shirts from Del Sol. We got off the tender boat before it left port and headed back to Del Sol. They were so nice and gave her all new nail polish and shirts. After that we finally headed back to the ship. Then we took a nap... naps were one of my favorite part of the cruise!
That night Carnival hosted a private cocktail party for the "Girlfriends" as a way of apologizing for changing our original itinerary (and missing Cabo). I really don't think Carnival had any idea that the Girlfriends could drink so much!
After the cocktail party, we went went to a Comedy Hypnosis show, which I wasn't too crazy about. I don't really believe in hypnosis anyway. Then it was onto the Karaoke bar.... and no, I didn't get up and sing.DAY 5: Ensenada, Mexico! We got off the boat about 10:00 that day. The group I was with really likes Tequila and thought it would be a good way to start of getting to Mexico. Notice I am behind the camera... Tequila and I don't get along very well!
We took a short bus ride into town, where we got on another bus to take a tour out to the blowhole (La Bufadora) and the flea market.
Here's La Bufadora.... it wasn't blowing too much when we were there.Our group...
After an interesting experience of shopping at the flea market (all I bought was a yellow John Deere hat for J.T.) and the best fish taco I have ever had, we headed back into downtown Ensenada to do a little more shopping. Christina and I went in a few shops and each bought a couple things. We both bought silver and citrine (sp?) pendants. After about an hour we met up with our group, and got on the bus to go back to the ship. It was a great day, especially because the sun was out!!Once we were back on the boat we grabbed a drink and took a few pictures from the boat looking out towards Ensenada...
The flag...
Our group at the front of the boat...
Then came the crazy idea to get (fake) tattoos.... several of us decided it would be a fun thing to do on our last night on the ship.
After changing our clothes, we headed to the dining room for our last dinner.... Here's the people we shared a table with during the cruise...
Jamie and Staci
Lindsey, Brooke, and Sandy
Jen and Monica
Joy and Carrie
and Christina and I....
it was Joy's 35th birthday that day so of course we celebrated....
and Lori's was coming up in a few days so we celebrated hers too...
This cruise was such a great experience. I really appreciate that Christina invited me and that her whole family made me part of everything! I am ready to go again, but the next Girlfriends Cruise isn't until 2011. Andy says it's his turn to go with me....
Our group at the front of the boat...
Then came the crazy idea to get (fake) tattoos.... several of us decided it would be a fun thing to do on our last night on the ship.
After changing our clothes, we headed to the dining room for our last dinner.... Here's the people we shared a table with during the cruise...Jamie and Staci
Lindsey, Brooke, and Sandy
Jen and Monica
Joy and Carrie
and Christina and I....
it was Joy's 35th birthday that day so of course we celebrated....
and Lori's was coming up in a few days so we celebrated hers too...
This cruise was such a great experience. I really appreciate that Christina invited me and that her whole family made me part of everything! I am ready to go again, but the next Girlfriends Cruise isn't until 2011. Andy says it's his turn to go with me....
2 comments:
I really enjoyed reading about your "girlfriends" vacation. Looks like you had a lot of fun. Abigail told me today about you getting sick, and what you brought her back.
Glad you had such a fun time. I'm sure it was fun to have Christina as your room mate too!
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