Cruise 2013 - At Last!!

After trying to get on a cruise for almost a year, we finally made it!!  It was extremely last minute, like Tuesday before we left, but after reviewing our upcoming months, it was now or never!  So we hopped on a 3 day Mexican cruise over Memorial Day weekend.  Brilliant idea if I may say so myself. Ü

We drove there on Friday, got on the boat that afternoon and stayed on till Monday morning.  I definitely could have stayed longer, but it was the perfect getaway.  The weather was beautiful and the "no responsibility" part was exactly what I needed!  The first day is usually pretty uneventful because you only really have time to get on and then it's dinner time.  Actually we got on, had some ice cream then I went down for my first nap of the cruise.  I love naps on the boat, your room is like pitch black.  So after napping and a few ice cream cones, we got dressed for dinner.  Our table mates were interesting, but nice.  About our same age, but so different.  They were newly married, no kids and very "yuppy-ish".  She ate fish and sorbet all weekend while I asked for more ice cream with my chocolate melting cake.  She may have been skinny blonde and beautiful, but I run faster.  Yep, she was talking about her half marathons and the day she ran her fastest mile.  Of course, I kept it to myself, but she is kinda slow.  Which is fine... but I'm still faster. ♥

Our (my) Trophies

Of course we are a little competitive and are "do-ers" so we were excited to come home with a little proof that we rocked that boat!  (get it, "rocked")  Anyway, the first day on the ship was actually our Ensenada day but we weren't anxious to get off the boat so we stayed and did all the activities.  First there was a trivia game show and I got picked as one of three to compete.  The questions were all clips from songs, movies, quotes, ect and I totally won.  I was even winning enough that it was going too quickly so the host put me over in the corner with my hands on the wall so the others could catch up a little.  But I still won - trophy #1.

Then there was the mini golf tournament.  I'm not so great at this game, but today I did alright.  I even beat Glade!!  However, this little stink, Payton,  tied me.  We thought we may have to arm wrestle for the trophy but they decided to give us both one.  I will share more on Payton when I talk about our new friends.

Trophy #2

Bean Bag Toss, this was one of our favorite activities.  There was a tournament for this that day as well.  This time Glade and I competed as a team and we won.  We had a little competition in this one, including Payton, who is really good.  But in the end we pulled it out and were awarded... Trophy #3

Later, Glade and Payton had to have a show down to see who was actually better.  I can't remember the exact outcome, but this happened a couple different times over the weekend and it was a really close match every time.  The last night of the cruise, Glade and I went up and played for 2 hours (till midnight).  We had to keep playing until I beat him.  Now my arm is sore.  It was either that or the shuffleboard we played.

We were also lucky enough to get picked to be on a Family Feud game which was actually boys/girls.  The guy didn't realize we were together so when we got to go up for the showdown question, instead of shaking hands like everyone else, Glade grabbed me and kissed me.  That got a fun reaction.  But in the end, the girls snatched the win at the last minute and I got the medal.  All the boys had to present the girls with the medals.

We attempted to do a few of the trivia games, but were just not quite close enough to come away with the win.  One of the games was the scores to movies.  Not songs, scores.  That was really hard.  We also did famous faces of the 80's and were really close on that one.  We tried classic rock and totally bombed.  After about 5 clips, we got up and left.  But you always meet fun people and we like to give things a try.

Ensenada

We got off the boat just long enough to go into town to get some fish tacos.  I really don't love being in town and this time was worse because it was the weekend of a big car race down there so there were tons of people.  It was really loud and most were very drunk and obnoxious.  BUT, the fish tacos were awesome!  Totally worth the trip.  We even stopped in at a 7-11 to check out their donut program.  

How Laurie Got Her Groove On

I love to dance.  Being on a cruise gives many opportunities for this.  Unfortunately, this boat had only one nightclub so it was packed every time.  Besides that it was one of the few places smoking was allowed (bleck), it was pretty raunchy as well.  That was disappointing, but it didn't stop me from finding other avenues.  First, we took a disco dance class.  That was us and 6 little children.  Ya know, whatever!  Then there was my shining moment when I got to demonstrate my "MC Hammer" moves during the game show up on the stage in front of a live audience.  Oh yes I did!  Of course I had the bee bop thing going on where ever we were and good music was playing, but we can't forget the main dining room.  The waiters always do a little 3 minute show at the end of dinner.  The second night we got to slow dance to "That's Amour e" and then the last night I threw all caution to the wind and got up and danced "Gangham Style" with our waiters.  Lastly, in a desperate attempt at one more shot to get my groove on, we went to the Michael Jackson hour and pulled out some "Beat It"  moves.

New Friends

We made a few new friends on our journey.  First, there's little Payton.  He is 10 and quite competitive.  He got to do the kid version of the same game show I did and we both got trophies.  Then we met again at the mini golf tournament and we tied.  After we beat him and his mom at the bean bag toss, he commented to his  mom "Mom!  She's up 3 to 2!"  We ended up many of the same places as this family so we got on friendly terms and did a lot of our activities together.  There were actually 4 boys: Daniel 16, Ryan 13, Kyle 12, and Payton 10.  They were really sweet boys and we enjoyed hanging out with them.  It was even better that they weren't ours so we could walk away whenever we wanted!

Then there was Kirk and Gretchen.  We first met them during the bean bag toss.  They were our final competitors.  By the way, our team name for that was "Ship Collectors".  Anyway, we met them again during one of the comedy shows and sat and talked with them for an hour or so.  They actually live in Phoenix and are in the process of adopting their first foster child.  They were really sweet.

We met many other people who were kind and curious about this crazy couple with 9 children.  "Are they ALL yours?  Or are you blended?"  "You look so in Love!"  People are funny.  Some were nice, some were interesting and many were just down right entertaining.  We even saw our dining buddies, Jeff and Tina, driving on the freeway on our way home.

Odds and Ends

We filled our days with mini golf, bean bags, shuffle board, ice cream cones, trivia games, naps, more ice cream cones and lots of people watching.  The last day on the boat was super windy and chilly.  It was nice to be cold again.  Even provided for an actual opportunity to drink hot chocolate (along with our ice cream). We ate far too much and regretted it every time, until the next meal at least.  Every couple should spend a few days just being friends and dating and enjoying each other without all the daily stress of real life.  I'm so lucky that my husband and I are such good play mates!!  

Adventures of Glade

Its hard to post about someone else's experiences, but I'll give it a try.  He's a great sport and lets me do pretty much whatever I want.  Even if it's taking a nap.  He's just as adventurous and loves to get up and do, not just watch.  He also got to compete in a little mini game show after the main one but did not come home with a trophy.  He attempted Karaoke a couple of times but can never make up his mind on what to sing and then we leave.  This time I convinced him to let me choose, so I chose "Still the One".  He did great, but was frustrated cuz reading the words is confusing with the music.  I loved it, but he left a little frustrated.  What a sport.  He ate more ice cream cones than he could count.  He talked to everyone and was adamant about keeping our competition going with Payton and his brothers.  I'm pretty sure both Payton and Daniel beat Glade in Beanbags.  One night at dinner we even ate Alligator fritters.  Go us!!  The best part, no cell phone or computers for 2 full days!!  I had him all to myself. ♥