Tuesday, August 31st - Cabo San Lucas

Pre-excursion snack @ Cafe Promenade

(consisted of pizza, cookies, ham & cheese croissant, and milk)

We arrived in Cabo San Lucas! A balmy 97 degrees with 100% humidity. We took tenders to the dock, and upon existing the "secure port of entry" we were bombarded with swarms of locals selling boat tours, souvenirs, tequila, and even the opportunity to get your picture taken with a real live baby lion cub or baby tiger. What? We stopped in the shade of the local "Senor Frogs" eating/drinking spot, and Mary-Gail and Becca climbed on these life preserver swings. If ever I come across two random life preservers, I will make my little girls their own swing.

The swings at "Senor Froggs"

Mary-Gail & Becca could have swung all day; the heat completely wiped-out Becca

Mary-Gail said to us not 20 minutes after leaving the air conditioned boat, "I'm all sweaty. Ew."

Lovey & I booked our "Glass-bottom boat tour" (along with our two other excursions) through Royal Caribbean. I told Lovey that with our precious daughters in tow, I didn't want to mess haggling for a deal with the locals. I'm glad we went through Royal Caribbean, especially since since the girls were "3 & under" they were free. I made sure that the gal @ the Excursion's desk knew that Becca & Mary-Gail were 3 & 3/4 yrs old, but she didn't care about the "3/4" part. Finally - Lovey & I got a price-break.

We boarded the 60-ft semi-submersible boat and headed into the Sea Cortez to view the underwater creatures up close. Then, we climbed back up top and skirted over to Land's End and saw Lover's Beach, the Sea Lion colony, and the famous Los Arcos Arch. Rebecca & Mary-Gail's faces shined with amazement. Such a wonder this Earth and all the creations. And discovering life again through the eyes of my little girls is pure enjoyment.

Lovey, Becca, & Mary-Gail intently waiting the fishes...

...and here they are!

This orange fish was so striking, I wish I would have looked up it's name on the "fish finder chart"

Don't you think the fish by Mary-Gail's cheek looks like a teeny, tiny dolphin?

There's fish everywhere!

Mary-Gail

The boat captain took us around the Sea of Cortez, where the water was crystal clear and the ocean floor was smooth and sandy. And then we entered the Pacific Ocean where the water was deep, deep blue, the rock formations were covered by sea urchins, and puffer fish (my favorite) were everywhere! Interesting that in just a few feet the underwater surroundings changed so much.

The 1st mate was throwing flour tortilla pieces over the boat to keep the fish close. No one seemed to mind, especially the fish.


Loving the smile on Lovey's face!

We climbed back uptop and boated to Land's End.

This is beautiful picture, but a terrible angle b/c even though I took the picture of the Los Arcos Arch, you can't see through the arch - another rock formation is directly behind it

Pelican Rock
What does this rock profile look like? A witches face perhaps?


Honeymoon cove: 2 people go in...3 come out


Here's the famous arch (backside).
It looked like it was the location for the movie "Count of Monte Cristo"


Sea Lion Colony. They were bark, bark, barking!


Kemp Kuties
Land's End & Los Arcos Arch in the distance


From the front view, this is the "Finger of Neptune;" from the back view, it is the Baja Peninsula
Lover's beach is in the background

We took the advice from our boat captain and walked to the "locals" beach near an old, run down, out of operation tuna factory, instead of taking a water taxi to the tourist/resort beach. The boat captain said the sand was softer and there weren't rocks or steep drop-offs. I'm glad we did; it was nice swimming with the two moms who were there with their little ones, and the beach was virtually empty.

Mary-Gail didn't want to get in the water, so Becca joined her on the beach.
Seriously, the most thoughtful little girls

The Western side of Cabo, near the old tun factory, stands this ginormous sign, "No se vende," which means "not for sale." The industry in Cabo San Lucas used to be fishing and tuna canning, but celebrities and millionaires discovered this paradise and began building their mansions on the hillsides. The government stepped in and fenced off the hill to prevent anymore building. It's reported that the old tuna factory, which is just feet from the spot where we were swimming) is now the hotspot to try and buy. But, "NO SE VENDE."

And these cuties are also "No se vende" = Not for sale

Lovey & I wanted some good, good mexican food, so our boat captain suggested his favorite location, Mariscos Mazatlan. Our taxi into town was initially $7.00, but when we arrived at the restaurant, the driver said it was $10.00 - don't get me started. The fresh salsa and real, just-cut tortilla chips made up the difference. Oh, it was delicious. Lovey & I shared the shrimp combo for 400 pesos.

Lunch @ Mariscos Mazatlan

Mexican Coke is soooo good!


YUmm!


Shrimp combo: grilled prawns, coconut shrimp, shrimp wrapped in bacon - now that's what I'm talkin' about! Nearly a "When Harry Met Sally" moment


The menu; the bill (593 Pesos!)

Mary-Gail & Becca got up and salsa'd w/the waiter. There was a mariachi band at the table next to us, and the young boy at that table was dancing. The girls joined in and clapped for themselves

We took a taxi back to the dock (confirmed the $7.00 price 2 times before climbing in!), boarded the tender ship and headed back to the big boat. The girls hadn't taken a nap since Saturday (!!!) and so I insisted that we all take a siesta for a few hours, to which there were no objections. What a day!

Monday, August 30th - At Sea

Monday were were at sea as the captain steered us towards the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. I learned that the Baja Peninsula is the 2nd longest peninsula in the world, second only to Italy. "Mr. Smarty Pants "Lovey already knew that - he knows a lot of things, but he didn't know that the boat's pool water was actually salt water pumped in from the ocean (neither did I until today when we both jumped in the pool). Mary-Gail was tired from our travels and the sea air encouraged her sleepiness, so she kept her thumb and tickah close. I am, and always will be since living in Charleston, SC, a sucker for humidity; I love it.

Mary-Gail and Becca found their perfect perch. We stayed here for nearly an hour

Hello my beauties

Lovey & I had heard that Royal Caribbean's child programs were awesome, and prior to us departing I did some research online to see what they were all about. We took the girls with us to Deck 12, where all the child programs were located, and toured the "Aquanauts" room for 3-5 year olds. Their room had a cool constructed boat, a giant mushroom, coloring/crafting room, books, laptops, and a flat-screen TV (which my girls took to like a moth to a flame. Gratefully it was only on during the open-house tour). The Aquanaut's program times were from 9am - 11:50 am; 2pm - 5pm; 7pm - 10pm (or until 2 am if you wanted a "late-over"). These pictures were from Saturday (an 'at sea' day)

Aquanauts entrance

The crafting/coloring room

The girls had only been 2 times before, but remembered to take their shoes off and put them in their cubby

The boat within a boat. Becca's in the port hole window

I enrolled them in the program for the week; however, we only made it 3 times, each of those times was during the morning session, and each of those days was an "at sea" day. Swimming and napping (and drinking Vitiman D milk) took the better part of our "at sea" days, and also Lovey and I didn't want to be away from our girls during the evening hours. But Becca & Mary-Gail LOVED it, and they made some pretty cool things like these butterflies from Friday, also an "at sea" day:

Deck 12 also had an arcade. Awesome! Becca & Mary-Gail jumped on every game there was (except Guitar Hero). The girls didn't care if they played for real, or pretend, but I suggested to Lovey that he put a $10.00 arcade credit on his room card for the girls (and me) to play. I loved the games, and was quickly reminded of my friend, Ashley's, awesome garage filled with arcades. I was never any good at arcades or home video games - too much of an OCD freak w/needing to get all the points to get past the beginning levels - but it was fun playing again w/Lovey and the girls.

I should have gotten a video of them pretend-playing this off-road Hummer arcade. They both kept shouting, whipping their steering wheels around & around, and smacking the blue "Boost" button.

They were so funny to watch.

Monday night was "Formal Night" for seated dinning. Lovey & I ex'd the formal dress this time around (rented tuxes that don't fit right, and, oh yeah, remember my nightmare of stuffing my bra w/my swimsuit padding? It totally worked it's way out of my bra and no one told me!!! Yes, I was 32 years old and I still stuffed my bra). Instead we walked the Promenade Deck - Deck 5. Becca was so hilarious to watch. She'd run ahead of me, see something exciting, run back and say, "Mom! Can you believe.....? That's so cool!" and then she was off again. Lovey had super, sleepy, Mary-Gail in tow, and Becca would occasionally by-pass me to run to Lovey and say the same thing to him, "Dad! Can you believe...? That's so cool!"

Monday's sunset was especially pretty. I can't remember the last time our little family watched the sunset together. Perhaps never? Maybe that's why Monday night was so memorable to me - Lovey doting on me and our girls, and watching the sun dip into the Pacific Ocean as a family. A great memory.

This is what we found on our bed when we returned to our room after supper (and after downing my 3 cartons of milk)...

A Sea Turtle wearing Mary-Gail's sunglasses!

A present to the girls from our room attendant, Mr. Lukmann

I absolutely love Lovey's face - this was his face the WHOLE WEEK.

He couldn't have been happier!

Silly little girls

Lovey is reviewing the plan for tomorrow. We arrive in Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday!!

Good-bye to Grandma Pink & Pappy @ SLC Airport; snacking on delicious PB&J mid-flight

Grandma & Pappy took us to the airport on Sunday, 8/29. We left our house by 10:30 am, and with our curbside drop-off and SkyCap we were able to roam the terminal for about 30 minutes before boarding our plane. Perfect. I did cause quite a ruckus through security though. SLC is one of the International airports that has full body scanners at their security check-point, and most people don't know that they are still optional. I flatly objected the full body scanner and directly Lovey & the girls to go through the traditional metal detector. One FFA employee noted my objection, and after making me state that "I object to entering the full body scanner" three times (!!) he escorted me through the traditional metal detector - with it alarming because of all of his metal - and into a glass compartment where I waited for a female attendant. Becca & Mary-Gail were nervous and Mary-Gail tried to open the door to let me out. But within 5minutes I was cleared with security - after receiving a full-body pat-down - and we were off w/o any problems.

Our flight to LA was wonderful. Mary-Gail & Rebecca were such good little passengers. JoJo gave them little presents (TinkerBell drawing pads and snacks - THANK YOU!) while Lovey and I kept sharing, "This is going to be so much fun!" glances. Becca's ears were "clogged " (as she put it) during the decent into LAX, and they wouldn't pop. Her ears hurt her so much she was in tears! Poor thing. Yawning, plugging/blowing her nose, and even gum chewing didn't help her. But Becca was a good sport, and our fellow passengers couldn't help but smile when they saw me and her doing exaggerated yawns for every breath we took during our decent. And then viola! "Hey, Mom, my ears aren't clogged anymore." Thank heavens.

Just the beginning of our adventure...

Getting from the airport to the pier was no problem - some crazy man walked up to Tony and said, "Where you going? I take you. No problem - I take you. You don't wait for Taxi - I take you." And Tony said..."OK." What?! Needless to say we made the 45 minute drive in one piece, both girls fell asleep on me in the back of his Subaru Legacy (I settled down, too, after he turned his radio on, which was tuned to NPR w/the program "Prairie Home Companion" playing). And then....we boarded the boat!!!

Overlooking the Promenade Deck, Deck 5

Aboard the big boat! Music was blasting and the girls instinctively started dancing

(P.S. they don't get those dancing instincts from me)

This was view from at end of the hallway from our room

The girls called this the "Party" because it was always hopping with people & music

Our room was on Deck 6 Forward (front of boat), Room 6202. We had a h u g e window and we were dead center of the front of the ship. It was awesome! Our room attendant, Mr. Lukmann, was from the Philippines and absolutely loved the girls. He said he had two girls too, one was four years old and the other was turning two the end of September. (I learned later that he would not be reunited with his family until the end of November! So Sad). Becca & Mary-Gail loved telling Mr. Lukmann about their room - as if he didn't know what it looked like - but he entertained their excitement just as well.

Helicopter pad

We did what all cruise guests do after finding their rooms and unloading for a brief minute - we toured the ship, did the mandatory Muster meeting, and then hit the buffet. Let's just say I gained 11 pounds in one week - ick. However, it wasn't all from the food (I didn't care much for it really), but they had milk. I drowned myself in milk: luscious, creamy, thick, fatty, Vitamin D milk. Let's see...for starters at breakfast, I had four cartons (and finished Becca's & Mary-Gail's), and it was downhill from there. Last cruise I lost 2 pounds; this cruise I gained 11! But last cruise the milk wasn't free, and I love "free."

One grouchy watermelon

This is how I feel now - bloated, grumpy, and insanely mad about those 11 pounds

Becca saw the pools and wanted to do nothing else but swim. She woke up every morning @ 7am, "Daddy let's go swimming." We have pictures of her swimming at 8:30 am (I insisted that we first have breakfast saying, "We need energy to swim," {and Momma needs her 6 cartons of 150 calorie/70 fat calorie each Vitamin D milk}) and pictures of us swimming @ 9:30 pm. It was heaven for the girls.

Becca was completely focused on blowing up her Dora float. Her sole mission on the boat was to go swimming every second she could. We were happy to oblige

Home Sweet Home

(Wednesday, 9/1/10)

We're home from our cruise! Pixie & ArlaMae were so happy to see us last night that they almost went into shock when we got home. Lovey & I both had a restless night's sleep (mostly due to Pixie & ArlaMae attaching themselves so closely to us, they were tumor-like), but Becca & Mary-Gail were gonners and slept soundly. Becca woke up this morning super early, and instead of asking us if she could go swimming (which she did promptly at 7am every morning on the cruise), she snuggled in with us and fell back asleep. Mary-Gail, who sadly was without her princess get-up for 8 full days, sweetly said, "Momma-Mia, you need to help me," and she clamored on our bed with her princess dress, tiara, purse, and Minnie Mouse shoes in hand. Do you like the new nickname Mary-Gail gave me? "Momma Mia." And Mary-Gail proudly re-named Lovey to "Daddy B."

I'm way too tired to post anymore pictures. Suffice it to say, I have organized all the pictures (approx 70 pics a day!) from our vacation (date & time stamp, named, etc) and that's all I can do for now. I still feel the sway from the boat...it's driving me crazy.

Thanks to Jacob & Michelle for taking care of our house, business, and looking after our furry girls in our absence. We were told that they (Pixie & ArlaMae - not Jacob & Michelle) are the loudest breathing & snoring dogs ever. Thanks to Mom & Dad for the ride to the airport, and for the ride home. Becca & Mary-Gail were so happy to see you again, and loved having breakfast with you this morning! LOVES!