We grabbed some juice boxes for our drive down to SoCal.
The following day we met up with the family and got aboard the ship! We were expecting long lines at the dock, but the lines were quick. We got aboard and then went promptly to the buffet and ate our guts out! They have a service where you pay $6.00 a day to have all the soda you want instead of paying $2.00 or whatever it is for each drink, so we got that for Jake (and Dad, T, and B) and he was pleased! We played a round of chess (J and I vs. Jake because he is more clever than us, and we still got creamed!) relaxed, and had a delightful dinner! Then Jake and I went up on deck to watch the boat sail off. It was really beautiful and the breeze was so nice!
J and I wandering around and discovering the ship
Playing chess
At the send off
The next day we woke up and were in Catalina Island! It is an island just off of California and it was such a lovely place. We spent the morning driving around in golf carts on a scavenger hunt learning fun and interesting things about the Island. We went back to the boat and swam (there were water slides and hot tubs - the pool was always crowded with little kids so it was hard to get a good swim in). Jake and I each had a book to read for the cruise so we spent some time reading and relaxing each day. That night was formal night and everyone dressed up for dinner and they served fancy foods. It was a lot of fun to see everyone dressed up. After dinner we went to a comedy show and laughed super hard! Also, each night we played games after dinner in the Lido restaurant and had after dinner snacks ;)
The family on Catalina Island
Formal Night
At the comedy show
Dad and I on the ferry to Catalina
Mom and me playing games
Catalina Island from the ship
J, T, and B in their golf cart driving around Catalina
The cruise ship: Carnival Imagination
The next day was Sea day so we spent the day eating brunch, walking around, reading, playing games, relaxing, and napping. There was Harry Potter Trivia, Hasbro Game Show, and other activities to do which were fun.
B and I on deck relaxing (I was reading and he was watching a movie)
T and I at Harry Potter Trivia
The last day we woke up in Ensenada Mexico! We had a blast! We drove to La Bufadora which is a blow hole and watched the water. We saw whales too! We went shopping in the flea market and got ourselves a very nice blanket as well as snuggled with a Jaguar! Needless to say when we got back to the ship we were hungry and tired! We ate lunch and then promptly fell asleep! We were woken up by B knocking on our door telling us it was time for dinner.....oops! We jumped out of bed and away we went! One of the funnest parts about a cruise is that someone cleans your room - TWICE - in one day! Once while you are gone at breakfast and once while you are gone at dinner. They make it so nice and tidy and leave treats and fun towel animals. We had the best housekeeper. His name was Arturo and he remembered all of our names and would always ask us about our day. We loved him!
Our little bear towel animal! We also had a bunny and a heart.
B, Jake, me, and J in Ensenada
Zeus the Jaguar. He was just hanging out on the side of the road with his owner and we HAD to take a picture with him. He was so playful - only 20 months old! He started to play bite at my leg, and that made me a little nervous, but it ended out being quite fun!
Us at La Bufadora. We had to hurry and take a picture because it would shoot the water up really high, people next to us were getting soaked!
We had a fabulous time and are so grateful that we were able to spend so much time with our family! Thank you so much Santa Claus! We love you!
