SAN DIEGO

Today we were up bright and early for the last of our excursions and our last day of the cruise.  We had a tour booked in San Diego to visit the Old Town, Coronado Island, Balboa Park and La Jolla.

It was a beautiful day with lots of sunshine and very pleasant temperatures.  We had a very brief visit at Balboa Park – enough to take a few pictures of this beauty and then it was on to drive around Coronado Island and our next stop was La Jolla to see the sea lions, the pelicans and the nesting cormorants. 

There were so many babies and the mother cormorants seemed eager to show them off.  It was very wonderful to see.  We were actually very close to them and they nest on the side of the cliff and we were on the walkway above.  They didn’t seem bothered that we were so close at all.  It is a protected environment and there were people around to make sure that the visitors were only viewing and not disturbing nature.

Down below at the water were the sea lions barking and carrying on as sea lions do.  The smell is the first thing that alerts you to their presence.  I remember years ago when Peter and I went to the Sea Lion Caves in California after we were married.  I am sure the smell has not improved any.  I distinctly remember that memory.  People were standing very close to them on the rocks and I think those people weren’t very smart.  It only takes a minute for them to behave as wild animals can do.  Nothing happened while we were there but still, I don’t think it is a good idea to be so close.

After our stop there, we were onto the Old Town.  This was our stop to do some shopping and perhaps grab a bite to eat.  We chose to look in the shops but other than a hoodie that Colleen bought, we came away empty handed. 

Then it was back to the ship to get everything finished up so that we can pack up and get ready to disembark tomorrow. 

What a great week it has been – our dinner companions were such fun it made dinner a real source of entertainment.  Three sisters a cousin and 2 husbands from Rhode Island and 1 couple was from Los Angeles. 

So tonight we will go to the show for the last time and then to play our last $20.00 in the casino.  If there are any winnings….they will go directly onto the shipboard account!  I am almost scared to see what the total is.

Thanks for coming on this adventure with me.  It is always a pleasure to share the fun and experiences with my friends and family.

AT SEA DAY #3

So now at the last of our at sea days before we reach San Diego.  The temperatures are cooling and we are keeping our sweaters close at hand. The foghorns were blowing through the night, but doesn’t seems as foggy as it was when we first started our adventure.

OK so clearly I am obsessed with these charms for the EFFY necklace.  I have only missed one of them and today they were handing out duplicates.  So tomorrow it will be interesting to see if they have one more new one.  I am not sure I will bother with the last one as it is at 7:00 and right in the middle of the dinner service.  Well it was a novel and fun thing to do.  Other than the lining up, I really like the little collection.  This picture is of the lineup for the charms!

The Internet has been somewhat intermittent.  I have had a few issues getting the blog up in a timely manner.  Today seems to be a really good signal, so I hope I can get the last two days put up before sunset tonight.  Then we only have one more day and an excursion in San Diego.  The time is flying by.

After dinner tonight we went to the show and then stopped off at the casino.  Finally we were we were getting a bit back.  Sure took long enough.  I was really wanting to play black jack, but the $10.00 table is always busy and so I just stick to the machines with Colleen.  Regardless of whether we make a donation or some money is trickling back, it is fun to do a bit of gambling in the evening.  Actually, on this cruise line…you can have free drinks in the casino.  They even have Pimms – my favourite!  So the machines eat the money, but the drinks make it less painful!

 

AT SEA DAY #2

Today is the second of three at sea days.  The weather is still sunny and warm so it looks like we will be keeping the weather for a couple more days  before we come home and have to put coats on again.

I am still collecting the charms for my Effy necklace.  I have missed one so far.  I understand now that there are only 200 available each time they hand them out – and as they are all different, if you don’t get them in 2 or 3 minutes of them handing them out…you don’t get one.  Seems a little unfair on such a large ship.  People are lining up – some more than 30 minutes in advance to get one of them.  So far I have managed to go in another door or start talking to people who are near the front and just go in and grab one and walk out not making eye contact with anyone.  Not my usual self to do this.  I usually miss out on things because I hang back letting others in, but not this time.  I am working the grey haired old lady thing to the max and darn it all – I am getting my charms.

Colleen took me to the Tuscan Grill, one of the specialty restaurants, for my early birthday dinner.  It was so delicious.  It is an Italian themed restaurant.  I had beef carpaccio to start, then Caesar Salad, then Fillet Mignon served with Cacio en Pepe and finished it off with crème brulé.  It was so good and so very filling.  We went for a long walk around the ship to help us feel more comfortable.

If anyone is actually winning in the casino – it is certainly not us!  Each night after the show we wander through the casino, each with a $20.00 bill clutched tightly in our hands.  We carefully select the machine that looks to be the lucky one for us and watch enviously as our machine silently gobbles up our money while the others around us are excitedly clapping and cheering each other on as their machines ring to announce the bonus or the prize that they have won.

The stage show tonight was Boy Band Project.  What a high energy recreation of the sounds and movements of bands like NSYNC, Boys to Men, Back Street Boys and such.  The younger ladies were shrieking and clapping and having a great evening as the band members made their way off the stage to kneel or sit beside some of the passengers.  Always glad to sit near the back of the theatre for any of these possible audience participation moments.  It sure was a lot of fun.  Tomorrow night in a different venue these young men will be performing songs from the Beach Boys, Lettermen, 4 Tops – music that will be a lot of fun too.

We went to the smaller theatre to watch a movie after.  It was the one with George Clooney and Julia Roberts – Ticket to Paradise. A great end to a relaxing day.

MAZATLAN

Today in Mazatlan we arrived to warm and sunny skies.  We had a tour this morning that would take us by motor coach to see the highlights of the city.

We were taken to see the cliff divers, the cathedral and the shopping area called the Golden Zone.  The bus took us through a few interesting areas including the flower market and then onto the street where they sell fresh shrimp.

We learned that shrimp season is just ending.  Although you can always get shrimp here, the largest and best shrimp are not available anymore.  The tour guide did bring a fresh shrimp onto the bus for us to see.  It was huge compared to the largest ones I have seen at home, however, he said that this one that he showed us was only medium size to what is available at the height of the shrimp season.  He said that he bought one earlier in the year that was about 9 inches long.  Sounds like 1 of those would be enough for a meal. 

The 3 cliff divers each took turns diving off of a platform into shallow water between the rocks.   They time their dive with the incoming wave that probably the 2 – 3 meter depth of the water by another 2 meters.  Still a dangerous practice, but with the tips that people pay, keeps them doing this treacherous activity as many times a day as long as there are tourists to watch.

There is a new Malacon walk all along the waterfront.  There are many statues along the way.  The walk is 13 miles and a new addition to this city.  Mazatlan is undergoing a huge transition.  There are many derelict buildings and new builds are everywhere.  I am sure that the next 5 years or so will see this city becoming as touristy and as busy as Puerto Vallarta.

The area called the Golden Zone is comprised of a huge shopping area and many new resorts.   Cranes are everywhere!  It is quite spectacular but a long distance from the Ship Terminal.  It was nice to have booked the tour to see all the changes taking place and a good overview of the city.  We had about 30 minutes to kind of poke around and decided that we didn’t want to come back to the Golden Zone once our morning tour was over. 

So – on my agenda was to find a quilt shop somewhere, and find one I did.  It was called the San Diego Quilt Shop of Mazatlan.  It was full of fabric – mostly a lot of batiks and some local Mexican themed fabrics, but not what I was looking for.  Prices were about the same as home once you factored in the exchange.  I was really glad to go and see this shop, but came away empty handed.

After the trip to the quilt shop, it was time to find some shrimp.  Our taxi driver recommended a restaurant close to the port and we were happy to go there and get a sampler platter of stuffed, breaded and grilled shrimp.  Of course we had a drink to go with it – 1 tamarind margarita each and the shrimp was delicious!

So then back to the ship after buying some vanilla to take home.  Just seems like the thing to do when visiting Mexico!  We are now midway through the cruise and really enjoying our time together.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

 

CABO SAN LUCAS

Today we were in Cabo San Lucas for the day. 

It was hot and sunny – something we were waiting for, however, after a couple of hours of walking around, we were glad to get back to the ship to be cool once again.  It seems there is no happy medium.

Cabo is quite walkable and there are plenty of restaurants and bars around to house all the tourists and give everyone a chance to taste some authentic Mexican cuisine and enjoy a wonderful accompanying beverage.  I had a Corona with lime and Colleen had a Tamarind Margarita.  I had a taste or hers and think that I need to try something like that when we hit Mazatlan tomorrow.  We also shared some tortilla chips and fresh salsa.   They were tasty.

We did a bit of shopping and looking around.  Haven’t bought any vanilla yet, but probably will find some tomorrow to take home with
us.  Just seems like the thing to do when you visit Mexico.  With vanilla so expensive at home – it is a practical solution as well.  The area around the ship was full of little shops and vendors and as long as you didn’t make eye contact, you were able to move about.  However, at one point I had an iguana on my shoulder – not by choice - with the guy who owned it wanting to take my picture.  I knew that it would not be a free picture – so I kept saying no and for him to take his pet off me.  They can be so persistent – but then I can be very firm in saying no too!

We came back to the ship around 3:30 and as we were able to get the dinner seating changed from 8:30 to 5:30, we will be eating in the dining room tonight. 

Tonight there is a magician in the main theater.  So will wander down and see that and probably get to bed earlier tonight.  We need to be off the ship to go on our city excursion.  So we need to be up and ready by 9:15.

Tomorrow is Mazatlan and parts around.

DAY 2 - AT SEA

Day 2 was at sea and quite restful.  Sometimes when there are days at sea, they are formal – or as they call it now – Dressy Chic.  However, I never expected to see this at 9:15 in the morning.   There are many children on this cruise as it is the start of Spring Break in many parts of North America.. .

They have lots of activities on this cruise that are quite entertaining.  Colleen and I haven’t participated, but enjoy watching – lots of laughs!  One of the ones that was quite fun was The Whisper Game.  A couple would come to the front and one would put on noise cancelling headphones and the other would have to say certain phrases.  Then the one with the earphones woud have to try and lip read/guess what their partner was saying. Things like…chitty chitty bang bang…stop yelling…monkey see monkey do…things like that.  The winner would receive a coveted Celebrity cap.  It was fun to watch.

Later in the evening they had Silent Disco. Hmm whatever was that?  So we wandered to the location to find that there were a large number of people with lit headphones on dancing away to the beat of whatever was playing that only they could hear.  It was funny but silent?  Not so much as many of them were shouting out different refrains…such as…Soul Sisters…..Soul Sister...or Hit the Road Jack…Don’t you come back no more no more no more no more (yah I know you just sang that) and yes – many of them did.

Another fun thing they have for passengers is through Effy Jewelers.  They have a silver coloured necklace with a clear locket on it.  Several times throughout the cruise they provide for free a little charm to put inside of the clear locket.  Of course being a consummate collector of anything – not a hoarder though…I am always going to get the charm of the day. Sometimes they give out more than one and I sure don’t want to miss any  It will be a great souvenir and a fun collection.

We wandered through the casino and of course had to drop some more money just to say we had been there…but at least we found a machine that trickled a bit and was at least fun to play for a bit.  I think we will look for that one again.

We watched a movie on TV that had both Colleen and I teary by the end.  We enjoyed it, but we will have to choose one with a happier ending for the next one.

So clocks ahead tonight (for some reason a day later than home) and wow – it is 1:30 of the new time. 

More to say tomorrow after our stop in Cabo San Lucas.  Stay tuned!

IN THE BEGINNING ...

Well, the adventure started smoothly enough.  The alarm clock set for 3:45 was enough to get me out of bed and into the shower.  Then it was over next door for Bob to take Colleen and me to the airport.

There certainly was lots of activity being the beginning of Spring Break, people are on the move.  We were able to have a bit of breakfast and a coffee before we needed to set to the boarding gate and then at 8:30 we were in the air and on our way.

The weather was just nasty leaving Vancouver, so we are hoping for 7 sunny days on our journey down south.

We made our way quite easily to the cruise ship terminal using the Lyft app.  Seemed to be the cheapest and easiest way to do it for the two of us. Because we had done all the check in on line, we really just went into the terminal and kept moving until we were on the ship.

The Celebrity Solstice is a very large ship and never have I been on one so very big.  3000 guests of course which doesn’t include staff.  It will take me a whole week to find my way around and then we will be getting off!  Everything is so crowded wherever you go.  The ship is lovely…just so big.

So after we settled in our cabin, we began roaming around and getting lost a few times.  We enjoyed some lunch and soon it was time for dinner.  We saw the show and then headed to the casino – well that was an exercise in futility.  Good thing we didn’t lose all our money – we sure didn’t come back rich!

So early bed meant 9:30 – it was such a long day.  We are not in warm weather yet, it is cool and moist.  In fact we were gently rocked to sleep with the resonance of the ship’s foghorn.  Brought back a sweet memory of 3651 West 14^th where we would often hear the ships in the harbour in the fall evenings.  For some reason, I find the 1 minute intervals of the horns soothing.  Off to dreamland we went full of anticipation of what the next days would bring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

MEXICAN RIVIERA ADVENTURE COMING SOON!

So a wonderful trip awaits!  On March 11, 2023, Colleen and I will be winging our way to Los Angeles and then boarding Celebrity Solstice for a cruise down to the Mexican Riviera.  Sometimes good deals happen and good friends get to spend some special time together.  This is one of those times and I can't wait to share some of the highlights with you.

As it happens, we are experiencing some cold and inclement weather here at home and it will be a welcome change to put away our snow boots and mitts for 1 week and enjoy some warm weather and sunshine!

Los Angeles has had many rainy days and California has seen some snow, so we may have to wait until we are further south to experience the warmth and sunshine that I am speaking about, but I am sure we will find some and be able to share it with you and perhaps bring it back with us.

So stay tuned and I will post our adventure as it unfolds!