Ensenada - January 14, 2010

I can't belive it's taken me over a month to get to this page!
Ensenada day was awesome. We agreed the night before to all meet for breakfast and then head out as a group.

Breakfast was great except that Nancy was really pissed at the waiter and said he was going to get a bad review because he didn’t hear her order for a 2nd bagel and lox breakfast. He was really cool, he delivered it before she even finished her first one, so it was all good.

We cheerfully headed out around 10am, walking off the ship and heading over towards town. We could see another ship behind ours, and it turned out to be the ship that Natasha was on when she took her world cruise with “Semester at Sea.”

We decided to go to Habana Banana in the main part of town. They have a $20 special where you get unlimited margaritas, tequila, rum, gin, vodka, and tacos – fish, chicken and steak. Unlimited…un….limited….yeah! I should have just paid ala carte because I don’t really drink and I only ate a few tacos. But everyone else broke the bank! I think overall, everyone had about 7-10 margaritas and about 10-12 shots of tequila! Yowser!

After a mishap in the festivities, Des volunteered to go on the bar and get hoisted by her ankles……spun….. and drowned in “Patron.” This is an extra $10 for the Patron and we all enjoyed it. Afterwards, they had everyone jump on the bar and dance to the Village People….Y M C A……

We left for about an hour, walked around and came back for some more, before heading out for our shopping. We lost Theresia, Des and Nancy from the time we left the bar to the time we got back to the ship… but they made it back safely and so did we.

Dinner was wonderful, except Tiny almost passed out and had to go to the cabin just as his dinner arrived and lil Miss Natasha was tipsy and ordered a “Damn” Chocolate melting cake for her dessert. I think Santo’s was shocked.


























For Brianna's take on the trip, read her blog Remote Control: The Split Diaries entry LMFO: The Doorman Week.

Catalina - Wednesday January 13, 2010

Wet, wild and wooley. That is the description of the weather and waters as we awoke to the beauty of Santa Catalina Island.















We met for breakfast and then headed down to get a "tender" aka water Taxi to the port.














The Captain gave us a brief history of the Island during our crossing. It was very nice considering that the tours on the Island were very expensive.

I was surprised to find out that the Casino was not a "Casino" in the terms that we know it, but actually was a dance hall that held up to 6000 persons. Today it is a museum and movie theater.

As we approached the dock, we could see all of the beautiful homes that were perched on the hill overlooking the dock and beach.

After we docked, we stopped to take pictures with one of the locals! Then Theresia, Brianna, Dez and Nancy rushed off to start their shopping. Tiny, Natasha, Pee Wee and I headed off to sightsee.

We walked up a large hill on the right side (North) of town and saw this cute golf cart. One of the cutest on the Island. Of course we had to use the restroom

after our trek.... and nobody, including the photographer is safe when we are in town.... LOL

We took lots of pictures..... before meeting up with the girls and returning to the ship.

For Brianna's take on the trip, read her blog Remote Control: The Split Diaries entry LMFO: The Doorman Week.

A SWELL day at Sea - January 12, 2010

I remember that when we had our last 4 day cruise on the RCCL Monarch of the Seas, we didn't encounter many swells at all. This was not the case on the Elation. Tuesday was a rock and roll day. Three feet swells don't seem so bad in theory, but the actual feeling can leave you feeling pretty yucky! I did really well until about 4:30. Tiny was a trooper and went to Guest Services and brought back free pills for me. 30 minutes later, I started feeling human again.


We spent the day just hanging out and enjoying the days activities. I started my day with the towel folding class. I learned how to make the elephant and the dog, with the help of two stewards. ( and you can learn how too - www.squidoo.com/easytowelanimals )

Later Brianna and I went to the Country Line Dance Class and I almost have that elusive Electric Slide down. I wanted to go to the Cha Cha class, but Tiny wanted to try his personal air freshener in our bathroom and by the time he returned, it would have been hopeless.


After the kids played a round of Miniature Golf, Pee Wee and I had lunch at Tiffany's. We were returning to the Lido deck with our food when we noticed a large crowd around the stage by our table. We found out that Natasha is one of the Judges of the "Hairy Man" contest. What! Loads of attention and free lap dances!


I have found that getting 8 people to the dining room in time for "Elegant" night, is a big challange. Of course, we ended up about 1/2 hour later than planned and so we ended up taking our pictures after dinner.

Elegant Night Dinner was Lobster and Shrimp. Everyone except Brianna and I ordered 2 servings!





























For Brianna's take on the trip, read her blog Remote Control: The Split Diaries entry LMFO: The Doorman Week.

Cruise Day - Monday January 11 2010

I was disappointed with breakfast this morning. This Quality Inn boasted, "Free hot breakfast which includes including waffles, sausage, hard-boiled eggs, fruit, cereals and yogurt." This was one of my reasons for choosing them. Sorry to report, they only provided the waffles, cereals, rolls and toast. There wasn't any fruit, eggs or sausage to be found. Thank goodness free buffets of food were anticipated later in the day.

Disaster struck when Theresia's glasses broke. We drove to the Walmart in National City where they wanted $150 for the least expensive frames to fit her lenses. Superglue saved the day and the break was hardly noticeable.

We arrived at the Cruise Terminal hours ahead of time. Theresia and PeeWee went in search of a place to park ourselves and came back with a porter on a bike. He carried our bags less than 1/2 a block along with Theresia and Dez and told us that we should park across the street and then we could start our embarkation. SO in a nutshell:

- Show your boarding pass and passport to the security at the front of the terminal (outside).

- Herd yourself into the 'cattle" corral inside the "warehouse." There is a nice bathroom located inside of a portable building, inside the warehouse.

- Relocate through the next area which is security. Private security will xray your carry-on baggage and you will walk through a scanner. We were pulled to the side because they were alerted to something in Tiny's bag. They busted us with two bottles, but when they opened the first bottle and saw that it was wine, they allowed us through. Had they checked the 2nd bottle, we might have been in trouble.

- Fill out your H1N1 questionnaire.

- Check in! Just show your passport, the credit card you used to pay for your cruise and get your "sign and Sail" card. (the card you use for every aspect of your cruise.

- Sit and wait......until your section is called. We were in section #2

- When your section is called, you go to a big tent and have your 1st of many pictures taken.

- Proceed onboard! You go to the "Tiffany" Restaurant, deck 10 (AFT) and have your 1st buffet of the cruise.

- Around 3pm, you should be able to check into your stateroom

After we were settled in, we headed off for the safety briefing and Muster Drills before our first dinner onboard. I was surprised that the briefing and Muster Drill wasn't as formal as the previous ones on RCCL. They seemed a bit disorganized and the crew didn't seem to take it that serious, to me. The gang really enjoyed our send off, however I was terrified when the ships horn sounded, right by my ear. I decided that I didn't belong on the top deck, so I made my way to the pool and waited until everyone else caught up with me.

We were scheduled for the 1st dinner at 6:00 at Inspiration Dining room. Since we had 8 in our group, we had our own table.

Our waiter introduced himself, learned all of our names and then proceeded to take our napkins and place them in our laps and give us his dinner recommendations.

I had the Sweet and Sour fried shrimp appetizer, the shrimp cocktail, salad and the flat iron steak for my dinner and the cheese tray for dessert.

After dinner we went and enjoyed the show that they had. It was just a little "sample" of the big shows that we would enjoy later. We really enjoyed the comedian, whose name I've forgotten.

For Brianna's take on the trip, read her blog Remote Control: The Split Diaries entry LMFO: The Doorman Week.

Bon Voyage

I am sitting here in my jammies waiting for the rest of my roomies (Tiny, Pee wee and Tashie Girl) to wake up. Just the click of the mouse seemed to echo in the room, but now that the other occupants of the building are rousing themselves it isn't as pronounced. The sound of the showers, doors slamming, foot steps, muffled voices are welcome to me. This means that soon we will be on our way and I won't be the only one awake. It's tough being an early bird when your sharing a room with others.

Last night we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Lorna, Kalila and Jackie in the GasLamp Section of Downtown San Diego. It's funny how they were able to make this one street (5th) thrive, even on a Sunday night in a slumping economy, wereas other cities, such as Sacramento, haven't been successful. We decided to eat at the Spaghetti Factory. We weren't overly hungry, as our late lunch did quite a job of filling us up. We caught up on current events with each other and enjoyed a leisurely dinner.

Kalila was anxious to check out a Jewelry/Accessory shop up the street that was advertising a "special sale." The sale turned out to be a dud, it was only for some rather forelorn looking clearance items, but their selection of costume jewelry was stunning, if somewhat overpriced. I did manage to find a pair of earrings and a ring that will go great with my "Formal" night dress. After all of our purchases were made, we gathered outside. We created an impromptu "beatbox" session, using the planter that wasn't level, and several other sounds, snaps and claps, accompanied by Pee Wee's beatbox tune. It was very funny. Kalila was very excited and took out her camera and taped it. If I can get a copy, I will post it here.

We stopped for gas so that the tank would be full when we returned from the cruise. The Valero across the street offered unleaded for $2.99 a gallon vs $3.03 at the Shell. So for a savings of $.03 cents we went to the Valero. When we pull in, the sign on the far side of the lot advises that $2.99 is the cash price, but $3.05 is the credit/debit price. WHAT! So we toodle back over to the Shell and gas up there.

At 10:45pm we picked up our last two passengers, Theresia and Dezzie from the airport. They decided to fly, which worked out fine because of the space in the van. Otherwise we would have had to drive the Suburban, which would have been ok, but used alot of gas. As it was, we used 2 tanks for the drive down, about $120.

I checked emails and notes on FB when we returned. Dessie and Theresia had updated their status to indicate that they were hungry. So I sent them a message and told them that I had some fried chicken. A few moments later they were quietly scratching and mewing at our door. I can tell this trip is going to be one for the books!
6:43 am.
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D "Departure" Day

I really didn't want to wake up at 5:00 am. We were up until about 1:00 am this morning, fitting everything into the van after two fun rounds of Partini. Our favorite is the "Straight Up" portion of the game where everyone writes something about one person. On my turn, you had to complete the sentence, "My name is Bee, and I don't"....... Some of the answers had be laughing so hard, I could barely breathe:

- have any lips
- like liver and onions (now that isn't true)
- open my eyes when I laugh
- shit and shower (in that order)

Anyway, we were all together for a short while before trudging off to bed.

I have just heard Brianna bellow, "Five Minutes Dougie Fresh your on..." Time to log off the computer and head out to the car. I'll hit you back when we've settled into our motel room tonight. (5:48 am)

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Most of our trip from the time we left home until we reached the foot of the grapevine was made in the tule fog. It makes for slow going and very boring views. We made one stop at Harris Ranch Shell for gas and a bathroom break. For an upscale resort with a "world class" restaurant, and an added charge of about $.35 per gallon, I expected the restrooms to be spotless. While not at the standards of BART or NYC, it was certainly not up to par. I could have saved money and used the no brand gas station across the freeway. Yes, I will be posting on YELP after my vacation concludes.

We made excellent time and we were resting our feet at 11:55 in Buena Park. We had made arrangements to meet our friend Holland at 12:30. While we waited, we went over to the Wax Museum, which we were disappointed to find out was closed (since 2005). We still enjoyed checking out their replica of the Gromans Chinese Theater and foot and handprint impressions. Pee Wee was impressed at the size of Lou Ferrigno's hands and seeing the cast of "Roots."

We had a wonderful visit with Holland, caught up on old news and just enjoyed each others company. We had a very nice lunch and after a 3 hour interlude, we continued on our way to San Diego. The drive was almost one of the best between the two cities that I have experienced. Usually it's really a bear, but it was smooth sailing today.

We are all checked into the hotel, and I am disappointed that this Quality Inn doesn't meet with the standards we usually encounter. I will elaborate in my YELP review, later.

We are leaving now to have dinner with Lorna, Jackie and Kalila at the Old Spaghetti Factory in the "Gas Lamp" district.

One away!

Yes, it was meatloaf. Or do you call it Turkeyloaf? Either way, with just the three of us, (me, Tiny, Brianna), there was 1/2 a loaf left. I'll freeze it so we have something to eat when we get back home.

I was worried whether our custom shirts were done, since I hadn't heard from them since I told them what I wanted on the design. Late last night I sent an email, even though I knew they were closed today. Harold called around 10am and said that my shirts were ready and at the shop. Tiny and I hopped in the car and drove down to Berkeley to get them. I gazed longingly at "Jimmy Beans" on Gilman as we passed by, but Tiny has his heart set on omelettes, so I will forgo twisting his arm.

The shirts are very cute and I am happy with them. They will be even cuter when we are all wearing them onboard and taking our group photo. I still have some last minute things I need today, and I'm organizing what needs to be done, while I hear the sizzle of the fry pan and the essence of breakfast invades my nostrols. Makes it kind of hard to concentrate.

We've already heard from Pee Wee and Tashie, they have set up their housesitter and plans for King and expect to arrive sometime after 12. I'm not sure when Nancy will be here, and Theresia hasn't made it back from wherever she was last night. Once were all congregated, I'm looking forward to our night of Pizza and Partini!

48 Hour countdown

Whoo whee. I feel like that kid on the Disneyland commercial, "I'm too excited to sleep."

The group has been sending messages back and forth to each other and the excitement is almost at a fevered pitch.

Personally, I am swamped with finishing up the "projects" on my desk and getting everything in order for my absence. I've passed on the information to my coworker about all of my drivers and am hoping that I've given her the information that she needs to take care of them while I'm relaxing and enjoying my cruise.

I'm trying to figure out what I'm going to prepare for dinner tonight with the ground turkey that has thawed and is waiting on me. I am leaning towards a turkey loaf.... we'll see.

7 More Days

We started off this year with an unexpected, but really welcome visit from Cousin Mark who is trekking or meandering across the country. I am really amazed by this and an enjoying his daily email journals that share his experience with us.

Tiny fried up some chicken wings last night, which we enjoyed with black-eyed peas and rice (hoppin john) and green beans. We were too full to eat the cobbler, so it was put away for a later date.

This morning we kinda dragged our feet, which I am now hoping didn't put Mark behind in his travels. I am now wondering if he made it to Mt. Lassen as he planned. We enjoyed a nice breakfast at the "Joy of Eating" on Springs Road in Vallejo. Even though it was a holiday weekend, I lucked out and grabbed a booth in between the rush.

After last minute hugs, goodbyes and farewells, we said goodbye to Mark as he continued his journey. Brianna and I spent a minute at Sally's because Brianna had to have a new hair color. You'll have to wait for her to share the color with you. I stopped at Sally's and picked up 3 childrens jackets for about $19 to send to my http://www.wishuponahero.com/ family. We then stopped by the dollar store to get toiletries that the family had also requested.

I am aware that our time for our departure draws closer, and I'm anxious about all of the preparations that need to be done. Of course I procrastinated and set up our new PC, and am kicking myself because I didn't make it to store to get the wireless-g usb adapter that I need. I don't understand why they would even sell a computer in this age that doesn't come with a wireless connection. Goodness!