Prequal- Dec. 26, 2008 - Hello!!

As most of you know... Daniel is taking me on a little get away starting next Tuesday. We really want to share this experience with some of our closest friends and family, but I did not want to post it on my public site. So stay tuned for pictures... share this adventure with us.

Love you all!! :) And I can't wait to leave! :)

UPDATE: Once we finished telling our story, we reorganized it so that it would be in chronological order so that it would be easier for our readers, so that it reads like a story, rather than like a blog. We hope you enjoy! We have also chosen to make this blog public now that the cat has been let out of the bag!! :)

Disclaimer (lol):We are also editing the template at this time so that all of the pictures will fit inside the margins. Although we have optimized the pictures for faster loading some pictures may not load, if this is the case with your browser, simply right click on the empty box and click view image!

Day 1 - December 30th, 2008 -And we are off! -HAPPY BIRTHDAY DYLAN!!!

First things first... We want to wish Daniel's son, Dylan a very happy 16th birthday!

Dylan on his Highschool's driver's ed course. (Same one Lisa learned on! :) )

Well we finally got everything ready for the trip by about 1:00am. So you can imagine 5:55am came really early this morning. Lisa’s Dad picked us up and got us to the airport by 7:00. (Thank you Dad!) We made our plane on time, which left to San Diego at 8:30.

We are on the second to last row (That’s row 11 if you were wondering) Yep it was a very small plane.

“On the very first flight I (Lisa) ever took, I was nervous and my Dad told me to look out the window, if the wing was still there, we were probably okay. If the wing wasn't there... we had a problem. Since that first flight I have always sat next to the wing (not on purpose) but at least I have a view of the wing, to know if we are doing All right... lol.” Check last day post and see if this pattern continues. . .

WE thought we would assist Delta in their marketing campaign. The Delta cookie, a tasty little treat with some cranberry juice to boot!

The flight was uneventful. It took about 1:45 for our direct flight to San Diego.

We arrived in San Diego at 9:30 AM and took a shuttle to Enterprise to rent a car. Daniel suffered a few minor scrapes while maneuvering the luggage in and out of the Rental car place. Why would they have stairs leading in?

We had made the reservation online. . . It was only $25 for the car, but when we got there they wanted a credit card they could charge $300 too (sure that makes sense, for their protection, but would it have been difficult to put that in the confirmation letter?). The problem was, we pulled most of our money out of the bank and put it in travelers checks. They only accepted credit cards!! We "tried" to talk them into taking cash or travelers checks, but sadly they would not. So we used Lisa's emergency card (Thanks Mom).

The idea of getting a rental the same day we set sail was to take a little drive down memory lane. . . Daniel lived her in San Diego in 2004-2005 and he calls it his second home. The weather is a beautiful 82 degrees (21 c for our Canadian Friends, you know who you are, the rest of you will get to meet them in later posts).

Our first stop was The Carnival Spirit to drop of our bags. Check-in went really quick as we were some of the first people there. The nice lady gave Daniel a band-aid for his owee!! And we were on our way!

We drove up the 5 at a cool 85 MPH (Canadians, you can do the Km/h conversion). We jumped off the freeway at Palomar Airport Road in Carlsbad and hit the In & Out Burger. . . A nice Double meat, protein style and a fry!!!

Isn't that a Beautiful car? :)

It was a first for Lisa, and she said, "it's REALLY good!" :) (disclaimer: this statement is not intended to in any way support, suggest or indorse the use of meat products or the innocent slaughter of Idaho Potatoes or the overall deliciousness of "IN-N-OUT” Burgers)

After eating the tastiest fast food on the planet, we headed up the coast through Carlsbad and into Oceanside. It’s a beautiful drive year around. We ended up near the Pier in Oceanside and took a short walk along the beach.

This is the beach that is really close to where Daniel lived. It is considered the "Trashiest" beach in San Diego. We think they say that just to keep all the tourists out because it's a spectacular beach!!

We had to get at least one picture on the beach!!! We only had time to stay a few minutes then we were off back down the coast!!

Now for those of you who have never been to the San Diego LDS Temple. Here it is!!

We were grateful to have a beautiful day with clear skies to take pictures. It is one of the coolest temples in world.

This temple, like most of the temples around the world, sits in a unique place that really ads to it”s majesty. Just off the 5 freeway in La Jolla, it sits atop hill. You may notice the manger scene on the grass. It kind of looks out of place, but remember Christmas was only last week!!!

Daniel ran into some old neighbors (From Salt Lake City, Utah) that were here. The Frotchams (Nathan, Rebecca & Alex) They were here for a wedding. It's a small world.

We wanted to make sure we goto the ship on time, so we took off and ran a few errands.

Our first stop (Sorry no pics) was the U.S. Post Office, to mail our wedding announcements. . . Sorry Mom & Dad. . . . :)

Next we stopped at Albertsons to get a few cases of water. We heard the water was expensive on the boat and we both drink a lot of water. . . So Daniel lugged it around as we dropped off the rental car and made our way onto the ship (personal interjection from Daniel: "Did you know that water is the same by weight and volume. so 16 oz bottles times 24 per case times 2 cases (16 x 24)2 =768oz or 48 lbs. . . I'm a stud!!")

(our little “here we are” pic)

Once we got on to the ship we headed to our cabin, dropped off the waters and carry on bags then headed out to see the ship. . .

We were only on board a few minutes before an mandatory "Titanic" Drill was called for the entire boat, I mean ship. Just in case something happens to the ship. We’re not sure but we think that it's iceberg season in the mid-pacific region, so it's a good thing they did this. . . Daniel just happened to be talking to Harrison (his 11 year old son for those of you who aren't as familiar with our personal lives) on the phone. He was a little scared when he heard the alarms sound. . . But Daniel quickly explained what was happening. . .

After the drill, we headed out (for real this time) to see the ship. . . UPDATE: We never saw this part of the ship again. It contained the kids area, video games, pool table, etc.

The Jungle Room

We attended an embarkation "thingy". . . sounds kinky eh? Well it was kind of like the maturation lectures in 7th grade. . . .We were shown a lot of pictures, given a lot of information and still, we had no idea what we were doing. . .

Next, We headed to dinner were we met our dinner mates. . .

Together at Table 343 (Javiere and his "Wife") lol. . . UPDATE: Although we only ate with them about half the time, we really enjoyed our time and hope to see them again. (If you need to get equipment financed, Javiere is the man, just goto balboacapital.com or email him directly @ javiere@balboacapital.com )

We also met Minor, our Server from Costa Rica. . If there ever was a Costa Rican Nerd, it's Minor, the funniest Server we have ever had. . . Think Dana Carvy doing a funny French/Costa Rican waiter.

We never got the "Bread Guy’s" name, but we decided he looked like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Not so much in this picture, but trust us. . or don't

This picture was taken of the Empire room where we ate dinner by our friend Ana.

Lastly we went to Bingo!! not really it was just what was going on when we took the picture of the Pharoah's Lounge.

After dinner we went to a show in the Pharoh's Palace.

UPDATE: We were so very disappointed at the quality of shows that \took place on our cruise. We had really high expectations though. . . We both felt like we were watching a bad High School talent show. (Except the lead male singer who was the only redeeming thing about the shows.)

And that is our first day...... Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.....

2 comments:

Christina B. said...

Wow! That sounds like it will be a great trip! And how nice to be in warm weather right now! :) I hope you have a wonderful time.

Lisa B said...

Thank you! It will be fun to take you with us!

Day 2 - December 31st, 2008 - NEW YEAR'S EVE!!

So today began with a stroll up to Lido deck (the 9th Deck of the Ship and where the 24 hr food is)

This is the only picture we have from in inside of Lido Deck, We spent very little time here and didn’t really want to remember the food here. lol

The top of the ship – Deck 10

Tonight is the first formal evening on the ship. We got ready and went to dinner with our dinner-mates. A photographer took our picture at dinner.

After dinner we stopped by one of the photo booths and got our picture taken. This is Lisa’s favorite picture of us… you can see why.

We headed into karaoke and stayed until it was time to ring in the New Year.

Daniel got up and sang “Big Yellow Taxi”.

We rang in the new year on the Mid-ship Lido deck. There was live music and lots of dancing.

There were a few carvings around the ship such as this watermelon and ice sculpture.

We danced a little and decided to head back to our room. . . and post this blog. . . . :)

Towel monster.... Waiting for us when we got back to our room.

OH WAIT!! Just before going to bed, we snuck down the hall to our Table-mates room, took the breakfast order request off their door and added about 25 more items to it. A few more O.J.’s Some muffins, some cereal, some toast, some fruit. . . . HA HA HA HA!!!

Day 3 - January 1st, 2009 - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So today began at 12:01 am just after the New Years began. . . You can see the pics in yesterdays post. . . But we decided to make the first picture of this post, Daniel in his suit he wore to dinner and the New Years Party after. . . .

(What a handsome Devil)

Today began with the beautiful view from our stateroom. We actually were able to see the Mexican coast this morning, simply beautiful.

We slept in so we missed breakfast but made it to lunch. We met two very nice couples, one from New Zealand and one from England via Vegas. It was the first good meal on the cruise we'd had. The two previous dinners were really disappointing. :( So far not a lot about the cruise has been noteworthy, but we hope the excursion days will change that!! :)

After lunch we went and took a dance class. We had fun, although we were a little late. . . Next we went a played "Battle of the Sexes" which the men won. . .

We strolled the ship and took some pictures. Had some pizza, some ice cream, Dinner was fabulous and the show after was comparable to a really bad High School program. :(

The Spirit Dancers in the Pharaoh's Palace.

A look off the back of the ship. You can see the pool and the water slide here.

The fins are like giant exhaust pipes. The glass windows are actually the roof for the Supper Club!!

(We were looking out over the ship, eating pizza and watching the sun go down)

The sunsets are the same. It’s amazing what a few minutes will do.

We are just headed out to watch a comedian and it's officially Tomorrow. :)

2 comments:

Christina B. said...

That sunset looks so beautiful! I love the ocean! Hope you are having a great time!

January 2, 2009 10:50 AM

Janell H. said...

We took a Carnival cruise in August. We had some similar feelings about the food and "entertainment." Your pictures are beautiful, though! Can't believe you are posting while on the cruise...internet access is expensive! I love your pics, keep 'em coming :)

January 4, 2009 10:18 AM

Day 4 - January 2nd, 2009 - Acapulco, Mexico

So this post is showing up a few days late because we finally reached land!! And we have been very busy. Hence the delay!! Now by this time (Sunday January 4th) many people have received our cards we sent out on Tuesday. . . If you have, you already know what is going to happen on tomorrow’s post, so stay tuned to see pictures and hear all about it. . . . Meanwhile, here is what happened today

Today Started out with a spectacular view of the Acapulcan coast. We were amazed to see what a giant city it is. Dozens and dozens of skyscrapers and miles of crowded shoreline.

This picture is of some of the islands that surround the bay

Here is the opening of the bay & the City that lines the shore

These are the islands as you enter the bay

As we entered the bay, we noticed we were being escorted by a small gun ship. This boat followed us for about 15 minutes then went on it’s way.

A new hotel being built on the peninsula next to some really big houses

Just after we docked we went to the top deck to get a look at the city. The next picture is of the old fort that use to protect the bay.

Notice its unique 5 point star design.

We were some of the first people off of the ship because we had planned an excursion to go White Water Rafting about 60 miles outside of the City. The drive was suppose to take about an hour but it's still Holiday season here and it took an hour to just get out of the downtown area. So we took some pics through the window of the van were driving in.

Now if you have never been to Acapulco, you should understand that it is not a place for the faint of heart. While driving, the use of blinkers is not realistic (there is not time to signal), use of the horn seemed to be a requirement (it seemed to replace the blinker) Lines on the road are much like lines in a coloring book for 2 year olds. There seemed to be 2 taxi's for every commuter vehicle and 1 bus for every two commuter vehicle.

The laws here in regards to traffic safety are almost non-existent. Not only for driving but for traveling as a passenger. Hundreds of open-air vehicles transport people around (as seen above) Yes there are seats (no lap belts) but people just seems to jump on and off (often times hanging off the sides) as these vehicles dodge and weave through traffic.

The vehicle safety laws are so far behind us that they still use Volkswagen beetles (60's-70's model) as taxi's. You can see them in the background if front of the dispatch terminal. (something to note here is that this vehicle is still mass produced in Mexico automobile factories (the USA does not allow them to enter the US due to the safety standards)

It took us nearly 2 hours to get to the main base “resort” where the trip would begin and end.

picture taken by Ana

After a quick fitting for life vest and helmets, we climbed into the back of a large open air transport truck.

Lisa is sitting out of the pic here.

Not sure if these are feril goats or someone’s pets. But you get an idea of what the terrain looks like.

It was a short 10 minute drive to the drop-off point where we would hike another 10 minutes down a Donkey trail. Here the guide has us pose for a group picture. Are you wondering what the hardest part of hiking down a trail made primarily for donkey’s to travel is? Well, it’s not the rocky and uneven terrain, it’s not even fear of what our guide called “New Friends” (ie-snakes, etc) It’s actually avoiding the donkey dung that litters the path!!!

Once reaching the shore of the river, our guide gave us the basics on being a passenger and paddler in our rafts. We were divided up into three groups and given our own navigator. . . Off we went!!

(our navigator in the front) :)

After every set of rapids we raised our paddles and yelled our boat name. Thanks to our new friend Anastasia (Ana) we were called “Clueless!” Which was very fitting. . . Our first set down. . . On to the next. . .

The scenery was so amazing. Much like here in Salt Lake City, Utah the canyon was filled with giant granite rocks. . .

One of the things to note here is how low the river was. This was actually the last trip of the season for these guides. The rocks behind us will be completely submerged during the high season (They do not run the river for almost 6 months out of the year because of this).

Here is our little group (we loved our guide, he was a lot of fun) From Back left to Front right: Morten, Ana, Lisa, Daniel.

At one point we were given the chance to go swimming. Here are Morten (from Denmark) and Anastasia (from Russia via Canada where she now lives and works)

Just before we jumped out to take a swim. . . We were captains of the boat for a moment!!

Aren’t we so cute ?!?

And you thought we couldn’t get cuter!!!

BUY THE BEERS!!! a little game the guides play with their crew. As you can see, someone stands on the back of the raft grasping the attached line. Then everyone paddles the boat (the people on the left paddle forward while the people on the right paddle back, causing the boat to spin around and around) The first person to fall either in or out of the boat, buys the beers.

Still going!!!!

still going!!

What you don’t see here is the guide trying to pull Daniel off and push him in. . Daniel was the only one to not fall off. He even went twice!!

Well, all in all it was a great trip. We met some new friends and got to see a part of Mexico few others get to. . . One of the coolest things about the trip happened near the end. We came around a corner to find hundreds if not thousands of people (families) camped out along the shoreline. We were told that these people were on Holiday for Christmas/New Years. Dozens of children were playing in the river and some were even fishing for crawdads, which the children showed us.

Once we got back to base camp, we got changed and had an authentic Mexican meal of Ham and cheese sandwiches along with some watermelon. . . Yum Yum. . . (that is what we call a little sarcasim)

Thanks to Pueblo Bravo Acapulco Rafting (www.shotoverjet.com.mx)

So the drive back from the river was much quicker. . We arrived back at the boat with enough time to spare that we could shower and get ready for our next adventure.

DINNER OVERLOOKING ACAPULCO

WOW, what an incredible view. It's sad that we didn't bring a better camera with us, but we think you get the idea. :)

After dinner we headed back down the mountain and over to the 230 foot cliff to watch teenagers jump off into the raging ocean below.

The light here was so poor that we used a really slow shutter speed and pinned the camera down to a rock wall (hence the strange angel)

It may not look like much, but the people at the bottom of the pic are about 50-60 feet above the water. . .

This diver is about half way up the cliff face.

Well we arrived back at the ship pretty late to find another little guy sitting on our bed. Apparently he knew about our little secret and he wasn't talking!!!

Time to get to bed, we have a really big day ahead of us.