Day 9- Farewell to the Fun Ship

I thought that Sunday morning was when we saw the dolphins and sea turtles swimming along with our ship, but know I recall that Sunday morning was way too busy for an allowance of window gazing.  So, It  had to have been Saturday morning that we saw the ocean life and it was amazing!  We were eating breakfast next to the windows (didn't happen as much as I would've liked) and Josh said he thought he saw some sort of big fish come out of the water, so I and the people around us started looking.   They gave up pretty quickly, but sure enough, a few minutes later, with some unheard of patience that I acquired from who knows where, I also spotted a "big fish" gliding along beside us!  The waiter confirmed it was a dolphin and that they often like to swim along the ship in this area of the ocean. We continued to see quite a few of them jumping out of the water and playing around our boat.  Then I saw A TURTLE!!!  I was pretty exuberant and probably embarrassed Josh a little bit, but people want to know this stuff so they can see too!  I just know it! Then again my face plastered up against the window and flailing my arms probably wasn't a pretty sight...  However, this, along with the Saturday night Carnival Legends show, was a fabulous way to end the cruise.

Okay, back to waking up magically in California on the last, crazy morning on the Fun Ship. ( I feel like I can officially call it that now that I have experienced it.) I was packing frantically to get out of our room before they needed to clean it and let's be honest here, I was also rushing so I could make it to the food before breakfast time was over.  

They group everyone into different times for disembarkation.  You don't have to leave at that time, but you also can't go sooner than that.  I think it cuts back on the size of lines and overall people/luggage congestion or something like that.  I got our bags (minus the carry-ons) out into the hallway just in time for "them" to take them off the ship for us and after a quick double check of our room we rushed over to breakfast just in time for some hot cocoa and juicy drama juice.   We saw a few friendly faces there and said our good-byes. We also happened to sit by a certain girl that I happen to beat out for the Gloria Estevan spot on the show the previous night.  Josh's back was to her and we probably wouldn't have even realized it was her and her family there if he hadn't had over heard her talking about me.  The jest of it was that she couldn't believe that I had beat her and that at the legends show I wasn't even that good.  Then, a few people in her family started defending me and said I was good and that she could've done okay if she hadn't had been so drunk that night.  HaHA! You gotta love honest family and friends who put you in your place and don't let you get away with inaccurate smack talk.  After we finished our breakfast, we stood up and had to walk past her table. Her paranoid face let me know she suddenly realized that we were in hearing distance, so I gave her a little wave and a smile as we passed by.

I've pretty much blocked the rest of the day.  I remember getting our luggage and being relieved that they didn't ask us any questions about whether or not we were bringing anti-biotics home from Meh-hee-co...  But really the whole "going back home" thing was super traumatizing for me.   The only thing that got me through the drive was writing down quick notes of the memories we had made that week.

We did call the kids who had just got out of church; they would be in bed asleep by the time we drove the 10 hours to get home that night.

  The next day they had school, but when they got home we gave them all the fun souvenirs we had picked up for them.  Tyler was super excited about the leftover Mexican money we gave to him.  I can't believe I bought a CHINESE checkerboard game in Meh-hee-co! *facepalm*  The fun and sun must've got to my brain.

Oh, it was good to see these little guys though!  Nana took really good care of them.  Not long after this Benjamin decided he wanted to serve an LDS mission in Meh-hee-co. He got a sling shot for his angry birds.  Danielle and Cassidy got some little painted treasure boxes and Sammy got some maracas. 

As great as it was to be home with the kids again, I'm not gonna hide the fact that it was really hard, like SUPER difficult to return to real life.  Suddenly having to think about meals, and laundry and homework and appointments and cleaning and yada yada yada did quite the number on me.  Two long weeks it took me to adjust back.  Pretty ridiculous, I know, and most people probably don't take that long or even have the luxury of that amount of time to adjust.  I wasn't happy with my brain about it, but I did survive.  I never did it, but I joked about looking up a cruise detox group.  

"Hi, I'm Gloria Amy and I'm a wanna-be-cruise-aholic."   

 

"Hi, Gloria Amy!!!"

Dia Numero Ocho-Becoming Gloria

The last full day on the ship had arrived and very quickly it turned into all about becoming Gloria.  This was the day I would get to perform in the Carnival Legends show as Gloria Estefan!!

I remember this was the day I got up and actually put to use my running clothes and gear.  I had wanted to run around the outdoor track on top of the ship all week, but not enough to change my schedule around to make it happen.   We did walk a lot at the ports and also followed some pre-cruise advise of taking the stairs instead of the elevators.  I still wanted to see what it felt like to run on board though.  I'm not sure why didn't run on top.  Looking at the schedule there was some "walk-a- mile" thing going on at the track and maybe I didn't want the crowd and/or maybe it was too windy?  Either way I ended up at the gym and ran a relaxed 5k on the treadmill.  I hate treadmills, but it was cool looking out at the water while I ran.   I was lucky to get a machine right when I walked in because people were snatching them up like free money by the time I finished.

Josh met me at the gym as I was finishing up and mentioned that our room steward had told him where I had gone-even though Josh already knew.  The steward knew because he had seen me in the hallway on my way to the gym.  I bring it up because I want to talk about our steward (I wish I could remember his name!).  He was so nice and friendly. I know they have to be for tips and because it's their job and everything, but his guy just seemed genuinely happy to be there.   Being as they clean up after you all week, they really know KNOW you , ya know?  Anyway, I had been practicing singing and learning the lyrics for the show on and off the second half of the week and since he works in that hallway, of course he hears it; compliments me on my singing; knows what it is for and wishes me luck at the show.   It sounds creepy having someone there who knows so much, but through his professionalism it actually feels quite comforting; like having my very own valet like in Downton Abbey...

After my run we had time to revisit the piano bar where a group game of Scattergories was taking place.  I love Scattergories!  They did play it a bit differently to accommodate the group setting.    We rocked it together and even won a trophy!!!

This cheap-o trophy has a very special place on our bedroom dresser.

We met a nice family from Utah there and Josh got to sit by them at the show that night.  Also, that morning at breakfast we met Moses and Empy from CA.  We didn't usually talk to anybody at breakfast.  I'm not a morning person... haha.. no srsly... but a conversation over the passing Mexican landscape started a friendship.  Moses is a talker and when he found out where we were from and that we were LDS, told us all his stories of knowing and being friends with Mormons from the Mexican colonies where he grew up, but never joined the church.  He still loves LDS people though and told us all about his family and how much he loves his wife. She was just the sweetest thing too!  They said they would be sure to come see me in the show that night.

Right after the Scattergories game was time for Carnival Legends rehearsal.  We had to reschedule a game of mini golf with Leah and Miquel because of it though. *sadface*   I only saw Leah one final time after the show she came and congratulated me. I wish I had got her email or last name so we could be facebook buddies.  I know it's like, who cares, you met these people for a few hours and you will never see them again, but I love people and when you find a person you connect with, it's fun for me to keep in touch.    I did survive not keeping in touch with all those awesome E.F.Y.  people from my youth, so I suppose I will survive this too.  *dramatic stance*

The rehearsal was cool.  We got to meet all the Splendor dancers and go back stage. How many people get to go backstage on a cruise ship?! I felt super special.   
We got to try on our costumes, practice where to stand and do a quick run through the show.  They went over the rules about costumes, appropriate footwear and not showing up plastered.  A bit of liquid courage was okay, but if you were too drunk, they wouldn't let you perform.   If you didn't like the costume they had, too bad.  Either wear it or they would find someone who would.   The wigs were comical.  When they found out who Gloria Estefan was they smiled and couldn't resist mentioning that they had quite the wig for her.  It was fabulously thick and curly and reminded me more of Weird Al Yankovic than Gloria, but I was ready to embrace it and just have fun. I pretty much drowned in my costume though.

Some of the other Legend performers got to use up the whole stage, but they didn't have background dancers like my legend did.  Because of my background dancers, I was told to stay on the large star painted on the stage.  That way the dancers and I wouldn't run into each other. Josh took a video of me running my number on stage.  They did give us a dvd of the entire show, but I don't know how to get it on here in the format it is in.  Unless I use my camera to video it as it plays on the tv.  HA! We'll see if I ever get around to doing it.  I don't even have the dvd right now.  My father in law confiscated it when Josh and he were working on our cruise video compilation and he keeps showing it to people. *face palm* so embarrassing. (Insert Lizzie McGuire cartoon moment here.)

This rehearsal video, while a bit pitchy (yo dawg) and I'm not in costume, actually shows the background dancers and the official video doesn't.  Don't ask me why! I think it's ridiculous they zoom in on me the whole time and you can't even see my fancy foot work.  Probably some choreography copyright or something.   Also,in this rehearsal vid you can hear the cheers from the other legends sitting in the audience- including Andersen's wife.  She's the loudest.  Loved her enthusiasm.  In the dvd, they do straight mic sound and so you can't hear the audience.  I was so focused on the singing and remembering the lyrics, that I blocked the audience sound. I was kinda bummed to not be able to hear what it sounded like later, but I can see why they did it that way too.

Rehearsal let out just in time for some 80's music trivia in the lobby.  We didn't win, but did pretty well.  They used a lot of 80's R&B which Josh and I aren't as familiar with.

After such a fun-busy week coming to an end and with a big performance that night, I figured it was the perfect day to boost my power and partake of the energy nectar I had purchased at the beginning of the week.
The boat was on and off rocky Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.  A combination, we supposed, of choppy waters, wind and the captain making a speedy bee-line to get back to Long Beach on time.
They had early karaoke that night and so we stopped by to warm up my voice before dinner.
By the time dinner rolled around I was feeling kinda sickly.  I'm pretty sure it was a combo of the 5 hour energy and the rockier boat, even though Josh kept saying it was nerves.  I was insistent that it wasn't. I don't get sick nerves before I perform.  I wasn't even feeling that nervous, more excited to do it than anything.  We had a nice group dinner and went back to our room to get ready for the night.

 There we found a very cute, but rude bunny that obviously thought it could get away with anything; including sleeping on my side of the bed:

"Put that phone down!  Don't you know what the rates are out here?!"

 I went backstage at call time- 9:30 PM- an hour before the show and luck had it that there was a high stakes Bingo game going on in the theater that Josh could play while he waited. Only 10 bucks to play.  Luck would not have it that he should win though.  He came close, but close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes now doesn't it? :)

By performance time, my funny tummy was thankfully doing okay and it was fun hanging out with the other performers backstage.  We were able to watch the stage as the show was going on and see each other perform and the extra antics that the staff added, like the cruise director dressing up as Dolly Parton. Hilar. When it was Latin Music time, I went out and did my Gloria thing and sang "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You".  Psh. Aint' no thang!  It's really weird to feel so comfortable on stage and have only slight nerves.  2 years ago I would've been a wreck before singing and a complete wreck after singing.

 I used to shake so bad.  Now when I am done performing all I feel is an andrenaline rush.  It's a beautiful thing. To be able to perform so easily after dreaming of it for almost 30 years.  It took a lot of work, a lot of home karaoke, a lot of public karaoke, a lot of support from Josh, a lot of hours at the theatre and time on stage with Channel Z.  I still make mistakes.  I still have a lot to work on.  I still get anxious. I still worry about how I do and want instant, constructive criticism, but the improvement I see in myself is super rewarding.  :)

After the combined joint number Abba's "Thanks For the Music", we went directly into the lobby for pictures. 

Gloria's #1 fan.

Empy and Moses! Remember the couple I was talking about earlier?  Love them and they loved seeing me as Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine.:)

This guy was my babysitter.  He was the one who made sure I knew where to go back stage and also after the show he had to watch me so I didn't run off with my gigantic costume and ride it like a raft to the American shore.

Gloria, Garth Brooks and Frank Sinatra.  In the middle, is Rob.  We hung out with him and his wife Rachel a bit on the ship. They were an outgoing couple that met on the Chattahoochee river. How awesome is that?!

Gloria and Madonna.  If she can go by just her first name, I want to too!  This is Carli!  Such a beautiful sweetie; who did a fabulous job at Madonna. We went dancing with her and her husband also.   I love that we are facebook friends now!

Here we have Aretha Franklin (Anderson's wife and she was fabulous), some dancer, Brittany Spears, James Brown( Anderson), Gloria, and Frank again.   After the show we all met up in the dancing club and had fun bustin' some moves on the last night on the ship.

Haha, Anderson was actually bald in real life and this is a wig.  He had the greatest little footwork he did during his song.  Frank Sinatra on the end here was the last number and brought the show down "his way".

We also received a free photo of the whole group that has Elton John, Ricky Martin and Elvis included.

After all that excitement, I still hadn't come down from my adrenaline rush and Josh and I didn't want the night to end.  We remembered that we hadn't yet fully walked around the ship like we had planned! So, at around 2 AM we grabbed our jackets and walked clear around the ship.   I love that we did this.  It was windy, but the deck was so peaceful compared to its usual daytime rush.

Um, I'm pretty sure we ordered room service when we got back, cuz that's how we roll.  Who needs sleep anyway?  We still had a 5 hour energy for the drive home the next day...

Day 7- Less Is More?

k, really I remember very little about this day...
does that mean less writing?
we'll just have to see about that. *eye brow waggle*
it does mean less pictures.

when it comes to past events, I remember squat without pictures.
no wonder pictures are so prevalent in our world.

I even asked Josh and he couldn't remember exactly when we had done during the day on Friday. It was our second and last a formal night.  Yup. that's all we got.   We are pretty sure at some point we played a game up on deck where you try throw bean bags into hole for points. It might have been Saturday that we did that though....we must have been too tired and in a food coma most of the day- aka: heavenly bliss.

 Hey! This is the perfect time to touch on some memories that I wrote down on the way home from CA that I didn't  include in past posts!
Let's start with...I know, FOOD!
When purchasing the cruise we had to pick between several dining options for dinner.  There was the steadfast method of sitting at the same table every night with the same people, same waiters, at the same time or there was the "your time dining" (YTD) where you could eat dinner at any time between 5:45pm and 9:30pm.  (HAHA that 5:45 one makes me laugh. We NEVER made it to dinner that early.)  Yeah, so knowing ourselves well enough we wanted to be more flexible and choose the  YTD.  I think both have their benefits.  Getting to know a whole table of people? Awesome.   Meeting different people every night?  Awesome too.   When you enter the YTD room you are asked if you want a private or a shared table.  We usually didn't care, but that first night we said private and we were led to a table that was six inches away from another table.  This is their idea of private! HA!  We really didn't care though and every dinner conversation was easy (except where language was a barrier) as we all had the menu in common as an ice breaker .  We picked a shared table a couple of times and that was great fun also.  More stories on that later...

We had heard rumors of the menus and being able to order as much and as many of each dish offered ,but that first night on the boat we were timid and stuck to just one appetizer, one entree and one dessert. After talking to random people throughout the next day about the meals we were convinced that it was completely acceptable to go ahead to just go crazy with the ordering.  From there on out, I usually ordered a couple of appetizers, one or two entrees and one or two desserts. (These numbers are an average, mind you.)  I usually ate almost all of it too.   And my dear friends this is why on the opening night welcome show the cruise director made the point of answering one of the most taxing questions he gets asked aboard the ship:  Which dress should I wear to the first formal night?  His answer: Wear your favorite or best because with all the food consumption that happens on the ship, by the second formal night you won't be able to fit in it...
Not a more accurate answer exists in the universe.

Our first dinner on the ship we both ordered the warm melting chocolate cake and loved it!  Josh continued to order it every night; while I explored the other dessert options.  Also, I don't think Josh went one meal
without getting some hot chocolate.  I had my share too. So are you really surprised that when we saw "Chocolate Bar" on the agenda that we made sure to be in that line.  Gah. My plate was pure gooey goodness.

  Other specialty things that we got to eat throughout the week

 that were different and/or really good:

Fried Frog Legs

Alligator Fritters

Shark

Escargot

Lobster

Filet Mignon

Mussels

 Another thing Josh became obsessed with was on the appetizer menu. Chilled fruit soups.  I swear they were like dessert.  I liked them too, but usually wanted to try more of the other options instead. The bottom line-  I really enjoyed trying out new things and not filling my tummy with things that I had tried before.

One of the nights, I think it was Thursday night (day 6), we picked a shared table and were delighted when we realized we were placed at the table with Andersen and his wife ( I CAN'T REMEMBER HER NAME RIGHT NOW! #annoyed).  This is the couple that also won a place in the final show as James Brown and Aretha Franklin.  So we were already a bit familiar with them.  We had a such a fun dinner that night.  They confessed to us that they requested this table every night so they could have the same waiter because he already knew their eating habits. Her picky diet and his large appetite.  The waiter was super nice, but you could tell he had put up a lot with these two characters.  She sent back several plates when she realized that it had items on it she couldn't eat.  She ended up eating mostly fruit.  He kept ordering plates and plates of stuffed oysters for himself and Josh.  Andersen kept going on and on about how he and Josh were the same people, so Josh felt obligated to swallow every slimy creature with a smile on his face. HAHA!  I didn't realize til later that Josh didn't even like the dish.  He's a better actor than he lets on. I knew it.

We went dancing more than I have talked about also.  In the past years that we talked about going on a cruise I have been insistent that when we went Josh would have to dance with me.  You see, before we got married he was willing to do it and then after, nothing. After a few post- marriage embarrassing attempts to get him back on the dance floor, I realized it was pointless and resigned myself to the fact that I married someone who wasn't keen on dancing. At least I gave up until the talk of a possible cruise in our future came up.  I had to make this rule because my expectations of a cruise included dancing.  I love dancing!  I knew I would be resentful if we went and didn't even dance.  I did say I could just dance by myself, but Josh wasn't comfortable with the situations that could create.  Lonely lady on the dance floor surrounded by drunk men.... yeah, he didn't like that.   He said he would, in fact, dance on the cruise IF he didn't know anyone there.   This was the main reason we refused offers to go with any other friends or family on this trip.  I was going to dance with my husband gosh dang it!  We stopped by the dance clubs a couple of times by ourselves and with new friends and Josh busted those moves I saw when we were dating!  It made me a seriously happy girl.

During dinner on Friday night, the waiters got the men to stand up and then dance along with them.  Of course there were a lot of men who didn't stand up and participate, but I was proud of Josh for letting his inhibitions go on this trip and just have a really good time.  Love you hunny!

Waiters up on chairs performing their Ricky Martin dance for us.

One night there was a group of home boys, I believe you would call them, and they saw Josh's moves and called. him. out!  They were chanting and calling for him to bust his moves. He resisted for a minute and then gave us all his best Kevin James-esque dance moves.  It was awesome and hilarious and he had so much fun.  The home boys loved watching him "bring" his flavor to the floor.

This is just so you can get an IDEA of what I am talking about.  I still say this is one of the greatest minutes in the history of film.

We slow danced too. Aw so romantic. :)  A few memorable times were when we stopped by the Latin music group and I got Josh to loosen his hips to a little cha-cha and actually feel the song. That was rewarding.  I felt like I was an instructor on Dancing with the Stars or something! Psh, ain't no thang.  Then there was that time when the sweet, oriental couple convinced us to get out on the floor with them and slow dance during someone's karaoke performance.  It was strange to be the first people up in a room full of people there to listen to karaoke, but hey, it earned us a bit of a fan club with the oriental couple and their friends who later voted for me in the karaoke contest.  My own little fan club, Josh called them. :)

So here we are formal night.  We didn't purchase any pictures of this night.  I hated how my hair looked in them and what the cruise director said about the food consumption effecting how your dress fits was right.  Hello Food Baby Belly!

Here Josh is with his precious, chilled, cherry soup.  We decided to really live it up and order us a non-alcoholic beverage this night.  We had seen non-alcoholic stuff advertised so we figured it would be no problem.   The waiter came back with some sparkling cider and said that it took him a while to find it, and that it was possibly the last one and that it cost 10 bucks.  Oh well.  We usually stuck with water or the occasional soda, so it was nice to have a special sort of drink at our meal that night. 

 After dinner we went over to Karaoke where Mr. Ashley had me sing the song that I didn't get to with the band the night before and we ran into our friends the Carmens.  Earlier in the week we had eaten dinner next to them at our "private" tables and the waiter went on and on about their last name and what things had happened when he drove a car. It was super cute.  The waiters and all the staff were so friendly and professional and grateful for their jobs.  Most of them were from underprivileged countries and this was a huge opportunity for them.  After karaoke, we went with the Carmens over to the main theatre to see the show that night.  We were a fan of the comedy circuit on the other end of the boat and missed a lot of the stage shows, but did go to the welcoming show, a hypnotist show at the beginning of the week and then this Friday night show.  It was called "Vroom" it was a sorta rock through the ages type of show and oh my gosh guys, I was just looking at the program that I saved and it says that "videotaping and photography of the show are strictly prohibited"!!!   I had no idea and I'm feeling kinda guilty.  tooooo late now,  so anyway...I'm gonna show you some illegal pictures now...Dude, if I didn't have these there would be like 2 whole pictures of this day!

YELLOW SUBMARINE!  Took me back to Day 4 in Cabo San Lucas, Meh-hee-co

um hai. these Beatles  guys, started out as a cartoon on the big screen at the back of the stage and then when the screen lifted there were 3D Beatles that looked just like the cartoon! LOVE!

80's!! knee pads were SO in!

And the show ends with KISS of course.  Rock and Roll All Night Long, yada yada yada-  Yeah my band does this song last too.  so over it. #channelz  :)

 It was a fun show and due to us getting to dinner the earliest we ever had the entire week we still had time to hit up the Piano Bar and a comedy show!  Go us!

The whole week we had wanted to sing along with everyone in the piano bar, but it was either closed or we were already on our way to other plans we wanted to do more.  The reason it was closed so much was because the regular guy had an emergency and so they had just picked up his replacement in PuertoVallarta the day before. We had a feeling the regular guy was way better and more prepared than this one, but he still provided a few minutes of jamming out to Crocodile Rock with a room full of strangers.

Hey, remember that one time we accidentally got a little buzzed?  Yeah, that one time when we decided to go a little wild and crazy and actually order a fun drink from the menus we had been staring at for a week.  That one time we pointed to a strawberry pina colada smoothie on the kids menu and told the Piano Bar waiter we wanted 2 of them.  That one time that we gulped them down all the while singing along to Billy Joel songs.  That one time that we joked about how funny it would be if they actually put alcohol in the drinks we ordered from the kids menu.  That one time that after we had finished our drinks the waiter brought the receipt out and the price was double what we were expecting.  That one time that it dawned on us that what we had just joked about had come true and we were in fact feeling a little....funny...

That one conversation I had with waiter when he made another appearance from the back room:

Me:*kinda slurred. j/k*  Did you put alcohol in our drinksssss?
Waiter: *thinks about it for a sec and proudly nods* Yes.
Me: *turns back to Josh* We drank alcohol! *turns back to waiter*  We don't drink alcohol.
Waiter:  Really?!  *cue skeptical, worried, and then apologetic face*  Sorry.
Me: *giggle* *turns back to Josh who is starting to freak out* We're drunk!

We figured the drinks were so sugary and that's why we couldn't taste the alcohol in it.  Josh felt a little different and hot hawt.  When I said he was starting to freak out, I was serious.  I calmed him down reminding him that it was an accident and it was too late now to change it.

I was just extra giggly and talkative with a bit of a light- headed feeling.  At that point there was nothing we could do, but just keep on drinking.  HAHA! just kidding!

We left to go to the comedy show where I promptly asked the girl we sat next to if she wanted to hear a funny story.  I then proceeded to tell her about how we had just accidentally drank alcohol and we don't drink.  I thought it was super funny.   She also thought it was super funny and finding out that we were Mormons took it upon herself to get me more drunk. "Get this f***** Mormon a drink!", she said.   I was like, "No. No. Remember I said it was an accident and that I don't drink??"  She wasn't going to listen to me though and ordered me a glass of white champagne.  Her persistence got pretty annoying, I would've like to have moved seats, but there was no where else to move, plus there was no way I was going to do what this obviously disrespectful person was wanting me to do.  I had said no. No is no.

 I would be lying if I said that tall glass of liquid didn't tempt me a bit.  I was quite thirsty and had asked for a glass of water (which never came).  I did take a break from the situation and go to the bathroom.  That helped me clear my head a bit.   End of story, at the end of the comedy show she stormed away with a full glass of wine.  I was just realizing that I already shared this story in my V.A.D.E.R. post earlier this year. ha. sorry.
I had the misfortune of seeing her a few more times on the cruise (what luck) and let's just say she doesn't like me very much...Do I care? nope.

The ceiling was the limit for this smooth sailor!

I'm including this un-cropped picture as evidence of my food baby.  It can be seen growing in the midsection of my torso.

What A Night!  Only one more full day of ship time.  Would we wake up with hangovers?  I was super curious.

Oh and the moral of this post:  squat = actually a whole lot.

Day 6- Puerto Vallarta

The ship sailed south all night and we arrived in Puerto Vallarta the next morning. We felt like we had already spent a lot of money on the off- shore excursions in Cabo, so we figure this day we would save some money just hang out and enjoy what we could find on our own.

We left the ship later than others and we ran into Leah who was getting back on the ship.  She said the downtown boardwalk was all torn up and she was disappointed.  We didn't know what else to do though and figured we'd go see just how bad it really was.  We caught a shuttle van that drove us the 10ish minutes to downtown (Just spelled that 'Downton' haha).  Met some more nice people on the ride.  One of the best things about this cruise were the random conversations with strangers from all over the globe.    The boardwalk was definitely under construction and the van could only take us most of the way because some of the roads were under construction also.   There were still some nice photo spots.  Not a lot of action or people around though.   I think it's great they are improving it though and I'm sure it will be an even nicer hub when the work is done.  I know there are stories of higher crime in this port and that has scared some of the cruiselines away.  So sad really.

I had my big white bag packed so full that the straps broke. *sadface*

This port was SO much greener than Cabo San Lucas.  Loved that!  It was also much more humid and just a few hours in my entire body was DRIPPING in sweat. Just from walking casually around.  It was the weirdest, most fascinating sensation to me; to be standing there looking at jewelery and hats and just have the sweat dripping down.  Josh hated it!  Bahaaha! poor guy.  I'm sure I would get sick of it eventually, but my delighted reaction was just more proof to me that I need to live in a year round tropical climate.  All the women there wore lightly colored, airy fabric and most had a head covering of some sort. Very appropriate clothing.

We made our way on over to the beach.  I was determined to get in some more swim time, but the ground under the water was super rocky.  I hadn't brought my swim shoes here either!  GAH.  So we just sorta hung out a bit there and warded off the traveling merchants.  They loved commenting on Josh's BYU hat and one guy selling sunglasses tethers embroidered with sport team names came back later with a BYU one for Josh to buy.  He didn't want it though.  One guy was selling blankets and I think he was the one that got little black hairs everywhere when he spread/shook it out for us to see.   After he got the hint that we weren't going to buy anything and left, I looked down and there was hair everywhere!  So gross and I was wet and it was all over my towel.  I was like, "Where da heck did this come from! Nasty!" There was also a sketchy light-colored dog wandering around sniffing and trying to eat everything.  (light hair so I knew it wasn't his fur all over me and my stuff.)

Josh stays hydrated.

We did partake of a mango on a stick sold by a guy that carried around a tray of other fruits on a stick. He drizzled lemon over the top to keep them fresh looking and tasting.   Oh and they were tasty!! Possibly the best thing to ever touch my taste buds.

We then walked over to the city square there were people selling food everywhere.  On our way we found a vender that sold bags and I walked away with a hideous bright green and rainbow striped bag imaginable to replace my broken white one.  It was the best one they had too...  I totally use it to haul my Channel Z (80's band) gear and costume around now. oh yeah baby.

Church of Guadalupe

  We had heard about a church that tourists could visit and sure enough there it was right in the center of town.  We walked over and up its steps and see a nun sitting at a table selling various trinkets and the door to the church is open. We walk in and realize that a funeral is going on.  There is a casket and the pews are almost full of people.  They keep standing up to sing.  Josh continued to proceed inside.  I whispered to him asking him what he was doing.  He responded that he wants to check it out.  I was like, " No way am I going to prance around like a tourist inside a church when there is somebody's FUNERAL going on!"   So with that I was able to convince him that we would just look glance around for a few minutes at the door way and then move on.  :) The whole situation was awkward.

We walked around looking for and finding various vendors from whom to buy a few more souvenirs.  There were killer tequila deals going on around every corner.  The vendors would call to us as we would walk by  and tell us their great drink deals.  One time we called back, "WE DON'T DRINK!"  They quickly replied, " IT'S A GOOD TIME TO START!"  

Oh man, I could have spent SO MUCH MORE MONEY than I did! Josh and I took turns talking each other out of things that we really didn't need.  I did get a Mexican Bohemian (aka Mexhemian or Bohexican)  frock that I love, some orange earrings and a turquoise looking bracelet.   I let him get that t-shirt he is wearing below.  I am such a nice wife and pst-GAME ON!

 During all this Josh needed to make water (URINATE) and change out of his wet clothes.  We set off to find a bathroom.  We were directed to an underground parking garage where a man was sitting outside of the bathroom with a card table and a sign that said the price you had to pay to use the bathroom and that toilet paper was extra and it listed a price to use the showers too!  It reminded me of a lemonade stand. (ew. cuz lemonade is yellow)  I didn't believe it at first.  You can't charge people to use a toilet!  But we aren't in Kansas anymore Toto and I guess even with the homemade setup, it he owned or worked for someone that owned that bathroom, so really it was acceptable. I also felt better when I saw several locals pay to use the facilities.

It was much cooler down there and even though I love that sweaty sweat dripping down my face it was a nice break.  After that we decided to start looking for a restaurant that my friend, Robyn, had recommended. Gaby's. She said it was off the beaten path a bit, not really for tourists. With that limited knowledge we unsuccessfully attempted to get back to the downtown area on foot.  We figured if we explored the blocks around that area we could find it.  I became very frustrated because we really didn't know how to get back and hey, big surprise coming up here- Josh wouldn't ask for directions until I threw a huge hissy fit, sat down and refused to walk any further until he got directional help from someone. (He's the one with less of a language barrier or I would've just done it.)   He asked a couple of people and cab drivers where Gaby's was and none of them knew, but one of them went and found out for us and came back and told us!  It was so nice of him!  On one of the streets behind the church there was a mentally ill lady.  She was walking around in a quick pace with jerky movements and mumbling.  It was kinda scary because she was going the same way as us and I didn't know what her intentions were.  Luckily she just passed us by.    The Gaby's sign was a welcome sight for us and our bellies.

The host led us to the upstairs eating area.  Loved that.  With the time of day it was the place wasn't crowded.  We ordered some burritos and tacos and my first Mexican coke!  Holy Goodness that was good.  The best coke I've ever had.  I would've liked coke years ago if we had coke like this in the U.S.   It was a yummy place I loved the colors.  We remembered afterwards that Robyn and told us you could ask for a tourist menu, but really the prices we paid were pretty reasonable.

content.

We had a little Gaby Gecko visit us during the meal! Made my day!  I was too slow getting a full- bodied picture.

We thought it would be cool to try to get wi-fi there and send some messages, but with the codes they gave us we couldn't get them to work well enough to do anything.  Oh well. 

My feet got bored while Josh figured out the wi-fi situation. 

Street we walked up to get to Gaby's.

Side of the restaurant.  Loved this view!

 

We enjoyed this nice break from walking.  Got a good meal and just relaxed until it was time to head back to the area around the ship which included a  Wal-mart.  Oh yeah you better believe we are gonna check out the Mexican Walmart. ridic. 

We hailed a taxi and Josh and the driver had a great time talking on the way about many topics including sports. :D  He was very nice.

At the Walmart there were little boys waiting to help us out of your car/taxi. For a tip of course.  We avoided using them and then felt kinda guilty like we should've let them, but come on! We can get out of a taxi on our own.   Seeing the peso prices on everything and the different products on the shelves was interesting.  Also, I swear they directed us to a different (slower) check out line than the locals. Maybe that was to our advantage. *shrug* We got a few toiletries and then checked out the souvenir section and found a PuertoVallarta mug that matched our Cabo San Lucas mug.  We just had to get it! 

I wanted to get to a place where I could get a good sunset shot, but alas, this was the best I could get as we walked the few blocks from Walmart back to where the cruise ship was docked.   I thought I was going to die on the walk back!  The cars and buses drive right next to the sidewalks.  There are only a few inches between you and instant death!  I was quite relieved when it was time to turn right and there was our big, beautiful, floating home waiting there for us.  I was also quite amused to see one of our new friends, Anderson, ( he won the contest to be James Brown in the carnival ledends' show) trying to sneak all his cheap alcohol on the ship.

What we did worked and was fine, but there are some awesome excursions in this area and I would for sure take one next time we are in the area.
We pulled out of the Port O' Vallarta just as hurricane force winds were blowing in.  Amazing how such a beautiful day could end in such a huge storm for the area.  We were sailing at full speed on our way home with two "at sea" days ahead of us.

I remember this was one of the nights I was so tired and I was scared to sit down, we both were, because we didn't think we would be able to get back up.  I pretty much fell asleep over my delectable dinner.  Needless to say, we were a bit slow getting to the other side of the ship for the SuperStar Live  Event, which is pretty much Karaoke with a Live BAND!.  Hello!  I so wanted to try it.  Even though I get to do this on a regular basis in my real life, this was a bigger band with more instruments, so I wanted to rock it out with them.  We got there before it ended, and I put my name and song of choice in, but there was a few people in front of me and time ran out before it was my turn.  Mr. Ashley felt bad; not because I pouted or anything, I was very gracious and knew it was my fault for being late, but because he knew I would've been good entertainment. So, the next night he had me come right up and do the song  for regular karaoke- not as fun without the band, but the fact that he wanted me to do it anyway felt good.

Permission Granted to Monkey Around.
This made me miss my little monkeys at home.  Not really, but it's something a good mom would say right?