Viva la Mexico!

Ok, so yes, I know the gender. Hooray hooray! If you don't know by now, then you're not my Facebook friend (ultrasound pics and the announcement are posted there) and probably just not my friend. Just kidding. Kinda.

I'm not ready to move onto that subject just yet. I have to cover the big Vacay!! So here we go. I'll run you through day by day and I'm sorry the embedded pics are pretty impossible to see, but if you click on them they get bigger and I think if you click again they magnify and you can see them in real size. Ya know, if you're interested.

So we set out from LA for our 7-day cruise... it was super fun! It's hard to come back (but I was willing, since we had our BIG ultrasound!! But... I digress).
Day 1 - Embarkation, pretty uneventful. Just explored the ship, ate some food, had to do an emergency drill (which we never had to apply to real life, THANK GOODNESS!), watched a show in the auditorium, and probably ate more food. Chocolate ice cream? Yeah, for some reason the baby wanted that every night. Who am I to say no??

Day 2 - At Sea all day. Another day of boat exploration, hitting up the gym (I walk/jogged 3 miles! A real accomplishment since the rocking boat makes you really have to work to stay in the middle of the treadmill), laying in the sun, eating lots of food (and yes, ice cream), going to more shows, and watching movies. Good day.

Day 3 - Cabo san Lucas. Our first stop. We only had about 4-5 hours here so we didn't go far from the boat (you can see it's just out on the water from us). We shopped vendors, walked the boardwalk, ate some pretty tasty Mexican food, and got our tan on.

Day 4 - Mazatlan. Again, we only had like 5-6 hours here so we didn't get TOO adventurous. However we did take a taxi from the port to the shopping districts which was quite the eye-opener as we drove through the city. Wow. Talk about poverty and a run-down area! Houses that are just falling apart and look like they must be vacant would have curtains and clothes lines out front. Every building and every store looked dingy and like it could crumble at any moment. Pretty nuts. Even the "Gold District" where the shopping and restaurants are supposed to be wasn't much to see.

BUT, the food in Mazatlan was a-m-a-z-i-n-g! Oh my gosh. Mexican food is one of my fave cuisines, but since I've been back, I've had zero desire to eat it here. It's just not the same. I don't think I'll ever be able to go to a Mexican restaurant in the U.S. and not be disappointed, from now on. Mazatlan, you were worth the drive just for your quesadillas. And your enchiladas. And your beans, and your rice, and your guacamole. Oh my. The guacamole. Ok, you get the point.

Day 5 - Puerto Vallarta. Puerto Vallarta was our favorite stop. We had the longest amount of time here, so maybe it's just because we got to see the most of it, but it was bar far the most beautiful (of what we saw). I was amazed the whole time at how I felt we were walking through a rain forest... with the giant trees, the humidity, the crazy cawing birds, and the lush green every where you looked. So pretty. So tropical.

We started off by checking out a big flea market (that was embedded in the huge trees) and shopping all the same ol' crap we'd seen everywhere else. Bracelets, necklaces, sun dresses/swimsuit coverups (I bought two, and am wearing them in these pics... purple & black ones :), blankets, plates, etc. We walked the shopping district and I was awed by the gorgeous white buildings and the cobblestone roads. Loved Puerto Vallarta.

We did lunch at Senor Frogs. They're everywhere down there and I think it's probably like eating at Red Robin here? Not too fancy, but we weren't disappointed in the food. The definite highlight was the chips and salsa, which I highly recommend. They brought all the ingredients out and made it right in front of you... Loved it!!

After lunch, we continued exploring and then hit the beach to cool off in the warm yet refreshing ocean and work on our tan (or my burn, as you can see in some of the pics). After walking around for hours and working up another appetite, we hit up Senor Frogs again for chips and salsa round 2. It was that good.

Day 6 - At sea. Apparently I didn't take many pictures this day. But I did manage to capture this sunset that night. This day was spent sleeping in and resting our worn out legs from the 3 previous days of exploration. We played some cards, watched some movies, worked out, ate food, watched shows in the auditorium, and enjoyed this sunset. How romantical.


Day 7 - At sea. Apparently I didn't take many pictures this day either... and it was our last day! I'm realizing I took like NO pictures of the boat, which was a sight to see in itself. These ships are amazing. Ours had 14 decks, like, 12 elevators, who knows how many restaurants, the list goes on and on. I'm saddened I don't have pictures to share, but if you're really curious I'm sure you could Google the "Norweigan Star" and get plenty to look at. There I feel better.

Our last night, after we played Trivia (see picture), we opted to eat in the fanciest restaurant on the boat. You have to actually pay to eat at these ones, but it was definitely worth it. Like, 10 oz. filet mignon worth it. And um, more chocolate ice cream. haha.

However, this whole day was pretty windy and we couldn't spend much time on the upper decks (and my tan suffered from it), so we hunkered down in our cabin most the day trying not to feel sick. Sam actually took some motion sickness meds due to the rocking... I was a little anxious to get on land by the end of this night, but sad to see our vacation coming to an end.

Day 8 - Disembarkation, LA, & HOME! Since we had a ton of time to kill before I flight took off at 6:30 pm, and we didn't feel like sitting in the airport for 8 hours, we decided to rent a car and explore LA. So much fun!

We drove down Hollywood drive, ate at In-N-Out Burger (mmmm!!), drove through the Hollywood Hills to get a good glimpse of the famous "Hollywood" sign, drove through the ridiculously impressive neighborhood of Beverly Hills, drove down "Rodeo Drive" to try and catch a glimpse of a shopping celebrity (no luck... dangit) but saw way more paparazzi and tourists, and explored the grounds of the LA Temple. A total bonus to tag on to the end of our vacation!!

So there you have it! A run down of the crazy fun relaxing and hectic week. Does that make sense? We got home Saturday night at 1:30 am and just crashed. I'm not sure I've ever seen Sam that tired and I still don't think he's recovered.

But I know we both would do it all over again :)