in December we celebrated the 40th anniversary of our wedding. . .
however, postponed the actual celebration for now. . .
Dave really wanted to go to Hawaii again,
but I didn’t want to fly that long, or spend that much. . .
so we decided to celebrate on Catalina Island when we got to California. . .
after much research, I discovered we could do a five day cruise
to Catalina Island and Ensanada Mexico for less
than we would spend for two nights at a B&B on the island. . .
so. . .that’s what we did. . .here’s our ship. . .
the Carnival Inspiration. . .
the Carnival Line Ships berth right next to
the Queen Mary (now a hotel)
at the Long Beach Harbor. . .
the first thing any self respecting cruiser must do
as soon as you get onboard is HIT the BUFFET LINE!
yeah buddy. . .
and then you must tour the ship. . .
up and down. . .
round and round. . .
figure out where all the stuff is. . .
We made our little FitBits very, very happy
during cruise week. . .lots and lots of steps registered. . .
too bad most of them were headed to eat steps. . .ha ha. . .just kidding!
we actually watched what we ate (somewhat)
I mean. . .we were on a celebration cruise after all. . .
but we didn’t do too much damage to all the
hard work and good results we’ve accomplished. . .
and. . .voila. . .Tuesday morning we wake up to. . .
beautiful Catalina Harbor. . .
but. . .we’ll need to Tender in as our ship must
anchor out in deeper water. . .yaaaa. . .not!
It was a bit rough, which always makes transferring
from the ship to the tender a bit challenging. . .
but we’ve transferred in rougher waters
at Maui and again at Martha’s Vineyard. . .
never fun though. . .and not my fave. . .
but Catalina Island was just as lovely as we knew it would be. . .
a bit touristy. . .of course. . .
but still lovely. . .
beautiful artwork
the Casino. . .which is not a gambling hall, as we think of a Casino as being. . .
but actually just a “gathering place”. . .so a venue for concerts and such. . .
we started out on a self guided “walking tour” but quickly decided
the hills were above our stamina level. . .
and quickly chose to do a shuttle tour. . .
which took us up high enough to have these spectacular views of the harbor. . .
and our cruise ship at anchor. . .
took us by the oldest golf course on the West Coast. . .
and past this beautiful sight. . .eek!
Can you imagine? The tour driver said it had been up over $8. . .
Only 500 or so motorized passenger vehicles are allowed on the island. . .
The waiting list to get a permit for a full sized vehicle is 21 years. . .
Everyone drives golf carts. . .
and if ya need a tow. . .
well, they can help ya out with that too. . .
We loved our day at Catalina Island. . .
and are so happy to have experienced it. . .
there was a wee bit of excitement at the end of our day on Catalina Island. . .
we set sail, and was sitting out on the deck watching for dolphins,
when it became obvious. . .an hour later. . .
that we were returning from where we had just come,
ah. . .the announcement. . .there’s a medical emergency. . .
out comes the Sherriff’s Dept Rescue Boat. . .
they lower the gangplank
and with the Coast Guard circling. . .
the female companion, and then the patient (in the yellow life jacket)
along with all their luggage, descend the gangplank. . .
they get him on a stretcher. . .and sadly. . .their cruise is over. . .
and away we all go to our buffet and after dinner show. . .
now. . .on to Ensanada Mexico,
which we had experienced several years ago on a cruise. . .
so we did not get off the ship. . .
but did enjoy our views of the harbor and the Palace. . .
our fourth day onboard was our “at sea” day
which means they need to keep us all entertained. . .
thus the ice carvers. . .
sadly. . .we were easily entertained on the adult only deck
by folks in their sombreros and bathrobes. . .
and by watching to see how many people
could fit in one little tiny hot tub. . .
we counted up to 16 at one point. . .
with more circling. . .as soon as one got out. . .
another got in. . .it was amusing to watch the shuffle. . .
We had a blast. . .but I haf’ta tell you. . .
as amazing as it was to be waited on hand and foot. . .
to not cook, and have meals available. . .
it was equally love to arrive back to our home on wheels. . .
our little 320 SF Castle. . .
and that’s another Wedding Anniversary Celebration in the books. . .yaaa!
’til next time,
Janice and Dave
Dave loved the towel art in our state room
for our at sea day, they actually
taught classes and sold books
on how to make these creatures
the kids were loving it
I love all art. . .
but I especially loved the genuine and original
Catalina Tiles found on the front of this store. . .
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