It's about the journey not the destination.

About two years ago Jon used his credit card rewards to get Carnival Cruise tickets (just after Sadie was born).  We thought it would be a great vacation with a newborn.  When we tried to schedule the cruise we were informed that babies under six months old are not allowed. The tickets were expiring this February. We tried to give the tickets away but we weren't finding any takers.  My Dad said he didn't want the tickets but said  "If you can go next week then we can watch your kids."  We quickly booked our tickets and were on our way to our very first Cruise. 

The cruise stopped in Catalina Island (LA, California) and went down to Encinada, Baja Mexico.   We did a Kayak trip in Catalina and went see a blow hole (boring) in Encinada where we ate some fantastic tacos.  Other than that the majority of the time was spent of the cruise.  We exercised everyday (Jon ran 2 miles...the most he's run off a basketball court in about 7 years). We enjoyed the dinner in the dining room and the staff was amazing. (Those Filipinos know how to smile.)

Jon showing his approval of the accomodations

We enjoyed our dorm style room with two twin beds that were harder than sleeping on the ground.  We enjoyed the high school type entertainment, we enjoyed the exercise we got from walking 8 flights stairs due to the crammed elevators. We liked the freezing cold above the ground swimming pools and squeezing into the tiny "hot" tub with 15 other people who were drunk and using their best sailor language. We also loved doing Karaoke with the  Salt Lake "Merry" Men's choir.  ( a crack up)

It was great to get away. But I have decided that a cruise is about the journey and Jon and I are destination people. We really enjoy going to new places, being with the people, eating the local food and most importantly being on the beach in the sun.  However, we do think it would be fun to get a few friends together for a luxury cruise in the Mediterranean sea. (In about 5 years)  Any takers? 

PS  A great big thank you to my Dad and Ginny  for watching our kids!