Sunday January 3, At Sea Between Houston and Cozumel

Sunday January 3, 2014 At Sea Between Houston, Texas and Cozumel, MX

This trip was planned to start on December 21st. It was delayed by complications after a medical procedure on my left leg. On the 29th I had a follow up ultrasound and the doctor cleared me for travel. 

Gerri had the car packed, so we left directly from the doctor's office. Our first stop was the Petro station in Kingman, AZ for fuel and snacks. The Pringles were good, but the sandwiches were so bad we didn't finish them. The weather was clear but cold the entire trip. 

We got to Kyle at about 3 PM on Wednesday the 30th.  The weather was cold and blustery, but the welcome by the Texas Barkers was warm. Since we hadn't made it for Christmas, we exchanged gifts on Wednesday evening.  It was early to bed after the long drive. 

Thursday was another cold windy day. The ladies went and had their nails done. Curtis, Brandon and I went geocaching. We found two and didn't find two. One of our dnf's had dnf by another cacher on Christmas day.  Our New Year’s celebration consisted of playing Catch Phrase and watching the activity in Time Square. Gerri and I and the kids were in bed before midnight in Kyle.

We didn't do much on Friday. Curtis, Brandon and I went to the Cabela's in Buda. We didn't buy anything; it was very crowded. Brandon did take some time in the shooting gallery. On a later trip to the store, I snagged another cache near a Walmart. After dinner we watched the kids while Curtis and Dana had an evening out. We played Jenga and Hello Kitty Bingo. 

We posted some pictures of our visit on Facebook

After breakfast Saturday morning we said our goodbyes and left Kyle at about 1PM. It was about a three-hour drive to the Best Western near the cruise terminal in the Houston Port. We did stop at one rest stop and I found a cache. The motel was in Seabrook. We had supper at Crazy Alan's Swamp Shack in nearby Keama. Great Cajun food. We were in bed early. 

We were up before 9 and I fixed coffee in the room.  After cleaning up we got packed and headed for the Cruise Terminal, about 3 miles away.  We were checked in and boarded at noon.  We got to our cabin before our luggage.  We had sandwiches in the International Café.  When we finished lunch we went back to our cabin and our luggage was there.  We got things put away before going to the Muster Station drill at 3:30.

It was too cold to go on deck for the sail away.  Not much to see as it is very flat around the ship channel and it is about three hours before we enter the Gulf of Mexico.  I did take some pictures at our Muster station and of the ship channel as we sailed toward the Gulf of Mexico.

We signed up for anytime dining this trip.  I prefer a set time at the late seating, so we will see how it goes.  We went to dinner at about 6:30 and there was about a 30-minute wait before we were seated.  We sat at a table for two.  After dinner we went to the Explorer Lounge and watched the last half of the trivia game.  At 9:45 we caught the Welcome Aboard show in the Princess theater.  It featured Steven Morris who had toured with the Beach Boys.

I don't know how regular these blogs will be this trip.  This new computer of Gerri's is very hard for me to get used to.

Friday November 27, @015 Las Vegas, NV

We were up at about 8.  We had our coffee and bran muffins.  Todd Wyatt and I played more Uno while Gerri got our things packed

We left Todd and Jeannette's at about 10 AM after saying our goodbyes.  We were slowed by a traffic accident before getting too far and slowed again at the merge of I-15 and I-215.

We stopped for fuel in Victorville and were home by 3 PM.

It was really a great trip.  We enjoyed the two cruises and the people we met on them.  It was great visit with Todd and his family.  We have quite a bit to do before our next trip later in December.  That trip will also include two cruises, this time to new territory in the eastern Caribbean.

Thursday November 26, 2015 Long Beach, CA

We got up about 7:30 when we heard the kids stirring.  Jeannette made scrambled eggs for breakfast.

Off and on during the day Todd, Wyatt and I played games of UNO.  Emma doesn't play games preferring to read.

Emma and Wyatt baked an assortment of cookies and muffins during the morning.  Later everyone had jobs preparing the Thanksgiving day meal.  Wyatt made the salad and Emma baked biscuits and rolls.

Wyatt, Jeannette, Todd and Emma Barker

We had a great meal in the early evening.  It is great visiting family.  Although they are scattered out we think of and are grateful for our children and grand children.  It is great to visit them, but would be nice if we could all get together for holidays.

More UNo took up most of the rest of the evening.  We were all in bed by 10:30.

Wednesday November 25, 2015 Long Beach, CA

By the time we got up we were in port and moored at the dock in San Pedro.  We got the rest of our belongings together and headed to our assigned meeting place for disembarkation by 9:50.  There was no wait either to get off the ship or for customs and immigration.  We breezed through and got a porter to pick up our bags and take us to the pickup area for the van to the Doubletree.  At the Doubletree we transferred our luggage to our car.  The drive to Long Beach wasn't very long and we were at Todd and Jeannette's by 11 AM.

Todd and the kids greeted us and we got everything we needed inside.  Jeannette was working.  We visited with the kids and Todd.  Wyatt made me a duct tape wallet complete with ID. Emma drew a Thanksgiving poster.
















































After Jeannette got home, Todd and I went to Home Depot and picked up two screen doors that Todd had ordered.  While we were gone Jeannette picked up pizza for supper.

Todd, Gerri, Wyatt and I played two games of Kill on the board Todd had made when he was in high school.  There was a mistake in the holes in the center of the board so Todd had written some slightly different rules to accommodate the mistake.  Todd won the 1st game and Gerri the 2nd game.

Before bed we watched a movie, Mall Cop II.  Very funny.  After bed time Gerri and I caught up on computer chores and read until we retired for the night.

Tuesday November 24, 2015 At Sea Between Cabo San Lucas,MX and Los Angeles, CA

Our last day at sea.  We had our coffee and breakfast in our cabin.  We didn't venture out until afternoon.  We went to the pool area and had grilled hot dogs for lunch.  As we were eating, we noticed clouds drifting by.  Turns out we went into a fog bank.  Visibility was limited and the air got quite chilly.  The ship sounded the fog horns several times.

We went to deck 7 and watched the Carpet Bowling.  We didn't participate.  The game is similar to Bocce Ball but with weighted balls.  Between the weights and small movements of the ship the balls don't always go where the player intends.

In the late afternoon we went to our cabin and Gerri got most of our things packed up for disembarkation.  We needed to have the bags out before 9 PM.  At about 5:30 we went to the Skywalker for the daily hors d'oeuvres.  Today's feature was the shrimp fountain and there were more people there.  Bob and Gloria joined us.  When they closed down the hors d'oeuvres we stopped by their suite for a tour.  They had two rooms and the bath had a large shower and a jacuzzi tub.  Very nice, someday we may splurge and book a suite,

Back at our cabin we finished packing both our large bags.  We had sent our laundry out on Monday and it came back.  Gerri got a great sunset picture before we put the bags out and headed for the dining room.

Our entire table was there.  Today was Audrey's birthday so she got a cake and the wait staff sang Happy Birthday.  After saying our goodbyes we went by Crooner's Lounge.  We listened to the piano player for a while.


Back at our cabin we did some sudoku puzzles before retiring.

Monday November 23, 2015 At Sea Between Cabo San Lucas, MX and Los Angeles, CA

End of Land

Unlike other ports we have visited, we stayed overnight at Cabo San Lucas.  We had our coffee and juice with the skyline of the Cabo San Lucas visible outside our cabin.  

La Finistera on the Pacific coast 

Later, we had lunch on the Lido deck, cheeseburgers and fries.  A SOB cruise ship (Carnival) came into the harbor and anchored outside our ship.  We sat in the pool area and listened to the band that was playing during the sail away.  The sail away was about 45 minutes late.

Downtown Cabo on the right

Looking north

Still looking north

Parasailers near the ship

After the sail away we went to the Piazza and watched horse races.  The game is played on a grid with 6 wooden horses.  They are moved by volunteer jockeys at the roll of three dice.  Each time the number of a horse is rolled the horse moves forward of one space.  The audience is encouraged to bet on their favorite horse.  Odds are calculated and winners paid accordingly.  We didn’t bet so naturally we didn’t win.  We just enjoyed the pandemonium.

We spent most of the rest of the afternoon in our cabin reading and doing Sudoku puzzles.  The sunset was obscured by heavy clouds.  There wasn’t a gathering of Platinum and Elite passengers today at 5.  Instead there was a Captain’s Circle party at 7 PM.  They introduced the top three traveled passengers on the cruise and gave them prizes.  There was also a drawing of door prizes for the remaining guests.  We didn’t win.

All of our table mates were present for dinner.  We all recanted our day’s experiences ashore.  Only the young couple Brandon and Samantha did an organized activity.  They went SCUBA diving.  We all had tender problems and delays from the day before.  

After dinner we went to the Princess Theater and saw Ferrell Dillon and his magic show.  That was the end of our evening.  Tonight we move our clocks back an hour to the same time as Los Angeles.  We need the extra hour sleep.

Sunday November 22, 2015 Cabo San Lucas, BCS, Mexico

Los Arcos

Before retiring last night I set an alarm for 5:30 AM.  Gerri wanted to get a sunrise picture.  She got up with the alarm and went on to the balcony.  Unfortunately the ships direction of travel put the sunrise ahead of us and the pictures weren’t what she had hoped for.

Sunday Sunrise

The end of Baja California

We went to sleep for a while longer after the sunrise photo session.  When we looked out again we could see the rugged coast line of Baja California, but had no idea exactly where we were.  We ordered our coffee and breakfast.  

Rounding the end of land

At about 11 the end of land at the tip of Baja California came into view.  We could see the resorts and homes on the Pacific Ocean side of Cabo.  

The Grand Princess

A panorama from our mooring

As we sailed into the bay we got a good view of Cabo’s signature “Los Arcos.”  There we two other cruise ships already in port.  The Grand Princess was there along with an SOB (Some Other Brand.)  Since this port requires tenders, our ship moored outside the other two.  That left a long distance for the tenders to take us ashore.

We waited to go to the tender queue up area, knowing that passengers with shore excursions would be taken ashore first.  We left our cabin at 2:30 to go ashore.  On the way to the elevator we met people that were taking food to family members already in the tender line.  When we got to the Piazza the line for tender tickets was outside the waiting area and around the Piazza.  The scuttle butt was that the wait was about 3 hours.  This wait was attributed to the distance to the dock, and the heavy traffic in the harbor making a lot of waves.  Since our only plan was to have dinner at Solomon’s Landing, we weren’t in a hurry to get ashore.

We spent some time in the Wheelhouse Lounge.  Before checking the tender line again, I went to the customer service desk and exchanged Gerri’s cruse card.  Her card had become de-magnetized.  After getting some things from the room she met me at the tender check in area.  When we went to check in we were told that Elite passengers board directly, bypassing the ticket system.  DOH, another perk we had forgotten about.

The sea was quite choppy when we boarded the tender.  It took some assistance to get me and other passengers on safely.  The ride to the dock wasn’t too bad but it was about 20 minutes.  Of course it was calmer at the dock and exiting the tender was easier. The walk to Solomon’s was longer than I remembered. The restaurant was busy but we got a table with a fair view of the foot traffic along the marina walk.  Our first order of business was to order guacamole and chips.  A waiter prepared the guacamole at our table and served it with chips and pico de gallo.  Gerri had been looking forward to fish tacos, but they were not on the menu.  Our waiter explained that they only served fish tacos at lunch.  Gerri convinced him to ask the chef to make them just for her.  She asked for the tacos with hard shells and that the fish be grilled.  As a backup she ordered a chili relleno.  I ordered a combination plate with some of everything.  The fish tacos came with soft tortillas and the fish was breaded.  The waiter insisted in taking the tacos off our bill, even though Gerri tried to decline that gesture.

By the time we finished eating it was dark.  In spite of my record of not finding many caches at night, we decided to try to find the nearest one.  It was .4 miles away and had been last found on the 3^rd.  The cache was off the main street and we were surprised at how little foot traffic there was, considering there were 3 cruise ships in the harbor.  We found what was described on the cache page, but had no luck finding the cache.  The walk back seemed longer.  Well it was further by the distance to the tender dock.

The queue for the tender was very long.  We took advantage of our Elite status to cut the line and board the tender without waiting.  The trip back to the ship wasn’t as rough as the trip in.  Both the other ships had already left the harbor.  We were back on the ship at about 8:40.  At 9:15 we went to the Explorer Lounge to watch the Liars Club.

We called it a night at about 11 PM.  I read until about midnight.