No. 2: Go On A Cruise (without the kids!)

The airplane slowly rolled down the pavement.  It was preparing to leave.  Many on board were connecting with family.  Some were conducting business.  Ours was simply for three nights of uninterrupted sleep!

This was our first experience flying into Long Beach, California.  It’s a small airport.  Mostly outdoors.  Very well organized.  We immediately boarded a bus to take us to the cruise ship.  Our impression was an overwhelming feeling of the first time jitters.  We had more questions than answers.  Could this vessel really be our home for the next three nights?  Where will we go while on board?  What will we do?  Who will we meet?  All questions were answered soon enough.

Coddled among hundreds of others disembarking from the United States towards our bordering friends in Mexico, we were ready to go.  While in Salt Lake City we were bundled in coats, which soon were packed away.  Spring and summer cannot come soon enough.  As we flew away from home our nerves settle.  It’s not easy to leave children, although in capable hands, for any amount of time.

We boarded the boat early Friday afternoon.  Once on board we checked into our room.  We were on the Riviera Deck, (4th floor).  Our room was comfortable and convenient, enough space for sleeping, which is all we needed.  Soon enough we found the buffet lunch.  We sat aft, which is a unique enough word.  My vocabulary was not built for cruising.  I learned that quickly.  The food was a refreshing start to our stress free weekend.  Quite honestly, refreshing was how I would describe almost everything we did.  From sleeping to laughing, eating to…well eating, we soaked in the replenishing culture of the ship.

After a lengthy safety orientation, Jennive and I went to the front of the ship to watch the disembarkation from the mainland.  Two hours of standing and waiting later, we decided to go eat dinner.  Eventually, after resolving whatever technical difficulty the ship was having, we departed.  Years later we will all forget that the week before a cruise ship was stranded at sea...without working power...for five days.  Imagine our nerves as we sat at port, two hours delayed.

That night we slept A LOT!!  The rocking of the boat was like a mother rocks a child.  A full nights rest was our rejuvenating start to the weekend.

Saturday we ported in Ensenada, Mexico.  We toured the countryside, first through the city, and then north to a small hotel and cantina.  Our server provided chips, guacamole, and a very well prepared bowl of salsa.  One of the locals sang a romantic melody as we ate.  Soon we made our way to the beach.  The coastline was beautiful.  The sand was glistening in the sun (appropriately named as the Gold Coast).  We soaked our feet in the ocean and picked out sea shells for the kids.

After our tour we stopped downtown to shop, barter, and sightsee.  It was a great time.  The city of Ensenada was full of small trinket shops which lined both sides of popular streets.  It was not hard to see the level of poverty the locals lived in as the vendors begged and bartered.  Part of me enjoyed haggling.  The part of me that is cheap.  However, part of me did not enjoy this experience.  It was evident these people were poor.  Mothers would exploit their poverty by sitting with a small child or infant cradled in their lap, an empty cup held out for spare change.  “Por favor” has a new meaning to me now.

While in the city we enjoyed a coke from Oxxo and a smoothie from McDonalds.  That reminded me of the time we ate at Burger King in Madrid, Spain.  Ironic, huh?!  We were able to purchase fun clothing for our children, a new wallet for me, and some new sandals for Jennive.  Proof of our visit, nothing more.

Later that afternoon we took a horse carriage ride back to the boat.  We were ready for a nap.  Fortunately, the Big Bang Theory was playing on television.  So instead, we watched hours of reruns.  Who wouldn’t, right?  That night we enjoyed a formal dinner.  Jennive was complemented by everyone we greeted.  In fact, as we walked into the restaurant, I counted several people checking her out.  That’s right, I married a hottie!!!

The night was fun.  After dinner, we went to a comedy sketch.  Small world, we were greeted by a couple we had met earlier in the day while at McDonalds.  Even smaller world, they used to live in Utah and attend Brigham Young University.  The comedians were funny.  Their sketches could use some work.  They relied too heavily on race jokes.  None the less, they put on a good show for the night.

Sunday was a day at sea.  We slept comfortably and were fortunate to start the day with a couples massage.  Though, it was more of a couples lay-down-and-have-massage-oil-rubbed-all-over-your-body…there wasn’t much massaging.  Trust me, I know, my wife is a massage therapist!  The music was nice though.
It craftily disguised the thumping from the over used running track above.  Our massage was cut short by, well I’m not really sure.  I think they just wanted to cut it short.  So $300 later, we still have very stressed necks/backs/feet…

The remainder of Sunday we spent eating, relaxing, and eating more.  We dressed up again for dinner.  It was fun to celebrate our 9 Year Wedding Anniversary as we dined.  The kind servers sang “Happy Anniversary To You” to the tune of “Happy Birthday to You” as we ate our dessert.  Good times!  It reminded us of the Christmas Story duck dinner.  Frarararara, rara, ra, ra.  Later that night we went back for some more laughing at the comedy show.  I haven’t laughed that hard in a long time.  A great way to end the night.

After a final night of continued sleep, we woke up, ate breakfast, and got the hell out of there.  It was time to go home!  We missed our kiddos.  Funny enough (and even smallest world!!) we saw a group of old classmates preparing to board the ship as we were leaving.  Then it was off to the airport, our nerves settling again.

Post Script: Nine years ago, Jennive and I committed to live and love for time (and a year later for all eternity).  Over the years we have grown and developed in mutual responsibility by creating and expanding our family.  Our love and devotion to each other parallels the love and nurturing we extend to our children.  We are very blessed to have experienced so much growth to our individual characters.  Our children teach us every day.  Their laughs lift our spirits.  Their cries tear our hearts.  We are blessed to have their smiles fill our home.  In September, we look forward to receiving one more blessing.