Cruising to Mexico

Originally we planned to fly to New York for our Fifth Anniversary (Nickelversary) but with our new little one on the way, we decided to keep it a little less costly and more local. We had been doing some research on going on a cruise. The grand plan is to go on a Cruise to Alaska some time in the future. Since Mark has experienced Sea-sickness in his lifetime, he was nervous about a cruise, so this was a celebration and a test. We went to AAA and decided upon a 3 day weekend cruise to Ensenada, Mexico. We had a limit to when we could sail because they don't allow women after 24 weeks pregnant on their cruise. So we decided on sooner rather than later. We set sail March 20, two weeks after our Nickelversary, on a Friday night. Our experience on this cruise boils down to a couple of things. The food was Poor, 1 star out of 4 star in our humble opinions. Mexico wasn't really that exciting, which we expected, so that doesn't go aginst the cruise line and there was a storm on Sunday (the day at sea) so the boat ride was a really rocky all day long! However, each night we were greeted by a sweet little towel animal.

Friday: Embarcation Day

We were dropped off by Don and checked in around noon. After taking 2 posed pictures, by the cruise photographer that we didn't want to buy we actually got on the boat and tried to find some lunch. This was where we first learned that the food wasn't going to be a culinary delight. We arrived at our stateroom (why are they called that?) and found our luggage waiting for us. The room was about what we both imagined, small-ish, but the bed was large enough for the both of us so we were pleased. We put away our clothes, checked out the channels we receive on the TV (don't you always do that at hotels) and then walked around the ship. We found the shuffleboard (a must), the miniature golf course, and the gym. We also used this opportunity to take many pictures of the Queen Mary, since our ship was docked right next door. Jessica also booked her spa experience for Sunday. Before we officially set sail we had the required safety training where we began to realize that this Spring Break timed trip would have a lot of drunk people on it. After successfully completing our saftey check we headed to the back of the boat to watch them unhook us from the dock and set sail to open seas. We were escorted by some birds and 2 harbor patrol boats. We had a good time watching some of the boats go by and feeling the wind in our hair. That night we decided to see what was in store for us in our formal dinner experience. We were seated with another couple who were incredibly nice, fascinating and interestingly enough had just found out that they were pregnant as well. We enjoyed their company and talked with them for almost 2 hours before we headed back for some shut-eye. Upon our return to the room we encountered our first towel animal: The Ray.

Saturday: Ensenada

We awoke early to grab some of the tasteless fuel before we headed off on our excursion to La Bufadora. Upon our exit of the boat we posed for 3 more fake photos with "authentically dressed" characters and headed to our chariot which led us on a tour of Ensenada and La Bufadora. La Bufadora apparently is a bit of a tourist destination which the locals thrive on. It roughly translates as "The Blowhole" although it literally translates to the noise that a Bull makes or snorting. And it's reportedly one of 3 natural blowholes in the world, and 2nd highest. The height of the blowing is determined by the tides, and let's just say that the tides weren't all that thrilling that day. Once you pass all of the street vendors, it was a serene place to spend some time. On our way back to the bus we purchased an authentic mexican blanket, and extremely fresh and authentic Churros. We were handed the Churros directly from the flame, so I doubt we'll ever have better Churros. The bus headed back to the ship with the last stop being the Civic Center where the Margarita was invented, supposedly. It was a nice building, but nothing special. Our tourguide (aka, Our Mexican Amigo) was named Enrique and he was quite entertaining. We went back to the boat and played Sports trivia and then General trivia. We then headed back to the room for a much needed nap. That afternoon, as we sailed away from Ensenada, I watched as we passed by some more ships and then all of the sudden I see in the water 3 dolfins playing around. Unfortunately, Jessica was in the shower and missed the whole thing. I tried to take a picture, but when I got back to the porthole, they were gone. It was neat to see! At dinner we had told them that it was our anniversary trip, so we were sung to and got some cake. The dinner wasn't that good, but our company was nice. This time we sat with 8 other people and one of the couples was from Huntington Beach. We took a walk around the ship that night and swiftly concluded that it would be fatal to fall off the boat at night. Quickley retreating from the railing, we decided to take a stroll through the shops (Duty Free!) on board and headed to bed. There we found our second towel animal, The Pig. It is so cute.

Sunday: the day at sea

Sunday morning Jessica had her spa treatment planned so Mark decided to go the gym. Jessica had a nice relaxing time and Mark got a pretty good workout in. Since it was raining and really windy the miniature golf that we had planned had to be called off. We decided to play a little Shuffleboard for about 4 minutes because it was so cold and the discs kept flipping up into the air due to the wind. But at least we got to play it. The ship was really rocking around so we napped the afternoon away and then at at the buffet. We returned to our stateroom for our evening activity of watching the TV and movies in our stateroom. There we found the peace de resistance, the Towel Elephant. Sleeping wasn't so pleasant because the boat was moving so much back and forth. Thankfully morning finally came we could be on dry land.

Monday: Debarkation Day

Mark got up early to at least try and get some of the less than decent food into his body before we left the ship. He was able to catch the sun rise and it was one of his favorite moments of the trip. He headed back to the room to help finish packing up and then we left the ship. We waited for Don to come by and pick us up. While we waited we saw a seal playing in the harbor. Finally Jessica got to see some sealife. When Don came to pick us up, the first question we asked him was, "What are you doing right now, and can you take us to Super Mex?" Super Mex is our favorite Mexican food place. Now we can say that we had some great Mexican food while on our vacation.

Overall, we have to say that it was a positive experience because we didn't get sick, but we will think twice before embarking again. Only time and other people's reviews may tell. But in the near future, our family will have grown so it won't just be the two of us to think about.

If you'd like to see more pictures of this trip please follow this link: http://gallery.me.com/live.laugh.love#100017

The New Johnson's Wedding Weekend - February 21, 2009

Friday Night Dinner

The festivities began on Friday night with the out of town family joining us for some grub at Mom and Dad's (AKA The Old Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, hee hee). It was great to see Aunt Karen, her husband Mark and cousins Ryan and Kyle. Lynette graciously made us an awesome Spaghetti dinner. It was nice to get caught up on each other's lives along with the joking and laughing that always ensues when families get together. Learning about Ryan and Kyle's band (7 Horns 7 Eyes) was good fun, they are quite talented. We even watched one of the promo videos for the band and listened to a yet unpublished song that sounds amazing. Since Saturday was going to be a special day, we didn't stay up too late so off to slumberland we went.

The Wedding Day

The Special Saturday began pretty early for me (Jessica) as I got my hair done and then got my makeup done with Mom and Jacquelyn. After finishing our "preparation" Jacquelyn and I headed over to Angelica's parents house to meet up with the rest of the bridal party. Upon our arrival we quickly noticed the hustle and bustle of all the girls doing their make-up and hair. The sound in the air was filled with excited chatter about the wonderful event to take place that day. In the midst of the girly chaos there was Angelica sitting for the make-up artist. She was as calm as could be except for the huge smile and gleam in her eye as she waited paitiently to marry the man of her dreams. Our departure time arrived and we all climbed into the cream colored limo and rode our chariot to the ceremony site.

Mark made sure that he had all of his rented clothes and met over at Lynette's house for the testosterone gathering of the men's pre-wedding festivities. The traditional wedding day lunch at In N' Out was a lot of fun. (Thanks Don) With the secondary photographer tagging along we got a lot of pictures, some of which can be seen at http://www.parris-studios.com/, filled our bellies, and had a lot of laughs. Next we went back to the house to try and dress ourselves. With a little help from our friends, we all eventually got fully dressed and took a couple more pictures before creating a caravan off to the wedding sight, The Muckenthaler Mansion in Fullerton.

When the boys arrived at the mansion they were not allowed inside or anywhere near the mansion so they walked the grounds taking more fun and cool pictures. One set of pictures was a little frightening for the boys as they stood on a rail 20 feet above the ground. Happily, the day was without incident and the Wedding began joyfully. Both Mark and Jessica were in the Wedding party so we had the priviledge to see the ceremony from a unique perspective. Both the Bride and Groom looked fantastic, and they looked even better together. Truly they are a spellbinding pair. After some emotional moments they finally were able to kiss as Husband and Wife and they exited triumphantly. Once we all exited, the first thing Mark heard Angelica say was "Where are the Flasks?" They each took a drink from the flasks to take a little of the exciting edge off. We took some more pictures with Ryel, the Fabulous photographer, of which photos of the wedding can be seen at http://blog.ryelj.com/. We entered the reception to give some toasts and get the party started. Once we got in for dinner, there wasn't much eating but there was a lot of catching up with friends and family. The next segment of the party was the dancing. Since Jessica is pregnant, there wasn't much of the dancing she could take part in. But she still enjoyed herself very much, and the music was great. Everyone appeared to have an excellent time. Josh and Angelica danced for much of the night and seemed as if they were having a blast enjoying all their friends, but alas they remembered that their night still held a lot for them. They left in a Limo for their Hotel and a surely unforgettable night. As for the rest of us, we were planning the continuing of the evening.

After Party at the Auld Dubliner

Jessica, Mark, Jacquelyn, Steve, Ryan, Kyle, Jim, Jim Farmer's Date (Becky), Dayle and Ryel gathered for another bite to eat and a drink or 2. Sadly, it didn't begin as planned since Don and Lynette could not attend since there was a matter of Josh not having his camera. (Kyle had it, oops!) And Ryel had left her ID in her car in Mission Viejo, so Dayle and Ryel had to pick it up to get in the Bar. We had a great time talking about the fun times at the wedding and maybe having a drink or 3 spilled. We left before it got too late as a pregnant woman and growing baby need all the rest they can get.

Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure

We began the morning after getting ready and gathering at Lynette's house to leave for the Disneyland resort. J & M, Jacquelyn, Steve, Ryan, Lynette, Aunt Karen and her husband Mark met up with Jim Farmer who graciously helped us out with some of the cost for the day. We spent 15 minutes deliberating on how to get to the front gates since there was apparently a scare and the Trams were down. We had been told that the park might not even open that day, and Karen and Mark were praying that would not be the case. We started off at DCA and went straight to the Toy Story ride before the line got too long. The ride was a hit with young and less young. All left the ride with a smile on their face. Next, we hit California Screamin', which Jessica and Lynette did not ride. They were able to get a great picture of the rest of the crew on the ride though. After the ride we took a tour of the Mission Tortilla Factory to get a free Tortilla (yum) before we headed over to the Tower of Terror. The lines were pretty short for a Sunday. On this ride we escaped from Lynette and Jessica again. When they found us again Lynette was in a wheelchair. (What?!?) Have no fear, she was fine, it was a valuable tool for resting. The final event in DCA was California Soarin' and we enjoyed our hang-glide experience. Next we headed over to Disneyland and all agreed on Mexican lunch. With full bellies we decided to hit all the greats of Disneyland Pirates of the Carribean with all of the movie inspired improvements, Big Thunder Railroad, and Space Mountain. Unfortunately the lines for the Haunted Mansion and the Matterhorn were way too long. Jessica, Mark and Lynette skipped out on Space Mountain only to watch Mark fail embarassingly at jumping rope game in the arcade. Karen and her husband Mark wanted to go on Star Tours and the rest of us decided to take a break on that one...soon after their return they realized that there was a reason why we all didn't go on with them. (technology a bit outdated) At this point most of the group was ready to go home, so we split from Karen and Mark (who were determined to spend ALL day at the parks) and we hit some Ice Cream before we returned the wheelchair and left the Happiest Place on Earth.

From begining to end the weekend was absolutely wonderful. Congrats again to the new Mr. and Mrs. Johnson and our apologies for writing about it almost two months late, oops! We wish you all the best!!

If you'd like to see more pictures of this event, follow this link: http://gallery.me.com/live.laugh.love#100013