Heading for Shore.....

Whoa maties.....up and down and up and down and.....what are you thinking???

Of course....I'm back on the ship after a very sentimental day in Ensenda...a place I knew a zillion years ago when we lived in San Bernardino for a year while hub was in training.

Have pictures....have stories......have art.....

but have only a few Internet minutes left......

so...it's off the boat tomorrow morning.....a drive through the desert ......and arriving in hunka hunka burning love land (aka Las Vegas) for a glittery night before we head back home.

See ya then.....

The tip of the Baja

Well here I am.....at the tip of the Baja penisula....obviously having survived....a night...a "fun day at sea" and Los Cabos.

It's been an interesting trip.....great to be with family....but the boat experience....feels like I was walking along a block in Las Vegas and someone came along .... cut the block of earth up and sent it out to sea.

Carnival Cruise Lines is sort of the everyman-type cruise. There's well coiffed folks and folks that look like they just walked off a Walmart parking lot.

I've seen more cellulite than I would ever want to (oh god some people should not wear daisy duke shorts and swimsuits without skirts)...along with enough fake boobs to be comforted that if something happens to the ship...I'll just grab one of these gals ...because there are huge floaties riding on some chests here.

The food has also ranged from very nice dinner and wine combinations with pleasant even artistic presentations to a buffet where people are totally into piling on food in mass quantities.

I've had times of claustrophobia.....and a bit of motion sickness....and the fun day at sea probably would be more fun if I enjoyed Bingo...or games....or lectures on shopping....instead I found myself pacing back and forth on a deck, that for some reason, was devoid of folks.....feeling restless and very confined for a few hours. But Sunday (our day at sea) ...was also my hub's birthday...so we had a celebratory bottle of wine before dinner.....and I was happy we celebrated with family around.

When we docked this morning......I couldn't wait to get off the ship and on to land....but Los Cabos....is strange place....gorgeous to look at....desert hills and mountains perched on the beach....but also a thousand million condos.... for Americans and Europeans. I have a feeling not many natives can afford the mega mansions built on the hillsides.

It was 92 degree and at least 95% humidity when we got off the ship....and within a few hours....the intense heat and humidity ....made me weary...that and the fact that my shopper's eye found nothing to be happy about....all the shops sell the exact same stuff just in different colors. There was even a mall which we stepped into to escape the heat....but it was the same stores I've seen elsewhere. I was sure there might be a store or two....a vendor with something unique....but I only found one place which had artistic and unique gifts....unfortunately....the prices were also unique.

Perhaps I did this port wrong....I should have just signed up for a jet ski...slathered on the sun screen and joined all the other folks out on the ocean. Regrettably.....all that happened is .....I came back exhausted.....and literally peeled off my drenched sweaty clothes and layed naked on the bed till my core body temperature went back down to normal.

Geez....I must have gotten soft over the last few months of work...if I can't take a tropical temp and humidity....for a few hours....oh .....what's become of me???....lol

The boat will be leaving soon......for another "fun day at sea".....before reaching Ensenada......it's a time when the boat has you captive.....but I'll be better prepared this time.....I've pulled my books out....a sketch pad....some mags....and I've already scouted out a place or two that may be quiet and in the shade.

I'm also ready to enjoy some of my favorite characters on the ship during our confinement at sea........although there are 2000 folks here....it's amazing how people you start recognizing....my favorites are Girdle girl and her cowboy boyfriend ( a volumptious woman who wears a tan body stocking down to her thighs which shows when the winds blows her dresses up in the air)....Maori arms....(a buff guy with interesting tattoos).....Short Stud.....(a gorgeous upper body dad with 4 young daughters who follow him around).....Gross Pizza man ..( a guy weighing at least 450 pounds who sits at the buffet and eats whole pizzas all day)....the Kissing Couple....(a large girl with multiple tattoos and burgundy hair on her honeymoon with a man who has hair like Elvis).....and Donna....(a woman I envy because she is going to be heading off to Ghana with her family to live for a couple of years since her hub works for the American Embassy ).

Maybe they'll have another "chest contest" tomorrow.....the one thing I did find funny....on my previous day at sea....was the "best chest contest"....featuring a group of guys. I hooted and clapped for one cute guy....who eventually won......I presume to be fair.....they'll have a "chest contest" for women tomorrow? Hmmm...they better have it in two sections......natural and enhanced. Damn....where did I put that push up bra????

Oh ho....we're moving.....heading out to sea....I hope I didn't lose my sea legs.....the trick is ...it seems to relax....the ocean...it moves up and down....just like someone breathing......interesting it feels just like that....interesting it's the same rhythm we have in our own body...I like that part of the ocean.....

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Heading out to Sea......

Well....bags are repacked....passports ready.....we head off to the dock in just a few minutes to meet my hub's family and get on board a carnival cruise ship to Ensenda and Los Cabos in Mexico.

I have mixed feelings. I'm excited to see my in-laws...but I just don't know about the boat thing. Everyone that knows me....laughed when I told them I was going on a Carnival cruise. I guess I seem a bit too independent in my traveling habits to inhabite a floating hotel for a few days....but heck....I'm sure it will be an experience....and fun...and I'm sure I'll have a ton of stories....ain't that what life is all about?

So....it's Bon Voyage for me......LOL>>>

Upcoming Family Reunions....or...We're All Gonna Have Fun ...Right

Last night I was up to 2Am...stalking the halls....talking to the dogs.....spinning my wheels. I thought this would be easy.....it sounded good several months ago.....rent a couple of houses on the beaches of Long Island the first couple weeks in June.....get family and friends together.......enjoy wine....enjoy each other.....laugh lots.

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Hmmmm. The easy part was finding the houses.....a couple days ago I started plotting moving bodies to New York with all kinds of new constraints on them....I can only get these days off....I can come here but not there.....and of course....thank you Southwest Airlines for cancelling Laguardia as a destination since flying out of there was central to the plans.

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On top of all these complications....my sister-in-law sends me an email asking me to send the deposit money for the cruise.....the cruise?

I'm an only child with a tiny family but my hub has 4 siblings scattered throughout the Northwest and Arizona. His energetic sisters plan a reunion every couple of years. Bad joss on my part (I was teaching or traveling) kept me out of the reunion twice. A few emails flew by about going on a Carnival Cruise. I thought they were feelers....this weekend I found out they were reality.

I swooned. Independent Gina trapped on a Carnival Cruise!?!?......Yikes..... I read the reviews...tons of mediocre food, Karaoke bars, slot machines....the obligatory girls-in-skimpy outfits- reviews. ....and of course the infamous towel animals.

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I started mentally suffering. Imagining myself trapped for two full days at sea ......watching drunken people in a conga line...(it's a 5 day trip and there's a couple of sea days).

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Between family complications and the thought of bobbing up and down the coast from San Diego to the tip of Baja, Mexico....I tossed and turned all night.

Then this morning...my son asked me a simple question....could he fly up to Ohio and hookup with his sister??.........why yes that would be brilliant and would get 2 out of 3 kids there in one swoop... I rechecked my frequent flyer miles.....hmmmm...forcing me to fly into New York a few days ahead of the family could be blessing....I could solo around the island and find some excellent wine....a big multi-colored beach umbrella......figure out train system ....Maybe this could work....maybe....lol

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As far as the cruise....I emailed hub and asked him if we could spend a few days in Death Valley ( a place I've always wanted to visit)....before we go a-cruising....we could stock up on wondrous desert vibes....solitude....certainly enough good energy to survive a conga line and forced-happy talking cruise directors.....and the cruise isn't till October plenty of time to forget about it before I have to remember it.

Finally .....I sat down to blog....and realized.......if I can drink champagne and restreak on the Ides of March....maybe...just maybe....I could drink enough martinis.....to Karaoke?????? Isn't there some rule which states you have to Karoke at least one time in your life?? (Best to do it at sea where no one knows you ...right?)

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What we do for love is amazing....lol

"What you want baby I got it....what you need....you know I got it....."

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