AHHH The Cruise!!
OK so Britttany, Ryan, Lynn and I all went on a cruise at the beginning of June! K so most of you already knew about it since we constantly talked about it until we left... getting all the pictures in one place is seeming to be a little bit tricky. So before it becomes old news here is just a few of the 555 pictures we took ;) Told you all we'd take plenty of pictures! So I added explanations of what is going on and what all we did... won't be the least bit offended if you just want to look at the pictures cause there's a lot.
So we left from the Denver airport (Brittany's first time flying) and all went well as planned. I had a very nice conversation with the poor fellow who ended up sitting next to me... I think he had planned to read his book, but ya know how I gab. So we finally arrived in San Diego, CA!!!
Here are the four of us just off the plane and yes still in the air port. We are waiting for our luggage, of which I am happy to report all made it to the proper destination ;)We successfully found our way to the hotel, sadly though our room was not quite ready. Luckily they could see our enthusiastic attitudes at the thought of lugging our luggage around for a 1-2 hours in San Diego so we checked our bags and headed out for some adventure....of course when we found ourselves tired from the plane ride the nearby Arby's sounded like the perfect distraction. When we got back to the hotel we waited a few more moments when we realized that......
...Brittany and Lynn had matching outfits on! Oh how cute!Well after a few minutes more our room was ready for us. After checking in both Brittany and I decided that we were in great need of a nap... it was just a little short nap and so the boys waited......
.... very patiently I might add. After our naps we were ready to go exploring and find out what San Diego had to offer. Mom and dad had really enjoyed eating at "Anthony's Grotto" a few years ago, so they suggested we check it out for some good seafood! We made a quick reservation and we were off!
Looky here we found it!
I don't know why we didn't get a pic of Lynn by this sword fish but we seemed to get everyone else.
Well it was finally time for dinner, we were all getting quite hungry and we tend to get a little grumpy when we're hungry so it was wise for all for us to get some food. So our first night at Anthony's was really good, we all tried new things and kind of figured out what we liked the best. After dinner we decided that 4 miles really wasn't that far to walk back to the hotel. Ok ok so we were really thinking of the cab fare that none of us wanted to pay for.
The sun was setting and so Britt and Ryan sped up and walked quite briskly towards the hotel. Lynn and I decided we were in no real hurry so we just casually let them get ahead. It wasn't long before we could no longer see Brittany and Ryan but we had confidence in their ability to make it back safe and sound. We soon found that, at least in this part, people in San Diego don't do much walking.... the sidewalks would suddenly cut off and then pick up a block or two later. This made our journey quite interesting indeed. We found ourselves jumping fences and looking far ahead to make sure we ended up on the right side of the freeway at the right time. Lynn and I got about half way and decided we had cut the cab fare in half and that would do for us. We hailed a cab (with Lynn's excellent hailing skills) and were at the hotel in no time. Ryan and Brittany weren't there yet and so we called to make sure they were safe.
Well we headed straight for our ship, The Elation, which we were informed is bigger than the Titanic! (We had been debating that one earlier and so it was good to know who won of course). We got through all of security, checking our luggage and then we found out that our rooms would not be ready for a while. So what do we do when there is extra time???? Eat of course!! 
Since we had all figured out what was best at Anthony's the night before we decided to head back and get it! Their clam chowder was to die for! So we got off the boat and went to enjoy a nice warm bowl of chowder. You might be wondering why on earth we would want warm food in the summertime in California? Yeah we were thinking the same thing but there was a chilly wind that was blowing and Brittany and I were cold! (surprise surprise)
After our little lunch we headed back to the ship and found our cabin was ready! We checked it out and yes Brittany and I had to take a short nap... we just wanted to be well rested for the cruise... anyway Lynn and Ryan once again waited patiently and then we all got up and went to dinner...our first dinner on The Elation!
Brittany suspiciously checkin out the menu
So many good choices I didn't know where to start
The boys were taking this dinner thing WAY too seriously, but what could we expect....food is a serious topic with them.
on the little boats that take you to the island. I know Lynn looks so happy.... He really was excited!
See all that excitement on his face?
oh the view of the island from our little boat was really pretty
The excitement only continued as the day went on! I was ready to party!
We weren't kidding when we said, "Squish together for the picture!"
On Catalina Island we found a lot of little cool shops to look at and definitely played up the whole Touris thing.
Britt and I found some ice cream! 
After the beach Brittany and I decided to head back to the boat while Lynn and Ryan went kyacking... (they didn't take any pictures of themselves).
There was so much more sun on the boat!
As well as a buffet of food, we were hungry
...and thirsty! (Britt's pina colada)
That night waws formal night and so the boys got dressed up with us...Lynn was my date
Ryan was pretty serious about his lobster
Lynn was just happy to be at dinner
I do like to eat too
Britt and her three desserts! Our waitor was so funny, every time we ordered the chocolate melting cake (on the right) he brought two for each of us...along with whatever else we ordered!
Couldn't resist... I'm flying, I'm flying!
Brittany had to go flying too
Yes, we played with all the bubbles...it was just too tempting! I don't know bout you, but Lynn's face just screams trouble to me.
.... very patiently I might add. After our naps we were ready to go exploring and find out what San Diego had to offer. Mom and dad had really enjoyed eating at "Anthony's Grotto" a few years ago, so they suggested we check it out for some good seafood! We made a quick reservation and we were off!
Looky here we found it!We sort of underestimated out abilities because our reservation was not for a few more hours so we played tourist and walked around the warf. There really was a lot to see... 
The Star of India (this ship pictured), lots of little cool artsy things, a museum on a ship, The Midway (of course the main attraction there was that the Navy was having a little shin-dig on board and so there were many many military men around that one). Pretty sure Brittany and I enjoyed that ship the most of our tours ;)
The Star of India (this ship pictured), lots of little cool artsy things, a museum on a ship, The Midway (of course the main attraction there was that the Navy was having a little shin-dig on board and so there were many many military men around that one). Pretty sure Brittany and I enjoyed that ship the most of our tours ;)
I don't know why we didn't get a pic of Lynn by this sword fish but we seemed to get everyone else. Well it was finally time for dinner, we were all getting quite hungry and we tend to get a little grumpy when we're hungry so it was wise for all for us to get some food. So our first night at Anthony's was really good, we all tried new things and kind of figured out what we liked the best. After dinner we decided that 4 miles really wasn't that far to walk back to the hotel. Ok ok so we were really thinking of the cab fare that none of us wanted to pay for.
The sun was setting and so Britt and Ryan sped up and walked quite briskly towards the hotel. Lynn and I decided we were in no real hurry so we just casually let them get ahead. It wasn't long before we could no longer see Brittany and Ryan but we had confidence in their ability to make it back safe and sound. We soon found that, at least in this part, people in San Diego don't do much walking.... the sidewalks would suddenly cut off and then pick up a block or two later. This made our journey quite interesting indeed. We found ourselves jumping fences and looking far ahead to make sure we ended up on the right side of the freeway at the right time. Lynn and I got about half way and decided we had cut the cab fare in half and that would do for us. We hailed a cab (with Lynn's excellent hailing skills) and were at the hotel in no time. Ryan and Brittany weren't there yet and so we called to make sure they were safe. Apparently they ended up crossing the freeway and "taking an exit" on foot! Quite the adventure... 
(Here is Britt stopping to smell the...flowers on the way)
(Here is Britt stopping to smell the...flowers on the way)They thought there was an unspoken rule that taking a cab was prohibited for this particular journey. Well you can imagine they're disgust when they found out we had in fact caught a cab. Luckily all was forgotten when we found out the hot tub and pool were still open. Then next day was time to board the CRUISE!!!! So we left the hotel and Lynn demonstrated his cab-hailing skills....
He was quite the pro...Britt had to give it her best shot
...not to be outdone by Lynn!
He was quite the pro...Britt had to give it her best shot
...not to be outdone by Lynn!Meanwhile Ryan and I decided they had the whole cab thing under control 
and so we could simply relax and wait.
and so we could simply relax and wait.
Well we headed straight for our ship, The Elation, which we were informed is bigger than the Titanic! (We had been debating that one earlier and so it was good to know who won of course). We got through all of security, checking our luggage and then we found out that our rooms would not be ready for a while. So what do we do when there is extra time???? Eat of course!! 
Since we had all figured out what was best at Anthony's the night before we decided to head back and get it! Their clam chowder was to die for! So we got off the boat and went to enjoy a nice warm bowl of chowder. You might be wondering why on earth we would want warm food in the summertime in California? Yeah we were thinking the same thing but there was a chilly wind that was blowing and Brittany and I were cold! (surprise surprise)After our little lunch we headed back to the ship and found our cabin was ready! We checked it out and yes Brittany and I had to take a short nap... we just wanted to be well rested for the cruise... anyway Lynn and Ryan once again waited patiently and then we all got up and went to dinner...our first dinner on The Elation!
Brittany suspiciously checkin out the menu
So many good choices I didn't know where to start
The boys were taking this dinner thing WAY too seriously, but what could we expect....food is a serious topic with them.That night we went around checking out the many things going on and of course did Not go to bed early! The next day we were anchored just off of Catalina Island! So we got up and ready, we headed off
on the little boats that take you to the island. I know Lynn looks so happy.... He really was excited!
See all that excitement on his face?
oh the view of the island from our little boat was really pretty
The excitement only continued as the day went on! I was ready to party!
We weren't kidding when we said, "Squish together for the picture!"On Catalina Island we found a lot of little cool shops to look at and definitely played up the whole Touris thing.
Britt and I found some ice cream! 
Next we played around a little bit on the beach, the water wasn't the warmest but it was still fun!
After the beach Brittany and I decided to head back to the boat while Lynn and Ryan went kyacking... (they didn't take any pictures of themselves).
There was so much more sun on the boat!
As well as a buffet of food, we were hungry
...and thirsty! (Britt's pina colada)That night waws formal night and so the boys got dressed up with us...Lynn was my date
Ryan was pretty serious about his lobster
Lynn was just happy to be at dinner
I do like to eat too
Britt and her three desserts! Our waitor was so funny, every time we ordered the chocolate melting cake (on the right) he brought two for each of us...along with whatever else we ordered!
Couldn't resist... I'm flying, I'm flying!
Brittany had to go flying tooAs we were "flying' we saw that the hot tubs were still open at the end of the ship...so we hurried and changed for a little soaking!
Yes, we played with all the bubbles...it was just too tempting! I don't know bout you, but Lynn's face just screams trouble to me.After all the hot tubbing we were thirsty so we headed to the bar for some pina coladas!
OK, so there is this piano bar below and behind us, it was pretty cool, we spent a lot of our decision making time here at this very spot!
We went down for the dance competition... afterwards we hung out with our cruise activity director, Stew...a very funny guy! 
This is Lynn and me walking in downtown... we caught a bus to go see the bufadora (blow hole thing) and on the walk down this is what we ran into...
this guy dancing and playin music
The four of us at the bufadora! We had a real hard time getting a good pic that had us all in it and the water shooting up behind us... it really was pretty cool.
Here is Lynn and Ryan down at the market... it was fun too.
This is me bargaining for a nice bracelet. After Mexico we headed back to the boat and had a lovely dinner... as always. Then we realized that we were leaving Mexico and wanted to go see it as we left.
Ryan...might be a tear in that other eye!
Lynn and I were also checking out the lights as they disappear.
The next day was a, "fun day at sea" the boys were reading by the sun.
Yes that's Ryan reading "New Moon"
OK, so there is this piano bar below and behind us, it was pretty cool, we spent a lot of our decision making time here at this very spot!
We went down for the dance competition... afterwards we hung out with our cruise activity director, Stew...a very funny guy!The next day we were surprised to find out that we got to stop in Mexico afterall!! Stew came on the air and told us it was going to be a, "Cracker of a Day!" So we hurried and got ready to check out Ensanda!
This is Lynn and me walking in downtown... we caught a bus to go see the bufadora (blow hole thing) and on the walk down this is what we ran into...
this guy dancing and playin music
The four of us at the bufadora! We had a real hard time getting a good pic that had us all in it and the water shooting up behind us... it really was pretty cool.
Here is Lynn and Ryan down at the market... it was fun too.
This is me bargaining for a nice bracelet. After Mexico we headed back to the boat and had a lovely dinner... as always. Then we realized that we were leaving Mexico and wanted to go see it as we left.
Ryan...might be a tear in that other eye! 
Lynn and I were also checking out the lights as they disappear.The next day was a, "fun day at sea" the boys were reading by the sun.
Yes that's Ryan reading "New Moon"Next it was time for ping pong!
Lynn's pretty serious in the background!
Brittany and the monkey towel...kind of a scary sight to walk into in our cabin, but we got used to it after a little while.
This is our last night with our awesome waitor, Gereom from Manilla (in the Phillipines). He took such good care of us and kept us laughing pretty much all night long. Lynn also got to find out more about the Phillipines (he is headed there on his mission in August).
Lynn's pretty serious in the background!
Brittany and the monkey towel...kind of a scary sight to walk into in our cabin, but we got used to it after a little while.
This is our last night with our awesome waitor, Gereom from Manilla (in the Phillipines). He took such good care of us and kept us laughing pretty much all night long. Lynn also got to find out more about the Phillipines (he is headed there on his mission in August). Of course there are sooo many more pictures that we took, if you want to see more look on facebook.
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