CRUISN' DOWN TO MEXICO

Hola! I don't know how many people read this anymore, considering that the title is now expired and my life is rather uneventful at the moment...But I do have some pictures from the cruise my family and I took this past week down to Ensenada, Mexico. We went with Royal Caribbean on the Monarch of the Seas. It was a lot of fun, especially to be completely pampered for four days. My favorite part was the food. Every night for dinner we were assigned to the same table where we had a formal dinner. There was a head waiter and assistant waiter assigned to our table that took our orders and addressed our every need. By the second day they knew our names and were bringing our favorite drinks without even being asked. We stopped in three ports of call: San Diego, Catalina Island, and Ensenada.

There were a few parts of the trip that really reminded me of my experiences in Taiwan. First, just stepping onto the ship and noting that a large percentage of the people were either Chinese of Japanese. My brother Dallin and I made it game to eavesdrop on the conversations to see if there were any words we could pick out in Japanese. There were a couple times were I was tempted to try to tryout my Chinese on the appropriate guests, but I always lost my nerve.

I also really enjoyed the bike tour we took in San Diego. It reminded me of all the time I spent on a bike in Taiwan. The tour lasted all morning and was about 12 miles long. I was worried that I would be sore the next day, but didn't feel a thing. I guess six months on a bike was good conditioning!

The final element on our trip was a tour to La Bufadora. There we saw a famous blow-hole (not that amazing...) and had an opportunity to shop. The shopping was very similar to the night markets we encountered in Taiwan. You had to bargain with the shop owners. My brother and I made it a game to see how low we could bargain various items down to. I only ended up buying a stone statue of what looks like a Mayan god from $25 to $15. I felt it was a fair price.

Now I am back in Thatcher. Brett and I worked on putting together a rough cut of our documentary film last week. He is returning again this week to finish it all up. I am also in the painting stages of my set design and will begin some intense painting come tomorrow morning. Looking at the clock, I probably should get to bed. Here are some pictures from the cruise:

Here are my parents and brother Dallin preparing for the boat to sink.

Actually, we had to wear our life vests as part of a mandatory drill in preparation to setting sail.

First Stop: San Diego

Here are some images from the bike tour along the harbor and into the city

Left: My brother Jacob and his wife Whitney

Right: My brother Dallin and I taking a a quick break at the top of an outdoor mall

Whitney and I at another rest stop. See what a serious cyclist I am with my bike helmet?

Later that evening on the ship we had a formal dinner where everyone dressed up.

My parents on the left. My brothers and I on the right.

A candid photo of Jacob and Whitney at dinner. Also, our waiter Marcus in the background.

Every night while we were at dinner a nice lady named Barbara would turn down our beds and place mints on our pillows. She also would create these really cool towel animals. This is a rabbit. She also made a dog and a swan (not pictured).

Next Stop: Catalina Island, California

On the boat tender heading towards Catalina Island.

We didn't do much in Catalina except window shop. I think the bike tour the day before caught up with me, because I was exhausted. I only spent the morning on shore and then went back to my stateroom where I ended up watching a movie and taking a nap.

Late that night the cruise had an amazing chocolate buffet. We were able to fill our plates with around 40 different chocolate desserts. It was amazing, and worth staying up for!

Some ice sculptures on display at the chocolate buffet. My favorite was the dragon, shown above.

Jacob and Whitney with their plates of chocolate heaven.

Last Stop: Ensenada, Mexico

Jacob and Dallin climbing the rock wall on board the ship. Dallin tried for several days until he was finally able to get his chance due to scheduling conflicts. He quickly scaled the wall and was satisfied to only go up once.

This photo may be a bit misleading, they aren't racing... Dallin started much earlier than Jacob.

The amazing blow-hole we all went to see... We were told that there are only three in the world. I think that part is cool, but I don't know much about geology or oceanography to determine whether what we saw was all that "amazing."

Jacob and Whitney among all the people lined up to see the amazing blow-hole.

Now on the other hand, I think the Mexican coastline shown above is much more amazing. Here are two pictures. It was beautiful.