Ports of Call

The three ports that we went to were Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. Each port was a lot of fun. In Puerto Vallarta, first we went to Wal Mart to get James some more formula. THANK GOODNESS they have a Wal Mart. The city was so big that it made it difficult trying to decide what to do first. We spent a lot of time looking at souvenirs and just walking around. Stephen bought me some beautiful silver amethyst ear rings for a very decent price. I have been wearing them ever since that day. We ate at a quaint restaurant near the cathedral, and then went inside the cathedral to marvel at the beautiful artwork, symbols, and stained glass windows. We then returned to the boat.








The next day, we went to Mazatlan. That stop was our favorite. We spent the whole time with Sarah and Michael. We went to old downtown to a lot of old buildings and souvenir shops. We went to a church, and then we went to the beach and swam and sunbathed. The scenery was beautiful. We bought some souvenir silver bracelets from some hawkers at a really good price (less than a quarter of what they originally asked for, thanks to Stephen's mad skills). After the beach, we caught a open-air taxi back to the port.










The next and final port was Cabo San Lucas. There was no port big enough to accommodate the cruise ship, so we had to wait in line to disembark on tenders, special boats that carried us into port. We had very little time at the last port, because they had to set sail at 2:00 pm. So we ate breakfast at a restaurant on the pier, looked around a bit, got a few more souvenirs, and went back to the ship. The rest of the ride home was a bit rocky, as the ship picked up speed to make good time for the return journey.











I would also like to mention that Stephen's parents gave us a wonderful brake by taking Baby James while we were at port so we didn't have to worry about taking him with us and worrying about kiddnapping and carseats, etc. It was extremly generous and we are so thankful that they did that, AND that they were willing to take us on a cruise. It was very generous. Thanks again. hopefully someday when we have more money we'll treat you guys on one. :D

Overall we had a great time relaxing and spending time with family. And, between returning to Long Beach and catching our return flight, we got to spend time with my sister Mindy and her family. They live in Laguna Hills. While there, we both had a very strong feeling that in the end, California is home to us, and we feel like we should be there. So we really hope that everything works out with Stephen in the CHP soon.