My Winter Vacation

Well, you know what they say about good intentions! I planned to blog on my recent Mystery Trip; even brought my laptop along for the purpose. Now, technology has never been my strong suit, but hey. I’m the eternal optimist. 🙂 On this particular sojourn, however, optimism did NOT carry the day.
Where the heck have I been all this time?
Here’s the answer: I was onboard a cruise ship, the Ruby Princess, with my daughter, Wendy. We sailed from San Pedro, California (though all the paperwork says L.A.), spending the first two days at sea. I loved the peace, quiet, and cruise-ship luxury–with Mom’s health declining rapidly, there has been a lot to do around the Triple L, making arrangements, meeting with caregivers, etc. I’m sure many of you are dealing with the same difficult challenges, especially if you’re a Baby Boomer, like me. In any case, I needed to get away for a little while, and the cruise seemed to be a good choice.
Which, of course, it was. On Day 3, we made port in beautiful Puerto Vallarta–sun, sand, glorious beaches, and lots of fun things to do. Wendy and I were signed up to swim with dolphins–an item that’s been on my personal bucket list for years–and what a day it was. In the near future, I will be posting some photographs of us with our Flipper-type friends, here on the blog and on my Facebook page. Wendy, being an Aquarian, has a special affinity for dolphins, whales, sea lions, etc., and we’re both grinning like a pair of fools in the pictures. 🙂 Like living jet-skis, the dolphins carried each member of the group around the pool. We were all charmed, but Wendy was over the moon. She cried when the event ended, she was so deeply moved by the beauty and grace of those lovely animals, and I swear, two of them popped up directly in front of where she was sitting on the side of the pool, making that chittering sound and nodding their heads. It was a touching sight, they were so clearly telling her good-bye, and I got a little choked up myself. Besides hauling us touristas around, the dolphins performed some stunning feats, like triple somersaults above the water.
How we hated to leave that place! We’ve made a solemn vow: next time we get an opportunity, we’re going to spend more time with these breathtaking dolphins.
After the dolphins, we sailed on up the coast to Mazatlan, where we took–what else?–a shopping tour. 🙂 We bought silver jewelry, some folk art, and the like, and enjoyed the best shrimp and lobster ever at a corner cafe. Then, it was back to the ship.
On we went to Cabo San Lucas, another beautiful place. (I had never been to this part of Mexico, only to Tijuana, Nogales and, years ago, San Miguel Allende, and incredibly lovely place. The Mexican people are so warm and gracious; we loved them, and hope to take the same cruise again sometime. By that time, I was pooped, so I wandered around on shore, while Wendy went on a snorkeling excursion. Again, she was delighted, and returned to the ship sunburned and full of joy, showing me the million and one photos she took with her trusty Go-Pro camera.
Cabo was our last stop, and we were sad to leave, but the Princess Cruises people made sure there was plenty to keep us busy on the trip back to L.A. (San Pedro.) That took another day and a half.
In L.A., we met up with our dear friends, Bill Francis and Renae Kinsey, who were staying at the same hotel, the LAX Hilton, which is, by the way, a very nice place to pass the time. (Hello, Theresa–Bill’s mom!–Bill told me you’ve been missing the blog. I hope to write posts more often than I have been.) The four of us had a wonderful dinner and caught up on each other’s news; our last get together was in Las Vegas, at the rodeo.
Because of the trip, I haven’t been running the usual contest, but I promise to begin a new one on Monday morning.
That’s all for now. I missed each and every one of you very much, and as much fun as Wendy and I had, we’re both glad to be back home. (Especially since the snow melted away while we were gone.)