Day 5: Catalina Island

Sorry I missed a day in there...
We woke up in the dark and I noticed we had a signal on our cell phones so I knew we must be in port at Catalina Island. We turned on the television to the station showing the view off the front of the boat and I got excited. We were about to spend time on an island. Now THAT'S a vacation!

We quickly ate breakfast at the buffet again, then headed down to get on the tender (boat) that would transport us to the island. It was too shallow for the cruise ship to pull up to a dock. The ride on the tender was fun. It was a fairly empty boat, and the edge was barely up out of the water. It made for a great ride. Our welcoming symbol was a seal sunning himself on one of the buoys near the marina. Then as we got closer, the ship's captain told us a little about Catalina Island. He said that 90% of it was reserve land and off-limits to the public. The island is privately owned by the Wrigley family, yes, the chewing gum family. They still have a mansion on the hill but you can't get too close to it. The island is 22 miles long, and over 2,000 feet at its highest point. I won't bore you with the details, you can look up more on Wikipedia if you're interested.
When we exited the tender, we were on the dock by a bright green-blue structure. We were officially on the island! We got there early and at least half the shops weren't open yet, so we had another idea...we rented a golf cart to see the island ourselves, following the map they gave us, and it was only $40/hr. Since it was all uphill, very twisty roads, and we'd never be able to see a fraction of that walking, we took the deal. We barely got to the next block when a couple stopped us and asked where we rented the golf cart. The entrepreneurial bug kicked in and we offered them a business proposal. We told them that since it was just the two of us, and there was just two of them, and we just got started, and were given a 4-person cart, how about they just jump in and see the island with us and we'll split the cost at the end. They accepted.
We found out their names were Tony and Erica. They were from California and were also on our boat. We talked about baseball, football, the ship, and the island. They seemed perfectly fine traveling with us and we told them we'd stop for pictures wherever they wanted. It was all good until I found out Tony was a Yankees fan, and being a Red Sox fan, I then turned my conversation to Erica and let the guys talk about jobs. It wasn't as cold as it sounds, it just sort of unfolded that way, and we all were temporary friends for the whole island adventure. We saw luxury homes, shacks in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods, and everything in-between. We drove by the entrance to the Wrigley Mansion, the botanical gardens, the golf course, and some really pretty scenic views. There were lots of seals popping their heads up out of the water in the cove as we took pictures from the hills above. It really is a wonderful little island, but I wouldn't want to be one of their 3500 permanent residents. Maybe a long weekend, but most hotels there I found were around $299/night, plus the $85 per person ferry charge to get there from the coast. It was a great little trek in our golf cart, which only ended up costing half as much. Definitely worth doing.

After returning the cart, we found all the shops were now open, so we went looking for things to bring back for the kids. All the shops seemed to have very similar things, and at close to the same prices. We got Adam a shot glass. He's 20 now and he collects them. We got Logan a coffee/tea mug. He has a favorite one he bought at the Dollar Tree that's all black and he doesn't like sharing it. His favorite colors are black and dark blue. We found a new mug for him in his two colors that says, "Catalina Island" on it. Now no one else will use it because it's his gift cup, not just "the black mug in the cupboard". Jordan is into pirates, so we found a cute necklace and earring set with pirate heads and the hat is made of a blue opal-looking stone. She's very picky since gifts is her Love Language (great book, by the way). I knew we couldn't go wrong with pirates.
After we were done shopping it was around lunch time. There were many cute little cafes the island with cheap deals. Tim wanted to try a cheap drink special so we stopped into The Galleon. It was decorated half like a pirate ship, and half like Mardi Gras. Their drinks were almost half what they were on the cruise ship, so we made one quick stop there, then got back on the tender to have lunch on the ship. Although the little restaurants were cute, the cruise's lunch was free (or at least, already paid for).
After lunch, we went to the sun deck at the back of the ship, at the very top. It's the area where kids play in the water slide area, but with everyone on the island, we had it all to ourselves for most of the afternoon. We must've been out there for about 3 hours, totally at peace, watching the seagulls, and the boats, and the seals. It was the most relaxing day I remember having ever. Again, nowhere to be, no one to answer to, no responsibilities except to each other. It was amazing. It was on that back deck that I really felt close to Tim like we used to be. So many rough things have happened in our lives and our marriage, but this, this made all that fade away. I finally could stop the stress and planning and to-do list-making. It was the first time I can remember just living IN THE MOMENT. The one thing I had really hoped for was to see a whale. I heard they were running this time of year, and off the coast of Catalina Island too. I've never seen one in real life and I know they won't be around forever. Seeing a whale is something I've wanted to do for my entire life. That's why I love boats, deep-sea fishing and 3 hour tour boats alike. It's in the hopes of seeing a whale. I mentioned it to Tim so we stood up and looked off the back railing out into the water behind us. Sure enough, within just a few minutes, we saw the white big splash of where a whale had just jumped! Tim's great at spotting things like that and God's good enough to grant my little requests to see stuff like that. I tried to get the camera focused and ready for the next jump, if there was one. I wasn't able to capture anything but the next and final white splash, but I did see the tail before it disappeared. For someone who's waited her whole life to see a whale, it was enough (this time). I was very thankful for that little experience. It made the rest of the afternoon that much better.
Dinner that night was fun. We had Italian night. I ordered the roasted broccoli for an appetizer (needed vegetables!). It was funny, one single "tree" with grill marks, nothing else. Tim got the special appetizer that night, frogs' legs. My entree was veal parmesan over spaghetti with a Greek salad as my side dish. It was okay, and it was great to taste veal for the first time in a long time, but the spaghetti was NOT made by Italians! Again the desserts were centered around chocolate, so I ordered the carrot cake. It turned out to be the best dessert on the menu. The staff performed a song and dance routine for us too. That was fun.
Later that night we went to the Candlelight Lounge for karaoke. We met our dinner friends, Christopher and Kerri, there to enjoy it with us. The guy hosting was from India and was great! He had a great singing voice and made the experience fun and encouraging. After about 4 or 5 singers, all but one was pretty bad, but then Tim got up to sing. He used to sing, so I wasn't too worried. I knew he'd do great. He sang a song by Brooks & Dunn, and yes, he did awesome. Unfortunately, both Kerri and myself were soooooo tired, and I started feeling really sick (like maybe something from dinner didn't sit right). Tim (and Christopher) were kind enough to call it an early night so we could go back to the room and sleep. Tim was my hero getting me back to our room feeling as bad as I did.

Day 4: Tuesday

I woke up and it was really dark in the room. No, I mean REALLY dark! I couldn't tell if it was 2 AM or 8 AM. Having no window makes it really hard to tell. I fumbled around the edge of the bed, it was so close to the wall, and made it to the desk to check the time on my cell phone. Know what I discovered? When you're spending a day "at sea" there's no phone signal so your cell's clock is way off. It said it was 3:30 in the afternoon, or something like that. I then had to turn on the bathroom light and wedge the door to get a little light, without it swinging wide open (still rough seas), and without waking up Tim in case it was still the middle of the night. With that little bit of light, I fumbled over to my purse, dug out my tablet without service, to see that it was almost 6 AM. I quietly gathered my things together, and took a shower to let Tim sleep a bit longer before I turned on all the lights. When I was done, he was mostly awake, he turned on the TV, and went to the two channels with views of the pool deck and off the front of the boat. It was light out, sunny, and windy - but it looked warm. It was weird...you could watch a big wave approaching the boat, then feel it as it came under us (our room was at the front of the boat). It was like watching a 3D movie of a roller coaster and you can feel your stomach drop just as the movie shows your car going down the big hill. It was exactly like that. Tim got up, got dressed, and we headed out to the breakfast buffet.

The breakfast buffet was where you ate. They didn't have a sit-down, planned breakfast or lunch on this ship. The buffet had eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, french toast or pancakes, waffles, yogurt, chocolate milk, juice, coffee, but instead of fruit cups or mixed fruit, it was just an unappealing, non-organic apple or banana. Non-organic ones have almost no nutrition and no flavor, so I skipped that fruit. Back in the room I had some organic fruit "rope" snacks with zero ingredients except fruit, fruit juice, and pectin. That would be better. I also don't eat pork, so no bacon or sausage. Eggs work just fine. I was really missing some good green veggies though. I eat tons of them every day, and with vacation and traveling, I hadn't really had much in about 4 days. It was a little chilly since it was the open deck of the ship, but the view was still pretty, the sun was warm, and if you could keep out of the wind, it wasn't bad at all.

After breakfast, Tim's shoulder had been really bothering him so he wanted to soak in the hot tub. I couldn't imagine how cold getting OUT would be, so I declined. I decided instead to lie in a sun deck chair near the hot tub. He met a guy in there that was a little redneck, but pleasant and friendly. Although it was pretty cold when the sun went behind a cloud, sunning myself is one of my favorite things, so I just waited it out, happy that we had nowhere to be again. We spent a few hours there, then got changed and went to look for something to do, since we'd stay at sea all day without getting off at any ports.
We went to the Violin Bar area again where a woman was hosting a trivia game to pass the time. The first one was a Name that Song game, we got about 3/4 of them. Then they did a second guess the song game with Movie Themes. I think we got about 12 or 13 of those. The ones we missed were movies we don't generally pay money to see, like Blades of Glory, Dumb & Dumber, The Hangover, etc. The winners got a tacky little plastic black and gold colored trophy shaped like the ship on top of a V. We had fun and it killed an hour.

After that we went to the lunch buffet, which was the same as yesterday's lunch buffet. We figured out we'd get the same foods at that location. There was a place you could get pizza and ice cream 24/7 but we never did manage to get over to it. We later heard it wasn't good pizza anyway, so nothing lost there. We hurried through lunch a bit because we got an invitation to the ship's Art Auction. We had never been to one, and I was curious how they work, what to look for with an artist that makes some of his/her work worth more or less, etc. The gallery was a mix of different things. Nothing that really caught my eye. They offered free champagne and a free piece of artwork to everyone who went, and we had to fill the day aboard, so why not? I had no idea it was going to be a two hour event. It was pretty slow, although they tried hard to make it fun. It seemed to take all afternoon, but we'd survived this long, might as well wait it out and get the free art. They spoke a bit about 4 or 5 artists, told their stories, explained what was unusual about each piece of art compared to their other works, and offered "free, no interest financing for any amount with up to two years to pay it back - we PAY YOU to take art home." Yeah, not interested in that. If we don't have the cash to buy it, we don't buy it. The only debt we're interested in having is a mortgage when we buy our next (and hopefully last) permanent home. Anyway, the interesting highlight was getting to see Peter Max's artwork. He inspired the Yellow Submarine art of the Beatles, although he wasn't the actual artist. His works go for anywhere from $5000 to over $100,000. It was still nice to see some of his work. My favorite was a close up of the statue of liberty he did. We did get a piece of unframed art to take home, the champagne wasn't bad, and it was a good learning experience.
We had about two hours to kill after the art auction and before getting ready for dinner, so we just wandered the ship, looked out at the ocean, walked through some of the on board shops, and went back to our room. When we went to dinner the second night, it was supposed to be a dressy evening, not casual. I was looking forward to seeing our table friends again, and having the luxury of ordering whatever I wanted without the prices being a decision-making factor. I started the evening with the Cream of Mushroom soup. At least it was similar to a vegetable, right? Not sure what the theme was for the night. We also ordered the flatbread for the table. That's something I need to make at home. It was about 6" wide and 10" long, super thin and crispy, topped with sauteed onions, mushrooms, and some kind of butter or oil, topped with cheese. It was really good and looked really easy to make. I just never think about rolls and breads - too close to baking I guess. I cook but I do NOT bake. One's an art, one's a science. I'll stick to cooking. I think Tim's special appetizer was calamari, we're not sure. They served Calamari every night after that, so not sure if that was it or not. Anyway, for the entree, I wasn't in the mood for heavy pasta, nor seafood. When our Chinese friends found out I grew up near Boston and didn't eat "the best lobster there is", they were shocked. Sorry, but I had a bad experience with lobster, I've tried it a dozen times over the years, made every way possible, dipping it in everything you can think of, I just don't like it. Anyway...I ordered the lamb shank over roasted cauliflower with a Greek Salad on the side. Finally veggies! Well, the lamb tasted more like an old sheep than a young lamb. It tasted nothing like the lamb you make at home. It was missing that slight aftertaste that makes lamb so good. Tons of fat on it too. My roasted cauliflower was, I kid you not, the very end florets, about the size of a quarter, and I think there were only two of them in the big, deep bowl with my massive lamb shank. Disappointing when you hear cruise food is like a 4 star restaurant, but being Carnival, and a cheap cruise, it was okay. Maybe 3 out of 5 stars. Hey, at least I didn't have to cook or do dishes, right? Now the Greek Salad, THAT I loved! It was fresh, crisp, lots of kalamata olives, feta cheese, not too much dressing. That was worth waiting for. It probably sounds strange hearing someone so excited about a salad, but I really do love vegetables. For dessert, I had no interest in chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, pumpkin pie, or a dessert with artificial sweeteners, so I just got a scoop of Butter Pecan and a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. They're very small scoops, so no guilt there. They're about the size, if not smaller, than the palette cleansing sorbet you get between courses at weddings. The conversation was good, we all got to know each other a little better, and we had a good time.

After dinner we stopped back by the nearby Violin Bar. There were about 10 places with things going on, but this one seemed to fit our likes the best (and the nightclubs were closed if there wasn't a specific event happening). We again listened to the Sea Ninjas. They were doing a 70s tribute, in full 70's costumes. They were a lot of fun. During the break, we got to talk to a few of them. Their 18 or 19 year old bass player is a musical genius at such a young age. They were really enjoying their first cruise gig too. I asked if they had a Facebook page and they said not yet, it was a good idea. I couldn't believe they hadn't thought of it.
We ended the night watching a "family friendly" comedian named Dougie Doug (or Doug E. Doug), but he's not the same guy from Cool Runnings by the same name. This guy was funny. We watched the show with Christopher and Kerry from dinner. It was nice to hear some comedy that isn't all f-bombs, body parts, and centering around women's cycles. Just for the record...If a joke isn't funny to start with, adding f-bombs all throughout the joke does NOT make it magically funny. Just sayin'

After our long day at sea, we went back to our room, a little later than last night, and went to bed excited to see Catalina Island in the morning.

Day 3: Cruise Day/Cinco de Mayo

Talk about waking up with anticipation...how do you contain your joy of waiting 20+ years to do a cruise alone with your spouse? Something you've dreamed about for decades? It's not easy. When we woke up around 7:30 or so, we knew the paperwork said we couldn't board before 1:30 PM, but waiting around all morning was going to be very difficult. We couldn't wait to get on the ship! We decided to leave our room before noon, figuring we'd get close, then eat lunch nearby. The GPS talked us straight into the parking area, and once there, we couldn't really leave port and there wasn't any restaurants or shops around. We were there by noon...now what would we do?
We talked to one of the Carnival employees helping direct people to the right places. He told us that even though it was very early, they were allowing people to board and had a nice lunch buffet already prepared on board for us. We quickly got our suitcases checked and headed through security to board. I remember walking up the gangway thinking, "This could go either way. Either we'll argue over something and have a miserable time, or else we'll find out just how much we love each other and it'll be the best thing to happen to our marriage in a very long time. I left determined not to argue about anything, as far as it was up to me. Tim has been under so much pressure for the past 5 months, I just wasn't sure where he was at. Would all the recent pressure cause him to compare this to some great cruise from his past and he'll complain the whole time, or will I get to see a side of him I've waited years to see, the wonderful husband I believed him to be."

As we entered the ship, we were told the rooms wouldn't be released for another hour or so, and we should go enjoy the buffet by the pool. That's what we did. The atrium where we entered was just like I remember the pictures and videos from when this group of ships was new, about 20 years ago. I remember thinking back then what it would be like to stand in a multi-level atrium, all lit up, with the smoky glass elevator, and grandiose furnishings all around. It was everything I hoped it would be, and that was just the beginning. We rode the elevator up 3 decks to the pool area and buffet. Sliding brass and glass doors opened automatically to reveal the Lido Deck. It was just like the pictures! I know it sounds strange that I was surprised at this, but after staying in dozens and dozens of hotels that weren't quite as nice as their photos made it seem, this was amazing! I also remember being among a mostly un-American staff. Everyone is from another country, bringing with them their wonderful accents. For people like me who love to listen to accents, it was so much fun!
We walked over to the lunch buffet and found burgers, coleslaw, potato salad, french fries, chicken nuggets, and more. We both knew we were returning from this vacation and starting our 8 week CORE weight loss program, so individually, we'd both decided to not worry about calories and to just enjoy the experience. I did do pretty well at choosing healthier options and avoiding the choices that were absolute junk food, though. The food was good, but it was the atmosphere that really got me excited. We were sailing to Catalina Island, Ensenada, Mexico, and spending a day at sea before returning on Friday morning. It was Cinco de Mayo as we left for a Mexican cruise. There was a party atmosphere right from the start, but it sort of eased its way in, allowing plenty of quiet time to soak in the surroundings.
After getting to our room, we got changed to head back to the pool area. I'm very claustrophobic so I was happy that our inside stateroom had a fake window for me. It's an indentation to look like a window with a curtain closed in it. It resembles a real window with closed curtains so I never felt like I was in a box (until nighttime when it was pitch dark and you couldn't tell if it was day or night outside that room). The queen sized bed was pretty comfortable and there was a desk, and a chair, and the bathroom wasn't as tiny as I expected. It was a great value. By the way, did I mention we only had to pay $685 total for this cruise?! That's for BOTH of us, all charges & fees. You can't even stay in a regular hotel and eat for 4 or 5 days for that little amount. Anyway, back to the pool we went.

We found two chairs beside each other, kicked off our shoes, and just soaked up the sun, enjoying the cool sea breeze, the sounds of the music starting to pick up around the area, the murmur of passengers making their way to the buffet, and the seagulls flying around. It was an afternoon filled with joy and peace. Knowing we had nowhere to be, no one to be responsible for, no one to answer to but each other, and we were in charge of our day...something we've never been able to both experience together before. We also didn't have to worry about looking at prices on the menu, considering cover or ticket charges for the entertainment, or worry about drinking and driving. All our cares melted away as we experienced what it was like to be "on vacation".
A little while later the captain announced we were making changes to the itinerary. There was a hurricane and bad weather in the southwest area around Mexico that was causing high winds and rough sees, so we were going to avoid it. Instead of Catalina Island, then Mexico, then the day at sea, we would do our day at sea first, then the island, then Mexico, then book it from there for home the next morning. We didn't care either way, but we did have pretty rough sees all that first day. You could really feel it on every part of the boat. By the end of the second night, everyone felt a little off, but we got through it. It was still better than sitting home watching television.
We showed up to the dining room for the early seating, around 6 PM. We were travelling alone, so we had no idea what to expect from our soon-to-be dinner friends at our assigned table. The first couple to show up was Christopher and Kerry. They were a very nice couple, about 10 years younger than me, with similar likes/dislikes. We got along great with them. Then the women showed up. We had the absolute privilege of dining with 6 beautiful ladies. Sally was the head of their group, she was born in China but moved to the states for college and opportunity. She's a smart, successful business woman. She was so much fun, had a great sense of humor, and appreciated everything in her life, taking nothing for granted as we Americans often do. She was traveling with her mother and 4 cousins, I think (unless she said one was her aunt, hard to tell, they all look so much younger!). Her mother and 2 of the cousins came from China for the cruise, the others live in the states. Oddly enough, the one sitting next to Tim lives literally the next town over from us. What are the odds? I enjoyed our first dinner on the cruise very much and was very happy we had who we did at our table. I felt very blessed.
When dinner came, we were taken care of by Tuty, Imarte, and another guy I can't remember his name. They were of Asian descent. I ordered the Spring Rolls with a Vietnam sauce for my appetizer. The special appetizer of the day was Alligator. Tim ordered that, along with most everyone at our table. Not me. Sorry, but I was not going to blow the vacation of a lifetime by taking chances eating strange foods that might make me sick. I ordered the steak with roasted garlic and mashed potatoes for my entree. When it came, the roasted garlic clove was the size of a tennis ball. I'd never had a roasted bulb of garlic before. I wasn't sure what to expect, nor what to do with it. I poked it with my knife to see it was soft like a spread. Ooohhh, that opened up LOTS of new possibilities in my world of cooking! I took out a clove and spread it on my steak. It was like a soft butter. It tasted like nothing else I'd ever had before. The steak was okay, flavored well, but it was the garlic bulb I was most excited over. I put some into my mashed potatoes too and it melted almost instantly into them. Kerry, who I had only known about 20 minutes, asked if she could try it. Being my usual self, I said, "Sure, just go ahead and take what you want." Only after she reached onto my plate with her knife did it occur to me that this should feel weird, letting a stranger eat something off my plate, but it didn't. It was like we were old friends, cruising together, enjoying an adventure. Dessert was a bit hard for me since I'm not a fan of chocolate. I don't eat chocolate ice cream, or chocolate cake, and I don't like chocolate milk. The only time I may eat it is in a choc. chip brownie, in choc. chip ice cream, on top of a Boston Cream Cake or eclair, and maybe a brownie or two a year. Everything on the menu seemed to either have chocolate or artificial sweetener in their "healthy low sugar choice". I chose a Fig Pudding with Passion Fruit Custard with Pumpkin Seed Crunch. How's that for healthy? It was a baked/steamed pudding like a sponge cake, with a thin, liquid-y spread Tuty poured over it for me. The "Crunch" was a single baked chip of sorts made from pumpkin seeds and probably sugar to hold it together. It also came with a cute, petite scoop of Rum Raisin ice cream. It was the healthiest choice, and it was actually pretty good. Glad I'd made the choice to get it.

After dinner, we roamed the ship to see what there was to do. The casino was jumping, but Tim works hard for his money and gambling isn't something we enjoy doing. We don't give others a hard time about the enjoyment of casinos, it's just not for us. We found the tail end of a party in the atrium area. They had an employee directing some line dancing to music that wasn't country. It looked fun, but as I said, it was the tail end of it when we got out of dinner. We did find the Violin Bar, where we ended up spending most of our evening time during the cruise. The actual bar is on one side, there's a small stage across the open-concept walk through area, and lots of tables and chairs along the side. We heard a cover band playing called The Sea Ninjas. It was their first set of their first cruise gig ever. The first night they were doing songs of Motown from the 1960s and 1970s. We knew almost all of them, the band was good, so we stayed there but went back to the room to retire early.

We returned to our room to see the dog on our bed made from rolled towels. Housekeeping had gotten our room picked up and ready for us to get some sleep. Although the seas were rough, lying down, it wasn't so bad - except for not knowing when it was morning from the darkness of our room.

Day 2: Sunday

It was great waking up at the hotel in California. I knew we were going to meet new friends that day, but we had nowhere to be, and no time to get there (or so I thought). After taking a shower and throwing on comfy shorts and a t-shirt, Tim said, "I did tell you we're going to church with Judith and Charlie, right?" I got quiet..."Really?! You made plans like that without telling me until it's almost time to leave? What kind of church is it? How far is it? What if we're dressed too casual?" It's very difficult to have information thrown at you last-minute when you've got an OCD personality. I need time to hear it, think it through, get used to the idea, consider a plan B (I don't know why, but I always have to have a Plan B in case things don't go as planned, to reduce stress), and then finally accept the concept. Tim and I looked up the church website and got the info I needed to know I would be going to a relaxed, contemporary service at a church with similar beliefs.
We arrived at Mount of Olives church early; we both are always early for everything. It gave us time to get acclimated before having to go inside. It was a beautiful, sunny, cool morning with a nice breeze. We found the coffee shop and ordered Tim's coffee, then went to sit at an outdoor table to wait for our friends.
I should explain why we were meeting "new friends". Facebook has been a great tool to reconnect with old friends, find relatives and friends you've lost touch with, and to meet new friends. Tim's father was an Arizona Ranger (sheriff's department volunteer backup organization). His "company", like an army company, used to compete in training skills events. They used to get beat by this young Captain in the Phoenix area. The Captain used to date a young woman years ago. That young woman's Mom is Judith. Got that so far? Okay, so Tim worked pretty closely with his father when we lived in the mountains for two years, and he got to know the Captain on Facebook. That captain, although not seeing the young woman anymore, he kept in touch on Facebook with her Mom, Judith. Tim would see Judith had a very similar mindset, had the same foundation for her character, similar beliefs, and stood for many of the same things, so he sent Judith a friend request and she accepted. Being the wonderful woman that she is, she did the right thing, and sent me a friend request also, even though I didn't have her daughter's friend on my friend list. I accepted based on Tim's recommendation. We got to know her better and hear about her husband Charlie that she obviously adored. We spent 3 or more years keeping in touch on Facebook, and when she heard our vacation would take us to her area, she was more than happy to have us meet, visit, and show us around. Meeting first at church seemed like a great start.

Back to church...when Judith and Charlie (who introduced himself as "Chuck", and so will be called that from here forward) arrived, we were greeted with smiles, handshakes, and her hug. Very genuine, down-to-earth people who live life transparently. I love that. No false images, no trying to act differently than who they are, just a "here I am, as is" attitude. That's exactly the way I try to live my life too. I knew I'd just met some great people. Within just a few minutes, you would've thought we'd known each other for 20 years! Everything was easy and comfortable between the 4 of us. We were introduced as their "friends we just met". Then Judith would quickly explain our meeting on Facebook and now in person. The service was wonderful. The music was similar to what we're used to hearing, the pastor told a great storAfy and tied it to being courageous, basing it all on God being big enough to handle our circumstances, no matter how big they may seem to us at the time. I really enjoyed it. Afterwards, they brought us to the welcome table and we were given free insulated coffee cups with the church's logo on it and a free latte fill up.
After church, it was getting close to lunch time so they took us to El Torito Grill at Newport Harbor. The restaurant was among lots of little ocean side shops with typical beachy things to sell. We had a great window seat to view all the boats in the marina, people paddle boarding, and kayaking. The food was pretty good, but the conversation was better. We talked about different areas along the coast, travel, old cars, and where our hosts would be taking us next.

When lunch was finished, we traveled to two different beach areas where Judith and Charlie like to go. The first was Dana Point. Rocky coastline, beautiful views, and the Dana Point Rock Lady (mountain profile looks like a woman's face) made for a beautiful spot to see. We also went to another spot, not sure exactly which beach it was, but it was nearby. It's a place Judith likes to walk. I think it's Laguna Beach, but not sure. There's a beautiful walkway near the parking lot, overlooking mansions on the water's edge of a sandy beach, with a hillside of flowers and cacti in-between. There's a ton of stairs that take you down to the water, but we decided that late in the day, it was okay to view it from where we were. We didn't want to tire out our wonderful hosts, and we could tell they were winding down. They invited us back to their lovely home afterwards so we could get changed. Tim and I had plans to hit the water and sand late afternoon for some alone time.

We found a great spot off a side street. Parking on a Sunday afternoon was really hard to find, but we found a metered spot at the top of a staircase leading down to the water between some cool beach homes. We spent a few hours just enjoying the sights, smells, and sounds of the beach once again. We watched surfers and paddle boarders. I guess I always heard how crowded California beaches were because of the high population, but we were pleasantly surprised that night (and for our whole trip) and how few people there really were. Not sure if it's because people see the ocean every day so it's not a big deal to them anymore, or if we just happened to have great timing to avoid the peak of the crowds. Either way, it made for a very relaxing afternoon. When it came time for dinner, I don't remember what we did that night. The previous night we'd picked up something at the grocery store we could eat without having to cook, but that night, I just don't remember what we ate. Maybe we were still full from lunch and didn't eat?
It was a great day, we made wonderful new friends, and had a fantastic time winding down at the beach. I went to bed rested, relaxed, yet full of anticipation because tomorrow...we were going on our first cruise together!!!

Blogging about our first REAL vacation in 22 years.

Day 1: Saturday, May 3rd
We headed out together about 10:30 AM. I had no idea what to expect. Things haven't been going too great for us this year. Between the job changes and going so long without time alone together, I wasn't sure what the week would be like. Maybe we'd get into an argument right off the bat and then the rest of the trip would be me walking on eggshells. Maybe we'd find out we like/dislike very different things and we'd have new hurdles to overcome. But maybe, just maybe, we'd find out that we still love each other more than we thought. Maybe we would remember what it was like when it was just the two of us with no other responsibilities in our world except to each other. That was what I was hoping to find. I left for vacation determined to do whatever it takes to avoid arguing, and I hoped Tim felt the same way.
As we drove, we both seemed very excited about the coming week. We both knew we needed this, and that it was long overdue. We drove 6 1/2 hours to the Long Beach, CA area (Costa Mesa) holding hands, smiling, and feeling the pressures of life fading with every mile we put behind us. As we entered CA, I was surprised it looked like it did. They never really explain to you in public schools what the different states are like. I pictured beach, a desert area, and vineyards. That's all I'd ever heard people really talk about before. To see how many hills and mountains there were, and how the sand on the side of the road was so much whiter than the east coast or in AZ deserts, I was very surprised.
We arrived at our motel, which was surprisingly good for the money. For just $65/night (the people ahead of us paid $99), we got a modern room, close to everything, and the owner was running the front desk. He was a very nice Indian man. He hoped we would have a great stay and give him a great review later on, "Even if", he said, "you don't like the Indian man at the front counter." He was friendly and inviting. We loved our room and paying so little for it made it twice as great.
After getting settled, we headed for Newport Beach! The drive through the beach town was so much fun. It was everything I'd pictured...little bicycle rental shops, sundresses, neon signs and clothing everywhere, little shops in neat little rows, and peeks of the ocean between every street corner. When we arrived, it was around 6 PM. The beach totally put me into my own world like I was transported to another place. The sound of the waves crashing, the smell of the salty air and sandy beach, the sounds of the seagulls and crowds of people fishing off the pier...I'd never seen huge pelicans gliding overhead and floating just inches above the water as they quickly cover a mile of ocean. I made time stand still for just a moment so I could take it all in.

We decided to get supper right there at the pier. There was a restaurant at the end of it called Ruby's. Typical ocean-side restaurant, burgers, fries, and seafood, served on paper plates, but with a phenomenal view. As much as I hate seafood, I felt compelled to live in the moment, and ordered fish & chips. That first piece tasted better than I expected (but never ate the second half, after all, I do hate seafood). We watched the sun go down behind a cloud near the water's edge. It wasn't the colorful sunset I'd heard about, but it was still peaceful and pretty.
After dinner, we stood on the now dark shore, the waves of high tide crashing loudly. The air was a bit chilly, but it felt good. It felt right. I love Arizona and never want to live anywhere else full time, but in that moment, I remembered how much I really do love the beach.
As we returned to the room it occurred to me that for the first time in our married life that I could remember, we never looked at the time, or cared. We had no where to be, no one waiting for us, nothing pressing to get to, it was just our time, done our way.