The Cruise!

Here is the promised story of our cruise and lots and lots of pictures!! (When i say lots, I MEAN lots. So beware.... )

So we left on Saturday, and sadly this is the only picture we got of the whole day. BUT I love this picture. Absolutely love it. I have no idea why, but I just think it is awesome. It's like a cute little family picture :) It was in Utah in South Jordan Where Cassie, Ally, and Jenny picked up Keara and I.

We stopped that night in Las Vegas to stay over. On Sunday we drove the rest of the way to Long Beach, but on the way we stopped by Santa Monica because that's where Ally is from. We got there right at sunset, and we took some pretty cool pictures by the beach! (the humidity did NOT do good things to my hair, btw.)

We also walked down Santa Monica Boulevard, and walked down near the pier. it was so nice to be able to be next to the ocean and enjoy the warmer weather!

On Monday we drove from our hotel in Long Beach the port where we were supposed to embark. Keara and I were very excited to embark!

After hours and hours (literally!) of waiting in lines, we were close to getting on the ship. We were all pretty tired at this point, but we were way excited to be this close to boarding! (Sorry the picture is dark)

We enjoyed the buffet as soon as we got on the ship. The food on the cruise was AMAZING. I think I gained a few pounds. (luckily I had the long drive on Friday to lose them :)

This is almost the whole group at the opening night of the cruise. Kade, Kevin, Cassie, me, Ally, and Keara. We're missing Jenny, Becca and Lindzi in this picture.

Dinner that night was a big adventure! The ship was swaying back and forth because of the wind, and even though I had taken some motion sickness pills, I was still a little green, it took me a little while to get my "sea legs". Whenever I stand I can still feel the boat swaying :)

As we were exploring the ship, we decided to take this picture on the top deck. Haha, I remember someone saying "Try not to look cold!!" right before we took it. It was a little chilly on Monday!

But things started to look up on Tuesday. This is the gorgeous island of Catalina! We loved it here. Just look at the blue ocean and green island, it would be hard not to love!

That is our awesome cruise ship! it was cool to see it from so far away!

We played on the beach,

Put out toes in the sand,

And got a little wet!

A big wave hit us a split second before ^that was taken, which is why our faces are so lovely! (It's one of my favorite pictures from the trip!)

Me and Cass on the beach!

We loved being so near the ocean! It was fun walking along the beach and the pier!

We rented bikes and rode up and down the streets in Catalina. It was a great way to get around and good exercise! We got to see a lot of palm trees and the hills were gorgeous, all covered in green trees!!

We also spent some time basking in the warmth of the sun. This is something we haven't seen much of in good ol' Logan lately, so it felt good. We probably sat here for about an hour just soaking in some Vitamin D!

Can't ever get enough sun! Me and Keara went back to the boat and laid out some more!

That night was our "fancy" night for the cruise. We got all dolled up and went to dinner.

The next day (Wednesday) we arrived in Ensenada, Mexico. This was Mine and Cassie's first time ever setting foot out of the U.S. so, of course, we had to document it:

While in Ensenada, we took a shuttle to downtown. We were going to just walk around downtown and go shopping, but they gave us a good group deal on a shuttle out to "La Bufadora" or, "The Blow Hole".

It is pretty cool, the water rushes in with the tide into this little crevice and is forced upward. Apparently it is cooler when the tide is high. We were there at low tide, but it was still pretty cool.

We were able to do a little shopping while in La Bufadora. The shops there are all so cool! I wish that we could have stayed and shopped longer. We only had an hour and a half or so. I could have shopped there for hours!! I had fun bartering with the people there, although I was a little shy about it. All I got was a cute cover up for my swimsuit and some bracelets, but I didn't have enough time to find good souvenirs for my family and friends. Sorry guys! I really was thinking of you! Here's Keara looking at the lovely "Frada" purses :)

I didn't get very many pictures of our time in Ensenada. That is basically all we did before getting back on the ship. The shuttle ride to La Bufadora was really long. We did get to show off our cute new swim dresses that night when we went hot tubbing though! :) I love how we all match.

The next day we spent all day on the ship. Cassie, Jenny, and I got up early and went outside just as the sun was rising. it was a gorgeous morning!

That day was a party on the ship! It seemed like everyone was out on the top deck trying to get some sun!

I ate lots of Ice cream (10 of these things! YUM!!)

And spent some time laying out! (I even got a sunburn! At least I took one great souvenir back with me :)

That night there was a beautiful sunset. We literally watched the sun sink down behind those mountains in the distance. it was gorgeous!

I don't know why I am making this face here ^, but whatever! At least the sunset it pretty! :)

Me and my friend Becca:

This trip was so much fun! I can't believe that I was brave enough to do this without my parents! Yeah, that sounds pretty lame, but I have never done a big vacation like this without them.

I had an absolute blast spending time with my friends, getting warm in the sun, and enjoying the wide open sea!

The only downside? I wasn't able to talk to my boyfriend for 4 whole days! But you know what they say....

Distance makes the heart grow fonder :)