Norwegian Cruise Line Mexico Cruise 2008

Darla and Judy cruised onboard the Norwegian Star from Los Angeles to Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan & Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Friday, December 5th
We took a red eye flight out to LAX. We arrived around 11:30pm and took the free shuttle to our hotel, the Courtyard Los Angeles LAX. Even though it was late at night, Darla went outside and walked a couple of blocks toward the entrance of LAX airport to take a picture. Then we went to sleep.

Saturday, December 6th
We took a town car from our hotel to the pier. A half hour and $80.00 later we were ready to get on the ship. Boarding the ship was a very easy and fast process. When we got on the ship our stateroom wasn’t ready and we had to carry our carryon luggage around with us. We went directly to the Versailles restaurant and had lunch. From there we went to the Market Café (where they have a buffet) and had dessert. From there we out by the pool where they were grilling and we had corn on the cob. Yea, we pretty much ate our way around the ship that first day! Then we heard the announcement that our staterooms were ready and so we headed to ours. Deck 8 cabin 8580. It was an outside, partially obstructed view. The room was a good size. The shower was actually a nice size, but the rest of the bathroom was a little small. Soon after we got into our stateroom we had to do a lifeboat drill, with our life vests. Now if you know Judy, then you know we were a little late getting to our muster station. After the muster we went to a cocktail party for other travel agents on board. Then we went to the late show – very entertaining.

Sunday, December 7th
We spend all day at sea. So we wondered around the ship, ate, shopped in the Galleria store onboard, read a book, ate some more.

Monday, December 8th
Today we arrived in Cabo San Lucas. The ship couldn’t dock at the pier so we were tendered in. We arrived a couple hours early, so we did a little bit of shopping before our NCL shore excursion – Land’s End Boat Tour & Scenic Stop. We went on a 45 minute boat tour along the very tip of the longest, most desolate peninsula in the world. We saw the famed Los Arcos, a natural rock formation that arches starkly out of the sea. Back on land, we took a minibus through Cabo to Sunset Da Giorgio’s restaurant. It has a spectacular location atop the cliffs at the far end of the bay and it provides an unforgettable view of Land’s End, it’s famed arches, and the ships at anchor in the bay. From there we headed back to our ship.

Tuesday, December 9th
Today we were in Mazatlan. The ship was able to dock at the pier, but we weren’t allowed to walk the pier. So we had to get on a little trolley looking thing to take us the couple blocks to the gates. The pier is actually gated in. There are some shops inside the gate, so you can shop in relative comfort of not being hounded by everyone. We took another NCL shore excursion – Old Mazatlan Walking Tour. We took a minibus to the Continuity of Life Monument. From there it was a short walk to see the local cliff divers. Then we saw Devils Cave and a very interesting remains of a road where the water used to be that high. Check out the picture below. We went to an old style bakery where the woman lives and cooks and sells her baked goods. From there we did more walking and ended up at the Angela Peralta Theatre, named in honor of the world-famous Mexican opera singer. The theater was originally an open-air theatre. Then it was abandoned for 30 years, and trees grew up through it. Then it was restored and a ceiling was installed. It still has the original wrought iron gates going all the way around inside and up a couple stories. Then we walked around some more and ended at the Cathedral, dating back from 1875. It was gorgeous inside! We took a truck, they loaded a bunch of us in the back of it, back to the pier. After a quick shopping stop we went back onboard the ship.

Wednesday, December 10th
We are in Puerto Vallarta. Again we tender in. And again we have an NCL shore excursion – Yelapa & Majahuitas. This is our sun and sand day. Majahuitas is an unspoiled area of natural beauty and has a tranquil cove where we spent a couple of hours relaxing on the beach. Yelapa is a charming Mexican fishing village, with no roads, only cobblestone paths. Both are only accessible by boat. In Yelapa we hiked up a mountain to a beautiful waterfall. On the way back to Puerto Vallarta we stopped and snorkeled for a bit.

Thursday, December 11th
Spent the whole day at sea. Ate, read a book and ate some more.

Friday, December 12th
Another day at sea. More eating ensued.

Saturday, December 13th
We arrived back into Los Angeles early. We were off the ship and back at the LAX airport by 9:00am. We arrived home about 5:30pm

Grand Canyon 2006

Friday December 1, 2006

We took a morning Northwest flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix. We got our Budget rental car and were on the road by 11:00am. We stopped at a Denny’s along the way for lunch, but we were checked into our Grand Canyon hotel, the Bright Angel Lodge, and staring out at the Grand Canyon by 4:00pm. We watched the sun set over the Grand Canyon and then had dinner at the Bright Angel Restaurant.

Saturday December 2, 2006
We woke up early to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. After breakfast at the Bright Angel Restaurant, we checked out of our hotel and drove the Hermits Rest Route along the Grand Canyon, which is closed to private vehicles in the summer. On the drive back to Phoenix, we stopped in Williams for a quick look around. Then we took the scenic route through Sedona and traveled on the most windiest road imaginable. But the scenery was well worth the 10 miles an hour we were doing. Once we left Sedona, we went to our hotel in Tempe, the Buttes. We had dinner at the Buttes Market Café, as well as breakfast the next morning.

Sunday December 3, 2006
After breakfast, we checked out of the Buttes and drove around Phoenix. We happened upon Scottsdale by accident and walked around for awhile. Then we headed back to the airport for our evening flight home.

Yellowstone National Park 2008

Friday, August 22, 2008
Joy & Darla departed Minneapolis at about 10:00pm, arriving in Bozeman, Montana around 11:30pm. They had rented a compact car, but the lady at Alamo decided to be nice and upgrade them to a minivan so they would have more room. They went directly to their hotel, The Fairfield Inn Bozeman, and had to switch rooms once because the bathroom "didn't work" before going to sleep.

Saturday, August 23, 2008
After breakfast at the hotel Joy & Darla headed down to Yellowstone National Park. They went in through the West Entrance. Almost as soon as they were in the park they had to stop for some elk to cross the road. Then they had to pull over and stop to let a huge buffalo pass that was walking right down the middle of the road. They also stopped and walked around Fountain Paint Pot Nature Trail. Then they checked into their hotel for the night, a frontier cabin at the Old Faithful Lodge. Within an hour of arriving at the lodge they saw Old Faithful erupt. After that they drove to Biscuit Basin and walked around. Then they walked around Upper Geyser Basin and Black Sand Basin. Then they went back and watched Old Faithful erupt again. After that they fell asleep, exhausted after a long day of walking.

Sunday, August 24, 2008
Joy & Darla said goodbye to Old Faithful and headed out of the park. Twice they had to stop and let buffalo cross the street. Then they stopped and saw Gibbon Falls, Brink of Upper Falls, the "Grand Canyon of Yellowstone" at Artist Point and the Lower Falls at Artist Point. They drove out of the North Entrance. They were back home by 5:00pm, very excited to have seen Yellowstone National Park.