The cruise was incredible, as always. It rained the entire time. We spent almost no time out on the deck, and got off the ship only once. Our first port was Santa Barbara and when we got off the ship it was pouring rain. We didn't have enough umbrellas for all of us, so some of us got completely soaked. Within 30 minutes we turned around and got back on the ship. Then we went right to the jacuzzi and spent a few hours soaking, followed by the steam room and hot rock beds. Julie bought a special pass to get into the steam rooms and rock beds, and discovered that nobody actually checked the pass to get in. So we all walked right in. We spent a lot of time in there since we couldn't really sunbathe on the deck. All three of us girls (me, Nicole, and Evan's girlfriend Kristy) spent every evening doing our hair and makeup and getting dressed for dinner together. This took a lot of work because though I blow dried and straightened my hair in the morning, by the afternoon the rain turned it to frizz. And spending so much time in the jacuzzi and steam room didn't help. But we were some of the hottest girls on the ship, I think :-) The food was fantastic, and I loved going to afternoon tea. I got a cold on the second day, so the tea felt really nice on my sore throat and helped with my congestion. I also got a little sea sick. The constant rain meant rough seas too, so I had to take Dramamine every evening just to keep dinner down. That stuff works really well! The on ship entertainment was really disappointing. The dancers were terrible. They didn't smile, their moves were sloppy, and not together. So after the first night we didn't go to anymore shows. In Ensenada the boys went ATVing while we went shopping. That day it was still damp and gloomy, but not pouring rain. On the ATVs they got literally covered in mud from head to toe. I got some nice jewelry for very cheap- typical in Mexico. That night was formal night and we all looked beautiful. Our last day was a day at sea. Nicole won a martini, we all went to tea again, and spent some more time in the spa. Our disembarkation was delayed so we didn't get off the ship until almost lunchtime and of course it was pouring rain. We had to wait in the rain for about 30 minutes until Daniel came by with the car. So we drove back to Phoenix a little damp and very tired. I was so happy to be able to spend so much time with Nicole and Daniel's family. It's really hard to split our time while we're in Phoenix so this trip enabled us to just enjoy the time with those people.
Back in Phoenix, we had our usual Christmas festivities. We went to church on Christmas Eve, but had to leave early to have Noche Buena dinner with Daniel's family. The service went really long and it was already almost 9:00 before we sat down to eat. I opened gifts with Daniel's family that night, and then with my family the next morning. We got so many nice gifts! Most notable was my very own lab coat with my new married name embroidered on it, and lots of camping supplies (a tent, lantern, cook stove, and silverware). I also got lots of nice clothes, jewelry, and makeup.
The day after Christmas I played piano for the church service. The regular pianist was going on vacation, so she asked me to fill in. I was happy to help, and very nervous. I had to learn two pieces for the choir, and 5 or 6 hymns in about 4 days, 2 of those days being Christmas Eve and Christmas. There were a few slip-ups but it went fine. I was so nervous sometimes I made myself mess up.
The last few days we've been spending as much time as possible with family members. I don't know when we'll be coming back. It will probably be next summer, and even then just for a long weekend. But they'll be coming to Denver for my graduation! I'm starting to get nervous about this next term. I'm taking some really hard classes. It's been a great vacation, but time to get back to work!
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