Thank you Lani for inviting me!! I really had a nice time even though I missed my boys more than I had ever imagined. You see in 8 years this was my second time away from Jared and my first being away from Ethan. Not only do I love Jared more than ever he is my best friend so it's really hard to be away from him. I knew Ethan would be fine because Jared does such a good job of keeping him entertained that for him I would be back before he knew it.
The cruise ship was huge, "Big like the Titanic Mom?" Ethan asked when were getting ready to depart. "Yep, thanks bud!!" The food was wonderful, they had a buffet 24 hrs. The dinners were dress casual and the second night was the Captains Dinner / Formal Night. So we got to play dress up. The group parties were ok, I'm a sucky-don't-even-try dancer. But they had free drinks so I took advantage. On formal night they had free drinks in the lounge so again I took advantage. Needless to say I slept pretty well for having to sleep in an empty bed. I haven't drank that much since high school and probably won't ever again. My new favorite drink is a Whiskey Sour...YUMMY!!
Ensenada was amazing, views you see in books or on TV. But what they don't show you in those is the poverty and how the people really live. It's like all of the stories you hear about them living in shacks and working to have those shacks. It's heart breaking and it really does make you cherish what you have. We took a tour bus about 25 miles to see La Bufadora, the sleeping something (I can't remember). It's one of the worlds highest natural geysers. I'm a sucker for nature so this was really amazing to me. You have to walk through the flea market to get there and that sucked. Usually you think flea markets are fun and you can shop and plunder. NOPE, not here!! You have every man, woman, and child begging you to look in there store and buy this and look at that!! Needless to say I bought what I had to and ignored everyone else. You have to keep you head up and a steady pace of almost running to get away from them. I understand they make their livings that way but COME-ON, people would buy more if you leave them ALONE!! I had my first mango w/ lemon and chile powder, a Mexican treat. YUMO...it was delicious!!
I got some Jelly Belly beans for Ethan on our way there, The Harry Potter jelly beans to be specific. DO NOT EAT THESE!! They really taste like what they say and they are gross but funny to watch whoever eats them!! I ate dill pickle which really tasted like a pickle, and vomit, I almost wanted to vomit after the first chew! There is sausage, which George likes A-LOT and dirt, booger, earthworm, and a bunch of other nasty flavors. I feel bad for whoever the taste tester for these things are.
