Vacation Shipwreck!

I know I'm late posting but Seth and I had a great time on our cruise this year. We started the trip by picking up some friends in Phoenix. We spent the night there then drove to Banning, CA the next day. The next morning it was just two short hours to Long Beach California where we embarked on the Carnival Splendor. At the time this was Carnival's newest ship in their fleet. This ship was built earlier this year. Our waiter, Wayan, was from Indonesia. He was quite the character! So was our cruise director "Goose". Seth got voted to be the biggest sucker on this cruise so he had to suck down a two inch jaw breaker to win something for me. I ended up washing the jaw breaker down to a quarter of an inch and Seth won a watch for me. We really had a great time. The girls that came with us got a little annoying at times but at least we had an escape in our room.

Which is where we watched the captain back our ship up on land into a jetty (or a small dock). The boat we were on had hit another ship in this same port about two weeks prior to our cruise. So, the crew was focused on not repeating history. They concentrated their efforts on not coming into contact with the other ship in the port that they didn't realize how fast they were going backwards. When they realized that they were going a little too fast they turned on the motors and tried to move forward but it was too late. The wave that we created swamped multiple boats. We also took an eight foot chunk out of the dock and punctured the hull of the boat. The hole was aproximately three by three foot. We also pushed the dock about five feet up on land. It really could have been a dangerous situation but it's something we'll never forget.

Because of the incident we spent an extra day in Puerto Vallarte, Mexico. It really was a beautiful place. On the first day we booked an excursion through Carnival to take us snorkeling then to Yelapa beach. It was beautiful but way over priced. We saw some interesting fish and the water was perfect. After snorkeling we took a boat to Yelapa beach. It's a native beach that can only be reached by way of boat or foot. There are no roads leading to this small town that has maintained it's native roots. They only recently got electricity there. We had an amazing lunch of fresh mahi mahi. (fish) Then we went swimming. This in itself was half the experience of the trip. These waves were huge! I went out into the water. Once I realized that I couldn't reach the bottom anymore I started heading in. Before I could get my feet underneath me I got worked by this ginormous wave! I had sand everywhere. Seth and I walked around the city on our second day in port. We went to the boardwalk and saw some great sand castles and sculptures. There was also a beautiful cathedral in town that is well known in Puerto Vallarte.
At three o'clock we set sail for Cabo San Lucas. Seth and I had been there before and we didn't have much time to spend there. We ended up taking a city tour. We went to a glass blowing factory, tequila factory, and chileno beach. We definately learned alot and really enjoyed our time there. We saw three sea lions and two whales while we were there! Blue whales migrate south during the winter to have their babies in the warmer waters. I was blown away when I saw these animals. I can't get enough. Everyone needs to book a whale watching tour sometime in their life!
After Cabo it was time to head home. Seth and I really enjoyed our vacation. It was great to get away and relax for a while but we were both ready to come home by the end of it. We also came home to a great surprise! We love what you did to the living room and are so blessed to call you family!