The Elation Vacation - Day 6

For our last morning on the ship, we decided to meet up at the dining room for breakfast.  It was a little different than dinner and lunch, the way the service worked, but the food was delicious.  I decided to risk it all and order eggs Benedict, which I'm usually pretty skeptical about, but it was worth it.  Sadly, we had to say goodbye to Nicole, Brandon, and Kenzie after breakfast because they had to get off the boat early so Brandon could get back to work in plenty of time.

We had to be out of our room by a certain time, so we went back down to gather all our belongings.  We decided to meet in the library to hang out until we could get off the boat, but they were actually setting up a wedding for the next cruise!  I didn't realize people actually got married on cruise ships!  Cool.  So we moved up to the buffet and found a table right at the back of the boat with a nice view of downtown New Orleans.

Since the cruise line thought we were flying out that day, we were able to get off earlier than everyone else, but we waited with them until the highest number called.  When we got off the boat, we had to go to this warehouse to pick up our bags then wait in a line to go through customs.  It was a lot of waiting, but we finally got out!  Aunt Joy and Uncle Robert took our bags to our hotel so we could just head downtown on foot.

We walked down the Riverwalk and then out to the French Quarter.  Rachel really wanted fried oysters, so we had lunch at a restaurant called Felix's near Bourbon Street.  I didn't know I liked fried oysters until I tried one, so I had jambalaya.  It was good anyway.

After lunch, we walked down Bourbon Street for a while.  It was pretty crazy down there with all the bars crowded and people everywhere.  It was the Monday before Mardi Gras, and the festivities were already getting started.  We walked around in the nearby area for a while too.  That's when we saw a bunch of religious people yelling at the drunks on speaker phones.  What they had to say and their signs were pretty humorous, I must admit.

We were able to get a table at Cafe du Monde for some beignets and coffee.  Well, I had hot chocolate.  It was so busy that the service was a little slow, and we had to grab a table that hadn't yet been bussed.  But it was so worth it.  It was incredibly good and worth all the hype!

We were going to watch the parade that night, but we were all getting exhausted from walking around.  Plus we were all pretty much in shorts and t-shirts.  I was the only one with a light jacket and it was a lot colder than we anticipated.  The parade wasn't going to start until after the sun went down, so we decided to head back to the hotel.  But not before people watching!  There were definitely some interesting people and interesting outfits.

A cab driver at the port had given my mom his card, so she called him to pick us up.  That was a whole ordeal.  We ended up waiting almost an hour for him because of the traffic from the parade.  Once he picked us up, we got on the highway to get back to the hotel and we saw the parking lot that was the highway going the opposite direction.  Apparently there was another parade after that and the traffic was just a nightmare!

When we got back to the hotel--which was very nice, I might add--Rachel and I decided to hang out in the hot tub for a while.  It was outside and quite, which was nice.  Afterward, we went to the business center to get online for the first time in a week.  Unfortunately, we had to wait for over 15 minutes while two boys were on the only two computers looking at random girls on Facebook and chatting with someone.  Super annoying!  When we got back to the room, we all settled in and watched The Voice.  None of us had ever seen it before, but I liked it a lot.

The next morning, we had to get up at 5:00 something in order to catch the shuttle to the airport.  When we got there, the security line was out of control.  At DIA, they have a really big roped off area to accommodate long lines, but this line was so small, so the real line extended all the way across the main lobby.  We got in a second line that turned out to be a lot shorter, but we were ahead of a family of four who we later discovered were running late for their flight.  When we were about 10 minutes from just having our boarding passes looked at, we heard them say they had to board their flight in exactly 10 minutes.  Sucks to be them!  We didn't even get out of security for another 15 minutes after that.  I wonder if they made their flight.

When we got to the gate, we all grabbed some breakfast in the terminal and waited to board.  The flight was full, so my mom and I checked our bags.  Getting on the plane, we discovered none of us were sitting together for either return flight.  I ended up sitting in the first row of non-first class seats, so I got off the plane really fast.  I tried to read The Help while in flight, but I literally fell asleep with the book open!

Our layover wasn't too bad in Houston.  My mom and I grabbed some food to eat on the plane before boarding and Rachel was able to check her bag on that full flight too.  While on the flight back to DIA, I ended up finishing The Help and starting The Hunger Games!  Before I knew it, we were back in Denver, which was actually quite a bit warmer than we all expected.

Overall, it was a good vacation, but I don't know if cruises are my favorite.  That last afternoon on the boat really got to me.  We got off the boat Monday morning, but it wasn't until Wednesday evening that I no longer felt like I was on a rocking boat.  Also, I'd rather go to some exotic location and be able to spend more time there than traveling.  I think next time I go to Mexico, it will be to an all inclusive resort.

The Elation Vacation - Day 4

When we woke up on the second morning on the ship, we were still cruising.  My cousin Nicole said normally they get to the port early in the morning, but you can't get off the ship until a certain time.  We were so far behind, that we weren't going to be able to get off the ship until 11:00 (which ultimately turned into 11:30), but we didn't have to be back until 7:00.  We went up to the buffet for breakfast as usual and then Rachel and I laid out for a while.

Since we were near Cozumel, it was very nice outside, so Rachel, Nicole, and I were finally able to lay out for a few hours.  Rachel was trying to finish The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and I was trying to finish The Help.  What better place to read than under the Mexican sun?

We watched the boat port, which was pretty cool.  We pulled up right next to a ship we decided was from Denmark.  There were some guys in banana hammocks and even a woman without a top!  Those Europeans... 

Rachel, Mom, and I decided not to have lunch on the ship again, but try out a restaurant that my aunt and uncle had recommended called Pancho's Backyard.  We got ready to go out to Mexico and then headed off the boat.  It was so crowded while everyone made their way to their shore excursions or just to walk around.  We headed down the main street and found out just how crazy it is to walk around.  People were constantly talking to us and trying to sell us the same type of tourist stuff.  We had to walk probably a mile before we got to the restaurant.

When we finally found it, it was like an oasis in a desert.  It was so nice and so beautiful.  We decided to just get margaritas and chips and guacamole.  The chips and guac...and even the salsa (and I never say that) were delicious.  Our original plan was to head down to a different restaurant for a full meal, but Rachel wanted to stop at a jewelry store to look at wedding bands.

Our plans got changed when we got to the jewelry store.  The manager ended up giving us a few gifts (rings and shots of tequila).  By the time Rachel had settled on a band, had her engagement ring cleaned and resized (free of charge), we were all exhausted and decided the best option was to make the long trek back to the ship.  They were celebrating Mardi Gras that night, so it was starting to get crowded as they prepared for the parade.  We also had to be back for our dinner time at 6:00!

When we got back to the ship, my mom wasn't feeling to well, so she decided to skip dinner and order room service.  Rachel and I both got ready for dinner and then headed up to meet the rest of the group in the dining room and hear all about their stories from Cozumel.

The nightly dinner menu wasn't that great, so I just ended up getting the same thing I had on the first night, but that was delicious nonetheless!  That night after we finished eating, Jayson, our waiter, showed us some tricks and brainteasers.  I made him promise he would show me how to do them all the next night, our final night on the ship.  The wait staff danced to "Low" by Flo Rida that night, and Jayson dragged me up to dance with him.  I'm not sure what made me do it, because usually I'm too embarrassed, but I did anyway.

I can't remember what exactly we did that night.  I don't think there were many activities on the boat that night because we ported that day.  I do remember walking around outside to the front of the boat with Rachel.  We couldn't get as close as they did on the Titanic, but it was neat watching the cities in Mexico get smaller and smaller.

Later, we met up with everyone again--we actually stumbled upon them in the atrium--and just hung out and talked while McKenzie entertained us.  Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Joy, Rachel, and I went to see a piano player.  But I got tired really early, so I went to bed.  I guess they went up to the lido deck for a celebration and a Mexican buffet.  It sounded fun; I wish I hadn't been so tired!

The Elation Vacation - Day 1

Our trip started at 3:45AM on Wednesday morning.  Well, for me anyway.  I finally fell asleep around 1:45AM and my alarm went off 2 hours later.  It was lovely.  By 4:30, we were on our way to the airport.  It was still dark out.

We forgot to print the boarding passes, so we had to go to the check-in counter.  That's when we discovered Continental is now United.  Bleh!  They were a few hiccups at the ticket counter, but there was hardly any security, so we breezed right through.  When we were waiting for the train at DIA, we saw a woman that used to work at the day care center with us in Rachel's room.  She was flying home to Canada that morning and just happened to be about five minutes ahead of us in security.  It was fun to catch up for a little while before we boarded.

My mom left her library book on the train, so she went to get another book at a bookstore, but luckily her other book turned up!  Some people are so nice, but quite frankly she was lucky she left her boarding passes in the book otherwise it would have been gone for good!

I fell asleep on the flight to Houston, which was just under two hours.  It was nice to take another two-hour nap before the day really got going.  We had a pretty long layover in Houston, so we had second breakfast at Einstein's.  That's when my mom told us she heard on NPR that 2% of Americans think Mitt Romney's real name is Mittens!  How can you not laugh for days at that?!  The rest of the layover we spent reading and people watching.  I started the first Gossip Girl book while we were waiting for the second flight.  Actually, while we were on the plane waiting for it to take off.  We sat on the runway for like 50 minutes before taking off.  It doubled the 45 minute flight time.  And we were right by the bathrooms.  Super fun.

When we got to New Orleans, we got a rental car--a Kia Sol, Rachel's choice--and then drove up to Baton Rouge.  My mom dropped Rachel and me off at my cousin's apartment for the night.

Lucas took us to a famous pizza place Fleur de Lis in Baton Rouge.  They only accept cash and still use the same equipment from 1946 when they opened, but the pizza was delicious!  We had the Around the World without anchovies and it was so good!  We finished two larges between the three of us!

After that, we went up to a sushi restaurant downtown called Tsunami just to see the roof top.  We got to see the river and all the cool historical and architectural sites around it.  It was beautiful up there!  Then we went across the street to Happy's Irish Pub for another beer.

We had a blast, as usual with Lucas.  When we got home, he wanted to watch Troll 2.  He had recently watched a documentary on "the best worst movie ever" and apparently this was it.  Because I was running on probably less than 4 hours of sleep, I fell asleep about 30 minutes into the movie but it was crazy!  You should check it out sometime.

Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on day one.  Even though half of the day was traveling, we did some fun stuff in the evening.