Home again and spring is here!

Randa picked us up from the airport on the 12th (they kept our car for us while we were gone) and before heading home we stopped at a store and bought some flowers for the cemetery. The 13th is Mom's birthday and I like to give her flowers. We stopped at the cemetery and placed them (on Lori's grave too) and then we went home. It had been a nice vacation but time to hit the yard work. When we bought our house, there was still snow on the ground. We didn't realize how much work this yard is going to be! First thing we noticed when we pulled in the driveway was all the dandelions!! Let the war begin! Dave dug and dug and dug. And the next day there are always as many more! We also noticed on our corner mound that some tulips had blossomed. YAY! Little lavender ones (some yellow ones came a day or two later) That was a fun surprise! Our peach tree is blossoming and Walter LOVES to help me in the garden spot! So many weeds to clean out of there! Walter is as fun as always to tend each day. He will help us with all this yard work. I feel like we have bitten off a bit more than we can chew! This yard hasn't been well taken care of the past few years, so maybe once we get all the hard work done, it will be a little easier next year. 

One more cruise sunset...

We enjoyed our last day on the ship eating as much as we could and having a lot of ice cream! We spent the last evening up on the deck at our favorite spot to watch the sunset. It was quite windy and cold, but we stuck it out so we could see the beauty of it all! You can tell by our red noses that it was cold! But oh so pretty. We enjoyed our last meal in the restaurant. Those waiters carried all those trays, it was amazing! And they performed a little going away number for us.  I had to have one last piece of lava cake. So yummy! We have enjoyed being on this cruise and we thank Asphalt Zipper for giving us this opportunity. We arrive back at Long Beach and will head for home. It will feel good to get back, except we know there is a ton of work waiting for us. But that is okay, we will still be able to see beautiful sunsets.

A day at sea...

Our second to last day on board, we were at sea the whole day. We liked to walk around the decks and of course get our daily doses of ice cream. Have I mentioned this before? HA. On this day they had a Chocolate Extravaganza, lots of yummy chocolate desserts! That was pretty fun. On one of our walks, the captain had announced that we were stopped so an ill (or injured) passenger could get off. A small boat came to get the person (s) that were leaving the ship. We all watched and watched as that boat tried to line up with the little ramp, ramming it at one point with the passenger on it! It was scary to watch. We decided the person driving that boat must be a newbie and this was his first rescue. We watched for a very long time and everyone cheered when they finally got the patient on board and sailed away! Another night (I don't remember which day) we were eating in the dining room and we could see city lights out the windows. We had pulled into some harbor to let off another sick passenger. It was really pretty to see the lights at night. We enjoyed our time sitting on the decks. I would have done it a lot longer but Dave would only last for a while and then want to go lie down again. One place where we would sit at a table and eat (we ate a LOT on this trip!) there was always a seagull on the rail watching us! Wonder if it was the same seagull every day ha ha. We watched a man carve an ice block very fast into an Indian Chief. It was impressive. We weren't at a good angle to get a picture of the finished project. People were trying to guess what he was carving as he did it. Our favorite spot was up on the deck at the front of the ship. It was so fun to just watch the water as the ship moved through it. Usually windy and sometimes quite cold! Our towel art for the day was a heart. We have enjoyed our time on the cruise, but it wasn't as fun as we had expected.  A lot due to the fact Dave wasn't feeling well and also because we didn't have close friends our family with us. Dave's coworkers are fine to visit with at dinner, but we don't hang out with them so it would have been fun to have our kids with us. Oh well, maybe next time!

Mexico...

When we woke up the next morning we were docked at Ensenada. Dave was feeling pretty rough and didn't want to leave the ship. It was okay with me. We went up to the deck and sat for awhile. We watched a soccer practice, some big barges making their way through, and the huge Mexican flag. It was a lovely day weather wise. We had fun listening to everyone's stories at dinner time of what they did. We didn't feel like we missed out on too much. We mostly relaxed for the day. And of course hit up the ice cream machine a few times! Our towel art for the day was a frog. Pretty clever.

The Amazing Bike Ride...

Catalina Island. What a pretty place! Dave's bosses, Doug Angus and Terry Hansen and their wives were going on a bike ride when they got to the island. They invited us to go. Dave is a cyclist and enjoys bike riding very much. BUT...the last time I rode a bike was probably in junior high school! Well, there was that one time a few years ago I rode Amanda's beach cruiser to the park with the kids, but I wrecked on the way home and jammed my thumb! I don't ride bikes! I knew how much Dave would enjoy it, and I wanted him to have some kind of fun on this trip (he wasn't feeling the best) and I knew that would make his day if I joined him in the adventure. So it goes like this...this man loads the bikes on a rack on the back of his jeep and as he is driving you to the VERY TOP of the island, he tells you some of the history and interesting things along the way. I don't know why about half way up I didn't tell him, "Just let me out here!" But I didn't. We made it to the top! It's called the airport in the sky and that's where we would start. He unloaded all the bikes while we went in to the little "airport" and used the bathroom and bought a cookie and I bought a hat! Then it was time to ride. I was a wee bit nervous! Turns out you don't just ride DOWN the island...there was a lot of uphill work first! I felt like a kindergartner learning to ride a bike. Doug said my bicycle seat looked a little too high, So we got that adjusted better. I know I slowed everyone down. And finally at one point I got off and went down to my knees on the ground. I felt literally sick. Like I might throw up. Everyone of course stopped and wanted to help however they could. There wasn't anything anyone could do. I told them I just needed to walk for a bit. So I walked my bike for the next little bit. Turns out after that "walk" that we really were to the all downhill part. Now it was fun! And almost scary! Glad there are good brakes on the bikes!  The views were so pretty all the way. We could see our ship. Oh, and the captain had said the water was a bit choppy as it was so windy. He would pay close attention to the weather. If we heard three honks from the ship's horn, we were to get to the shuttle craft and get back to the boat ASAP. We were not even halfway down the mountain when we heard the horn blast. Nothing we could do! We were on bikes halfway up Catalina Island! The downhill part really was so much better. It went fast too. Before we knew it we were back in the little town and taking our bikes to the drop off point. It was 100 dollars each for us to do that, but I know Dave really enjoyed it and it was worth it. As for me, I am so proud of myself that I did it!!!  It really was a highlight of the trip! My sit downer was awfully sore for the next few days though! I felt bad that I probably made them all go slower than they wanted to, but I really did enjoy it once I got over the rough patch. We went through the choppy water back to the ship. They still let us on. ha ha. Then we pulled out and started course for Mexico. Dave wasn't any worse for the wear, but he really didn't want to do much but sleep. I would read in the cabin while he slept. Then we would go for a walk around the deck, and somehow we always ended up where the food was! We were fond of the little ice cream cone machine! We did go to the infirmary and get him some "good" medicine to help with his congestion. On to Mexico! 

The Airport in the Sky

At the beginning of our adventure!

The downward trail...

As we came into the village...there was some Zane Grey history here but I can't remember what it was!

Goodbye Catalina...

I thought this painting in our cabin said "Adona" which is my aunt's name! But it is Ateria or something different. Still looks like Adona to me!