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We're Home!!

This past week we were on a Mexican Riviera Cruise with the Olsen Fam! We had so much fun!!! We went on Royal Caribbean's "Mariner of the Seas" out of Long Beach and had a fabulous time!! We visited Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta MEXICO!

In CABO SAN LUCAS we at lunch on the beach and then took a glass bottom boat taxi over to Land's End and Lover's Beach. We also snorkeled at Pelican's Rock while we were over there but that only lasted for about 5 minutes maximum. The water was cold -- waves were drowning me -- the snorkel gear sucked -- and the fish weren't near as cool as they are in Hawaii -- and neither was the coral -- so I gave up fast...and suprisingly so did Matt. He is usually a little fish in the H2O but conditions were far from ideal. We saw tons of little black crabs on the beach the we loved watching the Pelicans kamacazi dive bomb into the water to catch some lunch. After we dried out from our snorkel disaster we found a lovely spot on Lover's Beach to bask in the sun. It was great! On our way back to the ship I met a cute little Mexican chico and I shared my runts with him...he loved me.

In MAZATLAN we went up into the Sierra Madre Mountain Range for a zip line/tequila factory tour. We went with Joyce and Kelsey and we all had a blast! My first landing was a little rough (ok, I couldn't stop so I came barreling in screaming and flailing and the sweet Mexican working that one had to catch me so I wouldn't pile drive the rest of the group) but after that I was a pro! After we got all hot and sweaty swinging through the "Mexican Jungle" we went to see how Tequila was made. It was interesting but we all wanted to get back to Mazatlan. On the bus ride home they took us through town and showed us a few of the highlights, ie: Valentinos, Senor Frogs, Light House and the Beach. We shopped a little and got Colton the Aztec Calendar he requested and some delicous tacos with chips and very hot salsa before boarding the ship for the night. Colton served his mission in Cabo and Mazatlan so he gave us some helpful tips before we left. We want to go back with him on a less luxurious vacation and see more of Mexico someday.

In PUERTO VALLARTA we took a taxi downtown and walked around checking things out. Then we headed to the beach in old town PV where we decided to parasail!! We both loved it, even though I was a little nervous and had a hard time not thinking, "what if this rope breaks?" while I was flying but overall it was awesome. Puerto Vallarta was our favorite and it seemed to be the place where you got the most bang for your buck. We would like to go back here again someday for a weekend get-away or something. Matt says Mexico is the way to vacation so I better start forgetting about Hawaii. After parasailing we layed on the beach on got very nice sun burns and then went to get lunch on the beach, which by the way was muy delicioso! (I so want to learn espanol...has anyone tried Rosetta Stone?) At the end of the day we were exhausted from walking all over and spending most of the day in the sun so we got a taxi and headed back to the ship.

On THE MARINER OF THE SEAS every night we would eat in the dining room where our sweet waiter Rodel from the Phillipines would serve us till we were stuffed full of yummy food. Then we'd usually hit up the shows (comedians, singers and dancers, game shows, karaoke, magicians, etc) then we'd usually unwind by watching TV or taking a dip in the hot tubs. During our days at sea we'd relax and read and eat all the soft serve frozen yogurt that we wanted. It went by so fast but we had such a good time and thank Steve and Joyce for a great Christmas Present!!

My camera battery is charging so I will post a few pics later, but if you are dying to see some now, check out my facebook page!!