I am back from vacation, and I had an awesome and relaxing time! I was so happy.. that is until I went back to work and had to go to a meeting.. but moving on..
* * * L.A. & CRUISE * * *
My first stop was Los Angeles. I went to Universal Studios, which will most likely be the last time this year. That park is not as cool as it used to be. I used to love the tram ride. That was my favorite, but now I think the park just doesn't have as many attractions to entice people. I also went shopping at several different malls and plazas in L.A. Surprisingly I didn't see many things I liked. :(
I expected to come back home with bags of clothing and purses. Alas. However, I did find some gifts for friends and family, so at least I achieved one objective. I also visited some friends and went to play miniature golf. Speedzone in City of Industry is so cool. I went there once before, and I think it's a great place. They have miniature golf, go kart racing, and video games. It's a great place to hang out with friends and have a good time.
After our fun in L.A., we embarked on our cruise ship with stops in San Diego, Catalina Island, and Ensenada. I was in San Diego last November, so we met up with a friend in San Diego after he got off work for some snacks at Point Loma Seafood. That place is good. I enjoyed the crab sandwich and shrimp & crab cocktail. At Catalina, we took a tour. I like how most people drive a golf cart. The tour guide told us that the waiting list to get a car on the island is 15 years. I think the golf carts are a good idea because all the cars would overwhelm the island. We drove by Wrigley's (spearmint gum) mansion, which is now an expensive inn. We also went past a lot of very nice homes and beautiful scenary. From the hills, we could see our ship. She also told us that everyone goes to the one post office to pick up their mail. The post office doesn't deliver. :D The island also only has one school so all the kids have known each other since kindergarten. Since the water by the island is shallow, the ship docked at least 100 feet away from the coastline, and a tender brought us between the ship and the island. We also took a tour in Ensenada. We toured La Bufadora, which is a blowhole and shoots water through crevices formed in the cliff's rock face. We also shopped at the small stores around La Bufadora and stopped in for some margaritas and food at this one restaurant/store, Habana Banana. I remember a few things I learned during the tour. A lot of houses and buildings in Ensenada are incomplete. However, their concept of manana is different than ours. Many of them do not make enough money to qualify for a loan, so what they do is begin building with what they can pay. A house can take 5-10 years to complete, and when the house is completed, it is painted a bright color to signify it's completion.
I'll post more about the rest of my trip tomorrow.
