Baja California Cruise for Grandma

June 5-11, 2011

Sarah's Grandma turned 80 years young this year and she wanted the family to go somewhere to celebrate. We landed on a Baja California cruise to Ensenada Mexico with a stop in Catalina. The cruise was only 4 nights, but I feel that was enough for me. I can't say I have always wanted to go on a cruise but I have been curious for a long time. Going to bed at night and waking up in a new place is just awesome. Opening up those windows (if you paid the extra coin for a window) each mooring to see a new place is kinda like Christmas. This trip was all about Grandma and 8 of us joined her in celebration. She was all smiles the whole time so I think it was a success.

The first few hours on the boat was chaos and I was ready to go back to Long Beach. Everyone is doing the same thing - running around with their heads cut off checking out the ship which looked like the 7th inning at a ballgame. Horrible. After time, the boat really did eat up people and you would have never guessed it's capacity. The food was excellent at the restaurant. We never at at the buffet unless we had to and that was a good decision. Amazing service and very creative food that was really good considering they prepare so many of the same thing. It really is an amazing operation. We went to a lot of comedy shows at night and even played some Bingo. Lee and Lynn got a suite so that was always our meeting ground. The boat had mini golf and a couple pools with a slide. The water was naturally heated, so that only took once.
Our first stop was at Catalina Island which really felt like a Carribean town in California. People get around by golf carts! We rented a couple and did a tour to a vantage point to see the bay which was an awesome view. Later in the day Lee, Sarah, and I went to this beach club we spotted from the top and enjoyed a few drinks in the sun. We later got in trouble for doing it, but it was worth it. I would like to go back and visit one day, it really was a charming little place to see.

Our other stop was in Ensenada Mexico. We had booked a wine tour through our travel agent which was a friend-of-a-friend kind of thing. These deals are hard to come by and when they do, they are always memorable. We got an insider experience to two wineries. One was nice, but the other was one of those experiences you won't forget. We traveled deep inland to the first place that was kind of run down and confusing, but very relaxing and very local-feeling. After that, we went to "the friends" winery and it was really something. This Swede used to be a cook in Mexico City for ten years and decided to make wine. He had a piece of shared property of two other wineries where he built everything by himself in just four years. He made adobe buildings for his home, guest home, and restroom. He sat us down at a table for 40 built from a 100 year old bridge timber from San Francisco. It was something out of a movie. He cooked a 4 course meal for all of us from his outdoor kitchen and cedar-smoked grill. We had the best guacamole on the planet, fresh garden salad, and a stir fry of steak, chorizo, chicken, and a variety of peppers. It was amazing. The wine never stopped flowing and it was just as delicious. We sat and shared stories for a few hours with our new friends and really enjoyed ourselves. It was one of those moments you didn't want to end and you questioned why you were going back.