cruisin' and babymoonin'

Eric and I got to escape real life for a few days while soaking up time together, eating all the food (maybe that was just me) and being as lazy as possible ;) We booked a little cruise that took us to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Mexico. We chose this cruise because we wanted a short trip (versus a week long cruise) that was cheap, all inclusive (food wise) and relaxing... which is exactly what we got!
We drove down to California last Sunday and I was totally shocked by the cold "June gloom" weather! It was a nice break considering we'd just left triple digit weather, but I forgot to pack a jacket so it was a little hard to enjoy the cold 60 degree temps! We had planned on doing some exploring in Long Beach before getting on the cruise ship, but in an effort to make sure we knew where to go when it was time to get on the ship, we found ourselves in the parking lot and couldn't leave without paying... so we boarded the ship! It ended up being just what we needed because as soon as we finished eating lunch we made our way to our room where I took a long nap. You'll notice a pattern here real soon- eat, sleep, eat, sleep ;)
Monday was spent on Catalina Island and we loved it! I was expecting the cute little town but we were totally shocked by how clear and gorgeous the water is! Our first stop after getting off the ship was buying a jacket, ha ha! It warmed up to the perfect temperature for exploring but I wore that jacket the rest of the cruise so it was worth the purchase ;) We wandered through the town for a bit before making our way over to the beach. I've never been kayaking before and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try it! We rented a kayak and paddled along the coast line for a bit. It was such a beautiful day and again, the water was gorgeous! We didn't last too long in the water which was a good thing... my back and belly muscles weren't used to that kind of workout... not to mention the fact that my muscles have stretched to make room for a 22 week bump and did not appreciate the workout, oops! We hung out on the beach and I finally got my hands on a pina colada (virgin, of course) which I'd been craving for quite awhile! We did a little exploring on our way back to the ship where we went to eat lunch, lay out by the pool and took naps :)

We weren't really that interested in getting off the ship at Ensenada on Tuesday, but once we arrived we couldn't resist! We just walked to where the shopping was (a street lined with bars and shops, that was all they offered for a flea market) and ended up buying a couple dresses for Mia. Eric lived in Mexico City for 2 years so he was excited about getting Mia these adorable little dresses. He had a lot of fun bartering and talking with the locals. He was asked on more than one occasion if he was from certain areas of Mexico, which was quite the compliment since he's been out of practice with his Spanish. Moving to Arizona has provided him the opportunity to brush up on the language and work on getting the accent back though. When we finished shopping we went back to the ship for lunch (Eric was especially weary to eat any food in Ensenada with me being pregnant- one can never be too careful, or too cheap. Free lunch on the ship ;) ha ha!) then napped poolside again. I may have taken a second nap in our room before heading out to dinner as well :)

Wednesday was our day at see where we'd planned on hanging out (or should I say napping) pool side but it was cold, dreary weather! Now that we are back in the Arizona heat I'm wishing I'd soaked up more of those cold temps, ha! This made for the most boring day considering how small our ship was. We ate breakfast, watched TV in our room (Eric attempted going to the gym but it was more than full), went to a show, at brunch, napped... then after I went a little stir crazy in our room I convinced Eric to play some games with me (after stopping by the buffet for some treats, of course!) and for anyone that knows Eric, you know how much he HATES playing games. Proof of how bored we were, ha ha! We grabbed battle ship then headed to a corner of the ship where Eric could watch ESPN as well. We actually had a lot of fun playing, then it was finally time for dinner! We caught the tail end of a comedian show after dinner then called it a night... it was by far the latest we'd stayed up the whole cruise (which isn't saying much since we were back in our room before 9!) We went straight to bed after dinner each night... I'm not kidding you when we say we took full advantage of relaxing, being lazy, catching up on sleep or whatever you want to call it! With how much Eric has been working and my pregnant state, it was exactly what we needed!

Thursday morning we were up early to eat breakfast and get off the ship before getting stuck in long lines. We headed over to the beach to get a nice walk in and enjoy ourselves before it got crowded (if it gets crowded with the gloomy weather?)... but we called it quits after a few minutes. I was excited to get some cute pictures on the beach but besides a few runners, the homeless and crazyies are the only ones occupying the beach before 8am. Normally we wouldn't mind except they were kind of getting crazy towards us so we booked it out of there. We drove around for a bit before skipping town since it was still so early. We did stop at the most amazing outlets outside of Palm Springs on our way home though... I can't wait to hit those up again next time we go down to California!
This was by far the least exciting trip we've been on, ha ha, but it was exactly what we needed! It was SO good to have that time with Eric and we really did have a blast and loved being able to relax so much! A huge thank you to my parents who stayed out our house to watch Mia and spoiled her rotten! I was slightly worried she wouldn't want us to come home, but girlfriend missed her parents! 5 days later and she's still ecstatic that I'm around!! She keeps saying, "mommy back!!" and Sunday night as Eric and I were doing her bed time routine she kept saying, "miss you, mommy! Miss you, daddy!" Sweet girl, we are so lucky to have her! (Isn't that why these little trips are so amazing, they remind us how sweet life is at home!)