We're Going on a Cruise!

A Christmas cruise!  It wasn't a surprise, which I'm grateful for, because I've had all sorts of time to stock up on swimsuits and sandals.  We did just open up these beauties the other day, to get ready for our long awaited Mexican adventure!

We set off to the airport yesterday.  We were lucky to have enough room in the car with all of our luggage.  If you consider squishing Bailey as "enough room".

We set off nice and early, as my mom assured us that the 23rd of December is the busiest airport day of the year.  Not so sure what she was talking about - there were less people at the airport than I've ever seen.  But it was nice not to stress about being late, and we just missed the big snowstorm!

We landed in Long Beach and oh my gosh.  I can't remember the last time I've been in that much rain!  It was cold and wet and I tried to keep warm but then we were running through parking lot-sized 5 inch deep puddles..... so dry shoes weren't really an option.  But we embraced it, it was actually pretty fun!

We eventually got to our hotel to watch TLC, and thanks to our heaters, our clothes were dry just in time for us to eat breakfast (with an old lady that was so shocked that all of us youngsters were married) and head off to the majestic Carnival Miracle!

Our first stop was the buffet.  We were so hungry!  We ate pretty much everything in sight until we were full, then we checked out of our staterooms.

Mom and dad invested in a balcony.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the ship!  It was so big and there was so much going on everywhere!  We even found the chapel so we could renew our vows if we wanted to.

I am so confused by the lady on my right.

We found our dinner table and were so excited to discover that we were right by the window!  Later that night we realized that by dinner time it would just be dark outside the window, and we were right above the engine so it was super bumpy which meant extra nausea.

Finally it was time for the ship to pull away!  We ran up to the top deck to watch it all!  It was extra windy.

My mom and I ended the night in the Atrium, where it snowed!  It was pretty soapy and left white chunks in my hair but it was a magical experience.  Especially with the Christmas carols - the cruise director said, "Alright let's start with 'Winter Wonderland'", and everyone started singing "Oh the weather outside is frightful!" and my mom and I just about had a heart attack.

That was it for the first day of our 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise!