My Four Boys & Me

November 25th. Thanksgiving Day & we were in Cabo San Lucas! Cabo is at the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula, and I particularly enjoyed this port of call for two reasons: First, I had particularly been looking forward to swimming/snorkeling in the ocean. And, secondly, I actually had a few hours that afternoon where I didn't feel too nauseous! Wahoo! What a blessing that was. So, I'll start off this post with a couple of pictures taken that morning from our ship.

Mark & me before disembarking the ship for Cabo.

My "little" brother Matt.

Yeah...I have no idea...

Once on shore we did some shopping around the touristy streets of Cabo. Then we negotiated a water taxi tour that would take us over to Lover's Beach (and come back to get us later). It was only a few dollars per person and included snorkel gear. The boat had a glass bottom in the middle that we could catch a glimpse of some fishies...however, I was more focused on not looking down so I wouldn't barf. We took the boat over with my parents, Matt, Dave & Jeanette, and David & Andrea.

Mark & me before taking off on our glass bottom boat.

We passed by local fishermen at work on these rocks...

A rock formation that looks like an owl...

I don't remember why I took this picture...but it's pretty anyway.

Something was cool about the shape of this rock (does anyone know?)...again, at least it's pretty.

And we even saw our ship out in the water.

One of the most recognized landmarks of Cabo is the 200 foot natural rock formation known as "El Arco" (The Arch). This area is also known as Land's End and is where the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean meet. We saw sea lions along the way and the water was a surreal color of turquoise blue. Stunning.

Pelicans (and their poop) on rocks...

I believe this is called "Honeymoon Cave"...

Sailboats on the horizon. Don't you just want to jump in that water?

Eventually our little tour wrapped up and we arrived at Lover's Beach - which is only reachable by boat, and doesn't even have a dock (you just have to jump out of the boat into the water at the shore). Other members of our group were already enjoying the beach, which was a bit windy and not too hot (in other words...lovely). Here are my grandparents in the shade with their toes in the sand:

Mark and I immediately bee-lined with Matt for the ocean with some snorkel gear!

We ended up swimming through a crevice in some rocks that you had to be careful not to scrape yourself on the rocks, and let the current pull you through. That took us to a great area for snorkeling. Swimming back (against the current) was a bit more challenging & I was an exhausted pregnant person once we got back on the beach, but it was well worth it. Here are some shots that Matt was able to get with his sweet underwater camera while we were out!...

After we got back to the beach from our adventure in the Sea of Cortez, Mark & I laid out in the sun while Matt went back out snorkeling with my dad and Jeanette & Dave (pictured below).

They saw lots more fish...and this ray!

Of course I had to get a couple of pictures on the beach with my sweetheart...

Lover's Beach was really cool. It's a small, intimate beach accessible only by small boats and not too crowded. Plus no businesses, services, or vendors meant no noise (other than the ocean surf on the Pacific side). I also loved the smooth rock formations formed by the water and wind. Here is Mark next to one...

And my brother Matt in front of the rocks near where we laid out our towels...

We had a wonderful time at Lover's Beach, but eventually it was time to catch our water taxi and start heading back to the ship. Here are Matt & Mark on our water taxi back. Cheese...

Back on land we had a few minutes for those that wanted to do some last minute shopping at the marina. While walking I noticed this sign and it made me giggle. I've never seen a sign show so much excitement over having a service available "sometimes!!". Ha!

Some cute kids playing music for tips outside a small little shopping market.

Back aboard the ship Matt took this beautiful shot of the sunset that night...

And then it was time for Thanksgiving dinner...minus any cooking or cleanup (on our part)! During the cruise you have the same assigned waiters each night. Ours were great. Here is Ingra. He was super nice & helpful...and always remembered to bring Mark different types of sambal (spicy chili based sauce) at dinner once he found out that he likes it.

And the always smiling Dika.

This is my Thanksgiving post, and I want to take some time to write about how thankful I am, particularly for my family. Of course Mark & I particularly missed being with our two precious little boys on Thanksgiving Day, but we were thankful to know that they were happy and safe with Mark's parents (thank you again!). We're so grateful for wonderful parents that have always done so much for us, and who are wonderful grandparents to our children. And speaking of - I've been blessed with wonderful grandparents too! So many of my fondest memories growing up revolve around time my grandparents spent with me...whether that was them attending my piano recitals or soccer games, or if it was Sunday afternoons or holidays spent together, or if it was one of the many vacations we took together. I have always known that my grandparents were proud of me and loved me. Always. That's one reason why going on this cruise was so important to me. Not only would I be able to spend time with my husband, brother, parents, and lots of extended family...but particularly because I would get to spend time vacationing with my grandparents again. Realistically, I'm not sure if that opportunity will ever arise again as the years progress, especially now that we live out of state. I'm so grateful that they provided this opportunity for our whole family...not just to have a wonderful, indulgent vacation (which it was), but to be able to spend time together. Time where nobody had to worry about schedules or the rest of life going on around them. And after grandpa had his stroke (just weeks after getting back from this cruise), I'm only that much more grateful that I was able to spend this time with them on the cruise. So, thank you so much for giving us this gift, Grandma & Grandpa. I'm thankful for you and love you.

Me with my sweetheart (who looks very handsome, I must add).

Mike & Desirae.

My wonderful parents.

My mom took this picture of my grandparents at dinner & I love it, so I'm including one more of them:

Our table.

Brent.

Marrae & Tyler.

Ben, Tyler & Matt.

Nathan.

Shelly & Kent.

Jason, Michelle & Jared.

Randy & Linda.

David & Andrea.

Jeanette & Dave.

My parents, grandparents, me, Mark, Matt.

Us with Jetro - who we called the "yummy, yummy guy". He stood at the doors of the restaurant with a cart every night as we left and would offer mints or other after dinner treats, but you had to say a certain phrase or sing a certain song to get them...

Monkey.

I truly do have a lot to be thankful for.

The next day our ship made port in Puerto Vallarta and some of us (including myself) took another bus tour of the city, while others went on excursions. Our first stop was here and I headed across the street with my mom to snap a photo of the beautiful Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Then we crossed the street and took in the sights on Puerto Vallarta's Malecón. I don't know the story behind this pretty girl, but watching her float down the boardwalk in her lavendar gown certainly warranted a photo or two.

Me near the boardwalk's famous arches (Los Arcos Amphitheater)...

Some local ocean front art.

Vallarta's iconic boy on seahorse statue "Caballeo del Mar" by Rafel Zamarripa. It's a commissioned replica created after the statue at Los Muertos beach was destroyed by hurricane Kenna in 2002.

Next to the seahorse statue are the Papantla Flyers. They enact a religious ceremony believed to have originated 1500 years ago in central Mexico as a prayer for fertility and good harvest. Four men (representing air, water, fire, earth) come off the platform in their colorful, intricate costumes and swing upside down in circles while playing various wooden instruments as their ropes unravel. A fifth man sits atop to 50 foot pole playing an instrument. Click here for a good summary on specifics of the ceremony. It was a delightful display to watch.

A quick 18 second clip of the ceremony:

These men enact this ceremony as a job, so tips from their audience are appreciated. I paid this guy an extra couple bucks to take a picture with me...

Nice shot of my grandparents.

These rock formations are called Púlpito and Pilitas (Pulpit and Baptismal Font).

Kent & Shelly's family with Grandpa & Grandma.

My mom & me.

Our tour guide took us to this beach area. Kent's family took off to participate in various ocean activities while my mom, Linda, and I joined my grandparents in finding somewhere to eat lunch. Eventually we decided on this location right on the sand under these charming thatched umbrellas.

Me.

After meeting back up with our group, Shelly bought some candy from this vendor. I loved his colorful cart of various types of treats & snacks.

And thanks to Kent for this shot of the treat-cart:

During my relaxed meanderings of Vallarta, Mark was on a zipline excursion over a jungle canopy! I would have really loved to have done that if I hadn't been pregnant, but I'm really glad that Mark was still able to go. They arranged a price for for bus transportation and zipline tickets (better price for going as a group) and while on the bus ride to the site, Mark snapped this picture that I really like:

Picture of the canopy upon entering the Sierra Madre Mountains not far from Puerto Vallarta.

This is where the bus unloaded before beginning the zipline.

Their canopy river tour was with a company called EcoFun and they claim to have the longest, highest, and fastest zipline in Puerto Vallarta. *sidenote: This is a different zipline than the one you use if you book a zipline excursion on with Holland America* Here is their group before getting started:

Mark (on the first of a series of ziplines).

Mark getting unhitched on the platform at the bottom of the first zipline.

My dad.

My brother Matt.

Quick 3 second clip of Matt coming into one of the platforms...

Mark & my cousin Ben with their zipline gear. The path they are walking on connects the end of one zipline with the beginning of the next.

Mark and Matt on one of the paths from further back. Look at that pretty jungle.

Ben, Matt & Mark.

I think these next two shots of Mark from further away are really cool (however he says that they still do no justice to how high up they really were)...

This is a shot taken from the zipline. For a few dollars extra they were able to pay for one of the zipline employees to take photos of their tour, which is where most of these pictures are from.