Beauty

Beauty by Robin McKinley is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast.  It focuses on how Beauty grows up with two sisters, Hope and Grace, and how they ended up involved with the beast.  The beast demands one of the daughters in return for their father picking a rose, and he sends Beauty to him, because the other two sisters are married.

Dreamland

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen is about a sixteen year old girl named Caitlin O’Koren.  Her sister runs off to New York City and leaves Caitlin devastated, with no contact.  Caitlin would rather live in her dreams than live for real during the day.  She starts dating an abusive drug dealer and is ignored by her parents.  She gets addicted to the drugs as well.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman is a controversial book.  They say everyone has daemon attached to them, in the form of animal.  The villains are called Gobblers, who are people taking children to the North to separate them from their daemons. 

Historical Fiction

• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz
• The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
• The Crucible by Arthur Miller
• The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
• 11/22/63 by Stephen King
• Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
• A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
• Kit's Wilderness by David Almond
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• Pearl Harbor 1941 by Nancy Holder
• Sarah's Key by Tatianna De Rosnay
• Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
• The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
• Witch Child by Celia Rees
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Fantasy Reading List

Alice in Wonderland by Louis Carroll
Airborn by Kenneth Oppel
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and The Beast by Robin McKinley
The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
Golden Compass
Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Matched by Ally Condie
Miss Peregrines: Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
The Night Circus by Erin Morgestern
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L.F. Baum
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Wicked by Gregory Maguire

The Kiesha'ra Series

The Kiesha’ra Series by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes is about two shape shifters, named Danica and Zane, who come from two enemy families.  They have to get married to bring peace to their kingdoms. 

True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

 True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi is an adventure story.  Charlotte reminds me of Elizabeth Swan in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.  Charlotte is young girl who has to sell on her father’s pirate ship from Europe to America.  She is heroine when the crew declares mutiny on the captain. 

Kit's Wilderness

 Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond is a fantasy adventure story.  Kit and his friends play a game called Death, where they take turns, pretending they are dead and have left their bodies.  After playing the game, Kit feels something supernatural and he starts seeing the ghosts of his ancestors who died in the mines.  

Into the Wild

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst is a fantasy adventure book with a clever concept.  I love fairy tales.  The protagonist is 12 year old Julie who lives in a world where fairy tale creatures exist.  Her mother is Rapunzel, her grandmother is a witch, and her cat is Puss in Boots.  Her father is a prince who was killed helping Rapunzel escape the forest.  They have the seven dwarfs over to her house for dinner a lot.  The fairy tale creatures who have escaped the Wild, have to repeat their stories over and over because of a supernatural object.  Julie has to go rescue her family out of the Wild.

The Clique Series

 The Clique by Lisi Harrison is similar to its young adult predecessors such as Gossip Girl and The A-List.  All three series deal with mean girls.  This one doesn’t have the graphic language and sex the other two do.  This one is for middle school girls and how hard junior high is.  I was picked on a lot in junior high because this is the development stage between the maturity of a kid and the maturity of an adult. 

The Chocolate War

 The Chocolate War by Robert Comier definitely measures up to his other books, After the First Death and Tenderness.  Cormier has an interesting writing style and writes about problems other authors don’t dare to write about.  What starts out as a hazing ritual after refusing to sell fundraiser chocolates ends in a brutal beating.  I had to sell chocolates while I was in junior high and they weren’t very good so I doubt people would buy them if it wasn’t to support the school.  I liked how Jerry was able to stand his ground surrounded by peer pressure.  It made it seem like all the teachers at the school were menacing. 

Shooter

 Shooter by Walter Dean Myers is a very sad book about because of similar events that have happened at Columbine, Virginia Tech and even as close to us at Trolley Square in Salt Lake.  The book is very relatable and the characters are believable.  The ending shows us we need to help people overcome obstacles. 

Whale Talk

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is about a high school senior named T.J. Jones, who struggles with racism, bullying, society, anger, and fear. He is adopted and lives with his foster parents. His mother is a lawyer and his dad is stuck on a day when he accidentally ran over his girlfriend's son with his truck.

Because of his mixed heritage, he is discriminated against a lot by his peers. There are two men in the book named Mike and Rich, who make T.J.'s life harder in and out of school. T.J. has to control his anger a lot through out the book, because of the actions of these two men. T.J.'s dad always advises him to take "Not one minute for revenge."

T.J. joins the swim team and finds solace with the other outcast members. Being on the team, bonds the boys, and makes them feel like they belong somewhere. The boys look up to T.J.

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle by Stephen Dunning is book of poetry and photographs. The poems are short and easy to read. The poems have a broad range of subjects and interesting styles. Books like this one are helpful to get young adults to like poetry.

Feed

Feed by M.T. Anderson is about a group of teenagers. A boy named Titus is described as gorgeous, because his parents modeled him after a popular actor. He had has the Feed all his life, which is a microchip run by a corporation, hooked into his brain, giving him access to the Internet and television. He and his friends don't even think for themselves, relying on the Feed for instant gratification.

Titus' girlfriend Violet didn't grow up with the Feed, but her parents bought one out peer pressure. Titus is surprised when Violet wants to talk about current events and is able to hand write notes instead of just sending it as an I.M. The other teens think Violet is weird and when she challenges them, they call her names.

The book presents the dilemma of growing technology, capitalism, and knowledge. Except for Violet, there is not a lot of character development. The other kids are so addicted to the Feed, they are the same at the end.

Speak

I first read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson about five years ago and recently read it again for my Young Adult Literature class. I have read several of Anderson's other books, so I am familiar with her writing style, which is descriptive and sharp.

Melinda Sordino, the main character, doesn't talk to anyone. After a horrific event at a summer party, every one at school is mad at her for calling the cops. Her three best friends dropped her as a friend. These three friends and Melinda's parents are too involved in their own lives to notice Melinda's pain and change of personality. Melinda spends most of her time, drawing and painting, with the help of friendly teacher, Mr. Freeman. Melinda learns through her experiences, everyone should find their voice and make sure they are heard.

Uglies

Uglies is the first book in the quadrilogy by Scott Westerfeld. The book is written in third person, but the main character is a sixteen year old girl named Tally Youngblood. In her world, there are Uglies and Pretties. When someone turns sixteen, the are able to get three operations to make them into Pretties. All the Pretties live in their own compound, don't have to work, and shun the Uglies.

Tally is really excited to turn pretty and can't understand why her friend Shay wants to run away to Smoke, a town full of runaway Uglies. When Shay disappears, Tally is blackmailed by Dr. Cable to find Smoke and the missing Uglies, or else the doctor won't let her have the surgeries.

The first couple of chapters seemed to drag on, but then the pace picks up. The books shows that no matter where you live or in what decade, people will problems with self image. It shows how far some people will go to look perfect in every way, very reminiscent of the Hollywood mindset. The only time we hear of Tally's parents is when they come to her dorm for her birthday. I think this book would be appropriate for any read who has a problem with body image.

The Book Thief

This is the first book I've read by Markus Zusak. He has a German mother so she must have sparked his interest in Nazi Germany and two of his books (including this one) have been chosen as Michael L. Prinze award Honor winners.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, is narrated by Death and tells the story of girl named Liesel who lives in Nazi Germany with her foster parents. Liesel steals books and takes care a Jewish man named Max hiding in the basement of her house. Her foster mother Rosa is very stern disciplinarian and her foster father Hans is a kind teacher. Max draws and writes stories for her to read. Liesel spend most of the time reading and dreaming about her dead brother while the war is at her doorstep. The Mayor's wife lets her steal books from her house and makes her cookies, because Liesel reminds her of her dead son.

I thought Liesel and her parents are believable. Liesel was very brave and matured greatly in the three years the book takes place. This book would be appropriate for all young adults and I would recommend it to any reader who has read books about the Holocaust before.

Carnival Triumph

This was my fifth cruise. I have previously cruised on the Spirit, Inspiration, Victory, and The Valor. My parents have been on the Paradise, Elation, and Monarch of the Seas. We flew from Salt Lake City to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night and stayed at the Plantation Hotel. It was a dive. Don't stay there. We rented a car at Alamo.


Saturday Oct 20

We drove to Miami and dropped the car off at Alamo. We took the Alamo shuttle to the seaport. Since my mom has to be in wheelchair because she has Multiple Sclerosis, we got to the front of the line and were on board by 1:30 pm. We stayed in cabin 8278 on the Veranda deck, but we prefer the Rivera deck, because it doesn't rock as much. We had the 6:15 dining time and were at table 173 in the London dining room. We sat with a couple from Texas, and a couple from Missouri. Our head waiter was Yudi, and he was very friendly. Each night he called us by our names and was very fast and helpful. This was the first dining room, where the lights only dimmed and didn't blink. After dinner, I went to watch TRIVIA: SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING hosted by the social host Chris. After trivia, there was Latin DANCE CLASS to the song "Copacabana" taught by one of the male dancers. After that we watched GAME SHOW MANIA hosted by social hosts Chris and Amanda. Then we saw the WELCOME ABOARD SHOW, where we met the cruise director Brad Calabrese, the singers, the dancers, the Assistant cruise director Bonnie, and the other social hosts Paula and Murie. The comedian Mike Panzeca was hilarious.

Sunday Oct 21

After breakfast on the Lido Deck, we went to TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE TALK hosted by Brad, since we had never been to Grand Turk before. THE NEWLYWED NOT SO NEWLYWED SHOW was quite interesting. For the first time in the five cruises I've been on, a same sex couple was chosen in the drawing for the newlyweds. This was the first formal night. I tried the Spaghetti Carbonara in the dining room, and it was very good. WONDERFUL WORLD is the better of the two shows. This was also the first night that we smelled the sewage smell that I have read about in the reviews. It's mostly in the Lounge and the decks surrounding the Lounge.


Monday Oct 22

In the morning we went to MUSIC TRIVIA, SEA FUED, and IN THE BAG. We were in SAN JUAN from 5 to 12, so we just got off the boat for a couple of hours and went shopping near the port. Since we were during the evening, the dining room was open seating from 5:30 to 8:30. We went to the Austin Powers DANCE CLASS taught by one of the female dancers. The show was Grammy nominated vocalist CECIL PARKER.


Tuesday Oct 23

We arrived in ST THOMAS from 8 to 6, so we took a cab to Red Hook, and then took a ferry over to St. John. We sat on the beach while my dad snorkeled at Trunk Bay. When we got on the ferry to go back to ST. Thomas, it started pouring. Then we went shopping in Havensight. The NEW WAVE MAGIC show starring Kevin &Caruso was okay. I had seen several of their tricks before.


Wednesday Oct 24

At the SHOPPING TALK for Grand Turk, Bruce seemed to giving the freebies to people in the fifth row in the middle, or the sides in the front. We all got a free Del Sol plastic ring on our way out. The LOVE & ROMANCE GAME was hosted by Amanda. The BATTLE OF THE SEXES was hosted by Chris. I skipped the HYPNOTIST SHOW, but my dad went and he said the one last year on the Valor was better.

The ship was decorated for the M&M's sponsored Halloween Deck Party and there were ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, and a castle background for pictures. The guests and crew had some interesting costumes, such as a towel animal, togas, Zorro, and a devil with cereal boxes around their neck on beads.

Thursday Oct 25

We were in Grand Turk from 7 to 5:30. We signed up for the ISLAND BUS LOOP "THE GUANA" in Grand Turk, which took us to the Grand Turk Lighthouse and the Her Majesty's Prison. It wasn't worth the money. The bus comes by every fifteen minutes to pick you up, since the island is only 7 or 8 miles long. The bus driver said most of the resorts are on Provencales, but they are building two in Grand Turk. This was the second formal night. The show CENTURY CAFÉ was good, but not as good as the other one.

Friday Oct 26

The DEBARKATION TALK with Brad was at 11 am and he told us his list of the top 10 funniest questions asked by guests. The social host Amanda was one of four employees of the month. At the CRAZY LIDO PARTY, Murie, Chris, and Amanda taught us the Cupid Shuffle, the Ketchup dance, and the Mississippi slide. They also had Carnival Color games. The LIAR'S CLUB was hosted by Bonnie. Amanda, Brad, and Chris were the panel. They brought up 4 guests at a time and had them determine which one was saying the real definition of not often heard words such as lavacan, fullfart, pudd, and erectarine. GAME SHOW MANIA II was hosted by Murie and Chris. CARNIVAL LEGENDS was better this year than last. Brad was Dolly Parton. Chris was Cher and Ashley, the karaoke host, was Sonny. They had guests playing Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, and Britney Spears.

Saturday Oct 27

This Debarkation was the worst one I have ever experienced. We were number 30 group and had to wait till 11:10 am to get off the ship. We didn't get out of the terminal until an hour later. Since our flight didn't leave till the next morning, we were going to go to the Bayside Mall, but it costs 10 dollars to park as the minimum. So we drove to Ft. Lauderdale and went to the Sawgrass Mills Mall and went to Sonny's BBQ for dinner.

Orlando

On September 15th, we flew to Orlando, via Denver. We stayed in a condo in Kissimmee. Our condo is pretty nice. I have my own bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room.

On September 16th, we went to Animal Kingdom. We saw Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo:The Musical, and rode the Kilimanjaro Safari. After our nap, we went to Epcot. Rode the Living Seas with Nemo and Soarin'.

On September 17th, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We saw Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and The Enchanted Tiki Room, and rode the People Mover, It's a Small World, the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

On September 18th, Mom and I stayed in the condo while Dad went to his conference. When he came back, we went to Carrabbas for dinner and then went shopping at Downtown Disney.

On September 19th, we went to the Florida Mall, Chick-Fil-A, and Wal-Mart.

On September 20th, we went to the Lake Buena Vista Outlets, Sonny's BBQ, Old Town, and then it started raining.

On September 21st, we went to MGM studios.

On September 22nd, we flew home.

Jackson Hole

We got back yesterday from a family reunion in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The family reunion was for my mom's side of the family.  We stayed at the Virginia Lodge.

On Thursday, we drove to Grand Teton National Park and went to the Colter Bay Lodge and gift shop. That night, we went to the Bar J Ranch for dinner and watched their program.

On Friday, we all met at the Alpine Slide. Then we went over to the park near by. After our nap, we went shopping in the shops next to the Town Square. For dinner, we met at the park. That night, we went and saw "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. It was fun, except we were on the front row, so they picked on us.

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My Celebrity Look-A-Likes

Maui

My family and I were in Maui from May 5-May 12. We had a good time. We visited Haleakala National Park and did the road to Hana, which made me sick. We went to Big Beach, Hookipa Beach, Kaanapali Beach, Lahaina Beach and Koki Beach. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, Royal Lahaina Resort Luau, Fred's Mexican Cafe, and BJ's Chicago Pizzeria. We went shopping at Queen Kaahumanu Center, Lahaina Front Street, Shops at Wailea, Whalers Village Mall, Lahaina Cannery Mall, and the Kahului Saturday Swap Meet.

Grease: You're the One That I Want!

Including the songs from Grease, here are the songs they performed on the show.

• "All By Myself" by Celine Dion
• "All That Jazz" from Chicago
• "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley
• "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from The Lion King
• "Can't Help Fallin' in Love" by Elvis Presley
• "Don't Know Much" by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt
• "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston
• "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz
• "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
• "Faith" by George Michael
• "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow
• "Fun, Fun, Fun" by The Beach Boys
• "Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding
• "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
• "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
• "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett
• "It's in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)"
• "It Takes Two" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
• "Mony Mony" by Billy Idol
• "Phantom of the Opera" from The Phantom of the Opera
• "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison
• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder
• "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall
• "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams
• "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar
• "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley
• "Take that Look Of Your Face" from Tell Me on a Sunday
• "These Boots are Made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra
• "Walkin' in Memphis" by Marc Cohn
• "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" by Diana Ross
• "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes
• "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
• "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain
• "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley

Las Vegas

I just got back from Las Vegas last night. My parents and I stayed at the Palms. I haven't been to that hotel since they put the Fantasy tower in. The pools hanging over the edge of your floor, sure would be scary to swim in. It would feel like the pool could drop at any minute. We stayed in the Palms tower.

My Mom and I went shopping a lot. We went to three different malls. I prefer the Meadows Mall, though. My Mom nearly bought the whole Disney store. She collects disney beanies, antenna toppers, and figures. It was kind of funny to see her lap full of stuff almost to her chin, while she was sitting in her wheelchair.

We saw "Santa Clause 3" at the Brenden theatre in the hotel and I liked it. The next movie I really want to see is "The Holiday."

It's a lot warmer in Las Vegas than it is here, a 30 degree difference. I'm glad it snowed here while we were gone, and has now stopped.

Carnival Valor

Day 1 Sunday

My Dad, Mom, and I flew in on Saturday night into Ft. Lauderdale and stayed at the Yankee Trader, which has an oceanview. We returned our rental car in Miami, and took the bus from Alamo to the port. Embarkation was breeze. My mom has Multiple Sclerosis and with her having her wheelchair, we got to use V.I.P. line. So most of the time was spent waiting for the elevator. The ship is gorgeous. The flags are a little duller in color than the pictures I've seen and I really like the eagles on the columns. Our Cabin was on the Riviera deck room 1439. I'm used to sleeping on this deck, because it doesn't rock as much as the upper ones. For lunch, we went up to Rosie's Restaurant on Lido Deck. I had the chocolate raspberry pie, and it was delicious. We waited for the second announcement of the muster drill, before we went up. It wasn't bad. After the muster drill, we went up to the Lido Deck for the sail away and listened to the band Eclypse play.

We were at the 6:15 pm seating in the Lincoln Dining Room at table 110. There were only us 3 at a table for 8 the whole entire cruise. Our waiters were Felix and Maryna. After such horrible service on the Victory last year, it was great to finally have some good service. For dinner I had the fruit, a Caesar salad, the Chicken ala Grecque, and the Apple Mousse cake. The first night our dinner was tad ruined because of the drunk lady at the table across from us who kept yelling and laughing the entire time. There was a couple next to them at a single table that asked to be moved, because of her.

My dad checked his bill after he ordered our shore excursions and found a bill for $5.18 in the Bronx bar that he didn't make. He went to the purser's desk to complain, and the lady told him it would be gone off his bill by the end of the week when they verified the signatures on the receipts.

Welcome Aboard Show was good. The Cruise Director is Brett Alans, the assistant cruise director is Kelly, and the social hosts are Dan, Charlotte, and Alan. They had the dancers and the singers do an act and they had a comedian named Michael Macy, who was the best of the three comedians we saw. After the show we went up to Lido deck for some ice cream for my parents and some hot chocolate for me.


Day 2 Monday

For breakfast every morning I had a muffin and some strawberry yogurt. I figured I'd be eating more for dinner, so I wanted to keep Breakfast a light meal. My mom and dad are a big fan of the omelet bar.

When we docked in Nassau, we went to the straw market and then took a taxi over to the Atlantis. It's better take a regular taxi than a water taxi, because you have to walk a couple of blocks if you take the water taxi, whereas the land taxis drop you off in front of the hotel. The Atlantis was really pretty and neat to see after seeing it a lot on television and in movies. When we got back to the pier we went to Hard Rock Café for some t-shirts and then went back to the straw market, and my dad bought a watch. We went to get back on board, my dad realized he must have knocked his sail and sign card out of his pocket reaching for his sunglasses. So my mom had to verify him with the security guard. My dad had to go to the Purser's Desk and get him to print him a new one.

For lunch, we went up to the Fish and Chips bar and the fish is really good. In the American Lobby, Alan hosted the cornhole contest, which is throwing beanbags through a hole cut out in a ramp.

For formal night, we got our pictures taken with the stairs from Titanic backdrop. For dinner I had the prime rib and the strawberry bisque. The show was the "Nightclub Express." The singers were Penny and Lawrence. Penny was the singer when we went on the Victory last year. Lawrence was the better of the two. The dancers are incredible.

Day 3 Tuesday

It was a first day at sea. In the morning Brett did a Travel Talk for St. Thomas and St. Maarten. For Lunch I had a roast beef on a baguette from the deli and it was good. In the American Lobby, Alan hosted Name that Tune and Dan hosted Battle of the Sexes: Beat the Clock. It was funny, and the Men won. Since there weren't a lot of chairs, people kept standing in front of our booth. It would have been better if it were hosted in the Ivanhoe Lounge. For dinner I had the fruit cocktail, a Caesar salad, the Penne Mariscos, and the Raspberry Vanilla Cake. The Raspberry Vanilla cake has real raspberries in it. Our travel agent Charlie from Rainbow Travel called our room and met us at our table, because we had never met him in person before. The show a couple of comedians. One that was a mime, and juggled. The other was the winner of the Carnival comedy contest, who has cerebral palsy, and was pretty funny at the beginning of his act, but ended rather uneventful.

Day 4 Wednesday

When we docked in St. Thomas, we had to go up to the One Small Step disco for immigration. Then we got off the ship and went to the Havensight Mall for shopping. While we were shopping, it started pouring. We went on the Coral World tour. We had to meet for our tour in the disco at 12:30. It was very interesting seeing the turtles, the sharks, the fish, the stingrays, and the reefs. It was good for people who like to snorkel, but don't like to get wet.

After we got back on board, we went and got some pizza from the lido deck. It's always good. Then when I was taking a nap, I heard some noise that sounded like hammering coming from deck 0. For dinner had the Farfalle with Turkey and Peas, and the warm chocolate melting cake. The chocolate cake is the menu every night, under alternatives, and is one of the best desserts they offer.

The show as supposed to be a singer, but couldn't fly in due to engine trouble and ended up in Bermuda instead. So they grabbed Glenn Miller, the hypnotist from the Elation and he did the show instead. Glenn had people making out with Alien dolls, being Victoria's Secret models, members of the Village People, impersonating Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, and men hiding balloons under their clothing. It was hilarious. My dad liked it so much, he went to both shows. The only bad thing was the Glenn told people if they came and visited his table where he was selling his hypnosis CDs, they would get a 50 dollar bill. Too bad his CDs are $100 a piece.

Day 5 Thursday

I was up all night sick, because the ship was rocking so badly. I had to put on my motion sickness bracelets I usually only wear on the airplane. That's the first time in 4 cruises, I have gotten sick. So I was really tired when we docked in St. Maarten.

We took the St. Maarten Island Tour. It was supposed to leave at 9 am, but we had to wait 15 minutes for two people who never showed, so we left without them. To make up for the tour guide gave 15 extra minutes in Marigot to shop. We also stopped at lookout point. When we took this tour 3 years ago, it also had a stop in Phillipsburg at the beginning, not just at the end.

In the afternoon My Dad went on the Pinel Island Snorkeling Tour. Even though Brett said it was the best snorkeling in St. Maarten, he said he only saw 3 kinds of fish and it wasn't worth the money.

For dinner, I had the rigatoni, a Caesar salad, vegetarian Lasagna, and New York Cheesecake. I like all of them. The show was supposed to be a singer and a comedian, but the comedian couldn't fly in because of weather conditions. So Brett did a card trick and tried to get one of his parrots to talk, but all it said was hi. Yolanda Barber, the singer was very good. She sang songs from Motown like Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight. She even got Lawrence, the singer in the two Vegas shows to sing "Ain't No Mountain High." There was a guy in the audience named Bob who kept trying to dance with Yolanda when she was singing in the aisle. He was hysterical.


Day 6 Friday

In the morning they had Trivial Pursuit Trivia, Sea Feud, the Morning Show Live, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The Sea Feud is family feud, and it was a bit hectic, because they had 15 teams of six, and if they knew the answer, everyone from their team had to jump up and yell out their team name and answer. The Morning Show Live had Q and A with Kelly and Brett was interesting. We learned that the crew has 28-day menu, what the dancers' jobs are beside the shows, and the boat has enough fuel for 2 weeks.

In the afternoon, Brett hosted the Newlywed Game and Deal or No Deal Bingo. The Deal or No Deal Bingo was pretty fun. It ranged from a penny to $1000. The lady got $250, even though the deal she took was $50. I thought that was nice of them. She had a dollar in her case. After that Kelly, the assistant cruise director hosted "The Great Game Show," which is 3 rounds of 3 people answering questions from song clips.

It was also the second formal night. I had the Bing cherry soup, a Caesar salad, the surf and turf, and the caramelized apples on a pastry. The surf and turf is shrimp and filet mignon. I didn't care for the dessert. I wish I had gotten the Grand Marnier Soufflé instead. Our travel agent Charlie from Rainbow Travel bought us all sodas in the dining room, so that was nice of him.

The show was "Far From Over" and it was tribute to 1980's, which included Madonna, Pee-Wee Herman, and the Eurhythmics. I wish that it had some songs from INXS, Duran Duran, or the Go-Gos, but it was still good. I ordered a virgin Raspberry Daiquiri before the show started and when I went to drink it; it tasted weird like cough syrup. That was my first taste of alcohol, and since I am a Mormon, that is a bad thing. LOL. So I had to wait for the waiter to come back so I could exchange it for one with no alcohol. It was on the receipt correctly, but the A was missing in the N/A.


Day 7 Saturday

In the morning they had Entertainment Trivia, Win a Cruise Bingo, and the Debarkation Talk. In Bingo, there were two finalists, so they had to draw a ball from the machine, and who got the highest number won the cruise. Brett gave the person who got the lower number a set of free watches from the gift shop.

In the shops today they had 2 for $30 Carnival Valor t-shirts. I bought a couple and a blue lanyard to put my house keys on. While we were waiting in line, we overheard a man telling the gift shop employee he was mad they didn't have wine for sell in the gift shop. She said if he wanted to buy some, he would have to go to the dining room.

Lunch was the chocolate buffet. They had fondue, different chocolate cakes with fruit, and milkshakes. I got some chocolate cheesecake and it was good.

In the afternoon it started raining. In the Ivanhoe Lounge they had a Saturday Night Fever Dance Class and Dan host the Love, Sex, and Romance quiz.

For dinner I had the mango soup, a Caesar salad, the chicken fettuccini, and the lemon crème brulee. Our waiters Felix and Maryna signed our Valor picture for us. My dad gave Maryna some extra money, because every time we saw her outside of the dining room and in port she would come and say hello to us.

Since "Legends" show didn't start till 10:30 pm., they had a couples dance class, big band music, and coverall bingo to fill up the 8:30 show time. The couples dance class was the cha-cha and they were dancing to the song "Smooth" by Santana. During which my Dad complained to the Purser's Desk again, because the drink charge was still on his bill. They gave him a bill dispute form to fill out.

"Legends" was okay. There were a couple of good singers, but the rest not so much. The legends people had to audition for were Madonna, Britney Spears, Elton John, Elvis, Garth Brooks, Ricky Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Gloria Estefan. They had two girls from the crew dressed as Sonny & Cher and It was really funny seeing Brett, the cruise director dressed up as Dolly Parton.



Day 8 Sunday

Debarkation is the worst part of the cruise. It's bad because you have to get off the ship and go home, and it's bad because you have to start carrying luggage around again. They need 3 lines out each door rather than 1 line that wraps around the entire building. We got off the ship at 9:05 am and then didn't get through with customs till 9:45 am.


In conclusion, I liked this ship and enjoyed this cruise a lot. I thought the dining room service was great and I thought the crew was friendly. I also liked the islands we visited and the entertainment was good.

Anaheim

I just got home on today from a week long trip to Las Vegas and Anaheim. I had a good time.

On Monday we drove to Vegas, staying at the Excalibur. On Tuesday, Mom and I went shopping while Dad was in class. On Wednesday, I pushed Mom in her wheelchair from the Excalibur over to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. We also went to the Meadows Mall, The Aladdin, and The Hawaiian Marketplace with Dad. Then we drove around Fremont Street.

On Thursday, we drove to California, stopping at the Prymm Outlet Mall. We are staying at the Quality Inn. We got some chicken from Knott's Berry Fam and went to Downtown Disney. I shopped and bought a lot of books, clothes and Disney stuff.

On Friday, we went to the Block at Orange. We stayed at the Homewood Suites. My Uncle Jerry and Aunt Becky were also in California visiting their oldest daughter Mandy and her husband Sam, so my parents and I went and ate with them at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. While we were trying to find the LDS temple in Newport, we saw a guy get out of his car at an accident site and tried to beat up an undercover cop.

On Saturday, we went to the Costa Mesa swap meet and drove around Newport. We went to El Torito and back to Downtown Disney. On Sunday, we drove back to Vegas and stayed at the St. Tropez Suites.

Orlando

On March 1st, we flew to Orlando, via Chicago. We stayed at a condo in Davenport.

On March 2nd, We went to MGM Studios. We rode the Great Movie Ride and The Back lot Tour. We saw the sets of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. We saw Muppet's 3D, Lights Motors Action, and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

On March 3rd, we went to the Lake Buena Factory Outlet stores and then to the 192 flea market. We had lunch at Steak N Shake. When we woke up from our nap, we went to the Disney Boardwalk Inn, which has a boardwalk full of shops and restaurants on the water. Then we went to Downtown Disney.

On March 4th, we went to Animal Kingdom. Dad and I went on Dinosaur and it made me sick. We also went on Kilimanjaro Safari and saw It's Tough to be a Bug. After our nap, we went to Epcot and went through the World Showcase.

On March 5th, we went to a sacrament meeting at the Kissimmee Ward. It was fast and testimony meeting and they would only allow someone to talk for one minute because of the demand of people who wanted to share their testimonies. We went back to the condo to change and drove to Cocoa Beach. We ate dinner at Sonny's BBQ and Dad bought Ryan some barbecue sauce. Then we went to the Festival Bay Mall.

On March 6th, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We went on Stitch's Great Escape, the People Mover, and saw Mickey's Philharmagic and the Carousel of Progress. We went back to the Magic Kingdom to see the Hall of Presidents, the Electric Light parade, and the fireworks.

On March 7th, we left the condo and went to Downtown Disney. We ate at Red Lobster before going to the airport. Our plane stopped in St. Louis.

Tonight, we went and saw the Vicktor Uzur and Lydia Wu concert, a cello and piano player, in the Browning Center at Weber State for my music class.

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton by Anthony Chernow, the book that the broadway musical is based on.  A historical non-fiction about Alexander Hamilton and what he went through during his life and how he was killed.  An interesting read.    

Concerts

We went and saw the Utah Saxaphone Quartet  concert in the Browning Center at Weber State for my music class.

We also went and saw the WSU Concert Choir at Chamber Choir concert in the Browning Center at Weber State for my music class.

Carnival Victory

This was my third cruise. My other cruises were on the Spirit (December 17, 2003) and the Inspiration (October 10, 2004).

My parents and I flew into Miami on Friday, so we could spend some time with my brother before we got on the ship. We stayed at the Holiday Inn by the airport, and their rooms had just been refurbished. We rented a car from Alamo, because they have a shuttle to and from the port as well as the airport.

Day 1: September 25th
It took 1-½ hours to embark. When we got on the boat, we headed down to our room on the Riviera Deck. It is nice sized, bigger than the Inspiration. The victory is a gorgeous ship and has a really nice layout. I had read some of the reviews saying it needed to be repaired on the walls and carpet. I only saw one wall that needed to be repaired, but everything else looked great.

After we unpacked, we ate lunch on the lido deck in the Mediterranean restaurant. Their hamburgers and fries are delicious. We went back to the room and took a nap. During which, they delivered our luggage, so it was a pretty fast delivery.

The lifeboat only took a half an hour. It said on the caper that it was supposed to be from 3 to 3:30 pm, but didn’t start until 4 pm. After the drill, we went back to the room and I noticed in the caper, that they didn’t have the in-cabin movies listed, like they did on our other cruises. Instead they have a channel on the television, that tells you what is on at the very moment, but does not give a starting time for the movies on TV later.

We had the 6:15 pm seating assignment in the Atlantic dining room. Two out of the three couples at our table were on our Inspiration cruise last year. We figured out that we all had the same travel agent. Our waiting staff introduced themselves, but didn’t bother to learn our names. We weren’t able to leave the dining room until 7:45 because of the service.

We read in the caper, that karaoke was supposed to be in the Adriatic lounge, but when we got there, the lounge was empty, so it was probably a misprint. We headed over to the Caribbean lounge to watch the ballroom dancing class at 8:30 pm and it was pretty hilarious to watch. Then Felipe, one of the social hosts from Brazil and Karl, the assistant cruise director from England, co-hosted “Game Show Mania” at 9:15 pm. Then another one of the social hosts, Monica, also from Brazil, hosted bingo at 10:00 pm.

After bingo, we saw the Welcome Aboard Show at 10:30 pm, where we were introduced to our cruise director, Dana Hodson, and Emma, another social host from England. This was the beginning of a lot of toilet jokes from Dana. He is obsessed with their speed and power. During the show, they had the victory dancers and the singers, Penny Gold and Marvin Lewis, performed some songs and then there was a comedian named Thomas Brown. After about 10 minutes of his act, he asked for 3 volunteers from the audience to lip-synch Motown music wearing Afros. I think he doesn't need to do the lip synching part and he is funny on his own.

Day 2: September 26th
It was our first day at sea and our first formal night. After eating breakfast on the lido deck, we went to the Caribbean Lounge to hear Dana’s travel talk on Cozumel at 11 am. Since we had already signed up for shore excursions, it was interesting to hear more about them. He also told us that if we have a tour, to be there 15 minutes early for each one.

After our nap, we went to the shopper talk hosted by the super shoppers Rick and Hector at 3 pm. They gave out a lot of free stuff, so it is a good idea to sit in the front at those talks. After the shoptalk, we went and had pizza for lunch, and it was delicious. While we were eating, we listened to the band “Cool Runnings” on the lido deck, and they were good. Then we walked around the shops on board. They have a lot of jewelry, t-shirts, stuffed Freddy’s, stuffed towel animals, etc.

After we got dressed for formal night, I waited while my parents got their pictures taken and then we went to dinner. The dining room service was worse and we were in there until 8 pm. We went to the 8:30 show of “Livin’ in America” and it was okay, but not greatest show I’ve seen from Carnival.

Day 3: September 27th
We woke up, ate breakfast on the lido deck, and got off the boat in Cozumel to meet our “Highlights and shopping” tour group at the end of the pier at 9 am. Our first stop was in Cedral, where there are some local shops and a Mayan temple. Our second stop was at the beach, where they had some more huts with arts and crafts. Then we were dropped off at the downtown shops. They have a Burger King, Carlos ‘N Charlie’s, Diamonds International, Del Sol, Hard Rock Café, Los Cinco Soles, Senor Frogs and Tanzanite International. Included with our tour price, is the museum. A lot of the shops downtown, are on the pier as well, so you don’t have to go far to shop. We were back on board the ship at 2:00 pm.

For dinner, they had an open seating dinner from 5 to 8 pm, so we got to sit by ourselves. My dad had booked another shore excursion,

”Sunset Snorkel” at 7pm, so he had to leave for before dessert. He told us, they take you in a cap and give you a flashlight, but he saw a lot of ocean life, and thought it was neat.

It said in the caper to dress as your carnival color after 8 pm, so I would recommend packing some blue, red and white clothes just in case.

Mom and I went to the Caribbean Lounge after dinner and watched Cozumel Trivia, Dr Phil’s Love, Sex and Romance Quiz, and Victory Derby (Horseracing). The social host, Felipe hosted all of those activities and he did a good job considering how tiring it must be. During the activities, I ordered a non-alcoholic raspberry daiquiri, and my mom got a non-alcoholic Miami vice. We both loved them.

The show, “The Mexican Folkloric Show” featured the Mexican Junior Ballet and the Mariachis. If you have ever been to Hawaii, it will be like watching a show at a luau to you. After the show they had a midnight Mexican buffet and a lido deck party. The social hosts taught some line dances, such as the electric slide and the cha-cha slide, and they hosted a lip synching contest for the carnival colors competition. The band “Lifeline” was great and played a lot of music.

Day 4: September 28th
Our second day of sea and there wasn't a lot to do. Dana had a travel talk on Grand Cayman and Ocho Rios at 11 am, where he announced that he and members of the crew, including the captain, were sick, because there was a flu virus going around.

The assistant cruise director, Karl hosted Battle of the Sexes Sea Feud at 2 pm, and the men won after a nineteen-week losing streak.

They had a comedy matinee with Pete Michael at 4:15. He was all right, but forgettable.

At dinner, one of the ladies at our table got so fed up with waiting for our server to bring us some sauce for our prime rib and sour cream for our baked potatoes, that she went up to the serving stand and brought the gravy tray back with her to the table. After about 5 minutes, the waiter asked for it back.

After dinner, we watched bingo and the “Magic Moments” show at 8:30 pm with Rand Woodbury and the Victory dancers. Rand Woodbury was hilarious and did some neat tricks, especially the snow one.

Then we went to karaoke, and they were having auditions for “Carnival Legends.” Rick, Hector, and the airbrush tattoo artist were the judges. It was too loud with all the people, so we left.

Day 5: September 29th
After we ate breakfast, we took a tender over to Grand Cayman and met our “Turtle Farm, Hell, and Stingray City” tour group by the shops at 10 am. We boarded a bus across the street by the Hard Rock Café in Georgetown. Our first stop was the turtle farm and it was very incredible to see turtles of all shapes and sizes. My mom picked up on of them and my dad took her picture. Then we stopped in Hell, but it was raining so badly, my mom and I didn’t get off the bus, but we could see the rock formations when we drove in and out. Our final stop was to board a boat to go over to Stingray City. It would have been more fun, if the waves weren’t knocking us over. We were back on the boat by 3:30 pm.

During dinner, a girl was leading Fun Ship Freddy around the dining room. These kids at the table next to us went up to Freddy and asked if they could have their picture taken with him. The girl told them no and shooed them away and the kids’ mother went up to them and chewed her out. Freddy came back to their table with them.

After dinner, we went to karaoke. Tiana, the karaoke host got up and sang a country song, and did an awesome job. Then we headed to the Caribbean Lounge, where Karl hosted “Who wants to be a Millionaire” and Emma and Monica hosted “What’s in the Bag?” a scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt was hilarious, because at the end, they asked one guy from each team to do a fashion show on the stage, dressed as women, makeup and all. The “Carnival Legends” was great and they found six incredibly talented people. During the show, Dana gave us his top 10 stupidest questions asked by guests. His number one was “What do you did with the ice sculptures after they’ve melted?”

Day 6: September 30th
After breakfast, we walked off the ship in Ocho Rios and met our “Enchanted Gardens and Dunn’s River Falls” tour group next to the shops at 10 am. Our first stop was the Enchanted Gardens and it use to be a resort, but now is on sale for 16 million. It is really pretty with waterfalls, flowers, and trees, plus we got some exercise walking up all the cement stairs. In the gardens, they have a bird sanctuary. The birds are not shy and will land on your head and your shoulders, and it is really a unique experience. Next the bus took us to Soni’s plaza, where we were allowed to shop for 30 minutes. They have a lot of jewelry, t-shirts, key chains, dreadlock caps, hats, fake Rolexes and fake designer purses. Our final stop was at Dunn River Falls and I videotaped my dad walking up the falls, while my mom and I stayed on the stairs and balconies. Our tour guide told us not to exit through the craft market. I’m glad we didn’t, because some of the people on our tour were followed back to the bus by vendors. I had read reviews of Jamaica, saying how it was unsafe it was, but it was better than I expected. We were back on the ship by 2:30 pm.

They didn’t have any activities between sailing away from Jamaica and dinner, so I was disappointed. It was also our second formal night and a three people at our table didn’t want baked Alaska for dessert, so the waiter brought them 1 menu to share. When the waiters did their dancing, the maitre de wanted everyone to clap if they thought they had the best server, and nobody at our table even made a sound. We all just sort of rolled our eyes.

After dinner, we went to the show was “Vroom” at 8:30 pm. It was great and had music from the Beatles, Motown, Elvis, Disco, and the 80’s. It was a lot better that “Livin’ in America.” During the show, I had another non-alcoholic raspberry daiquiri and it was a lot more watery than the one I had on Tuesday. When we got back to the room, our room steward Elias had made a towel monkey and it hung from the air duct. It was the cutest towel animal I had ever seen.

Day 7: October 1st
The gift shop on the boat had their t-shirts 2 for $20, so both my mom and I got one after breakfast. Then we watched bingo and Dana gave his disembarkation talk at 11 am. They brought the entire crew up on stage and we gave them a standing ovation to say goodbye.

After our nap, we watched Dana host “The Newlywed Not so Newlywed Game” at 2:15 pm. After that, Karl and Philippe co-hosted bingo “5 games for $5” at 3 pm, and I won $100 dollars on the last game, so that was pretty great. After bingo, we went to the lido deck and listened to the “Cool Runnings” play.

At our final dinner, one of the couples didn’t show up, so we didn’t get to say goodbye to them. The waiters sang “Leaving on a Fun Ship.” Tonight was probably the best service we got, because they had 3 people working instead of 2. Our waiter gave us pictures of the Victory and said goodbye.

The 8:30 pm show as the world’s fastest juggler, Manuel Zuniga Jr. and a comedian named Jeff Laub. It was good, but I had seen both of them on the Spirit, I think.

When we got back to our room, we put our suitcases out in the hall, so they could take them off the ship. We knew we didn’t want to do self-assist, because it was such a nightmare on the Spirit.

Day 8: October 2
They started making announcements for self-assist debarkation at 7 am, and woke us up. So we packed up the rest of our stuff into our remaining suitcase and went to lido deck to have breakfast. After breakfast we went to the Caribbean lounge and waited for our brown tags to be called. We got off the boat a 9:30 am and the assistant cruise director Karl said goodbye to us.

Since our flight wasn’t until Monday afternoon, we took a bus to Alamo and got another rental car. Then we drove down to Key Largo and went to the Shell World shop, because we couldn’t check in to our hotel, the Holiday Inn on South Beach, until 4 pm. We got back to Miami at 3:30 pm and saw that the Victory and the Valor were still in port. It was windy and raining really bad, while we were driving back from dinner at Miami Subs. We turned on the TV and saw tropical storm Stan was hitting Cozumel. I bet the victory crew was glad they were doing an Eastern Caribbean cruise the next week instead of Western.

Overall
I enjoyed everything about the ship, except for the dining room service. I enjoyed the cruise director and the social hosts, because they were entertaining and full of personality. I also enjoyed the shore excursions in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. I would recommend this cruise to anyone. I will definitely be cruising with Carnival again.

Las Vegas

On Monday, we headed to Las Vegas. We went to the Aladdin shops and the Hard Rock Cafe. On Tuesday, we dropped Dad off at the Rio for his conference. Mom and I went shopping. After we picked up Dad, we went to the Factory outlet mall. Then we went and ate a Mexican restaurant called Que Pasa and drove around the strip.

On Wednesday, Mom and I went to the Fashion Show Mall, Treasure Island, and then back over to the hotel. We are staying at the Venetian. When Dad was done with his class, we went and checked out the Wynn Hotel and walked around the Grand Canal Shops. They dragged me to a gross Chinese buffet for dinner.

On Thursday, Mom and I walked around the Grand Canal shops again. We also walked around the shop at the Boulevard mall and ate prime rib at the California Hotel for supper. We walked around the Forum shop at Caesar's Palace. We also drove past the temple.

Today, we checked out of our hotel and drove home.

Spirit Lake

Mom, Dad, and I went to Spirit Lake in the Uintahs. We stopped in Evanston, Wyoming on our way and on the way back. My aunt Susan and my uncle Cliff went camping with us as well. I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince while we were there.

Flying Home

This afternoon, we checked out of hotel and went to the Ward Entertainment Center. Dad and Ryan saw War of the Worlds, while Mom and I saw Bewitched. After the movies, we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. Mom and I waited at the mall, while Dad and Ryan took the luggage to the airport. While Ryan waited with the luggage, Dad drove back to pick us up. We then dropped off the rental car and took the shuttle to the airport. We almost missed the plane because we were so late! When we were the last ones on the plane and had to ask two girls to move out of our seats.

Taking in the View

I'm sat on the balcony this morning that faces lots of hotels and palm trees to the East. This is the first time I've sat out here since we got here. It's an amazing view. Oahu is gorgeous! I'm going to miss the palm trees and the flowers. I wish they had scenery lik this in Utah. Mom and I went to the Kahala mall while Dad and Ryan hiked Diamond Head. We went to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and then to the ABC store.

Shopping in Waikiki

This morning, we went to Kmart and Hilo Hattie and then we went to the Aloha Tower Marketplace. We went and got a pizza at Costco and then walked down the main street of Waikiki. We went to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, the King's Market, The International Market Place, and the Waikiki Shopping Plaza.

Swap Meet and Luau

This morning, we went to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium, I got a new backpack, some t-shirts, and a couple of necklaces. After we woke up from our nap, we head to the luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. They had good food and the Horizons show was good as well, especially the fire dancers portion. I fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Shopping, Driving, and the Temple

This morning Dad and Ryan dropped Mom and I off at the Ala Moana shopping center while they went and looked at a World War II Submarine. We drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center and bought our tickets for the luau. Then we stopped at the temple and watched a video on families.

Hanauma Bay

We went to Hanauma Bay Park this morning. They make you watch an eight minute video before they allow to go down to the beach. Ryan and Dad snorkeled while Mom and I sat on the beach. We ate dinner at Red Lobster and then drove around Wakiki.

North Shore

This morning, we drove to the North Shore. Ryan's making us listed to his Jack Johnson cd. We stopped at the Dole Plantation. I got some pineapple juice and Mom got a pineapple ice cream cone. We went to Kua' Aina for lunch. It is a great sandwich shop. I had a turkey club sandwich and some lemonade. After our nap, we went to the Ward Warehouse mall again.

Waikiki Beach

When we got to the airport and went to get our luggage, Dad looked at the Alamo reservation and realized Alamo was closed from 1 am to 5 am. We go to the airport at 2:30 am Hawaiian time, so we had to take the Budget shuttle and rent a car from them for one day. The we got to our hotel which is called Marc Suites. When we woke up this morning, we changed rooms because there wasn't enough beds for all of us. We went to Jamba Juice for breakfast and walked to Waikiki Beach and we saw an old guy in a pink speedo. We also went and got groceries at Wal-Mart. Dad and Ruam went to the beach while Mom and I took a nap. They got pretty burnt from the sun.

When they came back, we went to Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It is at the Ward Warehouse mall. Dad dropped us off as one of the other malls nearby why he went and changed rental cars. When he came back, we walked down the main street of shops in Waikiki and went to the International Market Place. Just before we went to bed, Mom realized her Visa Check card was missing, so Dad called the company and reported it lost. She thinks she lost it and the airprort.

Plane Ride to Honolulu

I'm on the plane, flying from Los Angeles to Honolulu. LAX was a surprise detour. We were supposed to have a direct flight from Phoenix, but our plane was having electrical problems and they made us wait on the plane for 45 minutes without any air conditioning, so we had to fly on another plane. We are four hours behind schedule with 3 flights instead of two. On the plane they showed the movie The Pacifier. It was okay, but I wouldn't run out and buy a copy of it. Mom and Dad are asleep and Ryan is watching Elf on his laptop. I cannot wait till I'm able to get off this plane.

Las Vegas

On Wednesday, we drove to Vegas after Dad got off work. We stayed at the Hampton Inn on Tropicana.

On Thursday, most of the stores were closed because of Thanksgiving. We drove around then went to the Stardust buffet and we went to the Forum Shops.

On Friday, we went to Sam's Club and the Boulevard mall. We walked through the Desert Passage shops at the Aladdin. We saw Legends in Concert at the Imperial Palace, which had impersonators dressed up as Elton John, Barry White, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Aretha Franklin, and Elvis Presley.

On Saturday, we went to the Fashion Show Mall, that is right on the Strip. Dad bought Mom an Opal ring and necklace for Christmas. We ate dinner at the Palm's coffee shop and went to the Bellagio shops.

On Sunday, when we drove home, it was a blizzard.

Carnival Inspiration

This was my second cruise. My other cruise was on the Carnival Spirit in December of 2003. This was my parents’ 5th cruise (4th with Carnival).

October 9th:  We had a layover in Kansas City, where if you want to use the restroom, you have go out of security and back through it.  Then we had to fly to Nashville and let people off the plane.  We got to Tampa about 10 pm and stayed at the Hilton.

October 10th: Embarkation was a long and dull process of going through security and waiting in line for at least 2 hours. When we got there, they gave us a paper with itinerary changes (Grand Cayman to Progreso, and Cozumel to Calica/Playa Del Carmen).  We had a lifeboat drill in the Rock and Roll disco which had a guitar theme.  Our cruise director, Maraschahl Staton gave a shore excursion talk.  Since we had the 8:00 dinner seating, it seemed like all the activities were going on while we were eating and they didn’t have much going on for the late sitting crowd while the early sitting crowd was eating.   We were seated in the dining room with a lady named Tracy, her son Chris, and his stepbrother Ryan, from Tampa.  After dinner, we went to the Welcome Aboard show.

October 11th: Our first full day at sea.  We went and saw Maraschahl give another shore excursion talk and we watched the Austin Powers Dance class.  It was our first formal night and I wore my red dress.  I accidentally spilled butter on the front of my dress.  We went and watched Karaoke and Bingo. The show was "La Nuevo Caribe" dedicated to Caribbean and Spanish music.

October 12th:  We docked in Progreso, Mexico.  We took the shopping and city tour to Merida. They have a lot of stuff (like Chili’s, Sears, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Mercedes and Jaguar dealerships) that we have at home. We visited the governor’s house and a church that was built in the 1500s (the oldest church on the American continent). The vendors were absolutely obnoxious. I told this guy like 5 times I didn’t want to buy one of his fans and he would not leave me alone. I pretended I was asleep until the bus came back. We tried some authentic nachos at one of our stops. They were delicious, but very hot. My dad ordered the escargots and thought they tasted like cheese pizza.   We went to Karaoke and this guy got up and sang "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend."  The show was a juggler and a comedian.

October 13th: It was raining when we got off the boat in Calica, which is next to Playa Del Carmen. We took a bus tour to Cancun. At our first stop at a flea market, the bus driver hit the windshield into a tree branch and broke the glass. Besides hotel row by the beach, Cancun is really grungy. We got to go to a couple of malls and to the beach. They have remnants of Mayan ruins right on the golf course. The water is light blue and really pretty.  The show was fire Gauchos and a comedian.

October 14th: We had to take a tender into Belize, because they don’t have a pier big enough for the ship. Then we took a bus city tour to some Mayan ruins called Altun-Ha. The tour guide said it existed between 250 AD and 500 AD. It was a neat experience to walk through the circle of temples and imagine where the people worshipped.  I videotaped Dad climbing up to the temple and his walking around up there.  It was our second formal night and I wore my blue dress.  I had an appetizer that was shrimp, mussel, and squid, which tasted like a pasta noodle.  The show was "Shout," a tribute to rock and roll.

October 15th:  We docked in Costa Maya, Mexico.  My Dad had a snorkeling excursion, while Mom and I went through the shopping village in Costa Maya. I didn’t buy anything. Most of the goods they have are hammocks, blankets, and sundials or silver-platted jewelry.  When he came back, we went and sat on the lido deck and watched the water.

October 16th:  In the morning, we went and played trivia.  We heard the disembarkation talk.  Later they were playing the video on TV and it showed Mom and I clapping.  After dinner, we watched The Newlywed Game and the Guest Talent Show.

October 17th: We got off the ship today.  We did early disembarkation when we were on the Spirit, and knew it was a painful experience, so this time we waited for our luggage number to be called in the Paris Lounge and got off the boat around 10 in the morning.  After we got our rental car, we went to the International Mall in Tampa that had some really nice stores in it. For dinner, we went to Tia's Tex Mex and the waitress spilled my soda on me when she brought it to me. We stayed the night at Amerisuites.

October 18th: we went to the airport and flew home.