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.

Robert Dana

On Tuesday, a poet named Robert Dana, whose book Morning of the Red Admirals, I have been studying for class, came and talked at Weber State during my class and that same night at the Stewart Library. It was cool to get some insight on why he wrote certain poems in the book.

Spirit Lake

We spent two nights camping up at Spirit Lake in the Uintahs this week. My family went with my aunt Susan's family. I spent most of the time we were up there, reading and walking around. Dad likes to make Dutch oven cobbler and potatoes. When we went to the Lodge, we ran into our neighbor Torch and his family. When we came home, we learned that Hurricane Charley had hit Florida. We haven't heard anything from Ryan yet, so hopefully, he is okay.

Orlando

On Saturday, we flew to Orlando, via St. Louis. It's funny that I've flown into that airport 3 times and still haven't seen the arch that goes over the city. Taking off and landing was pretty hard for Mom and her vertigo, because of her ears. We didn't get to our hotel till 2 am. We had 2 separate rooms. In my room, it looked like there was blood splatted all over the carpet and the bathtub was cracked, so it felt like I was surfing when I took a shower.

On Sunday, it rained most of the day. We went to the Magic Kingdom. Mom was sad she couldn't go on Splash Mountain and It's A Small World, her favorite rides, because of her vertigo. After our nap, we went to Epcot. We went around the World Showcase to shop.

On Monday, we got an email from Ryan, telling us he loves Gainesville where he is currently serving. It was raining again, so we went to Wal-Mart to get groceries. We went to Sonic for lunch and tried to order fry sauce, LOL. After our nap, we went to Downtown Disney and it was packed. Mom bought 5 antenna toppers.

On Tuesday, we went to the 192 flea Market and bought Ryan an "I [heart] Florida" t-shirt and mug. At night, we went to Old Town. It's this cool place with old fashioned shops and rides. In one of the shops I found a sticker that said, "I like poetry, long walks on the beach, and poking dead things with a stick." Mom was craving Chinese food so we found one, but it cost about 50 dollars for three of us, because the soup and the rice were extra.

On Wednesday, we went back to Epcot. Dad got sick, riding Mission Space. It didn't help that he decided to on Test Track right after that. Mom bought a passport book and we had to go to all the countries to get it stamped. We also went back to the Magic Kingdom. We went on the Winnie the Pooh ride, saw Mickey's Philharmagic, rode the Haunted Mansion and the people mover. On the tram ride back to our car, a lady was discussing with her family, "If they're both dogs, why can Goofy talk and Pluto can't?" We ate at Taco Bell for dinner.

On Thursday, We ate at Chick-Fil-A on our way to Typhoon Lagoon. Mom and I had a double tube on the river run and I pulled her the whole way around. Then we went to the Festival Bay Mall and bought stuff from Ron Jon's surf shop and Hilo Hattie.

Yesterday, we flew home, via Phoenix. When we were walking the baggage claim area, there was a missionary hugging his mom. Mom got teary-eyed and I told her in 10 months, she would be hugging Ryan at the airport.

John Mayer Concert

Last night, we went to the John Mayer concert at the USANA amphitheater in West Valley City. My  favorite band, Maroon 5 opened for him. It was awesome. We were there for 5 hours.

California

After church, we drove to Vegas. We stayed at Circus Circus and walked around the midway.

On Monday, we drove to California. We got to attend a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The guests were Snoop Dogg, Ashlee Simpson, and two eighty year old women who are wrestlers. Snoop's microphone wouldn't work, so while they were trying to get him a new one, he did an improv rap for us. It was pretty cool. Ashlee perfromed her new single, "Pieces of Me."

On Tuesday, we went shopping at the Block at Orange, Downtown Disney, and went to Knott's berry farm to get chicken and mashed potatoes.

On Wednesday, we went on The Warner Bros. studio tour. They had a Harry Potter exhibit, and I got to try on the sorting hat, who told me "Griffindor!" We got to see the sets of Friends, ER, Gilmore Girls, and Joey. The tour guide, Johnny kept asking me what moisturizer I use. After the tour, we went back to the hotel and watched the American Idol 3 finale.

On Thursday, we went to Sea World and ate dinner at the Spaghetti Factory at Newport Beach.

On Friday, it was raining. We went shopping and ate at the Crab Cooker at Newport Beach.

On Saturday, we went to the O.C. Swapmeet and drove back to Vegas.

Today, we drove home, stopping in Mesquite for breakfast.

Las Vegas

I went to Las Vegas with my parents last week. We shopped a lot at the many malls. We also went and saw V: The Ultimate Variety Show at the Venetian.

Carnival Spirit

On December 17th, we got on the Carnival Spirit in Miami and went to Karaoke and the Welcome Aboard show.

For the first formal night, I wore my blue dress and we went to the comedy show, newlywed game and the travel plan talk. We also went to the Piano bar and sang songs. The cruise directors are Michael and Jeni Mullane, a husband and wife team, both excellent singers.

On December 20th, we docked in St. Maarten and went on the island tour bus ride and shopping. Vendors kept bothering me, asking me if I wanted my hair braided. The evening show was Singin' with the Big Band, a tribute to Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra with Christopher Alan Graves.

On December 21st, we docked in Barbados and took an island tour bus. We saw the Knobby knees competition, the guest talent show and went to the Midnight buffet on the lido deck where we danced the Macarena, and Los Ketchup dance.

On December 22nd, we docked in Martinique. Dad went snorkeling while Mom and I walked into town and went shopping. We saw the Village Idiots Comedy show. For the second formal night, I wore my red dress. . We also watched Survivor and the "High Spirits" musical.

On Christmas Eve, Dad got picked to play trivia and got a ship on the stick for second place. They had a Christmas show with Santa and a comedian.

Today, we disembarked the ship and sat on Miami Beach. We also talked to Ryan on the phone on our way to the airport. It was the first time we got to talk to him since he left on his mission.

John Mayer

David Boreanaz

Island Park

To celebrate Mom's 47th birthday, we drove to Island Park and stayed at Uncle Don's cabin. We drove up to West Yellowstone and saw Oklahoma! at the Playmill Theatre.

Orlando

On July 19th, we flew to Orlando, Florida, with a layover in St. Louis. We went to the 192 flea market, Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. We went to Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and MGM. We went to the Maingate flea market, an outlet mall, and went miniature golfing. We ate at Sonny's BBQ.

Island Park

We drove up to Island Park on July 4th. You can tell you're in a podunk town, when you see 2 people racing each other on Tractors. Mom is still sick from her Vertigo. She gets really dizzy when she walks, so she has to hang on to one of us. It's about 70 degrees up here, so it feels good to get some clean fresh air. It's so peaceful.

We went to the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone and saw Deadwood Dick. It was a really good western play. During intermission one of the girls kept hitting Dad on the shoulder with her stack of programs just to be funny. This guy named Ryan gave Dad the dirtiest look when Dad told him he wanted some popcorn instead of fudge. We pointed out that we had already bought some fudge from him. After the play, we went and ate pizza at the Gusher and walked around the shops

Yesterday, We went to Big Springs to see the big fish. There wasn't many fish this year. A little girl dropped her toy off the bridge into the water and cried because she couldn't get it back as it floated downstream. We sent Ryan a postcard from West Yellowstone. We went back to West Yellowstone when we woke up from our nap. Mom bought a bear and a moose antenna topper for her car. We were driving back from the Hardware store and saw a pair of missionaries. Dad rolled down his window and yelled, "Yeah Elders!" They smiled and waved at us.

Anaheim

We drove to Las Vegas and stayed at the Excalibur on May 8th. We also went to the forum shops at Caesar's Palace.

We drove to California on May 9th and stayed at the Holiday Inn Select in Anaheim. We also went shopping at Downtown Disney.

On May 10th, we went the O.C. swap meet and walked through the ports of call shops at Long Beach before we picked up Ryan at the airport.

On May 11th, we went to Universal Studios and since it was Mother's Day, they gave Mom a rose.

On May 12th, We went shopping at the Block at Orange. I spent most of my money at Border's. We also drove to Huntington Beach. Mom and I found a lot of really big seashells.

On May 13th, we went to Knott's Berry Farm. It was practically dead. We wore our ponchos on the river raft ride.

On May 14th, we went to the NBC Studio tour. We saw Pat O'Brien from Access Hollywood and we got to see where they film Days of Our Lives and the Tonight Show. We also drove to the Santa Monica Pier and drove past Pepperdine University and the homes in Malibu.

On May 15th, we ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe in Newport Beach. We went shopping at Fashion Island.  We drove back to Las Vegas. We ate dinner at the Rio Carnival World buffet and stayed at the Best Western. On our way home today, we stopped in Mesquite and looked at condos. It would be nice to get out of the snow, but all there is to do there is to golf.

All in the Timing

Mom and I went and saw the play, All in the Timing for my humanities on the internet class. It was pretty weird.

Las Vegas

We went to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. I turned 21 right before the trip so I put a quarter into a slot machine. We ate a buffet for Thanksgiving dinner. While we were there, we went and saw the movie, The Santa Clause 2.

Island Park

We went to Island Park, Idaho. We went and saw Annie Get Your Gun and You Can't Take it With You at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone. We ate pizza at the Gusher. We came home on July 6th.

Oahu

On June 2nd, we flew to Honolulu, Hawaii, with a layover in San Francisco. Ryan's friend Seth went with us. They rented mopeds to go around Waikiki. We got chocolate pineapple at the Dole Factory and it was delicious. We went to North Shore, Pearl Harbor, and the LDS temple's visitor's center. We went to Germaine's Luau and all our regular shopping places. At the luau, Ryan and Seth were chosen to kiss all the girls who went up on stage and danced the hula. We went to the Aloha Bowl Swap Meet twice. We ate dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory twice.

Island Park

On July 26th, Mom and I drove up to Island Park, Idaho to spend a couple of days with my mom's brother and his family. I played games with my cousins. We went horseback riding up a mountain and when I tried to get on the horse, the back of my jeans ripped. We went and saw Damn Yankees at the Playmill Theatre in West Yellowstone.

On July 27th, We went to Big Springs and saw the big fish. We went back to the cabin and worked on a puzzle. All of us girls, drove up to see Old Faithful and missed it while we were eating in the lodge, because we got distracted by a squirrel in the dining room. Mom bought me a dream catcher necklace. We went and saw Forever Plaid at the Playmill Theatre. AnnGee had me hold her hand while she wanted to shake hands with the cast after. When we got back to the cabin, we played some more games.

On July 28th, My mom's sister came up to the cabin right as my mom's brother and his family were leaving. Mom bought me a ring and a butterfly necklace. We went and saw Little Shop of Horrors at the Playmill Theatre. After the play, we went a got Pizza from Gusher's. We also got a raspberry vanilla bar from Dairy Queen.

Today, we drove home.

Florida

On June 8th, we flew to Florida. We had a stop in Phoenix. We went to Epcot, Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios, and drove to Pompano beach. While were at MGM, we went on the Rock N Roller coaster for the first time and it was really scary. Then we drove down to Miami and took a boat out to the coral reefs in Key Largo. We drove back up to Orlando and went to Pleasure Island, Animal Kingdom, back to MGM studios, and Typhoon Lagoon. We flew home on June 17th, with a stop in Albuquerque.