Laid Back and Lovin' It
Hello again one and all! And welcome back to reality, mountains of laundry, hills of mail, 67 blog entries in Bloglines to catch up on, grocery shopping, dusting, and dishes!! But I am so relaxed and recovered from the last month or so, that it was really well worth it!
We left early Sunday morning (5:00 am) in a blinding snowstorm. It figures, doesn't it? No snow all winter, and then the morning we are driving to LA we have to slow down because the highway is treacherous with blowing, drifting snow. It snowed like mad until we reached Tucson, where it turned to rain. Finally near Gila Bend the sun came out and we had no more rain except for a brief shower in LA. The snow in the mountains in California was very impressive, and it was quite cold and windy. Our hotel in Los Angeles (actually in San Pedro) was practically on top of the cruise pier and very nice. We walked to the wharf and peeked in all the seafood markets and restaurants. Mounds of fresh fish on beds of ice, squid, octopus, shrimp, and just about every dish made from seafood known to man.
The girls weren't interested in seeing (or more accurately, smelling) fish, so they stayed in the hot tub at the hotel. Needless to say, they weren't alone for long. About two seconds after I took this picture, they were joined by two young college gentlemen who just coincidentally were also taking the same cruise we were. (I have been known to refer to my daughters as "boy bait", and it is an accurate description.) Eventually, however, we were able to get them out of the hot tub and into a Chinese restaurant where we enjoyed one of the best sweet-and-sour dinners we have ever had, while watching freighters and cruise ships head in and out of the harbor.
Monday morning the hotel shuttled us to our ship. (They also kept our car in their lot for $5.00 a day, better than any other parking lot in the harbor area.) Mike was feeling a little queasy, as the plateful of fried squid he'd had for dinner didn't really agree with him. (I'd had some of it as well, but it didn't bother me at all.) As soon as we boarded, we hit the lunch buffet, where Mike, Annie, and Barbara were totally overwhelmed. (This was their first cruise.) In fact, Barbara and Annie made several trips to the buffet that afternoon, in between chilling at the salt water pool and attracting more guys. Dinner that evening was lovely, of course, -- braised lamb shanks -- although Mike was still picking at his dinner that night and for the next day or so.
The next morning we docked in San Diego. Mike was feeling better and took one of the shore excursions, a combination of a harbor tour and several hours visiting the Midway museum -- an aircraft carrier which has been turned into a museum. Duh. The rest of us just chilled on the ship, enjoying the sun and the fresh air. I had been working on the purple Sockapaloooza sock Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday morning I cast on for the next hat for 40 Days. 114 stitches this time, thank you very much. But the knitting order for this day was the Lacy Kerchief Scarf in Pink. I went all the way up to the top sun deck on the ship with my purse, my knitting bag, and my flannel deck blanket and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The wind wanted to keep blowing my instruction sheets away! But it was great! Not a whole lot of progress, because I was still working out the pattern. But a great deal of relaxation. I could literally feel the stress draining away.
Dinner was roast duck in a blackberry sauce and cherries jubilee for dessert. It was the Captain's reception and champagne was flowing freely, along with the rum punch. That was the night Annie discovered the joys of late-night disco bars and entertainment that goes on to the wee hours of the morning -- well, in her case, the almost dawn hours. That's what happens with a spring break cruise and a lot of 18 to 25 year olds on board.
Next time, the dubious joys of trying to knit on Catalina Island. And I'm trying to catch up on all my blogreading and emails -- I'll be visiting you all over the next few days as I catch up. And in case you were wondering, I wasn't the only knitter on board -- there was a lady with a big bag of blue yarn that looked like real wool and some pretty big needles -- but I never caught up to her. Can you believe the girls thought that I shouldn't be knitting because I'm on vacation???
We left early Sunday morning (5:00 am) in a blinding snowstorm. It figures, doesn't it? No snow all winter, and then the morning we are driving to LA we have to slow down because the highway is treacherous with blowing, drifting snow. It snowed like mad until we reached Tucson, where it turned to rain. Finally near Gila Bend the sun came out and we had no more rain except for a brief shower in LA. The snow in the mountains in California was very impressive, and it was quite cold and windy. Our hotel in Los Angeles (actually in San Pedro) was practically on top of the cruise pier and very nice. We walked to the wharf and peeked in all the seafood markets and restaurants. Mounds of fresh fish on beds of ice, squid, octopus, shrimp, and just about every dish made from seafood known to man.
The girls weren't interested in seeing (or more accurately, smelling) fish, so they stayed in the hot tub at the hotel. Needless to say, they weren't alone for long. About two seconds after I took this picture, they were joined by two young college gentlemen who just coincidentally were also taking the same cruise we were. (I have been known to refer to my daughters as "boy bait", and it is an accurate description.) Eventually, however, we were able to get them out of the hot tub and into a Chinese restaurant where we enjoyed one of the best sweet-and-sour dinners we have ever had, while watching freighters and cruise ships head in and out of the harbor.
Monday morning the hotel shuttled us to our ship. (They also kept our car in their lot for $5.00 a day, better than any other parking lot in the harbor area.) Mike was feeling a little queasy, as the plateful of fried squid he'd had for dinner didn't really agree with him. (I'd had some of it as well, but it didn't bother me at all.) As soon as we boarded, we hit the lunch buffet, where Mike, Annie, and Barbara were totally overwhelmed. (This was their first cruise.) In fact, Barbara and Annie made several trips to the buffet that afternoon, in between chilling at the salt water pool and attracting more guys. Dinner that evening was lovely, of course, -- braised lamb shanks -- although Mike was still picking at his dinner that night and for the next day or so.
The next morning we docked in San Diego. Mike was feeling better and took one of the shore excursions, a combination of a harbor tour and several hours visiting the Midway museum -- an aircraft carrier which has been turned into a museum. Duh. The rest of us just chilled on the ship, enjoying the sun and the fresh air. I had been working on the purple Sockapaloooza sock Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday morning I cast on for the next hat for 40 Days. 114 stitches this time, thank you very much. But the knitting order for this day was the Lacy Kerchief Scarf in Pink. I went all the way up to the top sun deck on the ship with my purse, my knitting bag, and my flannel deck blanket and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The wind wanted to keep blowing my instruction sheets away! But it was great! Not a whole lot of progress, because I was still working out the pattern. But a great deal of relaxation. I could literally feel the stress draining away.
Dinner was roast duck in a blackberry sauce and cherries jubilee for dessert. It was the Captain's reception and champagne was flowing freely, along with the rum punch. That was the night Annie discovered the joys of late-night disco bars and entertainment that goes on to the wee hours of the morning -- well, in her case, the almost dawn hours. That's what happens with a spring break cruise and a lot of 18 to 25 year olds on board.
Next time, the dubious joys of trying to knit on Catalina Island. And I'm trying to catch up on all my blogreading and emails -- I'll be visiting you all over the next few days as I catch up. And in case you were wondering, I wasn't the only knitter on board -- there was a lady with a big bag of blue yarn that looked like real wool and some pretty big needles -- but I never caught up to her. Can you believe the girls thought that I shouldn't be knitting because I'm on vacation???
posted by Pat K | 4:19 PM
1 Comments:
Silly girls. Of course you knit on vacation. Imagine the stress of not knitting. Looks like it was great.
Post a Comment
<< Home