Cruising Back Up to Ensenada

After our stop in Cabo San Lucas, we had another Day At Sea on our way north. Look at this water slide we had on the ship!

My granddaughter and I had to do it. Here we are waiting to go down.

I made it!

One evening we had a Pirate Night. Look who I latched on to - Jack Sparrow!!!

Here's the whole gang.

When we got back from dinner, there was a little animal reading on our bed.

The next day we landed in Ensenada. We had no tour scheduled, so we just walked around town. I had just been here on my Baja bus tour, so I was the tour guide.

The tide was out.

Lots of birds were looking for goodies.

There was a cute fountain on the harbor, with our ship in the background.

We were welcomed by some sea lions.

Bark! Bark!

I showed them Plaza Civica de la Patria, we did a lot of shopping -

And I took them to my favorite place for lunch - The Donut Bar! Yummmm!

On our last night on the ship, we got to see the play "Frozen." Wow - it was great!

I guess it's back to reality now...

A Day in Cabo San Lucas

After a day (and 2 nights) at sea out of San Diego, we approached our first port of call, Cabo San Lucas. On the way into the port, we saw a couple whales!

We had to tender into the port, but the town has lots of boats that they send out to bring the tourists in.

On our way into town, we went by a boat that the pelicans had taken over.

What's that? Ooooo - a lighthouse! Or maybe a fake lighthouse...

We had a shore excursion scheduled at this stop. The first part was a cruise through the harbor to see the sights. We went by Lovers Beach and Divorce Beach, right next to each other. What are the chances?

And then we went out to see the iconic Arch of Cabo San Lucas.

Why are these rocks so white???

We got a good view of the arch from the other side -

And some parasailers.

Our ship is the one in the middle.

But this yacht, with its own helicopter is the one I really want! Of course, I'd need a captain and a pilot...

The next part of our tour was a bus trip to a glass-blowing studio.

This guy was amazing - he made this elephant in a very short time.

Outside were some nice stained glass panels.

And after the tour, we had time for some shopping. My granddaughter loved it, and learned to negotiate. She's a natural!

Mexico for the Third Time this Year!

After being back in Apache Junction for a week or two, I drove the truck to my daughter's place in San Diego. She, my granddaughter, and I are off on a Disney cruise to Baja. Wait - wasn't I just there??? My grandson is in a big gymnastics competition, so he and my son-in-law stayed behind.

The first thing we did when we got on the ship was to go eat. Why not?

After that, there was the mandatory muster drill. How about those Mickey Mouse letters!

Then it was "Bye, bye San Diego!"

Exiting the harbor, we went by the ships at the Naval Air Station -

And the beautiful Hotel del Coronado.

That night at dinner, my granddaughter had her first of many Shirley Temples.

The day we left port, and the next day, were Days at Sea, but they kept us amused with a great show every night. This was a fantastic magician, Shawn Farquhar.

We also learned to draw Disney characters -

And do Origami.

And of course there were lots of Disney characters around.

And, the biggest thrill was that the three of us won the Mickey Mouse trivia contest!!! That involved lots of lucky guesses...

Good night!

Back to Apache Junction for Awhile

After my Baja bus tour down to pet the whales, I spent some more time in Apache Junction. This is real horse country, for sure. These 2 are right near where I am parked, with the Superstition Mountains in the background.

One day I took a little hike in Lost Dutchman State Park to look for some wildflowers.

There were horses out there too!

I found some wildflowers, but not too many. And no poppies.

I went by my favorite hugging saguaro again.

One thing I've always wanted to do here was see the shadow of the cougar chasing his prey down the Superstitions. It only happens a few days in March and a few days in September. (I'm still behind on the blog...) There were lots of people standing on the road waiting. It's not quite there yet.

But there it is!!! It happens right before the sun goes down.

We had a great sunset too.