The Great MisAdventures of David & JoEllen Laurita


Our Fulltime RV Adventures Across America With Toby The Cat

The Great 2008 Cruise MisAdventure

Mexican Riviera

November 29, 2008 through December 6, 2008

Cruzin' With The Kids - - - Page Two

 


Stopping at Senõr Frogs for a picture.

     The Great MisAdventurer's jump on a local bus, at 50 cents a head, back to the original beach bar we visited in the morning for beaching and enjoying each others company. The bus ride was a treat, the driver jamming the clutch and gearing down to maneuver through traffic, sometimes only inches away from adjacent vehicles! Definitely an 'E ticket' at Disney.


 

     We settle into hammocks and beach lounges to enjoy the afternoon and evening at Restaurante de Playa. Lots of Pacifica beer is consumed along with platters full of fish tostados, and octopus tostados.  The food here was exceptional, tasty and tender!  We were just about the only guests here today. Too bad the other tourists didn't find this gem hidden on the beach.

     We found these critters in our beach restaurant.  We think that the chickens are used as the sand cleaning crew, cleaning up the place after hours.  The birds and the iguana (pictures below) were there for the benifit of the tourists, although we are sure that they could be on the dinner plate if requested!


     The sunset is absolutely spectacular and we head back to the ship before dark, our goal of enjoying the beaches in the Mexican Riviera fulfilled.

     Below are two galleries of random pictures from our day in Puerto Vallarta.  If you move your cursor onto the pictures in any of the galleries, the picture will stop, and then continue when the cursor is moved off the picture.  We hope you enjoy this Mexican MisAdventure as much as we all did!


 



Thursday, Day Five
Sea Day

Happy 32nd Anniversary David and JoEllen


This day happens to be December 4th, the 32nd year of David and JoEllen's Great MisAdventure in marriage.

     Sea days are made for lounging on the pool deck and eating all the great foods that a cruise ship offers.  We are not disappointed with the quality of the food, it is terrific!  Did you know there are 13 restaurants aboard this ship?  Angie had some trouble finding items to fit her mostly vegetarian diet at the buffet lines, but there was plenty of goodies for her to choose from at the sit down restaurant's aboard the Star.

     One thing we try to do is avoid the ship's paparazzi.  They are there when you board, they are there when you dimembark, they are there at dinner.  THEY ARE EVERYWHERE!  David and Marcus were just lounging on the pool deck when this enterprising fellow showed up.  He waited and waited until David put the camera down, then snapped a picture.  These photos go on display in the hallways on the ship, the cruise line hopes you will buy them.  Overpriced photos are not our idea of a good time, our trusty Konica Minolta DiMage Z6 digital takes fine pictures.

     Onboard entertainment is a big deal on a cruise ship.  Of course, there is the Casino, but there is also Broadway Style Shows, jugglers, comedians and acrobats.  Each night aboard, one is treated to a show.  The Jean Ann Ryan Productions Troupe has been on every cruise with us (not the same cast), with great singing and dancing.  We were entertained by The Second City, a team of comedians straight from Chicago.  Magician Murray and The China Stars Acrobat Company each did a show, and Romano Frediani kept us busy with his amazing feats of juggling and comedy.  The showroom is filled twice each night as the various performers earn there keep onboard.

After watching Ramano Frediani, we wander into one of the larger bars, with a good size showroom, to watch the comedy game show "The Perfect Couple". The shows that are held in this showroom are not geared to the younger audience and tend to be adult in nature.  The chosen participants run through a series of stunts, from a blindfolded woman with a broom stick through her legs trying to lance a toilet paper roll held in place by her male partner between his legs, to breaking balloons against your partner with various body parts.  JoEllen glares at David, so their names were not dropped in the hat as participants but a great time was had by the family.

Later on that same night, the Adult Action Comedy Madness "The Quest" is held in the same showroom.  Hosted by Ramano Frediani, 20 teams are picked from the audience.  Think of this as a kind of scavenger hunt with the first item asked for is the "Freestyle Daily", the daily paper with activities listed and delivered in the stateroom each evening.  The first team to the stage with the requested item wins that round.  Seems kind of tame, so David gets a team number and our group forms a team consisting of ourselves and others seated around us.  They ask for a tattoo and Marcus runs up showing his new tat located on his lower back.  When they request to see a body piercing below the neck, Angie runs up and shows her belly button piercing.  They ask for a shirtless man, so David strips to the waist and runs onstage, then they ask for a man not wearing pants, so once again, David saves our team.  When they ask for a man wearing 2 bras on his head, none of the women in our group volunteer to take off their bra, or were not wearing one, we lost that round.  Each team is requested to send a male and female member to the stage.  Angie and David go onto the stage, then all team members are asked to switch clothes.  We swap what little clothing will fit the other, then the host states that it is time for the crossdressing pageant and gives us 10 minutes to run to our cabin, change clothes, and get back for the final judging.  We tried to win, being good sports and full of rum, but were outdressed by other contestants.  Angela was most creative with the use of her dredlocks.  We ended the evening with the Cruise Director buying us a Corona at a bar across the ship, if we stayed in costume.  David still can't believe he did this for one beer!

 


Friday, Day Six
Sea Day

     More pool time today but it is a little chilly sending us indoors quickly.  Time to smoke the Cuban cigars bought in Mexico in the Havana Club, the smoking lounge onboard the ship.  A little gaming is on tap and for Marcus, a profitable day.  The end of the vacation with the kids is closing fast!

     Our last dinner onboard is once again at the Ginza Sushi Restaurant.  Sushi has three components; fish, vegetables, and cooked rice.  Nigiri, or hand-made sushi, is the most common and is served in pairs.  Maki, or sushi rolls, are made with sheets of seaweed and served as six slices.  Oshi, or pressed sushi, is cut into small squares.  And finally, Inarizushi is a stuffed bean curd roll.


Sashimi is raw sliced fish served with ginger and Japanese horseradish, wasabi.  The most popular kinds of sashimi are:

  • Maguro: Tuna
  • Toro: Fatty Tuna
  • Ebi: Prawn
  • Saba: Mackerel
  • Ika: Squid
  • Tako: Octopus

Try it, you might like it!


 


 

     The staff of a cruise ship treats you like royality.  The room stewards are the best, working hard to keep your room clean, towels hanging in the shower, and filling the ice bucket.  As a special treat, the steward ties your towels into animals and leaves them on the bed.  This trip, we had three different creations for our enjoyment.


Saturday, Day Seven

Los Angeles

     We leave the boat after breakfast Saturday morning.  As we are carrying all our luggage, we are allowed to disembark early, passing through customs and back to the Mighty 350.  We find a seaside park to wait out the morning and enjoy each other one more time this week.  After dropping the kids off at LAX once again, we hit the road east and our home on wheels.  A great vacation, a great time had by all.

     As a little footnote, when Marcus got home and weighed himself, he had put on 9 pounds in one week.  Good thing we don't have room for a scale in our small bathroom!

 

Go To Top of Page

 

 


Shopping Search



David & JoEllen

Lord, let us live with joy in our hearts, knowing you will grant us strength and keep us safe in our travels.  Amen


Toby the Cat