We're going on a cruise, Angela and I.
It's such an odd thing to say, and I almost feel guilty admitting it. I tell people I'm going on vacation next week and I hang my head and my voice is almost sheepish, embarrassed. And I shouldn't be. I know that. Logically. But I also know vacations are extravagant and they're for people with money and well...
But when I get past all that, I think about how much fun we're going to have (fingers crossed). Most of our vacations over the years are trips back home to Michigan, which we love. But this time we're doing something different.
We're taking a practice cruise!
What's to practice? Well, cruising for one. And being on a cruise ship as well. See this summer, my parents told us they'd like to take a family trip to Alaska. We got all excited and then we realized that the best way to see Alaska, according to anyone and everyone, is via cruise ship, from the coast, from the water. And well, one member of our family gets horrible motion sickness.
That member is Angela. Angela has had motion sickness her entire life. In cars (she sleeps to fight it off). On trains (she sleeps to fight it off). On boats (she refuses to get on pontoons now, after one summer family trip on a friend's pontoon where she begged to get off and swim back to shore). On swings (do not sit with her in the driveway swing in the summer, she will not let you swing even a little). At the kitchen table (this is totally a real thing, this summer she got motion sickness while sitting still).
The first time we went whale watching as a family, Angela didn't see any whales. She slept in the bottom of the boat, on a bench, until we made it back to shore, just a couple of hours later. The second time we went whale watching, we sent her golfing instead.
So...we come to the practice cruise. Everyone we talk to says this will be different. This ship is huge. This ship barely moves (though it moves enough to take us to Mexico or Alaska so...). But we want to see Alaska, we want to have fun and enjoy the extravagance and excitement the cruising life offers (at least that's how it looks in all of their shiny brochures). So this summer, when we poured over Alaska tour guides and websites, we decide to do a practice run first.
Angela has all next week off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday so it seemed like the perfect time. And we found a cruise, on the Carnival Imagination, that goes for just four nights -- from Long Beach to Catalina Island, then to Ensenada, Mexico, and back to Long Beach. And there's apparently a clause where if you aren't having fun you can get off within 24 hours of setting sail, so if the motion sickness sets in...
But we're hopeful it won't. We're planning to have an amazing adventure. We've never been to Catalina Island though we've heard wonderful things. A friend who goes twice a year has told us exactly what bus tour to take and where to wander. We're planning to stay on the ship in Mexico, because basically, been there done that with Mexican tourist towns, and we really want to experience the ship life. We're hoping to see some fun shows, swim a lot, eat some good food, read books, and relax!
We haven't made reservations for Alaska yet, we're going to wait and see how the practice cruise goes first, but we're excited for this first step! And grateful for a bit of extravagance in the middle of regular life. In fact, we're deep in the list making and planning for packing on Saturday and leaving on Sunday! Oh, and we got our nails done for the trip! (My first time with a gel manicure, I think the manicurist was more excited than I was!)
So I'll report back once we're safely back in Los Angeles (hopefully next Thursday, not before!). We're pretty excited to be off the grid while we're on the ship too! So happy week of Thanksgiving everyone, I'll eat a little extra at the buffet for you and I'll try to win at the penny slots! Bon Voyage!
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