Todd Girls' Weekend 2015, Catalina Island

Setting sail out of Balboa early on Friday Morning

We enjoyed snorkling and swimming at Hamilton Cove's little beach

We enjoyed sitting in this nice big spa   

Heidi got a tiny bag of candy for $8 and I got a Carmel apple big enough for all of us at the candy store with the taffy in the window.

On our first night there, Asher left a hilarious pleading Voxer message, with a shaky voice to Heidi,  "Daddy locked me in a closet and says he'll hit me with a broomstick if I come out.......Please come home."   That little boy is a natural actor and Ned (a great father) has the craziest sense of humor!

Hamilton Cove 1-77  -- where we stayed:

    

We at lots of yogurt breakfasts on this sweet balcony

We watched this "Downtown", video -- over and over....Macklemore & Ryan Lewis from the Tonight Show..we watched this video and the girls sang this song all weekend...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crMaqT7_vbg  

  

   

Deer Glen -- we had to drive through a herd of deer everywhere we went

We sat near Billy Zane at dinner while dining on the water at Bluewater Grill and loved our waiter, Matt

Catalina Film Festival -- Treasure Hunt...the Todd Girls Teams take 1st AND 2nd Place and meet lots of new friends!

B

Actors and producers, Nicholas Alexander and Ramsey Phllips -- new friends from the treasure hunt and at the red carpet.

"I will quit right now"

The new "Family Jewels" (Thank you)

Red golf cart, Heidi Chauffer

VIP passes to the evening events at the casino

Guy with weird mesh shirt...well, it IS Catalina!?!

      


We stayed and watched the feature movie, "The Benefactor"

We at a LOT of chocolate covered bananas (with lots of nuts) from Big Olaf's

50 cent water - everywhere

Smugglers Gulch Trail/Garden to Sky Loop

I asked this hiker (Habibi) if he had any extra food in his big backpack. (I didn't bring food and was dying on the long, long hike)....this guy saved me with carbs -- the apple came from another kind hiker.

April with Lucas Till -- from the X-Men, the Miley Cyrus Movie and more

All in all, it was really a wonderful weekend....lots of walking, fun, eating, but most of all, lots and lots of love, laughter and bonding.

Our Cruise to Mexico, February 2015

Puerta Vallarta

We had a blast in Puerta Vallarta Zip-Lining, Rappelling, Water Sliding

The day in Puerta Vallarta started with a boat ride to a hidden cove south of the city and port.

After the boat ride, we all loaded up in these yellow Mercedes climbers to get high up in the mountains to the rain forest.  We're kissing because we're glad to still be alive and we have no idea what's coming up for us.

After the yellow vehicles, its on to a mule to make it to the true outback.

The first line was super high and very, very long.

There were a lot of variety in the zip lines and zipping areas.

John on the first long zip.

There were a few surprise water slides on the long, long course.

  

It took a great leap of faith for me to take the first step down this waterfall face.

John looks way cooler than me in these shots.

 

And what was this madness?!  We were like the "Silver Surfers" 
about 300 feet above the ground.

 

Back down the hill at the end of the day.

This Vallarta Adventures was booked through the cruise line several weeks before we left on our cruise and its a good thing since it was sold out by the time we got on the ship.  I think this adventure cost around $150 a piece and, let me tell you, we got our money's worth!  We just went from zip line to zip line with lots of other adventures around every corner -- line rope bridges, rappelling areas, crazy water slides, sweet little hikes and more.  I highly recommend this for anyone who can go, go, go for 3 or 4 hours non-stop.  They keep the pace very tight so there's no time to question what the heck you're doing, you just zip, hike, and jump!  As an added bonus, on our boat ride back to the ship, we got right up next to a pod of whales....there were whales everywhere, pretty much every day during our cruise....February is a great time to be out along the Pacific Coast.

Mazatlan

We started our day in Mazatlan out with an open air taxi ride to the base of the lighthouse mountain....followed by a steep little hike to the top.  (Just what we needed after enjoying the all day buffets and great food on the ship for several days!)

The Mazatlan Lighthouse -- the highest lighthouse in the world.

Pictures from the top of the lighthouse mountain.

We grabbed another taxi to get to the Historical City Center to wander around, see the church and have some amazing tacos from a little family-run restaurant.

This shot if for April and Wes.....Mazatlan was founded in 1820 by Germans who wanted to set up a shipping port.  (Just FYI, Aleman -- their last name -- is Spanish for "German".)

The city of Mazatlan as we were leaving port that evening.

On the Ship

 We lucked out and had a the same table for two back in a corner dining room with our own window each evening.  

Cabo San Lucas

Our room on the ship had a balcony so I was able to wake up early and catch the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean on our way in to Cabo San Lucas.

In Cabo we went on a Pirate Adventure/Snorkel trip -- again we got in a bonus whale watch with the deal.

In front of Los Arcos -- at the very tip of Baja California.

Here we both are taking the plunge from the boat to start our snorkeling....

 Some of the whales we saw off Cabo.

It was a great week at sea from Saturday, February 14th to Saturday the 21st.  We enjoyed the outdoor adventures but also loved coming back every day and getting cleaned up for the elegant dinners -- definitely the best of both worlds.  We both did a lot of sleeping in, reading (I finished two novels) and enjoyed some good movies (among the best "The Hundred Foot Journey") and programs on the lives of famous artists.

This was another unique vacation and one I'd recommend to anyone.  Thanks to April and Heidi for giving us good advice on fun things to do.