Costa Rica Ziplining

Fred and I wanted to be a little adventurous on this trip.

I really wanted to go parasailing and ziplining.

So here we are. Fred did all the reading up on things.

Insects, poisonous vegetation ~ it sounded icky.

It was going to be hot and humid. It sounded  pretty awful.

By now I had decided on most excursions I was going to wear long sleeves.

I did not want to get sunburned. I refused though on wearing long pants.

 I don't think we look too bad with all the gear on. 

I've learned how to snuggle up into Fred. 

 Thank you Wendy Allred for the "weight on the back foot, front foot pointing forward."

 Again with having Fred go first so I would know what to do.

The group guide really was good at giving instructions.

I still wanted Fred to go first.

 They tell you how to maneuver your strong hand to keep yourself pointed forward so you can smile at the camera. 

 Fred really had good form.

 I was photo bombing in these two pictures. 

A little butt cheek cracking in my pictures.

 Oh so I did do really good to smile for the camera. So good in fact, that I didn't do any looking around. I was so focused on looking at the camera.

Next time I won't worry about that and actually look at the scenery.

 Gave me insight into wearing a thong.

There were about 8 or 9 platforms with some hiking in between.

It was a little exerting and HOT on this day. 

Photo package

We decided to buy the least expensive photo package.

When you go on a cruise, you spend a lot of money.

It seems ridiculous, but you might as well give in.

 I don't know what my deal is with packing clothes.

I only packed one nice pair of slacks. 

Three nice shirts.

One pair of jeans.

Three pair of capris.

Work out clothes - never used. 

About 7 tee shirts.

I had a mission to buy two more nice shirts for going out to dinner.

I bought this one in Nicaragua.

I looked for pants or tops in Cabo San Lucas and Acapulco, but there was not anything inexpensive.

Everything was SO expensive. Plus things looked very small.

I paid $10.00 for this. I was happy. 

 I bought this in Costa Rica. I paid $12.00

My pants were the black/white checked so I figured the red would look good.

Fred likes me in red. 

 There were so many pictures to choose from. 

It was actually hard to narrow it down. 

It's too bad they gouge you with the price. We did get a flash drive with all of these,

but I would have loved all of the pictures.

So here we are in all our cruising glory.

Acapulco

Today was Acapulco.

We took a tour in a small tour bus.

He drove us through a down town market. 

I didn't take pictures as we drove, but it was basically what you would imagine.

It's the part of Mexico that I don't like to see.

I can't imagine living in those conditions. 

 He drove us up to this high point so we could get some great pictures of the bay where our cruise ship was docked. 

 The tour included cliff diving which we were totally uninterested in seeing.

But we ended up really enjoying it.

A little bit more impressed than we expected.

They looked like boys, but I imagine they were in their mid to late 20s.

They are all very small in stature.

This is vantage point.

 Here is Fred hanging out.

 The divers actually have to scale the cliff to the top to dive.

 I think there were about a dozen divers.

 There were a couple teams divers who were totally in sync. It was impressive.

My camera is very lacking, but it gives you the idea.

 Here is another team.

 When the ships pull into port, the city skyline is so beautiful.

 There is a zipline across this lake area.

 The tour included what they called a botanical garden. It was kind of a joke. 

It was basically a nursery, but the plants were all lush and beautiful. 

Not any dead or dried out plants like we see back in the states in our nurseries.

 Who is this guy?

 Acapulco was a fun day. The weather was not too hot. We really lucked out on the weather.

 Fred is a master selfie photographer. 

 There was a grill and pub on board that we ate at a lot. 

We cruised on Norwegian this time. It seemed like Norwegian had more free food options on board.

This is the atrium where the Pub overlooks. This band performed a lot all week.

They were really good, but it was kind of distracting because they were not caucasian yet 

all this rock n roll, hip hop, pop and other genres were coming out - it just didn't match.

Panama Canal Cruise

Okay, let's get started. It was another early morning start. 3:30 AM.

We have a friend who is an UBER driver. He picked us up.

We rode the St. George Shuttle to the Las Vegas Airport.

An uneventful check in and flight to LAX.

Next we board this very nice luxury bus to the pier.

 Here is our home for the next 14 days.

 We are standing on our balcony here. Fred is looking out with his binoculars.

I'm taking a selfie. Let the fun begin.

 This is Day Two. Part of the cruise package we bought included four speciality dinners. 

This is the first one at Cagney's Steak House. 

 We didn't take pictures of any of our food this cruise. 

Not sure why.

My friend at work told me I definitely would need a hat for this cruise.

She said the sun this close to the equator is killer.

I broke down and bought this in the shop on board. 

It was a miracle worker. I figured out soon not to wear any hair product.

I would just put in mousse, blow dry my hair and go.

Most days I only wore brow pencil. eyeliner and Lip Sense.

I truly was on vacation. 

Our first Port was Cabo San Lucas. BEAUTIFUL!!!

 These photos were taken from our balcony as we came into port.

                                                    We had to take a tender into the pier. 

The story with this ring. Get a drink and snack and get comfortable - it's long.

I've been whining for years for more bling because the diamond on my wedding ring is pretty small. 

I'm pretty much into BIG BLING. Fred pretty much just harrumphs and continues on his way.

There is always a big Gem & Shopping Event on board and we attended. I won't completely bore you with all the details, but at the end we decided to go on this excursion and utilize his $250 discount and look at Crown of Light diamonds to replace my diamond or maybe a new ring in chocolate diamonds. Thinking maybe spending $500 or $600 plus the discount. Fred said he had actually been thinking of buying me something.
I WAS SURPRISED.

So anyway, we get to Diamond International and the Asst. Manager pulls out a Carat Crown of Light diamond.

I love it - It's BEAUTIFUL. $26,000.00

Ah - can we look at something smaller - $6,000.00

She asks what do you want to spend? We tell her. 

She takes us across to another counter. This is Tanzanite. We learned all about it at the Gem Event.

She pulls out a couple single tanzanite stones and then this one.

AH YES - THE BLING FACTOR. I'LL TAKE IT!!!!

I asked Fred what do we call it? You know like "Anniversary Band" or some other romantic gesture.
It's pretty much a "I'm spoiled and I get whatever I want ring."
Not really, but I was actually pretty surprised when he said he had been thinking of getting me something. I'm more than happy about it. It's not the greatest picture, but it really is beautiful and really BLINGY!!!
"I'm spoiled - I get whatever I want" 

We did have to rush it in the Jewelry Store. That purchase was made in under a 1/2 hour.

The jewelry store had a ridiculously decorated bell that the customer rings when they make a purchase. 

Of the 50 people on our excursion from the ship - I was the first to ring that bell.

I'm a fast shopper. I know what I want and I get right to it.

Okay - back to the day's activity. We actually already had a shore excursion planned for Parasailing.

We brought our swimming suits, but the people said we would not get wet.

I was relieved - I really did not want to hassle with changing. 

I know - all fuddy duddy.

Fred and I decided to go up separately. We wanted to take pictures of each other.

We didn't realize there was a photographer on board. 

 I let Fred go up first so I could see what to do.

They let you "sail" for 10 minutes.

Gorgeous Day/

If we ever go again, we will definitely go up together. Once you are up, it gets a little boring. It's beautiful, but it would have been so much more enjoyable if Fred would have been there with me. 

When we got back to the ship, it was time for ice cream on the deck. 

Fred went and got my ice cream for me. 

I just love going on vacation with Fred and by ourselves. It is such a great time to reconnect.

No distractions. 100% all about each other.

Good Night Cabo San Lucas.