Disney Cruise - Cozumel

Sunday, the third day of the cruise, was spent at Cozumel, Mexico.

 

We did an excursion where we explored Mayan ruins, attended a chocolate making demonstration, and stopped at a near by beach. 

We didn't stay long at the beach though. Instead we stopped at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cozumel (No. 17) for drinks, and went back to the ship.

Disney Cruise

To celebrate our anniversary, we booked a cruise on the Disney Wonder from Galveston to Puerto Rico. We had sailed on the Wonder out to the Bahamas from Florida back in 2003.

Susan and I flew out Thursday before the cruise and enjoyed a dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (No. 16) in downtown Houston. Friday morning we met the kids at the airport and took a bus out to Galveston, where we boarded the ship.

Saturday was spent at sea and we enjoyed hanging out on the ship and eating at the restaurants, especially Tiana's Place. When we last sailed on the Wonder, this restaurant was called Parrot Cay. The other two main dining rooms were Animator's Palate and Triton's. There’s also a buffet area called Cabanas for breakfast and lunch, and windows by the pool with pizza, burgers, and ice cream. 

We had two oceanview staterooms, second deck, mid-ship. We had read these were less likely to be affected by the movement of the ship.

Seattle

After a quiet Christmas and New Year’s, we spent much of last week digging out from heavy snowfalls. 

This weekend we went up to Seattle so Bryan and Jenn could attend the wedding of one of their UP classmates. We picked them up at the Sea-Tac airport Saturday morning then met friends at the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. This was the 15th Hard Rock we have visited.

 

Yesterday morning we drove around Seattle a bit before we headed back to Oregon, and stopped to see the Fremont Street Troll. Tomorrow the kids will fly back to Florida. 

Disneyland Resort

 

We also enjoyed seeing what was new at the parks. The Tower of Terror was in the process of being changed into a Guardians of the Galaxy attraction.

We also tried out the new Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters ride in Carsland.  It was okay; about as enjoyable as the Flying Tires were, but hopefully easier to maintain.

We enjoyed a lunch at Carthay Circle in California Adventure, and on Monday, a breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen.  

I also took some photos of the what I could see of the new Star Wars land under construction. Last night Susan and I flew home, and the kids back to Florida.

Birthday Trip

For my birthday, Susan told me we were going away for a long weekend, but wouldn't tell me where. When we got to PDX Friday morning, she revealed we were flying to LAX. While we were picking up a rental car in Los Angeles, I was surprised by the kids showing up. That's when I figured out we were going to Disneyland. 

We stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, and from our tower could see into California Adventure.

We enjoyed the holiday decorations in both parks, and riding holiday versions of Small World and Haunted Mansion. 

California Adventure was featuring a "Festival of Holidays". Carsland was especially festive.

Nevada

Friday afternoon we drove north to Las Vegas, stopping at Lake Mead National Recreation Area on our way. The visitor center there had a cool map of the lake, which was formed when the Hoover Dam was built on the Colorado River.

We also stopped at the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument north of Vegas, but currently there isn't much there. It's currently an open field, and shares a visitor center with Lake Mead NRA.

We continued north, and stopped in Tonopah Friday night. Saturday we had lunch in Reno, and arrived back in Bend Saturday evening.

Arizona

We left Texas and continued west through New Mexico until we came to Petrified Forest National Park. We had visited this park in January of 2007, but only the northern part. 

This time we turned and drove south to the Rainbow Museum, where we checked out the exhibits and watched a film about the park. From there we drove west to Flagstaff, where we stayed Thursday night.

Friday morning night we visited Walnut Canyon National Monument. This park preserves the landscape where native people built homes in the cliffs of the canyon and farmed along the rim. We checked out the exhibits at the visitor center and watched the film about canyon, then walked a short trail out to the canyon’s edge.