be open.

"above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. those who don't believe in magic will never find it."-roald dahl

i can't believe it took me 21 years to discover the magic of a cruise. better late than never and i'm so glad i found it. i honestly believe that if this cruise wasn't my first i wouldn't feel this great about cruises. the actual cruise itself wasn't mind blowing. it was wonderful and i am in awe at how much food it held for five days. but i didn't gain too much weight because i loved the food too much for my own good, and i only took one picture of the food and it wasn't because of the amazing plating. but that's ok. the people made this cruise for me; the people i went with, the people i met, the people who served us. my high lights of the cruise are the following:

 

catalina

we rented beach cruisers for the day and just rode around. so beautiful.

karaoke

ok maybe three hours of it was a little too much...

clubbin' at club rex, the comedian, dinner with teri, kristi and wangsa, and the jam sesh.

ensanada

couldn't go parasailing. couldn't swim with dolphins. but i could...drink a pina colada out of a pinapple...get a sweet hair wrap...go to the blow hole...pee for $.50...eat authentic mexican tacos...drink a diet coke (soo good in mexico)... eat ice cream with a cool little boy...buy a poncho and get offered free tequila, a mexican boyfriend and a massage all while shopping at the market...climb on a donkey and hold the-well not that...and i could still make fun memories without the parasailing or the dolphins.

 

day at sea

tanning, spa treatments (kinda. the sauna and steam room were great), our last dinner

the cruise was the main part of my spring break (one i gave myself), but getting there and then back home was seriously just as fun. on the way to california we stopped in st george and stayed with some of rachels friends. we had a blast! thanks to everyone of you for making room for us, bringing your game to our rap battle, and keeping us company the whole night. it was a fantastic way to start out our spring break. 

the ship returned to long beach and us girls and another group of friends that were on the cruise decided to go to newport beach for the day. it was a 15 minute drive and so worth it. we enjoyed a game of football on the beach (i came away with bruised and scabbed knees...), ate a few too many donuts and croissants at seaside donuts, and burned my skin to a nice shade of lobster red. once again lobby the lobster was brought to life. i got to know the people we went with better and began to really love these friends more and more. i haven't laughed that much in a long time. i'm so glad i met these wonderful people!

after a day of fun in the sun i got one last bag of donut holes and we began our drive to san diego where we were staying with gavin's sweet family. kirst had been a pro driver and up until this point we had made every exit and highway change so far. we somehow missed an exit and decided after a little while to get off the freeway and ask for help. the guys inside the grocery store kind laughed at us when we asked where the exit was. we were 30 miles past it and only 5 minutes from the border...a very sketchy, dangerous part of the border. we didn't want to go to mexico again and we were so grateful for the quiet guidance of the spirit to pull over when we did. we got back on and made it to gavin's house in no time. let me take a moment and tell you about gavin's mother, heidi. heidi is amazing. she is one of the most caring, sweet and giving women i have ever met. gavin doesn't even live at home right now and she still let us spend the night. she treated our sunburns as soon as we got there, took us out to dinner, and got us settled in her sons bedrooms...poor houstan had to sleep in the office. in the morning she had bagels, cream cheese, and jam, breakfast burritos, and tea ready for us after we had slept until our hearts desire. she turned on gav's favorite french music while we sipped our tea and talked. it was a great morning and we hated to go.

we had one more stop however, so we were off to cedar city. the drive wasn't too bad and we arrived with enough time to see kade, gavin, and chaz and then we headed over to club rex where we spent the night. they we so hospitable and kind and we had a great time with them. unfortunately some bad news came to sadie early in the morning so we made our way back home in the wee hours of the morning. although the week ended on a sad note i thoroughly enjoyed our entire vacation. time literally stopped for me. i left for this whole different world and my life in provo utah stopped. (besides the fact that i missed a test for a class. whatever.) 

the experiences during spring break 2011 brought me new perspective in some areas of my life. the new friends i made touched me in ways i didn't think they would. i grew as an individual. it sounds funny to have that happen during spring break of your junior year in college. but that's what happened. in the most unlikely of places secrets became secrets no more and i began to believe a little more in magic.