Crazy Things Are Happening

When I heard that Celebrity cruises was offering a very upgraded two-night cruise to Mexico for military and veterans I called right away. Sign us up! I called on February 29th and we were booked in for April 4th. It would be the perfect thing to do for my Birthday, and I was really looking forward to it. Even after hearing about two Princess cruise ships that were re-routed due to COVID-19, I still wasn't that worried. I'm in relatively good health, and I still hadn't grasped the enormity of what was going on. It still didn't seem like that big of a deal. I figured the odds were that I wouldn't get it at all, but if by some small chance I did, I would recover. My biggest worry was finding myself quarantined somewhere if there were concerns about people aboard having been infected.

Always Choose Hawaii

She let me hold her hand!

I had two options. I could either meal prep my food for the following week or I could book a flight to Hawaii and run away.

In January MJ mentioned that he'd be going to Oahu for work. I was open to the possibility of going along with him, but it would be very short notice. I tried to mentally process it, but couldn't do a thing until I knew it was really happening. One week he told me it would happen the following week. Then it got pushed back. I told him to let me know when he booked his flight, and not to pressure me. Many people would jump at the chance for a mostly all expenses paid trip to Hawaii under any circumstances, but maybe I'm not most people. Last minute ANYTHING makes me anxious. Packing makes me anxious. Missing work without advance notice makes me anxious. Spending hundreds of dollars spontaneously makes me anxious. I would come along, but only if the ticket prices were reasonable and I felt comfortable with my ability to pull it off.

Working on that Home Decor Thing

Setting up a brand new house is very expensive. There isn't any fixing up to do, but not to fear, there are still plenty of things to spend money on. We bought four ceiling fans, three pendant lights, and so many other things I've lost count. It never seemed to end. I think we were at Home Depot every weekend for the first six months. We kept the majority of our furniture from our old home, but we did spend money replacing a desk, bar stools, fold out couch for a spare bedroom, and a buffet. The only additional item we've purchased is a 4 tier shelf for our entry way. Our couch is about to be ten years old and we're ready for a new one, but we've had to wait because of those darn priorities. Our biggest expense was outdoor landscaping, which we were required to take care of right away. Once we got that together we prioritized getting our patio cover, and outdoor furniture so we could enjoy the backyard. We also had to buy window coverings for 29 windows. We picked up a few items here and there to decorate, but for the most part home decor as fallen to the bottom of our priority list.

Is Disneyland Just for Kids?

All the pretty lights

I think I was in middle school the first time I went to Disneyland. I went with a friend's family, and we ran from ride to ride like psychopaths. When I was a cheerleader, Disneyland was our yearly team trip, and when I graduated from high school it was our Senior year grad night. I have many fond memories of waiting in endless lines for rides, buying candy from the old time sweet shop on main street, and searching for a souvenir cheap enough for me to buy with my meager allowance. That was before California Adventure, or Max Pass, and way before the Disneyland App or Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. It cost $20.00 to get in and that felt like a lot of money to teenage me. It's hard to believe it could have ever been that impossibly low, considering the current going low rate is  $104.00 for a weekday during off peak season (like now January-March ish) for a basic, 1 day pass. It goes up from there with the addition of Park Hopper, Max Pass, and all of these other add-ons that weren't even a thought of back then. We live pretty close to Disneyland Resort Anaheim, but I never thought too much about going again. MJ had never been, and talked about planning a trip for a while, but I wasn't so sure. Disneyland is for kids. What's the point of two adults going to Disneyland? Especially, given how expensive it is now.

Fun fact: the Sleeping Beauty castle is inspired by Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. We got to see the real thing three years ago. I've also seen the real Thunder Mountain in Sedona Arizona, so now I need to see the real Matterhorn in Switzerland. Forget about Space Mountain. Not that I could ever go or anything, but the idea of being in space freaks me out.

Queen for a Date

About once or twice a year we end up renting a hotel room and having a mini getaway downtown. In year's past we've done it for a holiday party, a dinner cruise, Halloween, or a celebration with friends. We don't live that far. We can and do use Uber, but sometimes it's fun to have the option of walking "home" and getting to live that downtown lifestyle for a night when we're planning to be out really late. Downtown San Diego is such a fun place to be, so why not? We always have a great time.

Lap of Luxury

Paradise!!!

A few months ago I booked a flight on Frontier Airlines to Vegas. They are very much like Spirit in that they are less expensive, but nickel and dime you to death on...well pretty much everything. The only thing that comes free on Frontier is what they call a personal item. So, basically your purse or a backpack small enough to fit underneath the seat in front of you. This was a basic Friday to Monday trip to my parents house, and I did not want to pay any extra money so I convinced myself that for the first time ever I would travel with only a backpack. My little sister can do it. I won't need much. I'll make it work.

NOT.

No hair products, no workout wear, no dressy clothes, no extra shoes. limited toiletries. No extras. Just your standard undergarments and a different shirt for every day. It was warm in Vegas so I only wanted to bring one pair of jeans and the rest would be shorts and tanks but it absolutely would not fit. After that, I realized right then and there for sure that I would never be the kind of person who could travel with a backpack no matter how lightly I thought I was packing. I accepted that, but I still wanted to be better about over packing so I was determined not to do it when packing for our trip to Mexico.

I was a little bit worried about the weather before we left. June to mid October is rainy season in Nuevo Vallarta, and the weather app was showing thunder showers every single day. It was raining when we left the Puerto Vallarta airport, but by the time we arrived at the resort it was gone. The first thing I noticed was the humidity. So, hot and so humid. My skin felt damp and moist anytime I was outside.