San Diego, California

Adventure is overrated. 

Those were my thoughts at 2:41 AM as I struggled to get out of bed and go to the bathroom. I usually love the soft Princess beds but this one is beat down and is killing my back. But if not for tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable I wouldn’t have figured out something at about 3:30 AM this morning. Since Princess king size beds are really two twins put together, could the other twin side be any better? Oh, yeah it can. I slept so well (on what is typically Ed’s side of the bed) I didn’t wake up until 7:14, just one minute before my alarm was set to go off. I slept so well that despite it being a beautiful day

Yep, gonna be a good one

and despite the screen capture I took of the Princess excursion last night to prove I can beat the ship price of the zoo by doing it independently, I decided to skip my adventuring and sleep some more. The extra sleep was heavenly. 

I can do so much better with a $2.50 bus ride each way and an online ticket price of $72 for today. Ship excursions have gotten so overpriced.

Once I did wake up (darn incoming texts!) I enjoyed my cold leftover filet minon on the balcony as I watched the yacht crew work. 

It’s a seized Russia yacht. Just went to auction last month. 

I stuck around on my sunny balcony to watch a sailing crew back their yacht out. 

While I could have stayed on the sunny balcony all day, I really wanted to go swimming. The adult spa pool is still closed so I made my way to the back terrace pool. I’ve been avoiding it because of all the steps to get to the pool deck. It’s not a ton but it has seemed too overwhelming to even try. Until today.

Yeah, I’m a wimp. But I did it!

And there at that pool is where I spent my day. Swimming and sunning and sunning and swimming. 

It was close to 4:00 when I finally left, and luckily when returning home I still had sun. 

At sundown I headed back to the back of the ship for a sunset photo. 

San Diego is gorgeous at night.

The seized yacht looked even more glorious.

It quickly turned chilly so I’ll have to skip Top Gun Maverick at Movies Under the Stars. It’s always fun to go by North Island while watching the movie about North Island. 

Up tomorrow, Ensenada, Mexico. See you there!

Catalina Island, California

Hello Avalon, I know you’re out there somewhere! 

As I ate my breakfast outside under cover and out of the rain there was a very, very, brief break in the clouds. But it didn’t last long. 

Pork adobo day

By the time I headed up to Skywalkers the weather had deteriorated fast. 

We’re right there!

Tender operations were suspended for a while and the Captain had to reposition the ship because of the high winds. Lots of shimmying and shaking and ship listing to the side during the process. Getting everyone off the ship who wanted to go took forever. By the time tickets were no longer required there were only a couple hours before the last tender would be headed back to the ship. 

So I stayed put. There would be no exploring Avalon and Catalina Island and no pool time for me today. 

We visited Catalina on a sunny day in 2016

Instead of braving the rain and wind and uncertainty of tendering I listened to the Top 40 with my ear buds in up in Skywalkers. Had phone calls from my daughter (4 in total - the girl likes to talk!) and one from my husband. I booked more cruises. And watched the clouds and rain. 

It eventually turned quite lovely but by then it was getting close to the time water shuttles were returning for the day. 

I watched the tenders coming and going from my balcony. 

Dinner came not long after and I used my casino comp to eat at the Crown Grill. 

I had the shrimp cocktail, skipped the soup/salad course, chose the filet mignon and lobster tail (forgot to take a pic before it was removed from the shell) and had the apple rhubarb dessert. 

And their bread? Yowza. 

Typically Ed and I avoid the Crown Grill because we very much dislike the atmosphere. Loud, rushed, and noisy. And the food isn’t always the greatest. But tonight the food was outstanding, the restaurant was quiet, and the server attentive. I had two things going for me - I knew the server from when I was on this ship before, and the restaurant was surprisingly empty. 

I cannot eat one bite more.

I was able to take my leftover steak and bread back to my cabin. It’s going to make for a tasty breakfast. Side note: The music played in the restaurant was Christmas music. What??? 

I returned “home” just in time to catch a sliver of the sunset.

Tomorrow we’re in San Diego, where the weather is supposed to be much better than today. If I feel adventurous enough I have some big plans for the day, so stay tuned. See you then!