San Francisco 3/21/09 & 3/22/09

3/21/09 ~

We made it off the ship today and are now cozied up at the Chancellor Hotel with free wifi! Yeah ~ no more paying $100 for each 250 minutes. K3cruiser is stashing her luggage with us as she makes her way around SF today & is invited to dinner with us with ( Annie, Allan, Shirley, her husband, Ruth & I) before she heads to the airport for a late flight out.

Tomorrow Ray (Rat) from San Francisco, Carol & Jim from Placerville & their friend Debbie from San Francisco & Nancy from Pacifica ~ will all meet in Pacifica to smuze!  Carol & Jim will pick us up in the morning here at the Chancellor Hotel and we all will spend the day together catching up, dining together and sightseeing. The wonderful benefits of cruising with friends along the way.

More later on!

3/22/09 ~

The cable cars drive up and down the hills on Powell street right below our window at the Chancellor Hotel - We awakened to clanging, horns honking and bells ringing and knew that the cable cars were on the move again. We had breakfast about 830am at Luque's Restaurant in our hotel along with several other Salsas 49ers who are staying here as well.

Carol and Jim picked us up at the Chancellor Hotel = 1030am. We put the scooter in the trunk and drove down the 101S connecting to Route 1 South along the coast watching a racing wind whip over the water causing whitecaps everywhere and waves crashing over the rocks and then onto a very wet and sandy shore. 

We stopped at "Nicks" in Rockaway Beach near Pacifica (see picture above) and Jim wrapped up Ruthie in his Jacket (see picture above) while we walked around and the wind whipped around us until we got to cold and we all headed inside and hung out in the bar having hot coffee to warm up until Rat & Debbie arrived.

We ordered our meals =1230pm.   At about 130pm Nancy, another fellow cruiser showed up and joined our group.  We all and sat at the same table until = 315pm chattering about our Salsas 49ers cruise memories and everyone's else's plans for their next crusies. See picture above.  

And then we all said our goodbyes ~ standing in a wild wind hugging each other and finally the 4 of us climbed in Carol's Camry and headed back to San Francisco.

We drove past Bart's above ground rail & what we think was the Carnival Pride? in quazi dry dock having some refurbishments and also saw the new baseball field close by.

Carol & Jim dropped Ruth & I off at our Hotel =4pm and we waved wistfully goodbye.

It is so much fun getting to spend quality time with all of our beloved friend's from cruises gone by . . .

I will treasure each of you in my heart . . .

You all are so precious to me!

 . . . & that goes also for every Salsas 49er and any other fellow cruiser I met on board the Carnival Splendor.

Last day at sea ~ 3/20/09

We are finishing up packing today & saying goodbye to all. This cruise went by just too darn fast!

Los Angeles (Long Beach)~3/19/09

Everyone must get off today!

We had a late breakfast, made a few phone calls looked out the windows at long lines waiting to get thru customs ~ shook our heads and and then headed back up to our cabin to pack.

At approximately 2pm Goose called last call and requested all passengers left on board to exit.

We got off and walked pretty much straight thru the customs building out the other side where people were sitting waiting for them to open the doors and let them back on board.

The complimentary red mini bus called the ‘Passport” was up & running and is w/c accessible with a great ramp.

They put Ruth on first & strapped her down & then let all others on board. The seats filled up and then everyone left over reached for the hand holds as we rolled towards Shoreline Village & The Convention Center where there were many shops like Wal-Mart & Borders.

We choose to stop at Shoreline Village.

It was mostly boats of all sizes docked with several little shops running along its dock.

We got many wonderful pictures, saw the sights & sat in the sun talking to fellow passengers from the ship.

Around 4pm we headed back to the mini “Passport” bus stop & = 7 buses past us by full to the brim with passengers heading back to Queen Mary stop & the Carnival Splendor before we found one that was empty.

Once we got off the mini bus at the Queen Mary it was a hop skip & a jump back on the ship. No Lines – Hurrah!

Wednesday ~ 3/18/09

Today was farewell day for several of us.

1)
Jean and Jeanette are getting off in Los Angeles so Jean arranged a farewell luncheon in the Gold Pearl Dining Room with Shirley, Annie, Alan, Ruth, Me, Jean and Jeanette. After a fantabulous lunch - We took a picture of all of us. *See picture(s) . . . when I get them uploaded. J

2)
Mickeylive and several passengers got together today with = 30 to 40 computers and mass produced over 1000” Mickeylive 49 day Carnival Splendor 2009 Snapshot Rally” CD’s and then hand delivered one to each cabin requesting them.

Each person who wished to ~ contributed one picture. And boy ~ were there ever beautiful shots taken by ~ all of little ole us!

“m@mickeylive.com” has the original pictures donated by all ~ and now ~ so do we!

3) At 3pm the Salsas 49ers gathered on the back of the Lido and said our farewell’s to all. Some of our group is getting off in Los Angeles and going home and others are headed to the Carnival Pride to cruise home in style thru the Panama Canal.

What a life!

Deb, the book exchange person opened her large suitcase & set up shop on a table for 6 & boy ~ has our book table grown. * See picture

Several people dropped off books & a few people took one to read here or on their way home.

Somewhere in that time frame we all headed outside on the back of the ship for a photo opportunity. . . . *See Picture

On Friday we will have the last book exchange and after that we will be contributing any of our left over books to the Crew Library!

When Deb packed up the books at the end of our Salsas 49ers get together ~ her large suitcase was full & overflowing into 1 very large bag.

Tomorrow is the dreaded walk thru customs day for all passengers ~ with or without luggage! Start time is = 730am for people leaving the ship & all others going on tours & last call they say will be around 2pm. They told us they will not clear the ship for anyone to get back on until everyone gets off with Sail & Sign Card, Customs form and Passport in hand.

Ruth & I ~ after breakfast will go back to our cabin & do some packing (ugh!) & wait until closer to 12N to get off & go thru customs.

Our Los Angeles paperwork says there is a complimentary mini bus called the ‘Passport” which will transports passengers to & from the downtowns major attractions and business center, i.e.: Queen Mary, Shoreline Village, The Convention Center and East Village Arts District.

So we try our luck at getting Ruth’s scooter aboard & go for a ride with the possibility of getting off and checking a few places out!

See you tomorrow in Long Beach, California!

The Casino & Celebrating St Patricks Day 3.17.09

Today is St Patrick’s Day!

I spent the day looking for more green things to put on our dinner table. And by Jove ~ I found some.

A Kelly green bag from a purchase awhile back turned into dark green shamrocks & a lime green sheet of cardboard paper I found in a box at the scrap booking seminar ended up as shamrocks as well.

I confiscated 4 green plastic cups from the Lido & then went to the Gold Pearl Dining Room = 5pm and assisted Martina set up our table.

First I put down the Senior Frogs Green Scarf in a diamond pattern & created a 4 leaf shamrock with the green plastic glasses around our flower vase - then I put above everyone’s plate a shamrock ~ one dark & one lime green & so on & scattered the rest of the shamrocks around the table.

I put on Martina’s green beads around her neck & since Peter was sick I put my green crocheted butineer on Ken's lapel instead.

And now we are ready to really celebrate St Patrick’s Day along with Ken Byrne who is Irish thru & thru!

Everyone loved the table & we had a surprise from the table ~ 1 floor above us ~ after we finished our meal about 10 green balloons came floating down from above onto our table putting an exclamation point on the day!

Ken danced & a jig for us to Irish music and then sang Danny Boy!

Ah, the memories!

**I almost forgot another most important thing we did today around 2pm ~ I found some one else's pictures of our last slot pull - Check out the pictures above.  We had so much fun.  We did one Salsas49ers slot pull each leg & cause we had some left over money we had a 2nd slot pull on our 3rd leg.

Puerto Vallarta~3/16/09

We got up around 830am and made it to breakfast around 915am & were ready to get off and wander around 1030am.

Ruthie strapped her scooter ramp on to the back of her scooter~ for just in cases.

We decided instead of going on a tour to walk to the New Mall & Wal-Mart. Along the way we met up with Annie, Alan and Shirley and continued on with them.

We walked along the inside of the pier where the Disney Magic docks and when we got past the Capitania De Puerto Harbor Master’s office we turned right toward the gate which once thru put us right across the street from Wal-mart and to the far right is the Mall.

Once across the street there were ramp cut outs all along until we got just across the street from the mall where we enlisted a big security guard to assist us up and down 2 curbs.

Once up on the sidewalk again there was a ramp on the far left leading right up to the top of the stairs and that led us into the Mall thru sliding glass doors.

The Mall is very new with a Star Bucks, Hagen Dass, Chili’s, Nike, Radio Shack and a multitude of other stores and restaurants.

Annie & Shirley decided to both have there hair done so we split up.

Not long after that we found Betsy and Ken in a Senor Frogs outlet store and we both bought a few green items to use for St Patrick Day tomorrow since Mexico doesn’t seem to know what St Patrick’s day is or celebrate it down here!

We walked together with Betsy & Ken thru the rest of the Mall and took a few pictures outside of our ship across the way & pointed out the quickest way to walk back to the ship.

On the way to Wal-Mart we met up with those same two curbs and no ramps – so we got out Ruth’s little ramp and used it to get across.

Once we got into Wal-Mart it seemed if every one of the Splendor passengers had gone shopping. And most of them were heading directly to the “Farmacia” for cold remedies, cough drops & Antibiotics.
We wandered thru a huge store and I found 3 mangoes to bring them back to the ship to enjoy.

Once thru the register line I gave my Mexican change to the bagger girl and we found the door and headed across the parking lot back to the ship.

Once across the busy street we knocked on the window of the little building next to the closed gate we had come out of & the guy inside came out & opened it & let us thru shutting it behind us.

We took pictures as we slowly meandered back to the ship.

I headed back thru the same parrot caged area I had walked thru before but the guard caught Ruth & about 5 other people and made them go out and around.

I found a quiet seat in the shade, people watched & waited for Ruth to find me.

But she never appeared.

She must have decided to go shopping across the street at the Flea Market . . . so after about 20 minutes of people watching I headed back on the ship, found some friends and had lunch & a cold drink.

Acapulco, Mexico~3/14/09

Acapulco, which is virtually synonymous with luxury, is a place where the rich and famous come to escape. Take the scenic highway for a striking panoramic view of the beaches and mountains, and note the beautiful homes and lush gardens as you pass through Las Brisas. And make sure you take time to see the thrilling cliff diver’s plunge into the turbulent waters of Le Quebrada.

Both Ruth and I have been to Acapulco, Mexico many times so we took our time getting up and getting off the ship. We let all the passengers on tours and first timers to this port get off first and then we followed slowly behind around 10am.

The Splendor was docked right across from Port San Diego in a most beautiful spot ~ where from any angle you can see the shoreline of Bahia de Acapulco and its ocean lapping at its shores of the bay with fishing or pleasure boats bobbing in the water or people getting ready to go swimming or just coming back in from a pleasurable dip on a very hot day.

We headed into the terminal stopping to look in a few shops & noting that the internet café upstairs was already plum full with a line awaiting their turn, so we headed outside and began to head for the shops where we were greeted by a young man who asked us what we wanted to do and when we told him we wanted to walk to the flea market and also find a internet café on the way back he said he would be happy to walk along with us to show us the way to his uncle’s shop.

Ruth rode along in the street most of the with our guide walking along side her & in approximately 10 – 15 minutes we arrived and they had a homemade ramp already waiting for Ruth to get up 2 steps into their shop.

We looked y everything and then continued looking at the other multitude of stalls selling there wares. Neither of us bought anything but it was fun to look.

Next we walked about 1.5 blocks to an open air internet café where it cost $1.00 / 1 hr of time. I used 45min to upload pictures to this blog & then we headed back to the ship.

When we crossed the last busy street we were again on the malecon and we tipped our guide and told him we would be ok on our own from then on.

We turned left and walked along the malecon for about 1 hour. Watching people scurry here and there, colorful busses whipping past us, fisherman gutting and preparing their fish for sale, girls cleaning out their catch of mussels, people on the beach sitting on lanai’s under bright blue umbrellas, people resting in restaurant’s right along the beach eating something delicious & or sipping ice cold beer, and from anywhere you stood or sat you could see the bright colors of the “Splendor” against a gorgeous blue sky.

After about a mile or two we turned around & headed back the way we came and past a girl carrying bowls with veggies on a tray on her head ready for anyone who was hungry to pour a hot scoop of broth over them making a wonderful lunch to sit & eat where ever your heart delights.

We saw several venders selling shaved ice drinks and 3 guys with a long pole clipping Mangos out of the tree tops & filling their bag for later on.

The day was hot with a scrumptious breeze ~
We stopped and sat on benches in a park under the trees not far from the terminal and enjoyed watching a mother swing her baby in a hammock, while other women were cooking meat and preparing sopas, and other people were getting ready to board a sight seeing boat that would take them around the bay.

All in all ~ an absolutely wonderful day.

Later on = 3pm after we had boarded the ship and had lunch Ruth caught sight of what appeared to be a new bridge with a ramp leading up 2 floors and across towards Fort San Diego and never being able to get into the fort before due to steep stairs in the front ~ Ruth curiosity got the better of her and she headed out once again on her own to see if she could get to Fort San Diego via the ramp. And she discovered that ~ absolutely, yes she could get to Fort San Diego via ramps all the way ~ if only she had enough battery power left over in her scooter battery to get her there.

So, with that knowledge tucked under her hat ~ she turned around & headed back to the ship with a blinking battery light.

Next time we come to Acapulco, Mexico we will turn left and head for that Bridge made specifically for walkers and scooters and the like & see what Fort San Diego has to offer.