Final Thoughts

It has been a couple of weeks since we have been home and after all was said and done, a great time was had by everyone. We took Peyton to the doctor for his finger when we got home. Poor little guy was so brave for letting the doctor examine it. He did have a very mild infection and quickly got back to his jovial self once the medication kicked in.

Highs:

Puerto Vallarta, Outdoor Adventure - I can't say enough about how great this excursion turned out to be. If you are ever going to be any where near Puerto Vallarta, I HIGHLY recommend this adventure. It was the experience of a lifetime!

Cabo San Lucas Dolphins - Memories of a lifetime.

The Magic - I may be a Disney freak, but being on the Disney Magic is such a great experience. The ship is beautiful, the service is second to none and the food is excellent! We always have a great time and meet wonderful people on our adventures.

Mike Super - Really cool show. Very interesting guy.

Family time - Peyton was funny this trip. He had moments of terror, but they were really far outweighed by his moments of wonderful. We watched High School Musical 2 from the hot tub, played Disney UNO (he would even throw the game to make it last longer), and I will never forget the image of him riding the dolphin!

Palos - We went twice for dinner and once for brunch. Every time was wonderful!

The weather - It was a little cold in Cabo, but other than that, we had BEAUTIFUL weather the entire trip. The seas were REALLY calm almost the entire time - you could barely feel the ship move.

Lows:

Getting sick - What a bummer, I don't recommend it. :) Thank goodness my Mom was with me to make sure Peyton was still able to have fun.

Peyton being sick - Even worse. At least his fever went away quickly, but the doctor never did figure out what the bumps were on his face. I went to go see a specialist when I got back home and he told me my infection most likely came from Chicken Pox. I just found it suspicious that Peyton broke out in red bumps and had a fever and my issues stemmed from Chicken Pox.

Day 16 - Homeward Bound

I stayed up late Saturday night to try to get some work stuff done. I knew that Sunday was going to be NUTS! There was ONE flight leaving LA around 10:00am that was a direct flight. The next flight was the red-eye that left around midnight, so we decided to take our chances. We were able to show the front desk our flight arrangements and get permission to be in the first group of people off the ship. We were up around 6:30am and grabbed a quick bite to eat at Topsiders. We didn't even bother to try to get Peyton to eat that early, so we grabbed some packages of peanut butter for the plane. His finger looked like it was a little swollen and he was just in a bad mood in general.

We were a little late getting though customs and my Mom was just in a panic. I told her that there was nothing we could do about getting to the airport faster, and we knew that the times were really going to be cutting it close. It doesn't matter what you say though, she will just be freaked out until the plane takes off.

I arranged for a limo to pick us up so we would not have to fight with mass transportation. It worked out very well and our driver was very nice. We got to the airport in good time and even got Mom a chance to get some Starbucks and some yogurt from McDonalds for Peyton. We were flying first class, so Mom took Peyton to get on the plane as soon as the doors opened. I tried to finish up some stuff for work and then leisurly boarded. I could see that Peyton's finger was really making him uncomfortable, but there was nothing I could do and thankfully he fell asleep as soon as the plane took off. Delta had a very nice lunch and a wide variety of stuff to watch on TV for the 4 hour flight. Peyton woke up about an hour before we landed and watched a couple of movies on his DVD player. I think he was really ready to go home after 15 days of vacation!

Patrick and Pierce (my stepson) came to pick us up at the airport and as soon as Peyton saw Pierce, he forgot all about his hurt finger! It was great to be home, but I sure do miss the Magic!

Day 14 and 15 - At Sea

These last couple of days were spent perfecting the art of relaxation! I went to the spa a couple of times for a great massage and again for a facial. I would spend part of the evening enjoying the hot tub in the Quite Cove and then head down to the room to drift off to sleep.

Peyton had made fast friends with Matthew (one of our table-mates) and they were practically inseperable over the next two days. We had to evacuate the room so they could clean it and we spent the next several hours up on deck at the Goofy pool while a pack of kids surronded Peyton all with their Nintendo DS games. It was really funny to watch.

I did get the chance to see a really funny Magician named Mike Super (http://www.mikesuper.com/). If you ever get a chance to see him, his show is REALLY funny and quite good. In fact, you could even call him LAVENOUS!

We also enjoyed a show with Joey Fatone and Alfonso Ribeiro. They sang a couple of Disney songs and some older classics. It was nice, but I don't really feel like they were catering to their fan base. They both seemed like very genuine people though.

On Friday night, Peyton actually begged to go see the "Pixie Dust" show. That one show, he remembers every time and it is his favorite. My Mom did not want to sit through it for the 5th time, so I actually got to spend some good Mother and Son time with him. Our tablemates happened to walk into the theater right as we did, so we enjoyed the show together.

It was the perfect end to a great trip!

Day 13 - Cabo San Lucas

The Disney Magic in Cabo San Lucas. You might be able to make out everyone in light coats. It was REALLY cold.

Guess what Peyton found on the dock!?

The beautiful Disney Magic!














Peyton and Martha the dolphin.













A quick ride around the pool!

Peyton with the dolphin trainer teaching Martha to roll-over.















Peyton woke up VERY cranky today. We had an excursion for him to swim with the dolphins, but we were really hesitant to let him know about his upcoming adventure! It was a little chilly and VERY windy in Cabo when we anchored, so jumping in cold water to swim with a very large animal just did not sound too exciting.

In order to get him off the ship, we told him that the Disney ship was closing so they could get it clean for arriving in San Pedro and it was easier to clean if everyone was off the boat! :) He told me that he did not want to get off the ship because there were crabs in Cabo San Lucas and he did not like crabs. Ugh! In order to calm him down, I told him there was NO WAY we were going to see any crabs and if he did see one, I would buy him any toy he wanted from the Disney Store on the ship. Knowing that we were going to see a bunch of dolphins and not even going to the beach, I figured it was a safe bet.

We took the tender in to the marina and we were treated with a wild sea lion swimming around in the harbor. That was a real treat for me because I had only seen them at the zoo and once sitting on a pier in San Francisco!

We got out onto the pier to wait for our tour to leave and just enjoyed the view. Sure enough, not THREE minutes later, Peyton spied a CRAB sitting on the jetty next to the dock! I could NOT believe it! What were the odds? Now I was REALLY in trouble. His immediate response was ‘when is the ship going to open up again so I can go get a toy’? Ugh.

I had to think quickly. I then decided to explain to him the concept of ‘double-or-nothing’. I told him that if he had a great time today, then he would get TWO toys from the store, if he didn’t have any fun at all, then I would win and he would get nothing. Luckily, he is still too young to figure out my evil genius. He accepted my offer and proceeded to tell me that he was having a ‘great time’ and was up for an adventure.

It was a short walk to the Dolphin Center which was right next to the Cabo Marina. The facility was just gorgeous. There were nice changing rooms and we explained to Peyton what we had in store for him and he was actually really excited. He had spied a stuffed dolphin in the store and I promised him that if he liked playing with the dolphin, then that could be his 'toy' for finding the crab. It turned out that no other kid had signed up for the “Kids Dolphin Experience”, so he was lucky enough to have his own trainer and a dolphin all to himself. It was incredible. I could not even believe how much he enjoyed it. The only thing the trainer could not get him to do was kiss the dolphin. Peyton said that the dolphins have germs and he wasn’t getting his lips anywhere near those teeth! The trainer was VERY patient and taught him all about 'Martha' the dolphin. When Peyton rode the dolphin around the pool, I nearly flipped out. The excursion was worth every penny and I was so pleased with how great they were with my son. The trainer (and dolphin) just did a great job and I would HIGHLY recommend this excursion for kids.

Peyton spent the entire afternoon asking me if I wanted to see his new dolphin do some tricks and pretending to feed him fish and telling him what a great dolphin he was. :)

Day 12 - Puerto Vallarta - Part 2

Mom heading down the first zip. It looks a lot scarier that it really is in reality.
















The first of many lines!






















Karen at the cliff.



















Mom doing the cliff rappel.














This water was REALLY cold, but it felt great!



















Free rappel into a waterfall pool.





















Race with Mom down the last zip.












The guides and everyone on our excursion.

Day 12 - Puerto Vallarta - Part 1

Getting on the boat to begin our adventure in Puerto Vallarta!

Quick tour of Puerto Vallarta Bay.















Beautiful rock formations in the bay.

The captain of our small boat thought it would be fun to take us through that small hole!

Base camp for our ADVENTURE!

Yes, I got my Mom to ride a MULE up the side of a mountain!







I think I will remember today for the rest of my life. I think outside of my wedding day, bringing my son home from the hospital and maybe a few horse shows, today will always stand out in my mind.
We began the day when we arrived in Puerto Vallarta. The crew was SO excited about this port because you can actually see a WAL-MART from the dock. :0) I guess everyone has their priorities.
We got Peyton up early and told him we would be gone most of the morning, but promised to get him as soon as we got back on the ship. I WISH he could have come with us, he would have had a great time.

My mom is such a good sport. I told her that I wanted to go zip-lining in Puerto Vallarta and she said 'she would do anything that I wanted'. She did not read the rest of the excursion description, but needless to say I think I cured her of that forever.

We started the day by getting off of our big ship and boarding a small zodiac (maybe 20ft in length). The boat was going to take us across Puerto Vallarta Bay (instead of taking a boring 2 hour bus ride). The trip was INCREDIBLY smooth and the boat handled great in all of the choppy water. I was really impressed. The driver gave us a great tour of the bay and we were deposited on a sandy beach soon after our trip. A short walk later, we boarded these old-time trucks that looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. They were open-aired and held 14 people along two benches in the back. Mom and I were the last to get on, so I sat on the row with seven large guys. This was all fine until the truck decided to go up a hill and all 1200lbs of guys crushed me against the door of the truck. Note to self - never sit on the end. :)

Once we got to the top of the mountain (OK foothills of the Sierra Madres), we got off the truck and into our zip gear. Mom then got the shock of her life when she found out that we were going to ride MULES to the top! I think she nearly killed me. It really wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be. Her mule was well behaved and she let it do whatever it needed to do to get up the mountain. I was just happy to be on anything that even resembled a horse!

About 45 minutes later we were staring out at the beautiful view of the mountains around us. The guides told us that these foothills eventually connect to the Rocky Mountains. I don't know if that was true, but it sure was beautiful. We then had a quick introduction to zip-lining and the next thing you know we were off. I must say, if you are not afraid of heights, you HAVE to try zip-lining. It is SO much fun. The views are just incredible and you can't help but smile the entire time!

Now if we just zipped a bunch of lines, that would have been great. However, we also got to do a cliff rappel, a free rappel, zip over a waterfall and into a pool of water, several bridges including a commando bridge (which is basically two lines that you side step across) and hike though this beautiful scenery. I just loved every minute of it. If anyone is going anywhere near Puerto Vallarta, I HIGHLY recommend Vallarta Adventures company (http://www.vallarta-adventures.com/) for the time of your life!

After all of the fun, we hiked back to the based camp where they had chips and salsa and some fresh fruit and drinks. We had really worked up an appetite, but I was still bouncing from all the fun. I only wish my son and husband were with me, but this is a great excuse to take them on the next trip. I am not sure if I will get my Mom to go back, but to her credit, she finished the whole trip - which apparently not everyone does!

Day 11 - Another Sea Day

Peyton and GeeGee hanging out in the cabin.

Peyton posing with his Pokemon. The camp was really nice and gave his Pokemon his own camp bracelet. Peyton would even check him in and out of camp and would give the councelor's the password. Those councelors have the patience of SAINTS!

We tried to spend a lot of today with Peyton since we are going to be gone for most of the day tomorrow in Puerto Vallarta. We went to the pool and chilled as well as actually getting Peyton to take a NAP! He had gotten a fever right after I got sick and developed a bunch of bumps all around his face (we even took him to the doctor when we got back to Tampa and they had no idea what it was). Poor little guy. It made him REALLY camera shy, but I was able to catch a couple of pictures of him lounging in the room with GeeGee.