Day 4 - Cruise time! Saturday we packed our bags yet again and headed off to the docks to board our cruise! We made a quick stop by Target before heading out (I've never been and loads of budget fashion blogs I read always buy stuff there) which was a treat! I love how inexpensive everything in the US is and since our dollar is stronger than theirs at the moment it makes the deals even more of a steal! Hooray!
It was only about a half hour shuttle to the docks and the Princess Cruise line people were immaculately organized! It seemed like a flawless boarding as we floated from the parking lot and baggage check, to check in, to finding out rooms (with our bags already there for us!). Our floor room taker (ok, so I don't know where they are called) even knew our names when we first met him! Wow! I was impressed! I apparently didn't take any pictures of our room or the ship when we arrived but it was lovely. It was a 15 floor giant and once we unpacked we met up with the other 18 people from our crew for drinks on the deck! What a day! Then it was off to an an amazing 5-course meal before and early bed. So much fun!
Day 5 - Sunday we made it to Santa Barbara where I was absolutely thrilled about visiting a new place without having to pack and unpack my bag anymore! We had to get to shore by boat but the cruise was still wonderfully organized and the trip was smooth. I also got to take a shot of our giant cruise ship on the way:
Yay! It was a glorious sunny warm day (with quite a breeze) and Fraser and I got to sit on the top of the little trolly boat and enjoy the sun! What a wonderful guy!
Once we got ashore there was a huge Sunday art market lining the lovely white beaches so we wandered along that for quite a while to check out the artisans! Oh the greenery of Santa Barbara! Just look at the gorgeous palm trees:
After a quick lunch, we walked our way downtown to check out the great shopping. I was thrilled to visit a Forever 21 and a few neat kitchen stores! I continues to gawk at the huge foliage everywhere (you should have seen the size of their succulents!) and fell in love with the birds of paradise flowers:
I also got to see a fig tree for the first time and quite a few pelicans too! What fun! The wind picked up quite a bit so we headed back to the ship and just about beat the rain! Day 5 was a success!
Day 6 - We got up extra early on Tuesday to stand on the deck as we arrived in San Francisco. Fraser's dad went on about going under the Golden Gate bridge so I figured it must be worth checking out. The decks were packed but I took a few pictures to capture the amazing moment:
Aha! Was that ever a neat bridge to go under! Oh and apparently I snapped a pic of one of the outdoor pools too:
You could even see Alcatraz from where we docked:
Oh what a great day that was! We walked our way down to Fisherman's Wharf and peeked in loads of the cute little shops. I got a few gifts here for my family and I really enjoyed the succulent crab structure they had:
The sea lions at Pier 39 were adorable too! A few of them were playing and trying to knock each other off the docks. Boy they were cute (and stinky):
Oh and look! Another crab:
Oh dear I'm a sucker for animals. We took a cab to delve a bit deeper into the city but unfortunately the shop I was hoping to hit up was closed (boo for being closed on a Monday!). Not all hope was lost since we found an amazing art supply store and got to see a bit of the hilly city! The architecture in San Fransisco was quite interesting and I'd love to come back here one day to spend a little more time (and going to Sausalito!). Take a peek at one of the pictures I took of Fraser's favourite tower:
It was such a wonderful day and after two days of walking I was ready to head back to the ship and call it a day!
Day 7 - Tuesday was a day at sea! It was pretty choppy water so even though I brought a crochet project I've been dying to start I wasn't really up for trying to figure out the new stitches it required. Instead Fraser and I spend the day (like most of our afternoons) lazing about on the upper decks of the indoor pool. It was super humid and warm - perfect for a cold person like me! Take a peek:
We also bought quite a few buckets of Dos Equis and played a ton of crib:
Oh it was so much fun! It also gave us a day for Fraser's skin to heal from his wicked sunburn he got in Santa Barbara:
Aww - poor guy. If only he had listened to me nag him about sunscreen! We also dressed up a bit for another dinner with the 18 other cruise takers and got super cheesy portraits taken. I think they turned out awful but Fraser's parents ended up buying a few (oh dear - I bet they will haunt me for many years to come).
*Whew!* What a whirlwind few days! Tomorrow I'll complete my vacation recap with part III! What do you think so far?
Hooray for photos! It looks like you had tons of fun!
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