Day Two: Brooklyn Bridge, Boy in a Fountain, China & Italy

Today was a totally FABULOUS day. It started, of course, with another trip on the subway. I realize that the Subway is a part of daily life in NY, but I still think it's cool, so it still gets a mention - and a photo :)



I love that photo by the way, it looks like one of those advertising panels you see on the side of bus shelters. You know, the ads for products they can't show an actual picture of (usually health industry related), so they settle for the smiling person.... 'I got the Cervical Cancer Vaccination', 'I took out a life insurance policy', 'I say no to smoking'...)

We took the Subway out to Brooklyn, which is off Manhattan Island - not that I noticed, since we were in the subway. And then we had lunch at an Egyptian Falafal place in Brooklyn Heights. I liked Brooklyn Heights a lot - another cute neighbourhood. And the Falafal place is a little hole in the wall with great food. Yummy lunch. We ordered several 'sides' to taste things, and we pretty much had to roll each other out of place when we left. Luckily, we were on our way to work it off :)





Then we walked over to the Brooklyn Side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and began our walk across the Bridge back to Manhattan. It's about a mile, but it didn't take long at all. I loved the Bridge, and I have NO idea how they managed to build it so long ago! I'll have to put that bridge on my list of things to read up about. It's a beautiful bridge, and the views from the bridge were wonderful. Liberty Island and the rest of the NY harbour off to the left, and the skyline of Manhattan opening in front of us. The financial distract with it's massive sky scrapers were up on the left, and the rest of the skyline in front and over the right was excellent too. Couldn't get very good photos of it really, but I love the variety in colours and styles. The architecture is just so much older that anything we see at home, and there's so much character and history - and so many different and distinct styles. I think it's the variety I love.









Once we got to the other side of the bridge, we had a quick bathroom stop at Starbucks (since they have bathrooms at Starbucks), and we said goodbye to Justin who had to head off to go to uni to teach a class. Brecken and I wandered into the City Hall Park, which had a beautiful fountain with pretty gardens (it's spring, so the flowers are spectacular).











We set out to take some photos, and took turns with the camera. I'm still not very good at it, but I've been really enjoying it. Reuben was having fun walking on the edge of the edge of the fountain. Brecken kept telling him not to do it, but he kept finding his way back on :) Then he learnt an important lesson "Always listen to Mommy". I had the camera at the time, and catch the events as the unfolded....















I think Brecken summed it up perfectly on her blog, so I'll just quote her: "Reuben walked the edge. I told him to stop. I told him not to do it again. I was clear. I explained that he could fall in, and we had more plans for the day, and being wet would not be good for those plans. He ignored me. He made it three quarters of the way around when he started to run to regain balance. Tammy and I had seen him do this successfully before...but this time he was unsuccessful. He was running, then he was up to his neck in water, scrambling out. Tammy and I couldn't stop laughing. Tammy conintued to click photos, and I did head over to help him. The man you see walking towards Reuben in the in-the-fountain photo was a little shocked that we were laughing so hard. "Are you okay, kid! Are you okay?" Reuben's response: "That was really deep." He spent the rest of the day in his windbreaker, and the wet underwear, because no amount of wringing was going to dry those clothes enough. He wasn't hurt, just wet, and what else was there to do other than laugh. And, I had warned him, so he was asking for it. We went to Chinatown. Reuben sat quietly in the stroller, showing off way too much leg"

After the City Hall Park (and associated fountain adventures), we headed off to China Town. We forgot to take photos there - sorry. But it was still fun. We went to Brecken's favourite section - where the vendors are less agressive! The funny thing about China Town is that every vender sells exactly the same thing: Jewlery, hats, shawls, bags, magnants and "I love NY" T-shirts :) Brecken had also told me that as we walk along we'd have people whispering 'Gucci' 'Prada' 'Coach' etc. as we walked past them... these people would then - if we showed interest - take us into a side ally and show us their full range of really well done fake name-brand items! It's illegal, so they can't advertise it opening, which is why they just whisper it at you as you walk past. I was pretty delighted when we went to China Town and people actually whispered 'Gucci, Prada, Coach, JAG' etc. as I walked past :)

And then we went to little Italy, which merges with China Town over a street or two. All of the vendors in Little Italy sell the EXACT SAME THINGS as the vendors in China Town :) But with Italy stall/store owners and flair, instead of Chinese. I thought that was pretty funny. Little Italy was wonderful - I really loved it. We had some great Gelati from a Gelati stall on the sidewalk.







While we stood eating our gelati, we noticed some guys working across the street. They were obviously renovating a second floor apartment, and we trying to pull out all the old stone/wood/drywall materials that they were pulling out of the apartment there. We thought their approach was very funny though! They seemed to have a rope that they tied small bundles to, and lowered down to the people on the street below, who then untied it, and threw the little piece of whatever into the back of their truck. Those guys, are going to be there FOREVER! For all we know, they've already BEEN THERE forever! They didn't seem to be too bothered about workplace health or safety either, so I don't know why they don't just grab a dumpster and throw everything over the eadge of the scaffolding into the dumpster.





Brecken was telling me that the old 'piano falling out of the sky' thing came about because people in NY sometimes did/do the same thing with pianos - hauling them up or down the outside of a building in order to get them in through the window. It was while we were having this conversation that one of the guy's bundles came undone and it's contents crashed down on the sidewalk! Luckily, no one was killed :)

After the yummy gelato and the entertaining construction themed street show, we headed off to get some Italian bread to eat with the Spagetti Brecken made for dinner. Wonderul way to finish a wonderful day:)

xo Tammy

New York: Day One!

I'm in NEW YORK people! With BRECKEN! Ahhh, so very exciting! And of course, I'm having a fabulous time :) I started seeing stereotypes before the plane even landed, and I've been seeing them ever since - which leads me to believe that NY is actually portrayed accurately in books and movies. The Taxi ride to the CookShack was easy and interesting (Brecken had written me a paragraph of instructions about what to do and say from the second I picked up my luggage, and everything worked exactly according to plans. Even the 'and if he doesn't know where that is, tell him it's.....' which was handy, because he didn't seem to recognize their street name when I first mentioned it).

And then I finally got to hug all of the Cooks. It was so so wonderful to see them all again. Especially Brecken of course :) We stayed up talking until almost 3am, so we were a little tired the next day. Not enough to stop us from having a wonderful time though!

Day one, we decided to do the 'You've Got Mail' tour. I'll have to watch the movie again now, because some of the places we visited looked exactly like the movie, and some looked nothing like the way I remember them, so I'll need to take another look :)

B&J live on the cutest street of buildings, and I'm in NY at the 'perfect time of year' since so many of the trees are full of blossoms at the moment. So I'm a lucky girl.

1) We rode the subway. (That's not really an official stop on the tour, but I thought it was cool, so it gets a mention)













2) Verdi Square. This is the 'I hope your mango is ripe' bench conversation. It's really pretty with tulips etc. at the moment. Ohh, and it's right next to Hugh Grant's building in 'Music and Lyrics'. Justin says there's an establishing shot of the square - so I'll have to watch that movie too I guess :)







3) Grays Papayas Hotdogs. Okay, so these aren't from 'You've Got Mail', but they are from lots of other movies (Fools Rush In), and they were YUMMY! Even though they're only little hotdogs, you end up craving them a few hours later. And then again the next day. As in, I could use one RIGHT NOW. B and I aren't completely convinced that they don't put some sort of illegal addictive substance in those hotdogs...





4) Crumbs. Again, not from You've Got Mail - but a good dessert for our hotdogs lunch :) They sell yummy cupcakes there. Justin chose perfectly, because his had a chocolate filling. I chose pretty well, because mine was ALL chocolate on the outside, but then had a vanilla filling *sigh*. But don't worry everyone, because I'm 'watching my weight' (hahahaha), I left the filling....



5) Zabaras. I LOVE this little store. It is SOOO cool. They ONLY sell cute gormuet brands here. Bethany would starve and I would never stop smiling. Grocery shopping is fabulous at the best of times, but this takes that hobby to a whole new level. We bought some olives for a snack and dinner. Not too many - but it was just so fun to pick them. Oh, and then I went through the 'cash only' line... Since Tom Hanks wasn't there, I paid with the cash in my wallet.





6) H & H Bagels. This is the neighbourhood bakery with a cloud of flour. Great place, but really hot inside since they're cooking the bagels :) We got some to have for dinner last night - very very yummy dinner.



7) Cafe Lola. "Oh yes, she's very pretty" "I knew she was. She had to be!"
I fell in love with the inside of this cafe - it looks exactly like it does in the movie. In fact this place was only place that I recognized immediately. (Don't they know they're supposed to have a last name? It's like an entire generation of cocktail waitresses!). We're going to try and head back there for dinner one night - maybe before we see a show... (Which, by the way, is going to be tricky. I kind of want to see tens and twenties of shows on Broadway!)



8) The boat basin - where the Foxes keep their boats. "Hello New Jersey!" It's actually part of Riverside Park - which I LOVE by the way.



9) And then Riverside park - where they finally meet in the last scene of the movie. And as I mentioned above, I LOVE this park. It's huge - my guess would be that it would take you an hour to walk all the way all it (but I could be wrong of course!). It's long and narrow and runs along the shore of the Hudson. This is the 'neighbourhood' park, as opposed to the 'tourist park' that is Central Park... well, that's what I'm told anyway. Lots of joggers, and nanny's with strollers, and readers on park benches.







Brecken let me try my hand at photography - which is a LOT of fun with a nice camera :) I took lots and lots of very average photos, but managed to also take that last one with the tulips - so pretty!

Okay, so that's our day. We were tired by the end of the day, and then of course we stayed up late trying to plan the rest of my holiday (we'll know everything for sure once we visit broadway tomorrow and decide on show/s... (that's right, I added an S... lol!).

Oh, and before I go, I should probably add that all of the You've Got Mail locations take place on the Upper West Side - which is EXACTLY where I'll live I'm ever super rich and living in NY. I LOVE it :)

xo Tammy

Start spreading the news (ba, badada, bada) I'm leaving today (ba, badada, bada) I want to be a part of it.... NEW YORK NEW YORK

Hello everyone! I'm SOOOO excited to have seen Bethany's gorgeous ring - really bethy, it's SO cute! AND to read a little more about the details of this upcoming wedding (I TOTALLY vote for November... think how cute and skinny I'll be in November! I would be a rockin' hot bridesmaid...) SO I thought I'd write on my blog again :)

This morning (in about an hour and a half), I'm leaving for NY. I'm really sad to say goodbye to some of my friends here in Utah, but very very excited to be off to see the Cooks! Can't believe I'll get to hug them all tonight :) But first, I guess I'd better tell you about day 2 in Me-hee-co!

Jenny and I got up really early to catch the first tender boat to shore at just after 7am. When we got off at the piers, there were people holding up signs, and while we might have felt a little more comfortable heading for the person holding the 'shopping and sightseeing tour' card, we bravely headed over to the lady with the 'parasailing' card. There were 5 of us in this early parasailing slot - a young couple, jenny and me, and another girl called Mindy who couldn't find any friends to do it with her. Brave girl for coming anyway! The boat had two people on it - a driver and the guy who hooked us all up - and neither of them were named Jose/Hosea... sad!

As we heading out in the boat, I was still feeling pretty brave (I learnt to push fear down to the bottom of my tummy and jam a lid down hard over it in my piano performance days), but Jenny was looking a little green.

Tammy: Are you okay?
Jenny: No! I'm terrified!
Tammy: Why are you doing parasailing then?
Jenny: Because YOU wanted to!

Ahhhh. What a wonderful friend :) As we were driving out, they gave us a clipboard and had us fill out our names on the list. I wisely declined from writing my name in the number one spot (just this once) - I'm not stupid! I put my name in number three, and Jenny's in number four. Which meant we went AFTER the poor young couple who had to fill in slots 1 and 2. We could all decide to do it in tandem (pairs) or single. The couple decided to go tandem, J and I decided to go tandem, and Mindy was happy to go by herself. Right then!

The couple each got a (really small and not at all confidence inspiring) harness tied onto them (not clipped - tied), and then they were clipped to the horizontal bar and told to sit down on the patio at the back of the boat. Then they let the parachute go and the boat took off, and before long - wa-la! They were up in the air! As they were flying up through the air the driver was talking to the other guy about the fact that it was a fairly low-wind day, which got us a little worried. I asked if he was sure it was okay for Jenny and I to go up in tandem, or if it would be better to go singly, since I didn't want to die by 'falling from a great height'. The captain reassured me by saying 'It's okay. If weight is too heavy, I will draw the line'. That made me feel much better, until he pulled out a massive knife and held it, with a massive grin, against the main line holding the couple up in the air. THAT'S when I realized he'd said 'It's okay. If weight is too heavy, I will CUT the line'. Hahahahahha. NOT funny :)

Minutes later Jenny and were put in our (skimpy) harnesses and tied to the bar and sent to sit on the back of the boat. I only had time to give the captain a stern look and a 'no knives!' before we were suddenly sailing waaaaaay up in the air. It was AWESOME! Soooo much fun. They views were stunning, and the ride was just so wonderful. It took about 15 minutes all up - 6 up at the 600ft altitude, and the rest going up and coming down again. And it was so fun to have Jenny with me up there so we had something to talk about:

Tammy: This is AMAZING!
Jenny: Can you see any sharks down there? I really don't want to see any sharks.
Tammy: Look! It's the arches! And the ship - see our ship?!
Jenny: Wait, I see a shark! Oh, wait, no, it's nothing.
Tammy: Everything is sooo beautiful!
Jenny: I really don't want to be eaten by a shark... I hope they don't land us in the water by accident
Tammy: This is AWESOME!

It's always good to have someone to share things with :) My favourite moment was when Jenny pointed at the ocean and shrieked "Look at that MASSIVE octopus! Oh my goodness! That's HUGE!" with a tone that inferred impending doom. It took me a second to realize that she was pointing at the shadow of the parachute down on the water. I DIED laughing! I laughed SO hard I almost feel out of my harness (but I remembered my promise to Brecken that I'd make it in NY, so I stopped). Jenny started laughing too when I pointed it out to her. Her octopus was indeed 'huge', and a perfect circle except for the weird looking tail (the shadows of the two of us hanging from the parachute). Good times. All too soon it was over and they were reeling us back in. But we're so glad we did it.

After that, we had a couple of hours to kill before we met up with Peta and Brandon and P & J's friend Jen (not to be confused with Jenny), for the jetskiing. So Mindy came with us as we wandered through the markets. The markets were really fun, and there was a lot of cool stuff to see (as well as an awful lot of junk). But those street vendors are sooo scary for a person who has trouble saying no! Jenny and Mindy kept realizing I wasn't with them and backtracking to find me being held hostage by a man or women who were insisting I buy whatever trinket I'd accidentally looked at for a second too long :) I was doing my best to say 'no', but I realized after I while that I just had to not engage any of them in conversation, or they never let you go! I don't always want to buy something when I pick it up to have a better look or ask 'how much'!

The bartering system was in full swing there too (which again, I found much more terrifying then 4-wheeling or parasailing). They'd start at 15 dollars, and by the time I was being dragged away they'd be yelling 'one dollar! one dollar!' and trying to press the object into my hands. My favourite thing about the market was the call that they all used (that I quickly got used to) of 'It's free! It's practically free!' to try and get our attention. At one point, I stopped and said 'really? how much?'. When they replied 'Eight dollars', Jenny snorted in derision and dragged me away with a 'that's not practically free. 2 dollars is practically free'. Which meant, of course, that they followed me for another 20 metres yelling 'fine! 2 dollars!'. And they ALL use guilt too. Ooodles and oodles of guilt. Especially the ladies. When you say 'no, thankyou', they look at you as if you've just murdered every child they have, and are burning down their house. I kept having to recite 'I didn't murder anyone' as I was being dragged away - I'm not good with guilt!

SO it was a fun morning :) We had a late breakfast together (SOOOO good) before we met up with the others for lunch. I was too full to eat anything, but I ate lunch anyway becuase the food is SOOOO good in Mexico :)

Now, the afternoon is where things started to go a little awry! Every other activity we'd down (much to the derision of certain people), Jenny and I had booked through the ship. Everyone told us it was much cheaper to book with the men standing on the shore. But because I'm my fathers daughter, I just felt more comfortable trusting my parasailing self to the legitimate company the ship recommended. Well, we were throwing caution to the wind with the jetskiing - because let's face it a) we were running out of money, and b) how badly wrong can jet-skiing go? By the time we got back on the ship in the afternoon, we were very grateful for all the other times we'd booked through the ship :)

Jenny and I had scouted out a fellow named Francesco during our shopping hours, and we had booked in 3 jetskiis (2 doubles and 1 single) for a small group later that afternoon. We'd each given him a $5 deposit (he wanted $10, but we said '$5' - haha!). So that was set for 1pm, and we'd only have 2 hours, because the last tender service for the day left at 3:15pm, and we didn't want to get left in Mexico (which actually happened to one of the girls in our group on a previous cruise - ahhh). So we all set off to see Francisco and get our jetskiis. Unfortunately, we had been going by the time on our watches (ship time), and Francisco had been going by Mexican time - so we were an hour late and the guy who was supposed to pick us up in a little boat and take us to a beach that had all the jetskiis had already gone.

Francisco didn't want to let us down though. So he started fast-Spanish-talking, and got us into a water-taxi. First we had to pay a 'pier tax' that we'd never heard of before though - which is when we started to worry. We got in the water taxi - which didn't look safe - and the driver was eating his (delicious looking) lunch. We sat there for about 15 minutes while he finished it... clearly he wasn't in a hurry like we were! We were a little relieved with Francisco got in the taxi with us right before it left ("ahh! Francisco! We're glad you're coming with us, thank you!" "Of course! I have to make sure you get back on time, and that you get the ride you want" etc. etc.).

So we taxi over to a beach. Now, the interesting thing about these Cabo beaches is that they're incredibly steep. 5 feet into the water, the water's up over your head. Which makes for some crazy surf right there on the beach. There's no water, then there's a massive wave crashing over your head. Well, we get about 5 - 10 feet from the shore, and the taxi drive says 'okay, jump out'. That's when I remembered the cruise director talk from the first night, where he says 'don't get into any water taxis. They can't take you to shore, and will make you jump out'... We just hadn't realized that it was a dodgy water taxi since we were going through a tour company... granted, it was Francisco's tour company...). Well, Francisco and the driver argued back and forward for a good five minus in Spanish, before Francisco lost the argument. He jumped overboard in between swells, so he only landed in water up to his knees and raced ashore pulling the boat behind him. Jen (P & J's American friend) was next. The poor girl looked terrified, but she threw her bag to Francisco, held her shoes in one hand, and leaped overboard. Again, she'd timed it pretty well, and was only in water up to her knees before she scrambled up the shore. So that left Jenny, Peta, Brandon and I hovering in this terribly rocky boat waiting for the opportunity to jump overboard (there was a part of me wondering how we'd ever get back INto a boat, but since I was being adventure tammy in mexico....)

Suddenly the driver started shouting at us, and we didn't know what he was saying - and then a huge wave hit the boat, and we DID know what he'd been saying. We crashed backwards into the boat, and Jenny was the one worst hit - she fell into the very bottom of the boat (about 1.5 metres) and slammed into the metal side of the bottom - bad bruising the next day - poor poor girl! At this point, the driver decides it's too dangerous, and starts driving away - leaving Francisco and Jen on the beach! We tried to talk to him, but he ignored us, so we just waved good by to Francisco and Jen. Oh, and I laughed. At that point, what else was there to do!

The driver goes a little way down the beach, decides it's safer, and makes us all jump out! Very scary, but we completely wet by the time we got to shore but our bags weren't too wet, so we decided it was a success. We start running down the beach towards Francisco and Jen, and they're running up the beach towards us. Took us about 20 minutes to reach each other. By this time, it's a little after 2pm, and we told Francisco that as much as we'd wanted to go Jetskiing, we still weren't anywhere near the jetskiis and we only had an hour or get back to the tender docks, so we'd better just give up. He looked very sad (darn that guilt!), and said "I guess I'd better give you back you're money then', and handed us back the roll of money we'd all contributed too - $180 all up I think. We gave him back $40, because he really had tried to give us a good ride, and because we're the ones who'd messed up the time originally, and because his guilt trip was working. Brandon tried to give him a little more as a tip, but Francisco refused to take anymore money, and we all thought 'what a decent guy!'.

Francisco said it would be a 45 minute walk back to the tender dock, so we'd just make it. We were soaking wet though, and it didn't seem like too much fun. Suddenly a guy appears and starts talking to Francisco. They guy had a uniform on, so we felt okay about that. He offered to give us all a banana boat road for $10. I'd never been on a banana boat before, but it's basically a long tube with handles, and you straddle it like a horse, and get dragged behind the boat. When he offered to drop us off on the beach NEXT to the tender pier, I was sold! Here was a way to salvage our afternoon and at least do SOMETHING fun :) Brandon was too scared we'd miss the boat and decided to walk back with Francisco, but us four girls were game. So we waded out into the surf again (no one comes to you on the beaches in Cabo) with our bags held up above our heads, and swam over to the boat. Then we dragged the banana boat part into shallow water, and climbed on. I was somehow the one in front - if we hadn't been in such a hurry, I may have realized I didn't want to be sitting there...

The speed boat took off, and we grasped those handles for dear life! I started yelling something about a lifejacket, at which point the driver slowed down and came alongside us to throw them over to us. We barely had time to get them only properly before he took off again. Seriously - it was terrifying! Fun - but only with the right attitude, because actually, it was terrifying! We were bucking around back there like some crazy rodeo, and the driver was driving like Bethy! Ahhh! The waves weren't small either, so we were up and down up and down! And he took us right out to sea - past the cruise ships and everything. Suddenly, he turns back around and gives me this crazy grin as he turns super fast. I barely had time to register the "He's going to throw us into the water" before all four of us were thrown into the ocean. We came up gasping for air, and in shock! I looked at the startled faces of the other 3 girls and then burst out laughing. We all looked so shocked! hahaha! We bobbed up and down in the ocean waiting for him to bring the banana boat back before we realized that we were supposed to swim to it. So we did. We got there, and spent about 4 or 5 minutes getting the boat back up the right way, and then set about trying to get back ON the boat. Really hard! Finally, we realize that with all of us on the one side, the boat would keep turning over, so two of us swam to the other side to steady it, only, when I got there, I realized only one of us was there to steady the boat on that side.

It's okay. I mean, I couldn't see anyone, I couldn't reach any of the handles because they were up too high, and Jenny swore she saw 5,000 sharks during our parasailing excursion, but it's all good. I got yanked up out of the water several times and slammed back in as the girls tried to get into from the other side. Eventually Peta made it back up. Then she tried to help Jen ("pull her up by the life jacket" screams the driver.

Oh goodness - I'm running out of time (we need to leave soon), but sufficeth to say that it took us about 15-20 minutes to get us all up on that banana boat, and I have seriously never laughed so hard in my life. The driver was just dying laughing for most of that time (though not once did he come and help us!). As the brave Australian least afraid of sharks (haha), I was the last one out of the water, And I was grateful that neither Fancisco or Brandon had joined us, because no male should ever see four girls looking so completely ungraceful. As Jenny was trying to pull me up, for example, she did so by grabbing my shorts and pulling, which did nothing to get me back up on the boat, and everything to make it difficult for me to walk once we got back to shore. At the same time, Peta's grabbing my bottom and pulling for dear life - all the while apologizing that she was grabbing my bottom, and I'm screaming 'that's okay, just pull!'. And Jen had my life jacket, and in an attempt to pull me up was essentially pulling it off - of of course pulling me in a different direction from both Peta AND Jenny. And the whole time, we were all laughing SO hard. We had to keep stopping because we were laughing so hard.

Eventually, we got back on, and the driver (who'd obviously gone way over his time limit) was too scared of us falling back in again to driver like Bethany. He drove like Dad all the way back to the shore. There was a minor incident when we realized that our bags were all in the boat, and the boat couldn't get in close to the shore. He started telling us his uncle had a tender boat, and he'd get our bags to the ship, but we told him we'd give him a life jacket back every time he gave us one of our bags, and that sorted that out.

By the time Brandon made it to the tender pier, us four girls were already sitting on the tender boat. And we were still laughing. So the afternoon was essentially a disaster, and Jenny and I were grateful that we'd stuck to our guns and only gone through the ship for our other tours... but still - we had a marvelous time, and will talk about that afternoon for a long time to come.

Okay - I have to go. Still in my pajamas here, and we're leaving VERY SOON!

Ahhhh! Talk to you all again when I'm in NY with the COOKS!

xo Tammy

PS. OH! And that night, when we were counting up the money Francisco had given us so we could all take back our money, we found $25 missing. The scoundral had taken it before he gave our money back! We're stupid for not counting it of course, but it was all in a roll like when we gave it to him, and we were all in such a hurry! No wonder he wouldn't take any more money than the $40. He was feeling GUILTY! hahah :)

PPS. Sorry - haven't had time to proof read - hope it's okay!

I will post again when....

Someone sends me a picture of Bethany's ring, and tell's me what is going on with her wedding...

Seriously! Older sister here - would really like some information! LOL :)

xo Tammy

PS. Am back safely in Provo. 2 sleeps till NY. My second day in Cabo was AWESOME. Lots of funny stories to tell about it as soon as my blackmail has been successful...

PPS. Mum - got your clinique email, but it was too late for Mexico :( I've got the list though, and am shopping today... leave it with me :)

PPPS. HAPPY BIRTHDAY B&O! I really wish I could be there for your party - take lots of photos for me :)

Editorial Correction:

From now on, please read 'Hosea' as 'Jose'.... lolololol! Thanks Brecken :) This will be like the time I learned that Quesidilla was prononced 'Key-say-di-ah' rather them 'Ques-a-dil-la'.... a real turning point in my Mexican education :)

Love you all! Am off to parasailing... should I be nervous?!

xo Tammy

PS. And this post does not excuse those of you who haven't commented on the previous post from commenting on the previous post ;)

PPS. Mum - loved the 'Jose' the third comment :)

PPPS. Family, you should know that every comment you make on my blog is money towards your present... the twins are VERY behind...

I'm in Mexico Baby!

Okay fans, I had planned to write again in a couple of days, but I just HAD to get online and tell you about my fabulous, fabulous day today! You know, when I was planning this holiday, I was really just thinking about the friends I wanted to catch up with. The friends part has been (and will be, B & J) SO SO wonderful, but by accident, I have also planned myself a fantastic and exotic holiday - go me! I really didn't think that much about the cruise before we left, but guess what, I'm actually in Mexico! MEXICO PEOPLE! How cool is THAT?! AND I really like it here :) Cabo San Lucas is beautiful - in a really stark kind of a way. It's all white desert, hills and cliffs, but surrounding the most GORGEOUS blue blue blue sea. The hills have really picturesque resorts and homes up and down them - it actually looks a little the way I imagine the Mediterranean to look. So THAT was exciting to see when I woke up this morning ;) (Not that I could see it from my cabin, since the window is FAKE... I had to walk up to the deck, but never mind, it was still exciting...)

So the day started at 6:15am when the alarm went off. By 7:45am, Peta, Jenny and I were waiting in the Cole Porter Lounge with a bunch of other people who had early excursions. We listened to some really bad jokes (but funny - since you all know how much I LOVE bad jokes!) from one of the cruise directors, and then we were ushered downstairs and onto the first tender boat for the day - which ferried us all in to shore. The harbour is hopping! Such a fun fun resort town. Clean and friendly and warm. Pelicans EVERYWHERE, and lots of Sea Lions and friendly locals. Great Mexican music playing everywhere. Obviously it's all set up for the tourists - but us tourists sure do love it! The whole place seemed to ooze that laid back holiday atmosphere, with exotic spices on the breeze. Wonderful :)

We went through the customs first, which does not include passport - or even photo ID - checks, but which DOES consist of them throwing any fruit you have in your bags into the bin :) Then we went to a tour operation centre just down the street, where we were put on a bus (with the people doing the horse riding tours), and we were off on a 45 minute drive through the countryside out to a seaside ranch. Our bus driver's name was Hosea (which I thought was wonderful), and he was very friendly. He started off by telling us that he'd be driving very slowly, because there were a lot of roadworks, and the road was very narrow and followed cliffs for some of the way. But not to worry, because he knew the road really well and would be driving slowly... Right then :) Peta and I weren't too bothered by Hosea's announcement (he said he'd drive slow, right?), but Jenny, in a rare stroke of oldest sister/friend syndrome, insisted that we all put our seat belts on.

The drive through the countryside was really interesting. It's funny trying to sum a place up with so little information, but I think the thing that struck me the most was just the contradictions. On the one hand, there are expensive, fancy and upmarket homes, businesses and estates - super nice. And then right across the street you see slums and homes built out of building scraps (aka, PNG style). So depending which side of the bus you happen to be looking out of, the country will other seem either first or third world.

Then we got out of the city and into the outback - that was really interesting too. I'm used to thinking of 'desert' as the kind of desert you see in Southern Utah - since that's really the only kind of real desert I've ever seen. That desert stretches forever, and is empty of everything but stunning rock and cliff formations in red rock.

This desert was all white and sandy, and was really densely and thickly populated by Cactus and shrubby scrub (lots of Joshua trees that look dead but are probably just still hibernating...) Really not the kind of wilderness you could cross without spending several hours clearing every metre! The landscape was really hilly too. And then of course, you could see the ocean, and it was beautiful! Blue blue blue with lovely sandy beaches.

When we got to the ranch, they had us all climb out, have a quick toilet break (which was good, because P & J have tiny bladders and they can't go more then 5 minutes without a bathroom - I swear!), and then they took us over to the four wheelers. One of the reasons we picked this tour was because everybody drives their own four wheeler - so no one has to be a passenger. Fun right? Wrong. The cruise ship sinking was SO the wrong thing for us all to be worrying about! It's the four-wheelers that were REALLY endangering my life! I knew I was in trouble with Jonathan the guide started explaining to us how to change gears with our feet... When he saw my panicked look he very kindly rolled his eyes, lowered his voice, leaned in to me and hurriedly whispered "start in 1, use 2 for up and down hills, and use 3 and four the rest of the time depending how fast we go.... you might even need 5 if you go really fast" (but he looked a little uncertain of my abilities to get to 5 - and I was right there with him!).

They gave us bandanna's, goggles and helmets (the cute helmets you see on Italians riding mopeds) - so our faces were pretty much completely covered and protected from the dust we'd be swirling up around us. And then, just like that, everyone got on and started driving off in single file. Ahhhhhh! Surely that wasn't it?! Surely they need to test us, or tell us how to drive properly?! Nope! Not here in Mexico. They just let you go. *gulp*

We were all in a single file behind Jonathan, and I was about in the middle - with Peta in front of me and Jenny behind. About 15 minutes into the ride, when we slowed down at one point, Peta yelled back to me "Jenny's really struggling! She's not even keeping up with us! She's way back behind you!" I yelled back that I was pretty sure that Jenny was absolutely fine, and just keeping her distance for her own good since she could see my driving and Peta couldn't :) Let's just say I spent that first 15 minutes bunny-hopping through the Mexican desert and narrowly missing cactus as I swerved uncontrollably from left to right on the sandy track.

But by about the 25 minute mark, I suddenly got it down. And then, boy was it FUN! Mum, remember the time you first went to the USA and went sledding? And just how much 'fun' it was? Well this was exactly like that! I was screaming to both Peta and Jenny about how great this was, but I realized that no body could hear anything over the roar of the motors, so I just started screaming to myself for my own fun: Ahhhh! I'm in MEXICO! ahhhhh! woo-hoo! I'm four-wheeling in Mexico! *delighted laughter*. It was a real rush :)

The ride was about 1.5 hours all up. And they certainly don't seem to worry too much about safety (once they've put helmets on us) because we were going up and down MASSIVE and STEEP hills on these quad bikes. We drove along cliff tops, along the beach - right by the ocean - and along dry river washes. It was amazing. If I hadn't had my 'adventure girl in Mexico' hat on, I probably would have been terrified. But I just kept going, and by the end of the ride I was waiting for Peta to go up each steep hill before I'd even start - because I wanted to go much much faster than she was going :)

I think there's a little evil-keneval in me after all... :)

Anyway, once we got back to the ranch they put us all back on the bus and drove us back into town. We had about half an hour before our next tour started, so we went to a fabulous restaurant ("the Tequila Bar") for a quick bite. The guy who seated us promised us quick food (since we said we only had 20 minutes), and a cute waiter. And the waiter was free :) Most of you know how much I LOVE Mexican food, right? Well, get this: Mexican food IN Mexico? WAY WAY better! ahhhh. This food was to die for. Even though we had to wolf it down!

From there we ran to the second tour, which started down at the docks. There were about 14 of us in the group, and the lady who took our tickets introduced us to our tour guide: Hosea! hhahahah! Different guy - same name :) This Hosea was completely wonderful. He was really funny and a great guide. He loaded us into a 24foot Zodiac, which is an inflatable motor boat. He stood at his post in the middle, and we sat on the inflated edges of the boat, and held on for dear life :) We had life vests on, but he went REALLY fast, and we were rising up the waves and crashing back down again. Once we got over the whole "wait, you want us to sit on the edge of the boat? but we'll fall out!" thing, it was really really fun.

First he took us out to the arch at Lands End (google it), and we drove past Lovers Beach (again, google it), which is famous for being the only beach in the world to touch 2 oceans at the same time. Then we headed off for the snorkeling. It took about half an hour to get out to the first bay, where Hosea gave us all snorkels, fins and goggles, and threw us overboard :) Well, the others all hopped in and started swimming around on their own. But when I sat on the edge and hesitated for a bit, he threw me in :) Oh well, I had to get in somehow :) We had a great time at this secluded beach and spent about 45 minutes snorkeling up a storm. Then we got back in the boat and headed off for the second bay. This bay had some pretty coral reefs, and Hosea got in the water this time and swam around with us all.

At one point, he dove down and came back up with a sea urchin. I was near he when he surfaced, and he gestured for me to hold out my hand so he could put it in my hand. Again, most of you know that I avoid contact with living, non-human creatures. But since I was being 'Adventure Tammy in Mexico' today, I put out my hand. It was prickly, and I didn't like it. But then, it started sucking and attaching itself onto my hand, and then I REALLY didn't like it! hahahaha! That's an understatement actually. I totally freaked out and threw the thing back at him with a scream! lol :) He died laughing. The horrible man had known that would happen, and thought it was hilarious! But don't worry, he made me up to me by letting me watch him do it to half the other people on the tour :) totally classic :) Jenny really freaked out "get it off, get it off, get it off!" - so I felt vindicated.

Hosea also swam down and came back up with a puffer fish in his hand which he kept under the water and let us all touch. It was kind of cool - like a big squeegee toy or something :) after another half an hour there or so, we took the boat ride back again. I sat on the bench at the back of the boat this time (since other people were in my spot on the edge of the boat), and so I closed my eye and threw my head back, crossed my legs and just let the wind and the sun do what they do best. And all the while we were riding at crazy speeds (Hosea had let us swim too long so he was in a hurry to get us back) up and over the waves with crazy crashes and bumps in the boat. I loved it - what a happy afternoon. I tried to store up a memory so I wouldn't ever forget it. (And now I've written it in my blog - which should help - lol).

Once back on the ship, we each showered (because we were filthy and all oceany - eww!), and then were went and had dinner in the dinning room. Yummy as usual, and fun to chat with people. This evening has been good too. After dinner, Jenny and I went and checked out the Kareokee Lounge, where I swallowed some fear and sang a song to the 12 people in there - hahaha! It's funny how nervous I was, but it felt good to be doing things that are scary, so I was glad to do it. Then we went and met up with some people for the hypnotist show in the main theatre. I'm still a skeptic about the whole hypnosis thing, but some of the people we know on the boat got up, and I laughed out loud several times. Though, like I said, I'm still not sure what to make of the whole 'thing'. After that, Peta, Jenny, Brandon (from yesterday's post) and I went and hang out in the Kareokee lounge for another half an hour, before heading up to the big deck party that was happening tonight. Nothing starts until late here, and I keep missing everything because I keep going to bed - lol! But since it was 11pm, and the deck party/dance was starting, Jenny and I headed up there. Everyone was waiting for the first people to actually go onto the dance floor and dance, and since I'd already done scary things all day, we went and danced with the first few people, and before long it was hopping party. So much fun! I haven't danced like that for a long time, and it felt GOOD :)

Well, it's 12:30am now, and I thought I'd better come and just finish off this post (I started it before dinner tonight) so you'd all have something to read. Make sure you comment - I LOVE to read them them, and don't worry, I read fast, so it doesn't cost tooooo much! haha!

We have the alarm set for 6am tomorrow morning, because we've got the parasailing booked in for first thing in the morning. Jenny and I have come to the realization that we may not have thought the whole thing through very well, and that parasailing might actually be TERRIFYING! But hey, if I managed to four-wheel this morning, parasailing should be a breeze! (get it, a breeze? parasailing?... never mind).

We'll be done with the parasailing by 9:30am, but then we're thinking we'll shop and explore the main streets of town for a few hours before meeting up with some friends and renting jetskiis for the afternoon. I've never jetskied before... I'm just kind of hoping that there are no gear shifts to be made by me.... haha!

Okay, off to bed (or actually, I can hear the music coming from the piano bar sing-a-long... that could be fun)...

Love to you all - and apologies if the above doesn't make sense. I'm typing like crazy and proof-reading not at all!

xo Tammy

PS. HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JONATHON! I love you Jonny, and hope you're having a really really great day. xo

I'm Not Dead Yet!

(That title should definitely be read with your best Monty Python accent....)

So I'm here, and I'm alive. By here, I mean about 100nm north of Cabo along the Baja Coast (where ever the heck THAT is), and by alive, I mean not at the bottom of the ocean. *vyew* WHAT a relief :)

I'm paying $25 for an hour for this internet time so that I can get the word out and post a little about the cruise so far. It's not cheap, but that's what I call 'giving back to my fans'. You're all very worth it, AND you're welcome :) (That was for you Bethy - lol!).

Okay. So the Carnival Elation. It's a very nice boat and I'm having a fabulous time. We left yesterday late afternoon, and the boat didn't sink. We sailed all night, and the boat didn't sink. It's 3:30pm this afternoon, and the boat still hasn't sunk. (Don't worry, I just knocked on wood), so so far, the cruise could not be going better! :) On a slightly more serious note, I actually haven't been stressed or nervous at all, so I've been really relieved. On top of that, the weather could not be more pefect, and the ocean has been breathtakingly beautiful - I keep finding myself back out on one of the decks again because I'm just enjoying gazing at it all. I've been thinking about Jessica Watson (since I love to read her blog) and I still have no idea how she does THAT, but for my couple of days at sea, I find myself really content. Blue gorgeous ocean, blue wide and wonderful skys and perfect sun with just the tiniest chill in the air (except that the chill is dissapearing quickly as we head south - that's been the only tiny bit of a let down - it's getting hot!).

The food has been really yummy, but not 'have to eat absolutely everything' which was actually a big relief. It means I won't gain the 5 pounds I felt myself gaining as I gazed at everything the first time I walked into one of the buffet rooms :)

Today is Sunday, so I've been trying to keep things a little calmer and 'Sunday' like today. It's been a lovely day. I slept in, got up, showered (rooms are really nice and spaciuos actually, and so are the bathrooms, so that's great), and spent most of the day so far talking with my friends Jenny and Brandon Lang (I think Justin and maybe Brecken and Erika are the only ones who'll remember Brandon, but he was a film major at BYU with me and we often did group projects together. Turns out he's on this cruise! I walked into the safety drill on the first day and heard a 'Tammy Munro! What are YOU doing here?!' so it's been really fun to catch up with him. And actually, you should know that while we're on the safety drill, I thought it was very efficient and informative. I know EVERYTHING I have to do if the boat sinks... I just can't remember how to get to the lifeboat I'm supposed to get to.. there were lots of stairs and corridors, and I was talking to the people around me, so I kind of forget how to get there! Jenny reckons she remembers though, so I never leave her side...).

Anyway Tomorrow and Tuesday are our 'days in Cabo'. We're very excited. Jenny and I have finally picked our excursions - we just have to book them, which we'll do shortly. Tomorrow we're planning to go ATV-ing in the Mexican desert in the morning, followed by an afternoon on a catermaran which will take us out to Lands end, and lovers beach and the sea-lion colony. And we'll have the opportunity to go snorkling in a few different bays and reefs. Then Wednesday, we're going (get this) PARASAILING! wooo-hooooo! I'm a tiny bit terrified, but very excited! I really wanted to do something adventurous on this trip, and I figure spending several minutes 600ft above the Mexican coastline harnessed to Jenny and a parashoot should cover it. Awesome, huh?! Besides, this way, for the rest of my life, I find ways to insert the following sentence into conversations: Actually, this reminds me of the time I went parasailing in Cabo... hahaha!

Okay, I'd better go. I've used up the first 30 minutes of my hour (not just on this post - I also had to check my bank account and read my comments - haha!). I will probably leave it a couple of days and then try and post again.

Love you all tons and tons!
xo Tammy

PS. Oh, yeah, and if I die, mum gets to chose who gets what - so just let her know if there's anything you'd like... :)