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Friday, May 28, 2010

 

BBQ means Ribs

Love to BBQ? Love your ribs-both pork and beef? Check out Friday's What's Cooking column at:


http://fabulously40.com/blog/id/bbq-means-ribs-16164

http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Carine_Nadel  

Cruising

I can now look back at the grandma cruise and say it was fun. I started taking meclizine (bonine) 3 days prior to our bon voyage because I’ve been there, done that cruise before and it wasn’t a pretty sight. It was my first cruise and thanks to rough waters-my husband and I had never known how sick a rocking boat can make you feel.

I now prepare for any and all cruises this way. Trust me, motion sickness is just awful.

We left on Mother’s Day on the Carnival Splendor. It was incredibly cold, overcast and windy. Thankfully, it didn’t stay that way! By the next morning, it was what we wanted it to be-sunny, warm with just a hint of a breeze. Our first two days were all on the ocean and pretty rocky.

Thank goodness for that meclizine. My daughter came to town with an awful cold and the boys came down with it. Poor little guys with running a fever of 101 and sneezing snot (sorry about the graphics) everywhere. Somehow, my roomie, the other grandma (Robin) caught it. I was vigilant about staying in back of the boys and washing my body-a lot.

My daughter decided on this line/cruise because of the kids program. I’m here to tell you-that didn’t work out. The supposedly trained staff was nothing but a bunch of tattletales and the boys hated going.

So we didn’t use it but a couple of times. Shame on you Camp Carnival.

The first formal night we went to the Pinnacle Steakhouse. It was very nice. Unfortunately, our daughter and son-in-law liked it so much they went a second time and Sarah wound up with food poisoning. Again, the staff didn’t handle this well and were less than gracious. Poor Sarah finished up her last night in complete sickness.

In-between, we had a nice tour and view of Puerto Vallarta and saw all the most beautiful parts. Both Robin and I had no desire to go through Mazatlan. So we took the boys for a short tram ride and walked them through the flea market. We got them some handmade wood trucks and snakes. We were going to walk through part of the city, but the boys had other plans. So we went back on the tram and back to the boat. The boys absolutely loved the tram. Figures, kids only really need the simple things in life.

Friday had us in Cabo San Lucas. We took a fabulous tour by catamaran of the famous arches. Talk about beautiful! Then we got into a bus and spent 2 very relaxing hours at a great beach club and had lunch served right there on the lounge chairs. After that, it was off to a very nice mall for an hour of shopping. I bought “nada”-remember, I am not a shopper.

It was easily our favorite port.

Our last night was fun-while our daughter was out getting her share of ecoli, Robin and I took the boys to the center of the ship where there was a huge screen. We got them hot dogs and fries with a pear from the grill and sat under a now covered dome of glass (the weather that day was cold and really nasty) and we watched both “G-force” (the live animation film) and the windows being washed. Guess which the boys thought were the most fun?

I was really “good”-although I usually am. I used the jogging trail or the treadmill all week, didn’t miss a single day. Used the stairs, more often than not and stuck to the spa menu. My biggest splurge? My nightly bowl of sorbet.

So yes, I had fun finally getting to know Robin after 11 years, had a great time with our daughter and a blast with my grandsons. Plus, I felt virtuous and svelte-especially when I came back and found that my jeans fit better than when I left!

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