The 2025 traveling season has begun! I started the season with my annual girl’s trip with my very special friends Patty and Lisa. Patty and I have known each other for over 47 years and I met Lisa just a few years later. We started our girl’s trips in 2000 since we lived in different parts of the US. This year we met in Cabo San Lucas. We first visited Cabo in 2006 where we attended a sales pitch for timeshares. As the tequila was flowing freely, I succumbed to the pressure and bought a timeshare. I thought it would be good to have it to trade for different locations for our annual trips. That didn’t really pan out and now Patty’s girls have the unit to enjoy. Her girls graciously offered it to us this year. It was fun to go back (and we have made a few trips in the intervening years).
When we arrived, we were informed our villa had a leak, so they put us up in a “comparable” suite for a few days. To make a long story short, we ended up being moved after 3 days to a better suite as ours was still not ready and we received their all-inclusive food & drink package for free for the entire week. Woohoo! Mimosas for breakfast, yummy pool drinks in the afternoon and great martinis for happy hour, not to mention quite tasty food. Score! A big thank you to Patty for being insistent that we be compensated for our inconvenience. We enjoyed pool time, beach time, dancing at Cabo Wabo, walking around town and more. Another great girl’s trip in the books.
Note: If you are viewing on your phone, if you click on the first picture you can scroll through them for better viewing.
After I was home from Cabo for only 3 days, Dave and I set off for Cape Canaveral to board the Celebrity Equinox for a 14-day transatlantic re-positioning cruise. Our long-time sailing friends from the east coast, Johan & Dee, joined us. The cruise itinerary included stops in Bermuda, the Azores, Cartagena, Palma de Mallorca, disembarking in Barcelona. In addition to those 4 ports, we had 9 sea days. If you think you might get bored with 9 sea days, not a chance. The cruise had at least 80 activities of all kinds each day or you could just chill.
We had a sail away party meeting new friends from the website Cruise Critic for those on our sailing, followed by our first scrumptious dinner, then to the theater for a show. Our second sea day we had a pub crawl with new friends.
My sea day mornings consisted of either a spinning (indoor cycling) class, yoga class, dance fit class and/or weight training followed by a quick soak in a jacuzzi. I couldn’t be late for the 11 am card game “trash” with our new friends.
Dave usually enjoyed an outdoor walk around the track and attended several morning seminars on various “scientific” topics with Johan & Dee.
Our sea day afternoons varied. Would it be attending one of the many trivia sessions, learn a ball room dance or attending rehearsals for an upcoming flash mob dance. Dee joined the guest choir. On our 10th cruise day, after dinner the choir, with over 90 passengers, sang 3 songs, led by one of the vocalists in their shows. They were amazing. After the choir finished, a surprise! Those of us rehearsing for the flash mob dance made our way down to the main floor and performed our routine. It was a blast! Watch it on YouTube here!
The four of us enjoyed dinners in the main dining room as well as trying a few of the specialty restaurants. After, we moved to the large theatre and watched the various entertainment each night. And, if I could stay awake, dancing fun later. 80’s dance party, Queen sing-along, classic rock tunes, and a Beatles night. With six time changes, I didn’t always make it to the 7 am morning stretch class.
The weather couldn’t have been better for our Atlantic crossing. We encountered mostly 6 ft seas which were barely noticeable while walking about the ship. So many people we met on the cruise had completed not one, but several transatlantic (TA) cruises. Now I know why. A great mixture of fun-filled (or relaxing) sea days and several great ports to explore. On the next blog, I will share a little bit on each of the ports. On a sad note, we did have a medical evacuation during the cruise. Luckily, we weren’t too far away from Portugal and their Coast Guard helicopter provided evacuation support (at 1 a.m.!)
Two of the couples we met on the cruise are from Northern California – one living only 20 minutes from my mom in San Jose (they live in Los Gatos). They are in the dancing pictures above. I casually mentioned that the six of us should go on a cruise and the next thing you know, we are booked on a cruise in September 2026 with one of the couples. Yes, you read that right, 2026. You must book these cruises way in advance. Unfortunately, the second couple already has a cruise booked at the same time. Dave has always wanted to visit Malta, where his mother is from, so we chose a cruise that includes Malta.
The 14 days went by too fast. Keep an eye out for the next blog, with a short write-up and pictures of the ports we explored.
And, Murphy has been busy dictating a blog of his own, sharing what he did while we were gone. Coming soon to your inbox!____________
Excited to be traveling again Brenda, on the road again Dave
Awesome write up! ♥️
Wow. You two are really enjoying life the right way. Keep going don’t stop and make sure