U2 Joshua Tree Tour - Rose Bowl

On a last minute whim I decided to fly out to see Michelle and U2 in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl. We had talked about the concert months ago, but didn't really pay much attention to it until the date got closer.  I had thought about going the week of the show, but then decided not to go because I was really busy at work.  Then, a coworker that sits a couple of desks over reminded me that she was flying out to see the concert with a friend.  After talking about it and looking at some old pictures, I decided to pull the trigger and book the flights.



This was probably going to be the last time I would see U2 and it was a good opportunity to see Michelle as well.  I had never been to the Rose Bowl either. And...I had a free taxi service and place to stay (i.e. Michelle).



We ended up walking over 10 miles on Saturday around Pasadena. We walked to lunch and then ran an errand or two before heading over to the shuttle pick up area. The line was hugely long, so we decided to keep on walking another 30 minutes or so to the stadium.



The show was good. It was cool to hear all of my favorite songs from the Joshua Tree album plus a few other well known songs from their long and impressive career.



The opening act was The Lumineers. One of the highlights of the show was the massive video screen behind the stage. It played full screen videos that were related to the song U2 was playing, or it split the screen doing that plus showing a closer view of the band. This was welcomed as it was hard to see much of the stage from where we were sitting.

I was pretty beat the entire time after working a very busy week, flying in, and not getting to sleep until after 1:30 a.m. Colorado time both nights. Although I'm not yet 40 years old, I definitely felt that. I'm sure much of the crowd felt the same way the next day, seeing as most of them were also my age or older and probably had to wake up early the next morning to "adult".

Snort Aleck

I took this video in my truck last weekend. Jonathan was dancing to the music, but then got embarrassed when I flipped the camera around so he could see himself on video. Turn the volume up - we captured one of Jonathan's characteristic snorts on video. The kids have probably watched this 50 times now, laughing hysterically each time.

Funny Kids

Kids say and do some funny things...

Julia

While she was staying with my parents, Grandpa decided to go for a short jog. Grandma and Julia stayed outside to watch for his return. After a few minutes out of sight, Julia turned to Grandma and gave her the following advice: "look for a man with holes in his shirt and not much hair".

Jonathan

We have a plastic play microphone. Everyone once in awhile, when music is on, I pull it out of the toy box and sing along. Usually I'm fairly loud and make "silly" expressions with my face and overact just to get a reaction from the kids. My antics are usually met with a "Daaad!" from Julia. The last time I did this Jonathan came over to me, ripped the microphone out of my hand, threw it across the room and yelled, "all done!". 

Sanctus Real - The Redeemer

Sometimes I just wanna start over - Cuz everything looks like a wreck - And I need the courage to carry on - Cuz I can’t see what’s ahead

And there are places I’ve wished I could be - Battles I’ve wanted to win - Dreams that have slipped through my hands - I may never get back again

But I’m still a dreamer - A believer - Oh, I lost my faith in so many things - But I still believe in You - Cuz You can make anything new

Sometimes I just wish we could say - All the things that are easy to hear - Ignore the injustice we see - And explain every unanswered prayer - But I’d rather speak honestly - And wear a tattered heart on my sleeve - Cuz in the middle of my broken dreams - Redemption is here

And I’m still a dreamer - A believer - Oh, I lost my faith in so many things - But I still believe in You - Cuz You are the answer - The Redeemer - Oh, I’ve given up on too many things - But I’m not giving up on You - Cuz You can make anything new

I don’t have every answer in life - But I’m trusting You one day at a time - Cuz You can make a weak heart stay alive forever - And this is where heaven and earth collide - I lift my hands, I give my life - This is how my weary heart stays alive

Oh, I’m still a dreamer - Still a believer - And You are the answer - The Redeemer - Cuz You can make anything new - Yeah, You can make anything new

We So Excited

Today I pulled out Michelle's old karaoke machine from storage. I figured Julia was old enough to play with it now that she knows a few songs on our iPod. This video is her first attempt at singing with a "live" microphone.

You can tell that she doesn't quite know what to think about it. I was trying to help her by singing and dancing in the background, but she pretty much just stared at me. Towards the end of the song she finally got the hang of it and asked me to stop singing. I must have been flat.

Although she doesn't move much, her reaction to the microphone and the sound of her voice on the high notes is pretty darn cute. I think Rebecca Black is going have some competition...

Happy 2nd Birthday Jules!

We celebrated Julia's second birthday on Sunday with both sets of parents. Julia was super-cute and had so much fun opening her presents. The big gifts were a new kitchen set, a new drawing table, a shiny new bike, a cute Starbucksesque shirt, and an outfit. It was a lot of fun to watch her having fun. She's so cute, funny and smart it's ridiculous. I can't believe it's already been two years!

Music by Bing Crosby (You Are My Sunshine)

Norah Jones - The Fall

I just happened to check iTunes today...the day it was released. I'm not a big music buff, but I have enjoyed her first 3 albums. I kept 33 songs from her first 3 albums...so do the math.

I decided to download her 4th album tonight (listening to it now) even though I didn't know much about it. I did hear that it's a different style from the past 3 albums - something that always worries me.

I'm sure that I'll find a few tracks that I really like. For me, her songs usually grow on me...something that I think is an indicator of good music. That is, it's not an instant pop bubble gum song that's catchy at first but quickly loses its appeal (much like those bubble gum balls you get from the machine).

At the very least, it's music I can listen to while at work or after a long day. I don't need my music to add stress to my life! Noise - it's ALL noise! Hey you punk kids, GET OFF MY LAWN.

Happy Apple Farm

On Saturday we made our annual pilgrimage to Happy Apple Farm. We picked some apples, played in the pumpkin patch, collected rocks (Jules only), rode behind the tractor 3 times, collected more rocks (Jules only), and left with apples, apple cider, and roasted green chiles.

Julia helped herself to an apple and would have sat on the trailer behind the tractor all day if we would have let her.

Music by Michael Cera and Ellen Page (Anyone Else But You)

Colorado Balloon Classic

We hopped in the car at 6 a.m this morning and drove down to Memorial Park to see the Colorado Balloon Classic with our neighbors. Due to the weather, the balloons weren't able to lift off. However, we were able to watch all of them inflate. We stayed by the Stars and Stripes balloon for most of the time and were able to see the entire process required to inflate a balloon. It was pretty cool.

If it weren't for Julia we'd be headed down there tonight for the balloon glow with some friends from church. Instead, we're just joining them for dinner before they walk over to the park. So, here are some pictures from our morning out.

Music by Plain White Tees (1, 2, 3, 4)

Handies Peak Party

For the third weekend in a row we packed up the family and headed out of town. Although we're a little bit tired from playing hard most of July this was another good trip.

The occasion this time: Josh and Jason were finishing their last 14er (Handies Peak). At the last minute Stacey, Julia, and Quincey decided to join me. I had originally planned to do the bike thing this weekend after this hike (see two posts ago), but the company was more then a worthwhile trade. We camped the night before near a stream, and all things considered Julia and Quincey's first night in a tent went as well as could be expected.

Josh and Jason saved this relatively easy 14er for last so that the entire family could come (kids included) and so that they could have a little bit of fun. It was a perfect day and perfect opportunity for Stacey, Julia, and Quincey to bag their first peak. Stacey did great and hardly seemed to break a sweat. Julia slept for part of the trip up the mountain and had a good time at the lake after downing some peanut M&Ms. Although she was heavy to carry, she sung about her favorite topic (doggies) all the way down the mountain. It was like carrying a really big iPod. Quincey was a natural too - he just looked cool on the mountain. However, he isn't that young and is relatively out of shape so he started to drag at the end of the 5.5 mile climb. The hardest part for him were the stream crossings...I guess he didn't want to get his feet wet.

Getting back to the purpose of this hike, the summit party was awesome. Josh and Jason carried a grill, beer, tiki torches, a tuxedo, leis, and other fun stuff to the top. Josh cooked up a bunch of brats at the top (complete with condiments too) and everyone hung out at the summit like it was someone's backyard in the summer (but with a much better view). Everyone on the mountain that day knew about the summit party and many hung out longer then usual and took pictures of the festivities. On the way down Josh and Jason even took a quick dip in the snow-fed lake at 13,000 feet.

All in all, things went great. Julia and Quincey pretty much set records for sleeping the few days following the trip...but everyone made it up and down and back home with nothing but a little extra sunshine.

Congrats to Josh and Jason for completing all 54 14ers.

Music by Matt Nathanson (Come On Get Higher)

Crested Butte – Trail 401

Wow, what a fantastic experience! This weekend the family headed up to Crested Butte to hang out with some friends and mountain bike (ok, the mountain biking was just for Craig, Lanny, and me). I had never been to Crested Butte before but I’m so glad that I went.

Judging by the size of the town it was clear that skiing, hiking, biking, and photography are the only things that the keep the town alive. I get the distinct impression that this part of Colorado is somewhat of a little known secret. The town is very small and quiet yet it still boasts some of the most beautiful scenery this state has to offer. It’s essentially the same area/range as Aspen, but on the other side. So, it benefits in the beauty category but it’s not as crowded or developed. The ski mountain is small and there’s only one way in to Crested Butte, so all things considered I think it keeps a lot of the population elsewhere.

On to the mountain biking. If there’s one trail to ride in this state it’s 401! The views and wildflowers were mind blowing! Everyone we ran into agreed this weekend’s trail was the best trail they’ve ever been on…if not, in their top 3. We rode up the hill with a local from the area who had been on the trail countless times and he said all things considered (trail condition, flowers, greenness) it was the best he’d seen in a long time. You can ride up to the top all the way from the town or you can essentially drive to the very top of Schofield Pass and get dropped off for a fun ride down. We started our ride at the parking lot at about 9,700 feet and climbed all the way to the top at about 11,400 feet. At the top the trail heads down the mountainside and into the most beautiful valley you’ll find anywhere. From the top of the mountain it’s 4 miles of continuous descent. We rode all the way to the bottom of the trail and then rode all the way back to the house on Saturday. In total we covered 22 miles on mountain bikes in about 4 hours, which is a pretty good trip. Lanny has a GPS odometer, heart rate monitor, etc that he can upload to Google Maps. Although it cut off the beginning of our trip, it’s really fun to view the elevation, speed, distance, and his heart rate.

I’ll let the photos speak for themselves. The other highlights of our trip was the Tercel averaging 41.67 mpg and our Salida gas station adventure. Long story short, the gas station was packed with cars waiting in line to get gas. As we were waiting a Jeep that was parked started to roll backwards into the line of cars. I saw it out of my periphery at first and initially wondered why he was backing out. I did a double take when I realized the “person” in the driver’s seat was really a black lab. I had to jump out of our car, run over to the rolling Jeep and jump into it and slam on the brakes. Luckily, the owner had left the door unlocked. She also had left the keys in the car so I was able to pull it back into the parking spot. I got a round of congratulations and thanks from some of the other waiting drivers and I also made sure the woman driving knew what had happened when she returned to her vehicle.

Not a bad weekend! Seriously, you need to check out all of these gorgeous photographs.

Music by Sigur Ros (Untitled 4)

Mt Democrat

On Sunday morning I climbed another 14er, Mount Democrat, with Josh Friesema. I set my alarm for 3 a.m., picked up Josh in Woodland Park at 4, and we were at the trail head and hiking by 6. It only took a few steps for my body to remind me that I had just finished hiking another 14er only about 18 hours ago. After eating and drinking something, I got a second wind and felt great the rest of the trip.

Thankfully, Josh navigated and broke trail on the way up. We stayed below the ridge to keep out of the wind and picked our way up the mountain through as shallow of snow as possible. It had snowed a few inches the night before, and in some places we were post-holing up to our waist. Most of the trip up was fairly solid footing though. Since the conditions were not as good as we had expected, we had to abandon the original plan of making all 4 summits of the 14er chain known as Decalibron (Democrat, Lincolon, Bross, and Cameron).

We met a few people on the mountain. Jason Cook followed us to the summit and provided some of the pictures you'll see below (the majority are from Josh though). Another group of 3 had spent the night in a tent a little ways up the mountain. All I can conclude was that they were practicing for something much bigger since they had gear and packs that looked like they were heading up Mt Everest. However, that theory has holes as does every other theory I can come up with.

Even though it was windy and the summit view was completely non-existent, I still had a great time. My truck once again glided over the snow drifts that stopped other vehicles. We were able to essentially drive to the summer trail head...and for that reason choosing the music to go with this slide show was a breeze.

Music by War (Low Rider)

Torreys - Tuning Fork Couloir

This morning I got up at 3 a.m. and met Mark at the Grays-Torreys parking lot off of I-70. We both had already climbed both Grays and Torreys, but only by the standard route. This time we took a different route; the northwest face also know as the tuning fork couloir. Little did we know that we were in for such an adventure.

Mark hopped in my truck at the parking lot and we headed up the road to the trail head. Since this peak (and Grays) are probably the most climbed 14ers in the state (they are right off of I-70 a little outside of Denver), the road has become impassible for passenger cars (washout, wear, etc). Since I drive the perfect truck for 4-wheeling, we made it over the standard problem spots with no problem.

A mile or two later we came upon a snow drift. At this point we were only in Jeep territory. Feeling confident from the recent large stream crossings, I gunned it and made it about halfway through the drift. Another reason for my confidence was that we had packed a snow shovel, obviously our ice axes, and a towing strap. We were stuck, and the dig out process began. Eventually a very similar Jeep (older, white, bigger tires) came up behind us and pulled us out. I backed up to build up speed and hit the snow drift again. We made good progress so we pulled my truck out again with the Jeep and tried a third time. The third time I made it through the drift. The Jeep tried to follow, but also got stuck, so I turned around and pulled him out.

Having my new buddy now behind me, I felt very confident on the road. We crossed two mud pits/pools of water that we probably shouldn't have. I guess water in the intake is a bad thing? Well, we had no problems but the water was probably up to the bottom of the door at the really bad spot. Luckily, on the way back we found another option, but because the snow had melted more since, the puddles/mud bogs were really sketchy. It was bad enough and we were close enough to getting stuck to make it a completely awesome 4WD trip since we didn't get stuck.

...and that was just the drive. The hike was great too. This couloir provides 3,000 vertical feet of continuous snow. I guy we met along the way said his understanding was 3,000 vertical but about a mile of distance on the face. Think a 3-4-5 triangle and pythagorean theorem. Because this is one of the biggest snow fields, it attracts a lot of skiers. Mark and I choose a conservative glissade as our way to get down the mountain. After the steep part near the summit, the glissade was awesome. There's nothing like sliding down a mile-long section of a mountain on your bum. I don't know if the skiers were taking their time or not (it actually was pretty technical/steep for skis in my opinion), but we definitely smoked them on the way down. The only problem with a glissade that long is your bum gets numb.

In the end it was a great adventure. This route up Torreys was much better then the standard summer route, and it's a lot more fun on the way down. Of course, my truck was star of the show otherwise (Mark gave my truck a lot of compliments) and I have the mud all over the body to prove it.

Music by CCR (Bad Moon Rising)

Ouray

The family headed down to Ouray for the weekend. We met up with Josh and his family at the KOA campground just a few miles outside the town. We had originally planned to spend 2 nights at the KOA, but we decided to leave early yesterday due to the weather. In short, it rained the entire time. There are plenty of things to do outside in Ouray, but a limited amount of things for an 18-month old to do in a small cabin.

On a good day it takes about 5 hours to drive there from southwestern Colorado Springs. However, on the way out there it took us about 7 hours due to an accident at the base of Monarch pass and stopping for lunch. Heading back we made it door to door in 5.5 hours.

The area was very pretty, even if we did see most of it from inside the car. For those of you who are interested, I recommend taking 5 minutes and reading about the town, its history, and the outdoor activities on wikipedia.

Even though we didn't do much it was still nice to get away. Julia loved running around outside at the camp when it wasn't raining. We also got some great pictures of her playing around too.

Music by Enya (Oriel Window)

Mount Shavano

This weekend Josh, Mark Rockefeller, Chris and Lara (newlyweds/SAR in training), and I headed out for an overnight trip up Mt. Shavano and Tabeguache Peak. I left Colorado Springs at about 9 a.m. on Saturday and met up with everyone except Mark who was coming from Denver in Woodland Park. We met up with Mark at the Gunsmoke gas station in Johnson’s Village, only shortly behind schedule due to Mark getting pulled over by a state patrolman a few miles outside town. Luckily, he was only cited for a bald rear tire!

The road to the trailhead was covered with snow, so we were only able to make it to the first creek crossing and had to park our vehicles there. Unfortunately, that stopped us almost 3 miles from the summer trailhead. The walk up the road was easy and we didn’t need our snowshoes until we actually reached the trailhead 3 miles into our journey. We snowshoed until dark, in some places breaking trail. After a very salty dinner, Mark and Josh and I snuggled up in the 3-man tent while Chris and Lara did the same in their 2-man.

That night our tent was directly on snow, so I was able to test out my new sleeping pad and bag. A few days earlier I had purchased a 0 degree synthetic North Face mummy bag and a Big Agnes inflatable sleeping pad. Both worked great and I never woke up cold. If anything I was hot sleeping between Mark and Josh. I did wake up a few times during the night due to the wind. Luckily, we had picked the perfect camping spot below tree line to be out of the wind. When I awoke, I pulled out my iPhone to check the forecast for the day since it was supposed to be fairly windy. Unfortunately, the forecast hadn’t changed and still called for wind…which seemed to be fairly accurate since it was constantly whipping through the trees above our heads!

Josh, Mark, and I decided to head up to the bottom of the angel at 11,800 feet, just in case. My hope was that the weather might change or that we might be sheltered that close to the mountain. As you’ll see from our pictures, that didn’t really pan out. The highest reading Josh got was about 42 mph. On the way home I looked at the current forecast and it said gusts up to 65 mph. Needless to say, when the wind gets that hard the fun factor blows away with it. So, we made the decision to call it a day and try again some other time. Before we left, we did some self-arresting with our ice-aces but also played around on some of the hills as you will see in coming video posts.

At the end of the trip Josh guessed we had covered 11 miles and my guess was 10. After loading the route from the GPS into the computer it showed a round trip of 10.51 miles! Technically he won unless we were playing by The Price is Right rules…which then means I won. At any rate, it was a good trip. We had a good time and it was great to catch up with Mark along the way.

Music by OK Go (Here It Goes Again)

iToonage

I spent last night sampling/downloading music while Stacey was at Bible study. That’s right…although I had the BCS National Championship game on the television I probably spent 2-3 hours solely “surfing” iTunes. iTunes (ok, digital music) is pretty amazing when you think about the entire process/package and how it all works. Alas, I disgress.

Remember back in the day when you heard someone say they like all kinds of music? At first, I thought this was just a teenager-like way of being non-committal and trying to please everyone. Well, maybe I’m still in high school on the music front. After I finished downloading the next round of songs I’ll be listening to over the next few months I realized that my music tastes vary greatly.

I’ve heard that revealing what’s playing on your iPod is supposed to be very personal (i.e. it probably makes people feel vulnerable). It’s probably true…but I’m probably more willing to be embarrassed for the sake of self-realization. I’m not sure what these songs say about me (other than I like variety), so I tried to group them and figured we could decide for ourselves.

Britney – Bebo Norman (Christian pop with a message, 102.7 material)
Whatever You’re Doing – Sanctus Real (Christian, but the cool kind)
Love is Here – Over and Underneath (Christian alternative)
By Your Side – Over and Underneath (Christian alternative)
Forever – Chris Brown (r&b dance mix)
Shake It – Metro Station (alternative dance mix, with a hint of 80s)
Everything – Michael Buble (adult pop vocal, 106.3 and VH1 material)
Love Story – Taylor Swift (teen country-pop crossover love song)
White Horse – Taylor Swift (country ballad)
Fall For You – Secondhand Serenade (alternative)
You Found Me – The Fray (alternative/pop)
Gives You Hell – All American Rejects (alternative)

Right, it’s much clearer now…I guess I like alternative music with some soul and an edge and that has a touch of teenie-bopper sappiness with a funky dance beat and Christian lyrics. Oh snap!!! All hail DC Talk!!! I’m going to cry now.

5th Anniversary

Today is Stacey's and my 5th Anniversary! I can't believe it's been 5 years.

I love you Stacey and I can't imagine being with anyone else. You are a wonderful woman and a great wife and mother. Here's to 50 more years!

Music by Lauryn Hill (Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You)

Mazatlan

The next morning (after Puerto Vallarta) we arrived in Mazatlan. The sun was just coming up as we pulled into port, so we witnessed a great sunrise from the ship. The clouds were thin enough yet covered the whole sky so that they turned the entire horizon red when the sun came up.

We all hopped in a taxi and went down to Old Mazatlan. We weren't that interested in spending the day in the newer, touristy area called the "Golden Zone"...because we weren't that interested in shopping for souvenirs. We were dropped off in the center of town, right next to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Cathedral apparently is the world's only Roman Catholic Church with the Star of David displayed in each of its 28 stained-glass windows. During the course of construction, money was getting low. Jews from Germany donated a large amount of money to help. In honor of this group, the church placed 28 Stars of David over the windows of the church, to represent 28 days in the Jewish month. Construction begun in 1856 but due to Mexico's turbulent times, it took until 1899 to finish.

We then walked a few blocks to the main market in town. This market was celebrating its 109 year anniversary (if I remember correctly). We got Julia a little dress there. The market had everything you could imagine...it was essentially like a giant Wal-Mart. The most interesting section was the butcher shops - which I'm sure will get your attention when viewing the slide show.

We had lunch at a resturant a few blocks away, and then Stacey and I took an open-air taxi back to the ship. The open-air taxis there are essentially suped-up golf carts, so it was a great way to see the city on our way back. We took the scenic route back, so we got to see some great views of the city and the waterfront. We never made it over to where the resorts are located, but we could tell from the blue water and black rock in the ocean that it was probably a pretty place. It reminded us a little bit of Maui.

Music by David Mead (Elodie)

Puerto Vallarta

The first stop we made was in Puerto Vallarta. We took a taxi from the ship to the downtown area and walked around for a few hours. There were some great sand sculptures and views of the beach. We spent some time walking in and around the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, as well as some of the side streets in downtown. Stacey and I walked up the surrounding hill to get an overview of the town, which provided us with some good views.

The highlight for me of our stop in Puerto Vallarta was eating at the Si Senor restaurant. The food was excellent. I ordered a chili relleno in addition to the chips and 3 kinds of salsa provided as an appetizer. The owner spoke flawless english, but the food was authentic mexican. The rest of the family took a taxi back to the ship while Stacey and I decided to walk back on the beach. The walk back on the beach took a little over an hour. We were asked to buy many things by locals on the beach, including some weed. I wasn’t in the mood that day to get high (besides, the ship was still a ways away and I didn’t have any munchies), so we continued on. Our walk back was nice and good exercise.

After the trip ended, I decided that Puerto Vallarta was probably my least favorite of the three stops. I’m sure that we didn’t see the nicest areas, but as a whole I think Mazatlan and Cabo were prettier places. As the day was ending, we had a perfect view of the amazing sunset from our balcony aboard the ship. We watched the giant sun set, and got some great pictures of it.

Music by The Beach Boys (Do You Wanna Dance)

Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

We’re back from Mexico! As far as traveling is concerned, everything went smoothly. In the span of a few hours our modes of transportation included a ship, a van, an airplane, a bus, and a car. Oh, and if you count the tram at DIA you can throw in a train too. Thankfully, our flight landed at DIA only a few hours before another aircraft decided to take the scenic route and light itself on fire.

Our trip had an eventful beginning. Right after we made our way through security at DIA, two people came running up the escalators, screaming at the security guard to shut it off. At first we thought someone had gotten stuck, but then thoughts quickly turned to the idea that someone had pulled a gun or weapon. After a few moments we went down the escalators to find a larger man collapsed at the foot of the escalators. He was breathing, but it appeared as if he had a heart attack. However, he was breathing and the paramedics were on their way…so we assume he made it to the hospital. Nevertheless, it was an unsettling start (it probably was around 6:30 a.m.) to our trip.

We made it to the port in L.A. right as the ship opened for boarding. The port in L.A. is huge. We received our “cards”, which act as your room key, a form of i.d. on and off the ship, as well as your “charge card” while on board. No cash or credit cards were used on the ship. Instead, these cards were used to pay for items and were linked to your room/personal credit card. That first afternoon/night we just got settled, ate some food, and walked all over the ship to get familiar with where everything was located.

We essentially spent the first two days and the final two days “at sea”, with the three days in between docked in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo. So, I’ll talk and post some pictures of those places in the next few days. For now, I’ll just talk about the ship and being at sea. As far as the ship itself goes, it really is an amazing accomplishment. It’s massive, and has everything from two swimming pools, a huge theater, a movie theater, an internet café, countless restaurants and bars, shopping, a full spa, a full gym, a running track, and cabins (a hotel) inside it. It’s like a floating city. Our ship was the Sapphire Princess and was built in Japan, although according to the staff most are built in Italy (surprisingly). As you’ve probably heard, food is available 24/7. The buffet is always open, but we also had many formal or sit down dinners and were able to try many unique foods. I tried frog legs, lamb, and so many other unique things I can’t remember. There is so much food, and because it’s all inclusive, you eat it just because it’s “free”! The dinner wait-staff that we were assigned to for the whole week were fantabulous. Ana (from Romania) and Bilyana (from Macedonia) were the finest I’ve ever been served by. They did a great job especially considering they had a few other tables too. However, I was stuffed every day by the time dinner came. The cooking staff on the ship estimates that they serve approximately 10,000 meals A DAY to staff and guests. It’s ridiculously ridiculous.

Here are some of the stats from the ship's kitchen:

Dry food storage area - 16,000 sq. feet
Walk in fridge capacity - 18,000 sq. feet
Butcher and fish shop preparation - 7,000 sq. feet

Average amounts of:

Meats cooked daily - poultry 1,800 lbs; beef 2,100 lbs; pork 1,000 lbs
Salads served daily - 1,600 lbs
Mayo used daily - 28 gallons
Vegetables cooked daily - 2,500 lbs
Flour used in pastry cooking daily - 1,700 lbs
Assorted pastries prepared daily - 6,000
Ice cream prepared (made) daily - 90 gallons
Butter used daily - 500 lbs
Fresh fruit served daily - 7,000 lbs
Coffee consumed daily - 470 gallons
Dishes washed daily - 70,000

Other highlights on the ship included playing bingo, getting to see dolphins swim (and jump/flip) next to the boat, and did I mention all the great (and “free”) food? Stacey and I also got a massage at the spa and we were able to work out on new fitness equipment. It was relaxing in some senses – like, we got away – but not in others. Julia slept next to our bed and was up a lot. Even if she didn’t wake up during the night, Julia made sure she was up by around 5 a.m. every morning. Additionally, one person usually had to miss out on dinner one night since she needed to go to bed at the same time dinner was served. We tried bringing her a few times, but it really wasn’t any fun for Stacey (or whoever was trying to keep her entertained) at dinner.

All in all getting to see the ship was a good experience. As you can tell from some of the below pictures taken on/from the ship, it’s really amazing when you think about it.

Music by The Beach Boys (Fun Fun Fun)