a birthday cruise to Ensenada, MX

The first of Matt's birthdays that we spent together was year number 23.  I was desperately trying to find something memorable to gift him for the occasion and somehow landed on a mini-cruise to Baja California.  Soon after his actual birthday, we flew standby to Long Beach, CA and boarded the Carnival Paradise headed towards Mexico.

The September air already had the chill of Fall as we cruised along the California coastline.  The main pools on the ship were closed for the season, but we participated in all other quintessential Carnival activities, including the life boat drills, bingo, the fancy Captain's Dinner, and show girl performances.  We saw comedy shows, had drinks at each of the themed bars, and ate from the all-night pizza buffet.  Each day Matt and I were excited to head back to our stateroom to see the fun towel animals the staff created each day.  With two days at sea, we had plenty of time to take advantage of all the ship had to offer.

Since this was a quick 3 day cruise, we spent just one day off the vessel, in the seaside town of Ensenada, Mexico.  It was a touristy port city with seafood markets, incredible fish tacos, and friendly people.  We walked around the city, enjoyed lunch, and did a little souvenir shopping.  The excursion we chose was to visit the beautiful vineyards of Casa Pedro Domecq.  We traveled through the Guadeloupe Valley, which is where 90% of Mexico's wine is produced, to tour the facility and learn about how the wine is created.

The vineyard was covered in gorgeous flowers and we enjoyed our tour, the tasting, and the scenery so much, that we bought numerous bottles of wine and olive oil.   Matt and I rarely check bags on the airplane, but after this trip, we stuffed the most stain inducing liquids imaginable (red wine and greasy oil) into our suitcases!  It was totally worth it since they were delicious reminders of our trip together.  Every time we cracked open a bottle, we rehashed our favorite quotes from the trip and laughed until tears ran down our cheeks.  Happy 23rd Birthday Matt!

September 2006.