Final 2009 Summer Vacation Escape

Someone once said: "Vacations are a little like love- anticipated with relish, experienced with inconvenience and remembered with nostalgia" Without a doubt the fastest ten weeks of the year seem to be the ones when we are on summer break! We are overjoyed that the Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to have a wonderful summer this year. The memories will be cherished for many years to come. As a final little vacation farewell trip, we decided to drive to nearby Santa Barbara and escape the San Fernando Valley heat (and unhealthful air, due to the recent fires).

The weather was excellent! We could not hope for better climate than what we had. Although it was a holiday weekend we did not experience the huge crowds that we had anticipated. We concluded a wonderful summer break bursting with heartwarming memories. We had a fantastic day in one of our favorite places away from home. Until the next one...

More to come

During this summer we have been to a few places and have not had the opportunity and time to blog, we have also posted a few times unsuccessfully, including on our most recent trip to San Francisco. Next week between Aug. 17 and 21 we hope to catch up with our blog.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Our final day of our mini S.F. vacation came so quickly! We decided that we wanted to stretch our vacation as much as possible, so as we were headed home on Wednesday Aug. 12. We made that final stop the Monterey Bay Aquarium, in Monterey CA. A detour well worth the our time. We had anticipated spending a couple of hours there, but it turned out to be an amazing aquarium with the largest tank we had ever seen (about the size of a movie theatre screen) with a myriad of fish, sharks and other sea creatures. Alec absolutely loved it, and we were just as impressed! This aquarium provides children (and adults) the opportunity to interact, learn and remain engaged in the preservation of sea life on our planet. We certainly recommend visiting this aquarium, specially with children.

Happiest Day!

Today was one of the happiest days in Alecs' life! What constitutes the happiest day for a 9 year old boy? Visiting Ghirardelli square and having a heavenly "Mint Bliss" as well as hanging out perilously out of a cable car down the steep, STEEP streets in S.F. We could not believe this kid was not afraid of ridding on the step of a cable car, but would not go up the Eiffel tower (which is so much safer!) He says it's the altitude! Go figure. Seeing him happy makes us very happy as well. Guess we all had a "happy day"!

Pursuit of Happyness

It seems it takes a few visits to really appreciate a place. This time on our visit to San Francisco we kept seeing new things and finding the place where they shot the movie Pursuit of Happyness. Without a doubt the media has tremendous influence on us because every time we saw a cable car the Rice a Roni jingle would also come to mind, even though it hasn't been on for probably over seven years.

During the day we got a chance to go to Fisherman's Wharf (pier 39), Lombard Street, Chinatown, Alamo Street (where the row of Victorian Houses is), and the foggy Golden Gate Bridge (very Leyva like to have rain and fog). We had planned on taking pictures of the city at night but we could see nothing across from Sausalito, hence no pictures! Hopefully on our next entry we will be able to share some of the bridge

Atlantic vs Pacific

Our family took a vote and the Pacific won 3 to 0. Not long ago we had the opportunity to travel up the Atlantic Ocean Coast from Miami to Key West Florida. On Sunday August 9 th, we had the opportunity to travel the Pacific Coast, from Los Angeles to San Francisco (San Mateo area). As we traveled we were impressed with the beauty of the unspoiled view of nature at it's best. Although California is our home state and we had already traveled up the coast before, we felt as though we were tourists in our own home. After traveling earlier this month to Florida and experiencing that coast, we have decided with a vote that our own state is much more impressive in beauty. Sorry Florida, our state has much more to offer!

Go Dodgers

We continued celebrating Alec's birthday on Monday July 20th with a late lunch at Bucca's and then a trip to see the Dodger game against the Reds. Although we had celebrated with family all weekend we took Alec to the game on Monday because it is his actual Birth Day. It was great to see the game at the stadium and of course to see the Dodgers win was even better.

This round is over.

Our last day of vacation finally came to an end today in Ft. Lauderdale Florida. We are sad that it ended so rapidly but glad to be going home away from the humidity. Our California 80 is not the same as the Florida 80 degrees F. Just like the windchill factor makes a difference in the winter, so is the summer and the humidity that we certainly don't have in California.
We flew with a lay over in Denver Colorado, since our Florida flight was delayed we arrived into Denver with 5 minutes to spare before our next plane took off! Pretty good exercise, as we raced past many gates to reach the plane that would be taking us home. I guess we got our cardio workout.
Since the 3 of us will remain on vacation from our regular responsibilities for another few weeks, we will be periodically taking small weekend or day trips. Although our postings will be less regular we will still continue to post those small trips on this blog. Until the next time, have a wonderful, warm but not humid summer!

Way Down South

Since we were not able to see much on Sunday because of Alec's bout or bug or whatever he had. We were able to turn in early and get up before any establishments opened. We noticed that nothing opened before nine and most people were not on the street until about 11:00 a.m. We suspect it has to do with the intense heat. It's so much nicer to go out and shop and sight see when the blazing sun is not beating on you.

Because Alec was still not feeling his best we hardly had time to see anything, so we chose our destinations wisely and made a run for it before he threw up again. It's difficult to walk or shop with a sick child that you can't carry or put on a stroller, so our opportunity to see Key West was extremely limited. What little we saw reminded us a bit of Santa Barbara In California...but nicer there. Then again we are biased. Regardless we are grateful we had the opportunity to visit and expand our memory bank with one more spot this year.

Lost Keys

It's true that travel broadens a person, it makes you realize how deprived you are in your immediate setting, or it allows you to appreciate the gems you have not realized are scattered all over within reach. Since the first time we visited Florida we had considered making the journey from Miami to the furthermost Key. Because of time we were not able to make the drive the last time we were in Florida in 2002 so this time we were looking forward to the drive and the experience of becoming acquainted with the furthermost part in the United States and all the other Keys along the way.

Because we are spoiled Californians and have traveled up Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, we felt this drive down the Keys was not up to our expectations. Furthermore, as we arrived to Key West, Alec started throwing up (delayed reaction to sea sickness?) and it didn't stop until we left Key West. On Sunday when we arrived we (the adults) ate and then had to head straight to the Hotel, which by the way was a really nice place. Crowne Plaza, La Concha. A very quaint, centrally located, clean hotel in Key West. Alec just wanted to sleep and rest, so we drove 200 miles to go sleep and rest and become a little to acquainted with the inside of our room in the hotel.. Since all we did was drive and eat at Hard Rock Cafe. There are very few pictures to share today.

From Sea To Shining Sea

Today we celebrated our Independence Day by disembarking our five day cruise early in the morning. We hardly had time to enjoy the ship one last time. We had breakfast and then we were ready for Miami once again. Fortunately for us this time it was not raining or overcast. For lunch we decided to visit our favorite restaurant in Miami (and the only one we have ever visited when in town) Bongos. It is a Cuban food restaurant owned by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. We had the traditional moros, yucca and all the other great food that Cubans know how to elaborate. Although quiet in the daytime, we could tell that the place comes alive at night. We of course did not care since we were there for the food. We also took a tour of the famous "calle ocho" which is where all the Cuban and Latin American merchants are.

We concluded our day by walking just a few short blocks from our downtown hotel to Bayfront Park, downtown Miami. One of our favorite things to do is to watch the 4th of July fireworks over a body of water, which we got to do! The weather was Perfect! The View was awesome! Everything, until...a young Spanish speaking male came and started narrating it all for us. That in it by itself would not have been a problem, however, most of what he would say was "boom, boom, boom! to which we naturally felt like responding: "OK we heard, we don't need your eloquent narration! I guess Perfection was too good to last, and I must be reminded that we are "The Home of the FREE!"

Nassau, Bahamas

We could hardly believe that Nassau would be our last stop in our itinerary. We had been looking forward to this stop since we scheduled our cruise because we had heard so much about the Atlantis Resort and the island itself having so much to explore. Unfortunately for us this was 4th of July weekend and the Atlantis was booked to capacity. All the excursions and day activities were booked from almost before the cruise set sail. Consequently we decided to acquaint ourselves with the island and follow our own excursion! It was so fascinating to observe the local Bahamanians (as they like to be called, according to our cab driver "Eslie aka: "Bobo, which means royalty, in his country, according to him) in preparation for their 36th year of independence. They seem to be pretty patriotic, as are Americans. We took a cab to the local "Cabbage Beach" just for a quick stop so we could gather our souvenir for our sand collection (now we can say we own a bit of Bahamas :-).

After a few hours of stay we had to return to our ship because we had signed up to participate in a "Walk on deck for the cure" one mile walk to raise funds for the Susan G. Komen foundation. There were over 3000 passengers aboard the ship so we figured that at least 50 would participate in such a noble cause. Much to our disappointment the Leyva's and the organizer were the only ones that participated! The activity director mentioned to us that it was likely that many "participants" donated but chose not to do the walk. Interestingly enough as we walked and walked our ten laps, we could smell the food and see the people on the lower decks binging (large plates with mounds of food). Ten laps went very fast, and we felt great for having contributed to finding a cure for breast cancer, a great cause and our own health.

Hello Half Moon Cay!

Up until Thursday July 2nd, there was only one place that we had ever been with sand and water as beautiful as the island of Half Moon Cay. We wrote earlier in this blog that Clearwater is just that. Clear-Water has beautiful white sand. Half Moon Cay however, kicked it up a notch. It was truly a paradise! The water is as clear as clear can be, and the sand is powdery and so amazing. The temperature of the water was also to die for (at least by our California standards). What an amazing tropical paradise. As we found out the island is privately owned by our cruise line so the only tourists were passengers from our cruise. Our stay there was all too brief. We loved it, and our pictures will show just a little taste of that experience.

Grand Turk

Sunrise today was at 6:06 a.m. but we didn't arrive to our first port until 7:00. After an entire day at sea yesterday, we kind of got a slight idea of what Christopher Columbus must of felt when he finally got a glimpse of dry land. It was such a welcomed sight to see the island of Grand Turk. The port is relatively new (built in 2006) but the island was destroyed significantly by hurricane Ike a few years ago. It was evident that the islands inhabitants rely on tourism to survive. Because of the intense heat and the humidity it's even difficult to imagine that anyone would chose to actually live there. The streets are pretty empty in the middle of the day, we imagine people don't walk around the street until after the sun has set. The weather must of been about 95 f. but the humidity made it feel so much more! After a very short visit to the town we decided to head to the beach to cool off before getting back on our cruise ship.

Much to our dismay we got sunburned despite the globs of sunblock.

Looking forward to Half Moon Cay tomorrow...

Getting Aquainted With Our "Destiny"

Tuesday June 30, was spent at sea on board the Destiny Cruise Ship. there were so many activities to do it was difficult to choose which to enjoy. We spent the morning looking around the ship and enjoying the sunny blue sky (much to our relief since it had been raining in Miami). In the afternoon we played a round of miniature golf on the top deck of the ship. Although a bit difficult because of the wind, we did have a pretty good view of the the ocean which kind of made up for our lousy score. For some reason, minutes, hours and days just seem to fly by while you are having fun. It seemed like just a brief moment since we were having breakfast and already it was lunch time. Since they had designated Tuesday night as "Elegant Night" we started getting ready for dinner in the early evening then headed to the event. The food was great and the fun of people watching was pretty entertaining as well. Our hope is that the days don't pass as rapidly as the first complete day did.

Hasta manana.

All Aboard!

The day that our Eastern Caribbean cruise is set to begin is finally here!

We spent the night at El Doral Resort in Miami. Huge compound, that seemed to take up several blocks, with many facilities. Unfortunately for us we had to do a quick check out so we were not able to appreciate the pools, and all the other amenities on the premises.

Our Cruise ship was scheduled to embark at 4:00 P.M. but we had to be on board no later than 2:30 P.M. We had no idea that the boarding process was so lengthy. Check-in was similar to the airport. Long lines, screening of personal items, identity check and re-check, proof of citizenship etc, etc etc.

Finally after a hosts of lines and checks we were able to walk on board straight to our cabin, but not for long because 30 minutes after we boarded there was a disaster drill. It wasn't until a little after 5:00 P.M. when we concluded the drill that we were all encouraged to wave Miami goodbye as the ship set sail. It would have been a wonderful sight had it not been cloudy and rainy. We were blessed with a pretty nice stateroom, with a balcony and the sound of the waves produced by actual waves, not a CD or a white noise maker.

The first evening is pretty much a time to settle in and get familiar with the ship, the services offered on board etc. So far it seems like this will be a relaxing, soothing,calm time for all of us.

Clear Sunday

On our second day in Clearwater Fl. we decided to start our day with a jog up a bridge close to our hotel. Little did we imagine the spectacular view we would have on that 2 mile stretch. Although most of the jog was at a pretty inclined path, it was the most exhilarating, amazing, relaxing session of exercise we have had. Many would say that jogging in 80 + degree weather with lots of humidity would not be the description of a relaxing vacation, but I think we both agreed that our jog was the warmest and the most humid we have ever experienced, however the view throughout the entire run was well worth it. Alec was not forced to jog, just to accompany me while we walked the bridge (we jogged separetly then Alec and I walked) so I could take pictures to share on our blog.

In the afternoon we started heading to Miami, to spend the night before boarding our cruise ship on Monday afternoon. Not much to share about our four and a half hour drive from Clearwater to Miami.

Lots more, likely tomorrow.

Seashells By the Seashore

Our Saturday started very different from all others. Our hotel is situated right next to a preservation park, so we decided to take an early morning (9;30 a.m.) job through the pathways of the luscious green meadows. Although we are used to exercising every day, the humidity is extremely taxing (plus the jet lag!).
After our drenched experience we decided to sit out at the beach and rest (that's what the Sabbath is for right?). Alec said he never knew Saturday could be so relaxing (compared to driving on the 405 freeway at any time of the day on any given Saturday). The waves are so soothing to listen to. Oh, and the water in Clearwater beach is soooooo warm and clear. Alec spent all day in the water. Awesome, fun and relaxing. I don't think any of us had ever been in the ocean while it rained. We really enjoyed our day, to say the least!
We had heard that the sunsets at pier 60 were excellent to watch, so we took a little walk close to 8:30 p.m. when the sun sets here in this part of Florida, and sure enough the sunset was SPECTACULAR! Except for a few clouds that are standard in this part of the world.
We will post pictures when we have a little more time.
We are headed to Miami on Sunday afternoon, where we will spend the night before boarding the ship for our cruise. Hopefully we will have a little time to log on and up load the most recent pictures we have of our vacation.
Until the next time....

Hello Clearwater!

After much anticipation and a 5 hour red eye flight we are finally at our destination. There is a reason they call the midnight flights "Red Eye" we all have matching red eyes from sleep deprivation and a long night sitting in the tiny airline seats.
We arrived at 6:00 A.M Eastern time (3:00 a.m.). Picked up our rental car and were off headed to Clearwater by 7:00 a.m. Pretty smooth process... Clearwater is about a 4 hour drive from Ft. Lauderdale, Julio drove and I slept most of the time!
Now to the wonderful weather in this area. For those of you that know us, you know what kind of weather we almost always have anywhere we go since March 1995. Yes! It has been raining with hurricane like wind all day! Let's hope we have less rain and more sun tomorrow.
It is now 7:41 P.M and with our little sleep last night we are pretty much falling asleep at the stoplights (there's traffic in certain spots of the city so the stop and go is prolonged).
We have complimentary Internet access at this hotel, so we will likely log on tomorrow to share pictures of our day.
Hasta manana.

Two more days!

As our departure date draws nearer we are more excited to have a few days of peace and relaxation. We can't wait until we can just sit relax and read our favorite book that has been waiting on our night stand for the past entire school year. We hope to finally get past the first few sentences, unlike the days when our sleep deprived bodies and heavy eyelids collapse after just a few words. The countdown to our departure has begun!

Eleven days!

We continue to anxiously await our departure date. we leave in 11 days to our cruise.

26 More Days!

In twenty six days we leave to what promises to be a very relaxing vacation. Today we are making the final arrangements for our stays in the various cities we will be staying at.

Thirty nine more days!

It sounds like a long time, but it's really only a little over a month.

Leyva Vacation 2009

We can hardly believe it has almost been a year since our last summer vacation. This years travel is not as far and impressive as in 2008, but we are hoping to have a wonderful time as well. This year we will be flying to Fort Laud. Florida late in the day on June 25th, arriving on the 26th. in the early morning. We will head to Clearwater FL and spend a few days there, on June 28 we head to Miami for a 5 day cruise. The itinerary to be announced in the future...Our last stop will be the Keys until the day we fly back on July 7th
43 more days until we leave!!!