Catalina Island

We woke up and looked out the window to see Catalina Island.  That is one of the fun things about cruising -- you wake up and look our your window to find yourself in a whole new place!  The kids went to breakfast in their pajamas and then everyone changed into swimming suits for the beach.

When we first checked in for the cruise, each one of us were given a boarding pass with our information on it and these cards were also the keys to our rooms.  We were wishing that we had brought lanyards so that the kids could just wear their cards around their necks instead of fishing them out of out mom and dad's wallets all of the time.  Every time we got on and off the ship we had to scan in our cards and Rick, Janika, and Jase, and I also had to show a picture ID each time.  We all had to walk through metal detectors and put our bags through scanners like you do on an airplane -- a bit of a hassle, but necessary for safety purposes.

We boarded a little ferry that brought us to the island.  Rick and Janika walked around the shops and the rest of the kids played on the beach.  It was just a small beach area, but big enough for our kids to run around and make lots of sand creations.  They enjoyed playing and I enjoyed watching them and taking pictures and videos.  They would have played longer but Rick wanted to go back to the ship.  I didn't want to be left alone with all of the kids on the island and so we all went back together and ate lunch.

Then the kids swam and Janika and Rick laid out.  The pool was open but there was not any shallow area or steps or anything where kids could play.  It was all 4-5 feet deep.  Jenna wanted to swim and I realized that I didn't even think to bring her life jacket.  I was kicking myself!  So she couldn't swim unless one of us was in there with her because it was over her head and she doesn't really know how to swim yet -- at least not very well.  I didn't want to go in because the water was really cold!  I finally got in with her for a little while.  She also swam around in the little hot tub and went on the water-slide.  Then I brought her to camp carnival.  They played games and did face painting.  She loved it!