Ensenada and Catalina

We two day excursions off the boat.  Catalina Island was the first and it was really the only beach time we had.  It was enough time that I still have sand in our swim bag!

We rented a little golf cart (did you know the only cars on the island are golf carts?!) and we drove a loop around the island.
We also god a couple of paddle boards and just played in the water. And we got fingernail polish that changes color in the sun. Very fun.

Our second day trip was to Ensenada.  We met up with a guide on a bus that gave us a screaming deal on some fun activities.  For $52 each we went to a zip-pline park with five different amazing LOOONG zip lines. In-between each zip line there were unique bridges.  One had narrow skateboard size planks to walk over a ravine.  Another had a barrel and then planks to cross.  I thought they were scary and hard.  I skipped a couple of them in favor of the ground route. The kids loved the bridges but some of them were HARD.  Jackson cried when he he couldn't go on one of the bridges because he was too short to clip in to the safety lines.  He inherited his big brothers' lack of fear of heights.

He rode with one of his brothers or dad on each of the zip lines.  Two were over 1000 feet long.

The guides that clipped us in were cute.  They looked like eagle scouts to us.  They could scamper across the bridges and zip lines like squirrels!

 They taped our flip flops to our feet with duct tape.  Our guide called them Mexican nikes.  HA!

After the zip lines we went to La Buffadora with is basically just a big blow hole at the seashore.  The best part of that was the tacos.

There is just no way to describe these super fresh handmade tacos with meat cooked over a wood fire grill.  And fish and shrimp battered and fried.  And they cost like $3.  My mouth is still watering.

Right next to the taco stand a really fun outdoor market.  We were at the end of the day so we got some awesome things super cheap.  Dallin and Landon both got knives.  I wonder if knives will ever loose their appeal? I doubt it...

If we had gotten off the boat a little earlier we would have had time to go horseback riding on the beach as well for another $20 each.  If we had purchased those activities from the cruise line we would have paid over $250 per person.  I think the guide is Ensenada Hector on Facebook and instagram if we ever go again we will definitely look him up.

Overall I think the best part of the trip was the lack of stress.  We didn't have to make decisions about what to do or where to go to eat or which activities would appeal to which kids. If I go again I would love to go somewhere that has snorkeling or scuba diving.  Scuba diving is definitely on my bucket list! But time with all of us together is definitely the best vacation of all.