Saturday, March 24, 2018

Hollywood Cars Museum, Las Vegas

The Hollywood Cars Museum,  Las Vegas.
Get the Groupon Deal!
The collection is fairly interesting,  but most of the cars are from movies and tv shows only those over 40 or 50 would recognize. 
The Groupon deal includes sodas and sunglasses. Full price, it isn't worth it, but the Groupon deal definitely makes it worth it. 
Part of the former Liberace museum has been moved here. Several cars, a few outfits,  and a few pieces is all they have. 

Saturday, March 3, 2018

Carnival Inspiration, February 2018

Carnival Inspiration
February 26, 2018
Long Beach, CA
Catalina Island, CA
Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico






Our second Carnival Premier Getaway, our 3rd cruise out of Long Beach, Our second short Mexico Cruise. 

This was our 9th cruise on Carnival. When we originally started cruising on Carnival in 2015, our plan was to not repeat the Ship, Embarkation port, or Itinerary. So far, we have not cruise on a Carnival Ship twice. We have done the same itinerary twice, and this was our third cruise out of Long Beach.

We board the Carnival Inspiration and then went to Catalina Island the next day. We decided to take a tour around Catalina Island and get to see some sights. It was a great drive to get to view around the Island. When we had been there before we did something else. 

Our next stop was Ensenada Mexico. This was my third time in Ensenada. Our first time we drove there. From where we are in Northern San Diego County county, it takes about 90 minutes with no traffic to get to the border, and then it is about 2 hrs to get to Ensenada after crossing the border.  The second and third time we visited Ensenada we were on a Carnival Ship.

Ensenada is a fun tourist town. The weather is pretty good all year, so there is a ton to do as far as activities. This trip we did a wine country tour. People do not really think of Baja California as being Wine Country, but it is. Due to the wonderful weather, it is a great place for grapes and olives, not just the infamous Agave for tequila. Our wine country tour included a bottle of wine at the first vineyard. The second vineyard had way more than just wine. It had all sorts of oils, spreads and seasonings. It was a great tour even for those who do not drink. 

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Carnival Inspiration February 2018


Carnival Inspiration
Premier Getaway Cruise
February 2018

In October of 2017, we took our first Carnival Premier Getaway Cruise out of Long Beach, CA. The first cruise was on the Carnival Imagination.  At this point, we had taken 4 other Premier Cruises by Carnival. Premier cruises are basically a "Bonus" for Carnival Casino Players. The cruise goes on as normal, but there are special things in and out of the casino for players who booked their cabins with the special promotion.

Previously, when we had cruised out of Long Beach, the cruise terminal had been under some remodeling, so we were basically sitting outside waiting on our boarding group to be called to proceed. Then when we walked through, we could see that most of the terminal was blocked off. This was our first time where the cruise terminal was actually open and we walked through the entire thing. 


The cruise on Carnival Inspiration was very similar to the previous cruise on Carnival Imagination. The ships are close in age and are the same size.  Even on 2 ships that are close in size, age and style, every cruise is a completely different experience.

Our cruise went to Catalina Island and Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Ironically, due to where we live in San Diego County, both places are easily driveable. Well, we can drive to the ferry to Catalina. Obviously, we could not actually drive to Catalina Island.

Our first stop was Catalina, then Ensenada, then a Sea Day, then we disembarked back in Long Beach.  Each day of the cruise, whether we were in a port or Sea Day, there were special things going on in the casino at various hours. Some of the events like the slot tournaments are open to anyone in the casino who has enough points to qualify, but there are some events that are only open to the Premier invited guests. 


Even though the cruise is shorter than the regular Premier Cruises that Carnival organizes, the Premier Getaway is definitely not an afterthought. Carnival Players Club makes sure that these shorter cruises where they have organized a Premier Getaway Cruise are just as much fun for the Premier Players as any other cruise that they have been on, Premier or not.