Mexican Riviera Cruise

Looking through photos of past vacations is always so fun for us. In January of this year Danielle and I had the chance to enjoy an 8 day Mexican Riviera Cruise on Carnival. The cruise left from San Diego and hit the ports of Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, and Manzanillo. We both absolutely LOVED the cruise and agree that it is a great way to get away and vacation. Here are a few reasons we loved it so much:

1) Taking a cruise is about as close as you can come to a hassle free vacation. Once on the boat you have EVERYTHING at your fingertips, or just a phone call away. You have people cleaning your room for you 3 times a day! Food is available any time and basically anywhere. There are no worries once you are aboard.

Danielle with food in bed:

Animals made from towels every night!





2)We got to eat amazing food that we don't eat on a daily basis. You can also order as much food as you want... and eat what you like and leave what you don't like. We got to enjoy Lobster and Shrimp:

But there was also nothing wrong with trying something crazy like Duck:


3) On a cruise you get to spend time with people you love! Being on a cruise is so relaxing and hassle free that it makes it easy to simply enjoy the time spent with loved ones. We got to spend plenty of time with just Danielle and I, but also hung out a lot with my amazing parents!
Mama and Papa Bini


Danielle and I before Dinner


4) The last thing we loved about cruising was getting to see some beautiful and amazing places. The people in Mexico are usually fun to interact with and talk to. The ports that we stopped in were pretty amazing. I doubt we would have ever gotten the chance to see these beautiful places if it wasn't for taking this cruise.
San Diego

Acapulco

Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo


If any of you guys get a chance to take a cruise we say go for it! We are sure you will have as much fun as we did.

Surprise Mail!

It is always nice getting something new in the mail. It is even better when you find something in the mail that you weren't expecting! Today we got home from school and found a note on our door saying there was a package in the office for us. When we got it we read "Lucero Olive Company" on the box and had no idea what it was. We opened it to find a note from the organizer of the Black Butte Triathlon that I did a month ago congratulating me on finishing in the top 3 people of my age class (I think there were exactly 3 people in my age class by the way...). With the note they sent this:



Not bad for an old man!

Just the Two of Us

Am I the only one who wishes we had a third wheel on trips just to take pictures of us? Travis and I have gotten in the habit of taking pictures of each other but rarely trying to get both of us in the same picture. The main problem with this is that you are hoping your at least don't cut off someone's head. It is rare that you can get a centered picture and capture the background well. This summer on our road trip I am going to try to think of creative ways to take pictures of us as a couple. It will make it a little easier that Travis' little sister, Mallory, and her boyfriend, Dominic, will be there. We get to enjoy traveling the Western United States with them for a whole month! Travis just bought a tripod online so we will be able to get shots of all four of us! Here is an example of us trying to be a couple in a photo and ended up being a little too close for comfort.

Photo taken with our Nikon point and shoot in Kauai, HI on our Honeymoon July 2008

Everyone deserves a little recognition

It is a good thing that I have such a selfless husband. When I post our pictures on facebook, he rarely gets the credit. I try to mention here and there that "Travis took this one!" but I still get all of the compliments. So, I wanted to share some photos that he has taken, ones that I have previously gotten credit for.

Photo taken in Durham, CA off highway 99

Photo taken In Fort Bragg, CA

Photo taken in Ixtapa, Mexico


Everyone deserves a little recognition...

One of my favorite photos we have ever taken

Picture taken in Magdalena, Guatemala July 2009.
I was told once that this photo should be in National Geographics. I just love how the chuchos are playing, surrounded by colorful walls, women working hard, and a little boy climbing the wall. Priceless photo that makes me miss Guatemala.

We are now bloggers!

I've had a blog for a while now, but I never knew what to make it about. Recently Travis and I have been talking about how much we love photography. So, why not have a blog about our photography? We try to take photos whenever possible. We (meaning I) will try to keep this up to date with our photography. We are going on a road trip this summer for a whole month! This will be a great opportunity to take pictures and post them on here so you can know where we are and what we are doing! Will be interesting to see how this blogging thing turns out. Thanks for following!