I hadn’t clambered onto a cruise ship in over 15 years. I could recall very little of my last voyage, in fact my memories were all contained in one black and white photograph that sat on my family’s kitchen counter for years.

So when my friends planned a Mexican Cruise I wasn’t sure what to expect. Other than a great get away from the smog fill Salt Lake Valley.

Four of us pulled into California a few minutes after midnight and threw ourselves onto a set of beds in an Anaheim motel.

We met up with the other half of our group the next day and headed to the marina. We checked through customs and gathered together for the cheesy group photos in front of back drops- which by the end of the weekend we had a large stack of. We didn’t purchase a single image. But we all had a great time switching who were “dating” for each new setting.

Once on board, we explored the ship and began enjoying our unlimited food supply. It was cold and windy but the boys and I couldn’t miss the chance to throw on our swimsuits and test out the slide.

And shortly after we set sail we also couldn’t miss the chance to spend a little time in the casino, or spend time enjoying the limitless amounts of food.

Saturday morning we woke up to Ensenada and we were buzzing with excitement. We scarfed down our breakfast and headed toward the town.

Our group walked around the shopping district and used the boy’s Spanish to our advantage. We collected rings, henna tattoos, and souvenirs before some locals lead us off the beaten path to their favorite restaurant.

We hitched a ride to the local beach a few miles away and played volleyball with some locals.

I discovered on this trip that I love the locals almost as much as they love me.

The final day of our too short vacation was spent entirely on the ship laughing so hard we cried on the upper deck, at dinner, and of course in the late night comedy shows.

The cruise was a high school reunion, but better. I love these kids like my family.