Teen Talk: Making lifetime memories with grandma

BY Spencer Massicot

Spencer and his grandmother visited several famous landmarks on their trip, including the arch of Cabo San Lucas, a distinctive rock formation at the southern tip of Cabo San Lucas. Photo provided by Spencer Massicot

In the summer, a little over a year ago, my Grandma had surgery performed on her foot which prevented her from walking around a lot. So, I went down to Chula Vista, where she lives, to help her for almost a week. She had limited mobility, so I was there to help her get things and do whatever she needed me to do. While I was at her house, we started talking about vacations and she suggested that we take one together.

We started looking at cruises and she offered that we take one to the Mexican Riviera the following year. My parents agreed to the offer, and so the planning began. I had never gone on vacation with my grandma before, so I was getting pretty excited.

We spent the year anticipating the trip and in June of this summer, it was finally here. My dad dropped me off at my grandma’s house where I spent the night. The next morning, we drove to a hotel near Knott’s Berry Farm because my grandma was worried about how the traffic would be on the morning of the cruise. That afternoon, we shopped at the stores outside of Knott’s Berry Farm and had dinner at Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant.

The next morning, we left the hotel and drove to the Long Beach Cruise Center where we went through many lines and security checks before we were able to finally board the ship. The ship, Carnival Miracle, was amazing. It offered everything from a huge waterslide to an amazing library, as well as an abundance of activities to participate in. That afternoon, after our tour of the ship, we set sail for Mexico.

The second day of the cruise was a sea day that consisted of relaxing all around the ship and reading the books that I brought with me.

On the third day, we arrived at our first port: Cabo San Lucas. The ship couldn’t go into the docks because the water was too shallow, so we had to take small tender boats to get to shore. When we got off the boat, we were approached by a man offering a water taxi tour of the famous arches in a glass bottom boat. The tour seemed pretty cool, so we decided to do it. But, while we were getting on the boat it tipped and caused my grandma to fall. It turns out that she broke two bones in her foot. We still took the tour and it was so much fun. We got to see all of the rock formations off of the coast, as well as the last point of land of Baja California.

The next day, we arrived in Mazatlan where we took a double decker bus tour. This tour allowed us to get off at any of the bus’ stops and get back on when another bus came around. The tour guide was very informative and made the ride enjoyable. We got off of the bus in Golden Zone which is a large center of the city for shopping and dining. We explored the area and purchased souvenirs along the way. We also stopped to see the famous divers of Mazatlan jumping off of the cliffs.

The following day we arrived at the last port: Puerto Vallarta. We weren’t really sure of what we were going to do, but when we got off we saw signs offering a taxi tour of the city with places along the way that we could get out and explore. We got into the taxi and set out onto the old cobblestone streets of Puerto Vallarta. We got to see the urban area in the city, as well as the more rural aspect of the mountain areas and the famous landmarks like the Malecon, Devil’s rock, and the Puerto Vallarta arches.We spent the next two days on the ship, out to sea, on the way back to Long Beach.The cruise was so much fun and it was a great thing to share with my grandma.