Mexico Cruise July 14-28

 

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This 7-day trip with the Perron’s was a blast, we started in Long Beach CA and visited Puerto Vallerta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas.  The boat was the Carnival Pride we had 2 adjoining rooms with balconies that was cool because with the door open between the rooms it always felt like one big room that all the Romo clan hung out in.

First 2 days at sea:

The first two days were very fun , Dylan spend the days swimming and going down the slide, while the rest of us huddled around the food floor where you could anything that your heart desired. the 24 hour Ice cream and Pizza bar got worked over good by our group.

 

Puerto Vallarta

 

We spend an incredible day in PV. My former boss Gary Hodges lives there and owns a ATV and Dune Buggy company. So he offered to set up our entire day there. he picked us up from the boat and took us to the Botanical Garden where everyone could get a bite to eat.

We then went to the Canopy tours where we zip lined thru the trees and across rivers. the longest line was a 1/4 mile long and was elevated at 150’ in the air, speeds of 40MPH were reached. Everyone loved the activity.

Then we went back the the botanical garden where all the ATV’s were waiting, we each go ton the Bikes and traveled thru the jungle of Puerto Vallarta and cross a couple of small rivers and thru allot of unpaved roads.

 

we then rode to the famous Chico’s Paradise restaurant near a river to eat lunch. While we were there Divers jumped off rocks into the river.

After lunch we rode the ATV’s to a tequila factory and learned about how to make tequila. That was fun.

we then rode back to the Botanical garden to drop off the bikes and Gary took us to his house on the beach for a swim in the ocean.

 

as you can see the kids had the time of their lives.

If you ever Make it to Puerto Vallarta please check out Gary and set up one of the many guided tours he has of Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding areas.

www.uniqueatvtours.com

tell Gary Gilbert and Michele sent you

Pittsburgh Steelers Monday Night Football Game Sept 27-30 2008

What started as a cool idea to go to see the Steelers play the Ravens on Monday night in Pittsburgh. Became an even better Idea when Sharyl keep it a secret from Mark and turned it into his birthday present. Mark didn't know that Michele and I were going to meet them in Pittsburgh, he didn't even know he was going to Pittsburgh. Sharyl and the kids made mark get up at 4am (Sharyl had already packed his bag) and get dressed and the only explanation he had was that he was beginning his birthday. They got him in the car and took him to the Ontario


airport. even there he had no idea where he was going or why!!!! Not until he got thru security did he know he was going to Pittsburgh. The best part of Sharyl's plan is that Mark had no idea that she had gotten 4 tickets to the Monday night game. He then made the assumption that they were going to see the Steelers but had no Idea Michele and I would be there as well. We arrived about 20 Min's before them and hid while they came off the plane. Sharyl went to the restroom and Mark waited for her and we were standing 15 ft from him and he had no clue. When Sharyl came out of the restroom, mark went to the men's


room and we said hello to Sharyl and waited for him to come out. When he did and saw us all standing there, his face was priceless. we all hugged and told him Happy birthday!!!! and how dare him try to celebrate his birthday with out us.......

from then on it was party time.
We all were very pleasantly surprised how pretty and clean the city was. we ate at some great restaurants and did tons of shopping and also visited the Pittsburgh sports museum.


My hat is off to Sharyl for putting such a fun mini vacation together. We have done many together but this one was special.












Heinz Field where the Steeler's play is a very nice place, the design is very cool. Because of the weather in Oct, Nov, DEC in Pittsburgh the main concourse is under each side of the stadium grandstands. it allows them to have cover from the elements and also decorate the place really cool. it has AstroTurf on the floor and an mini hall of fame for free. The game was awesome with Pittsburgh coming back and winning the game in overtime.

The best part of this is that Sharyl is the only Steeler fan. Mark is a Rams fan, Michele a Dolphins fan and I like the Cardinals..

Sharyl became a Steeler fan from her father who had passed away in the last few years, but she was able to honor him during this trip by wearing his Steeler jacket to the game. definitely a special trip for her.
Mark and Sharyl getting ready to walk to the game. we stayed at the Hilton which is located directly across the river from the stadium, less than 500 yards to the front gates











Michele and I are not Steeler fans but we are huge Lance Armstrong fans and since the Livestrong colors are black and Yellow, we fit right in.

Tokyo Japan

What can I say. Tokyo is as cool and you would imagine, the number of people there was beyond my wildest dreams. The other thing that shocked me was how clean the city was. There are people who walk in jumpsuits and clean the sidewalk, if there is gum, they are on their hands and knees scraping the sidewalk. The other funny thing was that most people were dress in just a couple of fashions:

1-their perceived American look

2-All black business or semi casual

3-Punk Rock look

To the left is a picture I took with a couple of people just walking by, they all flash the peace sign whenever taking a picture. But they really enjoy Americans, even thought we had no idea what each other were saying, we just smiled, bowed and moved on. It was difficult to get around because English is spoken in some restaurants but almost nowhere else. so to call a taxi is impossible unless you have the address to where you are going written down.

The other funny thing about Tokyo is that you will find many older American star's selling almost everything on big billboards. here is an example.

If you have ever seen the Bill Murray movie "lost in translation" it is filmed in Tokyo at the Hyatt and also in a neighborhood called "roppongi" which is full of restaurants and bars and shopping.

Tokyo is very spread out, I went to the top of the Hyatt to take some pictures that I you will see here. At night the scenery is incredibly beautiful the lights go on for as far as you can see. and Like NY they have a times square, but the difference is that there are 10-15 of them. This picture shows typical advertising which is everywhere, and also the Tokyo version of central park.

also I rode the subway, and just like the YouTube videos, you really are packed in there like a sardine, people actually sleep standing up on the way to work on the subway because the people are so close they are held up by everyone standing next to them. I laughed because for the first time in my life i was able to ride public transportation and I was one of the tallest people on the train!!!! I also went to see the busiest intersection in the world. over 1.5 million people go thru it each day

Here is the intersection when cars are passing. I will add a video i took of it when people are moving thru. I took this video at about 2pm on a Friday afternoon when everyone was at work but still busy. I was surprised at the amount of American restaurants you find in Tokyo, any name brand you want is probably there, the obvious of McDonald's and burger king, but also Friday's and olive garden.

I recommend everyone make it to Tokyo one time in your life, it is something to see, and the food is good as well, I am a sushi fan so I had no reservations about eating there, I just didn't understand that you eat the same food no matter what time it is........takes some getting used to.