Disney Dreams

   Well, we’ve had a great time! As alluded to in the last posting, we headed to Sanford in preparation of the kids’ arrival. We spent some of our time there cleaning up and getting ready for feeding and housing 6 more people for a week. On the appointed day, we broke camp and headed to the campground on Disney property, Fort Wilderness. 

    Luckily, in our week prior, we took a trip to the campground and scoped it out. We looked for sites that gave us the most room, yet were near the showers and bus stops. Armed with our list, we were able to suggest a few campsites upon check-in and we got our first pick! 

    The Disney sites are all paved roads with large concrete pads. As you can see from above, they were big enough for the rig and the Jeep, and still had room behind for a picnic table and tent. Full hook-ups for the coach and lots of trees for shade. We set up camp and had just sat down to relax, when the kids arrived on the Disney shuttle. We took the rest of the day to get everyone settled in and then to bed early for a very early morning wake up. Off to Magic Kingdom. The neat thing about staying on Disney property, is that you can park your car and take advantage of Disney transportation. You can get anywhere on Disney using the Transportation Center (and not have to pay $14 per car per day in the parking lots!!).  From Fort Wilderness, you can get on the boats and cross the lake to Magic Kingdom. We did just that. A few in our party had never been to Disney, so the excitement was contagious. Tori, the five year old, was probably the most excited and didn’t really know what to expect. 

    Now, I’ve been to Disneyworld more times than I can count and, frankly, the excitement had dimmed a bit for me. If you are in that position, I highly suggest that you go see it with a first timer five year old! We held hands as we entered the gates and the look on her face as she got her first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle actually gave me goosebumps. The wide eyes and open mouth betrayed her sheer joy with the sights around her. As we walked down Main Street, she pointed right and left highlighting the characters she saw or the things in the windows. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. 

    Everybody knows that one of the main goals during your first trek to Disney is to see the characters and get their autograph. We were no exception. Armed with a series of pre-cut papers, we set out to see who we could find. 

    With an early morning wake-up and all of the energy we were expending, some of us had to take a break. 

    But while Belle napped, Tori caught up with Jessie from Toy Story. This is one of her favorite characters. 

    After the nap, Belle was refreshed and we took on “It’s a Small World”--the ride with the theme that sticks in your head like glue. Belle was fascinated with all of the motion and colorful figures. 

    She was even pretty good while standing in the inevitable lines.

    During the afternoon parade, Chip (or is it Dale?) came off the float and convinced Belle to show her best dance moves. 

    Both Tori and Belle got to go to a character lunch. I was a little afraid that Belle would be afraid of the characters, but I needn’t of worried. She loved them all!

    As night fell on the Magic Kingdom, the moon rose over Space Mountain.

    After their first full day, both girls were worn out, but mom and dad kept smilin’.

    Next morning, it was off to a Breakfast with the Princesses! Tori and Belle were decked out in their finest. 

    Among those she met were Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. 

    Not to be outdone, Shawn said “Hi!” to Snow White. 

    Later we visited with Tinkerbell and some of her friends. 

    Then, of course, what’s a visit to Disney without visiting with Mickey and Minnie??

    Whatcha going to do on a hot afternoon??

   After a week in Disney, while Barb and I moved to a new campground, the kids went to Daytona and visited the beach. Beats the cold Kansas weather!

    We finished up our Florida adventure with a drive to Crystal River to share our enjoyment of swimming with the manatees. Unfortunately, the waters had warmed a bit since I was last there in January and all but two of the manatees had left. The kids were a bit disappointed but made the best of the trip.  We then had lunch at “the World’s Largest McDonalds”.  Then it was up early the next morning as everyone headed home, tired but happy having experienced the magic of Disney!

Vacation from our "Retirement"

    After months of driving from place to place, touring Battlefields, and sampling local cuisine, one needs to take a break (lol!). So, we met up in Miami with our world traveling friends, Geoff and Brenda, and boarded the Norwegian Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Epic, for a 7 day Caribbean cruise. The ports of call for this trip were St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau. Now the Epic is the largest cruise ship that I have ever sailed on. Rated for 4,100 passengers, 1,081 feet long and weighing in at 155,873 tons. I’m still not sure that I ever really knew where everything was on the ship, even after 7 days. It was, however, the most interactive ship that I’ve ever been on. All over the ship there were TV touch screens where you could enter a room number or location that you wanted to find (like a specific restaurant or theater) and it would give you a map as to how to get there. Kind of onboard GPS. The other interesting thing about sailing with NCL is what they call “Freestyle Cruising”. That means that you can eat whenever and wherever you wish. No set dining room or time. The downside is that they are trying something new with the Epic. There is the ever-present Buffet, but only a couple of free “formal” dining rooms. There are many specialty restaurants that offer meals for a charge. They also require a reservation. They have an Ice Bar onboard. Everything is made of ice! They give you a parka to put on when you go in. Again, there is a charge and reservation required. With your $20 fee, you get two drinks, but only 30 minutes to consume them. Then you’re out and the next group comes in. The entertainment varies each night, but the big draw was the Blue Man Group!! It is the real thing! Reservations required of course, but the show is free. We saw them on the first night out and the show was fantastic! Afterwards the Blue guys came out for a meet and greet. Still in character, they don’t smile or speak, but they can say a lot with their eyes.

Watch out if you ask for an autograph. You get to find out what it’s like to be “Blue”.

   WARNING: The remainder of this blog features images of warm sand beaches and people enjoying them. Those of you buried in snow up to your @$$ and cold temps may feel the urge to punch the computer screen...

    The upper deck mid ship, in addition to the usual swimming pools and hot tubs,  featured a climbing wall and a set of waterslide tubes. We had a great time using them while the ship was docked in Nassau. 

Lit up by night...

The center of the ship, in the Grand Atrium features a crystal chandelier that is white during the day and changes colors throughout the evening. 

In our first port of call we took a small boat out and snorkeled around the reefs. The waters were rough going out of the harbor, but soon smoothed out as we rounded the island. 

Barb bought a new underwater camera and this was the first chance to try it out. So far we’re pleased with its pictures. 

Part of the trip included a mud bath. We imagined a puddle of mud that you rolled around in but that was not the case. The dirt of the island consists of ground corals and other minerals. The environmental authorities on the island no longer allow wholesale “rolling” in them, but our Captain had a bucket of dirt that he mixed up into a mud solution. You then lathered it on, all over your body. It doesn’t stain and just feels a little gritty going on. The more you rub it in, the better the exfoliation effect. 

Next you go into the sea and wash it off. Its effects are amazing. Your skin feels smooth and soft, like you just bathed in lotion! We had a great time with this unique experience. 

    After another snorkel, we sped off to Pinel Island and laid out to enjoy the sun and warmth before returning to our ship. 

    Now anyone who has cruised know that your room stewards usually leave you a towel animal when they turn down the beds at night. Ours was no exception. (There was even a seminar on how to make towel animals and a $9.99 DVD you could buy for your future entertaining.) Here are just two of them. 

St. Thomas was our next stop. Here we took a Kayak tour of the Mangrove preserve. It included some interesting education on the Mangroves and their purpose in keeping the island clean and safe. Here’s our friends, Brenda and Geoff, setting off on their adventure. 

We were still held up in “traffic”. 

In addition to the snorkeling, we took a hike in the Cas Cay Wildlife Sanctuary. Didn’t see much wildlife, but did have some pretty great views. 

You could get remarkably close to the marine life...

This is not cloudy water, it is a humongous school of fish. All of them about an inch or two long. 

Then back to the ship for a two day sail to Nassau. While at sea, there was a unique seminar where you could meet the guys behind the Blue Man Group! Blue Men without the makeup. It was very informative and entertaining and they didn’t look anything like I thought that they would. The guy on the far left is one of the band members and the next three are the Blue Men. The guy on the far right is the one that is pictured with me at the top of this blog. 

We didn’t do much in Nassau as we’ve been there a few times. After a quick trip to the Straw Market in port, we took the opportunity of a relatively empty ship to use the water slide and hot tubs. We were moored next to Disney’s big ship, the Disney Dream. It is unique as it has some characters along the stern of the ship appearing to paint the logo. 

But, all too soon, the cruise was over. We came back to Miami and had to part ways with our friends. We took them to the Airport in West Palm Beach, picked up the dog from boarding, the motorhome from storage, and pressed on to Sanford (near Orlando). We’ll stay there a week or so getting ready for the next big adventure... DisneyWorld with the family.