May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 7

[fourmcds]

Kim...thanks for sharing the pics. Glad you are ok.

Holly...glad it went well today with the appointment. Sounds like Dad is really opening his eyes and coming around.

To everyone heading off to WDW or there already...have a great time! I am soooo jealous and will be waiting for pics and reports to live through all of you
I think our next trip to either DL or WDW will be after the cruise

 

[EllaEnchanted]

I finally finished packing out the clothes....they're currently at the laundry getting washed. I'll pick them up tomorrow and place them in the suitcase.....just have to add the new packages of undies.....need to wash my bras and add them too.....then done with that portion of packing. Now all the accessories and bathroom stuff has to get done tomorrow. Then I'm ready.

So, when John goes to pick up the van rental on Thursday after work.....he's also picking up my brother. He's flying back here to stay at my house while we're gone and after we get back home. Basically, no ships are available and he's going to wait it out at my house. If it turns out to be a long wait, he'll have to get a local job while he waits to get a call for a ship. He's really stressed out and on the verge of losing it. I'm trying to let him know it'll be ok, but it looks grimm from his perspective. My poor bro, nothing like this has ever happened before. He usually calls to say he's ready to board another ship and they send him off. He's not used to being out of work. I'll do everything I can for him and I hope he's ok....one more hurdle for him to get through.

 

[woody73]

Very good news to hear that you and Mrs. Woody are not affected by the fires.

Thanks. We've been in contact with several families in San Diego who have had to evacuate. Our hearts goes out to them.

Woody

 

[woody73]

Not nice having the ash everywhere.

We went to the Redondo Beach pier tonight for dinner, where we can typically enjoy a nice sunset. But the ash in the air was so thick, all we could see was a gray haze. Yuck.

Woody

 

[calmom]

That's too bad the direct flight is so much more expensive. When we booked our direct flights, they were only about $30 more per tix, which for $120 for all of us it is well worth it. I wanted direct because I'm very concerned about the airline losing our luggage at the connection point and/or us getting delayed at the connection point. That's happened to us more times than I can count and I so do NOT want to miss being on the ship. Maybe prices will come down for the direct flight?!? Let's hope....

Ihope so - thanks for the words of encouragement.

When I booked the United flight from SFO, which is the one I think you mean, I paid $174.40 r/t for each one of us. Has the fare gone up that much since then? SWA has a direct flight from SJC which has a few stops. I suspect the May window will open up in November if you don't mind a few stops.

I think you are much better off flying direct but if the stop doesn't include changing planes, the price sounds way more attractive.

OH MY GOSH! I can't believe it...I've been checking the price daily. I totally must have missed your sale price. I have never seen under $400 R/T since they opened up flights. What day did you book? I SO wish I booked then! Good suggestion about Southwest! Lisa

Good morning!

Raining cats and dogs here too!



All kidding aside, this is a fun and great place to live . . . If we could only win something!

Since you guys have known me here . . .

Ohio State loses in National Championship Football game
Ohio State loses in National Championship Basketball game (both times to Florida)
Our High School loses in the State Final Four
The Cavaliers lose in the NBA Finals
The Indians lose in the ALCS to Boston

I mean, can I get a break SOMEWHERE????

John, you and your State are in my prayers!

What about Airtran? I am waiting for them to release our dates because they are always pretty cheap.

I will check it out!

Is anyone here a Springsteen fan???

I got his new album last week on iTunes, "Magic" and just love it! I think it is his best album in years.

I keep singing "Radio Nowhere" in my head.

Springsteen is probably the second best concert I have ever been to. The Boss really puts on a show (at least he did about 25 years ago! )

I love Springsteen. I remember being a teenager and trying to get in his concert with my older sister by scalping tickets. No success that time, but a couple years later saw him. INCREDIBLE! Lisa

 

[woody73]

Is anyone here a Springsteen fan???

I got his new album last week on iTunes, "Magic" and just love it! I think it is his best album in years.

I keep singing "Radio Nowhere" in my head.

Springsteen is probably the second best concert I have ever been to. The Boss really puts on a show (at least he did about 25 years ago!

I'm a big fan, and agree that "Magic" is his best album in a long time.

I've been to many of his concerts, and am going to both of his L.A. concerts next week.

Woody

 

[woody73]

To those going to WDW, have a splendid time!

Woody

 

[MrsMork]

It's almost too scary to even comprehend. On our local news that I'm watching now, an MSU grad student just returned from SoCal yesterday after attending a wedding out there and was talking about how shocking it was and said it looked like a war zone.

We have family and friends down there. DS and DDIL just moved from Phoenix to Lancaster. They said the fires are not near them. Happy about that. DrHug's sis lives in Mission Viejo and she said the fires are only 6 miles from them now. She has the cars packed with the stuff she would want to take, just in case. We have friends that live southwest of San Diego up in the hills, brush, etc. We have not been able to get in touch with them. Hopefully, will get an email response tomorrow. They have several horses also, so evacuation for them would be quite a process. We will keep praying for all down there.

 

[LiserAnn]

For all of our Southern CA friends....keep checking in here so that we know you're still safe.....the wind could change and you could be evacuating. It's so very scary! My heart goes out to all of you and you're always in my thoughts.

We just found out there's 300 acres on fire in DeLuz which is behind our house. There's also a fire out by Pechanga Casino in Temecula, I can see the flames for that one (although it's far enough away that it should not be a threat by any means). The DeLuz fire is making me nervous. Let's hope the wind pushes it towards Camp Pendleton and away from us. There's a ton of open unhabited land at Camp Pendleton. Scary....

 

[LiserAnn]

Well this is not good...just heard on the news there's a 3,000 acre fire on the grounds of Camp Pendleton near the OC border...if the wind pushes it inland towards us and it joins the DeLuz fire, well, is all I can say. Not good!

 

[EllaEnchanted]

Well this is not good...just heard on the news there's a 3,000 acre fire on the grounds of Camp Pendleton near the OC border...if the wind pushes it inland towards us and it joins the DeLuz fire, well, is all I can say. Not good!

Lisa, pack the car just in case.....better to be ready and not need it than to find out that you need to go and leave everything behind. I'll be thinking about you and hope that you can stay safely away from those fires. It's so unpredictable, you never feel secure.

 

[granmaz]

The pictures of the actual fire and the water drop were taken while standing at the entrance to the neighborhood that I live in. It was about a 2 minute walk from my house. A very close call for us. If the wind had started blowing to the North the fire would have come right into our neighborhood. The fire fighters did an amazing job fighting this fire.

Amazing photos, particularly for those of us far away! Horrifying for those close by.

This is another one of those nights where I CAN'T STOP eating. Drives me nuts! I guess I could just go to bed and that would solve the problem.

That's me too Holly - I could eat continuously at the moment. Not good when I have 7 days of Disney dining plan and 4 nights on the Wonder coming up in just over 4 weeks!!!

I find a walk works for me too. And for the times like now, when Tyler's in bed and I can't go for a walk, I used to just start doing crunches. Worked GREAT! But I'm just too darned lazy to do that this time! Now, off I go to the kitchen to get a brownie!

Me too Holly!!! I talk about exercising all the time - if I could tone up from talking about it I would look like Jennifer Aniston!

John, you and your State are in my prayers!
Lisa

That bad hey?

We have family and friends down there. DS and DDIL just moved from Phoenix to Lancaster. They said the fires are not near them. Happy about that. DrHug's sis lives in Mission Viejo and she said the fires are only 6 miles from them now. She has the cars packed with the stuff she would want to take, just in case. We have friends that live southwest of San Diego up in the hills, brush, etc. We have not been able to get in touch with them. Hopefully, will get an email response tomorrow. They have several horses also, so evacuation for them would be quite a process. We will keep praying for all down there.

Now that is all very frightening. I hope and pray things improve quickly.

We just found out there's 300 acres on fire in DeLuz which is behind our house. There's also a fire out by Pechanga Casino in Temecula, I can see the flames for that one (although it's far enough away that it should not be a threat by any means). The DeLuz fire is making me nervous. Let's hope the wind pushes it towards Camp Pendleton and away from us. There's a ton of open unhabited land at Camp Pendleton. Scary....

Well this is not good...just heard on the news there's a 3,000 acre fire on the grounds of Camp Pendleton near the OC border...if the wind pushes it inland towards us and it joins the DeLuz fire, well, is all I can say. Not good!

Oh my!!! Please keep safe. Deb's idea of packing is a good one. I will be praying this dies down quickly.

 

[Jhalkias]

Good Morning!

Lisa,

Keep us posted, and be prepared. We will be thinking of you guys! Stay safe!

 

[gydell]

Don't be too jealous, it's only a 3 day. Just a teaser!

Yup, I was pleasantly surprised at Tyler's dad's cooperation today. He even told me we'll discuss how payment will work (I paid the full amount today). Stepmom piped up and told him it's supposed to just be 50/50, which isn't true, it's technically supposed to be 90/10, and indeed, he told her, "No, I should be paying for this" which REALLY made her face turn angry. But later in the day, we spoke on the phone and he told me that since neither of us can really afford this right now, he'll reimburse me for 1/2. I'll settle for that though because originally it seemed he wasn't going to pay for any of it.

Guess we know who's boss in this house!

 

[fourmcds]

Lisa...please keep us informed and stay safe!

 

[birkner]

Wanted to finish reading the posts about the fires first to make sure all our DIS friends are safe. Very scary stuff there. Makes Tyler's issue pale in comparison. But, inquiring minds want to know, so here goes!

Things went well, and I actually found the appointment quite humorous at times. I also got a couple surprises from Tyler's dad. The stepmom still had no eye contact with me and nothing to say to me while we were in the waiting room. The Dr. took us into her office and there were 2 chairs side-by-side across from the Dr. at her desk, and 1 chair by itself at the end of her desk. Naturally, I assumed dad & stepmom would sit in the side-by-side chairs, so imagine my surprise when dad sat in the chair sitting by itself. The look on stepmom's face was priceless! So she and I sat next to each other. I was just very amused because throughout the whole hour, she was sitting with such a "closed" posture: legs crossed, leaning away from me, arms crossed tightly across her chest, and very grumpy/pouting look on her face. Dad was exact opposite. Very open posture, very engaged in the conversations, etc. She didn't have much to say, but the times she did pipe up, dad said things like, "Well, that doesn't have anything to do with what's going on". For example, when the Dr. asked whether there have been any major changes in our lives that could be a source of stress for Tyler such as a job change for a parent, a move to a new house, death of a loved one, etc., dad & I said "No" and stepmom says, "Well, we got a dog 2 months ago". Yes I know dogs are lots of work, but I had a hard time not laughing at that one!

There were a couple other things that she went off about, completely unrelated to the reason of our visit, like saying how she's really trying to get him into a particular school system that she wants him to be in, and each time dad either ignored her or basically shut her up. Little things like when the Dr. asked which address she should use for Tyler, stepmom angrily says it should be their address but dad says it doesn't really matter and that Tyler IS with me more nights of the week after all.

When payment came up, stepmom got set off again. Good grief!

I was my normal, happy, bubbly self, sitting there eating my snack and drinking my can of pop. I truly looked just like this: . Tried SO hard not to laugh at how childish she was being and was very entertained!

What interesting dynamics between Tyler's Dad and his wife! It sure sounds like she is trying to cut you out of the equation. Wonder what the physician made of all of her inputs? I am really glad that Tyler's Dad was so supportive of you and your rights.

 

[birkner]

Next step: Dr. will call and speak directly with teachers, I've given a couple forms to teachers to fill out about Tyler's behavior, dad & I each have an observation form to fill out, and Tyler's full day of evaluation is next Tuesday. I feel like a HUGE weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Sure, Tyler might have a long road ahead of him depending on what the diagnosis is and what treatment is recommended, but it's out of my hands for now and into the professionals hands (and of course God's hands).

Tyler punched a girl today and shoved a few kids yesterday too. One teacher today told me she's so baffled by his actions because she says one day he's showing what a big heart he has, then another day he's just angry and physical. I sure hope the teachers are able to take the time to go into all the details with the Dr. so she can get the whole picture.

I can just imagine that it is a huge relief to have the appointment over and to have the cooperation of Tyler's Dad!! I think from all you have posted the teachers are very caring and are just as concerned about helping find out what is going on with Tyler. Hopefully, they will demonstrate their concern and caring with all of the details both good and bad to help determine a diagnosis.

 

[birkner]

\
OH MY GOSH! I can't believe it...I've been checking the price daily. I totally must have missed your sale price. I have never seen under $400 R/T since they opened up flights. What day did you book? I SO wish I booked then! Good suggestion about Southwest! Lisa

I booked the flight the day they opened up which I believe was back in February or March. I get almost daily emails for specials from United and happened to catch those seats for both JB and myself.

 

[birkner]

Well this is not good...just heard on the news there's a 3,000 acre fire on the grounds of Camp Pendleton near the OC border...if the wind pushes it inland towards us and it joins the DeLuz fire, well, is all I can say. Not good!

Lisa, I am so worried about you and your family. I hope you have all your valuables and important papers loaded in your car, just in case!! Please take care and be safe!!

 

[dizneyfan23]

Got a couple questions for anyone that might know. How much a Disney transfer from the port in California to LAX will be? Where exactly is the port in Cali? How far is it from the port to LAX? Any help would be great thanks.