The Last Trip: An (Eastern) Fantasy Food Adventure-Bonus Feature, Pam & Her Mom Pt 2 Sept 17 the end

[rndmr2]

Nice excursion. This was on my radar for a possibility on our last cruise. We had decided to just go to Megan's Bay but then it was raining when we arrived in port so I wasn't about to go to the beach in the rain. We just ended up walking around the little shopping area. I also wanted to do the Sea Lion encounter/swim but my friend and I ended up booking one at another port (Samana, Dominican Rep). Now THAT was neat!

Looks like this is definitely somewhere I would like to go on a future trip.

 

[bcwife76]

You took some amazing photos, I love how close up you were able to get. What a cool excursion! If we do the Eastern itinerary again I would definitely look into this excursion.

I'm with you re: food. I figure I've paid a LOT for this vacation, why pay even MORE for food off the ship? Unless, like you said, it's really cool/unique/one of a kind etc.

 

[jedijill]

She's on the reservation for Aug 2018 Fantasy. Michael said yes.

Jill in CO

 

[TestingH2O]

Not all of us from Missouri aren't worldly!

Jill in CO

Right, because you aren't from Missouruh, you're from Missouree. At least I assume you are bebcause that's the sound the i makes.

 

[tiggrbaby]

That ended up being a very nice excursion! You got some great pics!

I agree about not buying food off the ship if possible; I have to budget to do trips, so I would rather save my money for something else.

 

[Steppesister]

The water is so clear and blue! I want to snorkel there!

The locals in the Keys hate them. Like possums here, I guess. Kinda a pest, I guess.

Just like the ones I snorkeled with in the Keys! They're cool!

Nice shot!!!

Swam with those too. You know Crush? Yes, they swim JUST like that. It was neat being in the water with them.

An Iguana Smolder!!!

 

[afwdwfan]

Even the hairpin turns on the mountains were better cut into the mountainside. I bet a certain highway engineer would have a field day with roads here.

Just think of the mess he could make with all that hilly terrain to work with...

So Fran goes to Disneyland to get her picture taken with cats. You go to Coral World to get your picture taken with iguanas. Got it.

Later in the day we saw folks swimming with the turtles, I'm not sure how much I would want to do that.

Let's hope they aren't snapping turtles.

This poor guy had something hanging from his/her mouth.

Poor or lucky? That close to being somebody's lunch!

We were pleased with what we did, it was educational and fun, plus we were back in time for lunch!

Not a bad excursion at all. Looks like an interesting place to visit and see some sea life if you can't do scuba or snorkeling.

 

[Pinkocto]

You did see the scene towards the end of the credits, right? That being said, baby Groot was incredibly cute!

Of course! I learned long ago to stay until the end of the credits, and Marvel movies always have snippets. Baby Groot was soooooo cute!!!


A lovely excursion. The underwater observatory is too cool. Glad they had a lift so Fran could go up as well.

You must see all of Finding Dory

Great Mickey shirt!

 

[Pinkocto]

She's on the reservation for Aug 2018 Fantasy. Michael said yes.

Jill in CO

I didn't know this was a possibility

 

[PrincessInOz]

Wow! What a great display of animals and fish. LOVE the Iguanas.

That really was a super excursion.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Even the hairpin turns on the mountains were better cut into the mountainside. I bet a certain highway engineer would have a field day with roads here.

Obviously, I'm gonna need everyone to help fund a trip for me to get to the Virgin Islands so I can confirm this for you.

This was the best shot of the ship in port I was going to get for today. This driver didn’t seem to want to stop to accommodate me.

Doesn't he know you have priorities?

Ah, the lovely beach dumpster in paradise.

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

Aw, look! You have a new buddy!

We noticed this turtle pool. Later in the day we saw folks swimming with the turtles, I'm not sure how much I would want to do that.

It was either that or the sharks.

This little attraction was designed for kids. I had to kneel to get up in there and had a heck of a time getting myself positioned, but it was a cool view!

I'd be sitting there wondering...ok, now how do I get out?

Yes there is a fish in there.

Cool!

That water is just gorgeous.

I felt like I was in a scene from Finding Nemo/Dory (BTW I still have never seen the end of that movie!)

You missed the tragic ending when they killed everybody off?

I mean, uh, spoiler alert.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Obviously, I'm gonna need everyone to help fund a trip for me to get to the Virgin Islands so I can confirm this for you.

I am going to be "oblivious" to your request. But feel free to contribute to my travel fund!!!

 

[franandaj]

Well then the next cruise!!! One that Michael is on!

She's on the reservation for Aug 2018 Fantasy. Michael said yes.

Jill in CO

I didn't know this was a possibility

Jill, Fran and I are going to Remy! Everyone else is welcome as well, but the three of us are going for sure! I need a redo! And Pam, this was a very recent development. I believe we started in on Jenny the night we all went to dinner in the Dream Suite....

Nice excursion. This was on my radar for a possibility on our last cruise. We had decided to just go to Megan's Bay but then it was raining when we arrived in port so I wasn't about to go to the beach in the rain. We just ended up walking around the little shopping area. I also wanted to do the Sea Lion encounter/swim but my friend and I ended up booking one at another port (Samana, Dominican Rep). Now THAT was neat!

Looks like this is definitely somewhere I would like to go on a future trip.

I think when we go back in a little over a year, I might enjoy just walking around the shopping area for a bit and coming back to the ship to relax. I really like sea days the most, and the ports don't interest me all that much. I would rather just be pampered on the ship!

You took some amazing photos, I love how close up you were able to get. What a cool excursion! If we do the Eastern itinerary again I would definitely look into this excursion.

I'm with you re: food. I figure I've paid a LOT for this vacation, why pay even MORE for food off the ship? Unless, like you said, it's really cool/unique/one of a kind etc.

Thanks! I thought the Iguanas were just so much fun. They were very tame and just sat there and posed. They also moved verrrrrry slooooooowly!

That ended up being a very nice excursion! You got some great pics!

I agree about not buying food off the ship if possible; I have to budget to do trips, so I would rather save my money for something else.

It was a nice excursion, not too much walking, some neat sights and back in time for lunch!

 

[franandaj]

The water is so clear and blue! I want to snorkel there!

I bet that's an option....

The locals in the Keys hate them. Like possums here, I guess. Kinda a pest, I guess.

Interesting....

Just like the ones I snorkeled with in the Keys! They're cool!

No thanks!

Nice shot!!!

Thank you!

Swam with those too. You know Crush? Yes, they swim JUST like that. It was neat being in the water with them.

Well, I'd take turtles over sharks....

An Iguana Smolder!!!

Just think of the mess he could make with all that hilly terrain to work with...

So Fran goes to Disneyland to get her picture taken with cats. You go to Coral World to get your picture taken with iguanas. Got it.

Sure, why not?

Let's hope they aren't snapping turtles.

Poor or lucky? That close to being somebody's lunch!

True, it's all in the way that you look at it.

Not a bad excursion at all. Looks like an interesting place to visit and see some sea life if you can't do scuba or snorkeling.

Since in most cases none of the excursions are options for Fran, I was happy to find this one.

Of course! I learned long ago to stay until the end of the credits, and Marvel movies always have snippets. Baby Groot was soooooo cute!!!

Good Girl!

A lovely excursion. The underwater observatory is too cool. Glad they had a lift so Fran could go up as well.

You must see all of Finding Dory

Great Mickey shirt!

It was cool standing on the floor of the ocean like that and I didn't even have to get wet! Someday, maybe when they are showing it on the cruise line TV.

Wow! What a great display of animals and fish. LOVE the Iguanas.

That really was a super excursion.

It was fun!

Obviously, I'm gonna need everyone to help fund a trip for me to get to the Virgin Islands so I can confirm this for you.

Start a Go Fund Me page!

Doesn't he know you have priorities?

I know, really!

Ah, the lovely beach dumpster in paradise.

I didn't even notice that!

If I had a dollar for every time I heard that...

You'd be able to buy a candy bar?

Aw, look! You have a new buddy!

He's almost as cute as my little Tesla kitty.

It was either that or the sharks.

In that case, I'll take the turtles.

I'd be sitting there wondering...ok, now how do I get out?

Out was the easy part, getting in and up was the hard part. I just ducked and crawled out, but it took me three trys to get in there!

That water is just gorgeous.

Isn't it?

You missed the tragic ending when they killed everybody off?

I mean, uh, spoiler alert.

Cool just like Rogue One....

 

[franandaj]

First a little life update. The last few weeks have been crazy grueling, mixed with some fun. You see my parents came down for Memorial Day weekend, and we decided to get the carpets cleaned before their arrival. Well there was a lot of preparation in the entire process and it began a week beforehand. Friday, Saturday and Sunday we spent moving boxes out of the house into the garage. But there were still some left in the house. Monday was spent with Jenny (@rentayenta) and her husband who helped us get a ton of stuff out of the old house. They also came back to the new house and helped us move more boxes to the garage. By the time they left around 5PM, I was comatose and we still weren’t done, but there wasn’t much more that they could help us with as we needed to go through what was left. With their help, we did get a load out of the old house to storage, and a load to the thrift store, plus we moved a cabinet from the old house to the new one. There was a desk that we tried to donate but the thrift store wouldn’t take it, so Michael hammered it and put it in the trash.

Tuesday we were so wiped out that we could hardly move and barely made it to band. Wednesday the carpet cleaners were scheduled to arrive at 11:30. We were up at 8AM and pretty much just moved all the boxes that were left in the house out into the backyard. We got the bedroom done, the hallway, and started on the living room, and that was when the carpet cleaners arrived right on time. They started in the bedroom, worked their way through the hallways and we were like Aladdin, “one jump ahead of the lawmen”, but in our case they were carpet cleaners. We had them clean our recliner chairs and when they were done everything needed drying. We were starved and she promised me “dinner out”. So at 3PM we headed to our favorite coffee/pie shop and she had a burger and I got fish and chips and a glass of wine. We were pretty much done and when we got home we sat in our recliner chairs even though they were wet.

The next day my parents were on their way south, and the rest is a tale to be told in the bonus features of my other report. But suffice to say, when they left the Tuesday after Memorial Weekend, we were both pretty exhausted. My parents were mellow for the most part, but we did fit in some Disney fun. Having fun can be as tiring as cleaning!

Then last Wednesday we got some very bad news. Remember I mentioned that we had an investment that was selling and we were supposedly making 25% over our initial investment? Well the buyer lowered their offer. Substantially. The original offer allowed us to buy a car, finance the remodel of our old place and beef up our savings account. The reduced offer barely covers our monthly mortgage payment. So the property managers are back to square one, seeking out new offers. Instead of receiving a nice payment next week, we get nothing. Even if an acceptable offer comes in tomorrow, escrow will take 30 days. Our “Pay in Full” date for the Panama Canal cruise is June 29. It's an expensive trip, and without that extra money in our bank account I can't justify spending money we don't have, so the Panama Canal cruise is off the schedule.

With respect to the old place, there are half a dozen pieces of furniture left at the old house and some small display pieces. I am hoping we get over there later this week to take pictures of the remaining items and get them up on Craigslist.

As soon as that is done we can plan some kind of trip. As silly as this sounds WDW may be the cheapest option. Our APs are paid for, DVC as well, we have just enough frequent flyer miles to get a free flight, so the only expense is food! But we'll have to see, first we need to finish up moving and get the place under renovation!

Oh yeah, and the Band Conference….Fran decided that she would rather see John Williams in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl than go to that. But we had $900 in airfare to use up, so instead we booked a trip to Denver to meet up with @jedijill and we still have airfare on Southwest left over, but the trip to Denver will cost us far less than the band conference and with finances as they are that’s important right now!

So back to the TR!

We had just returned from the excursion and we dropped our things at the room and headed up to Cabanas for lunch. It wasn't much different from the first day which was disappointing. On the Wonder they change up the buffet everyday. On the Dream I'd had some little sushi plates, I'd seen them on other Fantasy TRs, but they didn't have them today. So I helped Fran get her plate of food and then got my own.



I was trying to avoid the situation I had the night before, eating too much at lunch so that I wasn't hungry for dinner. They were carving Prime Rib and Fran mentioned she would split a piece with me, so I started my plate with that. Pam loves the steak fries so I added those. A little fusilli pasta with basil, and I realized I could make a Caprese salad with the mozzarella from the deli station and sliced tomatoes at the salad bar. Lastly some salad to round out the veggie component of the meal.



I finished up with some peach and Cranberry cobbler. I wasn't nearly as good as the apple, but I didn't throw it away.



It wasn't very busy up there. Empty tables could still be found.





After lunch Fran wanted to try and list stuff on eBay, the reception that she got in the room on her computer was awful so I took her up to Deck 11 where she could have a table to sit at while working online.



I went back to the room and grabbed the laundry basket and headed off to the laundry room. It was all the way forward on Deck 6 (our deck). The washers were tiny, I am spoiled at home I have a washer that can practically handle industrial size loads, so I ended up splitting my assorted colors into denim and non, making three separate loads. I set the timer on my phone and went up to Deck 13 where Currents Bar is located.



There was a nice view of the island.



And the ship…





Looking down on the adult pool.





Back at the bar, I enjoyed a glass of wine waiting for the wash to finish.







I took the hang dry laundry back to the room and found Fran there sleeping. It turns out that she couldn't get a signal on her computer, tablets, phone, yes, computer, no.

We started to sail out of St. Thomas, so I went out on the Verandah with a glass of wine.







This resort looked nice. I decided that if we ever came here to stay, this is where I'd like to stay. Rooms were under $200 per night when I checked, so not too bad.







While I was out on the verandah, i over heard a interaction in a nearby cabin. Evidently the family in the cabin next door had some kind of special needs kid and they were sitting out on the balcony eating dinner, sounded like they had picked up some pizza. They were noisy, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle, until the father started saying, “Come on boy, you can do it. Just sit back, relax, and poop.” I never had kids because I was afraid of changing diapers, heck I can't even clean the cat litter boxes at home. I was back in the stateroom before you could say turd.

While waiting for the dryers to finish, I finished up Planes: Fire and Rescue. Next I started Monster's Inc. The laundry finished up just before 5PM, and I let Fran sleep while I went to the DVC cocktail party. I was a little late, and I came in just as they were announcing sales of Copper Creek. They said that this was the first time they were able to mention it out loud, which is odd because we've heard so much about it, but I guess that was all rumor and speculation. They were tempting folks to meet with them for a sales pitch by offering another pass to the SWDAS meets the next day. We already had two meets planned, and it wasn't worth spending my evening talking to someone that I had no interest in their product. If we buy another contract it will be BLT.

I had scored a glass of wine, so I headed back to the room to get dressed for dinner and wake Fran.

[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Just as we were leaving, I noticed that we had a perfect view of the sunset so we watched that before going up to Palo for dinner.









Once at Palo we perused the menu.



Sorry about the blurry picture.



As always they start you with an Antipasto plate. Since I didn't like Olives, he made us separate plates.









A photopass photographer came by and took our picture.



I love the bread service at Palo. So yummy!



We ordered two appetizers, the Fried Calamari. I remembered the Calamari at the Wonder’s Palo to be more like ringlets and not so much thick rings, it was good, but not the best.



And the Caprese salad. This was much better than the one I made for myself at Cabanas this afternoon.



I love the Palate cleanser that they serve here.



For main courses, Fran ordered the scallops. I ate half of one, she ate one and a half. Tonight it was she that ate too much at lunch and couldn't eat another bite.



I ordered half an order of the Veal and mushroom Ravioli. It was delicious and just the right portion. In fact I was still a little bit hungry after I finished it.



They actually brought the dessert menus out before our mains arrived because some desserts needed to be ordered in advance.





There was a reason why I kept myself hungry even after the main. If you remember on the Alaskan cruise, Palo had introduced a new dessert, even more delicious than my previous favorite DCL dessert. The Amaretto Souffle! They cook each one to order so it is just perfect.







And a second one! Unfortunately I couldn't quite finish the second one, but Fran got her second wind and stepped up to finish it and the scoop of ice cream.









Then they served us the Limoncello digestive aid. This really works to settle your tummy and make you feel less full.



I took some photos of the restaurant on our way out.







We went down to deck 3 to see if any photographers were out, but they weren't, so we headed back to the room.



We were debating changing into regular clothes and coming back at 10:15 to see the Empire seize control of the ship, but it was only 9PM and we weren't sure we could stay up for another hour. So in the end we just went to bed.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Sorry to hear that your deal fell apart. Prayers that something better pops up!

The view was indeed lovely! With a glass of wine, that was a great way to do laundry.

I was back in the stateroom before you could say turd.

OMG, I just laughed out loud!!!

 

[tiggrbaby]

Oops! I missed the second part.

The PP pic of the two of you is very nice!

Glad you were able to really enjoy the dinner this time; ordering a half portion was just genius!

 

[graviela]

Did y'all a internet plan to use on the ship?

 

[PrincessInOz]

On the Wonder they change up the buffet everyday.

The seafood you had on this day looks great!

There was a nice view of the island.

And what a view it is!! Amazing.

It turns out that she couldn't get a signal on her computer, tablets, phone, yes, computer, no.

Dang it! Did you figure out why that was the case?

This resort looked nice.

I hope you make it back there in the near future.

I was back in the stateroom before you could say turd.

OMG!!!

A photopass photographer came by and took our picture.

Love this picture of the two of you.

I love the bread service at Palo. So yummy!

Let's just face it. Palo food and service always looks so yummy and fantastic.

The Amaretto Souffle! They cook each one to order so it is just perfect.

WOW! YUMMMMM.