Oh the places We Go, The People We see

[jenseib]

And ....... I again love the update, Jen. We have never done the stingray thing, it's enough for me to see them at Serenity Bay.
But I do agree, there is not really much to see at your snorkelling adventure than the stingrays.

Thanks for the rainex tip! We always have water spots on the lens - so that is a great idea!

You wil lsee later on that I REALLY should've applied more rainex before this trip. LOL
I have yet to get to Serenity Bay. Someday I will make it happen.

The stingray feeding does look neat, but I can understand that you were disappointed in the snorkelling.

Corinna

Yes, the snorkleling was not much of anything. But we still had a good time.

 

[JKSWonder]

I have yet to get to Serenity Bay. Someday I will make it happen.

Three cruises and I've never been to Serenity Bay either. Pesky kids.

Someday!

 

[ronnmel]

I think it's good that Claire had a good, easy experience to start with for snorkeling. That way it can help build up her confidence and she can tackle something more difficult next time without feeling scared.

 

[jenseib]

Three cruises and I've never been to Serenity Bay either. Pesky kids.

Someday!

I think it's good that Claire had a good, easy experience to start with for snorkeling. That way it can help build up her confidence and she can tackle something more difficult next time without feeling scared.

Exactly. After seeing a kid crying and fussing and refusing to get into the water on our Sept cruise while in port at Gran Cayman, I was glad i chose something basic to introduce her.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I've often wondered if I would freak out if I went parasailing given that I'm so afraid of heights. But, it looks like sooooo much fun!

I got tickled when you said that Gail and your mother can pack a bag. I'm like that too. John always fusses about how heavy my purse is but, when in church, the man doesn't have a problem with it when he can find a little mint or gum or when we are driving down the road and he has a hangnail.

It looks like the stingray excursion was a good one for first time snorkelers. Were there a lot of stingrays to see? It looks that way from the pictures.

 

[jenseib]

I've often wondered if I would freak out if I went parasailing given that I'm so afraid of heights. But, it looks like sooooo much fun!

I got tickled when you said that Gail and your mother can pack a bag. I'm like that too. John always fusses about how heavy my purse is but, when in church, the man doesn't have a problem with it when he can find a little mint or gum or when we are driving down the road and he has a hangnail.

It looks like the stingray excursion was a good one for first time snorkelers. Were there a lot of stingrays to see? It looks that way from the pictures.

LOL. Abbby now thinks everyon should have snacks in their purse because My mom and Gail always do.

yes there were quite a few rays in there. Not too many to be creepy, but a fair amount to see.

 

[jenseib]

After our Stingray Adventure we headed out to find the family. Now we had no meeting place what so ever and were just winging it. We found a spot and sat down and within seconds Geoff found us and took us over to where the rest were sitting. We set our things down and then Rob, Alexis, Claire and I had a mission. At breakfast I had asked Rob if he was interested in doing the jet skis and Gail answered for him “Yes he is!” So the 4 of us were off to sign us up to do that later in the day.

Rob is also a fast walker and wow! Walking in the sand fast will give you a great workout!
We found the spot to sign up and they had PLENTY of openings for the day and they told us that the CM’s on the ship always tell people they only have so many double rider jet skis, but the fact is, ALL of them seat 2. She told us that in the future, just book it right on the island and you won’t have any issues. I think we signed up for the 12 PM session, which was about an hour away. We had to sign some waivers and give our room numbers, etc. And then I pocketed my receipt and then the lady said something about all being 8 and older. OOPS! Wait! Um no, Claire is one month shy of 8. And I am honest and told her that. Rob quickly chimed in that she was a big 7 and actually almost taller than his daughter who was almost 9. The lady said, well if anyone asks, she is 8 today! WHEW!!! That could’ve been a bit of a heartbreaker for Claire. At this point she was getting excited about doing this.

We headed back to the family once again and played for a bit.



And shells were also collected. For some reason, Claire just kept bringing me more and more shells and when she wasn’t looking I would throw them the other way. LOL





Time flew by and soon Rob mentioned it was time to go check in for our excursion. I turned around and looked back and they were already on their way. Holy cow!



I found out later why Rob was moving so fast. Alexis was doing a bit of whining about this excursion. She has jet skied before and sometimes she likes it and sometimes she gets scared. Today she was feeling scared. He was getting annoyed as he knew she would have fun, but she wasn’t letting up on it either.

Of the 4 of us, Claire was the only newbie to the jet skis. I actually used to own one many years ago, but it was a smaller tamer version, so I was a bit nervous at how fast we would go. I did know that Claire would have a good time though.

We arrived and got signed in and got our life jackets on.

We waited for the group before us to come in and we got a few instructions. I had to laugh how some came right in and a few were WAY back coming in very slowly. Then I reminded myself that I might be one of those persons in our group.



Soon it was time to pick a jet ski and take off.

I will tell you now, it’s really hard to take pictures while on a jet ski, so I didn’t get a lot and the ones I did get are not very good.





I easily got the feel for the ski and things came right back to me. No worries at all. In fact I was wishing we were going faster.
We had to go in single file and keep a distance between each ski as well. We would ride to certain areas and then stop. After the first sop, we kind of rearranged ourselves so that the slower people fell to the back.
Each time we stopped, we had to turn off our jet ski to we could hear the guys talk. Even then, with the waves crashing around and our skis bobbing it was really hard to hear them.



The waves were moving us all over too and it was easy to bump into each other just sitting still.

I must say this was really fun. I wanted to go faster, but we weren’t allowed to. Also no wild tricks were allowed, but I did try to hit the wake off of Rob’s wave runner and get a little height in some jumps. Claire was squealing in delight behind me. The downside to this was lots of saltwater in my mouth and eyes.

One of our stops was on a sand bar. I knew before the guy told us. I said to Claire, “Look, you can see the bottom”.



Of course the water spot on this picture is right over Rob and Alexis.





We made a stop near the island and were told about the Mangroves. My jet ski REALLY liked the mangroves. It kept floating over to them. I wasn’t sure what to do. We weren’t supposed to start our jet ski’s while they talked, but I knew I was too close. Finally they did tell me to move and I did. And sure enough, I started floating right back.





We then headed back. It was so funny how long our line was. Several of us were up towards the front. Some maintained a good mid speed and then a few were WAY behind and they looked terrified!

On this long about way back I really tried to do as much legal play as I could, and I noticed Rob was doing the same. We would try to run into the wake of the ski in front of us to get a bit of air with a jump. It was so much fun and Claire just giggled and laughed and held on for dear life! This really made me miss the days of going out every week or two and riding wave runners on a nearby lake. That was back in the days when my older 2 were young and they loved it too.

All too soon this came to an end. It was so much fun and I am so happy we ended up doing this on the spur of the moment. Now price wise, this is kind of high and I believe you are out there just under an hour. But to hear Claire squeal like she did, it was worth every penny. She talked non-stop about it too. She couldn’t wait to go back to school and tell her friends all about her Castaway Cay day. They were NEVER going to believe it!
Oh, and Alexis had a good time too. Rob did say she was complaining a bit when he was doing some small jumps, but she still had a good time.

 

[dolphingirl47]

It's great that everybody enjoyed the excursion and that Claire's first attempt at riding a jetski was a success.


Corinna

 

[jenseib]

It's great that everybody enjoyed the excursion and that Claire's first attempt at riding a jetski was a success.


Corinna

She loved it. I think she has expenseive taste in excursions now.

 

[Majordis]

Jen thanks so much for sharing your jet ski adventure. I booked this excursion for our Fantasy cruise next month and your pictures are making me very excited

BTW my initial thought when I saw the picture of your sister was that she sure knows how to pack a bag. Then I read your comment about her bag packing skills I wish I had those skills

 

[jenseib]

Jen thanks so much for sharing your jet ski adventure. I booked this excursion for our Fantasy cruise next month and your pictures are making me very excited

BTW my initial thought when I saw the picture of your sister was that she sure knows how to pack a bag. Then I read your comment about her bag packing skills I wish I had those skills

Great. I am glad it helps you. We had a lot of fun on it. I think Claire will now expect to do it again. LOL

My sister and Mom both can pack bags. Yet my Mom insists on taking 2 suitcases for just her for our trip next week. We even have a washer and ryer, so I don't know why she need so much. I guess she is bringin a razor blade, onion and rope.

 

[dizneeat]

Looks like some kind of adventure, Jen! You are one brave girl ..... and Claire is brave too!

I love that your sister is so good at packing a bag. There is always something unusual in mine too ...... thinking of screwdrivers

 

[jenseib]

Looks like some kind of adventure, Jen! You are one brave girl ..... and Claire is brave too!

I love that your sister is so good at packing a bag. There is always something unusual in mine too ...... thinking of screwdrivers

We had a lot of fun doing that. I miss the days of going every weekend and just playing on the lake with a jet ski.

My sister probably had a screwdriver too.

 

[jenseib]

While we were getting wild out on the ocean, the rest of the family was having some beach fun.

Mom and Dad had brought Abby out. They had spent some time in the pool earlier, but she was ready for the beach. Gail had to slather her with some sun screen.



Who would’ve known that one of the highlights of the beach is a brown palm hanging low enough to grab?



Foolishly, Gail is taking her away from it too.











We caught up the family then. I believe they had all gone to eat while we were away, so we decided we better go get some lunch too. I did not take a single picture of my food. I set my camera down and my mind was set on food and never picked it back up to come along.

We had the basics though. Hamburgs, Hotdogs, chicken, ribs, potato salad and a few other items and about 15 of my favorite chocolate chip cookies.

We chatted about the fun we had and soon the girls were ready for ice-cream. I asked if they needed help, but no, Alexis assured me she knew how to do it and she would help Claire too. So they walked the short distance to each get a cone and after a few minutes they came back. I REALLY wish I had my camera now. The cones that came back were HILARIOUS!!!!! Obviously neither one of them knows how to make a cone. But Alexis’ was REALLY bad. It looked like she was making it sideways. This thing was defying gravity in all possible ways. It was the UGLIEST ice cream cone I have ever seen. We were just laughing so hard. Claire’s wasn’t very pretty either, but it was a little better. And they both put so much ice cream on the cone that both could only eat about half before they got sick of it.

We then headed back to the beach and we had a couple of floats, so the girls went out with Geoff to play in the water.



At some point in time, Gail and I went to one of the shops. That actually might have been before we went off to jet ski. She wanted to get something, but I don’t remember what, but I found a cute shirt and it was on clearance. SCORE! I didn’t have my Key with me, so Gail bought it and I paid her later. I think I also bought a magnet from the island as well. Gail purchased a few things as well.

Mom and Dad kept telling me to go get them a beer. I kept joking with every family member who walked by that they should go get Mom and Dad a beer and someone actually went and did it. I can’t remember who though. After a bit I got jumpy and went for a walk and made a stop for a drink for myself. I was going to get a beer, but I got a strawberry daiquiri instead. It was just OK and again, I didn’t take a pictue of it, but I did take pictures of the bar.



They were on island time too, because even though it wasn’t busy, it took quite a while for them to make it.



Taking pictures with a drink in hand is not easy, so I just randomly shot.

















I took a walk over by Cookies BBQ Too and got a few shots.











Those are some pretty bad shots of the buffet and they were getting close to shutting it down, but at least I got a few.

 

[jenseib]

While I was out walking and drinking my cool beverage, the family was just chillaxing as well.

I continued my walk around as well. I was trying to get a glimpse of areas I had not seen before.



But when you drink a tropical drink, nature calls.











I didn’t do it this time, but it was tempting.



I had never made it down this far last year.



Or if I did, I don’t remember!











This picture makes me think of the Poly.

 

[luvslikepi]

REALLY wish I had my camera now. The cones that came back were HILARIOUS!!!!! Obviously neither one of them knows how to make a cone. But Alexis’ was REALLY bad. It looked like she was making it sideways. This thing was defying gravity in all possible ways. It was the UGLIEST ice cream cone I have ever seen.

LOL...my first summer job when I turned 16 was at McDonalds...I was also horrible at making ice cream cones...it's hard to get them looking professional.

 

[jenseib]

Spring a Leak! We made it here on our last visit and Claire had a great time. It’s a splash type area and I took lots of pictures ….. BUT ….. they were all on the card that I lost that trip. It still irks me that I never found that lost memory card.









From the back side of Spring a Leak you can see the Teen area.











I made it back over by Cookies BBQ Too and they had now closed up. I took a seat and had a little rest.



I took this video for some reason. I am thinking it was because of the music. It kind of had a circus sound to Be Our Guest.



After my rest, I continued on taking more pictures.











I absolutely LOVE this picture.









I walked over and checked out the Pelican Plunge too.











I just love the view of the ship from the beach!

 

[jenseib]

LOL...my first summer job when I turned 16 was at McDonalds...I was also horrible at making ice cream cones...it's hard to get them looking professional.

I worked there too. it took a little practice, but I got them down.

 

[mom2rtk]

LOL, a razor blade, an onion and some soap!

And double LOL at throwing Claire's shells away! I need to try that when we go to Sanibel. We always bring home a huge batch of shells. We have bags and boxes of shells stuffed in closets and under sofas all over. And NOW you tell me all I had to do was just throw them back down when they're not looking!

And the jet skis look like tons of fun. So glad it wasn't a problem bringing Claire along!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I can't remember...were ya'll on the "first beach"? We took the tram to the second stop because I had read that it was less busy and it certainly was. At least for a while it was. The story of the girls' leaning tower of ice cream cones had me giggling.

Like I said before, even with everything being brown, the island is still beautiful.