10/02/04 Antigua Cruise

[Twinave]

Just got off the phone with Disney. Saved $100 off our room. Got the Fl Resident rate! Also made our dinner and breakfast reservations. Now all we need to do is buy the tickets and we will be all set! 3 weeks...Can't wait!

 

[padisneyfan]

Ave--- So which hotel are you staying at? I don't remember reading that. Good news about the FL resident rate. I really do need to move to Fl to get all those special deals.
I don't think I have read anything by John Palmer, will have to check for his books at the used book store. I'm a little behind on my reading so have a back up of books right now. I've been lazy in the evenings.

All this talk of people going to WDW makes me want to go again now. Even though I was just there in Dec and will be going in May. Plus am helping someone at work plan her June WDW vacation. I'm homesick for the Mouse
Or maybe I should get on the 1/29 cruise for $350.

We are having more snow this weekend. So I made the traditional run to the grocery store in case we are snowed in forever. Don't want to run out of toliet paper or food. Mine is more don't want to run out of Diet Pepsi.

Fionna-- Enjoy "The Producers". I have heard it is great.

Off to bed for me.

Night all.

Nancy

 

[papa]

Hi everyone!

I have been trying to lurk but at home it is impossible with the 2 jobs and a son and daughter in law on the computers all the time. So I am at work now and waiting for the next go around in the care and feeding of little crumb snatchers.

I had an awful scare yesterday at Logan's. Katie was eating a french fry when she became choked on it and couldn't get it up or down and was clawing at her mouth and turning a deep red. There was no sound. My two daughters and Mike were looking at her horrified and I guess I was closer or quicker but I hauled her out of the booster seat and flipped her over my forearm and smacked her between the shoulder blades twice and the thing came out. That cry was so sweet to hear. I am still shaking.

Mike and I are looking forward to seeing people in DC. The only thing is that it is still weeks away and I want to go today. I really need a break and so does Mike.

Gee, I feel so jealous of Peter and Jen getting to go to Fl. twice so quickly. Sigh, wish it was us.

Everybody get and stay well. Mike isn't feeling too well right now. I hope we don't have any tooth problems before our next outing. (Dis meet or Cruise) I know we have dental appointments soon coming up. I guess I need to call the dentist.

Today on the way home Mike and I saw a forcenthia (sp) bush that was sheltered by a huge ceder tree that was blooming! It was so pretty. I just will be so glad when Spring gets here.

Take care, Kathy with a K

 

[Viking]

I officially started this years convertible-season yesterday: We had fair blue skies at 3°C/37°F. Some people stared like this and obviously thought I was , but I felt and enjoyed the good weather with the heater running and the seats warming my backside. Today I did it again when I went to a local dealership for the premiere of a new hard-top convertible by Renault (French manufacturer). Anja had to stay home because she caught a bad cold. - No, she didn't drive with the top down. She probably caught it at the hospital or on the train.

Now we're nearly completely set for Cruisetoberfest III:
We have ressies for St. Augustine, Charleston (Thanks, Mary ), Panama City Beach (Thanks, Ave ) and the Radissson (Thanks, Cathy ). We arranged transportation from the ship to MCO (Thanks, Fioana ) and will probably share a van to the Radisson (Hi, Peter ).
We booked some dives at our dive base in Crystal River and tonight I will make the ressie for the hotel there.
Now we only have to make the ressies for our air and the car. This we will do next months as one of Germay's largest travel agency offers free upgrades for the car when booked before 02/29. We always book a Ford Taurus with GPS at Hertz. Hertz usually doesn't have that car available and then tries to make us pay for an upgrade. The last time they wanted us to pay for an upgrade to an SUV: They demanded as much as we already had payed in Germany, but I insisted on a sedan with GPS and they had to give us a Volvo with GPS, because they didn't have any other GPS-equipped sedan available - at no extra-charge, of course. I can be very convincing - even in a foreign language The contract with the German TA explicitely says "If the booked category is not available, you will be entitled for a free upgrade." Needless to say, that I hope that as usual they won't have a Taurus again

Ave, congrats on getting post#900!!
And just in case someon missed it: The DIS now has more than 60,000 registered members!!! Good Job, Pete & Thank you for providing that wonderful platform

 

[Twinave]

I got#900? Didn't even notice. I was on a roll last night. So excited about saving the money on our room (we're staying at the All Star Sport) that I was paying zero attention to post numbers. I went ahead and bought our tickets too. So we are all set, less then 3 weeks to go!
Got a call from my boss at job #2 this morning. She has 4 shifts for me next month, which is great! I only got 2 shifts in Jan. Need the money for Mickey t-shirts!
We're taking the kids bike riding at the State Park later this afternoon. Hoping to see some deer.
Kathy, So glad Katie is OK. I had to do the Hiemlik on DD when she was 3 years old. Candy came flying out across the room, I didn't stop shaking for an hour. Thank God you were there.

Later, Ave'

 

[Hygiene99]

We r also going to the rest. at the Animal Kingdom lodge ...
BOMA it is called we loved it the first time and the second time we went and will visiting again..................

 

[jeanniec]

Just a short update from North Carolina. Weird weather -- we had a great day, sunny and up in the mid 60's. But tonight we're expecting an ice storm that may last thru Sunday night -- hard to figure that one out. Hope the weather forecasters are wrong again.

My friend in Tampa is going to Disney next week with her sister and BIL -- snow birds from Canada. They are also staying @ All Star Sports for $50 a night, I think. She said they could have gotten BC for $70 a night. I find that hard to believe -- I didn't think you could ever get a Deluxe that cheap even with the Florida resident rate. Sure wish we lived in Florida -- she also gets some fantastic rates on cruises, but not DCL.

 

[papa]

A teenager told a friend of Kathy's do not go to Florida. She called it God's waiting room. It is filled with old people just waiting to die according to her.

Hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Stay warm everyone. Mike

 

[papa]

Just a quick post as this is #2000 for Kathy and me. Mike

 

[Viking]

Congrats on #2000, Mike'n'Kathy

Anja has such a bad cold that I had to sleep with earplugs tonight - No kidding!!! She called in sick today for the week and has to see our Doc tomorrow

 

[jeanneg]

Hi jeannie...
We're experiencing weird weather here in Raleigh as well.
Yesterday was like spring for us also....low sixties and gorgeous. Today is a different scene altogether.....it's now been snowing for the past 3 hours and the news is reporting all sorts of spin-outs and fender-benders. There's no doubt about it: southerners have no idea how to drive in the snow, but still they all make a mad dash to bring in a week's worth of groceries for a day-long shut-in! We'll be fine as long as the power stays on......I gotta round up my 10 "D" batteries to put inside the $19 TV I bought at Target after the ice storm of 2002 (yep, the batteries cost almost as much as the TV!) Today my book club was supposed to view the movie "Cold Mt" as a group and then follow it with a mini-discussion at a local coffee shop. Our regular meeting was this past Wednesday and we were all very disciplined about not seeing the movie until we read and discussed the book. Unfortunately, the weather made us cancel our plans, so now it's definitely a hang-around-the-house day.
I know all the die-hard northerners are laughing at how the whole state shuts down when we get 3 in" of snow, but it's true. My guess is that schools will probably be closed tomorrow due to the adverse weather conditions!
Stay warm everyone!

 

[piglet33]

Congrats Mike and Kathy on #2000.

 

[Viking]

Ooops, just saw that I still had "Touchdown in Charleston-09/15" in my signature - Now it shows Orlando and the correct date (09/11).

We got about half an inch of snow last night, but it was washed away in the morning by some rain.
Jeanne, it's the same over here: 2'' of snow and every motorist blows a fuse I especially detest all the je*ks w/o snow-tyres who get stuck at the slightest slope and block everything. Every radio- or TV-station and every magazine starts telling everybody as soon as September that at temps below 7°C/44°F regular tyres lose most of their grip and that everybody should get some snow-tyres or at least all-season-tyres, but only about 45% switch their wheels - Although the insurance company may refuse to pay when something happens.

OK,
gotta take care of my sick DW now
Anja says 'Hi', too (With a slightly different voice )

 

[Twinave]

To the North Carolina Jeans....Stay warm, safe, and don't drive unless you have to. This does not include going to the movie theater to see Cold Mountain.
Papa...Congrats on #2000. And many happy postings in your future! I happen to like living in God's Waiting Room. Ya gotta wait somewhere.
Went bike riding yesterday. There is a State Park about five minuets from our house. Not to many people around this time of year. We got to see a bunch of deer, one large group of about 10 does, and a few scattered single does, and bucks. Also saw an alligator, and assorted other wildlife. The trick to seeing the deer is to go around 4-5 pm, when the temp. and sun start dropping. We had so much fun , we are going again today. Nothing like cheap entertainment!!!!
Eric, we are going to attempt the Jager-Sahne Schnitzel tonight. Wish me luck. Thank goodness you sent a translation for the directions. Please tell Anja we are wishing her a speedy recovery.
Later, Ave'

 

[Viking]

Ave,
if you really get hooked to German food, I will try to find a bilingual or English-only cooking book for you and bring it in September. And I can also bring more of the ready-to-cook bags.
We prefer Asian, Mexican and Italian cuisine. We usually only eat at typical German places when we got visitors from the USA In March some friends/colleagues (I'm glad that they're both) from Denver will come over and I already started planning where to take them: Rhine Valley, Rothenburg, Heidelberg, etc.
We would love to take your and Mary's family there, too!!!
Perhaps after your elections the value of Dollar rises again to old heights and travelling to Europe becomes affordable for Americans But please not earlier - We've got to do some shopping in the US

 

[Twinave]

Eric, So Funny, We just got back from our bike ride, and I started the Jager-stuff.LOL DD came into the kitchen "What smells so good?" Serving it up in about 30 min. with mashed potatoes and peas/carrots.
One of my co-workedrs has suggested that we take you to a small downtown place called Pappes, which serves German food. My response was, I think they get enough German food in Germany, maybe they would rather eat American food. I know I would not want to go all the way to Germany, and then dine on NY strip and baked potato. LOL
Theree are two places we Have to take you to eat. Both serve seafood. The first is a place I work at as a child (25 y/0) Great food, woderful service. It's called Captain Andersons. Look it up on the net. I know it's there. The next place is a very small local oyster bar, that serves the BEST fresh blue claw crab in NW Fl. It's called Billy's Oyster Bar. And the oysters are pretty good too.
Gosh, the food is smelling so good, I have to go.
Later, Ave'

 

[jeanniec]

Hi Jean in Raleigh. Sounds like we are having the same kind of weather. I don't think we have had more than 1" of snow, but lots of ice. Hope the power lines don't go down again -- no fun freezing in the cold. We won't get out of our street tomorrow. I don't think there can be more than a 5 or 10 degree incline to get up the "hill" from our house, but I can never make it. Maybe it's just the way I drive. One thing I must say -- when I first moved here I couldn't believe how everything shut down with just a little snow or ice, but considering that they don't salt or plow any side streets here, it is whole different story from Illinois where the trucks are out salting and plowing as soon as the precipitation starts. And it's hard to believe that the main power lines are not buried underground here. With all the trees, a little ice downs the trees and the power lines go with them. The lines in our neighborhood are all underground, but that's no help when there is no power running to them. Well, at least I don't have to worry about my mom and loss of power since she is now in assisted living and I am sure they must have a backup generator if needed (I hope).

 

[Tulirose]

I knew I would find you guys here, right where I left ya.

Just wanted to say, heading down to Florida in April. Another niece has decided to tie the knot and this one will be in Fort Pierce, Florida. Ave? What do you know about Ft. Pierce???

Anywho, after wedding we figure on stopping by for a few days visit in WDW. Anyone happen to be going there in April???

Hugs to you all. Hope y'all are staying warm.

 

[Viking]

Originally posted by Twinave
Eric, So Funny, We just got back from our bike ride, and I started the Jager-stuff.LOL DD came into the kitchen "What smells so good?" Serving it up in about 30 min. with mashed potatoes and peas/carrots.
One of my co-workedrs has suggested that we take you to a small downtown place called Pappes, which serves German food. My response was, I think they get enough German food in Germany, maybe they would rather eat American food. I know I would not want to go all the way to Germany, and then dine on NY strip and baked potato. LOL
Theree are two places we Have to take you to eat. Both serve seafood. The first is a place I work at as a child (25 y/0) Great food, woderful service. It's called Captain Andersons. Look it up on the net. I know it's there. The next place is a very small local oyster bar, that serves the BEST fresh blue claw crab in NW Fl. It's called Billy's Oyster Bar. And the oysters are pretty good too.
Gosh, the food is smelling so good, I have to go.
Later, Ave'

Glad you liked the schnitzel!!
Talking about restaurants: Anja unfortunately doesn't like seafood and both of us detest oysters - Sorry.
But we love Cajun or things like meatloaf, turkey, etc.
I know it sounds strange: Anja coming from the coast and not liking seafood Nevertheless I check out that Captain Anderson's.



Rosemary,

good to hear from you Say Hi to Richard

 

[Viking]

Ave,

I just checked our Captain Anderson's menu and there's also some food for Anja on it. She eats fried fish and the chicken dishes are also OK for her.
Looking forward to dine there.
If there is a Cajun restaurant at PCB we would love to go there, too.
PS: You're right with your assumption about Germans not wanting to eat German abroad (WE even rarely eat German at home-LOL), but I must admit it could be funny to check if that place is as German as they advertise