12/24/08 Christmas Cruise on the Wonder

[TXdeVille]

What part of Atlanta?





Back to Savannah... Starfish is ran by the Union Mission there along with the Vocational/Technical school in the area. I havent been to it yet but have heard great things.

You have to drive out to Tybee. The beach is great and not too commercialized or too crowded. Breakfast Club is run by an honest to god chef trained at one of the major culinary schools. He decided he wanted to get away from the ratrace and bought the place after visiting Tybee once. When John Kennedy Jr got married just south of there on another island, he hired the Breakfast Club owner to cater the entire event. Last time I was there I had an omelet with homemade sausage, shrimp, cheese and onions. The wife had a quiche with crab meat. He closes around 2 so that he can spend the rest of the day fishing.

Back in Savannah, if you like homemade beer try Moon River Brewery. They also make a great cider

Take one of the horse drawn carriage tours. They are very good. I havent done any of the ghost tours yet so I cant tell you about those.

Anything else you wanna know ask.

I wish I was going to Savannah and Tybee Island. Your breakfast sounds so awesome! DW's too. I think breakfast could be my favorite meal of the day. I have tried Moon River's beer. Pretty darn tasty. Couldn't tell you which one but if I looked at it I could. I would LOVE the ghost tours!!!!!

 

[TXdeVille]

What part of Atlanta?

Sorry.....Flowery Branch. About an 1 1/2 north of Atlanta near some lake I always forget the name of. I can tell you it is between Gainesville and another town.

 

[AndymanGA]

Lake Lanier, except it is more like a mud hole instead of a lake right now...

All of this food talk is killing me. We were going to try to go to Tybee soon but Doctor prefers we dont travel that far and I also started a fitness boot camp this week. I am sooooo sore right now

 

[TXdeVille]

Yep, that's the one. Lake Lanier. I always forget that.

 

[chhall28]

That is a great idea about Epcot! I'll do that next time I'm down there. I chatted with Kenny today and he picked me up several bottles ... don't remember the name but I'll post it after he brings it home tomorrow. I'm so excited!

 

[chhall28]

You have to drive out to Tybee. The beach is great and not too commercialized or too crowded. Breakfast Club is run by an honest to god chef trained at one of the major culinary schools. He decided he wanted to get away from the ratrace and bought the place after visiting Tybee once. When John Kennedy Jr got married just south of there on another island, he hired the Breakfast Club owner to cater the entire event. Last time I was there I had an omelet with homemade sausage, shrimp, cheese and onions. The wife had a quiche with crab meat. He closes around 2 so that he can spend the rest of the day fishing.

Back in Savannah, if you like homemade beer try Moon River Brewery. They also make a great cider

Take one of the horse drawn carriage tours. They are very good. I havent done any of the ghost tours yet so I cant tell you about those.

Anything else you wanna know ask.

I can't wait to try the Breakfast club! Sounds incredible! I'm not a beer drinker but my husband will be more than happy to try the Moon River suggestion. Love the carriage tours! I use to live in Florida and would do those in St. Augustine too. It's amazing what you learn! Do you know of any kid-fun places or restaurants to visit?

 

[AndymanGA]

If you have any girl scouts take them to Julliette Gordon Lowe's house (there are usually some girls out front selling cookies, too).

The Old Fort out on Tybee if you have any boys. Check and see when they are firing the cannons. There also dolphin boat tours nearby. If you dont wanna take the boats, dont worry you can usually see dolphins around that Pier on the south end of Tybee. There is a Marine Science center near the Pier that has like baby turtles, etc. I've never been but heard it is neat. Tybee has a lighthouse on the North end of the Island.

Back in Savannah, Forsyth Park has a cool fountain and plenty of open ground for the kids to romp around.

The Pirate's House Restaurant in Savannah is a decent restaurant (and supposedly haunted by Captain Flint of Treasure Island fame). Originally was an Inn that was actually frequented by Pirates.

City Market has some outdoor dining options including a good pizza place. It's near Lady and Sons.

River Street has tons of shops and bars and restaurants on a cobblestone street. Also has a flea market kind of thing.

 

[adrianna_sarah]

Hi all-

The tonsil/adenoidectomy went well. He is recouperating nicely. The worst part was waking up from the anesthesia, to be honest. He didn't know he'd already had surgery, was very nauseus and tried to rip the IV out of his hand. Otherwise he is tired, but in high spirits, enjoying eating a lot of pudding and ice cream.

I on the other hand have a terrible case of the flu. I am so achy that typing is painful and I am trying to sleep whenever the kids do.

Good news-my husband's replacement arrived in a Iraq a few days ago, so he should be home on US soil in about 2 weeks!!! Yay!!!

Allright, it's naptime for the kids, so I'm off to catch some Zzzzzzz...

Adrianna

 

[drag n' fly]

Hi all-

The tonsil/adenoidectomy went well. He is recouperating nicely. The worst part was waking up from the anesthesia, to be honest. He didn't know he'd already had surgery, was very nauseus and tried to rip the IV out of his hand. Otherwise he is tired, but in high spirits, enjoying eating a lot of pudding and ice cream.

I on the other hand have a terrible case of the flu. I am so achy that typing is painful and I am trying to sleep whenever the kids do.

Good news-my husband's replacement arrived in a Iraq a few days ago, so he should be home on US soil in about 2 weeks!!! Yay!!!

Allright, it's naptime for the kids, so I'm off to catch some Zzzzzzz...

Adrianna

Glad to hear recovery is going well! Sorry to hear about you not feeling well...hope you get well before dh comes home!

Annette

 

[brendalee59]

Hi everyone!

Dale left this morning,and took Michael with him. Going to be nice and quiet around here for a couple weeks. We'll see if they can stand each other enough to work together all summer.I wonder which one will bale first?

Adrianna, I'm glad your little man is recovering nicely. Hope you are feeling better today. Great news about your DH I'm sure you are very excited about him coming home in a couple weeks.

Andy, Sounds like you guys live in a beautiful area of Ga. I have enjoyed reading about all there is to do in Savannah. Sounds like a nice vacation spot if we ever decide to stop cruising...yeah, like that will ever happen But with airfare,and all the nickle and diming going on with the airlines, we may have to cruise less often. Which leaves us open to a road trip.


Courtney, Caroline,and Annette, hope you are all doing well. I'm off to the dollar store. Need cleaning and laundry supplies. Have a great day everyone. catch ya later.

 

[adrianna_sarah]

So DCL's new promotion is a half-off deposit. Cruises are still the same price, you just have less to pay up front and more later on. Probably indicative of the state of the economy. I wonder if it will help them to sell more cruises?

I heard on the NBC National News last night that the vast majority of families did spend (rather than save) their economic stimulus rebates, but spent them on necessities, rather than luxuries like big screen TVs and Disney Cruises.

As a military family, I think we feel the pinch of the recession less than many. Sure, gas is expensive, but now that I'm not having to drive my son to school in town daily, I really only ever leave post to go to church, so I don't use much anyway.

The only big thing that I have noticed is with my husband's student loans for his Masters Degree. We were sort of surprised at student loan interest rates when we began borrowing a few years ago, but figured we'd refinance to lock in lower interest rates once he graduated, like we did with our undergraduate loans.

Apparently, that kind of student loan refinancing has gone the way of the dinosaur, as Congress took the perks of refinancing away from the student loan industry. I heard on the news, that some student loan lenders are only loaning to kids at "better schools" because certain schools have a profile of less graduates paying their loans back in a timely manner. Wow!

Are the effects of the economy hitting home with you? Not asking for personal finance details. Just curious. For me, the price of gas and high student loan rates are just annoyances, nothing we can't manage. I am feeling minimally impacted by the state of the economy, but DCL offering half-off deposits really says something... at least to me.

 

[TXdeVille]

Adrianna, glad to hear DS is doing well. Kids usually wake up that way. The worst emergence from anesthesia is young males usually late teens early 20's. Sorry to hear you feel bad. I do hope you get to feeling better before DH gets home.

Brenda, just the girls at home, huh? Y'all should P-A-R-T-Y!!!!! Hope you guys had a nice time while he was home.

Andy....I'm not planning on going to Savannah or Tybee Island soon, but it is certainly on the list. Gotta hook up with Bobby, you know! But I have certainly kept your little list of things not to miss. Cut and paste to Word. Gotta love it! One of the docs I work with is from Georgia and we got to talking about Savannah today. He gave me a quick history lesson and great architecture not to miss, best time to go, etc. Boy I can't wait....

As for the recession.....gas, groceries....that's where it's really hitting. We haven't received our rebate yet (had to pay this year...OUCH!!) but will most likely spend most of it on bills, etc. Saving some of it though. As for student loans, I refinanced and condensed mine long ago, shortly after I got out of school. I had tried refinancing again to get a lower rate but they said I couldn't. Switched to one lender who provided a deal then my previous lender wanted to get me back and offered cash back if I did. HECK YA!!! Took that one!! Try finding another lender and see if that works. I certainly know my interest rate isn't the lowest but it's on the lower side. And certainly for what was offered 7 years ago.

Keeping busy with work. This is the really busy season. And have to keep the kids entertained as well. Will check in when I can so pray I haven't fallen off the edge of the earth every once in a while.

 

[brendalee59]

well fudge, I replied to Adrianna's post and it went poof ,out into cyber space. I'll have to repost it later. Got to run Lindsey to her dr appointment. Has a bad rash for about a week and it isn't getting better. Catch up when we get home.

 

[AndymanGA]

I should have been more clear. I dont live in the Savannah area. I live in the Atlanta area. I wish I could live in Savannah or at least have a beach house on Tybee...

I used to travel to Savannah every 2 or 3 months for work but that was years ago. We try to make it down there 2 or 3 times a year and now that I have found an old friend from college that lives there we might have to go more often We had thought about going to Tybee in a couple of weeks but unfortunately the Doc doesnt want the wife to travel that far this close to the little guy's arrival

 

[drag n' fly]

With the price of oil being so high of course gas is high so that is really the only difference for us. Food is a little higher. Dh's job is related to the Oil and Gas industry so job security is pretty safe. We have definitely moved some of our investments due to the changes. Our student loans were paid off years ago so I cannot comment on that...yup we are that old LOL!
Everyone have a great weekend!

Annette

 

[adrianna_sarah]

I am just confused about Disney's strategy of discounting deposits. The deposit is the easy part to pay anyway. It's the $3,000-$4,000 or more that is harder to cough up and in the case of our cruise, the rest of the payment is due in Sept-Oct anyway. I mean, who are they targeting? People who hope to come into money-maybe have a rich great aunt die over the summer? I wonder if we'll see a lot of rooms come open at the 75 day mark when people can still get their deposits back without penalty. It smacks of desperation, DCL! *smack, smack* Guess they have to fill the boat to make it profitable.

 

[brendalee59]

Where to begin. First of all. Dale's profession has taken a serious hit due to the situation in Iraq. 85 to 90% of his loads used to be military. At this point,the government isn't moving very many people. Right now for example,out of the 5 shipments he has on, only one is military. As expensive as gas is for our cars, he has to pay his own diesel,which here is $4.65. Much higher in most states. So his income is much less than we are used to. It's ok though. We had become a very spoiled family over the past 15 years,and now have to make some lifestyle adjustments. We won't get to cruise as often as I would like. Instead of going back to Hawaii,we will have to look into road trips and see what our neighboring states have to offer. Maybe weekend getaways instead of week long vacations. The price of gas,and groceries means we don't eat out,or go to the movies as often as we used to. It becomes more of the "treat" that it used to be when we were first married. I have had to dig out and dust off my 999 ways to fix hamburger cookbook. (Just kidding ) Buying the Corolla was a bigger decsion than it would have been a couple years ago. Sure, we now have a car pmt. But it is sooooo much better on gas than the Durango. All that said, we aren't in danger of losing our home, or our good credit rating. We have plenty to eat,and a secure,safe home. In that repect, we are better off than alot of other families. As for our stimilus check, it is sitting in the bank waiting for bookings to open on a future cruise for two. I already know which one. A group cruise on the Innaugural sailing of RCCL's newest,and biggest ship to date. The newly named Oasis Of The Seas due to set sail in the Fall of 2009. This will be my last cruise until the economy rebounds. hey, I have a bunch of RCCL Royal Points to use up Dale said if I'm going to have to stop cruising, I may as well go out with a bang.

 

[brendalee59]

I am just confused about Disney's strategy of discounting deposits. The deposit is the easy part to pay anyway. It's the $3,000-$4,000 or more that is harder to cough up and in the case of our cruise, the rest of the payment is due in Sept-Oct anyway. I mean, who are they targeting? People who hope to come into money-maybe have a rich great aunt die over the summer? I wonder if we'll see a lot of rooms come open at the 75 day mark when people can still get their deposits back without penalty. It smacks of desperation, DCL! *smack, smack* Guess they have to fill the boat to make it profitable.

This has me puzzled as well. It looks as if Disney may be having trouble filling their ships. This is bad news for them with the two new ships being built. I have been reading where quite a few families are jumping ship so to speak to the other less expensive cruise lines. But it makes no sense to discount the deposit,and charge the same price for the cruise.

 

[brendalee59]

Question for those who are regulars at the World.

How on earth do you choose which days to eat at which restaurant? I have our restaurant narrowed down,just don't know how to pick which days we want to eat there. I have 16 days till we can make our ADRs and need to email the list to our DU agent so she can make them for us.
I would be a nervous wreck if we were to stay a whole week

 

[drag n' fly]

I wouldn't call myself a regular being 3000 miles away. However with that being said I had to figure it out quickly. Tour Guide Mike can help you plan your days based on crowd expectations at each park. eg: try to avoid emh parks on those days and hop over there if you want to see something special. As always hit rope drop and go back for a rest during the day if necessary and then back for dinner and evening activities. Having adr's restricts your schedule a bit as you have to plan your days as more structured however you would be eating cs every day without them. Plan what parks/hotels you want to see and plan your meals around that. The calendar on the WDW website is out for December showing hours and the emh hours. If you go the theme park and strategies forum you can click on a link through there and receive a DIS discount on the program if you want to use it. I would recommend using it for peak travel times it is worth every penny.