4/29/06 Eastern Magic...We're Going!!!!!

[castlegazer]

SHY' CHACQUITA thats INTHEMOOD for the EGGMAN 's BANANA HAMMOCK

Be afraid be very afraid!!!!

................wait................wait............I think I should be offended, but it's so darn funny


Hey, STEVE, I just picked this quote up from the trip report from the 14 year old on the Western Magic that just got in:

I was traveling with my Mom, Dad, Sister (9), Grandma, and Grandpa. We were all on deck 5, my family had room 5022 (SPH) and Grandma and Grandpa had 5518. Although the SPH was worth it to us, it was a noisy room. Some drilling, paint scraping, kids running, people jumping above us, etc.

I know, I said I was going back to work, but you gotta read up on the reports every morning, ya know..........

 

[castlegazer]

Wooohooo Pango - Great Choices for Pics - I have such a crush on Keifer

 

[ohsodisney]

NO CG , not the tour we are on . Here is the link to a tour they operate from the island that is about 10 minutes or so from where we will be snorkeling .

http://www.divestmaarten.com/shark_awareness_dive.htm

This is the link I actually read last night

http://divermag.com/archives/bonus/st-maartens.html

I just went to my Disney plans and really don't see anything else interesting for Barry and I , I am probably over reacting , but when I saw those pictures it was a weeee bit scary. I have a shark phobia, always before we cruise any where I look to see if there has been recent shark attacks or where the most has been reported in the Caribbean , like I said I think it is just my shark phobia kicking in. I'm not afraid f to much else but for some strange reason I am definelty afraid of sharks.

 

[castlegazer]

Ok - I get it now. Hmmmm. I'm not sure how I would feel about this. Normally a snorkeling tour will be close to shore, but in Aruba we were a little ways out. Hmmm. There's sharks in the waters in the Caribbean anyways. Hmmmm. Don't know. It's definately one of my biggest fears, but I don't know how serious of a threat it would be to you where you are. Normally the tour captains will be on the boat watching out over the snorkelers so they would also be watching for sharks, I think. I just don't know. But at least I get what you're talking about now.

 

[ohsodisney]

I think I was up to late last night . I read that little diddy at about 1:00 in the morning. We have done alot of snorkeling before and it never crossed my mind , I think now that we have wee ones I am not the dare-devil I once was . Just another sign of getting old too

Oh yeah, I forgot I can now officially say,

2 Weeks , 6 days !!

I LOVE saying 2 weeks !!!

The girls are being so adorable today . They are sweeping the garage singing " Whistle while you work", now if I can only get them inside to clean their playroom and bedrooms , then I can hum a merry tune

 

[castlegazer]

My only further question, is how can you tell that this location at Fish bowl is near where you will be snorkeling?

When we snorkeled, it was to this side of the island, but it was much farther north and there would be no way I could pinpoint exactly where on this map we were or how far out this Fish Bowl dive site is to the other areas.

I would note that any time that you dive or snorkel this far out into the ocean, you will be apt to see some form of sharks. In Aruba we saw sharks when snorkeling, but they were nurse sharks. This really seems pretty far out - more like a dive site than somewhere you would be snorkeling at.

If you really are still concerned, do the America's cup or the Golden Eagle - both are great excursions that you both will have a lot of fun on. The Pinel Island snorkeling excurions is supposed to be awesome too - some of the best snorkeling in St. Martin is on Pinel Island.

 

[rubysmom]

They better be careful or us RI-Masses may have to do some plotting in our corner!!!!
Don't forget we consist of a:

SHY' CHACQUITA thats INTHEMOOD for the EGGMAN 's BANANA HAMMOCK

Be afraid be very afraid!!!!

No, no, Jonna...we must join forces!!

Today, class, we will be heading about 20 min south of here for the infamous Skagit Valley Tuilp Festival. Gorgeous fields of tulips as far as the eye can see. And as much as I LOOOOVE a good snowfall, our weather forecast has been mercifully in error and we are enjoying 60-degree sunshine today. We'll post pics tonight!

Suzie made banana bread last night in honor of our new exalted self-appointed positions as Secretary and Treasurer of the SteveMed Fan Club. Mmmmm, Good! She also made us some fabulous baked spaghetti which we all devoured. Yumm!

PANGO & CG, thank you for the continued countdown (I'm with you CG, Kiefer's such a cutie)...but don't get too comfy! The expert will be back soon...we miss ya, Julie!

PJ, how cool that you're coming out here! We'd love to meet up with you then--it's only about 1-1/2 to 2 hrs from here. Tons to do in Seattle...We'll have to ring 'round the Roses and ulittletinker again for another minimeet this summer. Woohoo!!

Sue, I hope you're feeling better...? I'm sending lots of pixie dust and a great big hug your way, dear!

 

[ohsodisney]

Oh no , wow , the end of our trip is turning out to be something else . DH's Mom just called and said that she got changed for their vacation to May 6th - 13th , right when we were suppose to be there. They are staying on beautiful Gasparilla Island. We are now going to be staying there too , I'm excited but unless we change our flights home to the 13th or 14th , we will have to have a water taxi back to the main land then a taxi to the airport on the 10th . I'm so not sure what to do now. I can't wait for DH to call , he is so level headed and takes things in stride. He'll figure out this mess. Hey at the very least if we get starnded in Florida that wouldn't be so bad . I know the flight change would cost us another $335.00 too much for us at this point.

 

[ohsodisney]

Sorry everyone to on about this but I am such an organization nut that this is throwing me off completely. I just looked into a sedan to take us from the Gasparilla drop off point to Tampa airport , this is how we may have to go . The sad thing for me is that there will be no Busch Gardens for the girls , they LOVE it there. I am wondering now if the 6 hour layover, the one we originally had would have been easier on all of us. I don't want to disrupt my MIL's vacation either. At this point I guess it is go with the flow.

O.k , hopefully I'm done my ranting for the day !!!!

 

[suziemva]

Hey all! Fell asleep early last night and woke to Tori with a 101.3 fever but she's acting fine. Doped her with Tylenol and we will be heading off in just a bit.

TT - I think you are the one going to be TROUBLE on this cruise!!! What was that about the overthrow of Pango?! Do tell.....

Sad to see we've only got really one more day here before leaving. Ed is leaving Palm Beach tonight and will be home tomorrow night. Has to work Friday but at least he will be there to pick us up from the airport! There was a possibility that he wouldn't be there and we wouldn't have a ride!! The taxi would have cost us over $100 and I just can't stomache that! Anyway, looks like things will work out and all is right with the world.

Guys, I have to confess.....I'm sad about the cruise. Because knowing that when it's over, it's over. The letdown after is going to be too much. Trish and I have talked about rebooking on the cruise ship and I really think that we will, too. Tori will be two years older and the baby will be good to go....Ed will probably not have a problem with it since he really likes the cruise (better than the parks, he says). So, let's all seriously think about it.

Okay, not a lot of votes on Eggman. C'mon, everyone!! Let's do the Nancy Drew and solve that mystery!!

Time to go, so I will say au revoir for now!

 

[mketting]

Egg Vote- #2

It is still cold here and will continue to be through the weekend. Tom and Julie I hope you are apprciating the sunshine down there!!!!!

OHSO- I hope you are getting things squared away.

CG- I have every Summer off, and since I am payed as PerDiem employee, no work no pay. Even though I already put the money on our stateroom to pay for everything I had planned ,Summer is coming and is the reason I cancelled the catamaran sail, it was going to be almost $200 for the 4 of us to do that excursion. We are doing Capt. Nautica in St. Thomas so I decided that needed to be enough. I am disappointed but none of my family was doing any excursions and that extra $200 will come in handy this summer.

We got some very sad news early this morning. Kirk's college roommate/close friend called to tell us his wife past away last night. She has been battling breast cancer for the last 15 months. She was just in her early 30's and has 2 children under 4. We are waiting to hear about the funeral arrangements. We are so sad now that we had just let the last several years go by without seeing them. The last time we saw them was when Meghan was just 2. We have kept in touch but phone and email but didn't make the time to get together. (they live in Kingston, Ontario) I hate to be making the trip now under such sad circumstances.

 

[ohsodisney]

Michelle, I'm so so sorry to hear about your friend , that is a huge fear of mine since I'm scheduled every since months for a mamo. I can't imagine how her little ones are coping , must be divesting to the family. As far as this trip this goes , I actually had to take a nap , to much to think about.

Trisha and Suzie , We promised our friends that in 2008 we are going to do the Land/Sea package with them unless i can talk them into the 7 day cruise and just staying in their time shame. I know for a fact thou that DH would have my head if I re booked on board.

It is snowing here too today and very very cold, all I want to do is get under a blanket with my girls and cuddle up . Tom and Julie you are so lucky right now!!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Oh Michelle, that is terrible. So very, very sad. We just had a big conference here on breast cancer and talked a lot about younger patients - my cousin is a survivor at 30. I am so very sorry. I know exactly what you mean. My roommate lives in Atlanta and I see her about every other year, but it's now stretched to be about three years and I need to see her soon. I really wish you great strength and send my very deepest sympathies to your husband's roomate and his family.

I found out at the conference that your risk factors increase if you have children after 30 - but they decrease if you nurse. So I think I essentially evened out my risks, except for the fact that 3 of my aunts have had breast cancer. Constant vigilence.

 

[ohsodisney]

Men please read past this post , you'll be happy you did

CG , I heard that also , unfortuanetly I was a bad cow , as I like to say. I think the sudden urgency to take the girls at 33 weeks didn't help the milk factory . LOL . Oh as far as your last question tome , I can't remember which one it was but there are a few that do the shark dive and one said they leave from Simpson's bay.
I also found this little tid bit , I know it's rare , very rare. I'm not exactly sure where this was pertaining to the island.

Michelle , this gentlmen was from the Buffalo area.

Don't go into the water. That's what a Buffalo couple is saying after a shark attack cut their trip to the Carribean short.

James Bumpers was just getting out of the bay near his hotel, the SunTerra Royal Palm Resort in St. Maarten, when he felt something bang into his leg.

"I was in about four feet of water," says James,
"I felt something hit my leg real hard and then I looked down and saw something swim away." He said it looked like a fish in the muddy water, several feet long. But when he emerged, he saw what happened.

"When I hit the shoreline, I saw the leg was split open," says James, "it was down to the bone."

James and his wife Phyllis are upset that it took the resort 24 hours to post a notice about the attack. Phyllis believes, "They have done nothing to protect the safety of these people especially the children who are swimming in those waters."

Now, two weeks later, his leg still swollen and stitched up, the National Shark Research Institute in New Jersey, is researching his case.

 

[castlegazer]

Ohso - not to pile on here, but I just had a meeting with my boss about our game plan for the next month as we have some really large impending deals and well, he basically suggested, in very um, emphatic terms, that I postone my departure date for Florida until the evening of the 26th. I was flipping out. I have NEVER had anyone tell me that I can't take a vacation. Apparently he will be vacationing the week prior and for only one of us to be around for almost 3 weeks straight would be too hard on the company. I knew I had an important job, but, I had my vacation planned first! (um, said much more pompously than was possible in person). For everyone reading along who thinks - who the heck is this bossman to tell her she can't leave on vacation - well, he's the CEO - so his $3 million in compensation per year trumps my measly little peon job by a factor of 3,000. By staying around that day it gives us 3 days of overlap time to be able to process any deals and to basically get back to normal for the real estate department to be able to get their deals signed in a short window of opportunity. At least I was able to hold onto some of the days prior to the cruise. I actually thought at first he was going to take those away too. But I didn't tell him those were fluff days too. He knew that Tuesday and Wednesday were fluff from some previous conversations.

So, no dinner at WCC that evening. I am very sorry. I am more sorry that I will now have to stay at work two extra days than I thought I would. I also now have to burn three days of vacation prior to our vacation as we use it or lose it by the first week in May - not as easy as one would imagine - just look at what happens when I try and take a vacation that's been planned for 18 months.


And you all thought that all I did all day was DIS, didn't you?

I tell Suzie all the time - I multi task!

 

[Belle and Rella's Dad]

Great Day, it has been in the mid 80s all week, I really don't mean to rub it in, but you all really have to try this out, taking vacations to get ready for a vacation. I can't wait until I retire like the Queen has, we are getting ready for dinner so I will try to check back in later.

SteveMed where the heck are you??? You are not keeping up!!!!

CG, sorry to hear about the change of plans, I hope it all works out for you.

Tom

 

[jewelgrrl]

Checking in to say I got my camcorder by UPS today...it is so awesome! From our front deck you can see about 2 miles away or so and I was able to zoom in on a car that was driving over the hill there. I got a package deal with it that came with different lenses, bag, tripods, extra battery.

Also wanted to tell everyone I've made up some cruising music cd's. I would be happy to email anyone the music as long as they were able to tell me how to...lol. They are in windows media player. Some are saved in My Music and I know how to send them from there, just not sure about when it's in media player. There's also some songs I'd like to add to it if anyone happened to have the Lilo and Stich Island Favorites soundtrack to "lend out".

Anyone else feel like this cruise is approaching really fast now? I just don't feel prepared, keep thinking of all the things we've got to get done before then. Works been really busy too, so that's good, but we'll probably be dead by the time we get on the boat...lol.

Another shark phobia person here. I never go out in the ocean more than like 30 ft. out. And only then as long as it's still just to my waist. That's why I'm so excited to go snorkeling at Castaway Cay with the barrier they have to keep the big fish away.

Also, mketting...so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. We also had a friend pass away a few years ago from breast cancer and she was just 32. When you are that young it just seems hard to believe something like that could happen. My thoughts are with you and your husband, and also your husbands roommate.

 

[ohsodisney]

Cg , no worries , I totally understand , we were planning on dinner there anyways. Sorry you had to change your plans.



Ojulie , I think we are canceling our tour anyways. Since I am a bit apprehensive it may not be a good idea for me. Plus I really never planned on spending more money after this trip.

Yup, if you can tell be now guys the good old PMS thing is sooooooo setting in.

 

[castlegazer]

Barry hasn't posted on the board because he has noticed a few things that he feels isn't proper and doesn't want to step on any toes

Oh man, Maria, I am not Tom, but I totally don't see this from my seat. There's a lot of people who I fail to say something back to - like today I have been reading about your travel issues, but I have been also having some issues, so I haven't said anything, but I have been reading, nodding my head, and hoping for the best for you. Not saying anything doesn't mean I wasn't in sympathy with you.

I completely forget to say things I thought while reading and then never get to in writing. It's very hard to keep up with the fingers, but not hard in the mind to just read along. I think a lot of people we have going are just reading along because of this. I have the luxury of using the DIS to have a breather from some heavy reading every once in a while - not everyone has this luxury.

I have to run right now, but I just wanted to ask, what's Barry seeing? I am trying to jobe him to get him to post - worked with STEVEMED pretty well. I didn't mean to offend him. I really was just teasing. When you said he was reading, I wanted to try and include him. But, he's still not getting his drinks paid by me, even if I feel bad - well, maybe one.

 

[BLBCB]

I was suprised and taken back by no calls out from you to him comcidering you have done this with so many other pirates , i feel so bad for him I put my foot in the ol'e mouth often because I call things like I see them but this has been bothering me for sometime.

I don't want Tom to be in trouble here for something I did. I PM'd two of the more talkative guys and asked them to personally call my husband out. He's just now getting into this vacation and I thought a call-out would encourage him to start reading this thread. Tom was only doing a favour I had asked of him. Nothing personal.

I know that if I haven't had a chance to check the posts for a while, there are so many that by the time I get to the end of the newest posts, I will only answer the last few. Probably how you got missed before. Everybody here seems to be great and friendly.

Barb