8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC #15 /Life After the PC

[captaincrash]

Hi everyone, I am working on my photos today (finally!). I remember many people had questions about horseback riding in Cabo and were concerned about the care of the horses there. We ended up doing the 2 hour private horseback ride at Red Rose ranch and loved it -- the horses were in great shape and the ride along the beach and up into the rocky desert near the beach was wonderful. I like the following photo because you can see the Magic in the background (all the way to the right, behind me):

Julie... ... we're returning to Cabo in about a month and I was wondering what this deal cost - and how ya ran out there? Was it by taxi or do they have a shuttle to pick ya up? Did you compare against any other horse back riding operators? I would assume you concoluded this was a decent operator after your own investigation!? Thanks in advance fer the feedback!

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

OMG!!!!

I just about pooped a BRICK when I saw this!

I am a bit of a "chicken" when it somes to spiders and this was ....

DISGUSTING!!!!!

Thank You for this special moment Julie!... < wink >

OK... and now ...

.... here's SOMETHING FER NUTTIN'....

http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/admission.html
​

FREE Admission to any one of a 100+ museums nationwide good only TOMORROW - Saturday. If ya manage to make use of this please post a little something as I'd be curious how much we all end up saving collectively. I'd be impressed if somehow this all amounted to over $100 or $200. I'm going to save $24 by visiting the Regan Library before our 1st AYSO soccer game ... then maybe afterwards I'm considering another visit to another near by museum I've never visited. Gotta double check the closing times though ... ok... it seems I can only (maybe) visit the MONA in LA... that's the Museum of NEON Art as it closes at 7PM... however it is not all that close. They close at 7PM and we might drive down - visit a bit then catch dinner in town? Well - after 2 soccer games I think we might pass and only see the Regan Library in the AM.

So I'll start by declaring we're saving $24 with this deal... http://microsite.smithsonianmag.com/museumday/admission.html

Otherwise ... may I wish you all a...

Wonderful weekend!​

 

[captaincrash]

...
I believe!!!!

 

[captaincrash]

Changing channels here... last nite I spoke with about 100 other families on behaf of our old preschool - which was being threatened with UNFAIR cancellation of thier contract to opertate the school. It seems someone in the city is attempting to abruptly circumvent the bidding process to put a new operator in substitution. The new operator has not been shown to be better qualified or to improve the relationship with the city (revenue or quality of service to the community). EG, the new operator has been CLOSING local pre-schools they have run - they do NOT operate any INFANT care or TODDLER programs - and DO NOT operate a 7-6PM program - only part day ... and they have nothing like the Nationally recognized accredation of our old Roots and Wings program. Furthermore, several examples of questionable conduct and merit have been demonsrated by the city finance people and proposed new operator... and so we had a large organized prescence with several prepared statements ... including one which took several of us to read in consecutave fashion. I was one of 3 speakers who drew loud applause before the mayor requested we hold the applause down. Also, one person saw me specificly speaking on City TV last nite and jumped in their car (ANGRY) over what she heard was happening - and spoke at the council as well. I was one of a couple who were singled out to amplify my comments to the council - as council members were asking me to clearify certain statements I made (infammatory). Yes ... I was a bit outspoken - however it was nominally diplomatic in defense of those who were being UNFAIRLY targeted... and threatened with destruction of thier business and destruction of the preschool which has come to pass as a great local feature of our community. Here's a simple info link for any who might be curious as to what I'm in a "huff" about here... and I might add Rogers' daughter shared a pre-school class with my daughter many years ago here... http://rootswings.info/Background.htm

At any rate - here are a couple of images of me (the trouble maker in red) shot by friends in the audience in the council chamber last nite...

Well...

... everyone knows how much I love quoting myself - so as to not dissappoint anyone - I thought I'd drag this one forward because the video links are now working. USE THIS ONE = http://toaks.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=566 Select item #6 public comment once the video is running and drag the scroll bar to the 19th minute ... or if viewing the ENTIRE presentation then drag the scroll bar to the 1 hour 19th minute and I'll be speaking for 3 minutes and cross questioned for about 2. Followed by the owner of the school who had a thing or two to say politely. I'm not as smooth or lawyerly as I might be if I had practiced - but I was actually mildly in a "huff" off when I was speaking. At any rate - here it is!

 

[GoofyontheHiSeas]

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

Way wicked photo Julie I am sorry that it was raining when we were leaving and just wanted to get back to the ship. Between this and Mike's monkey pictures I wish we had hung out a while.

 

[bellelinus]

Way wicked photo Julie I am sorry that it was raining when we were leaving and just wanted to get back to the ship. Between this and Mike's monkey pictures I wish we had hung out a while.

Thank you, Roger -- I promised you! By the way, thanks to Chris (Grandmax3) who took Meredith away from the area so she wouldn't have to see me with the tarantula . . . she still has not even seen the photo and is VERY unlikely to want to . . .

We all had photos with the python wrapped around our neck and head, and of course the marmosets and squirrel monkeys, but I was the only one to go for the tarantula. Go figure.

I actually felt more sorry for the tarantula having to be in my mouth than for myself having it there . . .

 

[bellelinus]

Julie... ... we'rereturning to Cabo in about a month and I was wondering what this deal cost - and how ya ran out there? Was it by taxi or do they have a shuttle to pick ya up? Did you compare against any other horse back riding operators? I would assume you concoluded this was a decent operator after your own investigation!? Thanks in advance fer the feedback!

OMG!!!!

I just about pooped a BRICK when I saw this!

I am a bit of a "chicken" when it somes to spiders and this was ....

DISGUSTING!!!!!

Thank You for this special moment Julie!... < wink >

OK... and now ...​

Always happy to know I made you almost poop a brick, Crash!

As for the horseback riding, we took a taxi there from the port ($15 as I recall, and perhaps a 10 or 15 minute ride) and another one from there to Medano Beach ($10, I think), and then the water taxi from Medano back to the ship. At Medano Beach we got some lounge chairs and drinks at Billigan's Island and the beach and surf were beautiful there.

The private horseback riding was arranged through this site:

http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Cabo-Horseback-Riding.htm

All the prices and terms are there. I believe you can also do the same thing, non-private, and just have some others riding with you. I thought the horses were lovely and the man who guided us was great -- just be sure someone in your group speaks Spanish. Also, this is not a super-safety conscious Disney tour -- no helmets, and the horses really scrabbled up and down some steep rocky areas going to and from the beach. We varied between walking and trotting with the horses, but toward the end he let us gallop along the beach for a while, which was wonderful. I'm sure if someone was not comfortable doing that they wouldn't have to, though. I thought it was terrific in general, though, the real thing and so beautiful. I have more photos is you want to see them as you are making up your mind. I knew someone who had used Red Rose Ranch before and had heard the horses were not underfed or covered in ticks (wasn't that Debi's experience at Acapulco???) and I found them to be in good shape. I have heard good things about Randi's Happy Horses in Manzanillo if you happen to be stopping there as well -- I didn't know you were heading back to the Mexican Riviera so soon! Have a great trip.​

 

[cruisin'Mike]

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

I LOVE IT!!!!

I think that's awesome!

Linda, on the other hand, is hiding her eyes!

I just got my lithographs back from the framing store and I hung them in my office. As we were allowed two per stateroom, I had them both signed by Ducky Williams.

I hope, if nothing else, that this brings back some fond memories of our cruise! ​

They look great framed. I'm glad you were able to get them home safely!

 

[micmse2003]

Hi everyone, I am working on my photos today (finally!). I remember many people had questions about horseback riding in Cabo and were concerned about the care of the horses there. We ended up doing the 2 hour private horseback ride at Red Rose ranch and loved it -- the horses were in great shape and the ride along the beach and up into the rocky desert near the beach was wonderful. I like the following photo because you can see the Magic in the background (all the way to the right, behind me):

What a beautiful picture. Just like a scene from a movie!!

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

OMG!!!!!!!! I would never do that in a million years!!

Way wicked photo Julie I am sorry that it was raining when we were leaving and just wanted to get back to the ship. Between this and Mike's monkey pictures I wish we had hung out a while.

 

[arlenesp]

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

Yikes!!!!!

 

[bellelinus]

I LOVE IT!!!!

I think that's awesome!

Linda, on the other hand, is hiding her eyes!

What a beautiful picture. Just like a scene from a movie!!



OMG!!!!!!!! I would never do that in a million years!!

Yikes!!!!!

Thank goodness I met all of you BEFORE I posted the tarantula photo . . . Clearly otherwise I would have had a few fans but plenty of people running for cover!

My oldest daughter got an entire series of photos of me and my friend -- tarantula on the top of my head, down on my forehead, across my face, and finally this one . . .

 

[bellelinus]

What a beautiful picture. Just like a scene from a movie!!

Thanks, Cheryl . . . I have another one of just the three girls on the horses with the ocean behind them that I am thinking of using for our Christmas card . . . it really was beautiful that day and the photos turned out wonderfully.

 

[captaincrash]

Always happy to know I made you almost poop a brick, Crash!

As for the horseback riding, we took a taxi there from the port ($15 as I recall, and perhaps a 10 or 15 minute ride) and another one from there to Medano Beach ($10, I think), and then the water taxi from Medano back to the ship. At Medano Beach we got some lounge chairs and drinks at Billigan's Island and the beach and surf were beautiful there.

The private horseback riding was arranged through this site:

http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/Cabo-Horseback-Riding.htm

All the prices and terms are there. I believe you can also do the same thing, non-private, and just have some others riding with you. I thought the horses were lovely and the man who guided us was great -- just be sure someone in your group speaks Spanish. Also, this is not a super-safety conscious Disney tour -- no helmets, and the horses really scrabbled up and down some steep rocky areas going to and from the beach. We varied between walking and trotting with the horses, but toward the end he let us gallop along the beach for a while, which was wonderful. I'm sure if someone was not comfortable doing that they wouldn't have to, though. I thought it was terrific in general, though, the real thing and so beautiful. I have more photos is you want to see them as you are making up your mind. I knew someone who had used Red Rose Ranch before and had heard the horses were not underfed or covered in ticks (wasn't that Debi's experience at Acapulco???) and I found them to be in good shape. I have heard good things about Randi's Happy Horses in Manzanillo if you happen to be stopping there as well -- I didn't know you were heading back to the Mexican Riviera so soon! Have a great trip.

Gee...

... thanks fer da tips and insights. We canceled the January 4th NCL voyage in favor of this Princess Sapphire cruise - in part because we had several cancellations in my group for Jan 4th... and a lot of the changes we had made in choosing that were for the folks who cancelled. So abruptly, I turned to my Dad and said - gee - since those folks cancelled lets' reexamine what we can do - and all along he wanted to cruise much sooner - and while planning for a cruise with another (different family) we found this Princess deal... which was about 33% cheaper than the NCL January cruise - plus it sailed over Halloween week - thus satisfying many considerations which include having a newer / larger ship compared to NCL. Total time in port is shorter at 27 hours versus 30 - however those 27 hours are slightly earlier and of a practical nature - so I would judge the port times as near identical in value.

On our TOAL I compromised our schedule to conform with the groups' speed and preferences - in part because we were already booked to return before we embarked. Julianna has yet to gether dolphin swim - I wanna do horses and a zip line somewhere as well. While with my DCL group they only wanted to do a dolphine encounter (due to ages among thier kids) and conservative city tours. I almost ran off to do zip line and horses alone - but that might have been diplomaticly inflammatory in a mild way... so I just sat back and kept quiet (in public).

Now I get to plan and do everything I anted to do! No complications or compromises. I do have to look after my Parents and an Uncle - but they've already agreed to ride horses with us ... and my Dad is not clear on what the dolphin encounter is - but I'm sure my step mother will get an unforgetttable kick out of doing it - especially since I'll pay so they don't have to 2nd guess whether they wanna do it. I expect my Dad and Uncle would decline to step into the water with a dolphin. As for the zip line... it's just Julianna and myself... except she had a bit of hesitation since Austin mentioned there were bees... and J had recently been stung by one. At any rate - I think we'll get past that concern by the time the Hallowen cruise comes around.

At any rate, thanx again fer the info. I hooked up with a hand full of friendly folks on another site' cruise meet thread. Swing by ta say "cheers" if you're registered there!

OK... gotta go more or less... we have a semi-busy weekend coming up - 2 soccer games - one museum visit in the AM, a new fellowship group POSSIBLY getting launched sunday followed by a modest gathering of kids for an afternoon swimming. Oh well...

Stay safe folks and remember to be nice out there!

 

[got2travel]

we were discussing David's band myspace page in chat, just thought I'd post it since I spent so much time trying to find it again

Band's page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=50595656

David's page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=107249303

 

[dahuffy]

I knew someone who had used Red Rose Ranch before and had heard the horses were not underfed or covered in ticks (wasn't that Debi's experience at Acapulco???) and I found them to be in good shape. I have heard good things about Randi's Happy Horses in Manzanillo if you happen to be stopping there as well -- I didn't know you were heading back to the Mexican Riviera so soon! Have a great trip.

Yep, that was us!

 

[smeecanada]

we were discussing David's band myspace page in chat, just thought I'd post it since I spent so much time trying to find it again

Band's page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=50595656

David's page
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=107249303

Cool, he's Canadian. Didn't know he had a band. He was a good M/C - I still prefer Ian though.

Did anyone get a good pic of the CM group at the Pub Night when they all posed at the end? I didn't have my camera with me and I need a copy for the scrapbook. Need to try and post some pics to the pirate board this weekend.

 

[AndyR]

Cool, he's Canadian. Didn't know he had a band. He was a good M/C - I still prefer Ian though.

Ian was a craaazyyy man. I've never seen someone with so much energy.

Andy

 

[eeyorelvr10]

Roger, I remember speaking to you after the Puerto Vallarta day and wondering if you had met the tarantula at Los Veranos . . . I promised to show you a photo of my "encounter" with him/her:

OMG Julie! Your are either one sick chick or a very fierce one! I'm thinking fierce! Not even this crazy lady would do that - maybe the python but that is really pushing the limits - tarantulas! NO WAY!


Anyway, hope all is well with you and yours and I agree - I love the picture of you and your girls - go ahead and use it for your Xmas picture - I love it!

Talk to you all soon

EVERYONE - I have not abandoned you nor moved one. I am dealing with a bunch of stuff right now - the FIL business may unfortunately be coming to a close soon enough. He has not responded well to the chemo and we are now in the process of attempting to change things over to our names. Consequently, I may be getting ready to take some tests real soon here.

On a bright note, I may have mentioned that DD was going to Europe in April? Remember I was upset because I couldn't go? Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed but as of now, I have put down a deposit to "shadow" DD and so I (with God's grace) may be accompanying her to Madrid, Zaragoza, Barcelona, , Carcassonne, Provence, Avignon, Nice, French Rivera, Pisa, Florence, Assisi and the ROME - I'M GOING BACK TO THE SISTENE CHAPEL!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yeah, I believe we may be hitting Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri too. So, I guess prayer does help.

Oh folks, got to hunt down some kids, talk to you all soon I hope. AND yes, I still intend on posting if you all want some pictures still. Just lots going on and not enought time to do it. I just finished unpacking my souvenir box today and am almost done passing them on. Hey - I may be slow but it will eventually get done.

Later all

 

[eeyorelvr10]

Dare I ask? Is our own Stephanie going to be on Dr Phil on Monday?

Inquiring minds want to know. Steph - are you going to be on TV?

 

[smeecanada]

Ian was a craaazyyy man. I've never seen someone with so much energy.

Andy

Ian and Pikey were on our cruise in AUG07 on the Wonder. Man are they a good team. DH and I laughed so much in those 4 days. Hope/wish Ian would come back to DCL.

 

[captaincrash]

Dare I ask? Is our own Stephanie going to be on Dr Phil on Monday?

Inquiring minds want to know. Steph - are you going to be on TV?

Gee... Alicia was once on Romper room as a kid in Pittsburgh - however, Dr Phil sounds like an interesting gig ... so you say Steph is gonna be with Dr Phil Monday then?​