8/17/08 Captain Jack's Repossession Repo Cruise to PC thru TPC Part 4

[magiroux]

For me it's "Afternoon !!"

As usual, very cold here but no snow.

David

Same here. Since we are going skiing next week, I sure would like some of that snow being dumped on Upstate NY...and I'm sure they would like to give me some

 

[captaincrash]

Yup - courtesy of Vegas baby - did I tell you that DH is extremely lucky? Actually - I got lucky on New Years and won my first ever "large" pot - the bad news to that? I am now in the system!

However, the good news - I used the winnings to pay all the deposits for 2008 - we will be traveling as follows: 1 Cabin in May, 4 cabins in July - our 2 and my FIL & MIL (plus 1 friend's cabin) and then another one in August - Now if I can figure out how to pay for it - good thing we have 18 months!

We added up the sailing days and I'm going to surpass my 1st year of cruising by 3 days - In 2008 - out of about 90 days of summer - I will have sailed for 37 of those - LOL - I love life!!!

It's always nice to hear of someone making withdrawals from the "Bank of Nevada"....​

I myself am not much of a "gambler" in Vegas.... as of late we've reoriented on the pools and midway attractions with the kids...

 

[buckifan]

hey! cpt. crash, wanta form a swashbuckler group? [ that's
what i decided would be my new title...there's something about
being a swabby that leaves me feeling all itchy but could never
put a finger on it ... ]

I like that!

 

[Grandma4ever]

Ok, most of you probably have no idea how much I dispise flying. Long story that we have months to explore... I am planning on taking the girls on a cross country trip of sorts. Maybe take two weeks to get to CA, then spend a few days at DL before the Trip of a Lifetime.

What I need from all of you are some "pit" stops if you will. I can do a bunch of mini meets on my way out! I'll be starting in NJ and will most likely take the northern route since it will be summer. So who will help me make my map??

DH would be following behind by plane....

Any Chance you would be driving through Kansas City Missouri?

 

[mndisfam]

Pyramid2000 - we are up in MN!! You can stop at Chicago, Wisconsin Dells, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole, etc.

Not to give advice - but my sister gets xanax (SP?) from the doc - just one for the trip and one home...

Flying is yucky - but very convenient...

 

[Verandah Man]

Good Morning All.

Mornin' Jeff

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

Is anyone as interested as I am in Catagena? I was lucky enough to go to London with my mom for a week a few years ago - sheer heaven for me.
..

I have been to Catagena and really enjoyed it , thoose colourful buses and the views were really good, loved the old town we walked through it with a guide and then went to a jwerellary shop for emeralds.

It was a 'protected' tour, we were looked after, lets say, and I felt safe but as you left the port entrance lots of locals were there coming up to the bus to try to get money etc.

Glad you love London, it was covered in snow on Thursday am, now heavy rain here.!

 

[GSCM_DisneyScout]

Ok, most of you probably have no idea how much I dispise flying. Long story that we have months to explore... I am planning on taking the girls on a cross country trip of sorts. Maybe take two weeks to get to CA, then spend a few days at DL before the Trip of a Lifetime.

What I need from all of you are some "pit" stops if you will. I can do a bunch of mini meets on my way out! I'll be starting in NJ and will most likely take the northern route since it will be summer. So who will help me make my map??

DH would be following behind by plane....

You could stop by me, but it would be awfully close to your home to already schedule a stop. LOL! I'm near Baltimore, MD.

 

[magiroux]

Is anyone as interested as I am in Catagena? One of the problems I have with this absolutely phenomenal cruise is there is not too much in the way of historical sites. Of course, my family is thrilled bcs I am always dragging them agaisnt their will to anything historical I can find - its kind of my hobby.

I was lucky enough to go to London with my mom for a week a few years ago - sheer heaven for me.

My kids did very well at Williamsburg this year - we had a family reunion. It helped that I got my son a pretend musket he could shoot things with, and my daughter got a Colonial outfit for her and her American girl doll. They didn't scream or throw fits like MY SISTER & BROTHERS children.

Years ago, I went to the Mex Riviera, and most of the cathedrals, etc are relatively new - by Mexico standards.

Cartagena looks really good in that aspect - old cathedral, zocolo, fort. Has anyone been there? All I can remember about it is from Romancing the Stone - not good...

I am very interested in this port. I am going to work with my DD over the summer doing a report on Cartagena and TPC, in the hopes she can appreciate the opportunity we have a bit more. It really is "A Trip Of A Lifetime".

We also loved Colonial Williamsburg. Well, except we went in July and I thought DH was going to drop from the heat. Did you get to see the musician (forget his name) that plays the Armonica?

 

[JLDSMD]

Mornin' Jeff

How ya doing today Andy?

It's DS's B-day today, but his party is tomorrow for the family. I have to set up a treasure hunt in the house.

DW got a treasure hunt kit online, and for a 7 year old, it's kinda cute. I'll post a couple of the clues.

 

[captaincrash]

Is anyone as interested as I am in Catagena? One of the problems I have with this absolutely phenomenal cruise is there is not too much in the way of historical sites. Of course, my family is thrilled bcs I am always dragging them agaisnt their will to anything historical I can find - its kind of my hobby.

I was lucky enough to go to London with my mom for a week a few years ago - sheer heaven for me.

My kids did very well at Williamsburg this year - we had a family reunion. It helped that I got my son a pretend musket he could shoot things with, and my daughter got a Colonial outfit for her and her American girl doll. They didn't scream or throw fits like MY SISTER & BROTHERS children.

Years ago, I went to the Mex Riviera, and most of the cathedrals, etc are relatively new - by Mexico standards.

Cartagena looks really good in that aspect - old cathedral, zocolo, fort. Has anyone been there? All I can remember about it is from Romancing the Stone - not good...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartagena,_Colombia​

Cartagena was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia, in the area where the Caribbean Calamarí people lived, their name meaning 'crab'. This native population was part of a native tribe called the Mocanáes; Spanish accounts describe them as fierce and warlike, and point out that even women fought on a par with men.

A few years after it had been founded, the Spaniards designed a defense plan in which the main strategy was the construction of a walled military fortress to protect the city against the plundering of English, Dutch and French pirates.

Despite the precautions, the city was attacked many times. In 1551 the French pirate Roberto Baal forced Governor Pedro de Heredia to flee and to give him gold to avoid being at the mercy of the invaders.
In 1559, the Frenchman Martín Cote also dominated the city. He took huge plunder in spite of Cacique Maridalo's resistance.
Another pirate attack was that of Francis Drake, who disembarked at night and took the city at dawn; he forced the inhabitants to take refuge in the neighboring village of Turbaco, burned the houses and destroyed a nave of the Cathedral. Drake forced the authorities to pay him 107.000 ducats and took some jewelry and 80 artillery pieces.
And in 1568, the Englishman John Hawkins besieged the city for seven days because Governor Marín de las Alas did not want to carry out a commercial fair in the city; Hawkins could not subjugate the city.
This was the case in the Raid on Cartagena (1697) by a combined fleet of regular French soldiers under Pointis and buccaneers under Jean Du Casse.

In order to resist these attacks, during the 17th century the Spanish Crown hired the services of prominent European military engineers to carry out the construction of fortresses, which are nowadays one of Cartagena's clearest signs of identity.

In March of 1741 the city was surrounded by the troops of the English admiral Edward Vernon, who arrived at Cartagena with an enormous fleet of 186 ships and 23.600 men (the biggest fleet assembled up to that time, and which was not seriously overcome up to the Disembarkation of Normandy) against only 6 ships and 3.000 men. Finally he had to retire after the siege was repelled by the commander, General Blas de Lezo and expelled finally by the colonel of engineers Carlos Suillars and his men.

Cartagena was a slave port; Cartagena and Veracruz (México) were the only cities authorized to trade with black people. The first slaves arrived with Pedro de Heredia and they worked as cane cutters to open roads, in the desecration of tombs of the aboriginal population of Sinu, and in the construction of buildings and fortresses. The agents of the Portuguese company Cacheu distributed human 'cargos' from Cartagena for mine exploitation in Venezuela, the West Indies, the Nuevo Reino de Granada and the Viceroyalty of Perú.

On 5 February 1610, the Catholic Monarchs established from Spain the Inquisition Holy Office Court in Cartagena de Indias by a Royal Decree issued by King Philip II. The Inquisition Palace, finished in 1770, is still there with its original features of colonial times. When Cartagena declared its complete independence from Spain on November 11, 1811, the inquisitors were urged to leave the city. The Inquisition operated again after the Reconquest in 1815, but it disappeared definitely when Spain surrendered six years later before the patriotic troops led by Simón Bolívar. During its two centuries of existence, the court carried out twelve autos-de-fé, 767 defendants were punished and six of them were burned at the stake.

In colonial times, the Spaniards also built a series of constructions and fortresses to defend the city, such as San Sebastián de Pastelillo Fort, in the neighborhood of Manga, and the Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas, a large fortress named in honor of Spain's King Philip IV. In the 18th century, the Vaults were constructed by the Spanish engineer Antonio de Arévalo. Outside the city, the Forts of San Fernando and of San José were located strategically at the entrance of the bay to entrench the pirate vessels that attacked the city.

The city is the main host of the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games

 

[Verandah Man]

How ya doing today Andy?

It's DS's B-day today, but his party is tomorrow for the family. I have to set up a treasure hunt in the house.

DW got a treasure hunt kit online, and for a 7 year old, it's kinda cute. I'll post a couple of the clues.

Feeling OK, but will be staying indoors today as much as possible. Decided the curb meters can wait until Monday, the OT would have been nice, but it has already been a long week at work and I didn't feel like adding to it today.

Give your DS a BIG Happy 7th Birthday wish from me!!! They grow up so fast, I can't believe our DD with be 17 this September.

I've got to get busy and make a t-shirt design for a fellow DIS'er, so I might be gone for awhile myself today.

Have fun with the hunt!!!

 

[mndisfam]

This is making me feel better about Cartagena. I can't imagine Disney would take us somewhere unsafe.

I would really really like to take my kids to anything to do with the slave trade...

And the emeralds sound good. Don't tell DH!!

I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to this trip. My great great great uncle worked on the Panama Canal - in a lowly aspect, but he helped dig it...

Did anyone ever read about the Indiana Jones type RIchard Haliburton? In the 1930s he floated himself thru the PC...Paid 30 cents. My children have already been bored by this story many many times...What can I say - its my job!

 

[captaincrash]

I keep trying to get over there to check it out. I am interested, but between 4 kids, reading DIS, and trying to work around doctor's appointments, physical training, scouts, etc. I haven't had time yet. (Can't miss my physical training sessions, it's probably the closest I'll get to Orlando Bloom - my trainer looks A LOT like Orlando Bloom. )

Currently...

... I'm involved with a play by BLOG adventure. We meet maybe 1-3x a year. The game is like a slow motion adventure where it takes a week or so to render one encounter. The beauty in this is we can play a little without having to all realign our busy schedules and meet physically. The down side is it is slower and generally runs at the pace of the least attentive primary player.

I'll PM you a passage from the most recent esgment of our ongoing adventure. If you're serious about learning a little more - then let me know via PM. The time involved is not bad as I have a full schedule outside of the DIS as well. 2 kids, a business to run, and light husekeeping duties ... like cooking some, and putting fresh toliet paper on the rolls.

<chuckles>

OK... I just noticed I already sent you a sample a couple of days ago... oops!

​

 

[bellelinus]

I have been to Catagena and really enjoyed it , thoose colourful buses and the views were really good, loved the old town we walked through it with a guide and then went to a jwerellary shop for emeralds.

It was a 'protected' tour, we were looked after, lets say, and I felt safe but as you left the port entrance lots of locals were there coming up to the bus to try to get money etc.

Glad you love London, it was covered in snow on Thursday am, now heavy rain here.!

We were in London two years ago in February, and it snowed every single day we were there -- it was apparently quite unusual but we are accustomed to far more snow than that and thought it was lovely. Then we went into the Cotswolds and it looked like a picture out of fairy tales with the hills covered in white! I love London, too.

 

[mndisfam]

Well - it is far away...but has anyone every done any stand out excursions to PV, Cabo, Maz & Acapulco? I am thinking kids will like cliff divers...

 

[JLDSMD]

Here are a couple of the clues for DS Pirate Party Treasure Hunt (they label each of the cards and they have tWo difficulty levels):

from the easy ones: PIRATE COVE - "for reading and study, I'm a help to you, I'll make things light when the day is through".

The kids need to figure out what it is. For this one, it is a LAMP.

So the kids run to the Lamp and look for another clue.

Next clue, from the harder list: SINGING PARROT - "I'm made of glass, this is true. But when you look, you won't see through. Reflect on this....and you'll find a clue!"

This would be for a MIRROR.

There are 15 easy and 15 hard.

If you guys want, I can post more, without the answers, and when you get it, I can post another.

 

[Andrew DEREK UK]

​

Thank you for the link brought back good memories of the fortress etc.

Looked at the map:-

 

[bellelinus]

Well - it is far away...but has anyone every done any stand out excursions to PV, Cabo, Maz & Acapulco? I am thinking kids will like cliff divers...

Yes, the cliff divers look awesome . . . I think you can find a place on the beach and watch them for only $3 apiece.

A few places I had already started looking for excursions in Cabo and PV were:

http://www.cabosanlucastours.net/

http://www.puertovallartatours.net/

 

[JLDSMD]

Feeling OK, but will be staying indoors today as much as possible. Decided the curb meters can wait until Monday, the OT would have been nice, but it has already been a long week at work and I didn't feel like adding to it today.

Give your DS a BIG Happy 7th Birthday wish from me!!! They grow up so fast, I can't believe our DD with be 17 this September.

I've got to get busy and make a t-shirt design for a fellow DIS'er, so I might be gone for awhile myself today.

Have fun with the hunt!!!

Will do. DS actually just woke up.

Tell me about growing up fast. The 7 years have flown by.

Stay warm today. Arrrrrr you doing t-shirt designs for the 5-nighter?