Cass, Rob & Kira - Christmas on the Wonder - 2018. Third time's a charm!

[buteraa]

Wow, Moody Gardens looks pretty awesome.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

We've always avoided Pleasure Pier in Galveston but you make it look fun! We will have to try it now.

 

[disneyfam]

Saw this and thought of your adventures and your love of the waffle house. Maybe you and Rob should renew your vows somewhere in Georgia https://www.wideopeneats.com/waffle...2HfJP1FRfZcmij2IgipU9eOUUAFrAanu58857vyIRdE3o

 

[cntkg1]

What a fun night at Moody Gardens! Looks awesome!!!

 

[Timon]

December 28th, Part 3

Next up for us was the ropes course. None of us had ever done one of these but it was included in our tickets so why not, right?

We couldn't take anything up there, so no photos or videos but it was fun. The zipline was sadly closed due to winds and when we got up to the third level, we realized why. On the ground it didn't seem too bad but up there it was super windy and a little chilly. Also, the very top level was closed as were a couple of the walkways, guess it was too dangerous in the winds.

I was wearing skechers, which I wouldn't recommend for this. Runners would have worked much better. I did all of them wooden paths with no problem but I had some issues with some of the rope ones. They were just too hard on my joints so after doing two of them, I just stayed away from the rest and stick to the wooden ones. There was one path that was just too wobbly for me, otherwise I did them all.

Kira did way better than I thought she would do. She got a little scared at our top level and did only the easier paths but it was super fun and challenging and great thing for the three of us to do together.

After that, the only thing left to do was Iceland, which is in that huge tent behind Rob down below...

Christmas tree selfie...

Very pretty palms

The line for Iceland was long. We asked how long and they said it was about 25-30 minutes, which was totally doable. Kira was very grumpy at this point and just wanted to go and we were all hungry but I knew Iceland was pretty cool and Rob and I really wanted to see it so we endured the crabiness

What we didn't know was that the 30 minute line was just to get INTO the tent, where we then watched a short video of the behind of the scenes of making Iceland and then we waited another 30 minutes to grab parkas and head into the actual Iceland part.

I'm pretty sure that if she had said the line was 60 minutes, we all would have left but I am glad we stayed and saw it. It was very cool.

This little kid with the parka as big as him made me laugh!!

Rob and Kira kept talking about how they weren't going to wear the parka, they didn't want to wear a jacket that hundreds of others had worn and the posted temperature didn't seem bad, it was 9F, which is about -12C, which is a decent to fairly mild winter day at home for us but I told them that we were only wearing hoodies and we've been in warmer temps for 10 days now and they should be wearing the parka just in case!

Good thing they listened to me because it was cold!

It felt MUCH colder than -12C, I tell ya!

Rob and I were okay but Kira complained the entire way and was literally dragging us to go faster

The slide had quite the line and Kira was not having any part of that!

With Kira having a teenage meltdown and just wanting to leave, we ended up missing out on an entire part of it, which I didn't realize until we got to the exit and well, there's no going back.

I was a little miffed because we waited an hour, I wanted to see it all but...pick your battles I guess


Rob and Kira's glasses were all fogged up when we got into the store.

Kira desperately wanted a stuffie and she had a few bucks left from her Christmas money

We walked back to the car and then straight back to the hotel. We ate at Blake's that night, inside of our hotel.

Small menu but we all found something good.

Rob got this little cake with his coffee and Kira and I loved it so much, he asked for another one to split. One bite each

Kira and I (mostly me) got to use our french here, of all places! The hostess was from Paris and we chatted with her about her story and how she ended up in Texas. She said she wanted the "American Dream" and knew that people from Texas were nice so she packed up and headed over. She seemed pretty happy to be there so kudos to her for being brave and following her dream!

Back up to the room, where I asked Kira to join me in the pool and she said she didn't want to so I went down by myself and then shortly thereafter, Rob joined me for a bit. It's not often he swims with me but he thought I could use the company

Kira stayed in the room, on her phone.



We enjoyed our swim but our swim session was cut short due to other guest behaviours

There were two couples in the pool/hot tub that were obviously very drunk, they were spilling their drinks into both the pool and hot tub, one was smoking IN the hot tub and flicking his butts into the nearby palm trees and both of them were performing very lewd acts that really should have been kept in their room.

I mentioned their terrible behaviour to one of the pool attendants but they didn't seem to care in the least.

I was just kind of done at that moment with pool time so we went up to our room and hit the hay.

Love these clocks, genius!!

Tomorrow would be our last full day in Galveston

 

[Lesley Wake]

Love these clocks, genius!!

OMG, I've never see one like that! I hate how all the Disney hotels now have removed clocks from the rooms. I've actually started bringing my own travel sized version with me!

 

[bcwife76]

That Iceland exhibit seems very cool (no pun intended!). Very unique!

You guys are fearless, that rope course looks very daunting, especially at night!!

While it's so nice that Rob joined you in the pool, I'm sorry it was disrupted by those horrible guests

 

[Timon]

December 29th, 2018

This is always the worst day of the year for me and the reason we started going on cruises over Christmastime. Twenty-one years ago, I lost my Mom.

This day and most of the month of December of 1997 was awfully terrible for me and my family. I was diagnosed with Lupus and while both my Mom and I were in the hospital together, she collapsed and was rushed to another, more specialized hospital. By the time I got out of the hospital, we thought she would be okay but her condition got much worse and on December 29th, 1997, we said our good-byes.

She was the glue that held us all together and she was a huge part of my life and there has been a terrible void in my life since then that will never be filled. By the time I had Kira, I felt like I was almost done grieving her loss and then Kira was born and she gave me this inexplicable bond to my Mom that I had never had, which was weird because she had been gone for 9 years by then.

But I was a Mom now and finally understood a Mother's love and how much my Mom loved me and what she sacrificed for her five kids and what she went through. It's a catch-22 most days because as close as I feel to her, I grieve her loss so much more now. I grieved the loss of a Mom already but now I grieve the loss of her as a Grandmother to Kira, her wisdom, her experience, her love, patience and kindness. I grieve (sometimes in anger, oddly) the loss for my Mom at missing so many years with her grandkids, both the ones she had met and for the two she hasn't).

Sorry, I am rambling.

My point was that, at home, on this day, I always spent the day alone, just wanting to withdraw from everything. And honestly, the entire month of December I've always wanted to just skip. My mom loved Christmas and I hated it because I couldn't spend it with her anymore.

So, back in 2016, when the opportunity came up for our first Christmas cruise, I jumped at the chance to just get away from everything, in the hopes that I would be distracted enough almost, to enjoy Christmas again. And I did. And in 2017, on the 20th anniversary of her death, we returned to Galveston and cruised and it was a little easier than the year before and this year was a little easier than the previous one.

I think it's because I am no longer associating Christmas with my Mom's death. Instead, I think of the cruise now and Texas and being a million miles away from everything that reminds me of her and although I still miss her greatly, and always will, I have also started to enjoy Christmas again. This new tradition with my family has given me the happiness around the Holidays that I haven't had in so long.

So, I woke up that morning, looked out at my view and thought about how lucky I was and I knew that my Mom was watching over me. Although I was quietly grieving, I was content and I knew she would be happy that I have found my way to get through this day without her.

And then I smiled even more when I went out onto the balcony and saw the wedding happening down on the lawn.

Looks like they picked a good time to get married because some weather was coming in very, very soon!

We got up, got showered and dressed and then headed off for breakfast just as the rain started.


You all probably know my love for the rain by now, so you know how happy this made me.

Rob was happy to be eating at Waffle House again

I had already begun before I remembered to snap a pic of everything, sorry

Over breakfast, we talked about our plans for the day. We were originally going to go to Seawolf Park and then do some Go-Karts but with the rain, that wasn't going to be happening.

Almost everything fun in Galveston is outdoors so we decided to drive back up to Webster and see a movie. Going to see movies is our thing and two movies that we really wanted to see had come out since we left home.

After a quick stop at UPS to mail a little package to a good friend, we headed back to Webster.

And to the theatre! We had wanted to see Aquaman but the times didn't work out for us so we went to see Bumblebee.

I am super glad we did because we all loved it

Rob and Kira got some popcorn and drinks and Kira proclaimed how much she loved seeing movies in the States (a first for her!) because the drinks and popcorn were ridiculously HUGE!!!

There were closer theaters but we had driven to Webster for the Luxury Loungers, as they called them. We have a brand new Cineplex just a few minutes away from our house that has this type of seating so we're a little spoiled now.

I was loving these more though because the foot rest was almost flat, ours have a bit of a bend in them and I love these ones way more.


Note my socks. Actually they are Kira's socks that I had to steal because I didn't even bring socks. I loathe socks so when you see me wearing socks, you know it's cold out

And of course they played a commercial for Disney World

Living in the western part of Canada, we will see the odd Disney Cruise Line or Disneyland commercial but never Walt Disney World!

After the movie was done, we headed over to Kohl's in League City because I had me some Kohl's Cash burning a hole inside my pocket

I went alone though this time.

It was getting late now and time to have dinner. I had wanted to try Miller's Seawall Grill but by the time we got there, shortly after 8pm, they had closed their doors.

So, we went somewhere we all love and know

Kira's chicken strips with separate plate for fries, weird!

Rob got the same thing as last time...

And I got the fajitas...

There was so much chicken, I couldn't eat it all

And we got a Key Lime pie to share

And this was my kid, the entire time.

I think she was done with vacation and just wanted to be home, in her jammies, in her room.

We went back to the hotel and I actually managed to talk her into swimming with me.

This was the little lounging area on our floor next to the elevator.

And the lovely fire pit, where Rob hung out while we were swimming. It was a very cold night, I think it was about 6ºC (about 42F) but the water was soooo warm, it was lovely!

Rob took some photos before warming up at the fire...

Then we got some hot tub time

It was so hot, it was fogging up her glasses

They stuck around until I had had enough of the pool. The great thing about this pool was that they were open until 1am during the week and 2am on the weekends

Disney needs to learn from them

We enjoyed the fire until about midnight and then back up to the room.

We tried to fall asleep but this was the night with the loud, rude neighbours. I won't go into detail about it except to say it was a crappy end to a wonderfully non-crappy day.


Thanks for listening to me babble, guys

One last day as we headed home the next day.

 

[Timon]

We were on the next cruise and ended up in port all day and evening. it was so different eating dinner docked in PC

Yeah, I bet it was! When we were delayed in 2016, we sailed away while we were in the show in the WDT, it was weird!

Thank you for sharing! I really enjoy your trip reports. I have moody teens too, especially if there is no wifi god forbid

Thanks

Yeah, no WiFi, God forbid, right!?

Yay for finally getting there!!! 3rd time was definitely the charm, even on a chilly day

Definitely the charm!

I don't think we feel the need to go again but I'm glad we got to experience it once

Who’s your new friend?

Hmm, I named him Gary

I read “dolphins and pecans” rather than “dolphins and pelicans”. Wondering why would she stop to see pecans?? Yikes! I must be hungry.

Pecans!! Too funny!!

Great update, albeit cold! And as for Rob's ice cream? You go Rob. That would be so me. It could be minus 10 F and I'd stlll choose the ice cream. This pier reminds me so much of Santa Monica in Ca., so fun! More adventure, bring it on!

HAHAAHA, well then you guys are weird

Ahhh yes, Santa Monica! We were there on our honeymoon

Thank you for not deleting your review. Reviews are made to be helpful to travelers and not to make an inefficient manager look good.

Exactly! Well said!

Wow, Moody Gardens looks pretty awesome.

It really was, I pleasantly surprised

We've always avoided Pleasure Pier in Galveston but you make it look fun! We will have to try it now.

Just make sure you go on a warm day

Saw this and thought of your adventures and your love of the waffle house. Maybe you and Rob should renew your vows somewhere in Georgia https://www.wideopeneats.com/waffle...2HfJP1FRfZcmij2IgipU9eOUUAFrAanu58857vyIRdE3o

HAHAHA! Thanks but no thanks!

He's the Waffle House lover! I only go because he loves it so much.

What a fun night at Moody Gardens! Looks awesome!!!

I was wishing you were with us, you would have loved it!

OMG, I've never see one like that! I hate how all the Disney hotels now have removed clocks from the rooms. I've actually started bringing my own travel sized version with me!

Me neither, I thought it was so cool!

I normally turn it my way anyway so I can see what time it is when I pee three times during the night.

That Iceland exhibit seems very cool (no pun intended!). Very unique!

You guys are fearless, that rope course looks very daunting, especially at night!!

While it's so nice that Rob joined you in the pool, I'm sorry it was disrupted by those horrible guests

It was very cool and there was more to it, we just didn't see it all

They have live webcams inside, you can see them build it and then after it's open, you can see people walk around.

The ropes course was fun but yeah, a little scarier up top with the wind.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

First off, I keep meaning to say, I love Rob's jacket. Does he sew on the patches himself? Sarah inherited one of my Levi jackets from the 60s and had it loaded with patches from the various state/national parks we visited over the years. Then last year, at a party at her college, someone stole it, the jacket and her cell phone. She managed to find the cell phone - stomped to bits and I imagine the jacket was probably destroyed. Apparently someone did not like her... Luckily I had more than one Levi jacket so she has started a "new" patch covered jacket. Hopefully this time she will be more aware of where she lays it when at parties.

There were closer theaters but we had driven to Webster for the Luxury Loungers,

We only visit "for pay" theaters once every couple of years but when we do, we always choose the ones with the "Loungers" and dining options.

It was getting late now and time to have dinner. I had wanted to try Miller's Seawall Grill but by the time we got there, shortly after 8pm, they had closed their door

Seriously, they were closed by 8 pm? That cannot be good for business.

I think she was done with vacation and just wanted to be home, in her jammies, in her room.

My students do this during class and think I cannot see them.

And the lovely fire pit, where Rob hung out while we were swimming. It was a very cold night, I think it was about 6ºC (about 42F) but the water was soooo warm, it was lovely!

Ouch! 42F, 6C is too bloody cold for me. Even if the water is warm, you eventually have to come out of it.

Then we got some hot tub time

I am sure this was needed after coming out of the pool.

Cheers!
Kate

 

[Jillpie]

And I loved your non crappy day lol. I especially loved that you had Mom and Kira pool time again! She looked happy with you, love that. Best part about our vacations too, its just so relaxing. I am so sorry about your Mom Cass. I too lost mine, a little earlier than you, in 1990 . So very sad, its been so long and yet it feels like I was with her yesterday. I know exactly how you feel, I think we were jipped a lot of good years, especially since my kids didn't know Nana, just Papa. And that is a terrible thing. Hugs to you! I'm so happy you had a wonderful Christmas on the ship, how great is that. I hope there's more?!

 

[bcwife76]

big big hugs Unfortunately I now know what you are going through, have gone through, continue to go through. The grief comes out of no where and blindsides you.....we were on Castaway Cay during the first anniversary of my mom's death and it was nice to not be at home because I know it would have been me, locked away, bawling. To be in a gorgeous setting, but still remember her was cathartic. I know I won't always be as lucky to be somewhere like that every year on that day, but for this first one at least it made it just a tiny bit easier.

So glad you got some amazing pool and hot tub time in with Kira!!!!

 

[SweetSpot]

I get it, my mom passed unexpectantly on Mother's Day. I always said as long as my mom and mother in law were alive I would never have a true Mother's Day because it was job to make their day special. Now that my mom, my only family is gone, I can't even deal with the day. I think it's sad for my kids that I am done with that day. As moms we need to find a way to get past it for our kids. I love that you found a way to find a way for Kira, Christmas is her holiday, she doesn't get it. You are a great mom!

 

[cntkg1]

This friend was really happy that you made that stop at the ups store!! Thanks again! You know me all too well. But that’s not a bad thing, right?

So happy to hear that the 29th is getting better for you. I’m sure your mom loves to see that too.

 

[Timon]

December 30th, 2018

Today we fly home! I think we were all ready to get back home. I was ready to see my dog and sleep in my bed and definitely ready to enjoy the peace and quiet of our own house

We didn't sleep much last night so we slept in as much as we could and then Rob ran down and asked for a late check-out, spoke to the manager and then grabbed him and Kira some breakfast.

She was thrilled to have breakfast in bed one last morning.

He got her a chocolate croissant and a piece of banana bread. She inhaled the croissant, which is funny because she never really cared for them before this trip and now she loves them

I got showered and ready. This is me getting ready. The hair dryer was a small crappy one that had
two settings, cold and extreme hot so in order for me to dry my hair in less than an hour and not melt from the heat, I had to open the balcony door and sit in front of it to let the cool air in

It was a great view anyway

I packed up all three suitcases plus our carry-ons so they were not over 50 pounds and then we took one last photo on our balcony before we left.

Thanks room 1209, we had some good times and some bad times.

We had an hour-long drive ahead of us and we were low on gas so we stopped at the corner of 61st and filled up just in case. You never know with Houston traffic, even on a Sunday

It was very cool out again, lots of clouds. It was raining in Galveston but it stopped before we hit Webster.

I always take a photo of this building, wondering why it's empty. I keep meaning to try to find out why but I still haven't and probably will forget until next time I pass it and photograph it

Clouds were super low as we passed downtown.

We hit some traffic as we neared the 610 but we weren't stuck for long and a little over an hour after leaving Galveston, we pulled into our usual last stop, Waffle House on Frontage, closest WH to the airport.

One last Waffle House visit for Rob.

It was delicious and it hit the spot.

Oddly enough, we always get the same thing and this one cost less! The other one was $25.25 each time, must be less tax here?

Right next door is the gas station so we filled up the Rav to the tippy top and then drove back to the car rental place.

Said good-bye to our peppy Rav and then headed into the building to grab the shuttle to Terminal A.

Checked in, got our boarding passes and they weighed our bags which were all within a pound or two of 50lbs

I always look forward to having some Chick-fil-A on the flight home but it was CLOSED!!!

DANG NABBIT!!!

I ended up at Starbucks to grab Kira a cookie and a water for both of us. She was thrilled when I came back with it for her.

Our last selfie...

And since I was exhausted, I grabbed a little cat nap

But I woke up in time to have a snack because I was starving with no chicken sammy in ma belly!

This was the perfect snack, not too heavy

And they also gave us dessert,which was delicious!

Before long, we were flying over the south end of Calgary...

Then we hit a weird carpet of white clouds...

And then the sky cleared a little to see a bit of downtown...

Back to Calgary!

Rob took a pic of me taking video

Found out that Nexus members no longer need to fill out that customs form

We used the empty Nexus line, scanned our irises and then grabbed our suitcases.

Rob went and got our vehicle while Kira and I headed down to Tim Horton's to grab Rob his Timmy's coffee

Rob picked us up and then we drove home

A little bit of snow but not too shabby

Rob brought the bags upstairs where I emptied all of the suitcases and piled and sorted the laundry, which we would get done the next day.

My brother met us at the house with our Boo-boos

This last photo sums it all up I think.

Tired, happy, good to be home

And that's a wrap folks!

Thank you so much for reading this one. A special thanks to all of you who post and let me know you're reading this report, it really does make me feel like it's worth the time and effort I put into these things when I read all of your lovely comments!

Over 900 photos on this sucker but I will post one last time with a few photos that Kira took.

A few snags but this was my absolute favourite Christmas vacation so far and while nothing is set in stone, I hope we get to do it all over again next Christmas

Health and happiness to you all!







Stay tuned for our vacation video.


.

 

[adamki]

I always take a photo of this building, wondering why it's empty. I keep meaning to try to find out why but I still haven't and probably will forget until next time I pass it and photograph it

That used to be a Holiday Inn, then a Day's Inn. They're supposed to turn it into a hotel again: https://www.chron.com/homes/distinc...ntown-Houston-s-most-interesting-12866189.php

Thanks for your TR!

 

[bcwife76]

Another epic trip all wrapped up
Being away is awesome, but sometimes coming home is just as awesome

 

[Owlpost23]

Always an enjoyable read! Thanks for doing this!

 

[acndis]

So sad your latest wonderful report is over! Can't wait for the next one. Sounds like your trip was as 'wonder'-ful as ours. That Holiday Cruise out of Galveston is just wonderful! We also hope to do it again soon.

 

[Jillpie]

Love, love, love your family!! And a fantastic ending to yet again, an epic Cass Disney story . Big surprise that Kira loves chocolate croissants? I think not! A chip off the old block on that one. And the pics of Waffle house lol. Never tire of them. Ya know, now that we fly down to Fl. almost every 3 mos to see our granddaughter, you'd think we would have tried this place (hubby wants to so bad), we always end up going to Ihop or someplace else. It looks delicious! Okay, not saying goodbye, just so long for now. And thanks a million Cass, for taking so many crazy pictures for us nutty Disney fanatics, I cannot wait for the next one already!!!