Darn, we docked on the starboard side, so the port side has the best view of Castaway Cay. We have a great view of the pier. Ok, everybody is sunscreened, we're set. All ashore sounded at 9 am, and we were ready.
We grabbed some towels and walked past the post office to the tram. A short ride to the family beach. Oohh, shops. We stopped to buy our Castaway Cay souvigners. How handy, they will deliver them to the ship; we just pick stuff up from one of the lounges on the ship after 6 p.m.
I checked Austin into Scuttles Cove, he was anxious to do the palentological dig around the whale skeleton. Jim, Sammy and I found chairs under an umbrella and scoped the place out. Then we gathered our things and went snorkeling in the lagoon. Sammy and I snorkeled together for about ten minutes, but her mask leaked, and she was worried the fish would nibble on her toes so we had to go wait on the beach while Jim snorkeled around the area. He said it was great and he got quite a few pictures with his little underwater camera I got him for Christmas.
Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We checked Austin out of the Cove long enough to eat lunch with us. The barbeque was great. We ran into Sammy's friend Lara and Mississaguamom and I got pictures of the girls together. The treat after lunch was the soft serve cookie dough ice cream or soft serve strawberry ice cream. We liked the strawberry.
Austin was back to the Cove for a scavenger hunt, while we got some drinks and returned to the beach. These Conch Coolers are great! Sammy and I swam around a bit and she built a sand castle with her dad. After the scavenger hunt we picked up Austin so he could have a try at snorkeling. He paddled around for a bit, but then got tired, so I got to go check out the lagoon myself. It was pretty stirred up by this time of day, but it was still wonderful. Ever since I was a kid, I've been snorkeling in the waters around here. The water at Castaway Cay was nearly 80 degrees and felt heavenly to me; I could stay in for a long time and not go numb!
My brothers will be so jealous, I wish they could have come with us.
We returned the snorkel gear and Austin swam around near the lifeguard tower/swimming platform. He'd seen it on the Disney video and had to check it out.
In the blink of an eye it is time to go back to the ship. We stopped at the post office and mailed postcards to a batch of people, then had to stop at the foot washing station to wash a couple pounds of sand out of our beach shoes and sandals. Back in the room we all had showers to finish washing off the sand and dress for dinner.
While everyone was getting ready, I broke out the suitcases and tried to get organized. It was amazing how settled and spread out we'd become in just a week. Part way through this endeavor, we had to set it aside and go to dinner at Lumiere's The meal was wonderful. Honey mustard chicken appetizer, seafood pasta as an entree. Dessert was celebration cake. We handed out our envelopes and the cards Sammy had made Retish and Ivan. Austin was not interested in doing "the show" with the kids, even when I told him he could get a hat or t-shirt for doing it; whatever.
Jim ran and picked up our Castaway Cay stuff while I returned to do some packing. When Jim returned I hit shutters to pick up any remaining pictures. Austin went up to the Lab to play some more and say goodbye to all his new friends. The counselors all know his name, they are a great group. We finished packing and put out clothes and overnight bags, filled out our paperwork and parked the suitcases in the hall. I turned in the pager and Ausitn asked the counselors how to buy the cool computer games in the lab (can be purchased and downloaded from Disney online). We had to get this all done a little early because we wanted to go see "Hidalgo" that started at 10:30.
We missed the farewell variety show in our rush to pack, but the movie was great. Sammy and Jim got tired and went back to bed about halfway through, but Austin stayed with me and watched the whole movie. We didn't get to bed until after 1:00 am!
What a day! It's going to be hard to leave "our" ship.
We grabbed some towels and walked past the post office to the tram. A short ride to the family beach. Oohh, shops. We stopped to buy our Castaway Cay souvigners. How handy, they will deliver them to the ship; we just pick stuff up from one of the lounges on the ship after 6 p.m.
I checked Austin into Scuttles Cove, he was anxious to do the palentological dig around the whale skeleton. Jim, Sammy and I found chairs under an umbrella and scoped the place out. Then we gathered our things and went snorkeling in the lagoon. Sammy and I snorkeled together for about ten minutes, but her mask leaked, and she was worried the fish would nibble on her toes so we had to go wait on the beach while Jim snorkeled around the area. He said it was great and he got quite a few pictures with his little underwater camera I got him for Christmas.
Before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We checked Austin out of the Cove long enough to eat lunch with us. The barbeque was great. We ran into Sammy's friend Lara and Mississaguamom and I got pictures of the girls together. The treat after lunch was the soft serve cookie dough ice cream or soft serve strawberry ice cream. We liked the strawberry.
Austin was back to the Cove for a scavenger hunt, while we got some drinks and returned to the beach. These Conch Coolers are great! Sammy and I swam around a bit and she built a sand castle with her dad. After the scavenger hunt we picked up Austin so he could have a try at snorkeling. He paddled around for a bit, but then got tired, so I got to go check out the lagoon myself. It was pretty stirred up by this time of day, but it was still wonderful. Ever since I was a kid, I've been snorkeling in the waters around here. The water at Castaway Cay was nearly 80 degrees and felt heavenly to me; I could stay in for a long time and not go numb!
My brothers will be so jealous, I wish they could have come with us.We returned the snorkel gear and Austin swam around near the lifeguard tower/swimming platform. He'd seen it on the Disney video and had to check it out.
In the blink of an eye it is time to go back to the ship. We stopped at the post office and mailed postcards to a batch of people, then had to stop at the foot washing station to wash a couple pounds of sand out of our beach shoes and sandals. Back in the room we all had showers to finish washing off the sand and dress for dinner.
While everyone was getting ready, I broke out the suitcases and tried to get organized. It was amazing how settled and spread out we'd become in just a week. Part way through this endeavor, we had to set it aside and go to dinner at Lumiere's The meal was wonderful. Honey mustard chicken appetizer, seafood pasta as an entree. Dessert was celebration cake. We handed out our envelopes and the cards Sammy had made Retish and Ivan. Austin was not interested in doing "the show" with the kids, even when I told him he could get a hat or t-shirt for doing it; whatever.
Jim ran and picked up our Castaway Cay stuff while I returned to do some packing. When Jim returned I hit shutters to pick up any remaining pictures. Austin went up to the Lab to play some more and say goodbye to all his new friends. The counselors all know his name, they are a great group. We finished packing and put out clothes and overnight bags, filled out our paperwork and parked the suitcases in the hall. I turned in the pager and Ausitn asked the counselors how to buy the cool computer games in the lab (can be purchased and downloaded from Disney online). We had to get this all done a little early because we wanted to go see "Hidalgo" that started at 10:30.
We missed the farewell variety show in our rush to pack, but the movie was great. Sammy and Jim got tired and went back to bed about halfway through, but Austin stayed with me and watched the whole movie. We didn't get to bed until after 1:00 am!
What a day! It's going to be hard to leave "our" ship.
)
