Hi Everyone!
Hi Linda! I hope that you weren't bored to tears, looking through all those pictures! I admit that I went a little crazy, this year........but that's just because my nifty, new digital camera has so much memory that I could just take pictures of EVERYTHING in sight, without worrying about running out of space (or developing film, for that matter!)!
I uploaded our pictures from V&A's, this morning - there are pictures of each course of food that we ate, too, in case Dalton changes his mind about Taco Bell being superior!
How is Granny School going so far, by the way?
Please feel free to snag any pictures that you might like - we are flattered that you would want to do so! And it's funny that you had predicted that I would wear a black dress to V&A's - I did to Palo on the ship, as well - what else would I wear, right?
There is never a lack of black dresses in my wardrobe!
I am so thrilled that I was able to "pull off" my V&A's surprise for Frank! He was completely convinced that we were going to another restaurant in the GF, until just before our PS time. I had managed to "lure" him up to the second floor of the main building (where V&A's and Citrico's are located), under the auspices of "wanting to see what those restaurants look like". We were sort of puttering around in the "lobby" area in between the 2 restaurants at about 15 minutes 'til our PS time, and I was still trying to think about how to actually get Frank IN TO V&A's (since he knows that I am not the sort who would REALLY open the door and peer into a restaurant at which we did not have reservations). Fortunately, fate took over. We wound up running into some friends of our CM friends, Mike and Danny, one of whom we'd met earlier in the week (they are also WD Entertainment CM's). They were dining at Citrico's, that night, with one set of their parents who were visiting. So they asked us if we were dining in Citrico's or V&A's that night and Frank said "no, we're having dinner in Narcoosee's" and I said "uh.......actually........no we're not..........we're having dinner at Victoria and Albert's - Happy Anniversary!" And our new friends and their parents all went "awwwwww!" and started clapping, and Frank was totally shocked! He couldn't believe it! I'm glad that they inadvertently gave me the opening to tell him! Anyway, the dinner was just wonderful - 6 courses, very relaxing atmosphere (the restaurant is divided into small dining areas, so there were only 2 other tables of patrons in our "room"), and a very relaxed pace - we were there for over 3 hours! Since our PS was at 9:30 PM, we didn't wind up getting back to POR until well after 12:30 AM (fortunately, I had ensured that we were completely packed and ready to go to the Port BEFORE we left for dinner, that night!)! It was very nice - a great experience! Our server said "maybe you will come back and celebrate your anniversary with us, every year" and we said "OK!"
The "new" IASW is just fantastic! The queue area looks beautiful, with it's new, traditional DL-like theming. We even got to see the clock tower open up (as it does every 15 minutes) to "bong" the time! And the soundtrack inside is amazing - you can definitely hear the subtle differences in the themed music of each "land", now, whereas they all sort of "ran into one another" before. And the finale is much more - powerful is the only word that I can think of to describe it - than before - it gave me goose bumps! And everything looks vibrant and beautiful, too!
We saw the LMA Stunt Show and were treated to front row seats and a tour of the control booth by our pal, Mike, which was neat! The show was awesome, too, and we really enjoyed it! WARNING, though: you all might want to bring ear plugs with you, if you plan to see the show - it is VERY LOUD! Frank and I both wore earplugs when we saw it and were very glad that we did! I have no idea how Mike can be around that noise, all the time, and not go deaf!
We also tried Soarin' in Epcot..........I'm glad that I did........it IS an amazing, unique experience..........but frankly, I was thrilled to be back on the ground when it was over! I'll tell you, it probably IS the closest thing to experiencing the sensation of flying that there is, out there - I found it to be VERY REALISTIC......a little TOO realistic for my pseudo-height-sensitive self!
One of the best parts of our trip was receiving the very special surprises in the forms of phone messages from Linda and Colleen, during our land stay! Hearing your voices really made our evenings, and it was so kind of you both to think of us - we were certainly thinking of you both - and of everyone here in the Suite!
Our cruise was amazing, as always, too! It seemed to flow much more smoothly, this year, since we were familiar with the ship and its layout and amenities and the way that everything "runs" in terms of scheduling, etc. We took a fun shore excursion to the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island and toured its fantastic underground aquarium! We were also invited to a wonderful reception for
Castaway Club Members (ie: repeat cruisers), at which the Captain (whom we later met) and Cruise Director (who actually looks a bit like "Julie" from "The Love Boat"! She was our Cruise Director last year, too!) spoke and thanked everyone for their loyalty to
DCL, etc. We also received wonderful gifts in our stateroom from Castaway Club and also from our great
travel agency,
Dreams Unlimited! Those were great and thoughtful surprises, too!
And of course we were so thrilled with our entire trip, that in an unprecedented move (even "beating" our re-booking 3 days after our return, last year), we made our 2006 reservations while we were still on the ship!!!!!! So we'll be spending 4 days at CBR (a new resort for us!), May 21 - 24 next year, and then 3 days on "our" ship, the Wonder, May 25-28! Just a mere 360 days to go!
Will go back and catch up on all of your posts, from the past 2 weeks, now!
Hope that all is well with all of you and hope that you're all having a great day!
(That's what happens when one acquires a digital camera that is sophisticated enough so that one DOES NOT have to upload pictures every night before taking more. 
If it cannot be me I will have to content myself with the fact that my dear friends will be there. 
She brought me a flower to make me feel better. Seeing her smiling face was enough to do that. I was even able to eat some dinner. 
Then off to do my other shopping. No luck in finding a new purse. I have been looking for two years but it is now getting to be more of a necessity than a whim. The paper clip that helps me undo the zipper is starting to cause me some consternation. 
Found some perfect cards including one for the next EWP birthday that I accidentally forget. I must remember to do that as this card is too perfect. 
