Good Values & Gooder Splurges! w/ Pics! (3-Trips-in-1-Report) - UPDATE 11/7

[NorweJenNY]

I just caught up with your report! Thanks for all the reviews- it was hard to find reviews of places we'd go with our kids. You all seem pretty laid back like my family. We like to eat at one TS a day and then CS and snacks the rest of the time. Looking forward to more!

When we started with the annual passes and making several trips within a year, it was a lot easier to get laid back - we didn't feel like we had to squeeze everything into just one trip. It's also given us a chance to learn what some of our favorite things are, so we have some familiar things to look forward to each trip, as well as new things.

Hopefully my pictures will cooperate now so I can get some more stuff up now.

NorweJenNY, if I were going to teach I would lean toward private schools as you get more leeway to actually teach, however the kids that have the largest part of my heart are not likely to be given that option. Teaching is such a rewarding job, occasionally. I wish you well and know that you will accomplish your goal.

It is evident from your reports that you are erudite, organized, talented and very creative and those are the best traits for success.

Slightly Goofy

Thanks for the encouragement, Slightly Goofy!

I completely agree with you about teaching in private schools instead of public... I can't believe all the garbage teachers have to put up with in public schools! Just let the teachers teach! Sheesh!

But I'm not looking for a classroom job - too much stress trying to meet the needs of so many unique individuals in one room. I have some perfectionist tendencies and not being able to do everything for everybody completely stressed me out! Classroom teaching completely consumed me - with parents and grading and planning and preparing materials for hours and hours at night and on weekends - I can't do that to my family again. That's why I'd rather focus on small group and individualized tutoring - greater impact on a few students without stressing me out and causing me to neglect my family.

But I'm still playing the waiting game... had a few more bites... still waiting to hear back. I just can't believe what small salaries some positions would pay for someone with a BS in Education! I'm not kidding you - some are just $9-$10/hr! I know HS students who earn more than that! In fact, I earned more than that in several different part-time jobs before I ever got a college degree - and that was now quite a few years ago! Just a sign of the times I suppose...

But amount of money aside, I'll just take anything right now! I'm really sick of this recession! I'm trying to use any connection I can for anything!

Ok... rant over... happy memories now...

 

[NorweJenNY]

May 2010
Day #7

Kinda sad... our last morning to wake up at the Beach Club... but on a brighter note, we still weren't leaving Disney... and we still had breakfast to look forward to at Cape May!

I will say this is among the best restaurants for character interaction... even if Mickey himself is not there... (I think that would be a nice improvement though...) Here's who we did see (and we actually saw them twice each!)

Donald...

Goofy...

And check out his cool Goofy-sized water shoes...

And Minnie...

Minnie was actually flirting with hubby... in front of me... but once I threatened to seek out Mickey for myself, she backed off!

Not the best picture up next, but it's a cool sand castle that we were seated near this time...

And if you can see through behind it, that's the buffet right there... convenient... Actually, it's a relatively small restaurant with the buffet in the middle, so I don't think you really have far to walk from most seats. It was well thought out.

I'm sorry about all the character interaction distracting me from taking food photos, but here's my main plate...

The buffet had all the typical eggs, bacon, sausage, cereals, breads, pastries, etc... but one of the really nice things that I liked for a change was asparagus! I felt like I was being extra healthy to have something green on my breakfast plate! Cooked well... not woody at all... and I liked having some fresh pineapple (not canned) too. And in the middle of my plate is some egg casserole with cheese on top... cheese makes everything so good, IMHO! I also had orange juice and grits or farina with brown sugar and syrup on top... they had a few different toppings for the hot cereals. I believe they also had some yogurt with various toppings here, though I didn't try it.

My family loved the experience, and if/when we come back to Cape May as a family, it will be for breakfast! After hearing other people's experiences, however, I would only plan on eating here for breakfast if we were staying at Yacht & Beach Club/Boardwalk/Swan/Dolphin... as you can walk there and don't have to wait for a bus to a park, and another bus to the Beach Club (as you would have to do from other resorts, unless you got a taxi or drove yourself).

So here's my summary...

Good: Very convenient location and maintained the beachy feel for us staying at the Beach Club.

Gooder: Fantastic overall buffet, with fresh food, and a nice variety, including a few unexpected/different items than other breakfast buffets.

Goodest: The character interaction - superb! They're tons of fun! (Just gotta get Mickey!)

 

[*sarah*]

That's not my thing though... so hubby did go to The Earl and found exactly what I was looking for...

Ahhh... the chocolate peanut butter brownie! Masterpiece! First of all the brownie is so soft and chocolatey... the peanut butter center is more like a peanut butter frosting - imagine extra smooth and creamy, slightly sweetened peanut butter - a really thick layer of it! The whole thing was fabulous! Because my mother also appreciates the chocolate-peanut butter combo, I actually letter try a bite (but only one! ) She couldn't believe how good it was! She wanted to know when we'd be heading back to DTD!

You can see it comes pre-packaged - but don't let that fool you! It tastes fabulously fresh! It also comes with a fudge center or a vanilla frosting center... I'm yet to try those... I bet they're all good!



And if you're interested in more chocolate peanut butter treats, we have a couple more that we tried as our trip continued...

I have decided, that I MUST look for this on our upcoming vacation. I am a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Jen, you are so right in that you are not being offered enough for the job you seek. It is one of the inequities of life that those who do the most are often paid the least. My grandson who is still in HS makes more an hour than that but he does have skills, as you do you. I am rooting for you to find what you want. With this recession lots of things are not as much a priority as they once were. That being said I would think an education should be though.

Loving the looks of that PB Brownie Sandwich. Wonder if it might be a snack option as I am already planning on Bongo CS OP and Puck's a few times as well as a stop at Cook's of Dublin?

Slightly Goofy

 

[hill6]

Glad to read the great review of Cape May Cafe. I asked DH if he wanted to do a sit down breakfast one day and he said yes.. He wanted a character one. That is the one I was able to get.

I also took the liberty to book breakfast at Kona one day too.

 

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Great update on Cape May, We find it more relaxing eating there than CM...when we went the characters came to our table 3x (when Chip and Dale was there...my son will miss them)

 

[dawnmichele]

Looks so delicious! Thanks for the pictures.

 

[tink too]

I'm finally caught up - and thinking that we need to stay at the Beach Club sometime in the future so we can try those burgers, sundaes and the breakfast buffet!

 

[fzgards]

good pictures