Indiana Jones and the search for armadillos, trifle, Alice and dreams.

[Tink rules]

You're welcome... and what time is soup on????

 

[mamaboogie]

Soups on Michelle!

Well, today was the day we went to Seaworld. We were so looking forward to this but slightly apprehensive as the weather was getting worse and worse! The rain was constant and Tropical storm Fay was making her prescence felt.

We got picked up by our Towncar, driven by a really nice chap called Dennis. The rain was pretty heavy when we got to Seaworld and I'm ashamed to say we all gave in and bought the dreaded.......ponchos! If it was a case of a storm here or there we could cope - but this rain was set in for the day!

At the gate there was a sign saying the park was going to close at 5pm instead of 8:30pm.

For my last birthday Simon and the girls had booked me tickets for Dine with Shamu, an all you can eat buffet with a ringside view of Shamu being trained. This experience was due to start at 4:45pm so we were slightly worried. We asked a CM who assured us this was still on.

Simon and Kate decided to go on Escape from Atlantis - Sarah and I got some good videos from the bottom!

Then Si bravely decided to go on the Krakken:

Needless to say we watched!

Us girls then went to get seats at the Clyde and Seamore sealion show while Simon went to check on Dine with Shamu. When he returned (with Danish pastries good lad!) he told me DWS had indeed been cancelled! He had managed to get us booked in for Backstage at Believe instead which was a lunchtime equivalent.

Anyway, the Sealion show was great - really funny. After that we went to feed the dolphins. When we went to seaworld in 2006 it was scorching hot but today was rain, rain, rain! We had to take our ponchos off to feed the dolphins - I guess so they didn't nibble them! This was a fantastic experience yet again - I can't believe you are allowed to get so close to these beautiful creatures!

We then went to the ray tank so the girls could feed them. You have to put the fish between your fingers and put it under the ray (that's where their mouths are!). The rays are so velvety to touch.

Soon it was time to go to the Shamu stadium for Backstage at Believe. We were shown to our table, right next to Shamu's training pool. We all got VIP passes to wear and we could order as much to drink as we wanted - bring on the beer!

All the while the killer whales were swimming around the pool training and doing various tricks. It was great! We also got given a whale tail pendant each - fabbie!

Then we were led through to Shamu Stadium to have priority seating for Believe. The killer whale show was as spectacular as I remembered! Shamu was in a playful mood and decided to really soak some people sitting in the soak zone - not us this time!! Everyone was really wet from the rain anyway!

After the show we went to see the penguins, puffins, beluga whales, sharks and the polar bear (who wasn't there!)

We also did a bit of shopping on the way! Si bought me a gorgeous cuddly shamu.

Si and Kate rode Atlantis again. The park was soooo quiet because of the weather.

The girls and I went to the dolphin show while Si went to see his friends the manatees!

The dolphin show was ace - lots of acrobatics, great music and of course the amazing dolphins!

Despite the weather we had a great time. We were very soggy when the car picked us up.

Later that evening Si went to DTD to watch The Clone Wars while we dried out in the room.

We went to OPR for some supper, then went back to the room to eat snacks!

When Si got back we went to do some laundry! There is no escape!!

Coming up: A Grand experience.

 

[adsrtw]

I do love SeaWorld. When my mom and I visited in the early 80's, she didn't do too much planning, so we didn't get to see very much. Kudos to you for not letting Fay ruin your fun.

 

[mamaboogie]

I do love SeaWorld. When my mom and I visited in the early 80's, she didn't do too much planning, so we didn't get to see very much. Kudos to you for not letting Fay ruin your fun.

I love Seaworld too! It was spooky how quiet it was - we had no problems getting seats at any shows! Apparently Aquatica was equally deserted!

There were many other people wafting around and doing the 'poncho dance' - splashing through puddles and dancing, ponchos twirling, around the park.

You have to make the best of these situations! Thanks for reading!

 

[paula34]

the only time I saw sea world ( and the rest of the parks for that matter) quiet was a trip we took in october in the year of 9/11 (2001??) we did not see another soul for 20 minutes walking around sea world and it was very poignant and sad

 

[Tink rules]

Shari!!!

Made homemade soup over the weekend!!! Nice at this time of the year... haven't tried the one from Boma though... saving that for a cooler (winter) time of year...

 

[Tink rules]

Oh and Shari...

I had to share...

THIS SOUP IS INCREDIBLE!!!! Black Dog Chowder... (Clam chowder... )

http://74.54.78.34/~recipegi/2008/10/19/black-dog-quahog-chowder/

The only difference I use is to use cans of cubed potatoes... it's much easier and you don't have to cook them. I think I put in 3 cans... and I use the canned clams (they use fresh cause they're on an island...) 4 cans of clams makes it nice and hearty...

Freezes very well... INCREDIBLE on a cold night... and it's best to make it one day and enjoy the next... (not like I can get away from having a cup as soon as it's done...but it gets better overnight... )

Enjoy!!!

P.S... this is the Black Dog Tavern where it is served...

http://www.theblackdog.com/

_______________________________________________________

This recipe is from The Black Dog Cookbook. A great place to visit if you're ever on Martha's Vineyard.

BLACK DOG QUAHOG CHOWDER
www.RecipeGirl.com

2 ounces salt pork, rind removed (or bacon)
2 cups diced onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cups diced red potatoes (keep skin on)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground black pepper
4 cups shelled quahogs with juice (about 6 pounds in shell) - or sub 4 cans chopped clams
½ cup salted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ quarts light cream

1. Dice salt pork (or bacon) and sauté in a large pot until translucent.

2. Add the onions and celery and sauté for 5 minutes.

3. Pour in about 1½ cups of the juice from the quahogs (or clams) and add potatoes and seasonings. If using canned clams, purchase extra clam juice to supplement for needed juice.

4. Simmer this mixture until potatoes are tender. This should take about 10 minutes.

5. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. When it is bubbling, add the flour and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often. This is called a roux, prounced “rue.”

6. Roughly chop the quahogs, reserving any liquid.

7. When the potatoes are tender, add quahogs (or clams) to the large pot and simmer for 2 minutes.

8. Stir in the roux and continue simmering for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently. This is your chowder base.

9. In a separate saucepan, scald the cream by heating it until small bubble appear around the edges of the pan. Do not boil.

10. Stir the hot scalded cream into the chowder base, mix together, and remove from heat.

11. At The Black Dog, they serve this soup with a dollop of butter, accompanied by oyster crackers or crusty bread.

Servings: 8

 

[mamaboogie]

Hi All!

Sorry I have been rubbish at posting recently! I've got a weeks holiday next week so I hope to get myself organised a bit!

Thanks for the recipes Michelle - you really make me drool over the computer!

And Paula - thanks for reading and taking the time to reply. Your trip to Seaworld does sound rather poignant.

Okay guys, I'll be on the ball soon - promise!

Shari xxx

 

[Donald is #1]

Hi All!

Sorry I have been rubbish at posting recently! I've got a weeks holiday next week so I hope to get myself organised a bit!

Thanks for the recipes Michelle - you really make me drool over the computer!

And Paula - thanks for reading and taking the time to reply. Your trip to Seaworld does sound rather poignant.

Okay guys, I'll be on the ball soon - promise!

Shari xxx

I'm still here patiently waiting.

 

[meryll83]

I'm still here not patiently waiting And nice photie in the Trader BTW!!

 

[Cindeegyrl]

Just found your trip report this morning and I love it! Can't wait for the next installment!!

 

[mamaboogie]

I'm still here patiently waiting.

Aww..thanks! I know I've been bad but I'm raring to go again now! I'm on holiday so I've got all the time to upload photos etc. Thanks for being patient unlike......

I'm still here not patiently waiting And nice photie in the Trader BTW!!

Meryll...we must never speak of such things. It's a hideous photo. Guess the cat's out of the bag now......

Just found your trip report this morning and I love it! Can't wait for the next installment!!

Thanks Cindeegyrl! Will hopefully have the next installment tonight or tomorrow. It's a day of rain, tea, roses and fun!

Thanks all for reading!
Shari xxx

 

[mamaboogie]

Hiya! Here's my report of Wednesday 20th August:

Another very rainy day! Warmer than rainy days in England yet not as warm as we're used to in Florida.

Today we were splitting into two groups even more than usual. Sarah and I were going to MK in search of Alice whilst Si and Kate were going to Typhoon Lagoon to make the most of the wet weather. Sarah and I left the room not long after Si and Kate but we ended up with a 20 minute wait before th MK bus finally came! We soon got on our way and ended up at the park just after 9.

We looked for Alice but we just couldn't find her much to Sarah's disgruntlement! We went on several rides whilst we were looking - such as the teacups (I'd never been on the teacups so much until this visit!), Peter Pan, Buzz (of course!) and the Haunted Mansion.

Living in hope, we'd left our Seaworld ponchos back at the room but I had to succumb and buy a Disney one - ($8 - two dollars dearer than SW!) Sarah refused - I think she'd had enough poncho wearing yesterday.

We did meet some other characters - Lady Tremaine and the Ugly sisters (who were very funny indeed) and also Captain Hook and Smee. Sarah was put out because Captain Hook refused to give her a hug! (She's big on hugs is Sarah!)

We also met Push the talking trashcan who was really funny. You know I said Sarah was big on hugs?



At 10:30 we went to dry off at Columbia Harbour House. Sarah tried the anchors aweigh tuna sandwich and I had the chicken nuggets and fries again. Once more it was lovely and quiet - empty even. Sarah and I had a nice chat - I was very british and had a hot cup of tea.

After brunch we went on Pirates again - we walked straight onto it!

We decided to come back to the room for a girlie rest - and to have a break from the rain! We chilled out watching our fave Disney channel programmes - I was hooked on them by now! Si and Kate arrived back now on their way into the Magic Kingdom. They'd had a great morning at TL - it was very quiet and they'd even managed to go swimming with sharks!

At 2pm Sarah and I left the room to go for our special Mother and Daughter tea at the Grand Floridian. We went back to MK and caught the monorail round to the GF. It was fun to catch the monorail for our first (and only) time this trip.

We got to the Grand Floridian and had a wander - it was a really beautiful hotel - very grand and opulent looking.

Awww! Don't you just love it when people offer to take photos of you together?

We went to book in for our tea in the garden view room. It was very pretty in a chintzy, twee kind of way.

Now, those of you who have read my food report will know all about this brief but memorable experience! Let's just say that Sarah and I enjoyed it very much but probably wouldn't go back again. It wasn't really for us - or we were made to feel it wasn't our kind of place, for the first time in WDW. The main trauma was that Sarah wasn't allowed to have the trifle as she was under 21!!! We did get some pretty roses though!

As we were hurried out of the GF so quickly, we had a lot of time to kill before meeting Si and Kate for our Whispering Canyon supper. (Yes, there was a lot of food on this day!)

So Sarah and I went to MK again to have some more fun. We did Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Flying Carpets and Philharmagic again. We even chatted to a very friendly dream squad lady but she didn't bestow a dream on us! Darnit!

Here are some pics of Si and Kate in MK that afternoon:

At 6pm we headed out of the park and over to the resort ferry landing so that we could catch the boat over to Wilderness Lodge. We soon got seats on a ferry and we started to pull away just as Si and Kate got to the landing too late and watched us sail away!

We enjoyed the boat ride:

Coming up: What happens next? Do Si and Kate finally catch up with us? Do we enjoy the rowdy chaos of Whispering Canyon Cafe? Tune in next time to find out!!

Shari xxx