May 10, 2008 Ship of Thieves! Stealing the Magic..AGAIN!!! Panama Canal FL to CA!!! Part 4

[LiserAnn]

Count me in for three. My husband has to work right now but he is trying to work it out so he can come. I will let you know in the next couple of days if he can come. Me and the kids will be there forsure. I've never been to the hotel, is that the one you get to through California Adventure?

Can you PM me with your full name and your kids names? I saw in your previous post that you're unsure how to PM...it's easy enough (little lesson now ). On this post do you see where my user DIS name is (LiserAnn), on the left hand side? Okay, now click on my name with your mouse and you'll see a list of a few options come up. I think the second option says "Send LiserAnn a PM". So, just click on that. It will take you to another page where you can type your message to me and then click send. It's as easy as that.

Yes, the Grand Californian is the hotel that gives you access directly into California Adventure. Storyteller's is a restaurant inside the hotel there....can't remember where exactly but the signs or the staff can direct you. We're meeting at 5pm (not sure if page one was changed to reflect that).

 

[LiserAnn]

Alright gang, just want to review with you again who's coming to Storyteller's on 5/20 at 5pm (we have a HUGE group now )

LiserAnn - 2A, 2C
clynne - 2A, 2C
mom_of_2_princesses - 2A, 2C
ibouncetoo - 1A
NotSoLittleMermaid - 1A
MrsMork and DrHug - 4A, 1C
firsttimecruiser - 4A, 1A
birkner - 2A
LisaG520 - 2A
tink1963 - 2A
woody73 - 2A
tahoe - 1A, 2C
Gaylean - 1A, 2C

The grand total is 26 adults and 12 kids. I just left Javier a message at Storyteller's to confirm he can handle the increase (the original ressie was for 28).

The meal is a buffet, $26.99/adult and $11.99/child. They will also add 15% gratuity to the bill.

If there are any changes to the list, please let me know!!!

Thanks!

 

[lillygator]

sounds like a fun meet...be sure and take lots of pictures!

 

[LiserAnn]

sounds like a fun meet...be sure and take lots of pictures!

I will, I promise!!!

 

[TiggersPal]

MouseAdventure was great. We had a blast but I'm just now starting to feel recovered from it. You wouldn't think running around DL solving word puzzles and finding eyespy items for 5 hours wold be tiring but it was exhausting. A couple of people had pedometers and registed over 9 miles each in the 5 hours! We will definitely be signing up for the next one in Nov. There were over 500 of us running around both parks and downtown to try and complete the quests. The teams that won did amazingly well. We won't know our score or placement until later in the week - only the top 3 teams in each division were announced there.

Of course after doing that all day and then driving home 90 mintues (great traffic!) we get home to find Sweetie limping.

Here's a picture of Sweetie:

She wouldn't put any weight on her back right leg and was holding it with the toes curled tight. So off to the 24 hr vet hospital at 8pm Sunday night. they x-rayed and it's not broken so they think it is probably sprained and sent her home with pain meds. So for the next few days she is in solitary locked in our master bath so she can't run around with our other cat Jasper. Which of course is probably how she got hurt in the first place... Tonight she is starting to straighten out her leg, not putting any weight on it but not holding it up tight either. The vet thinks by Thursday she should show definite improvement so any pixie dust would be great for her. She is not enjoying her confinement at all. But we figure this is better than being in a tiny cage at the vets (which was the other option).

NOt only does your cat look like the spitting image of my "Miracle" but she's gone through this too! I think it's from scaling the walls here to chase off the other cats!

I wish I could find a photo - you'd be amazed at how much they look alike@! (So beautiful!!!) I pray she heals quickly...

 

[TiggersPal]

Oh man, now I'm thinking I've had a 'senior moment' and don't remember where the pickle chips are. Did we talk about them on this thread? I may have to do some research tonight while waiting for "LOST" to start.

Off to work I go..........
<---me in my imaginary red Mustang!

So funny. Marcey at work drives a red mustang... now I can picture you driving that. But I love your little silver RAV!!!

Have a good day today sister.

 

[TiggersPal]

DH, DD, SIL and I did the Segway tour at Epcot in March 2006. We all met in the area with the kids who watched us learn how to operate the Segways. You learn how to operate the Segway in an enclosed area with ramps. You learn to go forward, backward, up and down ramps and in general to control, the Segway.

Once the instructor is confident all of your classmates are confident in controlling the Segway, you get to go out and take the Segway around on a trail.

It was a blast and we are ALL looking forward to doing the class again in December.

Noel

I can't wait to try these out! I saw a guy last weekend at the hotel where we had our company "event" and I so wanted to try it out - now I get to, well in 7 months on our SURF N TURF adventure with our DIS pals

 

[TiggersPal]

Do you mean these chips?

Now that's my idea of a good chip. I adore PICKLES - as does my sis - these should be a yummy. Wonder if I can find them here at CostPlus World Market they always have weird off the beaten path type of stuff.

 

[TiggersPal]

I have already found a few things I couldn't believe you could do so I know exactly what you are saying. And believe me, I am always open to hear new things. I have a little disadvantage because I have never even cruised before. Half the people that I know that have cruised loved it and the other half hated it. We wanted our first cruise to be Disney so we were happy to find this one. Most people think we are crazy for taking such a long cruise before we have gotten "our sea legs wet"!!!

I had never cruised before last November and thought DCL would be the best "first time" bet...I was right and now I'm hooked - there is SURE to be something you will LOVE about it... and maybe a few things you don't care for - but isn't that what life is all about, TRYING so you know? My guess is - you will LOVE IT-

 

[tlb2864]

May I share a story with all of you about insurance? When I took my father to the doctor two years ago before his death, his primary physician thought his breathing was so labored that he needed immediate hospitalization. She had an ambulance transport him to the nearest hospital. My father's insurance company was Kaiser, which is an HMO with its own doctors and hospitals. However, the nearest Hospital was not Kaiser and since the case was so urgent, they transported him to Regional Medical Center.

He was in the emergency room at Regional Medical Center for two days and in intensive care for a week before he stable enough to be transported to a Kaiser Hospital.

I was the person on the spot managing the bills for my father. I was told by Kaiser that I would receive bills for my father from the ambulance service, the hospital and the physicians for his care. These bills would automatically be paid by Kaiser because his primary physician authorized the transportation to the nearest hospital.

The hospital bill in 2005 for two days in emergency, seven days in intensive care, testing and supplies was $315,021.94. The ambulance transport costs from the doctor to hospital and then to a Kaiser hospital was $1,396.00. The physician costs were $5,948.00

Kaiser told me the costs would be reduced to 1/4 as a courtesy to Kaiser. My father's costs were his monthly Kaiser bill of $248.00.

While my mother lived, her retirement costs for medical insurance were zero as she was a retired Santa Clara County employee. She only paid the costs for medical for my father in retirement.

There is a three tired system of health care system in this country. One for those who have excellent, affordable insurance or the means to pay for their care. Second system is for those who are self employed or underemployed with medium insurance which high deductibles and many services not provided. The third system is for those who have no insurance and use the county emergency rooms for health care.

We have been in a health crisis for many years. As boomers like myself approach retirement, the system may collapse with the mounting health care costs.

Now, off my soapbox!!

DH and I have dreamed for years about retiring early and traveling the country in our motorhome. But we're still not sure we'd ever be able to afford to do so, just because of the healthcare costs. If we were both super healthy we might be able to get along without insurance or at least basic insurance for a while. But he has an enlarged heart and I'm diabetic. We'd spend a fortune in prescriptions, not to mention the cost of healthcare insurance. It's really quite sad.

 

[endkaos]

You are right John, not since the 1992 Clinto Health Care Bill defeat.

MUST STOP SELF FROM TYPING>>>>I CAN'T

The Clinton proposal was a complete sham and was never ever going to pass. Why, because at the time HMO's were DENYING services right and left, but no one remembers that.

SOAPBOX

Major Medical Insurance as we know it today was a result of Employers looking for qualified individuals to employ after WWII. Prior to WWII, there was no such thing as Major Medical Insurance. However, there was something called Self-Insured Group Insurance. This was started back in the late 1890's by a group of farmers who came together to form a self-insured group for medical expenses.

There are 2 main types of Major Medical Insurance: Self-Insured and Fully Insured. Don't be fooled by the term Fully Insured. All it means is that these policies are "for profit". The Insurance company accepts FULLY all "profits and losses." Any monies in not paid in claims becomes profit for the Insurance company. HMO's are Fully Insured plans.

Self-insured means any monies not paid in claims is used to off-set costs for the following years, thereby maintaining or lowering contribution levels. The money belongs to the participant of the group. No profit is made by the Insurance company. The Insurance company is a third-party payor in that they are only paid to process the claims. They do not profit from denying claims.

In the end, "cost-effective" is the word that the FULLY Insured company is looking for. "It is more cost-effective to have treated (Fill in the blank) this way. By doing this, it helped keep costs down." yadda yadda yadda.

I could go on and on and on, but then you'll want me to help you with your claims.

But lets think of happier things. "Aruba, Aruba, Aruba".

 

[NotSoLittleMermaid]

Do I reply here? I have put it on every place I could find. Anyway, here is our info.

Location Ontario, California
Gaylean (32 at the time of cruise)
Jon (32)
Ethan (8)
Brooke (5)
my sister and brother-in-law
and my nephew (4)
early dinner seating


I hope you have gotten one of my three posts in all different places!!!!!!

Welcome to the group! It's going to be a great cruise. Glad you're joining us!

 

[clynne]

MouseAdventure was great. We had a blast but I'm just now starting to feel recovered from it. You wouldn't think running around DL solving word puzzles and finding eyespy items for 5 hours wold be tiring but it was exhausting. A couple of people had pedometers and registed over 9 miles each in the 5 hours! We will definitely be signing up for the next one in Nov. There were over 500 of us running around both parks and downtown to try and complete the quests. The teams that won did amazingly well. We won't know our score or placement until later in the week - only the top 3 teams in each division were announced there.

Hope your Sweetie is feeling better. MouseAdventure sounds like fun. Do any teams have children? I can imagine mine "thinking" it would be fun, until the second or third criss-crossing of the park... Thanks for the update!

Carolyn

 

[clynne]

I did ask DH if we could head that way and I think he pretty much spit his dinner out in my face from shock and disbelief that I would actually ask him if we could head to CA for dinner!

Well, it didn't hurt to ask... My DH would probably pause and look at me carefully to see if I was serious. I'm sure his final answer would be, "Well, if you want to..."

Carolyn

 

[clynne]

I promise to take pics and post here for everyone to see!!!

Not sure how to say this, as I'm sure your plan is not to follow our kids around and go snap happy, BUT some of us are hesitant to post pictures of our families online.

Carolyn

 

[clynne]

One of my favorite things to do is mow the lawn . . . (just give me my ipod and my John Deere) but I think you are a bit too far away for me to ride my John Deere up there.

Just picturing you driving your John Deere on the turnpike....

Carolyn

 

[Jhalkias]

Just picturing you driving your John Deere on the turnpike....

Carolyn

I'd probably look like a big, mustachioed, Forest Gump.

Road Trip!

 

[NotSoLittleMermaid]

We're home and all is well. The surgery went smoothly. Easy to take tubes out, a bit harder than putting them in. He just had a liquid sendative and gas, no IV, so when Wilson did wake up he was in pain. He got a shot of moraphine in his hinnie and calmed down a bit. He still is saying he has a bit of pain. I think it might just be discomfort, so hard to tell with kids.

I'm hoping this is the last of surgery for a while. 3 sets of ear tubes (& yes he had his adnoids out too the 2nd time) and one surgery to remove them. That's enough!

I'm also not looking forward to the bill. Being self employeed we buy our own coverage, pay $1100.00 per month and *each* of us have $1500 annual deductibles and then insurance coverages 70%. I got a letter last week telling me that the surgery center cost alone is $1700 out of pocket, not to mention what the surgeon or anesthesia costs! I figure this will be close to $5K. Man that's a cruise in off season for us, cat 4. Oh well, not this summer

We're going to enjoy our caroons now

Glad all is well! What a drag about the costs, though. I feel so fortunate that I've always had good insurance, and that I've been able to stay on that plan in retirement (former public school teacher). I pay $215/month and my annual deduc. is $250. I can stay on it until Medicare. My sister & her husband have their own business and their costs for insurance are outrageous.

 

[MrsMork]

DH and I have dreamed for years about retiring early and traveling the country in our motorhome. But we're still not sure we'd ever be able to afford to do so, just because of the healthcare costs. If we were both super healthy we might be able to get along without insurance or at least basic insurance for a while. But he has an enlarged heart and I'm diabetic. We'd spend a fortune in prescriptions, not to mention the cost of healthcare insurance. It's really quite sad.

We are going to live this dream! I will get to keep my health insurance when I retire early. We just bought the motorhome, put horns on it that play the DCL ship horn and we are set to go!

 

[birkner]

We are going to live this dream! I will get to keep my health insurance when I retire early. We just bought the motorhome, put horns on it that play the DCL ship horn and we are set to go!

That is just fabulous!! My parents both retired with great pensions, health insurance and were able to enjoy retirement without a health or financial care in the world. That is what I call REAL retirement!!