Mexican Riviera Cruise with WONDERful Souvenir in the Works! 6/7 PTR Link!

[Leshaface]

I left us off in the hotel room....

So we only had one day in Boston and there was one thing that was a MUST on my list...

Yup! The Samuel Adams Brewery Tour! Before this though, we stopped off at the Harvard Shop right around the corner from our hotel. Our nephew, who is 11, has always wanted to go to Harvard since he was little. In fact, his bedroom is painted in Harvard colors. So we HAD to grab some Harvard gear for him to help motivate him!

After that, we went to the Harvard T station, bought our subway tickets and took off to go on the tour.

I must say, the subway system in Boston is super easy and convenient!

Anyways, according to my next picture, this was taken at 10:45am

Yes....almost 11 am, going to do a beer tasting, without any food in the stomach. SMH.

But because the brewery was a little bit out of our way and we had a tour in the early afternoon, this was the only time we could schedule it in.

The tour itself was really neat...AND FREE! (we did donate a few bucks though, so we're not that cheap )

This is where they showed us the different grains and hops they use to make the various types of beers.

I need to point this out...this area had no air conditioning and it was WARM! Our poor tour leader was sweating horribly. It was gross. But this area of the tour was very informational and neat.

After what seemed like FOREVER (maybe like 10 minutes) we were able to go into the room where all the beer is held...not remembering the name, and it was nice and cool!

These guys are hand bottling these special beers

AND now! The best part of the tour....THE TASTING!

You sit in long tables in what looks like a bar and they gave us 4 different types of beer to try in large pitchers. However, since there were lots of wives in there that weren't drinking beer (just along for the husbands I suppose), there was always a LOT leftover...and it's just wasteful if you don't finish a pitcher, so of course we helped out whenever possible!

Let's recap:

- No Food
- Lots of beer

Can you see where this is going?

 

[Dream426]

That is a great tour!! Free beer. Can't get any better than that. There subway system is really cool. The subway looks more like an old fashioned train or trolly (I can't remember it has been so many years) rather than a real subway. Unless things have changed or they got new subways...haha

 

[Pinkocto]

Very cool! It is a very rare occurence these days to get a nice fun activity free. So glad you were able to go. Hope you were still able to walk back to your hotel safely

 

[Leshaface]

That is a great tour!! Free beer. Can't get any better than that. There subway system is really cool. The subway looks more like an old fashioned train or trolly (I can't remember it has been so many years) rather than a real subway. Unless things have changed or they got new subways...haha

I'm wondering if the 'trolley' part you are thinking of, is the part of the subway that is above ground. That was pretty neat/weird. Because the majority of the time we were underground, then at the end of the day, we ended up on a train that was above ground and looked very old on the outside but still very subway like on the inside. Very neat!

Very cool! It is a very rare occurence these days to get a nice fun activity free. So glad you were able to go. Hope you were still able to walk back to your hotel safely

Exactly! Free beer?! It was fun!

Speaking of walking back safely, the other night I was walking my dog around 8pm, like I do every night. Well as I walking back home, there was a very tall man, whistling to himself on the opposite side of the street. I needed to get over to the side where he was since that was the way to get back home, but I waited until we passed each other a little bit before I crossed the street (i'm overly cautious of people I guess!) Anyway, about 30 seconds after I crossed the street, he stopped walking, turned towards me, and his whistling tone changed. At first when he was whistling, he was whistling just a random song, but when he changed his whistling, it was the whistle to get someones attention/calling for someone. And sure enough as he was whistling that, he started walking back towards my direction, another person from a little ways away came out from behind a large bush/tree thing and started walking towards my direction too. Holy crap I've never been so scared before! I booked it back home, never turning around once, cus I was too scared! I was literally, only about 6 houses from my house when this happened!

So because of this situation, i'm never walking ANYWHERE by myself again at night. No matter where I am.

 

[Jackson's grammie]

good idea not to walk alone. perhaps you should mention this incident tothe police just to be on the safe side.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Gasp, I forgot about Harry & David. You are the WORST influence on me, I swear!

Speaking of Eggplant, at the end of March/beginning of April, I started my first garden which included Eggplant and Watermelon (which never grew for me ). Well about 3 weeks ago, I knew my garden was pretty much done producing (zucchini wasn't producing as much and neither was my tomatoes) so I let my garden grow. I went out there this afternoon to look at the jungle of overgrowing vines and what do I find?? 2 Eggplants that are growing and 4 WATERMELONS! What the heck?! I thought these were all Summer veg/fruit?! Anyways, i'm going to watch them for the next week and see how much bigger they get so I can actually use them.

I'm excited for Apple season. I found this AMAZING cake recipe that i'm dying to try and have been waiting for it to be cooler. I'll probably bake this next week some time.

I LOVE eggplant! One of my favorite vegetables...especially fried! I know, that defeats the purpose of eating a veggie but it tastes so good! Zucchini too!

I wish I could have a garden in my yard...but one, my yard is very small and two, a lot of stray cats hang out in our yard and I'm afraid anything I try to grow would be destroyed. Squirrels pass through a lot too, and when we put a jack-o-lantern on our front porch, usually it gets attacked within a day.

Apple cake sounds great! Last night I had the family over for dinner and I made a great pork tenderloin dish, with an apple-cranberry chutney. I got the recipe from Health magazine, and it was great! You just heat up a couple of tsp. of olive oil, brown the pork (seasoned with salt and pepper) on all sides a few minutes, then transfer to a 400 degree preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. For the chutney, you saute a few slices of bacon, cut up into small pieces, for a few minutes, then add a cup of coarsely chopped leeks and saute for 8 minutes or so. Then, add 3 cups of peeled and sliced apples, a cup of fresh cranberries (I used 1/2 cup of dried cranberries), 1 tbsp. each honey and lemon juice, and 1/3 cup water (I used 2/3 cup because of the dried cranberries). You bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Partially cover and cook about 30 minutes. It was delicious! I served it with quinoa and green beans. So there you go, something that is actually healthy, coming from me, to tempt you during apple season!

OK, now do you want me to get started on Godiva and all their seasonal chocolate?

 

[dopeyfanatic]

Just found your TR. Love the title. We got pg (unplanned though lol) with our first on our honeymoon which was a cruise. It is fun to say Made In Mexico about him lol.

As for the excursion in PV...are you still doing that? We decided not to do zipline or anything there because we didn't want to go that far from the ship, especially into jungle area. Sad we can't feel safe but I've seen to many bad reports. And although many things don't happen, the chance is greater. With kids it's not worth it. I hope you guys have fun. I really wanted to zipline. So did the kids. Good luck with your planning

 

[Leshaface]

good idea not to walk alone. perhaps you should mention this incident tothe police just to be on the safe side.

Luckily for me, one of my neighbors is cop (we actually have 2 total on our street, with another one around the corner) so I let him know.

It was just so creepy. Never again!

I LOVE eggplant! One of my favorite vegetables...especially fried! I know, that defeats the purpose of eating a veggie but it tastes so good! Zucchini too!

I wish I could have a garden in my yard...but one, my yard is very small and two, a lot of stray cats hang out in our yard and I'm afraid anything I try to grow would be destroyed. Squirrels pass through a lot too, and when we put a jack-o-lantern on our front porch, usually it gets attacked within a day.

Apple cake sounds great! Last night I had the family over for dinner and I made a great pork tenderloin dish, with an apple-cranberry chutney. I got the recipe from Health magazine, and it was great! You just heat up a couple of tsp. of olive oil, brown the pork (seasoned with salt and pepper) on all sides a few minutes, then transfer to a 400 degree preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. For the chutney, you saute a few slices of bacon, cut up into small pieces, for a few minutes, then add a cup of coarsely chopped leeks and saute for 8 minutes or so. Then, add 3 cups of peeled and sliced apples, a cup of fresh cranberries (I used 1/2 cup of dried cranberries), 1 tbsp. each honey and lemon juice, and 1/3 cup water (I used 2/3 cup because of the dried cranberries). You bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Partially cover and cook about 30 minutes. It was delicious! I served it with quinoa and green beans. So there you go, something that is actually healthy, coming from me, to tempt you during apple season!

OK, now do you want me to get started on Godiva and all their seasonal chocolate?

I've always wanted to try Pork Tenderloin. Just never found a good enough recipe to attempt it though. But this dish sounds amazing and simple! Oh, and healthy! So perhaps i'll put this on the menu for the following week, since I already have my menus planned out for next week.

Ugh, please don't get started on Godiva! The past few days have been good for me, as far as working out goes. I decided to switch up my workout regimen (I think I was getting bored with my other workouts, which is why I probably stopped) and now i'm doing the Spartacus workout. Have you ever watched or seen anything about that show? The men are in fantastic shape, so I just modified it for me to do and it's kicking my butt. About 2 hours after I did the workout the first time, I already started to feel sore and I never feel like that on the same day of the workout. I knew the next day, i'd be dying. And I was. And I love it!

Just found your TR. Love the title. We got pg (unplanned though lol) with our first on our honeymoon which was a cruise. It is fun to say Made In Mexico about him lol.

As for the excursion in PV...are you still doing that? We decided not to do zipline or anything there because we didn't want to go that far from the ship, especially into jungle area. Sad we can't feel safe but I've seen to many bad reports. And although many things don't happen, the chance is greater. With kids it's not worth it. I hope you guys have fun. I really wanted to zipline. So did the kids. Good luck with your planning

Oooh only 4 days left for you!

I'm honestly still debating about PV. I know that Disney would take care of us, but geez, i'm still a little worried being so far from the ship, for such a long period of time. I'm probably going to wait and see how other families feel getting off at PV to make the decision, since there are still a lot of other MR cruises before ours.

And if we can't zipline in PV, we'll definitely be doing it in Cabo, since i've always wanted to!

Hope you have an amazing trip!!

 

[katds10]

That's right folks. ANOTHER DISNEY CRUISE IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS! DECEMBER 11-18, 2011 I'm so beyond excited and I can't wait to share every aspect of the trip with you guys!....well, not every aspect. But yes! This WILL be the cruise where we will officially try to start having kids!

We just booked the Dec 11-18 cruise too! This is our first cruise and we're going with our daughter who will turn ONE on the trip! Good idea going before you have a baby. We're just hoping she'll do ok in the nursery for a few hours so we can have a dinner at Palo and go to the spa!

 

[Dream426]

We just booked the Dec 11-18 cruise too! This is our first cruise and we're going with our daughter who will turn ONE on the trip! Good idea going before you have a baby. We're just hoping she'll do ok in the nursery for a few hours so we can have a dinner at Palo and go to the spa!

I would love to hear how your daughter does on the cruise because we are trying to plan a Disney cruise out of New York when our daughter turns 1 but we aren't sure how she will do.

 

[Pinkocto]

Speaking of walking back safely, the other night I was walking my dog around 8pm, like I do every night. Well as I walking back home, there was a very tall man, whistling to himself on the opposite side of the street. I needed to get over to the side where he was since that was the way to get back home, but I waited until we passed each other a little bit before I crossed the street (i'm overly cautious of people I guess!) Anyway, about 30 seconds after I crossed the street, he stopped walking, turned towards me, and his whistling tone changed. At first when he was whistling, he was whistling just a random song, but when he changed his whistling, it was the whistle to get someones attention/calling for someone. And sure enough as he was whistling that, he started walking back towards my direction, another person from a little ways away came out from behind a large bush/tree thing and started walking towards my direction too. Holy crap I've never been so scared before! I booked it back home, never turning around once, cus I was too scared! I was literally, only about 6 houses from my house when this happened!

So because of this situation, i'm never walking ANYWHERE by myself again at night. No matter where I am.

I have no idea how I missed this. Oh my goodness does that sound scary!!! I'm so glad you mentioned it to your cop neighbor. When you got to your house did you look out the window to see if they were still there? A very similar situation happened to me in Mexico years ago, I also never felt so scared. I'm so glad your dog was with you, it might have been keeping the guys away.

 

[franandaj]

That is a scary situation! On the one hand you would think a small town is safe, but anywhere has it's element of riff raff.

Pork tenderloin is a great lean cut, very flavorful and you really don't need to do a lot to it.

Your dog is a pug right? Not very menacing!

 

[Leshaface]

We just booked the Dec 11-18 cruise too! This is our first cruise and we're going with our daughter who will turn ONE on the trip! Good idea going before you have a baby. We're just hoping she'll do ok in the nursery for a few hours so we can have a dinner at Palo and go to the spa!

I saw you post on the Meet Thread! I'm sure she'll do just fine for a couple hours! I'm so looking forward to eating at Palo. We really enjoyed Remy on the Dream, and there has only been great things to say about Palo.

I have no idea how I missed this. Oh my goodness does that sound scary!!! I'm so glad you mentioned it to your cop neighbor. When you got to your house did you look out the window to see if they were still there? A very similar situation happened to me in Mexico years ago, I also never felt so scared. I'm so glad your dog was with you, it might have been keeping the guys away.

As soon as I got home, I grabbed DH, told him what happened, and got in the car to go find them, but we couldn't find them. Our house is in a newer area of our town, so we're surrounded by vacant lots (due to the economy, they stopped building houses, so instead of homes, there are LOTS of abandoned, over grown fields) and we're on the border of the town, so we're near the county. They could have went in any direction.

Oh gosh. Were you by yourself in Mexico? Which city?!?

Haha, well, my dog is a pug. A very small pug for his age. He probably would have just snorted at them and tried to go over there, since he loves people. He would have been of no help at all!

That is a scary situation! On the one hand you would think a small town is safe, but anywhere has it's element of riff raff.

Pork tenderloin is a great lean cut, very flavorful and you really don't need to do a lot to it.

Your dog is a pug right? Not very menacing!

I also, can never find pork tenderloin! Maybe I should look for it at Winco. They should have it right?

I was just saying how he's a little pug. However, his flat face does tend to scare off children

 

[Pinkocto]

As soon as I got home, I grabbed DH, told him what happened, and got in the car to go find them, but we couldn't find them. Our house is in a newer area of our town, so we're surrounded by vacant lots (due to the economy, they stopped building houses, so instead of homes, there are LOTS of abandoned, over grown fields) and we're on the border of the town, so we're near the county. They could have went in any direction.

Oh gosh. Were you by yourself in Mexico? Which city?!?

Haha, well, my dog is a pug. A very small pug for his age. He probably would have just snorted at them and tried to go over there, since he loves people. He would have been of no help at all!

Now you have an excuse to make Dan go with you on walks

No, I was on a mission trip in Cancun, and stupidly went out shopping by myself and it got dark. I never knew I could run so fast!

Pugs are just too cute! I'm sure if he sensed you were in danger he would have attacked those people, they know when something is wrong.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Luckily for me, one of my neighbors is cop (we actually have 2 total on our street, with another one around the corner) so I let him know.

It was just so creepy. Never again!

I've always wanted to try Pork Tenderloin. Just never found a good enough recipe to attempt it though. But this dish sounds amazing and simple! Oh, and healthy! So perhaps i'll put this on the menu for the following week, since I already have my menus planned out for next week.

Ugh, please don't get started on Godiva! The past few days have been good for me, as far as working out goes. I decided to switch up my workout regimen (I think I was getting bored with my other workouts, which is why I probably stopped) and now i'm doing the Spartacus workout. Have you ever watched or seen anything about that show? The men are in fantastic shape, so I just modified it for me to do and it's kicking my butt. About 2 hours after I did the workout the first time, I already started to feel sore and I never feel like that on the same day of the workout. I knew the next day, i'd be dying. And I was. And I love it!

It's good that your neighbor is a cop and you were able to tell him...it does sound really creepy.

Pork tenderloin is great! And yes, it is healthy! We love it, and even the kids eat it, so I make it often. My little one thinks it's "special chicken". If I tell him something is chicken, he will try it and he usually likes it! At my parents' house for Rosh Hashana, my mom put some gefilte fish on the table, cut up into small pieces and with those fancy toothpicks in each piece. Well, my little one looked at it, turned to my DH and said, "Daddy, can I have some of that chicken on a stick?" We were all cracking up! And by the way, he LOVED it and ate several pieces! DH and I don't touch that stuff, but DS4 sure was enjoying himself!

Your workout sounds awesome! I miss those days, when I felt like a workout really kicked my butt! Now it's just low impact for me, and taking it easy, like the pace of a brisk walk. But I feel great, which is more important. I went for an x-ray last week, and next week I have my 6-month check-up with the surgeon already! Crazy how time flies!

 

[katds10]

I would love to hear how your daughter does on the cruise because we are trying to plan a Disney cruise out of New York when our daughter turns 1 but we aren't sure how she will do.

I'll update when we get back! I read a review online about how someone went with their 8 month old and the people in the nursery were great with him even though he hadn't been left with a baby sitter before. I hope she does well there too b/c I'd hate to have to cancel all adult plans (not many but a meal at Palo, a spa visit and maybe visiting the adult areas like the pool would be nice). I've read that they page you if your baby is crying but hopefully they'll try and soothe them first! I told my husband I want to tire her out before the nursery time so she just sleeps there!

We got the late dinner but she goes to bed late so that should be ok. I'm thinking of taking her stroller to dinner (if allowed) so she can fall asleep in it if she's tired (she does fine w/ background noise). I'm trying to figure out if I can go to the shows w/ her - I haven't seen any minimum ages listed for the family shows.

Leshaface- just read about your experience walking home - glad you're ok! Thanks for posting about possible safety issues in Puerto Vallarta too. I was thinking of just getting a cab and exploring on our own but that doesn't sound like the best idea now!

 

[nocruisecontrol]

Loving your PTR. Your trip is getting closer.

We're booked on the 1/15/12 MR sailing - but not totally sure we can go yet. Have two weeks to make a final decision, so I haven't paid in full or made any reservations yet. Been scouting all the recent MR TR's for thoughts and ideas.

Two things of note:

My grandson, who will be two was 'made in Disney World' on a Spring Break trip. There was no one more surprised than me.

Same grandson was with us on our Disney cruise to the Bahamas the next year when he was 10 months old. My daughter left him in the nursery when we visited CC for the afternoon and he was just fine there. He napped and then was awake when we came for him - but he was just sitting there, playing with his toys with a CM sitting right with him. My daughter peeked in first and, I swear, I think she was almost 'sad' to see that he wasn't missing us at all!

Now, of course, each child is different, but we were very happy with the nursery. He was clean and changed and happy.

B.

 

[Leshaface]

Hi everyone! Sorry i've been neglecting my TR. Would rather read other peoples TR's than update my own!

So I have some good news! Bought my Travel Insurance on Tuesday. After reading about an incident that happened on one of the past MR cruises recently, I started thinking about it, and it really would be a good idea for us to have trip insurance. We are now covered and I feel much better (especially after my TA said I would not be able to purchase insurance because I had already made final payment )

Some bad news not related to my TR. DH applied for a Varsity baseball job at a school just around the corner from us (he's a PE teacher in a town 30 minutes from our town, but he coaches both football and baseball at the school around the corner from us - he desperately wants to get on staff there permanently. Well he got turned down, despite all the rumors that he would be head coach. I just feel so terrible for him. He's been on the baseball staff and the football staff for a few years now (this high school is only 4 years old so he's been there almost since the beginning). He feels that no one at that school wants him there but want him only as assistant coaches (he applied for the PE job this past year and they turned him down too). Then he gets turned down today, but apparently they still MAY want him to be the assistant coach He looks completely defeated and unwanted and there's really nothing I can do or say to make him feel better.

Sorry for my vent. Just needed to talk, since my run didn't seem to help me. I'm hoping that this next month and a half go by quick for the trip. He needs a pick me up

 

[PizzieDuster]

So sorry to hear that. I know how that feels. My father has been a high school football and softball coach for over 30 years (and pop warner before that - one year he coached both). Anyway, there are politics and parents and highs and lows. I hope he just thinks of all the ways he is influencing the players he coaches then the times he's been looked over. My father still gets messages on FB from players he has coached --- way over 5,000 players. Some went on to play college and pro. They all remember him and what he taught them -- what made them laugh and the lessons they learned. It's a great position to have whether a head coach or an assistant coach. Although he may be disappointed, remember if he can make a difference with just one player, or two, etc. then he is more successful then not trying. Everyone can coach from the sidelines.

I know what advice my dad would give him. One time my father was so pissed he didn't get the head coach job once after he was there for so long - he went and took the head coaching job at the rival high school who never could beat this school. When the BIG game came (drama big time...like the team warmed up at a park before showing up for the game) my dad beat them so bad they did everything they could to get him back. And he went back and beat the other school the following year. He actually got a coaching job at a private high school by being the first coach to beat that team in 18 years. That school ended up being the school my sons attended because they had watched their grandpa coach there. My father was blessed to coach his grandson there and then ended his career there.

My father even wrote a book. Funny stories and all the tales of the highs and lows of high school coaching.

Here's a summary of his book: "This is the story of a successful southern California youth and high school football coach. ** success was not measured by Xs and Os or records, even though there were plenty of wins and championships on the field. His successes, spanning a thirty-year coaching career, are in the multitude of day-to-day treasured moments shared by a coach and his team, and in the laughter and tears shed and shared by this coach and the hundreds of young men whose lives were touched, shaped and changed forever through the strength of their wills, the devotion of their teams, and the love of their coach. 27 shares Coach ** story of the daily hardships of two-a-days, the thrills of championships on every level, and the tragedy of losing a young athlete, and a son, far too soon."

I'm not saying he's thinking of quiting, but I'm sure your husband wouldn't tell his players to quit or stop trying. My father never quit. He may have gotten fired, he may have fought the politics, even fought younger coaches who wanted his job, but he never quit coaching. He kept winning. Be his biggest cheerleader because he's got 30 more years and hundreds of players to influence!!!!!

 

[Dream426]

I am so sorry to hear that your husband is going through that. I know how he feels. You put your time and energy into something and you are told certain things and the opposite happens. I always say I can be so close to getting the position but then the superintendent's daughter or niece comes along and needs the teaching position. Who do you think it is going to get it? Def. not me even though I put my time in and am more qualified. I don't know how it works by you but that is how it is here. You need to know someone to get a job teaching. He def. needs this cruise in a couple of months. Just get away from everything for a week. Do some tastings on the cruise. We did the martini and beer tasting and had so much fun. I think you said you did that on the other cruise though. I can't remember. You don't need to do the tastings to have a drink. But they are a lot of fun.