She said it wouldn't be boring!-WONDER WB Caribbean cruise - Bonus Posts Wrap up

[franandaj]

So here we are back at life update time, much sooner than I thought we would be. As you know, Fran had a CAT scan Friday, they told us that it would be 3-5 days until it could be “read” so we figured that we wouldn’t hear anything until after we got back from our Thanksgiving trip.

On our way to our 9AM Monday morning appointment, we got a call from the Rhuematologist office saying that the CAT scan was completely normal. Since they couldn’t find anything irregular going on in her body, the elevated liver readings must be due to the arthritis drug. They would be stopping it could she come in Wednesday to discuss additional options.

Since we were leaving the next day at the crack of dawn obviously this wasn’t an option. So they were able to squeeze her in that afternoon at 3PM. The problem for me was that I was planning to meet Corinna out at the park around noon and hang out with her until somewhat after dark. It was too important for me not to miss the Dr. appointment, and for those of you who were reading when PIO visited in 2012 you know it’s possible to go, turn around and get back in under two hours. The only wild card would be the Dr visit and wait time in the office.

I did meet Corinna and her crew at noon (or maybe a little bit late) and we had a great time from 12-2, they continued to have a great time while I drove back to Long Beach met Fran in the parking lot for the Doctor’s office and we both went to her appointment. We found out that there are two options for her and I won’t bore you with all the details. Basically one is a pill the other is an infusion (like she has been having, but not as frequent). She needs to take time so her liver readings come back to normal. Once that happens, she can start a new drug, however, she needs to choose and also find out how much her insurance will cover of each one. It’s confusing and now we’re at a “contact insurance companies and wait and see” kind of place. She has hope, she just doesn’t know what form it will take.

This is yet another chapter in the arthritis saga. It’s sad because the Actemra was doing so good for her, but as we have seen each drug eventually takes a toll on her liver and she needs to move on.

So here’s a couple pictures from that day, and then back to the TR!






Grand Cayman: Yet another day that doesn’t go as planned.

We woke on the second day of our cruise to find that the sun was not rising off the verandah. In fact the sun had already risen, we were up a little bit late. Today was the first port day, we arrive slightly late and it’s a “Tender Port”. Which means that we ride smaller ships into the harbor since the ship cannot dock in the shallow waters. Last year we stopped in Grand Cayman and we picked up some tasty Rum Cakes at a store right across from the port. That was definitely in our plans as well as an Island Tour that we had booked through the ship. But first, let’s peruse the Navigator for the day.













Our Island Tour didn’t begin until 12:15 and it was a two and a half hour tour. We wouldn’t be back on the ship when the buffet was serving lunch, so I figured that we needed a hearty breakfast. We headed to Triton’s to fill the bill.













I started off with a Cheese Pastry.



Fran had a Chocolate Croissant



We both got orange juice and V8.



I went with the Eggs Benedict, fully knowing that I was only going to eat half.



Fran got the Waffle Sandwich, two waffles filled with Dulce de Lece and rolled in sugar and cinnamon. I was supposed to eat half of this, but after one bite, I realized that it was just way way way too sweet for my taste.



We also got a side of bacon.



This plate was a sorry example of the pasty choices we had to choose from. Most trays had more options when they came out of the kitchen.



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[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

We were nice and stuffed after breakfast and confident that our breakfast should hold us through our Island tour this afternoon. So we headed off to meet up with Chip and Dale.









By this time the tendering process had begun. There were some people who got first priority off the ship, those that had an early tour scheduled, but once it hit 11:00AM anyone could go down to the tender station and board a tender boat.



So off we went on our Tender Boat…





Looking back at the Wonder



I don’t know where we landed, but this wasn’t the port of Georgetown.







We landed on a fairly deserted beach, in a “People pen” of sorts. I asked one of the crew members “what happened?” This wasn’t where we landed on my last cruise. He explained that because of inclement weather it wasn’t safe on that side of the island, so we landed here instead. Some of the excursions had been cancelled. We were sort of hoping that ours was one that had been cancelled, but it wasn’t.

Well great. Here we are an hour early for our excursion and nothing to do. I asked if we were going to be stopping in town because we were hoping to purchase some Rum cakes. They told me that because it was Sunday essentially the entire Island was closed. Great. When booking a cruise, if Grand Cayman is one of your ports make sure your ship isn’t visiting on a Sunday. They weren’t kidding about the island being locked up!

So now I had an hour to amuse myself, before we could check in for the tour. Fran had brought her book along to read, so I decided to see what I could capture in the seas and our surroundings.

First I started with the sea. These pictures were taken from the dock.



This rock was really interesting, I was wondering where the grooves came from.



Still life on the beach.



I followed a couple little lizards for a while.



Then I went to the other side of the dock.





I couldn’t tell if this was a fossilized specimen or not.



Then some of the little crabs were scurrying around.





Now the island is practically overrun with chickens. They just run free, but what Fran and I kept wondering was, "are there laws of who’s chickens are whose? Can you just go out your door grab a chicken and make it dinner?"

 

[PrincessInOz]

Glad to see that the CAT scan came back clear. Sorry that Fran has to move on with a different drug/treatment. Is there any option to rotate back to a drug that she's previously taken after a while?


Looks like you had a great day with Corrina. Leaving the park and coming back has a very familiar ring to it!


Your pictures of Cayman are lovely. I love the intertidal sealife on the beach. I'm sorry you didn't get to shop but I really like the animal life shots.


That's a great top you've got on. It's so fun!

 

[ACDSNY]

Sounds like a little bit of good and bad news on Fran. I'll keep my fingers crossed the new drug will work as good as the old one.

Cute pics of the two of you with Chip and Dale.

All of the pics of the chickens running around reminds me of Kauai, they're everywhere on the island.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Caught back up on your latest from your trip reports.

At least the CAT scan came back clear and we are hoping that Fran is doing okay.

Your pictures with Chip and Dale are great.

The Cayman looks very nice and the animal shots as well.

 

[Pinkocto]

Good news about the CAT scan coming back normal. But not good about switching medicines and having to wait until doing so. Hopefully insurance isn't too much of a pain and figure things out quickly.


What a delicious looking breakfast at Tritons Cute pictures with Chip and Dale


What bad luck about being on the other side of the island. I hope you were able to find some rum cakes. You used your time well though, I like seeing the nature up close. The rock with the grooves is actually a dead coral. All the grooves are where the organisms lived. That other one does look like a fossil doesn't it. Too cool! I'm sure I would have been down there trying to pry it out of the rock

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Glad to hear the CAT scan was normal. There is life in that there liver yet! Plus no ghastly biopsy to perform good luck with deciding on which medicine to have. Not an easy decision. How supportive of you to go with Fran to the doctor. I treasure Jo with me so I know how important that support is from your nearest and dearest.

You lucked out on rum cakes too! Is there a DCL conspiracy going on lol. Great photos of the island. Shame it was a Sunday who was to know that! Thanks for that top tip. Your breakfast looked yummy! Eggs Benedict Jo would have wolfed down both. That tray of sweet bakery items looks like I had been there first lol!

Hope you are enjoying Seattle.

 

[perfectmatch300]

I hope you are able to get Fran's medical issues resolved soon. She seemed to be feeling so good on your trip. I was hoping that would continue for her.

We spent a week on Grand Cayman this past May. The chickens there really are everywhere! The most surprising place I saw them was at the airport. Also, it was a bit weird eating a nice chicken dinner at an outdoor dining area with chickens wandering around.

Did your tour run as scheduled? Sundays on the island are pretty quiet. It is nice for the locals, but tough if you are on vacation there, especially if you are on a cruise ship with just a few hours in port.

Do you know the name of the dock where you landed? I know there are several alternate docking areas. I'm curious as to which one they used. At least you didn't miss the port due to weather conditions.

Loved your pictures with Chip & Dale.

 

[afwdwfan]

Sorry about Fran's issues. I hope that they get her straightened out, and hopefully, insurance will be cooperative in the process.

The whole Grand Cayman thing seems to be off to a rocky start. I'd probably be hoping my excursion was canceled too at that point. Seems like it would have been a good day to just spend on the ship! Hopefully it improves from this point forward!

I wonder if individuals own chickens or if they're just wild? Maybe it is like the deer/wild turkey situation here. If you shoot it, it is yours. As long as it is in season, of course.

 

[rndmr2]

Glad to hear the CT Scan came out clear. Sorry she has to make med changes, I know how much of a pain that is.

Sorry your Day isn't starting out how you hoped. You'd think they could have made an announcement that things were closed or that the tenders were taking you to another area.

Hope the rest of the day was ok.

I started a TR that is below if you are interested.

 

[dgbg100106]

So happy to hear that the CAT scan came back clean, that is great news. PIO made a good point, can she cycle back to a previous drug once she has gone thru a cycle of a different drug?

I take allergy meds, and once one stops being effective I cannot cycle back, but hers are not ineffective right, they just elevate the liver enzymes right?

Grand Cayman is a tourist only kind of place and when the take the day off they mean it. We ended up in a similar situation last cruise.

your pictures are great and glad you were able to entertain yourself.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

This is yet another chapter in the arthritis saga. It’s sad because the Actemra was doing so good for her, but as we have seen each drug eventually takes a toll on her liver and she needs to move on.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they can continue to find treatments that work without taking such a toll on Fran.

it was a two-and-a-half-hour tour...

Whew! For a second, I thought you would say it was a three-hour tour of a lonely island...

I don’t know where we landed, but this wasn’t the port of Georgetown.

Um....

That's a little scary. What is this, Ellis Island?

Well great. Here we are an hour early for our excursion and nothing to do. I asked if we were going to be stopping in town because we were hoping to purchase some Rum cakes. They told me that because it was Sunday essentially the entire Island was closed. Great. When booking a cruise, if Grand Cayman is one of your ports make sure your ship isn’t visiting on a Sunday. They weren’t kidding about the island being locked up!

Well, it's a good thing we came all this way! This reminds me of our visit to Utah!

First I started with the sea. These pictures were taken from the dock.

If nothing else, you got some neat pictures. So there's that.

Mmmm...free-range chicken...

 

[franandaj]

Glad to see that the CAT scan came back clear. Sorry that Fran has to move on with a different drug/treatment. Is there any option to rotate back to a drug that she's previously taken after a while?

I don't think that's an option, we went through and made a list of all the drugs that she had previously tried on the day of the appointment.

Looks like you had a great day with Corrina. Leaving the park and coming back has a very familiar ring to it!

We did have a fun day at the park! I thought you would think that!

Your pictures of Cayman are lovely. I love the intertidal sealife on the beach. I'm sorry you didn't get to shop but I really like the animal life shots.


That's a great top you've got on. It's so fun!

I figured I had to amuse myself somehow, I'm glad that there was so many creatures to check out. I like that shirt! It's fairly new and it finally cooled down enough to be able to wear it.

Sounds like a little bit of good and bad news on Fran. I'll keep my fingers crossed the new drug will work as good as the old one.

I just hope that she makes it through to starting the next one without too much pain. As the old one wears off, her joints are freezing up on her and making life difficult.

Cute pics of the two of you with Chip and Dale.

All of the pics of the chickens running around reminds me of Kauai, they're everywhere on the island.

Thanks! Chip and Dale are among her favorites. I have yet to visit Kauai.

Caught back up on your latest from your trip reports.

At least the CAT scan came back clear and we are hoping that Fran is doing okay.

She's hanging in there!

Your pictures with Chip and Dale are great.

The Cayman looks very nice and the animal shots as well.

Thank you!

Good news about the CAT scan coming back normal. But not good about switching medicines and having to wait until doing so. Hopefully insurance isn't too much of a pain and figure things out quickly.

Yeah, we need to get on figuring that out.

What a delicious looking breakfast at Tritons Cute pictures with Chip and Dale


What bad luck about being on the other side of the island. I hope you were able to find some rum cakes. You used your time well though, I like seeing the nature up close. The rock with the grooves is actually a dead coral. All the grooves are where the organisms lived. That other one does look like a fossil doesn't it. Too cool! I'm sure I would have been down there trying to pry it out of the rock

I love breakfast at Triton's. Thanks for explaining about the coral. That's really good to know.

Glad to hear the CAT scan was normal. There is life in that there liver yet! Plus no ghastly biopsy to perform good luck with deciding on which medicine to have. Not an easy decision. How supportive of you to go with Fran to the doctor. I treasure Jo with me so I know how important that support is from your nearest and dearest.

Thanks for telling me that. She wouldn't ever ask me to go with her, and doesn't like to tell me how much she actually needs me.

You lucked out on rum cakes too! Is there a DCL conspiracy going on lol. Great photos of the island. Shame it was a Sunday who was to know that! Thanks for that top tip. Your breakfast looked yummy! Eggs Benedict Jo would have wolfed down both. That tray of sweet bakery items looks like I had been there first lol!

Hope you are enjoying Seattle.

Yeah, maybe I'll have to make my own Rum cake! I am SO glad to be back from Seattle, although with all this rain here, I wonder if I brought Seattle back with me!

I hope you are able to get Fran's medical issues resolved soon. She seemed to be feeling so good on your trip. I was hoping that would continue for her.

I hope we get her issues resolved soon too!

We spent a week on Grand Cayman this past May. The chickens there really are everywhere! The most surprising place I saw them was at the airport. Also, it was a bit weird eating a nice chicken dinner at an outdoor dining area with chickens wandering around.

Did your tour run as scheduled? Sundays on the island are pretty quiet. It is nice for the locals, but tough if you are on vacation there, especially if you are on a cruise ship with just a few hours in port.

Do you know the name of the dock where you landed? I know there are several alternate docking areas. I'm curious as to which one they used. At least you didn't miss the port due to weather conditions.

Loved your pictures with Chip & Dale.

about eating chicken dinner while the chickens run loose!

Our tour pretty much ran as scheduled, at least I think it did. I have no idea what the name of the dock where we landed was.

Sorry about Fran's issues. I hope that they get her straightened out, and hopefully, insurance will be cooperative in the process.

I hope so too!

The whole Grand Cayman thing seems to be off to a rocky start. I'd probably be hoping my excursion was canceled too at that point. Seems like it would have been a good day to just spend on the ship! Hopefully it improves from this point forward!

I wonder if individuals own chickens or if they're just wild? Maybe it is like the deer/wild turkey situation here. If you shoot it, it is yours. As long as it is in season, of course.

We were wondering if we should have just stayed on the ship by that point. That’s a good point, I wonder if they have chicken season on the Cayman islands?

Glad to hear the CT Scan came out clear. Sorry she has to make med changes, I know how much of a pain that is.

Sorry your Day isn't starting out how you hoped. You'd think they could have made an announcement that things were closed or that the tenders were taking you to another area.

Hope the rest of the day was ok.

I started a TR that is below if you are interested.

This is probably the sixth or seventh medication change in around 16 years. I don’t like going through this, and I’m sure she likes it even less.

I wonder if they did make some kind of announcement and we missed it since we were in our cabin.

I just joined in!

So happy to hear that the CAT scan came back clean, that is great news. PIO made a good point, can she cycle back to a previous drug once she has gone thru a cycle of a different drug?

I take allergy meds, and once one stops being effective I cannot cycle back, but hers are not ineffective right, they just elevate the liver enzymes right?

I don’t think she can otherwise I imagine that they would have brought it up before. It’s been a combination some stopped working, some elevate the liver. I would guess that she can’t go back to the ones that caused the elevated liver readings, and I suppose if it stopped working, no reason to go back to it.

Grand Cayman is a tourist only kind of place and when the take the day off they mean it. We ended up in a similar situation last cruise.

your pictures are great and glad you were able to entertain yourself.

Yeah, banking and tourism are the only things that make money for that island. Both of the tours that we did emphasized that fact.

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope they can continue to find treatments that work without taking such a toll on Fran.

Luckily they keep coming up with new medicines, hopefully one of the new ones will work.

Whew! For a second, I thought you would say it was a three-hour tour of a lonely island...

Um....

That's a little scary. What is this, Ellis Island?

Yeah, I was really starting to wonder. I saw several tours come and go during our wait and the way the “guards” opened the gates made me wonder if we really wanted to be here. Our last trip was so friendly and inviting, we had considered actually visiting the island on it’s own. This time was a little freaky.

Well, it's a good thing we came all this way! This reminds me of our visit to Utah!

If nothing else, you got some neat pictures. So there's that.

Mmmm...free-range chicken...

Yeah, I hear you! Nothing better than traveling hundreds or thousands of miles to find everything closed!

 

[franandaj]

Heaven and He!! Not Necessarily in that Order


We checked in for our excursion at 12:15, and I’m assuming that excursions are on “Island Time” because it was pretty much another 45 minutes before our buses showed up. We sat and waited under some trees which were spared by building the benches around them.



Once we were finally on board our motorcoach we drove around the island. I could tell from our tour the previous year that we were approaching the part of the island where the main port was located.





You can see that the place is pretty much closed for business. Especially our Rum Cake shop.





I can’t help but wonder if there was some sort of naval drill going on and that’s why we couldn’t tender in the normal location, but who knows what those water craft out in the ocean were.



We continued to drive on through the city.



We drove past this cemetery and I remembered the story we heard on our last tour when the island flooded and bodies came up out of their graves, so now they are all encased in cement.



Funky Caribbean décor.



We drove past some other buildings including the Governor’s mansion, but less than a month later, and I’m sketchy on the details and the pictures are not that spectacular so I’ll save you from them. Soon we arrived at Hell. Now according to Wikipedia: Hell is a group of short, black, limestone formations located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Located in West Bay, it is roughly the size of half a soccer field. Visitors are not permitted to walk on the limestone formations but viewing platforms are provided.

Also according to Wikipedia, there are multiple stories as to how Hell got it’s name. After leaving this site our guide told us another different version. Who knows how it got it’s name, but here’s what it looks like.









They also had Roosters running around. This had to be the prettiest one that I saw so far.



There were also cows nearby.



And again a lizard.



Our next stop was the Turtle Farm. It was on the coast. As you can see it was a very blustery day. That was our tour bus.



We don’t have flowers like this where I come from, I thought it was pretty cool.



Once inside the turtle farm, we checked out the bigger turtles. Many of these are released back into the wild, but some are kept here for breeding. Our guide explained quite a bit about how the turtles were over harvested when the island was discovered. He also told us a lot about the challenges of the turtles to breed in the wild. If it wasn’t for this turtle farm, these guys would be extinct by now.













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[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

Then we walked over to the other area where the baby turtles were located. Looking back at the larger turtle pond area.



We had been standing under the thatched roof area to view the big turtles.



We could touch the baby turtles if we wanted, but I didn’t really care to. The guide picked one up and held it for us to see.







We had about 20 minutes to spend on our own, we looked through the gift shop and then we boarded our motor coach to head back to the ship. It was definitely a very blustery day.





We made it back to the ship and had a little time before our spa appointments, so we decided to get some food and a drink of the day.



I got these two from the family pool bar. They were premixed.



I got some pizza from Pinnochio’s, just for you Jenny!



Fran got a salad and sandwich from Goofy’s and we enjoyed our meal in the adult pool area.



I got a second DOTD from the Adult pool bar, and they made it up from scratch. It was a much superior drink than the premixed version.



We finished our food and it was time for our couples massage. We chose the Chocolate Indulgence. It was fun and interesting, I’m not sure that I would do it again, being coated in chocolate from neck to toe was a little weird. Here was our treatment room.









After our massages we went back to the room for a proper shower to get ready for the evening’s festivities.

 

[ACDSNY]

Aw no rum cakes.

At least you had a massage to top off the day.

 

[pierresgirl]

What a pain about Fran's medicine but thankfully her MRI was normal! That breakfast food looks fab, I'm so hungry now, esp for eggs. I thought the tender boat said Carb Express, LOL! What a great close up pic of the 2 of you on the tender and I love the beach still life, so pretty! The turtles were huge! The massage was definitely the right way to top off the day!

 

[Pinkocto]

The turtle farm would definitely have been the highlight of the day for me, how cool!

Bummer about no rum cakes. We had a party here at work yesterday and a co-worker brought in a home made rum cake, it was to die for!!!

How nice to split the day up with a massage

 

[skier_pete]

Hmmmm...your excursion looks interesting, especially the turtle breeding center. I would've touched the turtles. I expected to see one say "Grab Shell, DUDE!" That's awesome that programs like that exist.

That DOTD, yipes - that recipe looks sweet-sweet-sweet! I used to drink Midori, but I am not sure I could take it now.

And the chocolate spa treatment - I think DW would think "What a waste of chocolate!" Chocolate should be for eating!

 

[jedijill]

Ugh, sounds like your day at GC wasn't all that great. It wasn't my favorite island when I visited but to have everything locked up would be a big bummer! Massages and DOTDs sound like a nice way to make up for a blah day.

Glad Fran's CAT scan came back clear. Hopefully they can find some new drugs to help her. It's so nice to see her feeling better these days that I don't want anything to set her back!

Jill in CO