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

[jedijill]

Well top of page three, I feel like a slacker

Welcome to the slacker club!


Jill in CO

 

[dgbg100106]

Hope you get all of the to-do list finished before the morning of, you need to get some rest before the vacation starts!

 

[dgbg100106]

Welcome to the slacker club!


Jill in CO

 

[Leshaface]

You're installing the system by yourself? I didn't even know that was possible. Doesn't that just scare you when you hear of break-in's? Our street has been hit a few times, although I feel safer knowing I have 2 cops on our street.

Only 1 more day!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Wow, it's here!!! Hope all is well and that everything has been going as planned since last night. Wishing you Bon Voyage! So envious of you...I already feel like this is a long work week and I have a professional development on Saturday morning. I'll be loving vicariously through the DIS though!

 

[rentayenta]

Packing and your costume? You're kicking booty. Get it?

I'm so existed for you ladies. This is going to be a WONDERful trip. Can't wait to see pictures of that gorgeous ship and pleeeeease have a slice of cheese pizza for me. Are you going to try to see a movie on FunnelVision? It's so amazing.

A house got robbed in your neighborhood?

 

[perfectmatch300]

Hope you have a "Wonder"ful trip! I am looking forward to following along.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Have a fabulous trip. Catch you at the other end.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

How exciting! You go today well done on packing. Re the pants vs shorts issue I always get it wrong! That weather always surprises me! Now I have these neat pants that you zip off and convert lol. Only suitable for day wear though. Night time pants still need packing!

Well wish you the best trip! Hope your kitties are ok. good luck with alarm system. Enjoy yourselves!

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

In my neck of the woods, it's already October 29! Have a great flight! Who will be taking care of the kitties?
We did cab-to-Chankanaab, too, and it was great! The cab driver spent the entire drive trying to convice us to go to some other beach (where he no doubt gets a kick-back) but we stood firm. We were beach bums there, lounged around with rum drinks in carved out coconuts. Yum! I went snorkeling - it was ok - saw a barracuda! There was a lot more to do that we just didn't bother with! You'll love it! Oh, don't forget to take towels from the ship as you get off. We forgot. Luckily you can rent towels there, too...
Looking forward to following along!

 

[Flossbolna]

I just realised that you already started your TR! I was going to ask you on my TR whether you were going to write one about your cruise on the Wonder! I guess I know now!

And I found it just in time to wish you a WONDERful trip!!

 

[jedijill]

Have a fantastic trip!!!

Jill in CO

 

[dolphingirl47]

Have a wonderful trip.

Corinna

 

[franandaj]

Thanks everyone for all the well wishes! I will do individual responses tomorrow. As I sit in the wonderful lounge at the DFW airport I thought I would post a small update.

Yesterday’s update

11:57AM Got all the little pesky sensors installed on our doors and windows. Evidently I started at 9:10AM. For the question from Leshaface, “I had to install the security system?” The contractor had already mounted the control panel on the wall months ago. We needed to install these little wireless magnetic jobbies on all the doors and windows. They need to be ¾ of an inch or less apart, so when the connection is broken between them, it is registered that a door or window was opened. I had twenty of these to install. I did four the night before and the rest the day of.



12:14 Got off the phone with the Alarm Company, the system is active.

12:30 Met Gale at Apartment Property to inspect necessary tenant repairs. Of course my keys don’t work for one of the doors in front so we have to go in the back, thus discovering that the lock on the gate to the back also needs repair.

1:30 Go to Ace Hardware to make keys so that necessary repairs can be completed in our absence.

1:40 Arrive home to move the Ranchero into the back (of course we have to push it because the battery died about two weeks ago), so Gale and Ryan help. Then we spend another 15 minutes futzing with the alarm box. It reads low battery because they didn’t know to connect the battery back up when they mounted it on the wall.

2:22 Sit down at the computer to decipher the online access for the alarm system and grant codes for Catsitter and Cleaning lady to come in while we are gone. At this point, I can time everything I do with respect to leaving the house or exiting the house to the minute. It records every time the door opens or closes. I will now be able to monitor the cat sitter’s comings and goings, and how often they are really being fed.

In addition, that is how I know when I started and stopped all these things.

After creating the instructions for the house sitting folks to turn the alarm on and off and setting up codes and other online items, I made us up daily medications for the two weeks we will be gone. Plus I unloaded the car of all the fun stuff Fran picked up while she was running around.

5:19PM Left the house for band practice

9:54PM Arrived home to show Jim (Cat sitter) how to work alarm

10:04PM left to move 73 Cougar to garage

10:46PM Back home for packing.

Random Packing ensues

1:51AM Begin loading suitcases in car

2:01AM Finish loading suitcases in car. ACTUALLY GO TO SLEEP!!!!!!

6:30AM Wake up and resume packing.

It shows on the log that I locked the house at 8:39AM. We really wanted to leave at 7:30, but it’s good that we didn’t. Turns out that our flight had been moved from 11:05AM to 11:55AM and I hadn’t printed out the change. So we were perfectly on time. We got our luggage checked, I parked the car and soon we were through security and on our way to the gate with our gourmet McDonald’s breakfast. Sorry no photos.

We were on the plane in a relatively timely matter and before we knew it we were in the air. I was nodding off, but was able to stay awake enough to order a glass of chardonnay and our lunch, spinach tortellini.



I napped until our flight landed and then we came to the Centurion Lounge at the Dallas airport. We discovered this on our flight home from WDW in June. It’s great! Free food, free drinks and I just discovered tonight free chair massage! And not to mention Wifi! We’re about to head to our next gate, but here’s some pictures.











Here’s Fran reading her book.



OK, I’m packing up the computer now so that we can head to our next flight! Catch you on the other end!

 

[PrincessInOz]

WOW! That's some countdown.

Glad you got your security installed.
Your layover is just perfect.
Food looks great.




p.s. I am seeing some strange posting behaviour on the Dis right now. It might be that the change in daylight saving hours is creating a disconnect with a few servers. In short....I hope this post appears in correct chronological order!

 

[jedijill]

What a hectic day! Glad you got some sleep though. Enjoy your next flight!

Jill in CO

 

[rentayenta]

Yay! The lounge looks great. Thats a nice free food spread. We've used Michael's United Cub lounge but the offerings weren't like that.

Glad the system is installed and working.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

You achieved so much on leaving day well done! Alarm system sounds great for tracking movement in and out the house we have one of those also. It phones us if the alarm goes off too. Very reassuring.

Nice you have a cat sitter so that kitties stay in their own home. They do not like a change of environment do they. Plus it's a stressful thought for you. To know they are safe and somebody is checking on the house is an added bonus. Thieves don't like to break in where they are unpredictable movements.

The food on your first leg plan journey looks superb! Better than my one roll and jam on a 9 hour flight...

What a sight for sore eyes that lounge with refreshments when you land. Free wi-fi also. Nice photo of Fran.

 

[dgbg100106]

Wow that was a very busy day. It is nice that you got everything done. Way to go Alison.

We have an alarm just like that. Many years ago while I was working Ib D.C. I for a call that alarm was going off. I could note get back to Maryland. Davis was on TDY. So one of my friend's drive over with about 4 cop car's. Turns out no break in, one of those sensors fell off the door.

Not sure if yours has a panic button but I'd it does just know that if it is pushed there is no turning it off. The police will come and search your house.

 

[franandaj]

I hope you finish up your to-do list soon and can have the car all packed on time. Have a blast you two!

I'm not sure if I actually did finish up my to do list, but we ended up getting enough done, that we left! Hopefully we got the important stuff done!

Looks like you are making good progress. I hope that you manage to get your alarm system installed in time.

Corinna

I did get that done! A few other things slipped, but oh well, we're here now!

Hope you have everything done, including that alarm system!

I did get that done!

Not long now!!!!!


I hope you can get that alarm system in.

Installed and operational! That's the important thing.

Yes, you should do a TR. I'm more than tentative at this point..I've been reserving that weekend on my mental calendar. It will be time to be looking for flights some of these days.

Jill in CO

OK! I'm glad to know you're penciled in. I keep meaning to put together an email to start firming up who actually will be there. So far most all of my family has confirmed, it's the friends that I need to work on.

Wow, you seem much farther along on packing for this trip! Maybe you will get some sleep this time. Sounds like you still have some things on your to-do list...get that alarm installed!

Jill in CO

We were much farther along on this trip than past ones. I did get four hours of sleep which I consider a luxury. I was still a zombie for the travel day yesterday, but much better than the past two trips where I pulled an all nighter!

Hope you get all of the to-do list finished before the morning of, you need to get some rest before the vacation starts!

That's what today was for, to rest before the fun part of vacation begins!

You're installing the system by yourself? I didn't even know that was possible. Doesn't that just scare you when you hear of break-in's? Our street has been hit a few times, although I feel safer knowing I have 2 cops on our street.

Only 1 more day!

It's all wireless. If you saw the update I posted yesterday, you'll see that installing the system was actually pretty easy. All I had to do was "get to all the windows". Some were easier than others. Most people do this before they move in. Let me just say that the office was the most difficult. Moving the full size office copier and collator away from the windows so that I could open the shutters wasn't fun. Either was moving the bed in Olga's room to open the shutters as well. And then climbing on the washer and dryer...

It took almost three hours, but I got it done. Cops on the street would give me some amount of security, but they aren't always watching other people's houses. Our next door neighbor is a firefighter and from the amount of love or even indifference he shows us, makes me think he would like to see us robbed!

Wow, it's here!!! Hope all is well and that everything has been going as planned since last night. Wishing you Bon Voyage! So envious of you...I already feel like this is a long work week and I have a professional development on Saturday morning. I'll be loving vicariously through the DIS though!

Thank you! Everything is all well now. We are relaxing in our hotel, looking forward to embarkation.