~Snowbird Chat 2~

[Mndisneygirl]

HaHa But you know the secret already!

That's what the was for!

I'm so excited for you guys to go and have a blast! I know how good it will be for you - even with lots of MK construction!

I just was helping a friend book a trip for the week before Easter (Yikes!) and wishing I was going. But I'm not complaining - I'll be doing something cool too! We're down to about 6 weeks to our Europe trip and it's weird not really having planned much. Must get to work on that. We are all off today - government workers you know, and the kids are just hanging out.

We borrowed a few Disney movies from the library - The Rescuers and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Sarah watched B&B last night and loved it! I was busy, so I didn't get to see most of it - will have to watch. It's been years since the Rescuers - do you young people remember it? I loved it!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Hi Becca Good to see you!

Congrats on the cruise Kathy!

And congrats on the WDW trip Jen & Kim!! Are you taking the girls?

 

[Pluto_fan]

Kim, Jen, have a MAGICAL trip! How exciting!!

Wow, it must be January...all the Snowbirds are returning here to our little nest!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

And congrats on the WDW trip Jen & Kim!! Are you taking the girls?

Nope! No kids on this trip!!! Just Jenny and Me!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Because I know you all are just dying to know where we will be eating - here is a list of our ADRs - in no consequential order...

Rose & Crown (Supper)
The Wave (breakfast buffet)
Captain's Grill (lunch)
The Plaza (supper)
Boma (breakfast)
Jiko (supper)
Beaches & Cream (supper)
Yak n Yeti (lunch)

AND ...........

We are doing the Wishes Dessert Party!!!!!

This trip is going to be totally fooderific!!!

 

[jenjolt]

I have missed you all too, just have been so busy that I have pretty much given up on my TR and just lurk around posts here and there!!! Work and the church keep us really busy!! I too am really looking forward to this trip away!!

 

[sarbah77]

OK, it's not Disney. But we're going to ALASKA!
In August for our 30th anniversary! (How could it be 30 years already??? )

I'm SO excited, I can't stand it! I like cruises, and I've wanted to see the glaciers forever. And we booked a balcony cabin; we're usually interior, but since the whole point of the cruise is the view . . .

Of course, it doesn't help that winter has arrived in New England, too - but I still love looking at pictures of the ice! And by August, the ice'll look inviting, too!

You WILL love it. LOVE IT. We had such an amazing time - we had such fabulous weather. We were able to tack a couple of days on at the end and go to Fairbanks. it was just unbelievable. It's HIGH on our lists of places to go back to!

 

[sarbah77]

In other news, I have recently applied for, interviewed for (twice), and now been offered a management position.

I am so excited; I am beside myself. The actual $$ amount came in a little lower than I'd like so I'm waiting to see if my current employer wants to make it worth my while to stay. Probably not; it's not something they have a need for.

But - oh boy!

Plus, we go on vacation on Thursday!

 

[Lil'Mermaid75]

In other news, I have recently applied for, interviewed for (twice), and now been offered a management position.

I am so excited; I am beside myself. The actual $$ amount came in a little lower than I'd like so I'm waiting to see if my current employer wants to make it worth my while to stay. Probably not; it's not something they have a need for.

But - oh boy!

Plus, we go on vacation on Thursday!

Congrats! I interviewed for a mgmt position in my company after my supervisor left right before Thanksgiving. I've been doing my job and hers since she left. I just wish they'd make a decison soon!!!

 

[danceintherain]

Becca! Andrea! So nice to see you both!

Becca, we have friends who are planning to cruise back to the States from Europe when they PCS in summer of 2013. I think the gov't will pay the amount that it would cost them to fly you, and you would have to cover the difference. But I wouldn't want to take a chance on 19 days for a very first cruise. That would be quite a commitment to cruising.

snykymom...that cruise sounds awesome! We're definitely going to take an Alaska cruise one of these days. We've only had outside cabins, but I would definitely splurge on a balcony for Alaska. Especially for a special anniversary!

We have a Baltic cruise scheduled for June. I am super excited about two days in St. Petersburg! Sarah, any tips for me?

19 days is definitely a huge cruising commitment, and we have the issue of the cat
I finally found one that is a round trip to and from Beijing. We could add days in Beijing on either end, and the cruise goes to several places in Japan along with Busan, South Korea (I don't think we would go there otherwise). It doesn't spend any time in Tokyo though, so I think we would do a shorter trip just for Tokyo and Disney at another time - we may even be able to fly SpaceA to Yokota, which would get us really close to Tokyo. Accommodations in Japan are so expensive, and we were originally planning a few days in Tokyo and another few days in Kyoto, which means flying into Tokyo and out of Osaka. Flying to Beijing is one of the least expensive places from here, so the only huge issue there would be the Visas. The cruise has 2 days at sea, so instead of dealing with the stresses of traveling places on our own, we could relax on the boat. I'm still not sold on the idea, but I'm seriously considering it. Basically, it would get in quite a few of the places we want to travel without taking separate trips.

That's what the was for!

I'm so excited for you guys to go and have a blast! I know how good it will be for you - even with lots of MK construction!

I just was helping a friend book a trip for the week before Easter (Yikes!) and wishing I was going. But I'm not complaining - I'll be doing something cool too! We're down to about 6 weeks to our Europe trip and it's weird not really having planned much. Must get to work on that. We are all off today - government workers you know, and the kids are just hanging out.

We borrowed a few Disney movies from the library - The Rescuers and Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Sarah watched B&B last night and loved it! I was busy, so I didn't get to see most of it - will have to watch. It's been years since the Rescuers - do you young people remember it? I loved it!

I definitely remember the Rescuers!

In other news, I have recently applied for, interviewed for (twice), and now been offered a management position.

I am so excited; I am beside myself. The actual $$ amount came in a little lower than I'd like so I'm waiting to see if my current employer wants to make it worth my while to stay. Probably not; it's not something they have a need for.

But - oh boy!

Plus, we go on vacation on Thursday!

Congrats!

Jen & Kim - Have a fun trip together!

 

[snykymom]

Sounds fabulous. COngrats!! you are going to have an amzing time. we went summer 2010 and it was our most amazing trip ever

You WILL love it. LOVE IT. We had such an amazing time - we had such fabulous weather. We were able to tack a couple of days on at the end and go to Fairbanks. it was just unbelievable. It's HIGH on our lists of places to go back to!

Any suggestions or hints, ladies? We're sailing Princess, Voyage of the Glaciers, so if either of you have any recommendations about excursions, either independent or through the ship, would be great! (No land portion, just the cruise, but maybe spending the day before in Anchorage.)

I would love to go to Alaska. I actually found a 19 day cruise from Shanghai to Vancouver with stops in Japan, Russia, and Alaska. I would LOVE to do something like that on our way home from here, but I don't want to forgo the military paying for our ride home, and I seriously doubt I'd be able to convince them to reimburse us for even part of it. Maybe they don't even have them in November, because it is too cold for the ships to pass? Also, there's the issue of Logan having never been on a ship before. Nineteen days would be a long time to deal with sea sickness, even with Dramamine.

Yes, November's a bit late for Alaska. The cruise lines around her stop in late September.

Also, remember that a transocean cruise, out on the open waters, is very different than a sheltered cruise in the Gulf of Alaska or the Caribbean. Waters are much colder, and seas are much rougher.

snykymom...I also have to add...

6000 posts!!

Awesome! Wow, I've been DISing longer than you have, and I won't even hit 1000 for a while yet!

Yeah, I just talk a lot!

In other news, I have recently applied for, interviewed for (twice), and now been offered a management position.

I am so excited; I am beside myself. The actual $$ amount came in a little lower than I'd like so I'm waiting to see if my current employer wants to make it worth my while to stay. Probably not; it's not something they have a need for.

But - oh boy!

Plus, we go on vacation on Thursday!

Congratulations!! That's really exciting, and a great feather in your cap!

Have a great vacation, too!

 

[Dancegrl624]

Well Jenny! Since you asked.....









JENJOLT and I are going to Disney!!!!!!!

AWESOME!!!! You two are going to have a fabulous time. You will definately have to tell us about it (and post pics) when you get back.

 

[sarbah77]

Congrats! I interviewed for a mgmt position in my company after my supervisor left right before Thanksgiving. I've been doing my job and hers since she left. I just wish they'd make a decison soon!!!

Thanks!

I, uh, just turned it down. Ha. My current department came back with a strong counter offer and this job wouldn't budge on salary. The difference between what they wanted to pay me and the median for the job title would have left me at a distinct disadvantage for the REST of my career. Not worth doing the work of a highly paid manager while earning mid-staff level pay, especially since I would have been resentful!

Any suggestions or hints, ladies? We're sailing Princess, Voyage of the Glaciers, so if either of you have any recommendations about excursions, either independent or through the ship, would be great! (No land portion, just the cruise, but maybe spending the day before in Anchorage.)!

Where are you stopping? Did you say?

In Ketchikan, I would say that the Misty Fjords high speed boat tour is a DO NOT miss. In Juneau, we hired a private tour guide and then hiked to and on the Mendenhall Glacier (awesome!). Skagway, our tour was "meh" but we weren't that excited about the train ride. We also went to Sitka, which was just a cool island.

From there, as we had a Vancouver to Anchorage(ish) cruise, we hired a private "limo" service that was actually a tour from the cruise ship terminal all the way to Anchorage and we stopped for more glaciers and another zoo-like place. It was a mini-luxury bus set up and it was pretty nice to be able to meander up to Anchorage!

 

[PEANUT1]

Any suggestions or hints, ladies?

!

Where in Alaska are you cruising?? We were in Anchorage, Kenai, Seward, Homer, Cooper Landing. We also did the Alaska State Fair which was in August and was super fun!!!


Super excited for you girls and your solo trip!! How long are you going for? Hubby and I are doing 3 days solo in February (3 weeks from Saturday) Can't wait. I don't think we are doing any advanced dining reservations. We will be eating mostly offsite because I have some restaurant gift cards and Restaurant.com ones for the Swan and Dolphin restaurants which is yummy. I will probably make one reservation at JIKO since we are staying at AKV.

 

[snykymom]

Thanks!

I, uh, just turned it down. Ha. My current department came back with a strong counter offer and this job wouldn't budge on salary. The difference between what they wanted to pay me and the median for the job title would have left me at a distinct disadvantage for the REST of my career. Not worth doing the work of a highly paid manager while earning mid-staff level pay, especially since I would have been resentful!

Sounds like a wise decision!

Where are you stopping? Did you say?

In Ketchikan, I would say that the Misty Fjords high speed boat tour is a DO NOT miss. In Juneau, we hired a private tour guide and then hiked to and on the Mendenhall Glacier (awesome!). Skagway, our tour was "meh" but we weren't that excited about the train ride. We also went to Sitka, which was just a cool island.

From there, as we had a Vancouver to Anchorage(ish) cruise, we hired a private "limo" service that was actually a tour from the cruise ship terminal all the way to Anchorage and we stopped for more glaciers and another zoo-like place. It was a mini-luxury bus set up and it was pretty nice to be able to meander up to Anchorage!

Where in Alaska are you cruising?? We were in Anchorage, Kenai, Seward, Homer, Cooper Landing. We also did the Alaska State Fair which was in August and was super fun!!!

We're starting in Whittier, stopping at Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and ending in Vancouver.

Sarah, can you send me the contact info for the private tour guides & the limo driver? We might spend two days in Anchorage before departure.

 

[crzyred]

Temp here right now: -6. Not even the "what it feels like". That's just what it is. Ugh. So I'm going through my disney pics, finally got some up on facebook, and uploading them to snapfish. I got a couple coupons to use so I'm cheating with scrapbooking and just doing the online photobook. Sooo much easier!

Take care everyone!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

It's nasty cold here too! Bone a$$ cold I call it!!!

But on a happier note, we booked our DLP hotel tonight!!! We used the UK website and saved over $200 than using the US site! Now to make my lists - what I want to see, what to pack, etc.

 

[sarbah77]

Hello from New Orleans!

Sarah, can you send me the contact info for the private tour guides & the limo driver? We might spend two days in Anchorage before departure.

I will, from home, since that is all on my home machine! if you want to PM a reminder to me, I'll get it when I get back!

It was 5 when the airport shuttle picked us up yesterday. it was 71 and sunny when landed. Darn. Our cruise leaves Saturday and we're withing WALKING distance of the terminal!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hello from New Orleans!



I will, from home, since that is all on my home machine! if you want to PM a reminder to me, I'll get it when I get back!

It was 5 when the airport shuttle picked us up yesterday. it was 71 and sunny when landed. Darn. Our cruise leaves Saturday and we're withing WALKING distance of the terminal!!

Have a great trip!!! Enjoy that warm weather! It's currently 4 degrees here. ugh.

 

[jenjolt]

Congrats on the great deal Sheree!! DLP...so jealous!!!

Alaska is gorgeous!! We lived there for 4 years while my hubby was in the Army!! If you want to know some local spots that serve great food don't hesitate to PM me...we spent our summers hiking all over that state!! Prince P is actually heading back up there this summer to fish!