Surprise! We're NOT going to Disney! 9/18-9/25 <<Update 3/24 Page 21>>

[KatMark]

Saturday September 20th


The morning started off with the banging and screeching of chairs at 6:10- right on time. Gabby woke up again and I quickly brought her into our bed. I think she might of passed back out for a few minutes before the bathroom brigade started. My stomach seemed much better. I guess I just ate and drank too much the day before. Who knows... I was just glad it didn't hurt anymore.

Once everyone used the bathroom, we went outside an saw we were just puling into Castaway Key.







Gorgeous!

Gabby was making sure everything was O.K.



And a fine job she is doing too!

We got the kids dressed and planned out where we were going to meet after my run. It was decided that we'd meet at the second family beach near the slides. I kissed everyone and headed down to Evolution which is a bar on deck 4 to meet up before we were allowed off the ship at 8:30.

There were about 50 people running the 5K this morning. I was handed my bib on the way in.



At 8:30 were were led down the stairs and were off the ship very quickly. It was pretty hot and very humid. The bunch of us started walking over to the starting line.

Air mail!



We kept walking and walking.... and walking.... for at least 20minutes till we finally made it to the starting line, which was near the bike rentals. This 'race' is more of a fun run. There was a time clock at the start which also doubled as the finish line. There was a winding trail out to a landing strip, then a loop towards the lookout tower, down to the end of the strip- where Serenity Bay (the adults only beach) is located, back through the loop, and then finishing at the start. It was hot but the humidity was killer. I didn't do too bad considering I wasn't really training for it. Here was my time....



I was happy with my time. I finished in the middle of the group. There was a little gift shop that was selling some CC5K shirts and pins. I bought a tshirt and a pin- i figured why not. Then I walked over to the beach to find a spot to meet the family. I knew they wouldn't be there yet. It was only 9:40.

Nice job for not training (I guess...I have no idea what a good time is )

Meanwhile......

Melody brought the kids to breakfast and according to the timestamp on her first picture, they were off the boat at 9:20.



Great picture!





As they were walking over to the beach, they stopped to hang with an old pal.



Seriously, tell that girl to stop growing. She's almost as tall as Donald!



Poor sweet Gabby.
Gabby looks like she is holding on to Melody for dear life!


I was relaxing on a chair till about 10am. I was starting to get impatient. I walked the beach a few times, walked over to the shuttle drop off, checked the gift shop. A CM named Jamie asked me if I was OK. I told him I was just waiting for my family and I knew they would be arriving any minute. He told me to let him know if there was anything he could help me with.

Soon it was 10:15, 10:30, 10:45... Jamie came back over to me and asked me what stateroom we were staying in. He called the ship and found out that Melody and the kids were off the ship. However, they were unable to tell him the time. He called our wave phone but there was no answer. He talked me into taking a picture with Jack Sparrow.



Hey you resemble him.

I kept walking around and I couldn't imagine that I could miss the kids if they were on the beach. I took a walk over to the first family beach and walked about 1/2 way down it. They were no where to be found.

11:00....11:15..... 11:30

This was getting ridiculous. I figured I'd grab a frozen drink. I was thirsty, hungry-I never ate breakfast, and getting upset. As I was walking back to the spot I had reserved for us on the beach, I see Melody walking with the kids in the distance. She spotted me and we finally found each other. She thought I told her to meet me at the first beach while here I am searching for her at the second beach. It was an honest mixup but our whole morning was shot.

I was starving and the kids were hungry too, so instead of getting in the water, we walked over to Cookies BBQ for lunch. We had burgers, hotdogs, chicken, ribs, and a whole bunch of side salads. Of course lots of cookies too. Oh, I can't forget about the ice cream!

You had to eat it fast cuz, boy, was it hot!



He looks happy with his treat.



Gabby not so much.

On our walk back over to the wonderful spot I saved for us on the beach.











Pelican Plunge!



Juliana must of gone down these slides 10 times.

Looking down the 2nd beach.



Looks lovely.

Ahhhhhhhh, finally. Water. I've only been staring at it for hours.



There's that beautiful Gabby smile.

I think the kids were happy I finally found them... or did they finally find me?


Up next... more beach

Great pictures, Tim. Speaking of pictures...a whole lot posted on Thursday of your family on my TR.

 

[afwdwfan]

You know... if I'd just run a 5K (like that's gonna happen), I'd have been in that water getting cooled off. You can find the family later.

I'm glad that it all worked out in the end though.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

wow, good for you doing a run while on vacation and in that humidity! Plus, reading the route you ran and the landing strip reminded me of that issue of the Kingdom Keepers where they go to Castaway Key

That is such a bummer that so much of the morning was lost just not able to find each other. Must make people double anxious nowadays when you are somewhere you can't just text / call each other

Oh well, at least you found each other and the beach / water looks really nice

 

[that's nice]

Not just one Elsa, but 2? You really need to convince Juliana that she doesn't need to do more costume changes than the typical actress at an awards show.

LOL.... I don't remember why I didn't buy an Anna dress for Gabby. Either they didn't have one or Melody wanted 2 Elsas.

You should see Juliana's hamper. Thing is full everyday.

Nice haul from the trick or treating! How much did they let you have?

The CMs let me grab a KitKat or a Milky Way. The kids wouldn't let me eat any.

Looks like a fun evening with all the Halloween and pirate activities. Sorry you missed out on the fireworks.

It was fun... I'm actually not too sad I missed out since I wasn't feeling all that great.

Your pictures are great. Looks like you all had so much fun. Sorry you weren't feeling well. You've sold me, would love to go on a cruise some Halloween!

Sweet! I'm sure you would have a great time! Let me know when you book so I can collect my commission!

Nice job for not training (I guess...I have no idea what a good time is )

Well, when I was running more steadily, I was doing 5Ks around 27-28 minutes. So I was quite a bit slower.

Seriously, tell that girl to stop growing. She's almost as tall as Donald!

She is getting tall. She's growing like a weed!

Hey you resemble him.

Wish I was drunk like him.

He looks happy with his treat.

I could of named this TR 'Ice Cream Mania!' These kids ate ice cream numerous times on this trip... sometimes numerous times a day.

There's that beautiful Gabby smile.

See, she smiles. It's just hard to catch it on camera.

Great pictures, Tim. Speaking of pictures...a whole lot posted on Thursday of your family on my TR.

Thanks!

I stopped over and made some comments.

 

[that's nice]

You know... if I'd just run a 5K (like that's gonna happen), I'd have been in that water getting cooled off. You can find the family later.

I was a sweaty mess. I shouldda jumped into the water. Although, the water was like 90 degrees. There wouldn't of been much cooling going on.

I'm glad that it all worked out in the end though.

Yea, I guess. Better than not finding them at all.

wow, good for you doing a run while on vacation and in that humidity! Plus, reading the route you ran and the landing strip reminded me of that issue of the Kingdom Keepers where they go to Castaway Key

It was really hot. But I made it and I didn't die!

My mom started Juliana with the Kingdom Keepers books but she has yet to start them. I should read them while they are still available.

That is such a bummer that so much of the morning was lost just not able to find each other. Must make people double anxious nowadays when you are somewhere you can't just text / call each other

And this is where we screwed up. Each stateroom has a phone that you can use to call or text on the ship. Wouldn't know know they work at Castaway Cay too? Yea, well, we didn't know.

Oh well, at least you found each other and the beach / water looks really nice

Nice, warm, and really salty!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

The morning started off with the banging and screeching of chairs at 6:10- right on time.

I kissed everyone and headed down to Evolution which is a bar on deck 4 to meet up before we were allowed off the ship at 8:30.

A good belt before running sound like a fine idea.

At 8:30 were were led down the stairs and were off the ship very quickly. It was pretty hot and very humid.

Ideal conditions for a run…

Good thing it didn’t start in the afternoon.
(and that the bar was closed)

I was happy with my time. I finished in the middle of the group.

Nice work for being up that early during vacation.

I was relaxing on a chair till about 10am. I was starting to get impatient…

Soon it was 10:15, 10:30, 10:45...

11:00....11:15..... 11:30

This was getting ridiculous…

Sorry to hear about the mix up.
Nice of the CM to go the extra distance to try and help.

But, it looks like y’all salvaged the rest of the day pretty nicely though.

 

[Chicago Mo]

The picture of Gabby checking on things holding her little minnie is such sweet innocence and full of wonder! adorable!
First of all CONGRATS on Finishing and somewhere in the MIDDLE!!! I have no idea what the times mean but since your happy a BIG CONGRATS ON THAT TOO!!! I don't run. ever. unless it's away from IASW.
The medals they give are beautiful too..

I can understand the anxiety over losing the family! I would have been scared!!! glad you/they found them/you! Look how happy everyone is on the beach! Sweetest ever!
The beaches are absolutely gorgeous! They look safe enough from sea creatures??

Your food and non-alcoholic drinks are part of the cruise correct? or is everything separate on the island?

Can't wait to read MORE!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Once everyone used the bathroom, we went outside an saw we were just puling into Castaway Key.

Such a great view. I still think Castaway Cay is the best part of the cruise.

We kept walking and walking.... and walking.... for at least 20minutes till we finally made it to the starting line, which was near the bike rentals.

That is a hike. I guess that was your warm-up.

I was relaxing on a chair till about 10am. I was starting to get impatient. I walked the beach a few times, walked over to the shuttle drop off, checked the gift shop. A CM named Jamie asked me if I was OK.

What alerted him? Was it the twitching eye? Constantly checking your watch? Random bursts of profanity?

Soon it was 10:15, 10:30, 10:45...


11:00....11:15..... 11:30

She thought I told her to meet me at the first beach while here I am searching for her at the second beach. It was an honest mixup but our whole morning was shot.

Well, at least you're not at a place where you have limited time to enjoy it...oh, wait.

Juliana must of gone down these slides 10 times.

Can you blame her?

Looking down the 2nd beach.

Hey! I see your family!

Ahhhhhhhh, finally. Water. I've only been staring at it for hours.

 

[that's nice]

A good belt before running sound like a fine idea.

Not a bad idea to thin out the blood before a run.

Ideal conditions for a run…

Good thing it didn’t start in the afternoon.
(and that the bar was closed)

There was an open margarita stand at the finish line. If I knew I was going to wait for hours to meet up with the family, I would of partaken in drinking copious amounts of adult indulgences.

Nice work for being up that early during vacation.

Thanks...... i think.

Sorry to hear about the mix up.
Nice of the CM to go the extra distance to try and help.

It should of been planned better.

But, it looks like y’all salvaged the rest of the day pretty nicely though.

The rest of the day was really. really nice. Hot, sunny & hot.

The picture of Gabby checking on things holding her little minnie is such sweet innocence and full of wonder! adorable!

Thank you! Not sure what she was looking at... maybe just the big blue ocean.

First of all CONGRATS on Finishing and somewhere in the MIDDLE!!! I have no idea what the times mean but since your happy a BIG CONGRATS ON THAT TOO!!! I don't run. ever. unless it's away from IASW.
The medals they give are beautiful too..

Once I get through the holidays, Operation Running 2015 will commence starting with getting back to the gym.

The medals were OK. They used to say Castaway Cay on them but now they are more generic.

I can understand the anxiety over losing the family! I would have been scared!!! glad you/they found them/you! Look how happy everyone is on the beach! Sweetest ever!

I wasn't scared, I just couldn't figure out where everyone went. I knew they would turn up eventually. :roll eyes:

The beaches are absolutely gorgeous! They look safe enough from sea creatures??

I'll talk more about sea creatures in the next update.

Your food and non-alcoholic drinks are part of the cruise correct? or is everything separate on the island?

Food and drinks at the buffet are free. There are also water fountains near the bathrooms and a few other random places. If you order bottled water or soda while on the island, you get charged.

Can't wait to read MORE!

Probably next week.

Such a great view. I still think Castaway Cay is the best part of the cruise.

Of course it is.... Bringing 3000+ people to your private island to spend all their money there on alcohol and souvenirs? Not a bad deal for DCL.

That is a hike. I guess that was your warm-up.

I think it was close to a mile. Guess I should of gotten a medal for a 6.5K.

What alerted him? Was it the twitching eye? Constantly checking your watch? The pacing back and forth? Random bursts of profanity?

Yes.

Well, at least you're not at a place where you have limited time to enjoy it...oh, wait.

I guess I could of hid out in the brush somewhere and hitched a ride on whatever ship pulled in next.

Can you blame her?

No... she was having a blast.

Hey! I see your family!

 

[ashw100]

So glad I came across your TR. I am looking at doing the same cruise at the same time for our anniversary too. I was curious to see how you managed since we will have three little ones as well. I was unsure about taking a toddler on a cruise but your TR makes it seem doable. Love reading about your adventure and your family is adorable.

 

[vleeth]

Glad you found your family!

 

[Poolrat]

Nice to be able to do the 5K.

Sorry about the meeting place mix up. I guess when everyone is so used to being able to contact someone easily when it counts and you can't...... UGH.

Great that you finally connected and could try to relax the rest of the day.

 

[jenseib]

My husband had a habit of getting lost on our March cruise.....I knew where I was and where Claire was, so I know it was him getting lost.

 

[that's nice]

So glad I came across your TR. I am looking at doing the same cruise at the same time for our anniversary too. I was curious to see how you managed since we will have three little ones as well. I was unsure about taking a toddler on a cruise but your TR makes it seem doable. Love reading about your adventure and your family is adorable.

thanks for reading!!

If I could do it again I'd opt for the 4 day cruise. The 3 was nice but it was too short. It did help knowing that we were spending a few days in WDW after.

I'm not sure if you read about our Nassau day but the beach we went to was very easy and it would be perfect for your family (if you are into sitting on a beach all day)

Thank you for the kind words.

Glad you found your family!

Me too.... if I didn't I would of hid on the island then spent time at Serenity Bay.

Nice to be able to do the 5K.

It was my 'alone time'

Sorry about the meeting place mix up. I guess when everyone is so used to being able to contact someone easily when it counts and you can't...... UGH.

True... but if we known (or we were smart) we would of brought the wave phone on to the island.

Great that you finally connected and could try to relax the rest of the day.

The day was really nice... and hot. Wait till you see what I looked like after being out in the sun all day.

My husband had a habit of getting lost on our March cruise.....I knew where I was and where Claire was, so I know it was him getting lost.

Suuuuuuuuuuuure. Poor Skip. I guess if you were on this cruise, me and Skip could of been lost together!

 

[disneygirlll]

The party looks like such fun!

“They made sure they hit every candy station”. uh huh, THEY made sure. Then later YOUR stomach was hurting? Maybe there is a connection?

So cool how Crush comes by to talk at Animator’s Palate. (And so sweet of Gabby to keep the secret from her sister and brother.)

Was special for Melody to take Juliana out to further enjoy the night.

Such a treat for runners to have a place to get their run on while on their cruise.

Oops on the beach meet up mix up.

Having little ones on a vacation can be a challenge, thing don't always go as planned, but love how you and Melody are going with the flow.

 

[Chicago Mo]

 

[that's nice]

While we were on the beach relaxing, there were tons of fish swimming under the chairs we had in the water. Gabriella & Christopher were getting a kick out of them and Juliana was trying her hardest to try and touch them. They were 18- 24 inches in length. The water at Castaway Cay wasn't anywhere as clear as the water we had at the beach in Nassau- most likely from the amount of people in the water stirring up all the sand.

After a while we moved over to the 1st family beach.





The Dream makes for a nice backdrop while enjoying the beach. The ship is really massive!

Looking back towards the 2nd family beach...





This is the play area at the first family beach.



The kids were having a great time...



... but all good things must come to an end.

It was just past 3 and we had to pack up and head back to the ship. We had 5 people that needed to shower and to get ready for dinner. Before walking back, I walked out the the pier where the Heads Up Bar is and took a few more pictures....









We started walking back and stopped for a frozen drink. After 3, all bars on the island offer 2 for 1 drinks, which I had forgot about. It is amazing how quickly the beach clears out in the afternoon.

On the walk back...



More ship pictures....














Up next... Our final night Dream-ing

 

[KatMark]

Too far behind everywhere to make lots of comments (even smart ones) like I normally do.

But I loved the update, and the family pic and the kid pics (and Mel with kids) are great. Beautiful beach area.

I wanted to wish one of our favorite DIS families a very Happy Thanksgiving.

​

 

[Chicago Mo]

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Great pictures as always! Fish swimming under your chairs?!?! CRAZY!
Fantastic family photo's Again your family is beautiful!!!

The ship is HUGE!

 

[Poolrat]

Glad you saved the afternoon once you all got together. A beautiful day on a private island. I will have to remember the half priced drinks after 3 if I ever find myself there.