The Empty Nesters Magical Mystery Tour *1/28* Link to New Girl's TR p141

[Poolrat]

Caught up and back as well.

Glad to hear your trip was great. I was checking in on FB and loving all the pictures.

 

[LuvEeyore]

Welcome Back!! Sounds like a wonderful trip. Hope to hear more soon.

 

[MEK]

I know you landed safe so have a magical and pixie dust filled trip.

Thanks Pat. It was a blast. I hope you had a great trip too!

Hi Anita! I just saw your trip is on already!!! Have a great time - I'm just finishing up your TR just in time to read all about your cruise when you get back! Bon Voyage!

We had a great trip! It was a lot of fun! I need to finish up this TR so I can start writing about the new one. Plus, Cynthia and I still need to write about our girl's TR.

Well first of all, I hope you're having a magical vacation! Sorry I missed your send off!

No worries! We had a wonderful time! It was so much fun! A great anniversary trip for sure!

Sci-fi is adorable. Very well done theming! I have never been a drive in fan I must admit, but it is really cute and nostalgic.

Drive Ins really are nostalgic. There used to be one in southern Delaware for the longest time. I never went there, but I always loved driving by and watching the cars line up to drive in. And believe me, there was always a line!

Awwww time to leave? Oh well new adventures await.

Exactly!

The carriage house looks adorable.

It was really cute. I'm glad we decided to stay there.

Wow! Sponges and sponge statues and sponge plaques!

Sponge-a-palozza! You should have seen the gift shops.

Dinner looks good, I lovvvve spanakopita.

It was really yummy spanakopita. The real things.

Kayaking with manatees!!! This is the part I am so excited to hear about!!

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If I ever get my act together I will actually DO an update instead of just thinking about doing an update.

I finally get on the DISboards after our DCL/WDW trip and then a week to try and get caught up at work and now you're going to WDW! Sighhh....two ships passing in the night?

I know, right? Did you start a new TR???? I have been on the DIS so sporadically that it's ridiculous. I am going to try really hard to get replies done and an update done.

A couple of quick notes about your TR thus far...GREAT ToT pics!! I can never take those shots because I would lose my camera. Every time I ride ToT, I lose my glasses, hat and anything else that isn't tied down!

I know the feeling. I wasn't so brave with the camera last time. I just enjoyed the ride and it was awesome. Thanks to Podsnel we tried a new trick where we all held hands and kept them up in the air. It was so fun!

Also, nice side trip to Tarpon Springs. I need to make it to that part of FL one day. We go to the "redneck Riviera" often (Destin, Panama City, Pensacola area) but not around the bend to the west, Gulf side of FL.

Redneck Riviera? That's pretty funny! I have never heard that before. We actually would like to go further south on the gulf coast. Sanibel Island is supposed to be heavenly. I would like to go there someday.

Hope you're having a great time (I know you are) and hope the weather cooperates since there is a pretty large hurricane out in the Atlantic near Bermuda. Look forward to your return and more from this TR and the next one.

We had a fabulous time. Weather was really not an issue. It did rain on our Nassau day but it didn't affect our plans. We did a food tour which was a lot of fun. We loved the cruise and already booked another one which is going to impact our winter 2015 arrival date, but I think it will all work out.

 

[MEK]

Great wrap up with pics. Looked like a very nice trip.

Thanks! It was a really fun trip. Can't believe it was a whole year ago!

The plans look good. Little confusing, but good. LOL

That's how I feel whenever I read other people's plans, Yes - mine where a bit confusing, even to me!

Nice house.

Thanks!

Glad you were felling better before you left.

Much better!

I hate delays.

Ugh. Me too! No delays during our last trip. Everything ran like clockwork. It was awesome!

Thank you for the pics while dragging your bag. LOL. The building is very pretty. I missed it when we went there in December.

I love the Hoops Hotel. It is just so super cool!

I know the feeling of "swimmy".

Then you know its NOT a good feeling, at all!

LOL. Love the close up on TOT. You got some good pics on TOT queue.

Thanks! I really enjoy taking pictures in there. The imagineering is so cool!

I think the scores on TSM are good. LOL.

Are you sure about that?

LOL about the drive in.

The drink looked good.

Really good. Have you ever tried one? If not definitely put it on your Disney drink bucket list.

I like the pic of you in the glasses.

We got 2 bottles of wine at our Rome hotel but honestly that is the only place. LOL.

Nice!

Nice pics in Tarpon Springs. Brings back memories from my childhood.

I remember you said you used to go there as a kid. It was a cute town. I'm glad we checked it out. It was a good jumping off points for our plans.

All caught up. Have a safe and magical trip.

Thanks Scott - we had such an awesome time! Definitely a great trip!

Hope you're having a great trip!!!!!

Thanks! We had a great trip! It was really a lot of fun! So sad it's over!

Yep. Laughing!!! Haha. I think I'm the only one who enjoyed the winter!

You're probably not the ONLY one, but you are definitely in the minority. The one thing I really did enjoy about last winter was the fact that I got to cross country ski on several occasions. That's always so much fun for me.

Your pictures of the ghost family on ToT are incredible! LOVE them!!!

Thank you! I am really pleased with how they turned out.

The sunglasses picture is super cool, too. I love shots like that and can never seem to master them.

That is a fun shot. I tried it myself during this past trip, but I'm not quite sure how they turned out.

Hi Mary Ellen! I hope you are enjoying your trip.
.

Thanks Brenda. We really had a great time. It was the perfect mix of Disney and the cruise. Loved it. Can't wait to go back!

I'm loving reading about your February get away. You visit so many interesting places that expand your horizons beyond the 4-corners of the Disney property.

Little by little I am trying to see new places in the Florida. That was really the goal of the February trip. During this past trip we spent a night in Cape Canaveral, which was really nice. I absolutely loved watching the cruise ships go out. Who knew it would be that interesting?

That carriage house sounds lovely. Good thing you didn't have a hankering for some shrimp. What shrimp in the freezer?
.

I know, right? That was the only thing that was odd about the whole stay, but what could I do?

Ahhh I love Greek food. Moussaka and Baklava would be a perfect meal.
.

Pretty darn close, that's for sure!

I know I say this all the time but I love all the photos that you post. The interesting angles and close ups of the details are so interesting.

Thanks Brenda. I really appreciate that! I love taking pics. If I could just get them all edited.

 

[MEK]

Happy 25th Anniversary to Mary Ellen and Denny!

The number might say silver, but you guys are golden in my book!

Thanks Marv! That sounds like a greeting card. Love it!

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks Marissa! It was perfect! :good vibes

Happy Anniversary!

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill! We had a great day and a fab trip! :good vibes

Happy Anniversary to you and Denny.

Thanks Kathy! It was an awesome anniversary trip! :good vibes

Happy Anniversary Mary Ellen and Denny!

Thanks Karin! We had a wonderful day and a fantastic trip! :good vibes

Sounds like wonderful fun! Glad you're having a fabulous time!!! Happy Anniversary!!!

Thanks Pam! We had such a wonderful trip! The cruise was fab and we've already booked another!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! I'm glad you're having a great time!
I thought I was about done with your TR - didn't realize you snuck another trip in there - fun! Loved the pic review and enjoyed the start of your Gulf trip. Have a Magical rest of your trip!

Thanks Tammie! We had a great anniversary and a wonderful trip. :good vibes And, yes, I did sneak in another mini TR. Tacked it right on the end of the last one because I really don't have enough material for a complete new TR.

Glad you are having such a great trip!!!

Thanks Cynthia! We had a blast. It was so much fun! :good vibes

Happy Anniversary!

Thanks Alicia! We had a wonderful day and an awesome trip!

THIS is awesome!!!

The VGF were so beautiful and our standard view room was fabulous. Denny wants to monorail watch every time we go back.

 

[MEK]

So it would seem you are so popular that your popularity has kept your thread at the top of my subscription list. I am trying a new approach to getting caught up and staying caught up. See the way I have always done it is to read from the bottom up. So the thread with an update farthest back in time gets read first until I hit the one with the most recent. Doing that though means that while I may keep up on those that are slightly active. Ones like yours never drop down far enough. So it is good you are so popular...but bad cause I seem to have totally neglected this subscription (as well as a few others - yes, I am talking about you Kathy and Karin!!!) So please forgive me. It has been since AUGUST! My goodness time is flying by.

No worries. Since we last traveled I am having a terrible time catching up. I am so far behind on this TR and my own that's its just ridiculous. This happens to me every time I go away. Ugh! I really want to get replies finished today and get an update done. That's going to take forever.

It is horrible because you posted an update to your plans back on 8/29... and just reading it now I know that the trip that they were about has happened.

hey - better late than never!!!!!

Let me just say -

I hope the party went well. I too got my dh to wear a costume and yes...we were both pirates. He was a tad more "traditional" wear as I wore a sparkle skirt and mickey pirate ears.. I was surprised my own dh was willing to dress up.

Well, you had better success than me because even though Denny HAD a costume, it ended up staying in his suitcase. Yes - spoiler alert. And it was not a high moment of the trip!

A late happy anniversary to you. If memory serves it is your 25th, correct? Funny that we were celebrating our 25th this fall too. (we celebrated on the trip but ours was in September)

Thank you! It was actually the 21st. Close enough! I remember reading about your anniversary on FB. So funny that we were both celebrating our 25th during this year. Sometimes it seems like yesterday, doesn't it?

This was such a great pic! I know it may be corny..but it definitely screams holidays to me and is postcard/christmas card worthy! I always love your pictures...all of them. This one however just made me pause as it really did invoke a feeling of the holiday season in me.

I just love all the Christmas decorations in Disney and its always fun to see the displays. I hate seeing Christmas items too early at home, but I don't mind at all when I'm in Disney!

Very happy to hear you're having a great time, and belated Anniversary wishes to you and Denny!

Thanks! WE had a fab time! It was a great trip!

I'm trying to get all caught up on these TR's! Great last update. Sounds like you had a good meal at Sci Fi. We are trying that for the first time at Christmas this year. And now you get to do a little relaxation and exploring something new. Sounds like a fun time.

Sci Fi was awesome! I hope you were able to schedule a meal there. That place is super popular and I know it can be a hard ADR to get. I hope your Christmas planning is going well!

Welcome back Mary Ellen! Sounds like a wonderful adventure and I can't wait to hear all about it!

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Thanks Wendy! It's always good to be home, but always so hard to get back into the swing of things. Hopefully an update on this TR very soon!

Welcome home, friend. I can't wait to hear all about it.

Thanks! It was a great trip and I really want to start writing about it but I am SO far behind with everything right now.

welcome back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Congrats on booking another cruise and that is so cool that you enjoyed staying at Cape Canaveral that much, I'm going to have to remember that. I really want to stay at VGF someday, your room sounds perfect! I am kicking myself for not booking a dummy, we didn't due to the 18 month rule but they changed it to 24 again and while that still might be a stretch it isn't entirely impossible. Super annoyed.

Thanks!

I figured the worst that could happen with the dummy cruise is that we would cancel all together, but we did end booking something because the price was just so good. I actually want to do the cruise you just did but I am planning to visit the world for Christmas 2015 and I can't figure out how to turn around in January 2016 and do a cruise. But it looks amazing. Only one sea day is what got me. And, yes - the 24 month rule is NICE!

Oh - and the Cape was great! I never would have picked that but it was suggested by our Daytona friends. I should have known that Floridians would know how to end a cruise perfectly. It's a wonderful place for a pre or post cruise stay. It's one of the few properties that has direct access to the beach at exactly the spot where the ships sail away. Watching the Dream leave again was amazing. Who knew?

Welcome home!!!! Sounds fabulous, can't wait to hear all about it

Thanks Pam! I thought about you so much when we were on the cruise. So many things I saw in your pics just took on new meaning!

 

[MEK]

Welcome back, Mary Ellen!!!

Sounds like a GREAT trip. I cannot wait to hear all about it, but before that, catch your breath and relax a bit from being back to work.

Thanks Karin! Like Pam, I thought about you many times during our Dream cruise because so much of your Cruise Trip reporting took on new meaning.

Glad you are back. Glad you got some DIS meets in and enjoyed your cruise. Can't wait to hear more.

Thanks! It's nice to be back in time for the holidays! Finally getting caught up (barely) on the DIS and getting settled back into my routine.

Welcome back!!! Sounds like a great trip... and happy belated anniversary!

Double Thanks! We had a fab time and a great anniversary!

Welcome back! Sounds like a great trip!

Jill in CO

Thanks Jill! It was a really great trip with just the right amount of variety! Perfect!

Welcome back. Glad to hear you had such a nice time during all of the legs of your trip. I am intrigued about the walking food tour in Nassau...

We had a great time. The walking food tour was Tru Bahamian Food Tours It currently has a #1 rating on Trip Advisor! You can read all about it there. It was really very fun!

Hi Mary Ellen,

It was great to meet you and Denny. I really glad that our trips overlapped. We really enjoyed our breakfast. I can't wait to read more about your trip. The VGF look fabulous and I would love to stay there someday.

Sue - It was wonderful to meet you and your DH! We really enjoyed our pre cruise breakfast with you. I hope the rest of your trip was fabulous. The cruise was really fun! I totally enjoyed it! I definitely hope our paths cross again at the world. It was a pleasure!

Welcome home, Mary Ellen! I'm glad you had such a great trip! I was wondering if you and Ellen were on the same cruise. Funny how we only think of Disney, but Florida has a lot of offer even (gasp!) if you are not in the World!

Thanks Tammie! The trip was great! Yes - we were definitely on the same cruise with Ellen. I am so glad she suggested that we do the double dip when we were searching for dates. I loved Castaway Cay. Now I am totally spoiled after visiting the island twice.

And, yes, there are so many things to do in Florida and we try to do something a little different now whenever we go!

Welcome back, Mary Ellen!

I'm so happy to hear your trip was wonderful and that you enjoyed specific things like the Palo dinner (YUM) and the GFV. I'm especially glad to hear that your Cape Canaveral stay went so well. That's kind of my second home, since I lived in that area for 4 years and that's where my in-laws are. So I always get a little happy seeing someone else get the appeal of the place.

Thanks Alicia! We had a wonderful time and I really did love Cape Canaveral. It never really occurred to me that there would be much to see there other than KSC and the cruise terminal, but we had lunch in Cocoa on the pier and it was lovely. The whole low key atmosphere really appealed to me.

And I actually know exactly what resort you stayed at. My in-laws townhome is less than 3 miles to the Surf Shop and right across from the bridge to the cruise terminals, so I know what you mean about the beaches being so quiet and peaceful.

I loved the former Ron Jon resort. It was REALLY nice. I have gotten so picky about places after staying at Disney so much, but I loved this place. Really great location and the 2BR villa was just lovely!

Oh, hey, look at that...another cruise in the works! Once you go on one, you almost can't wait to go back.

It appears that is true! We did book one, so more information on that coming!

Welcome back! Sounds like it was a wonderful trip.

Thanks Darla. We had a fabulous time! So many great memories!

Welcome home Mary Ellen! Sounds like you had a blast. And you did a great job getting so many DIS meets in!

Thanks! We really had a wonderful time! And, yes, there WERE DIS meets, however there is not picture proof of all of them! But many good stories to tell.

Welcome home Mary Ellen! So glad to hear that you had a great trip. I agree 100% with your comment on what hard workers the ship castmembers are. They were never ever still and were constantly on the go.

Thanks Lisa! We did have a great trip and we really enjoyed the cruise. I think a big reason is because we had two days at Castaway Cay and that was fun since we did different things each day!

And, yes, the next time I have a bad day at work I am going to remember how hard those cast members work and then I won't feel so bad.

Welcome back Mary Ellen!! Two of my SILs have condos at Cape Canaveral right by where you stayed. I hope to spend a few days there again on a future trip.

Thanks Sheree! It was an awesome trip!

I think you were the one who told me how nice the former Ron Jon Resort is. It was really lovely. I would definitely stay there again. Loved the pool area and the proximity to the beach. And the room was great!

Was your villa at GF a studio? I'm hoping to stay there one of these trips too! But I've got my points booked for 2015 already!! I've got to save up so I can go to Aulani!

It was a studio. I really don't have the points for a 1BR. The studio was more than sufficient for the two of us. The split bathroom is to die for. So nice!

Welcome back Mary Ellen!!

Thanks Krysten! And I see by your ticker that you are just days away from a trip! I hope you have a fabulous time!

 

[MEK]

Welcome home!

Sounds like it was a lovely trip.

Thanks Scott! It was an awesome trip! We had a great time!

Welcome back!! I'm glad you had a great time!!

Thanks Kristy! We had a great time! It was an awesome trip!

First off, welcome back! Can't wait to hear about the trip! Although I already lived vicariously through your FB pictures.

Thanks Danielle! It was a great trip! Loved it! And now I am living vicariously through YOUR FB pictures!

I'm so glad that you loved VGF. I really cannot wait to stay there.

OMG - you'll LOVE it! The rooms are just too lovely! I absolutely loved it there and can't wait to go back!

Glad you are home! I am looking forward to your report!

Thanks Ashley! We had a great time and I will eventually get around to writing a report. I am getting to be such a slacker!

 

[MEK]

Just stopping in to say hi since I've finally caught up on your TR. I was somewhere around 50 pages behind so I'm not even going to try to comment at this point!

Hopefully I will be able to keep up at least until I head back to WDW in a few weeks.

Congrats on getting caught up! I know when I get too far behind its really hard for me to comment because so many thoughts are rolling around all at once.

I hope you have a fabulous trip with lots of pixie dust:

Welcome back! I'm glad you had a nice trip! I have to say that I totally understand where Denny is coming from. I'd be thrilled with a room where I could sit and watch the monorails right out my window!

Thanks Andy! We had a great trip! It was wonderful!

And I knew would have guessed that Denny was such a monorail geek, but he was just loving it. I think we have to stay in the same room next time!

Glad you made it home safe and that you had a great time! Totally looking forward to hearing about it

Thanks Alicia! We had a fabulous time! It really was a great trip and I can't wait to write about it!

I swear I welcomed you back but I guess I just read and that was it.

Thanks Jen! We had a great a time! It was a fab trip!

Anyways, welcome back and I can't wait to hear about the cruise....I knew you would enjoy it.

We really loved the cruise. I thought about you with all the amazing photo ops. I loved getting to visit Castaway Cay twice. It was so cool!

Caught up and back as well.

Glad to hear your trip was great. I was checking in on FB and loving all the pictures.

Thanks Pat! It really was so much fun! I hope your trip was just as fabulous! We really enjoyed ourselves and the cruise was great!

Welcome Back!! Sounds like a wonderful trip. Hope to hear more soon.

Thanks! The trip was wonderful and you will definitely be hearing more!

 

[MEK]

Of Manatees and Mangroves

Hi guys! Remember me? I know its been a long while since I’ve update (probably a month) and I am hopelessly behind on most of your TRs, but I’m finally here with an update. I finished all my replies today. If I skipped a reply please forgive me as things got a little overwhelming with all the responses I’ve written.

First of all - a big THANKS for still following along and for being patient with me.

Second - before I begin my TR update I have a few life updates.

The first is that the PHM trip is just a little over 3 months away. Can you stand it? Training is going well. I am now required to do long runs on the weekend. My latest long run was 8.8 miles. I am finding the long runs difficult for a lot of reasons other than the obvious, they’re LONG!

It’s hard to find a nice long varied route. Fortunately I have tapped into this over 55 community that’s about 3 miles from my house. There is a nice series of paths in there. I am able to run about 3 miles just on the interior paths and roads. But I know I am going to get bored so I need to find some new routes and I might need to just pick a point X miles away and then have Denny come pick me up.

The other difficultly during the long runs is you really need fuel and water. I need to get a hydration belt. I just haven’t found one I like yet (or one that I think is worth the $). Denny came out and saved me with some water. I’ve got to solve this problem before my next long run.

For our PHM trip I canceled our two days at Bonnet Creek and moved our stay to the Holiday Inn Vacation Villas (formerly known as the Ron Jon Resort) in Port Canaveral. I think we should keep up with our quest to visit other places in Florida and I really loved this resort and watching the cruise ships leave port was completely fascinating. I had NO idea I would be such a fan.

Speaking of cruise ships, we did a “dummy” booking on the Dream. That means we didn’t really pick an actual cruise, just put the deposit down to get the on board booking discount.

Well, Disney sent me a confirmation for a Dec 9 2015 sailing of the Magic out of Miami. This is another 4 night Bahama cruise with a stop at Key West. I have to say that the idea of visiting Key West really appeals to me. Sure, I could visit Key West without a cruise, but its far. I also like the idea of going back to Castaway Cay. Denny became obsessed with watching those big water bikes and now he really wants to try one. And, given that we got rain on our Nassau day….well….can you see where this is going?

We decided to book this exact cruise. The final deciding factor was that the cat 5C verandah stateroom was just over $1300 for the two of us. Can you say “book it”? Well, I sure did. For some reason the verandah staterooms on this cruise were less expensive than the others. I have no idea why.

I was originally interested in a 5 night cruise, but I looked and looked and looked at the Western Caribbean itinerary and there are just too many days at sea. I know people love their sea days, but what we really liked about the double dip was getting OFF the ship all three days. Plus, I think 4 nights is good for us since we both came off the ship with food “bellies”. I literally looked 4 months pregnant. Now wait - make that 5 months.

We have been planning a trip to WDW during next Christmas season, so this will work for us. We can do 4 or 5 nights at Disney, then the cruise. I know that Miami is fairly far from Orlando, but I think we can handle it.

In other trip news, we have a family trip booked for early June. Yes - my boys actually asked to go to Florida. Well, Brian did. I know. Hard to believe. Well, not really. Brian has his heart set on “drinking around the world” and since he’s legal I guess I can’t fight that. Not sure where he is going to get the cash to drink around the world, but that’s not my problem. I’m paying for the rest of the trip.

I was lucky enough to book a 2BR standard view at the Boardwalk villas. Gotta love the point savings that comes with that standard view category. It was only a few points higher than OKW and SSR. We’ll be there for 6 nights. Southwest opens their flights for early June tomorrow. I should be able to get the outbound flights, but will have to wait for the return flights.

So I would say I’m pretty blessed and very lucky to have some really great trips in my future!

Phew - so that took awhile.

On to the actual trip update…Of Manatees and Mangroves.

If you can remember back to a month ago we had arrived at Tarpon Springs any checked into a carriage house I rented off of VRBO. We had dinner at a Greek restaurant and did some food shopping. Time to hit the hay because we had a kayaking adventure planned for the next day.

When I started planning this trip I KNEW that one of the things I really wanted to do was kayak. There are many.many places to rent kayaks and even more places to actually kayak, but I wanted a tour. Denny does not swim and he requested an official tour. There seemed to be two specific kayaking tour themes - either manatees or mangroves. I thought the mangroves would be cool, but a mangrove is just foliage. A manatee would be far cooler than that.

I signed up for Groupon, Living Social, and ever other site I could find looking for a discount.

Finally I found it! A Groupon for an outfitter called Florida Ecoadventures. Total Score. We were able to book a trip for two at half price.

I called and found out that we couldn’t pick the tour we wanted to go on. We basically had to go where they were going on our requested day. OK, that makes the decision easy.

Here is a link to their Facebook site https://www.facebook.com/FloridaEcoAdventures

So on Saturday March 1st we were up bright and early. I went for a run first. Here’s the backyard of the property were we stayed.



Next to the property were we stayed was this amazing gated community. Fortunately, the gate was open and I was able to run surrounded by gorgeous million dollar homes. It was a great way to start the day!

We hit the highway bright and yearly and got ready to pay more tolls.



We headed north to the



Try to say that three times fast?

I’ll tell you a secret. The locals call it the Chassie. But I think you have to be a local to call it that, so don’t even try it!

We had only been on the highway a short time when we saw we were surrounded by good company!



We passed Weeki Wachee



I think this used to be a fairly popular Florida tourist attraction.

It was a beautiful day and even the usually nondescript Florida landscape looked pretty.





Did you notice that this road is not completely flat?



Once we exited the highway we were treated to rural Florida at its best





Words to live by



We knew we were getting warm. Very warm.



We found the right parking lot



And got out to look around









Yup - we were in the right place




There was a small store where we went inside and paid to park. I think it was $5



We were early so we watched some other boaters start their day.









Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

I remember thinking this was odd at first. I soon found out why the sign was necessary.







I thought this sign was too cute!





The trees were filled with birds





Soon enough Suzanne and Mac (our tour guides) arrived. They actually bring all the equipment to the site since the launch from many different areas.





I couldn’t wait to launch. The day had started off cold, but now it was just starting to get warm and I knew I could ditch my sweatshirt for good.



When we were finally in I took pictures with my phone.



Of course, I have no pictures of Denny and I but if your scroll through their Facebook page for March 1st you will see us in action.

I think this is another group launching.



Here’s Mac, one of our tour leaders.



He and Suzanne are teachers so they do tours on the weekends during the school year.



I wish I could remember how many people were on our tour, but I don’t think it was more than eight.



We followed Mac down this small stream of water that got progressively more shallow. He was taking us to see Maggie’s Crack. Say what?



At one point we finally had to get out of the boats and walk because it was far too shallow to paddle.



Seeing that we were really in native Florida I got a little squeamish about drinking our water because I was certain it had been contaminated with “swamp” water and we might get infected with some type of strange Floridian parasite. Here Denny demonstrates how to drink water without touching the bottle. This bottle may or may not have been one that we accidentally dropped in the water. I do know that I put my bottle in the little bottle holder on the kayak and it got covered by Chassie water.



Here is Mac in the lead



By the way, here’s a little trivia - Both scenes from Sea Hunt and the original Tarzan were filmed right here along the Chassie River.

Once the water deepened again we had made our way to Maggie’s Crack. Basically this was a low lying crevice in the bottom of the river that is actually a natural spring. You can see how blue the water is over Maggie’s Crack.

Maggie’s Crack to the right





Mac and one of the other girl’s in our group swam down into Maggie’s Crack. I was only brave enough to put the snorkeling gear on and look at it underwater. (OK - time for a comment from someone in the peanut gallery, but I honestly don’t know how else to phrase it).

Here is Suzanne


Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

We hung out at the crack for awhile and then walked backed to our boats. It was time to paddle back to an area where we could tie up and have a snack (aka lunch).

Suzanne brought snacks for everyone, but Denny and I also had our own food. We tied up and enjoyed chatting it up while snacking.

We finished kayoing back to the area where we had started. Mac wanted to take us to actual underwater caves. So we passed the place where we had launched and headed to the caves.

Here is Mac either getting ready to swim down to the cave or perhaps he had just finished coming out. He had to swim down about 6 or more feet to enter the cave. I would say once he entered the dave he came out about 25 feet downstream.



Once again, you can see the cave entrance. It is blue.





One girl in our group was actually brave enough to go in there. It took her a little while to get started. Every time she would dive down to enter the cave the pressure would push her back up. Finally, on her third or fourth try, she entered the cave and came out the other end. Amazing. There is no way I could have done that. Not in a million years!

It really was amazing how incredibly blue it was. I know these pictures can't really portray it that well



There’s Mac getting ready to go down again. He must have swum through that cave 4 or 5 times. He took video, so once again I encourage your to visit their FB page.

It was hard to stand near the cave because the floor of the river was slight uneven. At one point I stood off to the side of the river and watched Mac do more cave swimming.



After we spent some time in the underwater cave area, Mac and Suzanne asked if we wanted to go further down the river away from our launching site. Believe or not, we all pretty much agreed that we were done. We started our adventure around 10:30 and it was now 2pm. It was awesome that Mac and Suzanne didn’t limit us to a 2 hour tour. They were truly like two little kids who were out for an afternoon adventure and decided to bring some friends along.

Denny and I started to head back to the launch when we discovered that we were in manatee aggregation area. They were EVERYWHERE! How did we NOT notice that on the way to the caves?

They would pop their heads out from time to time, but it seemed literally impossible to get a good picture of any of them. I tried though. Really I did.



Manatee bubbles







More manatee bubbles.





Once last look at the manatees





Clearly there was something special about this little spot on the Chassie River that caused so many of these gentle giants to aggregate together. It was a really amazing sight and I wish my pictures could even start to describe how special this was. Definitely a highlight of the entire trip.







Once on land we all pitched in and helped Suzanne and Mac load their trailer. Then we took turns using the inside bathroom and changing our clothes.

If you ever do this tour there are a few things to remember:

You WILL get wet.
You WILL walk so bring water shoes
There are no official bio breaks and it is safer to bio break IN the water than out of the water.
Bring sunscreen
Get ready to be amazed!

We said good bye to our new found friends and decided to head back to Tarpon Springs along the coastal route instead of the highway.

We stopped in a local state park area along the way.





It was obviously a popular fishing spot. I remember thinking how lucky these Florida natives were since it was getting ready to snow, once again, at home.





What great views!







How cute is he?



Continued In Next Post

 

[MEK]

We noticed some people staring out into the water and they were staring at this.



It’s foot was stuck in a fishing line



This made me so sad. I hated to see this poor bird stuck like this





I’m not sure how, but the bird did eventually manage to break free. Phew!





We left the park and traveled along the coast back to Tarpon Springs.





The tourists were out in full force





How many sea shell shops can one town have?



We stopped here briefly so I could get some info on the boat tours



And then we decided to head south towards a town called Dunedin. There was a lot of traffic heading north to Tarpon Springs.



We passed a section of the Pinellas Trail, which is a 38 mile Rail to Trail beginning in Tarpon Springs and extending to St Petersburg,



Our final destination was here - The Dunedin Brewery





I think Mac may have recommended this place and we figured why the heck not?

It was a great choice. Obviously very popular. We sat at the bar and ordered a few of these.





Fun marketing. Denny ended up getting a T-shirt before we left.



We sat next to a couple guys that were stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. They were both very friendly and we chatted for awhile. Hence, no food pictures since it just seemed awkward.

We had a great time there but after a few beers, good conversation, and some yummy food we decided to head back to Tarpon Springs.


Good night Dunedin Brewery. (Crappy phone picture)



When we got back to the carriage house in Tarpon Springs around 9:30 pm and the party at the house was still going pretty strong. You may recall that our hosts were actually hosting a party for their daughter that night. It felt a little awkward, which was part of the reason we stayed out all day.

We were bushed, so any noise from the party below was not about to disturb us. I am sure we were asleep within minutes of hitting the bed.

Up Next - A trip across the Skyway Bridge

 

[saintstickets]

Speaking of cruise ships, we did a “dummy” booking on the Dream. That means we didn’t really pick an actual cruise, just put the deposit down to get the on board booking discount.

Well, Disney sent me a confirmation for a Dec 6 2015 sailing of the Magic out of Miami. This is another 4 night Bahama cruise with a stop at Key West. I have to say that the idea of visiting Key West really appeals to me. Sure, I could visit Key West without a cruise, but its far. I also like the idea of going back to Castaway Cay. Denny became obsessed with watching those big water bikes and now he really wants to try one. And, given that we got rain on our Nassau day….well….can you see where this is going?

We decided to book this exact cruise.

We have been planning a trip to WDW during next Christmas season, so this will work for us. We can do 4 or 5 nights at Disney, then the cruise. I know that Miami is fairly far from Orlando, but I think we can handle it.

Whew! I was hoping you were still going to WDW that week after Thanksgiving so we could meet up again!

We booked a new cruise while on our first DCL cruise about a month ago too...we're going to do the Alaska cruise 8/24/15! We enjoyed the cruise so much, we are already looking at an April or May, 2016 cruise and combine it with a WDW F&G trip. Sighhhh....these folks at Disney have got me hooked on land and at sea!

 

[MEK]

Whew! I was hoping you were still going to WDW that week after Thanksgiving so we could meet up again!

Thanksgiving is the 26th, right? You will be there the week of the 29th, right? I was thinking we could arrive Thursday the 3rd and I was hoping you would still be there the 4th? Please tell me you will be!

We booked a new cruise while on our first DCL cruise about a month ago too...we're going to do the Alaska cruise 8/24/15! We enjoyed the cruise so much, we are already looking at an April or May, 2016 cruise and combine it with a WDW F&G trip. Sighhhh....these folks at Disney have got me hooked on land and at sea!

Nice. I would love to do Alaska. I just couldn't figure out how to fit it in this summer. It's now on my bucket list. That and the southern caribbean. I toyed with the idea of doing F&G 2016 with a cruise, too. But I really think I need to take a break from Disney after 2015. But then again, why?

 

[teekathepony]

The upcoming trips sound fantstic! The cruise sounds really nice, I think if I ever tried a cruise, that would be just right.

Oh Mary Ellen!!!! The kayaking! The MANATEES!! I want to go! It looks amazing and so much fun! I love the tourquoise colour where the caves are, how incredible is that. I don't know if I'd be brave enough to try it, but it looks so cool. And the manatees at the end! I'd love so much to see them in the wild! What a wonderful day!

Wondering though, I see some sit-IN and some sit-ON kayaks, could you pick your yak? Mine is a sit-on because I'm too claustrophobic for the sit-in type!

A nice evening at the Brewery too.

Hmmm I would be so weirded out by the party going on at the carriage house. I'm glad you were too tired for it to bother you!

 

[Pinkocto]

What an amazing day!!!! Your kayak tour looks too awesome for words. Cave swimming and MANATEES!!! I would have been over the moon, WOW! Now what was there to see in the crack? Cool that you braved it Thank you for all those pictures!

Your trip line up looks pretty awesome too. Love that the boys want to go back, that'll be great fun. And LOVE that you had such a fun time on the cruise!!! Great idea to combine a December cruise with a WDW trip. You'll see the ship all decked out for the holidays, I've heard it's a sight to see! It's not a bad drive from Miami, I think 3 hours. Would you keep your rental car while being on the cruise and just park it?

I forgot to comment on the pelican, I'm sooooo glad he managed to get free!!!

 

[natebenma]

We had a great time. The walking food tour was Tru Bahamian Food Tours It currently has a #1 rating on Trip Advisor! You can read all about it there. It was really very fun!

Thanks so much for posting this! I read the description and your reviews and others' from Trip Advisor. If we go back to Atlantis, I will definitely plan on this excursion!

 

[amazingact21]

Lots of fun trips in the works for you! I did not realize your last trip was a double dip...I'm very jealous. Castaway Cay is amazing, and I've been keeping my eye out for a double dip in the future.
Key West is a good stop on the cruise. Alex and I went there on our last one, and the main factor for choosing it was that location. Have you been before? It's a really laid back setting, and you can walk from the Duval Street to Mile Marker Zero, which is nice.



Sounds like you had an awesome kayaking tour! The pictures you took were gorgeous, and, in my opinion, really captured the wetlands of FL. They actually made me say to myself, "I need to go kayaking again."
Yay for seeing some manatees at the end of your excursion! They are pretty big up close.

 

[jenseib]

What a great day. I have to admit that I will never even think about doing it if there is no real potties. LOL. I do not go in the water or outside behind a tree. I never have been able to and not going to start in my 40's.