Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW *July 2013 Trip Report Link*

[MHTeacher]

The rainforest hike sounds great! Sounds as if you had a really good guide who made it extra fun!

Beautiful pics!

 

[natebenma]

Cant believe I didnt get the bird question

Loving all the photos (espsecially Marlton Moms wee addition)
Let us know your verdict on the camera (since Santa obviously dropped mine from his sack at Christmas). I am going to treat myself to an early birthday present this summer I've never had a waterproof camera before but love the idea

Thanks! I love the addition, too. I also asked her to add a privacy dot in an upcoming photo. In typical MM fashion, well, you'll just have to wait and see how that came out!

The Panasonic Lumix arrived yesterday. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but I'll be taking some pictures at Bye Bye Birdie this weekend. And in about 2 weeks, I'll be putting it through the paces in Atlantis.

I plan on coming back from that trip with my verdicts on the cameras. Between the waterpark and snorkeling in the Ruins, and maybe a separate snorkel trip I should have a decent amount of data.

 

[natebenma]

The rainforest hike sounds great! Sounds as if you had a really good guide who made it extra fun!

Beautiful pics!

Thanks for your comments about the pictures. The tour was fantastic, and as you noted, a lot of it was due to the awesome guide. That was one of the great things about the resort- so close to the rainforest. We left for the tour at 9 and we were back by 1:30, and we really saw so much.

 

[pixarmom]

Dee, I'm still with you! Beautiful views, that bbq flatbread looks amazing (I'll eat anything with mango on it) and I think the rainforest would be a hit with our boys! The rainforest looks a little adventurous - would I be scared?

My mom used to have a lumix (lost it, bought a Nikon.) Let me know how it works out!

P.S. What a nice photo of you in the rainforest - I'm thinking it will make a beautiful Flat Dee this summer!

 

[DrMomof3]

Glad Ben's show went well!
Can't believe I missed the chicken.
Love the rainforest pics. Your guide sounds awesome!
I'm thinking about a waterproof camera for Mother's Day...

Amanda

 

[natebenma]

So. very. behind!!!

Dee, I'm still with you! Beautiful views, that bbq flatbread looks amazing (I'll eat anything with mango on it) and I think the rainforest would be a hit with our boys! The rainforest looks a little adventurous - would I be scared?

My mom used to have a lumix (lost it, bought a Nikon.) Let me know how it works out!

P.S. What a nice photo of you in the rainforest - I'm thinking it will make a beautiful Flat Dee this summer!

I love mango too (as apparently most of the world does!)

The rainforest really wasn't scary at all. I don't know how you are with heights- the tower was tall, but the walls were really high. The trip was really just taking a walk in a very jungly forest.

Glad Ben's show went well!
Can't believe I missed the chicken.
Love the rainforest pics. Your guide sounds awesome!
I'm thinking about a waterproof camera for Mother's Day...

Amanda

Loved our rainforest guide! He really made the tour spectacular.

After my Atlantis trip, I'll give my review of how the Olympus and the Lumix perform. I'm a little concerned since the two cameras I am taking are "new" to me. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be missing the Canon.

I think a waterproof camera would make an EXCELLENT Mother's Day gift!

 

[natebenma]

So, a lot of the reason I am so behind on everything is that Ben's show consumed a lot of time. Not just the rehearsals and performances, but I am treasurer for the theatre company, I am in charge of concessions and I am one of the people responsible for props.

Here are a couple of pictures from Sunday's show (the final performance). Ben played Randolph MacAfee, the little brother of the girl selected to get a goodbye kiss from Conrad Birdie before he is inducted into the Army.

This was Ben's singing debut and he even had a few solo lines in "Kids!". He nailed it too.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

It looked like a great play!
You must be so proud of him!!!!
My DS14 used to love being on stage for anything they did in elementary school. I wish I would have put him in theatre then. Now he doesn't want any part of it. DS10 is so shy he doesn't even like to talk in front of his class. Oh well I guess there won't be any famous actors in my family

Deb

 

[natebenma]

We were back at the resort after our Rainforest tour between 1 and 1:30. That was one of the great advantages of where we stayed. We were so close to El Yunke that we enjoyed a fantastic morning tour and still had time to enjoy some beach time, too.

We decided to grab a couple of subs (Tropical Tuna and a Cubano) to take back to the room. We enjoyed our lunch and then followed it up with the strawberries that were delivered the night before. They were sweet and yummy!

The afternoon was beautiful, so we gathered our stuff together for the beach. And now for a shocker! I left my camera behind! Since I was down to one camera, I didn’t want to risk it in the water with another day and a half of our trip still remaining. I didn’t want to leave the camera with our towels and beach bag while we swam and snorkeled, so it stayed in the room.

On our way to the ferry dock, we decided to make dinner reservations for that evening for the Stingray Café at the Marina.

We had a nice time at Palomino Island. The water was much calmer than it was the previous day. The snorkeling was ok- we saw some coral, more fish, lots of urchins. We stayed on the island until the final ferry was leaving to return to the resort, around 5:30.


I did a photo tour of El Conquistador resort, but I haven’t really showed many pictures of Las Casitas Villas, so I will do that here (before dinner).

View from the golf course

Quiet pool

Infinity Pool

Back to the room, we got ready for dinner. We arrived at the restaurant and we were given a choice of eating inside or out. We chose to dine al fresco, although I thought this wall hanging inside the restaurant was so cute that I took a picture of it.

For appetizers Mark ordered the warm lobster salad and I ordered the seafood chowder. When I ordered this, the waitress warned me that it “Manhattan” style, that is, tomato based. But it sounded good so I ordered it:


Warm Lobster Salad, Shhitake Mushrooms, Black Truffle Vinaigrette, $19

This was A.MA.ZING!!!


Caribbean Seafood and Yucca Chowder with Cilantro Oil, $14

The chowder was ok. I should have listened to the waitress. My New England prejudice may be rearing its ugly head, but seafood chowder NEEDS a cream base. And skip the tomatoes. It just ain’t right!


Garlic Shrimp Risotto Mamposteado with Garlic Butter Sauce, $38

Sauteed Scallops, Truffle Edamame Puree, Baby Greens Salad, Pomegranate & Fig Vinaigrette, $36

The scallops won the entree war, but both dishes were excellent.


Dessert- we skipped dessert at the restaurant, but on the way back to our room, we stopped for some more of that delicious coconut ice cream. Mmmmmmm!

So ended a wonderful day in Puerto Rico.

 

[natebenma]

It looked like a great play!
You must be so proud of him!!!!
My DS14 used to love being on stage for anything they did in elementary school. I wish I would have put him in theatre then. Now he doesn't want any part of it. DS10 is so shy he doesn't even like to talk in front of his class. Oh well I guess there won't be any famous actors in my family

Deb

My oldest did a couple of shows in elementary school and a couple of community theatre shows, but when he turned 12, he decided his acting career was done. He was pretty talented, too. Ben kind of came along for the ride, I never thought this would interest him, but he has really blossomed on stage. He shows no signs of stage fright or self-doubt, so I am thrilled!

 

[MHTeacher]

WAY TO GO BEN! Sure it was a lot of work, but I'm sure he enjoyed it too!

The view from that infinity pool is beautiful!

 

[natebenma]

WAY TO GO BEN! Sure it was a lot of work, but I'm sure he enjoyed it too!

The view from that infinity pool is beautiful!

I am so glad the play is over. It was wonderful, but I am still exhausted! And the songs won't stop going through my head!

The infinity pool and the view were beautiful. We don't spend much time in pools, though. We prefer the ocean. Plus, I like a nice deep pool where you can dive under.

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

All I can say is "WOW" both to the photos and Ben!!
You must have been so proud of Ben for not only getting up on stage but singing solo too
In case I dont get back on again before it HAPPY EASTER
Only day of the year I eat an egg for breakfast

 

[HockeyMomR]

Ahhh more pretty pictures. Love the one of the infinity pool.

And more yummy food porn, love it! You should come visit Maryland and have some of our cream of crab soup, it is excellent and creamy, none of that yucky tomato based stuff!

Rebecca

 

[ddluvsdisney]

OMG I love the infinity pool!! They are so cool.
Happy Easter!!
Great pics!
I'm doin the single digit dance!!!
I have an interview on Monday for a long term sub. The timing of that couldn't be more wrong! I am so stressed!! when I should be happy.

Deb

 

[Mommy2BnB]

I'm coming out of lurkdom to tell you how much I am enjoying your trip report.

 

[natebenma]

All I can say is "WOW" both to the photos and Ben!!
You must have been so proud of Ben for not only getting up on stage but singing solo too
In case I dont get back on again before it HAPPY EASTER
Only day of the year I eat an egg for breakfast

Very proud of Ben. He had to be talked into singing, but he did great. I can't remember if I posted that he wanted his teacher to come to the show, so he told her he won a pair of tickets and gave them to her.

Happy Easter to you, too! Enjoy your egg. Hardboiled?

Ahhh more pretty pictures. Love the one of the infinity pool.

And more yummy food porn, love it! You should come visit Maryland and have some of our cream of crab soup, it is excellent and creamy, none of that yucky tomato based stuff!

Rebecca

The infinity pool was very picturesque. It was never very crowded either. I used it once, Mark never made it in.

Thanks for the invite to Maryland! That is certainly a place where they know how to serve crab.

OMG I love the infinity pool!! They are so cool.
Happy Easter!!
Great pics!
I'm doin the single digit dance!!!
I have an interview on Monday for a long term sub. The timing of that couldn't be more wrong! I am so stressed!! when I should be happy.

Deb

Thanks for your post. Good luck with the interview! Bummer on the timing though. Is it a district that has a different vacation schedule from the one your kids have? Or is it just that you have to go through the interview process before your trip?

for the single digit dance!

I'm coming out of lurkdom to tell you how much I am enjoying your trip report.

Thank you so much for the kind words. I'm so glad you are enjoying the report!

I'll probably be finishing up in the next day or two. I have our last day and then a little bit on our return home.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Thanks for your post. Good luck with the interview! Bummer on the timing though. Is it a district that has a different vacation schedule from the one your kids have? Or is it just that you have to go through the interview process before your trip?

for the single digit dance!

It's the same district that I live in. It's just 5 days before we leave. If I get the position it starts the day after we come back UGH!! AND we're not getting home until around midnight UGH again.

off topic- Have you ever had a late flight into MCO? We're landing at 9:30- just wondering if it'll be quicker getting out and on our way?

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Very proud of Ben. He had to be talked into singing, but he did great. I can't remember if I posted that he wanted his teacher to come to the show, so he told her he won a pair of tickets and gave them to her.

Happy Easter to you, too! Enjoy your egg. Hardboiled?

CHOCOLATE

I'm not a fan of eggs lol

 

[DrMomof3]

Glad the show went so well!
Sounds like a lovely afternoon at the beach. Dinner looks good, too! I'm not a huge fan of tomato-based chowder either.
Can't wait for your camera reviews!
Happy Easter!

Amanda