Who lets their 7 yr old read "On Board The Titanic" before a Magic-al cruise!

[purplepeg]

I'm so glad you're back, I missed you kicking my butt I hope you had a great time. I'll be following both tr's.
I had to work Saturday and then yesterday I took the girls to a mother/daughter storytime tea. It's held every year at a local bookstore and they have a storylady and pretty pink tablecloths and a craft. They also bring a 3 tiered plate sysytem with fancy sandwiches and muffins and then they bring dessert. After this the girls are encouraged to stand up and read a poem they have written about their mom. Well dd7 doesn't get up in public, unless it's a piano recital or Christmas concert. For some reason those two events are exempt from nerves Anyway, dd3 decides, when she hears you can get up with a microphone, she wants to sing Oh Canada. I explain that she's supposed to say something about her mommy(aka me). She thinks about this for a while and decides what she wants to say. When it comes to her age group she gets up there and when she sees all the people there she starts licking her lips and saying "umm." Then she says "my mommy plays Dora Match Game with me!" How cute is she. I have some pictures. The girls and I get all dressed up. I have to download them so it could be a while. I was so tired today I spent the afternoon lying down watching kids shows. Anyway, I have high hopes for tomorrow and computer time.

 

[Hypermommy]

Well, I guess letting mini-Montana have her turn at a mike was reason enough. Fair enough. You're exempt from one day of writing. But I sure do hope I see more soon. I'm working on mine (even though theres no evidence of it) by trying to winnow down 867 pictures to something a bit more reasonable for a TR.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

OH GOOD!!! Can't wait for more!

 

[Mastiff]

purplepeg,

I have a question about room 8510. Did the verandah have a solid wall or was it the see thru one with the plexiglass?

Just wondering. I couldn't find any pics of the verandah.

Thanks

 

[purplepeg]

purplepeg,

I have a question about room 8510. Did the verandah have a solid wall or was it the see thru one with the plexiglass?

Just wondering. I couldn't find any pics of the veranda

Thanks

It was the see through kind. I'm not sure if I have any photos of the veranda. I'll look and if I do I'll post them. It's a great room and location

 

[Mastiff]

Thanks for the info! I thought it was but just wanted to be sure.

I saw your other photos of the room. They are great. Really helps get an idea of how we will fit! We also have 2 kids.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[purplepeg]

Now don't all faint, stay with me I am actually posting another installment.
I had yet another poor sleep being quite itchy and we had turned the clocks back one hour last night. We got up at 8:15 and headed to Parrot Cay for breakfast. Man we love those hash browns! It’s a great buffet at Parrot Cay. I think it’s pretty much like Topsiders but you get seated first before you hit the buffet so you don’t need to wander around with your plate looking for a place to sit. Then your food is all cold and the grease has congealed and somehow your breakfast just isn’t that appetizing any more. We really enjoyed eating here and Lumiere’s for breakfast.
We headed back to the room and dh decided to go geocaching on his own today because dd7 wanted to go swimming more than spend time with her daddy.
I have been informed by dh that he will happily explain geocaching and discuss it with anyone who would like information. Just make a post and he will comply.
Here is the Grand Princess.

Norwegian Sun docked beside us.

The Magic

Norwegian Sun

Geocaching photos from hubby of some clues.

Our last cruise ship before children, the Grand Princess.

As the kids were getting their bathing suits on I went out to the veranda to get the water shoes and as I was out there I could swear I heard bagpipes. Now I’m thinking Mexico…Bagpipes? It didn’t seem to really go together. My parents are both from Scotland so I have a soft spot for the bagpipes. I had to find out where that music was coming from. We were docked at the pier in Cozumel with the Norwegian Sun docked across from us. There were two other cruise ships anchored out as well. Anyway, it was on one of those other ships, on the aft deck, a man was playing the bagpipes. I zoomed in with the video camera so I could show my parents when we got home. I have no idea if he was practicing for a performance or it was just a hobby and he takes them with him wherever he goes. After I talked the girls into coming out to see and hear this (let me tell you I had a lot of talking to do to dd7 to get her back out there. I assured her there were no lifeboats being lowered!) We went off to the Goofy pool. Here I am again with no sunscreen due to itching. Let’s hope I don’t have to be out here too long. Wouldn’t you know there’s not a cloud in the sky? The kids had a really good time and it wasn’t long before dh was back and joined us in the pool. I tried to stay in the shade but ended up getting a bit burnt but it wasn’t too bad.
I tried to stay in the non-existent shade by the side of the pool but it was hard. It wasn’t long before dh was back and joined us in the pool. We had fun all playing together in the pool. Soon tummies were rumbling and it was time to have lunch. I went and got the kids chicken strips or hot dogs. Funny, how I thought I’d remember all these details. We ate poolside. There weren’t too many people around the Goofy Pool so there were lots of chairs to sit in. After we ate lunch I decided to check out Goofy’s Galley and bring back ice cream. During this time dd7 played poolside bingo…and won! She won a shower radio, a shark bath squirter, and a water ring game. She was so excited. After some more bingo games and fun in the pool we went back to the room and showered.
Here are the bingo prizes!

Tonight is pirate night and we all were participating in the fun.

 

[purplepeg]

Thanks for the info! I thought it was but just wanted to be sure.

I saw your other photos of the room. They are great. Really helps get an idea of how we will fit! We also have 2 kids.



Thanks again for your help.

I found a picture! I must have been sitting on one of the chairs on the veranda when I took this so here's the view right through the plexiglass.

 

[purplepeg]

Well, I guess letting mini-Montana have her turn at a mike was reason enough. Fair enough. You're exempt from one day of writing. But I sure do hope I see more soon. I'm working on mine (even though theres no evidence of it) by trying to winnow down 867 pictures to something a bit more reasonable for a TR.

As you can see I posted another installment. I actually have to get this finished so I can spend more time on my joint pre trippie with my sister for our August trip to wdw. That should motivate me.

OH GOOD!!! Can't wait for more!

I'm happy to oblige. The pirate night installment will be up later. I just have to add the photos to the text.

 

[Hypermommy]

As you can see I posted another installment. I actually have to get this finished so I can spend more time on my joint pre trippie with my sister for our August trip to wdw. That should motivate me.

Here's a bit of motivation pixie dust headed your way too. I can't wait to read your pre-trippie. I love your style. Hope you're going to include pics with that one too. The shopping, oh the shopping!

 

[Mozart]

The question is, did you geocache on Castaway Cay? There's a few "urban" caches there that are tricky, and one that has a really great walk.

The coolest thing about geocaching on a cruise is that you have your GPS on the boat. When you're think you're in the middle of the ocean and realize where you really are, it's very interesting.

 

[purplepeg]

The girls had pirate costumes I bought during Halloween. They looked great and I found them each a pair of skull and crossbones tights. Dh and I had t-shirts I ordered from Disney online. A bunch of things were 40% off so that covered the shipping. Normally I don’t order anything online because the shipping costs too much for over the border, but this seemed to justify it. The only problem was the t-shirt I ordered for dh was a kid’s size. It didn’t say anything online about it being a kid’s size. I think dd7 will be able to wear it. I ended up getting a Jack Sparrow one for him at the Disney store. We also bought a pirate hat at Halloween for him. Before dinner we went to have our portrait done with Captain Jack Sparrow. We were standing in line when dd7 says “we need something for him to write on for auntie” My sister’s favorite character is CJS and she waited 2 hrs to see him at the Pirate and Princess party in WDW last summer. Not all the people in her party were that happy about waiting all that time.
Overlooking the lobby at Chip and Dale in their Pirate gear and a Mariachi band. This was about 5pm.

Captain Jack

Cap'n jack signing our Navigator(always had a copy with me)

The girls being fine looking pirates!

The menu at dinner.

Close up of Pirates in the Carribean dinner.

I forgot we also got bandanas at every place. Some people we saw that night had great wait staff that fashioned the bandanas into different styles of hats. We didn't have such luck, we just took ours back to our room.

Cute pirate!

I can hardly see past this bandana!

The girls with our head waiter Arnold. I loved the staff's costumes.

I know you're probably wondering about this photo. I saw this mom and daughter(about 2-3 yrs old) dressed in matching Elizabeth Swan costumes. They were travelling with another lady and her young daughter and all of them wore the same costume. They looked so good. I tried to get them to pose for a picture but the daughter had just woke up from her nap and wouldn't have any part of any photo. So I just snapped this quick pic so you have an idea of what they looked like.

More dinner pictures.

We also had the girl’s portraits done in their pirate outfits. They turned out great. The photographer got them to do some cute things. We had dinner at Parrot Cay tonight and I loved how the CM’s are all dressed up too. The menus were all rolled up by each place and we were able to keep them. The food was quite good tonight. I believe I had the crab cakes, chilled honeydew-mango soup, and beef tenderloin. For dessert I believe I had white chocolate cheesecake.
Crab cake

Mickey alfredo pasta (kids pasta)

Yet another mickey ketchup head.

OMG is that mac and cheese again! Don't these parents make their kids eat anything else?!

See the special cup and glowing Captain Hook clipped to the straw? I believe it was between $5and $10. They were so cute we HAD to get them!

Beef Tenderloin

Chocolate cake

Conga line with all the kids.

Angie our asst server with dd3(dd7 no where in site)

There's that lady and her daughter again. How cute are they?

 

[purplepeg]

The rest of pirate night will be posted tomorrow and dh is going to reply regarding geocaching. Hope you're enjoying this installment so far.

 

[Hypermommy]

The rest of pirate night will be posted tomorrow and dh is going to reply regarding geocaching. Hope you're enjoying this installment so far.

Very much so enjoying it! As you'll soon see from our trippie, we ended up not doing pirate night in the dining room so it's neat to see what they did in there. Your daughters are sooooooo cute!!!! I love their little pirate costumes.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

YEAH!

Thanks for TWO INSTALLMENT! That was awesome to wake up to this morning...

 

[Geodoc]

The question is, did you geocache on Castaway Cay? There's a few "urban" caches there that are tricky, and one that has a really great walk.

The coolest thing about geocaching on a cruise is that you have your GPS on the boat. When you're think you're in the middle of the ocean and realize where you really are, it's very interesting.

Hey Mozart, I'm Puplepegs Dh!!! You bet I cached on Castaway Cay, and was able to find all three of the hides. You are right about the great walk. I agree with you as well that having the GPSr on the ship was fun. Dd7 and I went topside at least twice a day to get a position , heading and speed fix for the ship. It was very cool to see where we were on the map real time and to see how far away from home we really were.


Now for you uninitiated out there who wants to know more about Geocaching????
The simple answer is that it is a game "that lets you use MultiBillion Dollar US Government Satellites to find Tupperware in the woods" I will explain more if you ask!!!

 

[CRUIZEN MAMMA]

On our first Disney cruise last Nov, DH brought his GPS and I thought he was nuts. I'm sure he'd love geocatching? please tell us more- we are going on an Eastern in June of 09.

 

[Mastiff]

Purplepeg,

Thanks for posting the picture. That was great.

Love your trip report. You have beautiful kids! Your pictures are so nice too.

Can't wait until our cruise. This will be the first cruise ever for us and I am getting more excited reading your trip report. We will be on the May 2009 cruise.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Geodoc]

On our first Disney cruise last Nov, DH brought his GPS and I thought he was nuts. I'm sure he'd love geocatching? please tell us more- we are going on an Eastern in June of 09.

Thanks CRUIZEN MAMMA!! I was hoping someone would ask!!

So here is what geocaching is all about. Back in 2000 the US government allowed the Military GPS system to be accessible to everyone. Thus an idea was born. What would happen if someone placed a container or cache of stuff somewhere out there and then publish the coordinates on the Internet? Would anyone go looking for it? Well the answer is yes and a game called geocaching was born. At the present time a website called Geocaching.com is the primary site most of us use, and as of now there are over 560,000 geocaches hidden worldwide.
Here are the rules of the game. A cache owner hides a cache anywhere that is accessible on public property, The cache can be any size ranging from an ammo can, or Tupperware container all the way down to something as small as a thimble size tube. All caches must have a logbook in it for the finder to sign. The larger caches also hold room for trading items. The basic rule is if you take something from a cache then you leave something behind. The owner then publicizes the cache on the website with the coordinates of latitude and longitude derived from their GPS.
As a player, the website allows me to identify caches close to where I live or close to where I might be and I can then download the coordinates into my GPS to go “hunt for it”. Now here is where the fun starts, the GPS receivers we all use are very accurate but not perfect. So it is likely you will get within 10 to 15 feet of the hiding spot and then the rest is up to you to go find it!! Now the cool thing is that caches are often hidden in plain site in very clever ways!! Once I find the cache, I sign the logbook, and then I go back to the website and log my visit there and leave comments for the owner. The website will keep track of each find you make.
Now Dd7 and I have only been geocaching since August 2007, and we thought the cruise would be a fantastic way to do this. On our Western Itinerary there were caches to find at each port of call. Usually within a short walk of the pier or tender dock. Of course if you want to be adventerous you can rent a vehicle and go find caches anywhere on the island or mainland! The cool thing I thought about this was that we were able to log finds in 4 countries in one week.
Castaway Cay has three caches hidden on it and they all can be found fairly easily with a bit of walking. It took me one hour to find them. Now as for the Disney Parks caches are not permitted on the property but an old type of cache called a virtual cache can be found at all the parks in Walt Disney World. In this case the cache owner usually asks you to go to certain spot and answer a question that could only be answered if you were physically at the location. You then need to email the owner back with the answer, to claim credit for the find. This type of cache is no longer permitted but Geocaching.com has allowed existing virtual caches to be grandfathered and maintained for now. So in August when we go back to WDW, I will be taking the GPS with me to geocache!!!
I hope that helps explain a cool hobby that essentially is a high tech treasure hunt!!! (There is also a part of the geocaching game that allows you to send an item out in the world and track where it goes, let me know if you want to hear more about this!!!)

Now back to Purplepeg’s trip report!!!!!

 

[castlegazer]

Thanks for that! I have a lot of friends who are very big into this right now.

But I was under the impression that the coordinates are not exactly given and hints are then given to get you to the actual cache? Am I right or misunderstanding another aspect of the game?