Promises, Promises...I promised Russ that I would get better at the blog...so here goes...
Unfortunately I have a lot of catching up to do...I had a busy summer...lots of traveling...so glad we did it cause who knows if we will ever be able to afford to do it again?!
I really wanted to plan a fun trip with Joey because I didn't want the summer to go by without something memorable and fun. I had quite a few points that I wanted to use and I needed to do it cheap. I was looking at all-inclusives and cruises and found some pretty fabulous deals. Finally after a lot of research I found a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. It was a real deal and seemed like it would be the perfect trip for Joey and me. As I was planning the trip I wondered if I could maybe get a Disneyworld deal also, since we would be in the neighborhood ;-) I searched around and found a deal on that also and got so excited about it that I told my cute sisters about it and coerced them into joining us for that part of the trip.
So....Joey and I did the red-eye to Long Beach and the redder eye to Fort Lauderdale. We got to Ft. Lauderdale too early to go to the ship so we rented a car and had breakfast, napped, and hung out at Borders until it was time.
Our dinner table companions were really fun people and we enjoyed them a LOT. We loved their southern accents and their friendly banter. They were kind and generous to us both. It was my intention to keep in touch with them better than we have.
Joey loved the ship, our room, the staff, and THE POOL!!! He had a really good time swimming and playing in the pool. He made lots of friends and ate well.
Our first stop was in Grand Cayman. We wanted to do one of two excursions but because of poor planning :-( We couldn't do either. We looked in all the little shops and then found a museum. Joey was really interested in that (and it was cool inside) so we spent some time there learning about the history of the place and lots about the people and the island.
In Cozumel we planned an excursion to the ruins at Tulum. Both Joey and I LOVED this place. It honestly was so amazing. It was in such a beautiful setting and so completely fascinating! It is one of my favorite places in the world. We had a really, really fun and interesting tour guide who told us lots about everything. We got to wander around the ruins and explore after he told us about the place and it was such fun.
When we got back to town we had ice cream and watched the people until it was time to meet our group. The bad part was how backed up the shuttle was to get to the ship and about a hundred passengers about missed our ship...oops! Luckily there was lots of us so they didn't leave us! We didn't have time to shower or get cleaned up so Joey and I went to dinner as we arrived and our companions were so charitable and didn't comment on our disheveled appearance or the stench coming from our side of the table ;-)
When we got back to Ft. Lauderdale we had a huge wait at the rental car place but eventually got a car and drove to Kissimmee/Orlando. We found our hotel...hmmm...what to say about that...how about this....I grew up in Utah. I am not use to bugs the size of family pets. I will leave it at that. It was convenient and the price was right. Joey got really good at moving around without having to touch the ground (he was a bit freaked out as well).
When Sue, Diane, Tom and Elijah got there they had booked their rooms through Diane's Marriott points at a lovely resort. They didn't have any large pets in their rooms AND they had an amazing chef in tow! We spent a couple of nights there being pampered and spoiled.
The first morning I had to go to a time-share sales pitch to get our "cheap" Disney tickets. We went to a terrific water park and had a perfectly amazing time. It would sprinkle once in a while but it was just lovely.
One of the highlights of the trip was our day at Discovery Cove. It is an all-inclusive place that is operated by the SeaWorld people. It is an amazing place and I hope I will be able to go again sometime in my life. Diane found out about it when doing her research for the trip and she got our reservations. It was from start to finish a really special experience. The people were so nice and helpful. It was clean and beautiful. They limit the number of people each day so it wasn't overcrowded at all. The food was delicious and snacks abundant. The boys loved it all. They had an aviary where we fed the birds and the birds would come sit on us (and poop in MY hair). They had cold water places and warm water places. It was really a blast. At first, Joey and Elijah weren't too hip on the cold water places even with the wet suits but eventually they were in playing with the Manta rays and loving it. Diane arranged for us to swim with the dolphins and they had a neat program for doing that. I really can't think of a single thing they could do to make their place a better experience. Kudos to Diane for her generosity and her sleuthing skills to find it!!
The next day we did the Magic Kingdom and the last day Joey and I did Epcot and the rest of the group did the Animal Kingdom. Too bad we didn't have a bit more time because there was really SO much to see and do but it was a really, really cool trip!
Unfortunately I have a lot of catching up to do...I had a busy summer...lots of traveling...so glad we did it cause who knows if we will ever be able to afford to do it again?!
I really wanted to plan a fun trip with Joey because I didn't want the summer to go by without something memorable and fun. I had quite a few points that I wanted to use and I needed to do it cheap. I was looking at all-inclusives and cruises and found some pretty fabulous deals. Finally after a lot of research I found a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. It was a real deal and seemed like it would be the perfect trip for Joey and me. As I was planning the trip I wondered if I could maybe get a Disneyworld deal also, since we would be in the neighborhood ;-) I searched around and found a deal on that also and got so excited about it that I told my cute sisters about it and coerced them into joining us for that part of the trip.
So....Joey and I did the red-eye to Long Beach and the redder eye to Fort Lauderdale. We got to Ft. Lauderdale too early to go to the ship so we rented a car and had breakfast, napped, and hung out at Borders until it was time.
Our dinner table companions were really fun people and we enjoyed them a LOT. We loved their southern accents and their friendly banter. They were kind and generous to us both. It was my intention to keep in touch with them better than we have.
Joey loved the ship, our room, the staff, and THE POOL!!! He had a really good time swimming and playing in the pool. He made lots of friends and ate well.
Our first stop was in Grand Cayman. We wanted to do one of two excursions but because of poor planning :-( We couldn't do either. We looked in all the little shops and then found a museum. Joey was really interested in that (and it was cool inside) so we spent some time there learning about the history of the place and lots about the people and the island.
In Cozumel we planned an excursion to the ruins at Tulum. Both Joey and I LOVED this place. It honestly was so amazing. It was in such a beautiful setting and so completely fascinating! It is one of my favorite places in the world. We had a really, really fun and interesting tour guide who told us lots about everything. We got to wander around the ruins and explore after he told us about the place and it was such fun.
When we got back to town we had ice cream and watched the people until it was time to meet our group. The bad part was how backed up the shuttle was to get to the ship and about a hundred passengers about missed our ship...oops! Luckily there was lots of us so they didn't leave us! We didn't have time to shower or get cleaned up so Joey and I went to dinner as we arrived and our companions were so charitable and didn't comment on our disheveled appearance or the stench coming from our side of the table ;-)
When we got back to Ft. Lauderdale we had a huge wait at the rental car place but eventually got a car and drove to Kissimmee/Orlando. We found our hotel...hmmm...what to say about that...how about this....I grew up in Utah. I am not use to bugs the size of family pets. I will leave it at that. It was convenient and the price was right. Joey got really good at moving around without having to touch the ground (he was a bit freaked out as well).
When Sue, Diane, Tom and Elijah got there they had booked their rooms through Diane's Marriott points at a lovely resort. They didn't have any large pets in their rooms AND they had an amazing chef in tow! We spent a couple of nights there being pampered and spoiled.
The first morning I had to go to a time-share sales pitch to get our "cheap" Disney tickets. We went to a terrific water park and had a perfectly amazing time. It would sprinkle once in a while but it was just lovely.
One of the highlights of the trip was our day at Discovery Cove. It is an all-inclusive place that is operated by the SeaWorld people. It is an amazing place and I hope I will be able to go again sometime in my life. Diane found out about it when doing her research for the trip and she got our reservations. It was from start to finish a really special experience. The people were so nice and helpful. It was clean and beautiful. They limit the number of people each day so it wasn't overcrowded at all. The food was delicious and snacks abundant. The boys loved it all. They had an aviary where we fed the birds and the birds would come sit on us (and poop in MY hair). They had cold water places and warm water places. It was really a blast. At first, Joey and Elijah weren't too hip on the cold water places even with the wet suits but eventually they were in playing with the Manta rays and loving it. Diane arranged for us to swim with the dolphins and they had a neat program for doing that. I really can't think of a single thing they could do to make their place a better experience. Kudos to Diane for her generosity and her sleuthing skills to find it!!
The next day we did the Magic Kingdom and the last day Joey and I did Epcot and the rest of the group did the Animal Kingdom. Too bad we didn't have a bit more time because there was really SO much to see and do but it was a really, really cool trip!
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