Although it would be easy to say, “Hey, it’s been a month since you went to Disney. Give it up, woman. You aren’t going to get your blogging done,” I am going to keep pressing on to tell the tale of The Grand Adventure! And this entry, I hope not to be as dull as the last time. But, about that last entry, how exciting can a topiary of Rabbit be?

Like I mentioned in the previous entry, we decided to go to EPCOT for our second day. We boarded our bus…

And headed out to the park. We ate breakfast at EPCOT, some sort of turkey sandwich thing with a side of potatoes. It was pretty good. Then we got into the business of going on the rides. Mom’s favorite ride at EPCOT is Soarin’. When she would speak of this ride, I always thought she was saying “Soren,” and I pictured a fantasy dragon/battle ride.  But, it is actually one of those videos where you feel like you are hang-gliding over California. They even make it smell like oranges when you fly over the orange groves! I was a bit nervous that I’d get queasy (as I often do), but it must have been designed for the motion-sick. I only had to shut my eyes once!

Then we headed to…uh…somewhere else… And we saw ducks! Real Disney ducks!

 I am not at all sure of the order of the day, but here are a few things we saw:

The World of Energy!

I remembered this ride used to smell a lot like peat moss. I was sad it did not anymore.  Now it just smells like Ellen Degeneres and Bill Nye.

The Sea!

These guys were in a display outside The Sea. This guy was inside. 

I was almost inside him. Hee hee.

I sort of forget what we saw in this area except big aquariums and there must have been something we got in little cars and rode around in, but darned if I can remember what it was. Let’s just assume it was fish-related. Here we are sitting outside The Seas. The mosaic tile makes me think of showers which makes me think of water which makes me think of the sea. Wonder if they did that on porpoise?

The Mine, Mine, Mine Seagulls are a favorite of mine, mine, mine.  I wish I could have gotten them on a tote bag. Oh, the sales Disney is missing out on…

We saw Spaceship Earth and went inside it. It was a nice break for Mom, as being Atlas was a tiring job. 

She also got me a Diet Coke and a soft pretzel. Always a good thing to give me fluids, especially in the form of Diet Coke. Keeps me happy!

We found a hat stand and had a great time trying on various hats. The guy who worked there even volunteered to take our pictures. He didn’t even care if we bought a hat.

The one of Mom in the Mad Hatter hat and the two of us as chipmunks are two of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

We also made a stop in one of Mom’s favorite Disney Stores.

I can’t remember the name of the artist, but he sculpts lovely Disney scenes. Mom said over and over, “I am so glad I never started collecting (insert that guys’ name). I would just never stop!” And look how nice the things are! Can you blame her for wanting all ten zillion of his sculptures?

Soon enough, it was time to go back to our room to get ready for our night.

What will the evening bring? Keep reading to find out!

The next day we went to EPCOT. Now, when I think of EPCOT, I think of futuristic stuff like this:

But it turns out that they had hosted the HGTV Flower Show in February or March. We were all excited to go into the big arena to see things. The outside was lined with “flowers.”

And the entry way was pretty neat.

But we were a bit disappointed with the inside. There were some flowers, like these cool poinsettias.

But for the most part, the arena was empty with abandoned booths. One booth–a gift shop, no surprise–was open. And there we saw the perfect accessory for my mom’s garden!

But, what the inside lacked, the rest of the park more than made up for. There were Disney topiaries everywhere!

And in World Showcase (the place where they showcase ten countries and have buildings and shops and displays in the style of that country), they made each country’s flag out of flowers. Do you know which countries these are? (Be glad I didn’t give you France, Italy, or Mexico! Those were a bit trickier with floral colors.)

There was one really cute area (which I think was in EPCOT), a Fairy Flower garden and play area for little kids.  I don’t think this was part of the festival, but it had really neat topiaries of fairies (who were not hairies and were very-ies not scaries). 

I really enjoyed the dozens of little fairy houses that were hidden and scattered. There was even a fairy hot air balloon!

And this entry was fairy dull (ha ha), but it did have a theme and lots of pictures. So maybe that counts for something?

(The Disney photographer made us pose like this!)

I do have to make a confession. We were tired our first day. We were really, really. dizzily and stupidly tired for a lot of our trip. And on our first afternoon, we went back to the room AND NAPPED! Just like old people! But, it turned out to be a good idea, as we were able to keep going until midnight like pale and out of shape Energizer bunnies!

When I posted pictures on Facebook, a friend wondered if someone had come along with us to take all the shots of my mom and me together. We had no qualms about asking random strangers to take a shot every now and again, but there were also photographers stationed at all key photo opportunity spots at the park. You’d hand them your handy photo pass card, smile, and then hand them your own camera and smile again. That’s how we got some of our shots. But some of them came via crafty internet…

For some reason, I would not want to pay $14.95 for two 4 x 6 prints of this picture. Wonder why?

Anyhow, back to the adventure!  I can’t recall the actual schedule of events, so I’ll just pretend that what I write here really happened.  After lunch, we headed to see A Bug’s Life. It’s a 3D movie where they squirt water at you and poke you in the back to simulate a bee sting and all. The glasses were particularly charming.

 Next, we headed over to the Disnified version of Asia. We braved Mount Everest and an encounter with the Yeti.

We didn’t really enjoy our encounter with the Yeti as the roller coaster was a bit jerky and went backwards. Motion-Sickness-Prone me (remember that cruise?) and Ow-My-Neck Mom decided that we should try something else, like the Kalahari River Rapid Ride!   (I think this picture was taken outside the ride, but I can’t remember. Either way, Disney does know how to give you interesting sights while you stand in line!)

The rapids ride declares that you will get wet. You might get SOAKED, but you will get wet. Mom wisely brought ponchos for us to wear (not just for me to use inside a chilly restaurant). Being an experienced Kalaharian, she gave me detailed instructions on how to hold the poncho and fold it around me so I would stay nice and dry. I listened. I wrapped it up just right. The water splashed and doused and made the little girl in our raft cry. I was feeling smug. Then a huge wall of water came tearing over the side of the raft and right down the neck of my poncho. I looked over at Mom who sat there pinching her poncho neck closed as a definite feeling of wetness spread across my bottom.

But, on a 90 degree day, one dries pretty quickly, especially when shopping for cool sandals and getting an awesome Yak and Yeti bag! (What is Yak and Yeti? It’s the name of the store where I bought my sandals, and it’s also the name of a Disney restaurant. But basically, it’s just a lightweight shopping bag o’ happiness.)

Later, we went on the Dinosaur ride. There was such a short wait and we enjoyed it so much that we went on twice. I swore I wouldn’t jump like a fool the second time through, but when that big dinosaur leaped out at me, I just couldn’t help it!   (This is not the scary dinosaur. This one looks rather dead.)

Here’s my favorite Animal Kingdom shirt. I didn’t buy it.

I think the nap happened here, but I’m not 100% sure. However, the next thing recorded by my camera was not Mom stretched out in air conditioning and snoring away. It was The Magic Kingdom!  If you are not familiar with the Empire of Disney, perhaps a lesson is in order. Way back whenever (in the 1960s), Walt Disney built The Magic Kingdom. This is the place with the castle and all the rides that DisneyLand in California has. Twenty or so years later, EPCOT was built. EPCOT stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” and at this park you will see all sorts of rides and displays about the future and our planet and world and that big, silver ball. This is also the location of World Showcase where ten countries are featured with buildings in the architectural style of the country, shops,  and some “tour” rides.  The next to come into being was Animal Kingdom. Not surprisingly, this park features animals and also focuses on Africa and Asia. The fourth park is MGM Hollywood Studios which shows you behind the scene things, is decorated like a Hollywood set, and features the Pixar creations and the Disney movies that aren’t “cartoony.”

The Magic Kingdom at night is very pretty.

The first time I went to Disney (which was only the Magic Kingdom back then), I was seven. I don’t remember much except that I wet myself during the Electric Light Parade. This time, I made sure we did not have a repeat (re-pee?) of that event!  During the parade, I fell in love with my camera. It took pictures in the dark of moving lights! What a wonderful camera! And many times during the trip, I would look down at it and say, “I love you, camera!” See if I am not justified!

The parade was enjoyable, but eating ice cream cones as big as our heads was a nice bonus. (I had a waffle sundae, so mine was even more decadent!)

After the parade, there were fireworks. I know you know what fireworks look like, but here’s a picture anyhow. My favorite firework was the one that was in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head. Did I get a picture of it? No.

After the evening festivities, the park really emptied out. But, since it stayed open until midnight, I thought we should stay as long as we could to take advantage of the fact that there was little to no wait on all of the rides. Space Mountain? No problem. Peter Pan? Hop right on. But, what made me the most excited was Pirates of the Caribbean! If I dream about Disney World (which every now and again, I do), it is always this ride that features in my dreams.

They changed the ride a bit. Yes, you still get in a boat and sail through pirate-infested waters, wind up in the middle of a battle with “cannonballs” splashing in the water around you, and watch Tortuga burning. There is still the omnipresent singing of A Pirate’s Life for Me. But now, Jack Sparrow features in most of the scenes. This picture is of the “wife auction.” During this scene, the pirates start chanting, “We want the redhead!” which proved to be amusing as my hair looked very red in many of the pictures we took during the week. Mom would chant, “We want the redhead!” Okay. Fine. It amused us.

We also went on Prince Charming’s Carousel. It was my first time to go on it, and I do love carousels. Happy me! (Oh, you can see the new sandals I bought at Yak and Yeti!)

But, I soon realized it might be time to head back to the hotel.

Good night, Magic Kingdom. We’ll see you again tomorrow!

Someone keeps nagging me to blog, so I must. 

We slept rather poorly in our hotel, which is a common problem when one is afraid that the wake up call will be missed, the rescheduled flight will be missed, and Disney will never be reached. But, we did wake up to the 4:30 am phone call and alarm and cell phone alarm and made it to the airport in plenty of time.  We got to the airport about 5:30, and both decided that only a McDonald’s egg and sausage biscuit would do. After walking through two concourses, we found the McD’s and had the biscuits. Of course, eating fatty, greasy sausage biscuits at 5:45 am might not have been the best plan…

Finally, FINALLY we were in Florida! We took the Magic Express (okay, it’s just a bus) to our hotel, Disney’s All-Star Music. When we checked in, the worker said, “Oh, I see that you are here to celebrate a birthday. Happy birthday, Debra!” She took out a badge, wrote Mom’s name on it, and gave it to her. So, for the rest of the day, almost every Disney worker we saw said, “Happy birthday!” to her. It was pretty fun, actually.

All-Star Music has several sections. We were in the Broadway section in a building advertising Beauty and the Beast. And if you stood just right, the giant top hat on the side of the building looked like it was made just for a head.

 We put our carry-ons in our room, prayed that our suitcase (delivered via even MORE MAGICAL express) would show up and be delivered to our room while we were out, and headed out to hit the parks.  Guess where we went first?

Clever you. It WAS Animal Kingdom! I had never been there, as the last time I was at Disney was 25 years ago (!!!), and Animal Kingdom did not exist. After all the trouble and delay we had in getting there, we were ready to explore!

We wasted no time hopping on the safari ride. Perhaps you’ve never been on a safari ride? I shall explain. You board a bus and ride around for 20 minutes or so looking at animals while the bus driver/tour guide pretends that you are about to be shot by poachers or fall of a washed-out bridge. Mom and I played along very well, which was appreciated by the bus driver.

I am not sure which animal I enjoyed more, the rhino

or the lion.  They were both so feisty!

I’m just teasing. There were lots and lots of animals up and about.  Like the okapi

And the elephant.

I’d show you more pictures, butt…

 After the tour, we were just climbing the walls to see more animals!

So we headed on the walking tour of the zoo. We found a family reunion! (I won’t mention which family…) 

One adorable thing we saw was a baby gorilla. The worker told us she was a year old. We were all ooh-ing and aah-ing when she started to chase a bunny. Now, this was one mammoth rabbit; it was almost as big as the baby gorilla! Now, before you get all squeamish and say, “Ick! Did she kill it?” remember, gorillas are vegetarians!  She was only playing with her friend. And oddly, the bunny seemed to enjoy it, hiding and waiting for her to come closer before he’d run.  I didn’t get a good shot of her. She was fast and little!

After our time in the wilds of Africa, I needed to be fed. So, we headed to The Rainforest Cafe. It was really neat! The whole ceiling was covered in vines and fake monkeys and snakes. We were seated by a big aquarium, so we had live critters to look at. And it was at this time we decided that we should take a picture of everything we ate on the trip. Prepare to be assaulted (salted? snicker) by many photos of food.

Even though it was 90 degrees outside (literally) and I left halfway through the meal to stand outside in the sun (and did a few jumps up and down to make myself even more warm), I was shiveringly freezing in the restaurant. So, much to my mom’s dismay and feigned embarrassment, I wrapped up in one of the rain ponchos she had packed to protect us during the water rapids ride. I felt better. I looked ridiculous.

We were both very surprised when our waitress asked Mom if she was ready for her FREE birthday sundae! Wow. They brought it out, complete with a song and two spoons. I wasn’t too cold to eat ice cream!

Next up…more of our day!

A few weeks ago, I was on a walk. I do some of my best thinking on walks. And what I was thinking was this: “Hey, it’s my mom’s 60th birthday in April. We should take another mother/daughter trip–someplace NOT involving a ship!” Since her favorite place is Disney World and I have not been there since I was 16, I thought this might be the perfect trip! I pulled out my cell phone.

“Hey, Mom. Do you want to go to Disney for your birthday?”

She laughed. “Yeah, that would be great.”

I went on, “I was thinking we could go the week after your birthday, and we could…”

She interrupted, “Wait, are you serious?”

When she realized I was serious and when both husbands agreed, we booked our hotel, a reservation at her favorite Disney restaurant, and our flights. (This was all done less than four hours after the idea was first proposed!)  We began the countdown to TODAY! The day we leave for Disney!

Our flight was to leave State College at 7:00 with a connection in Philadelphia. Mom arrived at my house at 5:00, and we headed out. We stopped at Subway, planning to enjoy a leisurely meal at the airport. And we did!

(That’s Lindt dark chocolate with Sea Salt, a wonderful dessert for a Chicken Teriaki sub!)

Mom brought some cookies from home. I really, really wanted to eat the raisin-filled cookie, but instead, I decided to pack it, joking all the while that it would be smashed when we got to Disney! (See me holding it?)

Then we noticed that our plane wasn’t in the terminal. Hmmm. It was supposed to leave at 7:00, and it WAS 7:00, and no plane. I spoke to a security guard who checked with the ticket agents who assured us that we would make our connecting flight. Not to worry! (Take note, kids. This is foreshadowing!)  So, we passed the time reading celebrity magazines.

We waited. And waited. And waited. And we found out Catherine Zeta-Jones is younger than Jennifer Aniston. And Janelle the Teen Mom star never got into a fight before where she beat someone up–except with her family!

Our flight FINALLY left, only 45 minutes late! Considering we only had 40 minutes to make our connecting flight, we were not hopeful. But the stewardess (who had the oddest accent I have ever heard, never could place it. African? Asian? She was a blue-eyed blonde.) assured us that we could PROBABLY make our flight! If we hurried, of course. Even though we’d be landing in Terminal F, and our gate was B11. Just run for the shuttle bus!

We landed, and all of the passengers stampeded from the propeller plane. We looked like the Luggage Special Olympics. (I could take the gold in rolling suitcase, laptop in bag banging against my front, camera case banging against my back 2000 yard dash!) We finally got to the shuttle bus with a bunch of other breathless passengers and watched as we drove by our gate.

“There’s our plane!” I said!

“There’s the loading tube being unhooked from our plane,” said my mom.

We were sad. 

When we finally got off the shuttle, we asked the first ticket lady we saw about our flight. “You might be able to make it still if you hurry!”  Now, why we believed this woman when we SAW the loading thingie no longer attached to the plane, I will never know. But we RAN!  And RAN! AND RAN! Finally, we arrived at a very deserted Gate B11. And then we arrived at US Air Customer Service.  They got us the next flight out–Monday at 6:52 am. Sigh. Mom was NOT happy. We still have to pay for our night of hotel at Disney so we don’t lose our reservation, and WHERE is our luggage? 

She looks bemused in this picture because she had amused herself by making a rude hand gesture just before I snapped the picture.

But the airline put us up in a Ramada Inn with shuttle service. No food, no free flight, but at least we have beds!

We are now in our hotel room with free internet and decaf tea. And I have that raisin-filled cookie!  But, we won’t get to Disney until at least noon. Pout.

Hold My Hand

By Charlotte Zolotow

Dark Dark Dark

Black clouds and the wind sighs.

We walk together, you and I,

and it’s gray and black

and the wind sighs.

How cold it is!

Oh, hold my hand.

The wind stops.

Everything is still.

There is only the cold

cold cold cold

Oh, hold my hand.

I look at you

and suddenly the air

is full of snow

The snowflakes cling

like bits of ice

to our mittens.

Look!

The dried grass is tipped with white.

Everything is light and cold.

We walk together 

through the snow.

It’s on your hat.

It’s in your hair.

It’s on your scarf.

Your cheeks are red.

But oh, it’s cold

white and bright and cold.

Oh,  hold my hand!

I live near one of the many state game lands in Pennsylvania. There is one trail in particular I have come to love, a 40 minute walk in the woods. Want to walk with me on a glorious fall day in October?

The sky is a brilliant blue, and the leaves, although not as colorful due to dry conditions, are a stark contrast.

The path seems like a gateway to adventure.

As I walk, my feet scuff through the leaves on the ground. What they lack in color, they more than make up for in shape.  

There aren’t many flowers on my walk, but those that are there are especially admired. Here’s some Lady’s Thumb. If you look at the leaf, there will be a darker green spot, almost as if a lady’s thumb had made a mark there.

When I walk, I can imagine myself thrown back into time. Indians roamed the Pennsylvania woods. Revolutionary War soldiers, settlers, trappers, explorers–they all wandered here. 

And sometimes, I’m not in Pennsylvania at all. It might be Little Red Riding Hood’s woods or one of the many forests that travelers in search of quests traversed. Who will I be today?  And like my fairy tale counterparts, I always want to be kind in case it turns out to be helpful later. I never seem to meet any old women or hungry people, so I just toss half-sprouted acorns from the path into the woods so they might have a chance to grow.

And although I have yet to be rewarded with a dress the color of moonbeams or a wishing bag, sights like these are certainly a reward!

Sometimes I’m amazed that these can be leaves. Are the flowers even this brilliant?

All too soon, my daydreams are halted. I see the end of my trail–the red fencepost that I always touch to mark the halfway point of my journey. Then, I turn around.

Walking back, I notice a pond I’ve never seen before. How could I have missed this on all my jaunts?

The berries are so bright and cheerful, even if they are poisonous!

I hate to end my walk, but two phone calls from lonely Little Miss have me heading home. Good bye until next time!

You know, it’s been strange. Even though I was so glad to be off that cruise ship, all of the dreams I’ve had lately have been about being ON a cruise ship! And never in one of them was I sick.

But, anyhow, back to my real narrative.

Our first night on the ship was lovely. We went to a show at the Palladium Theater, and just like they tell you, the shows on board were excellent! the first night, we saw sort of a kick-off show with a preview of the ship’s singers and dancers who did an amazing job all week. Then, we saw a comedian, Al Romas. Or, maybe that was a different night…Anyhow, he was really funny.

I am not sure how many people the theater held. This is a little over half of the ground level. We sat in the balcony.

Proof that we sat in the balcony, in case you doubted me.

Peep sampled the Bon Voyage!

We went to bed happy and pleased. That night, poor Peep woke up and lay in her bed, feeling wretched. At 5:00, I was awake, too, as I heard some telltale sounds of an unhappy stomach happening in the bathroom. Every hour or less, Peep was back in the bathroom. By the next morning, we took her to the infirmary to get this thing taken care of. They put an IV in her and gave her medicine. She slept there for a few hours. 

At 11:30, we reached our first port, Key West. As the cruise director joked, “You’re going to get on a cruise ship in Florida and sail all night long and get off…in FLORIDA!”  After seeing if Peep would want to come ashore and finding she did not, I headed out for the beach and let her sleep.

This is all she got to see of Key West. That is, if she had actually looked out our porthole window, which I’m not sure she did.

I really did not know what to expect from Key West. It’s not a very big place. It sort of reminded me of a boardwalk which had grown into a town. There were loads of shops and bars and strange “street performers,” like a woman dressed as an angel, a pirate guy, some guy painted gold, two young children playing an electric keyboard and singing, this guy with snakes and lizards, and many more. I think the guy who seemed to have the most business was a fellow with a crudely made cardboard sign which said, “Dirty Joke $1.” I didn’t take any pictures of these folks because I figured I’d have to pay them!

I did take a picture of this sign, though. Peep and I were to go on the “Jimmy Buffett Tour of Key West,” but due to lack of people signing up, they canceled it and refunded our money. Great deal, as Peep was too sick to go!

Later in the day, I sat down on some steps to just enjoy the atmosphere. (Yes, I know, jumping ahead in my narrative, but it fits.) There was a 20 year old guy asking passersby if they could give him two cents.  Most people did not, but some gave him some change. I said, “You know, there was a guy selling dirty jokes for a dollar. Maybe you should sell clean jokes for fifty cents.” He laughed and explained that one must have a permit to be a street performer (or whatever they were called) and that permits were $250 and were only sold one week in the year.  We chatted for a bit, and I got to hear some of his story–left home at 18, roaming around, having fun. Couldn’t get a real job because his social security card was stolen. (Um, yeah.)  It was interesting. I guess he lived by this bar’s maxim:

 

Anyhow, back to my tale of Key West…

Since it was just like a big boardwalk, after buying a few t-shirts, what does one do? I decided what I wanted to do was to find the beach. I found water, but there were always big boulders surrounding it. “This is an ISLAND!” I thought. “Surely there is a beach!”  I asked the t-shirt vendor where the beach was. He showed me on my map of Key West and said it would take about 20 minutes to walk there. Since he was sending me to the opposite side of the island, I assume the island was a mile long. So, I began to walk. And I saw chickens. It turns out there are about 5,000 free-range chickens in Key West. Who would have though it?

Anyhow, I walked and walked and found more boulders and such until I reached the southernmost point of the USA:

Yes, this woman is the southernmost point of the USA. They make her stand there all the time. Ha ha.

Well, when I reached that point, I realized I had somehow missed the beach. I turned around and started walking the other way, through residential parts of Key West. They were pretty, but some were sort of run-down.

I saw what appeared to be another tourist (carrying a Ron Jon Surf Shop bag) and asked if he knew how to get to the beach. Turns out this tree trimmer from Washington had been doing the same wandering beach-hunting trek. We found a taxi driver resting in a chair in front of his house and asked him. “Well, go to the naval base, go past the bunkers…” Boy, that beach was well hidden! Finally, there was the sign. And only $2.50 to walk in. What a non-bargain.

But, I had found the BEACH! I was on the beach! In January! It didn’t matter that much of the shore was composed of this:

There was enough sand to make a castle. (Someone else did it, not I.)
  

And there were palm trees. REAL palm trees!

And a coastline!

And to prove that I was really there…

 

And Peep was there in spirit.

 

All too soon, I had to head back to the ship. But before I did, I thought it would be neat to stop by the Pirate Museum, since Key West is known for pirates and such. It was too late in the day for me to take a tour of the Museum, but I decided to go in the gift shop. It said that the gift shop was for ages 18 and up. “I guess there must be a lot of expensive things in there,” I thought. I went in and saw some lovely pirate costumes and things. And then, as I proceeded through the store, I realized I had wandered into a huge sex shop! I was really embarrassed. Duh. 18 and over. Duh. Oh, those pirates and their booty…

 

Back to the ship on a trolley ride with a wonderful tour guide whose name was… um…something or other. He said he came to Key West on vacation with his wife and decided to move there and drive a trolley. And that is exactly what he did. (He’s the one who informed me about the chickens.)

When I got back to the ship, I discovered that the earlier medicine had not helped poor Peep at all, and she had spend the afternoon being retch-ed over the few sips of ginger ale she had. So, it was back to the infirmary for a shot which did the trick, but knocked her out for the rest of the night. What was this horrible stomach problem? We now think it was the  stomach flu, as it was going around Curwensville (the small town where she lives) before she left.

Anyhow, now you know how I wasted my day in Margaritaville. And I didn’t even lose a shaker of salt.

When one mentions a cruise, many people immediately think of the food. And those people are totally justified. The food on a cruise is top-notch, plentiful, and included with the price of the ticket, so you eat like mad. All the time.

First, I shall tell you about the most boring part–drinks. You could get water, soda, lemonade, coffee, and tea for free, but if you wanted a soda, you had to pay. Peep and I chose to purchase the unlimited soda plan for $34 for the duration of the cruise. No Diet Cokes for a week? I think not.

The first day at lunch, we wanted a refill, and asked one of the waiters for one. (In the causal buffet, the waiters just wandered around.)  But she never returned. So, we asked a different waiter. And then, they all came at once. (Yes, I did drink all of mine!)

But, perhaps I should back up a bit to tell you about the places we ate and how it worked. There were four ways to dine (five, if you count being fed intravenously): The Windjammer (a buffet), The Great Gatsby (sit down dining, more formal), snack bars, and room service.

The Windjammer

The Windjammer is where we ate most of our meals. It was arranged in a semi-circle. You entered to be greeted by a very cheerful waiter. Next, you’d pass the salad bar/fruit. A soup and bread bar was the next. Then, you’d come to the middle section which was where the majority of the food was.  You can see the middle section in the upper right side of this photo. (I won’t make this one a Where’s Waldo find it!)

And here, the middle section is in the middle!

It was usually pretty crowded in the Windjammer and not easy to find a seat. Several times we wound up sitting with other people, which turned out to be fun, too, as we made some friends.  It was fun to sit and look out the window (when we were docked!).

There were all sorts of yummies to be had at the buffet. Here was my breakfast the first day. (I felt very English, even though I passed on the baked beans and they had no cooked mushrooms.)

In the evenings, the buffet and the formal dining room had the same food. It is just that you were elegantly served in one and got to be a hog in the other! The night Peep was sick, I didn’t want to go to the formal dining room myself, so I went buffet. I do not think I had any cause to be disappointed in my grilled-to-order steak.

   

You know, pictures of food aren’t as good as the food itself. Oh, well.

Peep and I had chosen the late dinner seating for the formal dining room, which meant we did not get to sit down until 8:30. We did not last that long. So, we would go to the buffet around 6:30 and have our appetizers–brie cheese and rolls, fruit, and maybe we would try out some of the desserts.

I tried to choose something new each meal since there was such variety. Green tea mousse, lentil salads, cold grilled zucchini–and more! It was neat to be able to try one taste of everything. They had Asian, American, and unknown cuisine. And the desserts…oy. The desserts!!!

The Great Gatsby

The formal dining room was called The Great Gastby. When I put on my formal gown, Peep said, “Oh, you look like something out of The Great Gatsby!” I said, “Ironic that we are dining there.” She had forgotten the name of the dining room! So, I had to pose under the name. (Yes, I look ill. I was ill. That was my queasy night.)

   

We were assigned a table and a seating time, and we had the same waiters every night. The first picture is the “assistant waiter” who got our drinks. It was nice not having to ask for refills all the time. He just showed up with them! He even knew that I had the Diet Coke option and brought me one without my even asking.  The “thumbs up” waiter was our main waiter. He was a bit facetious but was very efficient. The night I was so queasy, he took one look at me and said, “I am bringing you some soup. It will help with your stomach.” You’ve got to like that!

As I mentioned, we were assigned a table. Here is who showed up for our first night. There was a father and son (Bing and Chris) and three brothers (John, Bill, and Mark).

The brothers had optional seating times, so they only joined us the first night. The rest of the time, our table looked like this:

We had another mother/daughter combo with us. The daughter had an 18 year old daughter and 12 year old son and also was a cheerleading coach. It was fun to visit with them.

The Snack Bar

My beloved solarium played host to the snack bar. I already mentioned pizza, burgers, and fries were available. Also, they had a small buffet set up next to it with cookies, blueberry pound cake (which I never did get to eat. Sniff.), some fruit, and more. 

Here I am, enjoying a cookie. HA HA HA!

Room Service

The night poor Peep was so very sick, we ordered room service for her: chicken broth and a banana. We got both of them delivered to the door on separate plates covered with silver servers. I didn’t think to take a picture of it, but you get the idea. It was a banana.

The Midnight Buffet

Okay, so it wasn’t a dining option, and as a matter of fact, I was too full even to eat anything there. But it was pretty neat!  The last night at sea, they set up a buffet on the pool deck (okay, it was at 11:30, not midnight). They had a live band and some people were dancing. Peep and I even went out for the last song. Fun!

All of the decorations were edible. These were just gorgeous! These were fruit and veggies carved into flowers.

I am not sure what this is? A peach?

Soooooo many pretty things! Brought new meaning to “You look good enough to eat!”

And some things were just fun!

 

Butter Dragon anyone?

Ice sculptures aren’t easy to photograph–flash or not? This one was with a flash.

 

You know, eventually I will have to write an entry for when we got OFF the ship!

One of the delights on going on a cruise or a vacation like this is the thrill of being able to say, “Why, yes, we did sit around the pool in January!” And then all those friends buried under snow, winter coats, and high heating bills sigh a little in jealous, which sort of makes the rocking boat worthwhile.  Peep and I did have this bragging right, although, I must say, it was not my sort of swimming weather–mid 70′s The pool was out in the open, and in this shot of the crowd voting on the Best Belly Flop contest, it is to the left. It wasn’t a very large pool.

Here’s another shot of it.

It wasn’t a very large pool, but it wasn’t very crowded. It was surrounded by deck chairs, two hot tubs, and an occasional live Caribbean band!

I had to take advantage of the atmosphere–in my cardigan while shivering. Still. How could I not?

Every afternoon on the pool deck, in addition to the band, they had soft serve ice cream. It was well worth the walk up nine flights of stairs. NINE FLIGHT of STAIRS.

Now, let me give you a bit of direction on Deck 9. If you start at the front of the ship and head to the back, first you will come to the Windjammer, which is where we ate a lot (more on the food later). You would go through some glass doors and be on the outside pool deck. If you would cross the deck and go through another set of glass doors, you’d be in my favorite part of the ship (other than my cozy bed): The Solarium.

It was always neat to walk into this glass-roofed room. (Apparently, the roof can be retracted on hot days. It stayed closed for our cruise!)  There would be the loud, cheerful noises of the pool deck: people talking and laughing and the band playing, then, once the Solarium doors shut, BAM. Silence. Peace. No cold wind. Just warm, soothing happy.

The Solarium had a shallow pool flanked by two hot tubs. Peep and I enjoyed one of them until a rather large fellow got in and accidentally (we hope) bumped Peep and said, “Oh, sorry. Hot tubs are a contact sport.” Since we didn’t quite buy into that creepy philosophy, we got out!

The room was decorated in blue and green tiles and looked like a Roman bath. It had tables flanking the edges which looked out over the ocean. It was filled with all sorts of potted plants.

The Solarium was also one of the few places on the ship where I could get an internet connection. I didn’t tell you about the internet, did I? 55 cents a minute. Yes, a MINUTE! And do you know what is worse? I actually paid for it! (Well, I prepaid for a package and got it for 47 cents a minute.)

Also in the Solarium was a free snack bar which was open all afternoon. Got a craving for pizza (yes, a few times) or a burger or fries or fruit or a cookie (um, yeah!)–the Solarium was the place for you.  It was also a good place to play cards as if we had played by the pool, they would have blown away!

Here is a view of the Solarium at night. Sigh. So pretty.

     
Next time, we’ll talk about food and random bits of sporting fun!