Trip Report Surviving the Fantasy - Making the most of moments before they're gone...

Maybe other parents of teenagers can relate to yet another "season" of parenthood when your teenagers are busy people and time with them becomes less and less. You realize that the time you thought you had to do all those little things you put off when your kiddos were younger is growing ever-so short. Why does time speed up?! Ugh!

This trip was a journey of adversity before we ever left home. So many little things popped up that potentially jeopardized the whole trip beginning months prior. Even when intuition kept poking me and trying to tell me this trip isn't the thing to do, the petulant child in me refused to give in or give up. We went, by God, in the face of all the adversity that life could throw us we went. After all, time stops for no one. My boys and my brother's girls aren't getting younger and their individual lives aren't getting simpler. My favorite "big guys" in the whole world, my husband and big brother, aren't growing younger any faster than I am. Dues had to be paid, I suppose, for my stubborn nature and pay them I did. Looking back I have no regrets. I made it through with warm memories and fantastical stories to tell of our amazing adventure. Oh yes. We survived the Fantasy. No, we kicked the Fantasy's butt because we didn't let it kick ours. We went to places I never imagined I'd go and we did things I never thought I'd say I did. We did it all together as a family, a big, crazy family out to make the most of the moments we have before they're all gone.



Who?
-Me, the SweetPee
-Tracey, the devoted/entertaining husband
-Chandler, my 17 yro son
-Brian, my 15 yro son
-Jerry, my older brother (@obrienIII)
-Sydney, my 16 yro niece
-Sarah, my 14 yro niece

What?
-Family vacation, baby!

Where?
-2 nights @ Pop Century
-7 night Disney Fantasy Western Cruise (Grand Cayman, Costa Maya, Cozumel, & Castaway Cay)

When?
-May 23, 2013 - June 1, 2013



So come along with me for a wild ride of highs & lows, teenager-filled fun, amazing activities, and wild rides. You won't be disappointed!

But first....@obrienIII....I have a question: Exactly what would you do if I posted some of those forbidden pictures in my report? I would like to calculate my options.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Best .... TR .... Eva'!!!!!!!!!! Kelly, I've said this before, but I have to say, the memories you and Tracey are making for the boys is OUTSTANDING!!! Kudos girl!!!!!!! You are ALOT braver than I am, that's for dang sure (my mind goes back to a previous TR of a seaplane, in the air, door open LOL) You do realize, every time you ever hear anyone say "You Promised", you'll think of this past cruise!! LOL

Awwww...thanks Deb! When I get to talking about all this stuff to my mom she oftentimes tears up and says much the same thing. "Look at all the incredible experiences you guys are giving your boys! They're seeing and doing things a lot of people only dream of! They're so blessed!" I used to read stories about people going off on wild adventures in far away lands and daydream about it. I think I always knew my gypsy-wanderlust would go somewhere someday. I almost think maybe this is the the baby steps to where I have yet to go. Don't be surprised if I end up on in a remote village somewhere chasing my own paradise someday. It's entirely possible.

Yeah, "You promised". That might get the now-standard response of: bite me, dude. LOL!

Wowsa! I've always been intrigued by the xrail excursions, and thought "hey, that looks fun!" Ummmm, no thank you. The only things I would have enjoyed would have been the snake and alligator. I've got plenty of those here in Florida, thankyouverymuch.

Like stated previously, at least you have a story to tell!

Hope your evening was more relaxing and enjoyable!

Right up to the end of the cenote swim was amazing. After that I could've been done with it. I wonder if you asked to customize the tour they would deviate from the standard itinerary. I'm quite sure they would. It would shorten the entire thing a good deal AND would eliminate the harshest of terrain where the xrails seemed to take the worst beating. Definitely worth asking. All they can say is "no", right?

When it was over we were beat. Literally. But, just as stated, we have one helluva story to tell!

It's Pirate Night! Arrrrrr!!!!!!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The guys didn't nap as long as I did, I guess. There's pics of Cozumel from the verandah both from my camera and Jerry's. LOL! Here's a few of the view:






Pretty sure these are the ferries that go across to Playa Del Carmen. We had considered activities over on the mainland but the transit times involved with the ferries then buses put us off.





And, this must be us pulling away from the Punta Langosta pier. There's multiple cruise ship piers in Cozumel.





Tracey & Chandler said they heard a couple names called several times but never saw anyone else get on the ship. I guess 2 people got left behind. Yikes!

After I woke up I got myself dressed for dinner. Nothing too special. It's Pirate Night!

I took a few pics of the views I saw after I was dressed.





We fixed a drinky-drink in our tumblers, walked around, and relaxed. Here's a pic from up on-deck near the drink stations.




The sunset was really pretty.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

See? Nothing too dressy tonight. Pirate Night is veeeery laid-back!




Dinner tonight was in Enchanted Garden down on deck 2, midship. Here's a beautiful tapestry that's showcased outside the restaurant.




Brian, are ya feelin' your inner pirate???




Jerry had this appetizer. I don't even know what it is.




I had the pot stickers and the pineapple appetizers. I always order these 2 things then remember why. I always forget that the pot stickers aren't that good but the pineapple is. LOL!





Of course Malwyn knew the drill and ordered the French onion soup for the family last night. When it's not something that's due to be prepared the next night the waiters have to order these items the night before to be specially prepared. We didn't even have to ask. Malwyn just did this for us!







I think this is the short rib entre.




Why so glum? Is it time for another dose of medicine?




Jerry took some pics!





The Shutters photogs were making the rounds tonight. This is the one we bought:

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Ferdi entertained us with a trick! This is 2 forks balanced on top of a wine bottle using 2 toothpicks. Pretty cool!




But that's not difficult enough! How about FOUR forks balanced on a wine bottle using THREE toothpicks???




One side of the outside deck on deck 4 was closed after dinner.




We thought about doing the Midship Detective Agency tonight. The Muppets have been calling my name!




Hey look! It's Uncle Walt!




But, alas, Tracey & I were beat. We opted for bed and an on-demand movie instead. We watched "Escape From Planet Earth" with Dwayne Johnson in it. We were asleep early. And, dangit! I missed seeing the Pirate Buffet AGAIN! One of these cruises.... LOL!




While Tracey and I were snoozing away like the old fuddy-duddies that we are, the rest of the fam was out and about. Jerry, Chandler, & Sydney went up on-deck to see the fireworks. They're in the swing of things doing pics while waiting!





Sydney told me about this! She was somewhere, maybe up-top waiting, and had to go potty. She sat down to do her thing and spotted a cool Mickey right in front of her!




Not sure what time everyone else crashed tonight. Sarah had long-since made a couple friends she was always off hanging out with. I know Brian came in around 3 or so.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 30 - Takin' it easy at sea.




Today is an at-sea day. We needed to take it easy after 3 days of adventure! Still, I was up at 7:30 and Tracey rushed me to throw on some clothes so we could get up to Cabanas before the herds descended on the troughs. LOL! After breakfast I could shower and dress for the day. We mixed up some drinky-drinks, started some laundry, did some wandering, and hit up the shops again. The Contac we got yesterday at Mega was different from the non-drowsy Contac we'd been buying at Whitecaps. The Mexican Contac knocked me out completely. That became my nightime meds! WooHOO!

A couple wandering pics. Aqua Lab.




Neeeever too many funnel pics!




Took this pic as we passed by the Mickey pool on deck. Look at how cloudy that water is. You couldn't PAY me to get in that!




Jerry & Sydney joined us for Royal Court lunch. Wow. That's attractive, dear.




Lunch was kinda a bust. I was hoping to find my favorite panini. No such luck. Dang.


Next, Chandler joined us for a Muppets Midship Detective Agency Case. I tried to do a mirror shot in the elevator. WTH does Chandler think will happen in here????




We had to visit Pepe's stateroom for a clue. I love it.




Detective-ing.




In case you wondered, here's a couple videos of us getting our clues. It's really neat. You stand on the marker on the ground then use your card as your "controller".






We solved our case then decided to do a round of Goofy Golf. Jerry, Sydney, Tracey, and Chandler played. I kept score and took pics. Kids & adults have their choice of "tees" by choosing whose footprints to stand on. You can either use Goofy's tees (adults) or Max's tees (kids). I love love looooove the theming of each hole! The entire course is definitely a throwback to the old Goofy How-To sports series.

Hole 1. I spy with my little eye....a Hidden Mickey!






The wind adds an element of difficulty.





Hole 2.






Hole 3.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Hole 4. Those Goofy tees are getting a little more challenging!







Hole 5.






Hole 6. Bonus travelin' toes pics for Tammy!






Hole 7.







Hole 8. The guys said Sydney had an unfair advantage because the foot placement is one of the ballet forms. Jerry figured out how to do it, though! I like the coffee...

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sydney and I got some coffees at the Cove Cafe. It was a relaxing afternoon.




We hit the matinee show of 'Disney's Believe' at 3:00. We sat in the 2nd row.






Jerry fell asleep during the show and was snoring loudly. We woke him up when the people in front of him started turning around to look. LOL! Sydney gave her dad a hard time for sleeping through it. The story has some sentimental moments that she ribbed her dad about missing the opportunity to share with her. Hahaha!!! I have photographic proof. This was before the show even started:




The Princess & the Frog number in this show is still my favorite. Makes me want to get up and dance thru the aisles right with the performers!

In our wanderings today we went up to the Outlook Lounge, deck 14 midship, to check out the views. It's the highest point you can go on the ship.





There had been something going on here before we arrived because there was a beverage service still set up. Some of the others helped themselves to some juice. Sydney liked this little seating alcove.




The Outlook is supposed to be a piano bar at nightime but we've never been up here at night to see if it's open. They have wedding ceremonies and receptions here. Jerry spotted the piano and uncovered it. I was trying to get him to not touch stuff. Then he lifted the cover off the keys and I was like, "I don't think you should be doing that." Then he started clinking the keys probably to freak me out.




It worked. I said, "That's it. I'm out." and zipped out the door before anyone came in to execute us for touching things. LOL!

 

[iloverags2]

Oh my...yes, the pineapple appetizer on the Pirates menu is my favorite! They should have it every night. Did you check out Pepe's door at least (it's part of Midship, but you can spot the door still if you know where it is)? I love it!!!

I love the Outlook Lounge...very cool. But yeah, it does seem kind of eerily quiet when nothing is happening there. And like Jerry, I was so tempted to plunk on the piano keys!

 

[Tiggerish]

LOL'd at your first "Bite me" (pages ago, I know). hahahahahahahaha

Now, I have to get some work done today!! This TR has been heck on my productivity these last two days. TGIF!

 

[joanna71985]

The excursions looked like a lot of fun! If I ever do a Western, I'll have to look into them

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Oh my...yes, the pineapple appetizer on the Pirates menu is my favorite! They should have it every night. Did you check out Pepe's door at least (it's part of Midship, but you can spot the door still if you know where it is)? I love it!!!

I love the Outlook Lounge...very cool. But yeah, it does seem kind of eerily quiet when nothing is happening there. And like Jerry, I was so tempted to plunk on the piano keys!

I love that pineapple appetizer, too. My brain is always fogged in the pressure of the moment when ordering because anywhere else in on earth I can't go wrong with pot stickers. The result is ordering both, taking a bite of a pot sticker first (because ever since childhood I've habitually done as my mother told me and saved the best for last), then having the "ah-hah" moment when I remember the pot stickers aren't very good but the pineapple IS. It's like this little scene that replays every. single. pirate night! LOL!

We did see Pepe's door! In fact, we first saw it on embarkation day when we were on deck 5 near the kids clubs.

Have you ever seen the Outlook Lounge functioning as a piano lounge at night?

LOL'd at your first "Bite me" (pages ago, I know). hahahahahahahaha

Now, I have to get some work done today!! This TR has been heck on my productivity these last two days. TGIF!

TGIF is right! Well, except Tracey is working all weekend. It makes what should be the weekend feel like any other day for me.

The excursions looked like a lot of fun! If I ever do a Western, I'll have to look into them

We rocked us some excursions, that's for sure!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Tonight was the Captain's Gala night or commonly referred to as "semi-formal night". I'm kinda over this whole notion of dressing up but whatever. We all dressed early-ish for dinner and headed down for some pics. While we waited for Jerry & the girls to emerge we realized outside our doors was a very fitting sign.




Fitting because that's the first initial for Jerry & the girls' last name.

We passed by the vacuum sitting out in the hall all week and finally got Chandler to stand near it for a picture. When he was a little guy he had this odd fixation on vacuum cleaners. Many children at Walmart would be bribed to behave with the promises of a visit to the toy aisle. My son was bribed to behave with a visit to the vacuum aisle. When you got there he'd point to each model, say the brand name, get all excited over the ones he liked best, etc. Jerry has some awesome video of Chandler on Christmas morning when he was 4. He got a toy Hoover! LOL!




Kelly's not-so-comfy toes goes in the elevator to the Captain's Gala!




The girls got in line to meet one of the princesses, I think. I sat down nearby to take a load off my cute but painful shoes. I held Sarah's wristlet for her. I liked her button!




We spotted in the Navigator that Mickey was going to be meeting guests on the deck 4 atrium overlook. The line was already forming for that. We headed up to jump in, too. My toesies were killin' me so the guys offered to stand in the line while the kids and I sat down nearby.

People-watchin', I'm sure.




Looking at pictures.




As we sat waiting, I was watching the little family outside the windows opposite me out on deck. The father had clamped a mini-tripod to a deck chair angled out towards the rail. His young daughters stood fidgeting about with their feet glued to a very certain spot where the camera was pointed. The man kept looking into the viewfinder then messing with the settings. He did this many, many times. I watched quietly as I assumed he was lining up a family shot. The rest of his family appeared and they all arranged themselves. You can see them here.




Sarah caught onto me watching that cute little family and wondered what they were doing. I told her I thought the "dad" was setting a timer on his camera so he could run over to the rail by his family and have family pictures that he took. I told her to watch because I was predicting he'd push a button then hurry over to pose with the family and they'd all smile for the camera. We watched patiently. Then it happened. Poor guy's efforts almost got bombed by an unsuspecting passer-by!




I bet the family's pictures turned out beautiful. They took a bunch! Probably better than what we were going to get, that's for sure! LOL!

While we continued to wait, Jerry got a plate of hors d'oevres from the Vista Cafe. They're free.




Then we finally got to meet Captain Mickey!




Since we bought the picture with just Brian from Pirate Night we thought we'd buy the picture with just Chandler from our Captain Mickey meet.




Dinner tonight was at Enchanted Garden again. I guess whatever I had didn't really impress me much. I only wrote that my dinner was okay. Chandler only had 2 lobster tails this time. He said the 2nd one didn't taste right which put him off to eating any more. We enjoyed Ferdi's magic tricks and brain teasers tonight. Malwyn, as always, was a welcome addition to the family.

Here's a pic of Chandler, Ferdi, Sydney, and Malwyn.




After dinner we detoured out to deck 4 so I could get out of my evil shoes. They hurt! My feet were really swollen which is a common cruising phenomenon. Normally these shoes don't give me much trouble. Then again, I never wear them for more than a few minutes to try them with a new dress at home. LOL! Swollen tootsies!




We were pretty tired after dinner again. We stuffed all our gratuity envelopes tonight and put them aside until tomorrow night. We also detoured down to Guest Services to sign paperwork so the kids could all come and go from the ship tomorrow at Castaway Cay without an adult.

Had to send a shoutout to Tammy's Travelin' Toes blog! I call this: "Kelly's toes enjoy bridge reports and crispy treats!"




We got in bed at a decent time but it wasn't to be a restful night. Chandler was up around 2:30 with a bad upset stomach. Tracey's started up at near the same time. We only have just the 1 bathroom this cruise so Tracey would dash off to the nearest public facilities. Needless to say, having the 2 of them fall ill so quickly was like the icing on the cake for this trip. What else can mess things up?!?! Obviously they got very little rest. With them up & down and worrying even more I wasn't able to sleep much either. I laid there for hours thinking up crazy dooms-day titles for my trip report. Funny when I think back on it now but at the time I was so discouraged with everything. Why this trip?! Then again, which trip exactly would be the right one to have all these health issues all at once? Right?

 

[joanna71985]

Wow. I feel so bad that everyone was getting sick at the same time. It's never fun to be sick. But I can't imagine being sick on vacation (especially on a cruise)

 

[sweetpee_1993]

May 31 - Cast away from Castaway Cay




First line in my notebook from today: "Well, last night sucked." Um, yeah.

Tracey & I decided just before dawn that we'd let everyone else get off the ship in the morning and try to catch up with them later. With Tracey & Chandler still running to the restrooms there was no possible way they could even consider leaving the ship until their stomachs eased up. They were both in quite a bit of pain, too, with stomach cramps. Me? Eh. I think I was in the process of giving up on this vacation. It was really sad.

Poor Jerry woke us up as we approached Castaway Cay so excited. This was the port they'd most been looking forward to. It broke my heart to tell him we couldn't join them. Then we looked outside. I guess I shouldn't have asked what else could possibly happen to kill this most anticipated day.






Well, that's not too promising. Neither is this.





It's like the black cloud is hanging directly over the island.




Still, we docked without any problems at all.






We showed Jerry where to go on the little Castaway Cay map. He took the girls and they set out to go check out the island for themselves. We stayed in bed snoozing on & off all morning. We didn't get dressed until about noon.




I'm not exactly sure what time of day I took these. I might have gotten up & took them then returned to bed.






I wonder what all that construction is out there. That used to be a little lagoon of sorts that connected to the sea. Weird.

Here comes more rain.




And rain it did. Then the wind started up.




We went up to Cabanas to look for food. We weren't sure if it'd be open. Normally we aren't on the ship to know who is serving for lunch. Cabanas was open, though. With the bad weather it seemed most passengers were also onboard the ship. We had something light.





Tracey & Chandler's stomachs had eased a little but they still were prone to the sudden need to dash to the nearest restroom. Poor guys!

I got another coffee from the Cove Cafe. In fact, I got to use my freebie! WooHOO!




Tracey and I tagged along with Chandler as he did another Midship Detective Agency case. This time it was the case of the stolen puppies. It was fun. The Quicked Ween did it. I paused somewhere along the way to get a little video of an enchanted art piece. They're scattered all over the ship.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I took a bunch of pictures of things that interested me as we traversed the ship.

We passed through the atrium. Never too many.....nevermind.




Here's Chandler doing his detective-ing.




It's a square knot. Get it???




Plugging the New Fantasyland in the art gallery.




Interesting stuff documenting the building of the ship.







At some point we were up on our verandah watching CMs on jet skis having to go out to tow the big water trikes back to shore. The wind was really howling out there.







I remember at some point Tracey being out on the verandah saying, "There's only 3 people snorkeling." I replied, "It's probably Jerry & the girls!" Guess what? To hear Jerry tell it, it probably was! He said they were the only people out when they went. LOL!

Time is a blur this day. I also know at some point in the early afternoon we decided even if it's raining we should step off the gangway onto the island so we can say we did. Right? On the way we stopped at several spots to take pictures of what was NOT the way we normally experience Castaway Cay.

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

Sweetpee, I love your trip report as usual I love how you tell your story, very casual but at the same time it is very detail oriented. I always read them thoroughly because I learn from my past cruise trip that your advice is always spot on.

I hate to sick on my vacation. We had a flu shot 2 months before our vacation just to let it kick in, I think it worked out well.

Anyway, do you and the whole crew miss Disney World at all? I can't imagine going to Orlando without visiting the World. I remember you told me you did not miss Disney World that much anymore, but did you consider at all going to disneyworld when you book your last cruise trip?

 

[sweetpee_1993]

The entrance to Enchanted Garden looked pretty cool with nobody around.





The officer at the gangway looked at us like we were insane when we told him we wanted to step off the ship. Then he laughed, scanned our keys, and motioned us through. The entire space at the gangway was the herds of passengers returning to the ship. We were swimming upstream to get over to the gangway. Once we got to the threshold I looked out and changed my mind. Tracey took the camera and captured these pictures.





That's me on the left side of the gangway. And THAT's it. That's as far as we ventured onto Castaway Cay today.

On the way back up to our stateroom we got a nice pic of Flapper Minnie.




Jerry and the girls returned to the ship around 2:30 or so. Here's their poor map that they took with them.




According to them, they had lunch at Cookies II and snorkeled. These are after they snorkeled. They said the wind was cold.





On the tram coming back.




As the afternoon progressed that wind only got worse and the rain never let up. We definitely don't regret the decision to stay on the ship. The last thing the guys needed was to be out there trying to run to the restrooms cold and wet.

We napped again until around 4:15. Tracey said he felt a little better. We were awake in time to sail away.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Wow. I feel so bad that everyone was getting sick at the same time. It's never fun to be sick. But I can't imagine being sick on vacation (especially on a cruise)

Sick on vacation just stinks. I'm hopeful we've paid our dues now. I keep saying that, I know. I just want to believe so badly that if everyone has to have these things happen we have gotten our obligatory one out of the way.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sweetpee, I love your trip report as usual I love how you tell your story, very casual but at the same time it is very detail oriented. I always read them thoroughly because I learn from my past cruise trip that your advice is always spot on.

I hate to sick on my vacation. We had a flu shot 2 months before our vacation just to let it kick in, I think it worked out well.

Anyway, do you and the whole crew miss Disney World at all? I can't imagine going to Orlando without visiting the World. I remember you told me you did not miss Disney World that much anymore, but did you consider at all going to disneyworld when you book your last cruise trip?

Well thank you!

I've been getting phone calls from Jerry and Tracey saying, "OMG! I can't believe you actually wrote about that!" "Holy cow! You really put that in your report?!" They think I'm going to chase people away. I don't look at it like that. If nobody ever reads this I don't care. I write it for us anyway. I'm not going to edit out who we are. We're juvenile and inappropriate and loving and up for anything life throws our way. Every bit of that should be included!

Do we miss Disney World. This has actually been a recent topic of discussion. We saw one of the specials on tv recently and Tracey seemed almost wistful. I started questioning him more closely to figure out what he most misses because I wanted to surprise him with single-day tickets in September before we go on our anniversary cruise that we're planning. He caught onto why I was questioning him and told me I better not spend on park tickets because he'd much rather stay at our resort (AKV/Kidani) and relax in peace. That says something right there. He summed it up well, though. He misses when the boys were littler and we could go to the parks when they weren't so crazy hectic and do things on the fly without the need to plan and strategize. He misses THOSE times. I can honestly say, as busy as the parks stay now, we don't miss the chaos. We don't miss the necessity of getting up early when we don't want to. We don't miss the urgency to accomplish things when we know we should because the time to do things efficiently during the day will pass. We don't miss all the planning months and months ahead. We do miss our boys being younger children and seeing the joy in their faces and hearing their laughs but those are things we can't get back no matter where we go or what time of day we go there. We didn't consider going into the 4 parks before or after our May cruise even when my brother asked us to do it. We told him to go ahead and go if he wanted to but we will pass. It's all the chaos and herds that make it not worth it to us. It's not worth the price of admission or the effort to set an alarm to have a few hours of bliss early in the day in a park. For now, it doesn't suit us. Maybe someday it will again. I'll never say never. At this point in our lives and our family's journey it feels like distant lands, foreign ports, and the floating Disney resorts that take us there are our parks. Do I or the whole crew miss Disney World? If by Disney World you mean the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom the answer is no. We don't. We still go to the resorts for the convenience (Tracey uses DME for his late arriving flights). We love Typhoon Lagoon. I'll always love Disney as a whole. But, no, I have no desire to go into the 4 parks that I've not been in for almost 2 years now.

 

[ginadee]

And we were together again! Yay! Now we just need Tracey!

Jerry got all checked-in around 6:30 p.m. We got their car unloaded then hopped in our Tahoe to hit up DtD in search of dinner. Chandler wanted to go to Sammy Duval's Curl in search of his Oakley Juliets. Of course they didn't have them. Again, prob'ly for the best. We had daddy-o bringing an extra old pair of Oakleys from home so it's not like he'd have to suffer the whole trip without something to protect his eyes. Sheesh!

We passed by Raglan Road and Sarah wanted a pic with the statue outside. The picture originally was really dark so I had to mess with the editing to get it to show up. Pardon the graininess.




We were super hungry and DtD was ka-raye-zee busy. I had always heard good things about the Wolfgang Puck Xpress. Not wanting to spend a ton of money and wanting to try something we hadn't had before, it was the best fit. I took a pic of the menu so I wouldn't forget what the names of what we ate are:





We sat at one of the big kitchen tables. Again, had to jack with the pic to get it even somewhat visible. Cousins sharing cousin stuff. Like favorite music and smiles!




Brian had the mac-n-cheese. It was super rich. He's a pretty solid mac-n-cheese fan but the richness wore on him pretty quickly. He didn't finish his plate but those of us who have noooo problem with crazy richness helped out with that.




I had the Four Cheese Pesto Flatbread. I asked what all was on it and one of the cheese was goat cheese. I love goat cheese. This was absolutely phenomenal!




I didn't take pics of everyone else's food but I know we all were quite enthralled with our dinner. As we watched dishes coming out of the kitchen we spotted dishes we had passed on that we regretted. I guess we'll have to go back! Solid 12 thumbs-up from the 6 of us!

We shopped at Tren-D and WoD. Tren-D was busy but I didn't fail to find something I liked. I'm not as enthralled with the current Disney Dooney offerings as I am these amazing Harvey's seatbelt bags. I'm sooooo gonna get a bag & wallet! I WILL!




Look up! It's Tren-D awesome sauce!




WoD was a zoo. No pics. Sorry.

I hit up the Pin Trader to catch up with Courtney/@enchanted_belle. I paused for a pic w/the Up! display because I soooo love that movie!




Courtney & I chatted a bit but everyone was grumpy and waiting for me so I didn't spend too much time. It was getting late and we were all quite tired. Quick pic for posterity!




We returned to Pop and sorta bummed around a bit. Before I knew it it was 12:30 a.m. and Tracey arrived. We all crashed at about 1:00 a.m. 4:45 a.m. to 1:00 a.m.??? Now THAT is a long day!

Im planning on hitting Wolfgang as well and mac n cheese was probably my choice. So glad to see the pic and review. Also staying at POP so the pics are great. I'll read on now.