Loyd Have Mercy - Escape from Mos Eisley (to the Death Star) - Stick a fork in me, I think I am done.

[CarolynK]

Tequila is my favorite drink. Maybe it was the tequila, mixed with the Bergamot puree. Compromise.

Agree!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Today was our last cruise day. Also our day to visit Disney's private island, Castaway Cay.

Today's door art was Dumbo! Who you will see again in the next posting, hanging on the hull of the ship.



We were up early and made our trek to Cabana's for the usual oatmeal, hash browns and bacon. Afterwards, we hung out on the verandah snapping photos of the island. Actually, Rob was snapping photos, I think I was in the packing mode at this point. Not too difficult since we carry space bags with us and use them for our dirty clothes. As a bag fills, we squeeze out the air, zip it up and throw it into one of the suit cases. Dirty clothes and dirty smells all contained in the space bags keeping our luggage clean and nice smelling. Once the suitcase is full or at maximum weight, we lock it up and push it to the side. That way, when our final day rolls around, most of our packing is already complete. When we arrive home, we roll the "dirty clothes" suitcase(s) directly into the laundry room and unpack the luggage in that room before storing them away.

Pulling into Castaway Cay (pronounced Key).


Rob has this fascination about dock workers and spends quite a bit of time recording their work. I actually find it pretty interesting myself.





Those ropes must be very heavy.



It was really busy on the dock once we arrived. And to think, the workers go through this same procedure every time a ship comes in or out.



Cast members heading to their stations.



Beautiful Castaway Cay. The view from our verandah.



And a couple of more views from the verandah.



One last view and then off the ship we go.




Next up, Rob got in trouble.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Disney characters were proper "socially distancing" spaced around the walkway to the trams - and beyond. We only took a few photos of the characters since in most cases, there were lots of people standing around them.



One of the dock ramps had no marking about keep out and it appeared Rob could get some good shots of Dumbo from the ramp.



He was correct, he was able to get several good shots.



Until one of the cast members comes running down the plank to tell him he was in a restricted zone. Opps. Someone had taken down the rope that said keep out and it was laying behind a barrel so we did not see it.



At least they did not confiscate his camera for taking restricted photos like they do at concerts. See that gangplank? Do not walk down it.



The weather was great, not too hot. The trees were beautiful.



Along the way, we passed a Castaway Cay map. There is normally one left in your stateroom the night before visiting the island, just in case you want to map out your route and what you want to see on the island ahead of time.



I love the decor and always want to walk slowly along. The beach is definitely not the draw for us.

 

[CarolynK]

I like your re-packing method! (You must have a scale with you?)
Since the last day of any trip means packing (thus taking time away from enjoying the time left!), this sounds like a great plan!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I like your re-packing method! (You must have a scale with you?)
Since the last day of any trip means packing (thus taking time away from enjoying the time left!), this sounds like a great plan!

We do carry a small luggage scale with us. I tend to have a knack at putting the maximum amount of stuff possible in a suitcase and it is easy to go overweight.

Off topic, two days ago it was so hot and sticky in Michigan that we skipped our daily walk. Yesterday, it was so chilly that I wore layers. I prefer the chilly.

Ignore the scraggy hair, I have not had a cut since two months before Covid lockdown. I had an appointment scheduled for the day after we were quarantined so it has not happened.



See my hairband marks? At least it is long enough that I can just keep it pulled back and out of my face.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Goofy has always been our daughter's favorite character so when we saw him we stopped for photos.





Once Goofy saw us, he started hamming it up, just for us.



There are certain items you can buy only on Castaway Cay so if you see something you like, you need to go ahead and buy it. You charge your items to your stateroom key card.




Just in case you need directions, there are signs about.



And cast members who will assist you.




Washrooms for the "Suns" and daughters.



Showers for sandy feet.



Plenty of bars. We tend to visit the one on Serenity Bay, the adult only area. The Heads Up Bar is also a favorite for many.



While Rob was snapping photos around the Heads Up bar, a family approached him about taking their photo. I was laughing later, wondering if they realized that they were asking a real photographer to take their photo. I hope they were pleased with it. And no, he did not send them a bill later.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Our plan today was not to sit on the beach but to take a hike around the walking/bike trail. Along the way, we saw this bird just hanging out and enjoying a lunch of bugs.



Did you see the movie or read the book, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull"? It had a bit of a following in the early 70s. Every time I see a seagull I think of that movie and the beautiful music that accompanied the scenes.



The bike/hiking trail is located between the family area and the adult area. We were not sure if you could "walk" between the two so we took a tram over to the adult area and then walked back to the hiking trail. Apparently, you may walk between the two as we later saw people both walking and running along the route.




A plane that apparently crashed back in days of old - or so the story goes.



Just in case you want to take on a 5K run while on vacation....



Disney has one scheduled for Castaway Cay visitors. You need to register for it prior to leaving the boat. You are given a metal for completing the run.



You may also rent bikes for the entire family but we were not running or biking this day, we were walking and taking photos.



As you roam down the trail, it becomes more shaded.



I thought it was really cool that you could see the ship from various parts of the trail.



There are water stations set up along the way where you can refill your water bottle or used one of the supplied paper cups.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I have been on hold with Home Depot for over an hour so instead of just sitting here being cranky, I will finish up our walk around the trails of Castaway Cay.

I love all the theming found around the island. Such as this vessel which apparently came from a ship wreck.



There were also beautiful flowers found along side of the trails.



And more mileage signs for the runners.




Rob and I walk almost every morning, down our back country roads and have decided that the next time we are on Castaway Cay, we are going to sign up for the 5k, providing they will let us walk it instead of running. My asthma will not let me run, but I can walk for miles as long as there is not too much of an incline.




I am not sure what these are used for, I assume they were also from the "shipwreck". Anchors maybe. Interesting though.


The water barrels did not really hold water. Or fruit....



There is also a tower you can climb and see around the island. Rob went up, then I decided to see if I could follow. I MADE IT TO THE TOP! (Remember my issue with inclines, I went very slowly and would rest to catch my breathe on each level.)




And then we left this trail and moved over to the trail that goes down by the "adult cabanas".

To be continued.

 

[franandaj]

Sorry its taken me so long to join back in over here. I finally figured out why I neglected to click on this link even though I saw that you were updating.

You came back just after we canceled our Mexican Riviera cruise. It wasn't a big deal because all cruises were canceled, but we really canceled it. Not took the credit towards a future cruise like we originally did in February, but took a full refund on everything we paid in full. So reading about a cruise wasn't something I wanted to do.

I'm kind of past those bad feelings. Especially since that credit hit my card in time to reduce our May payment.

So I'm jumping back in a page at a time!

I hate to leave things unfinished and yet, this report has set idle too long. Later, I will make my excuses and tell you what has been happening the last, oh say, eight/nine months of my life but for now, let's get this baby moving. I also will reply to all of you who have hung with me and made comments.

Well I just did the same! Sort of. Its all good, we're happy to catch up at whatever pace you're comfortable.

Today was Jamaica day. I have been fascinated with Jamaica since I was a young adult living in Seattle and would follow (not stalk) Rastafarians down the sidewalk. I loved the way they smelled, a mixture of ganja and patchouli (what can I say, I am a product of the sixties...).

Huh. I have realized that I despise the smell of patchouli!

We ended up with our favorite that we never eat unless we are on a cruise. Disney's chicken tenders are awesome regardless of whether you grab them from the pool deck area or room service.

I'd never have guessed. Chicken tenders are just not very high on my radar.

Once we were all accounted for we followed our guide out to our colorful bus and head to the Good Hope Great House which was about 30-40 minutes from the port.

Thats definitely a colorful bus.

This view is to die for. If I lived here I would probably never want to leave.

If I had a view like that I may not get much done.

This house was built during the Georgian Period characterized by symmetrical proportions, hip roofs (to stand up to hurricanes), sash windows and louvered shutters (to let in the breeze) and shaded verandas. All designed to keep the house and it occupants cool

I remember when we toured a plantation house in Natchez, they mentioned the same thing about the windows and how the house was designed to let the air flow through and keep the house cool.

I loved this tour and the lunch. My complaint, like our previous tour, it felt rushed. I want to come back but not as part of a regular cruise tour group.

I've found that most of the excursions on cruise ships feel rushed.

Here is where Elizabeth is buried. Under the slab next to our tour guide.

That's only a tiny bit creepy.

We were not escorted inside the counting house. I wish we were given a tour but oh well, at least we saw the outside of it.

Those stairs look treacherous.

The food was awesome and (we thought) plentiful. Until one family of five walked through and loaded up everything that was sweet or fried on to their plates, leaving empty platters for the rest of us.

People suck.

I think I was overheard by one of the wait staff because before long this was brought out to me and the others at our table.

Now thats service!

After we returned to the ship, we cleaned up a bit and got ready for a DVC members gathering, this was not the same thing as the promotion to sell DVC but something you had to sign up for in order to attend. We have been on seven cruises and this was the only time I have experienced this. It was fun and promoted as a chance to get to know other DVC members.

I'm Platinum, and I don't think I've ever encountered that!

We ordered in room service and watched the movie Coco.

That sounds like a nice evening.

I was not a fan of the "buffalo" chicken wings but some folks rave about them.

Theyre OK, they come with Ranch instead if blue cheese....

From this page, my favorite is the "All Hands on Deck", we always order this the first day with extra crackers and bring a few ziplock bags to store our leftovers in for later.

Good idea for the extra crackers. We don't have any leftovers when we order that plate.

We also tend to order the fruit bowl at least once during a cruise.

We got it once, but didn't care for it. It was a lot of green and yellow fruits. I like the red, purple and orange ones better.

I am not a desert person so cannot really weigh in on too much here. The Key Lime Pie was ok, I am not sure we have tried the cookies.

The cookies are good! We have also ordered the burger, steak sandwich, and I think Fran got the BLT once while I was at the spa. I've never tried the pizza, and wonder if I ever will.

I believe you can also order the cake of the day, just ask for it. AND you can order MICKEY ICE BARS from room service for no extra charge.

Yes! I was wondering where this was! We always order Mickey Bars from room service and at dinner! I think she also got the cake of the day the time she ordered the BLT and we split it when I got back from the spa.

Back later for pages 6 & 7.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

After we finished walking around the bike/hike trail, we walked a short ways down the "adult cabanas" trail. These babies are expensive and we are not beach folks so we have never felt the need to rent one. They tend to be very popular though and are most of the time reserved by folks who are staying in concierge or are platinum cruisers. Concierge has first dibs on reserving the cabanas followed by platinum castaway cruisers, then gold castaway cruisers, silver castaway cruisers and then finally, "new" cruisers. Once you cruise on a Disney ship, you become a silver castaway member. After you have complete five cruises, you become a gold castaway member and then after you have ten cruises under your belt, you are considered a platinum castaway cruiser. Moving up the ranks affords you the opportunity book cruise events and excursions at an earlier date than other folks, plus a few other perks. Three more cruises and we will finally make it to platinum.






The favorite part of a day at Castaway Cay, is in my opinion, lunch. Here is something I find interesting, without ever discussing it, I always sit facing the beach, even though I cannot see it from the lunch area. And Rob always sits facing the island. Creatures of habit we are.



This is Rob's plate. The only way I can tell is the bbq chips which I do not eat.



Once we were through eating, we did a quick peek at the beach and then headed back to the ship, snapping a few photos on the way. We normally buy our drinks at the Castaway Air Bar in Serenity Bay. We stopped here at the Conched Out bar last cruise and the drink we bought, a Konk Kooler, was smaller than what we normally receive at Serenity Bay, and yet the price was the same. I do not know if prices have gone up or if the bartender made a mistake.

Konk Kooler recipe:
1/2 ounce dark rum
3/4 ounce light rum
1 ounce passion fruit juice
1 ounce pina colada mix
1 ounce orange juice

Pour all into a blender or shaker, turn blender on full speed for a few seconds to mix liquids (or shake like crazy). Pour over crushed ice and enjoy!



Need to run an errand, I will save this for now and come back soon to finish.

Errand finished, I needed to take a book back to the library before they fine me for it being overdue. Our libraries are still closed (Covid) but we can drop off checked out materials and arrange curbside pickup for other "on-hold" items.

Bumbo Limbo is an area where families and others may sit while enjoying their food and beverages from places such as Cookie's BBQ and Cookie's Too BBQ. We sat here with Sarah during our first Castaway Cay visit since she was too young to visit Serenity Bay.


This looks like fun. I am sure if we still had a younger child, they would want to have their hair braided. I believe the braiders come from the nearby islands since I have never seen braiders on the ships. Perhaps someone will jump in and confirm or let us know otherwise.



I popped in Seashore to look about but I am a "material snob" and unless a clothing item is made from natural materials, I will not buy it. Many of the "Disney Environmentally Company" are made from rayon or polyester, neither of which are environmentally friendly....



And here we are back at the family beach. We travel off season so we do not experience the crowds as much as some folks have.



Time to confess, I have a water phobia and cannot swim. Several times, when I was younger, I took swimming lessons, trying to get over my phobia. It has not happened. It does not help that my spine is fused and I cannot turn my neck so I cannot turn my head to the side to grab air. I wish I could swim. I am sure, the right person, could teach me if they are patient and can figure out a way for me to breathe but not have to rotate my head to the side.

I would love to experience this slide....

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Sorry its taken me so long to join back in over here. I finally figured out why I neglected to click on this link even though I saw that you were updating.

You came back just after we canceled our Mexican Riviera cruise. It wasn't a big deal because all cruises were canceled, but we really canceled it. Not took the credit towards a future cruise like we originally did in February, but took a full refund on everything we paid in full. So reading about a cruise wasn't something I wanted to do.

I am almost finished. When Covid hit the fan and our jobs "moved to our home offices", we were swamped. I am amazed at the folks who talk about time on their hands. We have not had any spare time since March.

Someday, we are going to have to hit the same ship at the same time. I am sorry you had to cancel the Mexican Riviera cruise. It looks like a great one to enjoy.

Huh. I have realized that I despise the smell of patchouli!

Hummm, I wonder why you despise patchouli.

If I had a view like that I may not get much done.

Beats my home office view and I kind of like my home office view.

I remember when we toured a plantation house in Natchez, they mentioned the same thing about the windows and how the house was designed to let the air flow through and keep the house cool.

We used to live in Louisiana in a hundred-year old house, the house also was designed to let the air flow through, and the snakes and other critters move about under the house. There was one time that we needed a plumber to come out... and he did not ... so I had to back-shimmy under the house to deal with the problem. The place that needed attending to was at a low space so since I was the smallest, I had to do the deed. Rob held a flash-light at the side of the house and watched me and told me what to do - in addition to watching for any snakes that might be under the house at that moment. I am not a snake fan.....

That's only a tiny bit creepy.

Since we always buy "old, old" houses, people have died in our houses but luckily, as far as I know, none have had a person buried in them.

We got it once, but didn't care for it. It was a lot of green and yellow fruits. I like the red, purple and orange ones better.

I agree with the fruit bowl, it needs more red, purple and orange fruits. I wish we could just order a melon bowl.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Must be time to go home, we are almost out of wine....



Time now to finish up the packing and attach the character tags. As I mentioned before, we carry space bags with us and use them to store our dirty clothes. As the bags fill, we throw them in a suitcase and once the suitcase is full or up to maximum weight, we lock it and set it to the side. When the dreaded day of packing arrives, we tend to make quick work with it, just adding a few last minute items.



Even though I am really ticked at Disney for not providing "paper" shopping bags, I still bought a couple of their reusable ones. They are not recyclable but they are reusable. Just saying....



And not too expensive.



We decided to again skip the main dining room (MDR) and order in room service. Room service has been consistently good, unlike our servers on this cruise. We have been on seven Disney cruises and this is the first time ever that we have had less than great servers.

We shared everything. The burger and fries, very good, hot and juicy.



I got excited with the little "catsup" toppers.



We also shared a plate of chicken tenders, again, hot and tasty. No complaints here.



We also shared a desert, it was good and just enough to finish off the meal.



We prepped our tip envelopes with extra tips for those that deserved extra. For the first time ever, we did not tip our dining room servers/head waiter extra but we did give the recommended amount. We did not actually deliver the tip envelopes to the dining room folks since we skipped the dining room but left our tips with guest services. We did hand our tip envelope to our awesome stateroom cast member.




After dinner, I took a shower and headed out for a bit of last minute shopping.

Love the hidden Mickeys.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

While we were away, a coworker stayed with our pups and she is an avid runner so I wanted to pick up a little thank you gift for her.



I also wanted to buy one of the new spirit shirts they had just started selling. They run large but then I do not like to wear tight clothing. I wish though, that you could buy them with just the front decal and not the writing on the back.






I also bought a couple more of the shopping bags to gift to Disney friends. If Disney would sell these for souvenirs and not as a way of being cheap I would be much happier with purchasing them. Or if they were made out of compostable materials... Whiny me and yet I still bought them...








We also filled out our placeholder cards granting us a 10% discount on a future cruise. At the time of this cruise, you also received an onboard credit on the future cruise as well as the 10% discount.

If you do not cruise within 24 months, the $ is automatically refunded to your credit card or gift card. Something I did not know until recently, you can request that the $250 deposit be put on a Disney Gift Card and not to your credit card. Good to know in case you are like me and use your credit card (so you earn points) to buy Disney Gift Cards (when you find places that they are discounted, like our Meijer grocery stores). We always fill these out and drop them off on our last day since they are good for exactly 24 months and not one day beyond... We always reserve two placeholders which are supposed to be used on the same cruise for two rooms. Most of the time, we have just moved the money from the unused placeholder to the other one but at least we have the option of reserving two rooms if we need an additional room for a friends.






I also snapped a few shots of random things that I found interesting. Like this cup and what was written on its base.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I really like the cups but the plates are pretty cool also.





The next morning we opted out of going to the main dining room and headed to Cabanas to stock up on bacon and other wonderful foods we do not normally eat at home.



I never weigh myself after a cruise until we have been at home for at least a week. Can you see why?



So many wonderful choices!



I am definitely a person who likes bread and include it in almost every breakfast. Most of the time, when at home, that is my breakfast, a piece of toast or bagel or English muffin or....



I am also a big fan of grilled tomatoes for breakfast .... or dinner.



Yum for pancakes and waffles. I especially like the small waffles since they have more crispy areas.



After breakfast, we rolled our carry on bags out of Cabanas and found a place to sit until they called our character for disembarking. We were sad to be leaving but happy that we would soon be seeing our puppies. It was a good cruise. Granted our dining room servers sucked but all in all, it was a wonderful cruise and I am anxiously looking forward to our next one.

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Tis now time to say goodbye. I will end this report with some random photos from around our mini-farm and travels. The smaller shed is the garlic shed. It is where we store and cure the garlic we grow along with other "plant" items and tools. The larger barn is a free hotel to many animals.





The start of this year's garlic harvest.



In the barn live raccoons, possums, birds, wood chucks, mice (yuk) and this year, a mama fox and her four kits.





The kits are almost grown now and should be moving on soon. Although we have enjoyed watching them grow, they tend to leave partially eaten carcasses around the yard.



The wood chucks do not like the foxes. Have you ever seen a wood chuck chase a fox?




In addition to the "wild" critters and Lucy and Ethel (our chickens), we have a couple of dachshunds, Paisley and Pippin. They are supposed to be mixed. We saw the parents, the dad was not full dachshund, but they physically look and act like full-blooded dachshunds. This is not our house but a Home2 Suites in Terre Haute, their first overnight stay in a hotel. Surprisingly, they did fine. We were concerned they would spend the night barking.



We had been looking for a rescue puppy to add to our family when a friend shared the news that someone was looking for parents for "uh-oh" puppies. She posted the below photo on her facebook and we took a drive to bring home one puppy, the piebald in the below photo (the brown and white). But when we arrived, the larger red puppy attached herself to Sarah and the black and tan puppy attached herself to Rob. We ended up bringing home both. Paisley is the red, Pippin is the black and tan. After we adopted Paisley and Pippin, Jody, the original human mom of the puppies decided she could keep the other two and they stayed with her.



It has been a busy time since March 2019! But finally I am at the end of this report. Since March 2020 I have spent the time working from home with my students, sewing masks and planning future trips.



What a year this has been. Thanks for hanging in there as I dealt with life outside of disboards.

Smiles!
Kate

 

[Mich123]

Thanks for a fun review and an awesome armchair cruise for us! It’s terrible that your servers were so bad and that you were stuck with them. We had not so great servers on our first cruise, DH’s only request for cruise #2 was to make sure we didn’t have them again.

Where are you planning to go next? Hope your magical suitcase is ticking away!

 

[CarolynK]

I really enjoyed your report!!

Your dogs are adorable! We have a sweet orange cat.

We used to have the occasional deer in our yard...very rarely we see a fox trotting by...but we do have blue jays, cardinals, robins, woodpeckers, and an occasional starling! As a kid in Chicago, all we ever saw were brown sparrows so I never tire of seeing a colorful bird in my backyard!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

Thanks for a fun review and an awesome armchair cruise for us! It’s terrible that your servers were so bad and that you were stuck with them. We had not so great servers on our first cruise, DH’s only request for cruise #2 was to make sure we didn’t have them again.

Where are you planning to go next? Hope your magical suitcase is ticking away!

Hi Mich123, Is "Mich" short for Michigan? At least having not so great servers made us appreciate the other great servers that we have had on all our other cruises. Our next cruise is scheduled for mid-Dec immediately after the semester ends. I plan to say goodbye to my students one day and hello to DCL the next day. Providing our cruise is not cancelled.... My magical suitcase is definitely ticking!

 

[Magical_Suitcase]

I really enjoyed your report!!

Your dogs are adorable! We have a sweet orange cat.

We used to have the occasional deer in our yard...very rarely we see a fox trotting by...but we do have blue jays, cardinals, robins, woodpeckers, and an occasional starling! As a kid in Chicago, all we ever saw were brown sparrows so I never tire of seeing a colorful bird in my backyard!

Hi Carolyn,
We need a cat, a barn cat to eat all the mice that inhabit our barn and other out buildings. We used to have a "visiting" barn cat but since the foxes have moved in we have not seen the cat. Do you still live in the Chicago area?

We walk almost every morning and are lucky enough to see all types of "critters" on our walks, we have even seen a white hawk during the last couple of weeks. My husband is a photographer and because of the white hawk, has started carrying his camera with him. Like me, he is working from home and is super busy but once he has downloaded his most recent photos, I will share the white hawk... and a few others.

 

[CarolynK]

Hi Carolyn,
We need a cat, a barn cat to eat all the mice that inhabit our barn and other out buildings. We used to have a "visiting" barn cat but since the foxes have moved in we have not seen the cat. Do you still live in the Chicago area?

We walk almost every morning and are lucky enough to see all types of "critters" on our walks, we have even seen a white hawk during the last couple of weeks. My husband is a photographer and because of the white hawk, has started carrying his camera with him. Like me, he is working from home and is super busy but once he has downloaded his most recent photos, I will share the white hawk... and a few others.

We live in a suburb north of Chicago, close enough to Milwaukee's airport that it was our first choice before we started flying American a lot.
We've got lots of mature trees in our neighborhood, so a lot of small wildlife including the ever-annoying chipmunk. Our cat is strictly indoors.