The Last Trip: An (Eastern) Fantasy Food Adventure-Bonus Feature, Pam & Her Mom Pt 2 Sept 17 the end

[Pinkocto]

Yeah, I'm pretty bummed too, but with a verandah cabin, it was pretty expensive. We'll sell off some stuff, get #1 rented and hopefully on the next booking cycle I can book the WBPC for 2019.

If I recall they've been pretty mean and only released until the end of March/early April in the first itinerary releases. I'm only thinking because I was hoping for a TA the last couple years and had to wait ages for them to be released.

It was a small group of friends including Me, Fran, Jenny, Michael, and Jill, plus a few others....I'll tell you more when we meet up.

Can't wait to see you in a couple months and that sounds like an awesome story to look forward to as well.

I don't want to wait three years!

Totally understandable, I'm sorry again that you had to cancel

 

[franandaj]

I wouldn't know what to safely feed them.

I think that they're herbivores, I believe I've seen them eating lettuce before.

I have done that. Actually swam in a tank with some.
But you knew all that.

And that was at Disney. They have a legal staff that doesn't let folks do things that can harm them, usually. And if it harms one person, they fix it so that it won't do it again.

I would. Apparently they're fine if you remove the barbed fins.

Fugu on the other hand...

I was confusing it with Fugu. Not going to try either!

It's a scary place...

The older I get the more I believe that. Have you seen the news that there are more sharks than ever in the Long Beach waters? They're babies so no worries.

I'm sure the cashier was riveted by the tale.

She was just being nice.

No way!!! I haven't seen that in decades!

So envious!

It was part of the LA Conservancy, they show old movies in renovated theaters as a fundraiser. We have two more for the next two Sundays. I also realized that I'd never seen that movie from start to finish (or at least paid attention from start to finish). I kept thinking that sub looks like the thing in our cabinet in the living, oh yeah, it IS the Nautilus!

Let's go!

Let me just run that one by Fran....

Caught up on all your latest from your TR.

The Royal Court restaurant looks very nice and it looks nice when it is empty.

Glad you're caught up! Yes that is my favorite restaurant on the ship, it's so elegant.

Very nice excursion. You got quite a lot of Iguana pictures.

They were my favorite part of the excursion!

The meal at Palo looks great.

It always is!

I did the Remy Palo Remy Palo rotation on a 4 night cruise a few years ago. . It was amazing!

I remember you telling me that. I'm not sure I could take that much rich food! Although I don't have to order the full meal both times. I could order less to ensure I got to the cheese course! We have a little less than a year to figure it out!

 

[franandaj]

If I recall they've been pretty mean and only released until the end of March/early April in the first itinerary releases. I'm only thinking because I was hoping for a TA the last couple years and had to wait ages for them to be released.

No rush on that....we don't have any money right now anyways!

Can't wait to see you in a couple months and that sounds like an awesome story to look forward to as well.

I know! It will be a blast!

Totally understandable, I'm sorry again that you had to cancel

I'm sorry too, but better to have the money we need than squander it. There'll be plenty of time to do that. We just need to make some more quickly! The Red Head sold on eBay today, so that was a nice chunk of cash!

 

[franandaj]

Next update



So it's official, the Panama Canal cruise has been canceled. I think I'm going to try and book the WB when they release the 2019 itineraries. As I think about it that's the better direction as you get an extra hour on four different nights as opposed to the EB where you lose an hour on several nights.

The property deal is back in play. Evidently the same company with the original bid, is just trying to get the property as cheap as possible, but they do really want it. Another buyer placed a higher offer than the reduced offer and the original investor raised their bid to beat the new offer. So we signed and sent in the papers for this offer. It's about a third of the original offer. But the sale needs to close before the existing mortgage expires in September, we're running out of options, so we take what we can get. There's a reason that these types of investments are no longer offered, the investors usually end up getting the shaft. We lucked out and of six of these type of investments half turned out good and half of them moderately or flagrantly tanked.

At least this current offer should cover the remodel of the old house and part of a new car. Supplemented with the sale of some big ticket items on eBay, we may still get that car this year.

Once we get the old place rented that will be a nice infusion of cash coming in regularly. Speaking of the old place, still no new progress, but I can keep hoping! Fran has been having a bit of trouble with her leg for the last week. About five years ago she had some nasty venous ulcers, which required some invasive treatment. She was exhibiting symptoms of a relapse, so she needed to spend a few days resting with her leg above her heart. Hopefully that has passed and we can get the last of it done.

After canceling the cruise I did book a placeholder trip to WDW for 8 nights at SSR. There wasn’t much available and I figured that if I was going use that as a back up plan I better book something now while there is anything left. So now this is the trip that we are hoping for. I really hope that we are done with the old place by the end of the month. We are rapidly approaching the 3 year anniversary of the first night we spent in the house, and we won’t be done by then, but I can hope that we will be before the month is over.

Day 7

Before we get started on the day, let me share the Navigators with you. Today was the much awaited Star Wars Day At Sea.















I woke up around 5AM and tried to go back to sleep but it wasn't working, so I put Monster's Inc back on TV and played Mahjong until it was over. Then I started Monster’s University and decided I could probably fall back asleep. I had planned to get coffee after 7AM and see if I could get a pass for the Rainforest Room today. I did fall asleep for about an hour, and the movie was almost at the end when I woke, so I rewound it and caught up from where I was while I got dressed. I put the movie on pause and went up to the Cove Café. It was a dreary day.



The ship and it's crew had transformed overnight. In the hallway, waiting for the elevator I noticed the music had changed from Caribbean style Disney tunes to Ominous Star Wars themes. The knick knacks on the shelves were all Star Wars and the CMs had different uniforms and nametags.





Even the hot chocolate foam patterns were Star Wars related.



Kids and adults alike were dressed up for Star Was Day at Sea.

I went to the spa, and they didn't have any availability for the Rainforest room today, but did for tomorrow. I told them I'd have to check and see if that would work.

I came back to the room and asked Fran if she wanted to go out and have breakfast. Either way I was going to go sit and eat, if she didn't want to I would bring her back some. She agreed to go, but wanted some more sleep. We had half an hour until it opened at 8:30 so she slept while I updated the TR/journal. Eventually we got ready and went to breakfast at the Enchanted Garden. It was a buffet breakfast but the servers bring your beverages and it's a little more civilised than Cabanas (IMHO).

















We loaded up with lots of meat for me and Mickey waffle for each of us.

I got us a fruit plate to split.





She got a hash brown and a danish for us to split. She got a whole bunch of stuff for her as well.



I went back for another Mickey waffle and a roll so that I could make a Sopracetto sandwich for lunch.



[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

She went back to the room, while I went up to the spa. We worked out our plan for Friday which gave me time in the spa to relax, provided I accomplished a minimum of prep today. I got my day pass and went back to check on Fran, she was sleeping so I went out to the Atrium to see characters walking around. I saw a stormtrooper walking around, Boba Fett, and a whole bunch of guests dressed up.























After strolling around the atrium, I went up on deck just in time for the Empire to board the ship and keep us safe from the Rebels that were supposedly on board.











There were even mini stormtroopers!



So Cute!



Even the bars were decked out in Star Wars gear.



We had a little over an hour until our character meets, so I went back to the room again, and packed up all our formal clothes and other outfits we wouldn’t need for the rest of the cruise. It was two suitcases worth. Then I changed into my clothes for the Meet and Greet and woke up Fran.

 

[jedijill]

I would love Star Wars Day at Sea! That little Stormtrooper was adorable!

Jill in CO

 

[bcwife76]

I loved watching all the littles dressed up on SWday! That mini storm trooper is da bomb! Don't think I ever a kid on our cruise dressed up as a Storm Trooper.

 

[rentayenta]

The mini stormtrooper was so cute! I can't believe they turn the ship Star Wars overnight, amazing!

Glad the property deal is back on but sad you had to cancel your cruise. Like the idea of the back up SSR trip. I like SSR.

We can help with the old place once Fran gets feeling better. Sending some healing vibes.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Sorry you had to cancel your trip, but it does sound like you have other plans that will be fun.

The changes to the ship look like it made for a fun day! How funny to see a Stormtrooper patrolling past lounge chairs! And the little one was adorable!

 

[Pinkocto]

Oh no about Fran's leg. I hope everything is ok.

I'm sorry the deal is so much less than the original offer. Very frustrating I'm sure.

Sold the Redhead?????

How fun to see 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in an old theater. That was a great movie! Nemo was a bit crazy but I was always glad the seal made it!

Star Wars at sea looks amazing! All the little touches are too cool.

 

[dolphingirl47]

You would know more than me!

Yes, I am being paid to know this kind of stuff nowadays.

That's the place in France you visited on one of you last few trips, right?

Yes, this was the place we stayed at for a few days when we did our train trip from Manchester to Barcelona before getting on the Ovation of the Seas.

As soon as I finish replies, I just finished writing it this morning.

I was not being impatient. This was referring to an update on the moving out process which I did find as I was reading through what I had missed.

As I think about it that's the better direction as you get an extra hour on four different nights as opposed to the EB where you lose an hour on several nights.

That is one advantage, but I also think crossing the canal from East to West is nicer.

The property deal is back in play. Evidently the same company with the original bid, is just trying to get the property as cheap as possible, but they do really want it.

I hate when people are playing games like this. I hope that it all goes through this time.

At least this current offer should cover the remodel of the old house and part of a new car. Supplemented with the sale of some big ticket items on eBay, we may still get that car this year.

That is at least something.

Speaking of the old place, still no new progress, but I can keep hoping! Fran has been having a bit of trouble with her leg for the last week. About five years ago she had some nasty venous ulcers, which required some invasive treatment. She was exhibiting symptoms of a relapse, so she needed to spend a few days resting with her leg above her heart. Hopefully that has passed and we can get the last of it done.

I am sorry that Fran has had a tough time.

We are rapidly approaching the 3 year anniversary of the first night we spent in the house, and we won’t be done by then, but I can hope that we will be before the month is over.

I can't believe it has been that long already.

The ship and it's crew had transformed overnight. In the hallway, waiting for the elevator I noticed the music had changed from Caribbean style Disney tunes to Ominous Star Wars themes. The knick knacks on the shelves were all Star Wars and the CMs had different uniforms and nametags.

Wow, they really went all out. I enjoyed all the photos from the festivities.

Corinna

 

[afwdwfan]

The property deal is back in play. Evidently the same company with the original bid, is just trying to get the property as cheap as possible, but they do really want it.

I'm glad you're at least seeing a resolution there. Sorry the original deal didn't pan out, but this sounds like this will at least take care of getting you out of the place and providing some extra liquidity.

The ship and it's crew had transformed overnight. In the hallway, waiting for the elevator I noticed the music had changed from Caribbean style Disney tunes to Ominous Star Wars themes. The knick knacks on the shelves were all Star Wars and the CMs had different uniforms and nametags.

Disney does it right... always. I wouldn't expect anything less of them.

There were even mini stormtroopers!

That's awesome!

 

[pkondz]

I think that they're herbivores, I believe I've seen them eating lettuce before.

Googled.

And that was at Disney. They have a legal staff that doesn't let folks do things that can harm them, usually. And if it harms one person, they fix it so that it won't do it again.

Yup. Still can take a chunk out of you if you're stupid.
But they're pretty well fed... much more than they'd eat in the wild. So their interest in a critter that's about the same size as them is pretty low.

I was confusing it with Fugu. Not going to try either!

"Well, it tastes okay... and can kill you. Want some?"

pass

The older I get the more I believe that. Have you seen the news that there are more sharks than ever in the Long Beach waters? They're babies so no worries.

Have not seen that. But did see a video from coast guard heli advising people to get out.... tons of sharks.

I kept thinking that sub looks like the thing in our cabinet in the living, oh yeah, it IS the Nautilus!

You didn't know?

 

[pkondz]

So it's official, the Panama Canal cruise has been canceled.

Oh, really? Why?
Or did I miss something.

Evidently the same company with the original bid, is just trying to get the property as cheap as possible, but they do really want it. Another buyer placed a higher offer than the reduced offer and the original investor raised their bid to beat the new offer.

Interesting. Almost a mini bidding war.

We lucked out and of six of these type of investments half turned out good and half of them moderately or flagrantly tanked.

I don't like those odds...

Fran has been having a bit of trouble with her leg for the last week.

Sorry to hear that.

She was exhibiting symptoms of a relapse, so she needed to spend a few days resting with her leg above her heart. Hopefully that has passed and we can get the last of it done.

I really hope that we are done with the old place by the end of the month. We are rapidly approaching the 3 year anniversary of the first night we spent in the house, and we won’t be done by then, but I can hope that we will be before the month is over.

Good luck with that Alison. It's been a long haul.

I woke up around 5AM

Of course you did!

It was a dreary day.

Certainly looks it. Did it clear up later?

The ship and it's crew had transformed overnight. In the hallway, waiting for the elevator I noticed the music had changed from Caribbean style Disney tunes to Ominous Star Wars themes. The knick knacks on the shelves were all Star Wars and the CMs had different uniforms and nametags.

That's cool! I didn't know they'd do all that!

Even the hot chocolate foam patterns were Star Wars related

Sorry, I don't know what that pattern is supposed to be?

Kids and adults alike were dressed up for Star Was Day at Sea.

And thanks for all the photos of them. There were lots!

Eventually we got ready and went to breakfast at the Enchanted Garden. It was a buffet breakfast but the servers bring your beverages and it's a little more civilised than Cabanas (IMHO).

I'm drooling looking at all the food porn.

I went back for another Mickey waffle and a roll so that I could make a Sopracetto sandwich for lunch.

This may be a dumb question, but... why?
Aren't the meals free? If so, why take some for a sandwich?
Or is that for a snack in the room?

I saw a stormtrooper walking around, Boba Fett, and a whole bunch of guests dressed up.

Cool!

After strolling around the atrium, I went up on deck just in time for the Empire to board the ship and keep us safe from the Rebels that were supposedly on board.

That must've been fun!

Awwww!!

packed up all our formal clothes and other outfits we wouldn’t need for the rest of the cruise. It was two suitcases worth

You don't fool around, do you! (with clothes, I mean... )

Then I changed into my clothes for the Meet and Greet and woke up Fran.

Can't wait to see!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

So it's official, the Panama Canal cruise has been canceled.

The property deal is back in play. Evidently the same company with the original bid, is just trying to get the property as cheap as possible, but they do really want it.

I hope it goes through this time. All this roller-coastering has to get old.

At least this current offer should cover the remodel of the old house and part of a new car. Supplemented with the sale of some big ticket items on eBay, we may still get that car this year.

That would be pretty sweet!

Fran has been having a bit of trouble with her leg for the last week. About five years ago she had some nasty venous ulcers, which required some invasive treatment. She was exhibiting symptoms of a relapse, so she needed to spend a few days resting with her leg above her heart. Hopefully that has passed and we can get the last of it done.

I hope Fran is ok and feels better soon. I'd hate for this to relapse!

After canceling the cruise I did book a placeholder trip to WDW for 8 nights at SSR. There wasn’t much available and I figured that if I was going use that as a back up plan I better book something now while there is anything left.

Not a bad backup plan.

Even the hot chocolate foam patterns were Star Wars related.

Wow, they really went all out! Kinda cool.

There were even mini stormtroopers!

How cute is that?!

Even the bars were decked out in Star Wars gear.

With lots of new ways to spend your money!

 

[Steppesister]

So it's official, the Panama Canal cruise has been canceled.

oh no! Why?

Once we get the old place rented that will be a nice infusion of cash coming in regularly.

Story of my life the last few months, except we're selling, need to find a whole new property, get is rental ready, AND find new renters- preferably ones that won't trash the place. Gonna be a while before we see a steady cash flow again.

She was exhibiting symptoms of a relapse, so she needed to spend a few days resting with her leg above her heart. Hopefully that has passed and we can get the last of it done.

OH DEAR!!!! Keep it up!!! Don't relent.

So glad it seems to have passed. Those can turn nasty in a flash!

So now this is the trip that we are hoping for.

So the moratorium travel ban has been lifted???

 

[pooh'smate]

I hope Fran feels better. I also hope that you get your trip to WDW.

 

[franandaj]

I would love Star Wars Day at Sea! That little Stormtrooper was adorable!

Jill in CO

I hope that they make our cruise a SWDAS cruise!

I loved watching all the littles dressed up on SWday! That mini storm trooper is da bomb! Don't think I ever a kid on our cruise dressed up as a Storm Trooper.

There were so many tiny Rays I was cracking up. Obviously a new generation. There were many more from The Force Awakens than the earlier movies.

The mini stormtrooper was so cute! I can't believe they turn the ship Star Wars overnight, amazing!

It's amazing how they transform the ship and so much fun!

Glad the property deal is back on but sad you had to cancel your cruise. Like the idea of the back up SSR trip. I like SSR.

Yeah, at least we have something, but it's nowhere near the deal we had in the works a month or so ago.

We can help with the old place once Fran gets feeling better. Sending some healing vibes.

Jeez, louise, I really hope that we are done with it by the time you move here!

Sorry you had to cancel your trip, but it does sound like you have other plans that will be fun.

The changes to the ship look like it made for a fun day! How funny to see a Stormtrooper patrolling past lounge chairs! And the little one was adorable!

Well we still have to get the old place cleaned out. We just moved the date from June to September.

Oh no about Fran's leg. I hope everything is ok.

Well you know the most about her former wound. She doesn't have any open sores, but she was leaking fluid. I have to think that she was eating a really salty diet and it had to find a way out so it came out through her leg. She isn't leaking anymore so that's an improvement.

I'm sorry the deal is so much less than the original offer. Very frustrating I'm sure.

Yes, but then again, I've come to expect it. This is the last of six investments that we've cashed out, and I never have expected any to turn out well since they have been such a somewhat disaster.

Sold the Redhead?????

Well not my Redhead, Fran bought an extra set of the Auctioneer and Redhead back when. I think she will need to lower the price of the Auctioneer as he won't sell as well without the Redhead, but we got them cheap enough that she could offer them lower and still make a profit.

How fun to see 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in an old theater. That was a great movie! Nemo was a bit crazy but I was always glad the seal made it!

Yeah, he was pretty much nuts, the seal was one of the highlights of the movie!

Star Wars at sea looks amazing! All the little touches are too cool.

As I said to Jill, I hope that they make our cruise a SWDAS cruise!

Yes, I am being paid to know this kind of stuff nowadays.

That's why I figured you should know better!

Yes, this was the place we stayed at for a few days when we did our train trip from Manchester to Barcelona before getting on the Ovation of the Seas.

I'm getting all your trips confused at this point, you get to take so many cool and long trips I had forgotten what port you were traveling to n this trip.

I was not being impatient. This was referring to an update on the moving out process which I did find as I was reading through what I had missed.

I didn't think you were, but I was feeling a little overwhelmed at being behind on comments. However, the more Fran needs to rest the more I can keep up on comments and write TR updates!

That is one advantage, but I also think crossing the canal from East to West is nicer.

Huh. Why is that?

I hate when people are playing games like this. I hope that it all goes through this time.

Well all the investors have to agree. The thing is based on the conference calls we've had some of the other people don't realize we're up against a wall. One of the reasons we lost our shirts on one of these investments is that some people thought that they could "save" it and did't take the offer that would have been better than nothing. In the end we got virtually nothing. I just hope the other investors realize we aren't going to get anything better and if they stall too long we stand to lose it all.

That is at least something.

Yeah, see above comment that we hope all the other investors agree.

I am sorry that Fran has had a tough time.

Well hopefully the little thing that was happening to her has passed.

I can't believe it has been that long already.

Three years ago tonight was our first night in this house. Hard to believe!

Wow, they really went all out. I enjoyed all the photos from the festivities.

There are more yet to come!

 

[franandaj]

I'm glad you're at least seeing a resolution there. Sorry the original deal didn't pan out, but this sounds like this will at least take care of getting you out of the place and providing some extra liquidity.

Well the extra liquidity was in the original plan. Unfortunately this one is pretty lean, not sure if there will be any leeway in this one at all.

Disney does it right... always. I wouldn't expect anything less of them.

I didn't know what to expect here, but they totally delivered!

That's awesome!

The guests went above and beyond just like Disney!

Yup. Still can take a chunk out of you if you're stupid.
But they're pretty well fed... much more than they'd eat in the wild. So their interest in a critter that's about the same size as them is pretty low.

That's good to know. I doubt the ones off the shore in Long Beach were as well fed....

"Well, it tastes okay... and can kill you. Want some?"

pass

Yeah, I'm with you there!

Have not seen that. But did see a video from coast guard heli advising people to get out.... tons of sharks.

In LB? Or just on the West Coast evidently they are everywhere this year!

You didn't know?

Well I knew that the figure we had was the Nautilus, but not having seen the movie I didn't realize just how realistic it was and that it looks exactly like the one in the movie. I don't know why I would have doubted it,

Oh, really? Why?
Or did I miss something.

You and Liesa both....OK I tried to be vague and just say we are broke, but we don't actually have an extra $5600 laying around to spend on a cruise. In fact the $1000 we put down as a deposit will help out nicely on the credit card when it is refunded. I had hoped it would show up in time for this month's payment but it will have to be applied to next months since I already paid off the credit card since we were approaching our limit. I mentioned a few months ago that we were considering canceling this cruise and the Houston Band Conference trip due to money, but then word of this winfall of the investment came through. Then it fell through, without the nice chunk of money (which was supposed to be delivered June 9) there is no way we can responsibly commit to a cruise costing that much money.

Interesting. Almost a mini bidding war.

Yeah, the jerks who want the property just want to pay as little as possible for it. Thank goodness someone else was willing to step in an force their bid back up a little bit!

I don't like those odds...

Hence why Fran is kicking herself for not lying to her parents and keeping the property that they traded for these crappy investments.

Sorry to hear that.

Well, it's not that bad. But we're smart enough to know that if we don't nip it in the bud, it could become something. At this point it's more of an annoyance than anything terrible.

Good luck with that Alison. It's been a long haul.

Yeah tonight is our 3 year anniversary in the new house. And still not done moving!

Of course you did!

Certainly looks it. Did it clear up later?

I believe so, did you see the pictures on deck? I think it was sunny.

That's cool! I didn't know they'd do all that!

I knew they would make it cool, but had no idea that all the bars and restaurants would change sightly plus uniforms and such. They really went all out as you will see later.

Sorry, I don't know what that pattern is supposed to be?

It's the Rebel alliance symbol.

And thanks for all the photos of them. There were lots!

There were more, I just didn't get as many good ones as I wanted a lot came out blurry, there were tons of mini Reys running around the ship!

I'm drooling looking at all the food porn.

That breakfast was really a good one!

This may be a dumb question, but... why?
Aren't the meals free? If so, why take some for a sandwich?
Or is that for a snack in the room?

Believe it or not, I can be "picky" about what I eat. Not that I don't like a lot of things, but if I don't feel like eating a burger, there is no way you're going to get me to eat one. Same thing for pizza or whatever, pasta maybe, but there was no "all you can eat pasta bar" in the quick service area. I knew that I would eat a salami sandwich (I became partial to those, butter, fancy salami, french roll) in France way back when we backpacked through there. So I made one and put it in the fridge and it turned out to be a good call. As you'll see in the next update, I didn't like the other things they had available and it would have been a pain to get them to bring me the salami, so good that I already had it!

Plus as you'll see in the next update there was a good reason I didn't want to overeat.

That must've been fun!

I thought it was totally cool, and I was glad I just happened to be up there when it happened!

You don't fool around, do you!

Well you'll have to test that out for yourself.

(with clothes, I mean... )

Oh. Never mind.

Can't wait to see!

Coming up soon!

 

[Steppesister]

You and Liesa both....OK I tried to be vague and just say we are broke, but we don't actually have an extra $5600 laying around to spend on a cruise. In fact the $1000 we put down as a deposit will help out nicely on the credit card when it is refunded. I had hoped it would show up in time for this month's payment but it will have to be applied to next months since I already paid off the credit card since we were approaching our limit. I mentioned a few months ago that we were considering canceling this cruise and the Houston Band Conference trip due to money, but then word of this winfall of the investment came through. Then it fell through, without the nice chunk of money (which was supposed to be delivered June 9) there is no way we can responsibly commit to a cruise costing that much money.

Story of my life right now. I get it!

Hopefully, this is a short season for you and it'll pass so you can get back to doing what you love.