GreenBeetle
09-15-2007, 10:18 PM
Day 3: Castaway Cay
Another early day for me so I could watch the ship pull in to Castaway Cay. The day we’ve all been looking forward to the most. When I arrived up on Deck 10 with camera in hand and looked toward the island I was in awe! I was clicking non-stop for several minutes before I realized the humidity had completely fogged up my lens. So after wiping it off a few times and waiting for it to adjust to the temperature change outside, I was off again like a crazy woman on a mission. The water is so beautiful and the beach looked amazing in its undisturbed state with umbrellas and chairs all lined up and colorful sailboats ready to be rented for the day. Absolutely gorgeous! And then I saw it . . . the thing I couldn’t wait to take pictures of . . . The Flying Dutchman! :skull: I ran back to our stateroom to wake up the troops – no way are they allowed to sleep in today. There’s just too much to see and do! Bathing suits on, all lotioned up and ready to roll, I rushed them through breakfast at Beach Blanket (I know, I’m a horrible mother :thedolls:). After disembarking, my kids were annoyed almost immediately at my stopping to take pictures of everything, so they ran ahead to get chairs on the Family Beach. They obviously didn’t pay attention to my advice about taking the tram, so their old parents passed them along the way to the beach (and I even stopped to mail postcards at the post office). Boy was it hot already! That sun was blazin’! We found a lovely spot under an umbrella with a palm tree nearby. It doesn’t get much better than this! I just kept thinking “I’m never leaving here. Just have someone mail the dog to us, because I’m never leaving this place!” (Incidentally, his name is Disney so he would fit right in.) My daughter and I decided to float the day away in tubes, while my husband and son hit the water with their snorkeling gear from home. I told them both to wear t-shirts under the life vests, but since no one ever listens to Mom, they suffered the consequences of the sun pounding on their backs for several hours. About an hour in to his snorkeling expedition, my son was waving me over to the ropes. I could tell by the look on his face he had found something interesting down there. Do I really want to know what’s lurking below? Don’t tell me, I’m really enjoying my float. He had come face to face with a barracuda! :eek: I know, I know, the sign says: swim at your own risk blah, blah, blah . . . but I didn’t think they meant it literally.;) As they day wore on, more and more snorkelers were discussing their run in with this creature, so it was real alright! OK, it's time to relax on a lounge chair for a while. I was surprised my daughter wasn’t interested in any of the group activities for children since she absolutely loved the Oceaneer Lab. But she was perfectly happy swimming and floating – and of course, posing for the many photographers wading through the water looking for willing models. We were all pretty hungry by early afternoon, so off to Cookie’s BBQ we went. Again, lots of choices and everyone was very happy (and full) afterward. Uh oh, looks like some nasty black clouds heading our way . . . and then the thunder came. Although we never ventured to other areas of the island, we agreed at that point that we had enough of the sun and sand. A lot of other people had the same idea – get to the ship before the storm! We collected our things and ran to the tram stop. The storm didn’t last long, but we were hot, tired and sandy so we really didn’t mind cutting the day a little short. It was a fantastic day at a fabulous place. We were looking forward to Pirates IN the Caribbean later. Our dinner would be at Triton’s again tonight. The pirate menu was scrumptious! Everyone loved their meals. The kids didn’t want to see the show tonight, so they went their way and my husband and I enjoyed The Golden Mickeys by ourselves. Another wonderful show. We all met up to go up to Deck 10 for the Pirate party. And what a party it was! Again, I’m amazed at how Disney can pull off these things on a cruise ship! The buffet after the show looked unbelievable, but no one could fit a bite. It had been a long, wonderful day that I never wanted to end, but we were all exhausted. Off to bed to find a friendly aardvark towel animal waiting for us. Tomorrow rest and relaxation (and lots more photos) at sea all day.
Another early day for me so I could watch the ship pull in to Castaway Cay. The day we’ve all been looking forward to the most. When I arrived up on Deck 10 with camera in hand and looked toward the island I was in awe! I was clicking non-stop for several minutes before I realized the humidity had completely fogged up my lens. So after wiping it off a few times and waiting for it to adjust to the temperature change outside, I was off again like a crazy woman on a mission. The water is so beautiful and the beach looked amazing in its undisturbed state with umbrellas and chairs all lined up and colorful sailboats ready to be rented for the day. Absolutely gorgeous! And then I saw it . . . the thing I couldn’t wait to take pictures of . . . The Flying Dutchman! :skull: I ran back to our stateroom to wake up the troops – no way are they allowed to sleep in today. There’s just too much to see and do! Bathing suits on, all lotioned up and ready to roll, I rushed them through breakfast at Beach Blanket (I know, I’m a horrible mother :thedolls:). After disembarking, my kids were annoyed almost immediately at my stopping to take pictures of everything, so they ran ahead to get chairs on the Family Beach. They obviously didn’t pay attention to my advice about taking the tram, so their old parents passed them along the way to the beach (and I even stopped to mail postcards at the post office). Boy was it hot already! That sun was blazin’! We found a lovely spot under an umbrella with a palm tree nearby. It doesn’t get much better than this! I just kept thinking “I’m never leaving here. Just have someone mail the dog to us, because I’m never leaving this place!” (Incidentally, his name is Disney so he would fit right in.) My daughter and I decided to float the day away in tubes, while my husband and son hit the water with their snorkeling gear from home. I told them both to wear t-shirts under the life vests, but since no one ever listens to Mom, they suffered the consequences of the sun pounding on their backs for several hours. About an hour in to his snorkeling expedition, my son was waving me over to the ropes. I could tell by the look on his face he had found something interesting down there. Do I really want to know what’s lurking below? Don’t tell me, I’m really enjoying my float. He had come face to face with a barracuda! :eek: I know, I know, the sign says: swim at your own risk blah, blah, blah . . . but I didn’t think they meant it literally.;) As they day wore on, more and more snorkelers were discussing their run in with this creature, so it was real alright! OK, it's time to relax on a lounge chair for a while. I was surprised my daughter wasn’t interested in any of the group activities for children since she absolutely loved the Oceaneer Lab. But she was perfectly happy swimming and floating – and of course, posing for the many photographers wading through the water looking for willing models. We were all pretty hungry by early afternoon, so off to Cookie’s BBQ we went. Again, lots of choices and everyone was very happy (and full) afterward. Uh oh, looks like some nasty black clouds heading our way . . . and then the thunder came. Although we never ventured to other areas of the island, we agreed at that point that we had enough of the sun and sand. A lot of other people had the same idea – get to the ship before the storm! We collected our things and ran to the tram stop. The storm didn’t last long, but we were hot, tired and sandy so we really didn’t mind cutting the day a little short. It was a fantastic day at a fabulous place. We were looking forward to Pirates IN the Caribbean later. Our dinner would be at Triton’s again tonight. The pirate menu was scrumptious! Everyone loved their meals. The kids didn’t want to see the show tonight, so they went their way and my husband and I enjoyed The Golden Mickeys by ourselves. Another wonderful show. We all met up to go up to Deck 10 for the Pirate party. And what a party it was! Again, I’m amazed at how Disney can pull off these things on a cruise ship! The buffet after the show looked unbelievable, but no one could fit a bite. It had been a long, wonderful day that I never wanted to end, but we were all exhausted. Off to bed to find a friendly aardvark towel animal waiting for us. Tomorrow rest and relaxation (and lots more photos) at sea all day.