January 2020 – Bless Your Heart

Bachelor Week 4

January 31, 2020January 31, 2020 Shanny

We begin this episode with Chris Harrison (who knew he was still on this show?? He’s NEVER on air!) announcing to the ladies that they were traveling to…..Cleveland! Yayyyyy!!!!! Said no one! Seriously, they all looked at each other like he’d just said, well, Cleveland. I’m sure Cleveland is a great city but these girls were hoping to get their passports stamped! Clearly there are major budget cuts going on at ABC!

Victoria F gets the 1-1 date. Peter flies her to Cedar Point amusement park amid all her protestations of “I’m afraid of heights!” ABC has rented the park out for just the 2 of them. Then P is so excited because he knows VF loves country music and there’s a private concert with Chase Rice. I didn’t know who Chase Rice is before this episode and some Google diving, but apparently, according to VF- he’s her ex-boyfriend! WHOA!!!! And here’s P saying maybe Chase can sing at their wedding! BAHAHAHA!!! After the concert Chase and P are talking and Chase says he’s from Virginia “like Victoria” but P doesn’t put 2 and 2 together. Then VF goes and talks to Chase. Now she’s acting like they had a RELATIONSHIP but Chase is making it seem like it was a short term thing AT BEST. Turns out after some Googling that they spent 1 night together here in Charlotte. That doesn’t make Chase your ex, VF. That makes him your one night stand!

That night at Fake Dinner VF goes through all this dramatic hemming and hawing then finally tells P about Chase being her ex. P does not get it. He keeps saying things like “the guy on stage?” Get it together P!!! VF runs off crying (if it’s just a one off, why is she crying??) and P chases after her. She gets the rose, natch.

Group Date~

P brings 13 girls to the Browns football stadium to play football for his love. Winners get to go to an after party and losers go home. VP sits out because her back is hurting her (???) but I think it’s just so she can canoodle with P on the sidelines. This is one INTENSE football game. Deandra is throwing chicks to the ground!!! There are some athletes in this group! And then there’s HA who’s getting tossed around like a ragdoll!

The game ends in a tie so they all go to the after party. Tensions are running high because now they have to fight 12 other girls to get time with P. Shiann is talking with P when ALAYAH shows up! In Cleveland!!! How did she know where they are??? Does she have a tracker on P??? So Al interrupts Chiann (who is less than thrilled) and P just sits there stunned. Al tells P she and VP are FRIENDS. Not just 3 hour acquaintances like VP said. And that they went to Vegas together! P asks VP about it and VP starts crying but sticks to her guns.

All 3 of them finally sit down to hash things out but VP will only say “I don’t know what to say” and “my truth is the truth”. WHUT???? P asks Al to come back!!! Does this show not have any rules anymore??? It’s mayhem!!! Then P gives Al the group date rose!!! Al wasn’t even on the date!!! The other girls are pisssssssed!!!!

We break from all that drama for Kelsey’s 1-1 date. They are touring Cleveland. P calls Kels a “down to earth no drama person”. WHAT??? Does he not remember Champagne Gate 2020 from a scant 2 weeks ago??? This man has lost his damn mind.

He’s super into Kels for someone he knows nothing about. That night at Fake Dinner (the On a Boat Edition) Kels tells her sad story. Her parents got divorced. Welcome to the USA Kels! Join the kids of divorce club! P tries to commiserate by telling Kels his grandma and mom immigrated to the US from Cuba. Um…not the same P. Not even close! Kels gets the rose and says “No man has ever accepted me the way he has”. Good LORD men need to do better!!!

Meanwhile, Al has told everyone at the house about VF dating Chase Rice. When Al got sent home she had access to her phone and Google and she scored some serious hot goss.

Pre-Rose Ceremony Cocktail Party~

P comes in and welcomes the ladies and goes to ask VP to talk but before he can, Deandra and Natasha put him on blast for bringing Al back and giving her the rose and basically ignoring the rest of them. While I applaud them for standing up for themselves, this is not a good strategic move ladies. Y’all going home the first chance P gets now.

VP is all worked up over being caught lying to P and is letting P have it. So bizarre. Like those people who hurt your feelings then get mad at you when you tell them they hurt your feelings! Also, where did Mykenna get that GINORMOUS pearl barrette?? Are they in style now? Am I missing something? Please advise.

And that’s where the sadists at ABC have left us! We’ll have to wait until next week to find out if the remaining ladies have ripped Peter limb from limb! xo 🌹

fun, pop culture, tv

Bachelor Week 3

January 31, 2020 Shanny

We start this week’s episode with Kelsey and Hannah Ann STILL crying over Champagne Gate 2020! Get over it Ladies! HA accidentally opened and drank some of Kelsey’s Idaho champagne and all hell broke loose. All the other girls in the house are sure over it!

1-1 with Victoria P. Peter takes VP to his hometown to a general store where they outfit her in a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. They then go line dancing at a country bar.

Back at the house Kels and HA are hashing it out. Tears are a-flowing and it’s scenes like this that show you how blown out of proportion drama can get when you put a bunch of ladies in one house and take away their phones!

Next we move into the evening portion of VP’s 1-1 date. They are having Fake Dinner in an airplane hangar because it’s been a solid 5 minutes since ABC has reminded us that Pilot Peter is in fact a pilot of planes. VP launches into a story right away about her childhood and how her dad died when she was young and her mom battled addiction so they were in and out of homeless shelters and VP had to take care of her sister. I swear it’s like the producers have them sit down then immediately cattle prod the women until they cry and tell their most sad story. Well, the story apparently has a huge impact on ol’ Pilot Pete because he tells VP that she’s inspired him more than anyone else in his life and I’m thinking it’s a bit heavy handed, but hey, that’s ratings for you! Not surprisingly, VP gets the rose. They then make out in a vintage plane and poor VP says it’s one of the best days of her life and I’ve never felt more sorry for her than I do right now. Raise the bar girl!

V v early the next morning, Demi and 2 women come in to the mansion at the crack o’dawn bearing feather pillows. They wake up all the girls in the house and bestow upon the group date girls lingerie that they are to wear to today’s date. Savannah gets a muumuu and Kiarra literally calls her outfit “LINGER REE”. Ugh. Our education system is seriously lacking folks. The girls and P go to a saloon and are forced to pillow fight each other for P’s affection. The championship round is between Alayah and Sydney who, shocker, don’t like each other. Alayah wins a crown and a kiss from P.

Later, during the night portion of the date, Alayah starts talking baby talk to P and I vomit just a bit. She snags P first to chat. After her talk with P, Sydney comes for Al and her “fakeness”. I personally can’t stand a baby talker, unless you’re talking to an actual baby, so I’m Team Syd right now. Although you gotta admit, aren’t ALL the girls in the house a bit fake? I’ve never seen so much silicone, capped teeth and eyelash extensions!!! Anyway, Syd tells P about how fake Al is and he doesn’t quite know how to handle this. So he puts Syd on the spot in front of the whole group and tells her to out whoever is being fake. Peter clearly wants Syd to be killed by a stiletto wielding pageant girl! Syd fesses up and says it’s Al. P gets up and walks away. Al starts crying and goes to P to plead her case, then turns off the tears when back with the group. Sydney gets the rose. I thought the saying went “snitches get stitches” not roses! You know Syd is in for it when she gets home to the mansion!!!

The next day Chris Harrison announces there will be no pre-Rose Ceremony cocktail party because they are going to have a pool party instead! The girls all get ready for the pool party but 2 minutes later P shows up and cancels it! He grabs Syd for a talk. Then he talks to Kelsey who says Alayah puts on a show. Then Natasha says the same and on and on it goes. Meanwhile Al is talk, talk, talking to anyone who will listen about how authentic she is. Methinks she doth protest too much!!!

Al then pulls Syd aside and they fuss at each other. Meanwhile, VP tells P that Al told her to keep it a secret that she and Al knew each other before the show. P then confronts Al who KNOWS she’s screwed and comes up with the most flimsy excuses. You can tell she believes her own bull. P then leaves the mansion.

Rose Ceremony~ Kelsey gets the first rose so clearly P has forgotten all about Champagne Gate 2020. Mykenna is about to burst with anxiety over getting a rose, but she gets the last one. Alayah, Jasmine, Alexa (boooo, I liked her), and Sarah (who??) are all going home.

But wait! P is then shown talking to one of the producers about how he’s second guessing his decision to send Al home. No take backs Pete!

Ok, off to watch week 4! xo 🌹

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 9

January 26, 2020February 10, 2020 Shanny

Today we woke up at 7am and had to be at breakfast promptly at 8 in Tritons. We hung out in Tritons until they called our luggage tag (Blue Donald), said our goodbyes to Dede our server and then we disembarked. We found our luggage in the warehouse and found a taxi van to take us to the airport. American Airlines had pushed our return flight departure time back a few hours so we had almost 6 hours to kill. It was still hard to find a seat at our gate!

San Juan- y’all need to add about eleventy million chairs to your waiting areas! At least we had lots of fun subjects for people watching.

Our flight home was smooth. We both watched Shazam. It was cute!

Ok- some random things about the cruise that didn’t really fit into the other posts:

~In Bonaire CSP picked up these cute shells because he thought they were neat.

Pro Tip: I don’t think it’s advised to bring back shells. I don’t think the cruise ships like it. Maybe it’s a US customs thing? Anyway, CSP brought a handful back and handed them to me. I put them in the shallow vanity drawer. The next day I opened the drawer to put the Daily Navigator away. BTW, they don’t deliver the Daily Navigator to you every day now because all of the information is on the Disney Cruise app. But you can still pick one up each day at the Guest Services desk. So I opened the drawer and when I looked inside I yelled for CSP. His little souvenirs had moved! They were crawling up the sides of the drawer! They were ALIVE! Little snail-ish type creatures. Crazy! So CSP immediately put them back in the ocean. I hope he learned his lesson!!!

~You can bring beer and wine onboard the Disney cruise ships. We flew so we didn’t take advantage of this option on this cruise. Plus, we aren’t wine drinkers. In Bonaire CSP saw some locally made beer he wanted while we were at the supermarket. I told him that since we were in port if he brought the beer onboard they would confiscate it and hold it until we got back to Puerto Rico. So he just bought some water and a couple of Cokes instead. As we were boarding the ship that afternoon we asked the guys at the booze confiscation station about it. Turns out I was wrong and CSP could have brought back a 12 pack (6 beers for each of us. I don’t drink beer but they allow each person 6 beers). OOOPSIE. CSP was so annoyed! I said run back out and get some then! So the next day in Aruba CSP bought an Aruban beer (pack of 10). He proudly built a beeramid in our room, much to the delight of our room steward I’m sure. I swear I’m married to a 16 year old boy sometimes!

~By today my bruises on my leg had really started to bloom from my bathtub fall. I was able to get my sneakers on and walk through the airport just fine (thank goodness!)

~My friend Jennifer made me some Disney Cruise Line earrings to wear on the cruise. They are super cute and made from vegan leather so they are so lightweight you don’t even know you’ve got them on. I wore them 2 different days on the cruise. On the 2nd occasion we were at lunch in Tritons when the lady at the table next to us said “I love your earrings!” I thanked her. Her little boy (age 5) then piped up and said “Did you win them at Bingo??” I said no, and told them that they are Little Llama Designs originals. It was so cute!

~In one port our ship was next to another cruise ship that had this CRAZY ride on their top deck. You get in this wee pod/basket/capsule thing and it lifts you up SO high and swings you out over the ocean. OH HELL NO!!! There is not enough money in the world to get me on that thing! Kudos to the brave souls who ride it!

~At the Alto Vista chapel in Aruba there are vendors waiting to sell you water and flavored ice and trinkets. We walked up and noticed right away that one vendor was selling vehicle license tags from the US. Minnesota was the state at the top of the string of tags on display. CSP is from Minnesota so he got a kick out of that. Can you imagine going all the way to Aruba (right off the coast of South America) and your souvenir is a car tag from Minnesota?!? So random!

~CSP is a bit nutty. He fell in love with the bathroom tissue on the ship. So when we got home he found it on Amazon and made me order a box for the house. EIGHTY ROLLS PEOPLE.

We had a wonderful trip! Even with the hiccup of my fall and our canceled resort for a day, it was a fabulous vacation and we can’t wait to go back to the ABC islands again one day!

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 8

January 25, 2020February 8, 2020 Shanny

Today we woke up early to beat the crowds to Cabanas buffet for breakfast so CSP could get one last plate of lox and salmon. I don’t know how he can eat fish for breakfast but he loves it. We went back to the cabin after breakfast for a little nappy nap. After waking up and reading for a bit we got ready for the day and went to Triton’s for lunch. Then back to our room to pack. The saddest part of the cruise! Once we were all packed up we read out on our verandah for a while.

Later we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for The Feud. It’s the Disney version of Family Feud. It was so fun!

After The Feud we went up to the pool for a while so CSP could swim and I could read. While up there I thought to myself that I could really go for a cranberry bliss bar from Starbucks. So we went into the Cove Cafe to get a snacky snack and found….cranberry bars!!! It was fate!

Finally it was time to go back to the room to get ready for our last dinner of the cruise.

Tonight’s dinner was in Triton’s.

Triton’s is my favorite restaurant on the Wonder. I love Tiana’s but it can be SO loud. Triton’s is beautiful and elegant. Tonight was lobster night. CSP had 2 of everything! Did you know you can do that? He had 2 appetizers and 2 entrees. They’ll bring you the whole menu if you ask for it! A cruise is a fabulous time to try new foods.

After dinner we went back to finish packing

and hit the hay!

fun

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 7

January 24, 2020February 6, 2020 Shanny

Curacao!

We woke up and had breakfast at Triton’s. Nice and quiet this morning! My toe was still bleeding a little and all bandaged up. And hurting. Same with my left leg. Wait until you see the bruise! We had plans today to do Resort for a Day in Curacao. But with my foot all bandaged up I can’t go in the pool. Whomp whomp. So we decided to stay on the ship today.

After a nap and getting ready for the day we went back to Triton’s for lunch.

Hidden Mickey in the stained glass at Tritons.

We then went up to deck 10 to take some pictures of Curacao.

We decided when we come back we’ll rent a car like we did in Bonaire to tour Curacao. Such a pretty island!

We hung out around the ship taking pictures

and reading and people watching until it was time to get in line to see Pirate Stitch. Stitch is my favorite character and we’ve never met Pirate Stitch in person.

The line for Stitch stretched all the way around Tritons and down the hall!

He’s a popular alien. He was super cute the way he interacted with us. He made a big deal about how tall CSP is (6 feet 4 inches) and Stitch is MAYBE 5 feet tall. And he gushed over my Stitch lanyard and Stitch pins. SO sweet! Turned us into little kids again!!!

After seeing Stitch we went down to the Crown and Fin pub for Disney trivia.

Man! That was HARD!!! Who knows this stuff?? Some questions were: Where were Walt and Lillian Disney married? Who composed the music for some ride at Disney in Asia? What year did cast members start wearing name tags? WHO KNOWS??? Answers: Idaho, Danny Elfman, and 1970 something. Out of 25 questions I got 7 right! FOR SHAME!!!! I drowned my sorrows in 2 coconut mojitos. Yum!

We then went up to the pool so CSP could swim. I read my book and sipped on a frozen mango margarita. The lady next to me had never had one so she ordered one too. I saw her on the way to the airport to go home and she told me she had like 5 more during the cruise! I’m good for business Disney! Give me some discounts!

Ok so 3 mixed drinks in less than 2 hours made me a wee bit drunk. Just a lil bit. But enough that CSP gave me grief for it! Ha!

Dinner tonight was at Palo,

the adults only Italian restaurant onboard. It’s Pirate Night at all the other restaurants.

We’ve done Pirate Night and the menu isn’t our favorite so we always go to Palo on Pirate Night.

Nisha was our server tonight. So cute! She’s from Thailand. Dinner lasted from 8:30 to 11:00pm!!! Crazy!

CSP chose the cippino (a seafood stew),

antipasta (where they bring the cart around. It’s no longer automatic, you have to order it),

and Dover Sole for his dinner.

I had the calamari (which came with this HUGE shrimp),

the caprese salad,

and scallops on artichoke risotto. We both got the Amaretto souffle for dessert and

Nisha also brought us a limoncello tart.

I had some hot tea with dessert.

Everything was amazing! We were there so late we didn’t get to go up on deck to see the fireworks, but we could see most of them through the window.

After dinner we waddled back to our room and hit the hay!

Saw this cool door with lights on the way back to our room.

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 6

January 23, 2020March 3, 2023 Shanny

Aruba!

We woke up at 6:30 am to get to Cabanas for breakfast at 7 am. Then we went back to our room to get ready for the day. We applied copious amounts of sunscreen as this is the closest we’ve ever been to the equator.

We got off the ship and took a taxi to Arubiana. A couple months ago I’d found Arubiana online and booked us a UTV to use for the day! A UTV is like a jacked up golf cart / dune buggy but it’s street legal so you can drive it on the roads. There’s a roof but no glass, so no windows or windshield.

Arubiana is great because they have you download their app which is so helpful!

It tells you all the interesting places to go on the island, has a map, and can even alert the Arubiana staff if you break down so they can come get you!

First we went to the California lighthouse. So pretty!

Next up was the Alto Vista Chapel.

It’s this gorgeous chapel out in the middle of nowhere that was first built in the 1500s. They still have weekly services there on Tuesdays!

Look how giant the cacti are in comparison to people at the chapel!!!

On the way to the chapel we spotted a trail off the main road. So we followed it down to the coast. While there we reapplied sunscreen.

After the chapel we drove to the Natural Bridge.

It was gorgeous! They have a gift shop

with restrooms (for $1 a use) and they sell Dutch stroopwafels (waffles). They smell sooo good!

We headed back to the city of Oranjestad

They have these cool blue horses all throughout town

for lunch at Red Fish. Really yummy! It’s an open air restaurant and they have birds flying through all the time looking for snacks. Bold little birds!

Next we made a beer stop for CSP at the 2 story supermarket called Super Foods. Something I found interesting in Bonaire and Aruba is that there are a TON of supermarkets but we never saw 2 with the same name. They all seem to be independently run. Here you can’t go 5 miles without seeing 3 Food Lions or Harris Teeters etc.

We gassed up the UTV and took it back to Arubiana. They then drove us back to the pier entrance. Which was about a mile away from our ship! We showed our credentials to the guards and they told us a shuttle would drive us back to the ship. Whew! I had prepared myself for a loooong walk but was so relieved because by now we were exhausted from our big day!

Back in our room I looked in the mirror and realized I had dirt and sand ALL OVER MYSELF! My face and hair and body- covered! I went to hop in the shower. On the Disney ships they have bathtubs with high sides that you have to step into to take a shower. I slipped and fell tonight getting into the tub! My right leg went to the right and my left leg slammed into the side of the tub. I yelped and CSP came in to see what was going on. He said “Where are you bleeding from??” I had no idea I was bleeding! Apparently my right foot slammed into the tub drain and gashed my big toe open. I looked down and blood was errrrrywhere! CSP helped me up and I took my shower then he bandaged up my toe, because his name isn’t Cap’n Safety Pants for nothing- the boy brought a first aid kit! He put about 47 bandaids on my toe! So many I could barely get my sandals on for dinner.

I hobbled to Tiana’s Place for dinner.

Tonight was Mardi Gras!

They had the limbo and live music and beignets.

So yummy!

We went back to the room after dinner so CSP could drop me off. The ship didn’t leave Aruba until midnight tonight so I sent CSP outside to take pictures of the ship all lit up at night.

So pretty! I know I’m biased but I think Disney has the most beautiful of all the cruise ships.

It was time for bed!

Tomorrow….Curacao!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 5

January 22, 2020February 3, 2020 Shanny

Bonaire!

We woke up at 6:30 am and went up to Cabanas buffet for breakfast. Dede, our server, was working the fruit bar. I swear those servers get precious little time off! But he always has a smile on his face!

We have rented a car for the day. So we got off the ship and walked into town a bit and were picked up by the Budget Rent a Car dude. He drove us to the airport kiosk to do our paperwork and pay for the car.

The airport there is crazy! It’s all outside! So you get off your plane and drag your luggage through sand and a parking lot to get to the car rental kiosk strip. Wild!

Once we were settled in our Hyundai Creta SUV (fun to drive!)

I drove to the Donkey Sanctuary. I’ve been looking forward to this for over a year!!! Ok so back in the 1500s donkeys were brought to Bonaire (pronounced BONE AIR) to help mine the salt. Once cars and machines became a part of the equation they didn’t need the donkeys anymore. But the donkeys were getting hit by cars on the roads and whatnot. So Marina founded the Donkey Sanctuary. There are still over 400 wild donkeys on the island. We met Marina at the ticket counter/gift shop. She only charges $9 each to get in. She needs to be charging $20! It’s so fun! So Marina tells you about the donkeys and the facility and you buy your bag of carrots (buy more than 1- there are 743 donkeys who need carrots!) and get in your car then drive through the sanctuary.

As soon as you drive in your car is MOBBED by donkeys! They stick their heads in your windows

and let you pet them and feed them and they run alongside your car

and fuss with each other over who gets to stick their head in your window. We had a BLAST!!! While we were there I FaceTimed my mom and she loved seeing all the donkeys. We were dumb and only bought one bag of carrots so next time we know to LOAD UP!

After the donkeys we drove around the Southern side of the island. I don’t know about you but when I think island I think lush and green with white sandy beaches. Not Bonaire! They do have gorgeous beaches but a lot of the shoreline is super rocky.

And it’s not covered with lush jungle. It’s a desert island with cacti and wild goats! So interesting to see!

We stopped at the slave huts.

TINY little structures the slaves lived in who mined the salt. Then we came upon the salt mounds.

Mountains of pure white salt amidst pinkish purple water! So neat! They have this giant conveyor belt that brings the salt out to the sea for the boats.

We drove back to Kralendijk for lunch. Let me just tell you, driving around this Dutch island was so fun! But confusing. My poor GPS guy in my phone, Nigel, would tell us to turn on these roads with the longest Dutch names and we were just like WHUT???? For instance, the Donkey Sanctuary is on Kaya IR Randolph Statius van Eps. And that’s an easy street name to understand! So we naturally got turned around and lost in some neighborhoods along our journeys today!

Anyway, back to lunch. Before the cruise CSP went on Yelp and Trip Advisor and found Julian’s Cafe in Kralendijk for us to go to for lunch.

It is right on the water and a Princess cruise ship was docked right in front of us.

I had the garlic shrimp and CSP had the mahi mahi. It was so good and fresh! There is a restaurant across the street from Julian’s. But their kitchen is located BEHIND Julian’s up the hill. So while we’re at lunch we were amused watching the food runners come up the stairs, cross the street, climb past us going up the hill to get to the kitchen, then carry the food all the way back to the diners!

Our bill came and CSP opened it and it blew out of the restaurant and down the sidewalk! CSP had to run after it while I had a good laugh!

After lunch we toured the North part of Bonaire. So many wild goats running around! I wanted to snatch a couple up to bring home as pets! And the cacti are HUGE!!! Also, the roads once you get out of the cities are all one lane.

So we were constantly pulling off road to let taxis and tour buses etc pass by. We toured Rincon City and then stopped by a supermarket, natch.

With CSP being a grocery store manager we end up in a supermarket in every new city we visit. The one we chose is Van Den Tweel. SO nice! I sat in the cafe and made some phone calls

while CSP toured the store and picked up some Coca~Cola with real sugar in it and some water. CSP is pretty much ready to pack up the pugs and move to Bonaire after seeing that store!

It was coming close to the end of our day so we had to fill up the car with gas. There are only 2 gas stations on the island (that we could find). So we went to the one closest to the airport. We had to wait in line and then CSP hopped out to fill up the car. I had taken a picture of the dashboard so we’d know how much gas to put in the car at the end of the day.

It was a guessing game for sure because you can’t pay at the pump. And when we pulled up some guy kept asking CSP “how much? how much?” and CSP was like I DON’T KNOW MAN! It was just weird because it didn’t appear that the dude worked for the gas station. Anyway, CSP put the gas in and asked me if it was enough. I cranked up the car and said yes. He paid and got back in and it was then that I remembered the picture! OOPS! I pulled up the pic and sure enough we were one indicator line short of gas. Dang it! So we had to pull around and get back in line, much to the delight of Gas Station Dude who laughed out loud at CSP! Oy.

We returned the car to the airport (only $83 for the day! MUCH less expensive than paying at least that much each for 2 excursions!!!), and they drove us right back up to the pier.

Back in our room we made some phone calls home then got showered and ready for dinner. Tonight was Semi Formal night.

Dinner was in Animator’s Palate again and tonight was the figure drawing night.

Your servers give you a marker and a big sheet of paper with outlines of a person on it. You draw in your figure and they animate it and project them on the screens around the restaurant. SO cool! CSP’s little guy got to dance with Cinderella!

After dinner we ran into Donald Duck in the hallway. CSP was oblivious and I’m yelling “Honey it’s Donald!” like a fool when I should have been snapping pictures! By this time we were exhausted from our fun day so we went back to our room for bed!

Tomorrow is another early morning as we will be in Aruba!!!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 4

January 21, 2020February 2, 2020 Shanny

Day at Sea!

This morning we had breakfast at Triton’s. On the way there we ran into Tiana! I love her dress.

After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready for the day.

Then it was time to shop! On each cruise we get a magnet with the year on it. Also, Mom of CSP was home in Charlotte taking care of our home and dogs so we shopped for a thank you gift for her. We found the magnet for ourselves and an Alex & Ani Disney Cruise Line bangle for MIL.

We then went up to Deck 9 for drinks and a quick bite of lunch. I love the chicken shawarma (like a chicken gyro)!

Next we headed down to the Walt Disney Theatre for Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker.

It was a full house today and a good movie! Afterwards we went back to our room for a bit and found a plate of sweets from the chef from Tiana’s Place! How nice!

Down we went to the Crown & Fin pub for the Disney version of Wheel of Fortune with Derrell. So fun!

When that was over we stopped by Guest Services to see if by chance there was any space left in tonight’s bourbon tasting. CSP lucked out and grabbed the last spot! We popped back into the shop to pick up an Alex & Ani Disney Cruise Line bangle for me.

Then up to the Future Cruise desk to book 2021’s cruise on the Magic to Key West and the Bahamas. Fun!

We went back to our room to get ready for dinner.

A lot of people decorate their stateroom doors with magnets. It helps you find your room! Here we paid homage to Stitch!

Isai our room steward was in our room at the time. He was finishing up so we went in and chatted with him for a few. He’s from the Dominican Republic and is super nice.

Dinner tonight was in Triton’s.

On the way to dinner we spotted Cinderella.

There was a woman and her daughter at dinner tonight sporting light up Minnie ears! Similar to this:

SO pretty! Tonight at dinner CSP had his favorite appetizer- escargot! And for dessert I had the Grand Marnier souffle. So yummy!

After dinner we walked out of the restaurant and into the hallway and ran right into Captain America! Of course my phone was in my wristlet and I didn’t think to get it out for a picture! Cap said he was out on patrol keeping the ship safe from HYDRA etc. I just love how committed the characters are to their roles! Even with the adults.

Then we headed up to the Cove Cafe for CSP’s bourbon tasting.

That was interesting!

It was a full house. I found it funny that CSP was the only one who drank all of his bourbon. Everyone else just daintily sipped theirs.

Once the bourbon tasting was over we made it back to our room for bed.

We have to get up early tomorrow for Bonaire!!!

travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 3

January 20, 2020February 1, 2020 Shanny

Today we are docked in Antigua! Because we have plans at 3 other islands this week we decided to stay onboard today to enjoy the near empty ship! We woke up early and had breakfast at the Cabanas buffet.

I’m not normally a buffet fan but Cabanas puts on a nice breakfast! After breakfast we went back to the room to get ready for the day and enjoy some verandah time.

Later, around 11:30 am, we went up to deck 9 (the pool deck) for a quick, light lunch.

We also filled up our Tervis tumblers and I got a Dole Whip.

We then watched Spider-Man: Far From Home. It was good! We spent some more time out on our verandah and before we knew it it was time to get showered for dinner.

Tonight was Formal Night so I took some extra time to get glam!

I brought with me some magnetic eyelashes and eyeliner to try for the first time. They are amazing and so easy to use!!! I’ll never go back to glue!

Dinner tonight was in Tiana’s Place.

It was delicious! CSP got rum marinated swordfish for dinner and he found a shrimp shell in the sauce. That could be a problem if he was allergic to shellfish. He told Dede (our server) about it, not wanting to cause a scene or a problem, just bringing it to their attention. Dede then went and brought the Head Server Devendra over. They both apologized and we thought that was the end of it. Then all the sudden the Chef de Cuisine was standing at our table apologizing! We never expected that! That’s Disney service for you!

After dinner we went to the Azure club.

The club host Derrell (hilarious!!!) led the room in a fun game of Intuition (just like the game Taboo).

It was really fun and our team won. I tried a mango mojito and it was ok, but I just can’t stop drinking my favorite coconut mojitos!

We stayed in Azure for the 10:30 pm magic show. Kyle & Mystie Knight were the magicians. They were really good!

After the magic show we went back to our room for bed.

It was such a relaxing day!

fun, travel

Disney Wonder Southern Caribbean 2020 Day 2

January 19, 2020February 1, 2020 Shanny

Today we woke up at 6 am to beat the rush to the free breakfast at the hotel. Then we came back to our room and had a we nap. We woke up, packed up, got ready for the day, and took a scary taxi ride to the port. Traffic rules don’t seem to really apply in San Juan!

We arrived to find millions of people in line for embarkation!!! The lines went on forever! First we had to stand in line outside on the surface of the sun with all our luggage to get to the luggage drop off.

Then we went inside to stand in another long line to check in.

Then we had to walk through a short maze that led us to a HUGE, air conditioned, EMPTY warehouse that we had to walk through to go back outside to walk the length of the ship. WHY couldn’t we have stood in line in the a/c in the warehouse?? I need answers Disney! We finally boarded the Disney Wonder! It took almost 2 hours to board! We are spoiled from the embarkation process in Port Canaveral, FL where it takes like 20 minutes from car to stateroom!

Our room was ready so we went to it and dropped off our day bags.

We went up to the Cabanas buffet for lunch, then back to the room to call home. Next it was time for the dreaded Muster Drill. We lined up on Deck 4. Luckily we were in the shade! And, we were even more lucky that it was over quickly! Shortest muster drill ever! Yay!!!

We went back to our room to watch the ship sail away from our verandah. There was an airfield across from the port. We watched as a helicopter went through a helicopter car wash! So cool!

We unpacked and it was time to get ready for dinner. As soon as we sailed out of the harbor the seas turned really rough! The ship was really rocking tonight! People (including me, I’m people) were pin balling down the hallways because the ship was rocking so hard!

On the way to dinner we stopped for a moment in Shutter’s (the photo gallery), and I’m so glad we did! Ariel stopped by to talk to us! She said my hair was aesthetically pleasing and did I do it with my dinglehopper?? She was so cute!!! I was so caught up in talking with her it didn’t occur to me to get out my phone for a picture! When she walked away CSP said to me “Who was that and what’s a dinglehopper?” Ha!!!

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palate.

I was so impressed that the servers were able to deliver meals to the tables without spilling everything everywhere with the rough seas! Our servers are Dede (male) from Indonesia and Judit from Hungary. They are fabulous and we liked them right away! Side note- Disney Cruise Line switched to paper straws. Yay for the environment! Luckily I’d heard about this before we boarded so I brought my reusable metal straws. Paper straws just don’t hold up unless you drink super fast!