Category Archives: Travel

Where are we?

Heading to the Disney Dream!

We woke up at 7 am. Lucas and I went out to the hotel balcony just to hangout and all of the sudden Lucas yelled “a big ship!!”. I didn’t even notice at first but right across from our balcony we can see Port Everglades and we could see a few cruise ships. We went to the breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was pretty good. Lucas ate so much! He had so many sausages and grapes. It was nuts. Then we walked around outside for a bit. We got lucky to see a drawbridge going up for a ship to fit into the harbor. It was only 9:30 so we decided to go in the pool. Just Lucas and I went to the pool because Don was packing some stuff for the cruise. Lucas did such a good job swimming! We got out of the pool around 11 so we could get ready for the big ship! Our hotel had a shuttle bus to the port at 11:45. We were not supposed to get on the ship until 1 but when we arrived, they said it was open boarding so we just got in line. Once in line a lady told us to go line for people who have been on Disney before. The line to get checked in and go through security was pretty quick. I think we were on the ship around 12:30 but our room was not going to be ready until 1:30. I think the check in here at Port Everglades was way more efficient than in Port Canaveral. We went to the Oceaneers Club to hang out until 1:30. This is the kids club, where usually only kids can go but during this time it was an open house. By about 1:15 Lucas was getting really grouchy, thankfully our room was ready by 1:30 and we had our swimsuits in our carry ons so we decided to check out the pools. The pools were pretty crowded, but Lucas had fun. We got ice cream and pizza. Then we headed back to the room. From our balcony we watched a Carnival cruise ship leave. Then we went to the mandatory safety drill. It was weird, I have only been on 2 cruises previously and our meeting spot for the safety drill had always been outside on deck, but this time we were packed in a theater type room. After the safety drill we watched a bit of the sail away party. We were sure to make it to our balcony to watch the ship start to move. Since we had time before dinner, we got our magnets out and decorated our door.  We had dinner at Animators Palate. Our servers for the week are Wayan and Tricia. Lucas had mac and cheese, veggies and fries. Don had salmon tartare, which Lucas tried. He also had a salad and beef tenderloin. I had a ham and cheese appetizer and chicken for my main dish. For dessert Lucas got a Mickey Ice Cream bar. Don had a sundae and I had cheesecake. Overall, I was not super impressed with the food. There was an interactive Finding Nemo show on the all the TVs. We also decided to get the wine package which gives us 3 bottles to use all week for around $100. This may seem expensive but last time having individual glasses/drinks we exceeded this in 3 days. After dinner we walked around the ship. When we came back to the room it was all nice and made up and there was a Marvel sticker on the window. Lucas tried to go to a dance party in the Oceaneers Club by himself, but he came out crying within 5 minutes. So then we decided to start the Detective thing on this ship. You start by going to one of the kiosks and picking out a detective badge and picking out a story line. There are number of interactive pictures throughout the ship that respond to the QR code on your badge. You go to each picture picking up clues to figure out which Disney villain committed a crime. Our first crime was the case of the missing paintings. At 8:30 we went to the Golden Mickey Show. This was a live show basically set up like an award show that went through popular Disney movies. It was pretty good. We had to cover Lucas’s eyes and ears when Ursula came out. He liked the part with Beauty and the Beast. It was cool, a firework went off and before your eyes the beast changed into a person. He also got to see the Hunchback from Notre Dame for the first time and at first he was scared but then we tried to explain why he looked that way and now he just keeps asking, “how did the man hurt his back?” After the show Lucas was so tired. He took a quick shower then as he was trying to get out of the bathroom he ended up falling out of the bathroom because there is a step to get into the bathroom. Then Don was taking something out of his bag and didn’t know Lucas was right there and something hit him right in the face! We went to bed around 10. Lucas was instantly asleep; he had no nap today. We must rest up because tomorrow is going to be a big day—Marvel Day at Sea.

A Night in Fort Lauderdale

Lucas woke up at 6:30 to say, “time to get up, do you wanna go to the big ship or not?!”  So needless to say, he is excited. He got to experience hist first cab ride to O’hare. It went pretty well. Right when he got in the car, he asked the driver, “do you know the big ship?”. Of course the driver did not listen to him and had no interest in the big ship haha. So pretty typical first cab ride in Chicago. Later when the driver and Don were having a conversation Lucas looked at me and said, “what English is he speaking mommy?”

We got burrito beach for lunch at O’hare. Our flight to Fort Lauderdale was a bit delayed due to “spring break traffic” per the pilot. Lucas made friends in the airport. He introduced himself to a couple named Mark and Sue. He had a few other older people talking to him also.

Once we got on the flight Lucas slept for about an hour and then he watched things on his new tablet. We got to Fort Lauderdale around 5 and took another cab to our hotel. The cab actually had a Curb app so I linked it to my Curb app to pay for the ride. I don’t think this driver had ever experienced anyone doing this and it seemed like at first he thought I didn’t pay. We stayed at Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina. It was a pretty nice hotel and super close to the port.

Immediately when we got there Lucas wanted to swim. I wasn’t sure it would be warm enough, especially because it was getting dark, but the pool was heated and amazing. So we swam while Don picked up Chipotle for dinner because there wasn’t much in walking distance and we needed something quick. So after having Burrito Beach and Chipotle in the same day I can safely say that Chipotle is loads better.

Indoor waterpark

Today Lucas actually woke up at 7:30 and he probably would have slept longer if I had been fast enough to turn off the green light. His eyes fluttered open a bit and he saw the green. I did get him to lay down and watch cars until about 8:15. 

So we actually had a lazy morning. We had eggs, bacon, sausage, English muffins, and fruit. Khris has been awesome cooking everything. 

After breakfast Lucas played with the other kids and we were able to hang out a bit, talking. Then we got ready to go to the H2Oooohh! Indoor Waterpark at Split Rock Resort. We went with Judy, Alice, Matt, Emily and Lily. Later Shane, Natalie, and Madelyn came also. 

I had reserved the tickets in advance and it was going to be $118 for 2 adults and 1 kid, but when I got there the cashier told me the big water slides were not running until 2 so we only paid $58! That didn’t matter to us anyway because Lucas was too small. We had a lot of fun in the wave pool. There were 2 smaller slides that we all did except Lucas was scared. Then there was an area that dumped water buckets on you and Lucas liked that. But overall we did the wave pool. 

Emily got Judy and I to do the obstacle course which was pulling yourself on a rope across floaties. We succeeded! 

Judy, Don, and I also did the boogie board simulator thing. It was crazy! 

We got some food around 1. Lucas seemed so tired. He said he wanted to go back to the house after he ate but then he was back out in the wave pool haha. 

We left around 2:30. Lucas napped until around 4:30 at the house. Then we enjoyed a delicious lasagna dinner made by Jess, Emily, and Lily. Khris made some awesome garlic bread and a salad. Lucas ate so good! Then we did a cake and sang happy birthday. 

After dinner we played a bags game against Khris and Jess. Don and I were losing so bad, like 8-16 at one point. But we came back blazing and we ended up winning 21-18! 

Then the kids gathered some sticks to make a fire on top of a charcoal grill for smores. Bonfires are not allowed at this property so that is kind of a bummer but we made it work. 

It was getting dark and I wanted to get Lucas asleep so I told him we could get in the hot tub for a bit and then do bath. He loves the hot tub. He’s had a lot of late nights. Here we are 10 pm and Lucas is still up.  

After Lucas fell asleep we played the game Chameleon. It was fun! Tomorrow we have to get up early and head out before 9 am for our flight out of Newark.  

lake harmony beach day

Lucas was up at 6:40 but we got him to stay in his bed until about 8. When we got up Lucas asked Khris to make eggs. Then he wanted more eggs! 

We hung around the house for a couple hours then we got ready for the beach. The beach is a private beach for Lake Harmony Estate. It was pretty nice. The kids enjoyed it. It was a bit cold but we got used to it. Lucas swam a lot then he played in the sand. 

Then he saw khris going swimming so he went over and got to fish for the first time. We caught nothing.  

We stayed at the beach until about 1:45. Then we came home and made some lunch. Lucas got a nap in. 

While he was napping I played bags/cornhole with Khris, Steve, and Jess. When Lucas woke up he watched Super Mario Brothers. 

I knew Lucas wanted to try the hot tub so we got our swimming suits on and did that. He loved it. Then Emily, Lily, Matt, Madelyn, and Natalie joined us. Lucas did not want to be out and pretty much had to be bribed with chocolate. 

Then people started playing games. I was working on cleaning some sweet corn so Khris could cook it. Lucas helped me for a bit. Don tried to play dnd but Lucas was throwing a fit that he needed him. It was already 7 pm so I made Lucas some dinner. Then the 3 of us got in the hot tub again. Lucas mentioned if I could save him a piece of corn for tomorrow. 

I got him to take a bath and told him to go say goodnight. The corn was almost done so I told Lucas be could have some. He had one and a half. He loves it! Then he was running around and basically didn’t fall asleep until 10 pm again. 

After Lucas was asleep we played the boomer meme game. Judy also gave Don a gift of 2 bottles of wine that both had 42 in their name and a towel which is from the book Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.  

Heading to the poconos

Lucas woke up again today at 7:30 on the dot. He coughed a little last night and puked up a little. I really hope this is it for that. We went to our hotel breakfast then we packed up. 

We went over to Don’s mom’s and hung out. Lucas watched a bunch of transformers stuff. We had lunch then we got in the car to make our way to the Poconos house.  

Lucas took a nap in the car so that was good. We stopped in Mt Pocono to pick up groceries at Walmart. Khris and I had been working on a list. Then we ordered 7 pizzas from Dominic’s Pizza and they were done super quick! 

Once we got to the house Steve and Don went to pick up the pizzas. I worked on unloading the car. Lucas had fun playing with Emily and Lily. Then we all ate some pizza and salad. After dinner we talked then we got out a game of bags and played on the balcony. It was fun Lucas even played. Then we just hung out. 

The house and area look pretty awesome. I can’t wait to explore tomorrow. Lucas has had a lot of late nights, it’s 10:30 and he’s still awake!