I couldn't wait to start the second full day of our cruise! Actually, I would have loved to sleep in, but I am simply not capable of sleeping past 6am. So, since I was up anyway, I decided to take the opportunity to explore the ship without people everywhere, and watch a pristine sunrise over the Pacific.
It was worth it, I think.
Spectacular pink!
The deck chairs all lined up and ready for another day of action (if you can call people lounging and snoozing poolside 'action'.)
While it was still early (on this ship, 8am is still early since everyone, including the kids, are up partying until at least midnight), I took in a spin class at the Spa. It was fun, and I felt good for doing it, but it wasn't quite the same as riding my bike, especially since on a stationary bike, you can't create your own wind! I suggested to the teacher that they should put the bikes up on the bow of the ship, then you'd be sure to get a good breeze, and it would feel like you were riding your bike through the ocean. Apparently, my suggestion went unheeded. Oh well.
In all, I took 3 spin classes that week, and made it a rule to only take the stairs and not the elevators, and to only drink water instead of soda (though I had my fair share of hot chocolate!). I figure these steps toward health would totally off-set the 7 or 8 meals I ate each day, the constant ice cream, rich desserts, and midnight warm chocolate chip cookies and chocolate milk we ordered from room service each night at midnight. I was feeling pretty good about myself!
It was another sea day on the Disney wonder, and the schedule was packed with fun stuff to do. Every night, we get something called the Personal Navigator in our stateroom. It is basically the activity schedule of everything that is going on onboard the next day. This is Tuesday's schedule. There is a line for the movies in the theater (many of them first run movies!), and a line for what characters were going to be where, several lines for fun family activities, and more lines just for adults. Then the teens and the tweens each get their own line, and then there are 5 more lines with just activities for the kids with everything from Tow Story Boot Camp with the green soldiers to Ratatoullie Cooking School.
It was really quite impossible to be bored.
I dropped by the kids Lab just in time to see the kids exploding their own volcanos with a mad scientist. They were having a great time, and every time I dropped in to visit, they would protest that they did not want to leave yet.
Then we would mention ice cream, and they were suddenly ready to go. And we'd head up to the deck with the little ones only to find Alex at the panini bar, and Derek ready to down a hamburger. Smiles all around!
Of course, I got to take in a few classes myself. I learned how to make phyllo wrapped salmon with a
from one of the chefs on board. So delicious!
I also learned how to draw Goofy in an animation class.
One fun family activity that we participated in was the "Mickey 500." It is basically a pinewood derby race, only instead of pinewood, the cars are made out of vegetables. Every family was handed a cutting board with a large potato, a large carrot, two toothpicks, a paring knife, and four wheels with axels. Teams were given only 10 minutes to design their cars. They ran out of car kits, so we invited another family with two boys to join our team.
Out team name was Lightening McSpud, and this is our car. We thought it was a pretty sweet ride.
With a wave of the checkered flag, the races began!
On the first race we were really a-head. (Get it? a-HEAD?), but we lost in the second round to the car that eventually won the race.
But that was OK, because we for having the best team name (and I do believe that Mickey himself would have to agree that we had the best looking car!)
What a fun activity to do as a family and to make some new friends too!
Luke and Caleb playing in the Oceaneer Club, which is set up like a giant pirate ship to climb up and slide down.
The rest of us doing our thing. Having faired so well in ping pong, Dennis decided to join the putting contest in the lobby. I took a magazine pool side and enjoyed some of that Mexican sun where I noticed Alex and some friends dancing on the poolside stage for a video scavenger hunt (dancing? stage? video? such a thing is usually unheard of for Alex who never ever wants attention drawn to himself), and later saw Nathan with his team videotaping by the elevators. Everyone was having a great time!
Of course we all got together again that evening for the show. Tonight it was a terrific ventriliquist who had been a finalist on America's Got Talent. He was SO funny, and he had some very creative puppets, including turning a 10 year old kid into a puppet. Poor kid, the ventriliquist made him say some pretty embarassing stuff. Hilarious. He also had a puppet that he had made out of only a tennis ball and some googly eyes. They boys were so impressed that they had to make their own tennis ball puppets when we got home.
This was the only night we did not eat dinner together as a family because while Carlo and Andre made sure the boys were fed, Dennis and I had reservations at Palo, the gourmet, no children allowed resturant. It was fancy and the service was top notch! There is a $20 per person cover charge, but just like everywhere else, there were no prices on the menu and the food was incredible!
Sirloin, osso bucco, lobster raviloi. So good!
But even better that the meal, were the desserts! This made to order chocolate souffle was TO DIE FOR!!!! We were so full that we planned on sharing it, but once I took a bite I warned Dennis that if he didn't get in and get some now, it would be gone! The best thing I ate on the whole ship, and that's saying something.
On the suggestion of the waiter we also had a panne cotta that was just HEAVENLY! So good - the cold smooth panne cotta with fresh berries was the perfect opposite of the rich, hot chocolaty souffle. They were perfect together. Of course, we ate it so fast I never had a chance to get a picture.
After the desserts, the best part of the evening was enjoying a long wonderful mean with just my hubby and no kids in a beautiful ambiance.
After dinner we went to pick up the little ones. It was late and I wanted to get to bed. But they weren't tired. They insisted that they couldn't leave because they had a performance to do that they had been practicing all evening.
The kids were told that they were going to be in a High School Musical talent competition live via satellite against the kids on another Disney cruise ship in the Caribbean. They totally believed it and were certain that they were going to win the trophy.
So we all watched as they got on stage in front of the camera and danced their stuff. In the end they told the kids that they had won, and presented them with a big trophy and all of the kids got a autographed picture of the cast of High School Musical.
This was just before midnight! It is a party all night long on a Disney cruise!
