Tales From the Minivan

As most of you are aware, Walt Disney World holds a special place in my heart for two reasons, my memories there from being a cast member in 1991-92 and it’s also he place that Andrew proposed to me in the Summer of 2002. I decided to share some of our photos from this trip and tell the story of how Andrew had planned this special proposal. We decided that we’d like to take Mackenzie on her first trip to Disney while we were expecting Liam. I was about 5 months pregnant, and knew that we probably not get the chance again for many years, and I knew that at almost 6 years old, she’d really enjoy it. We decided to go for a week in July of 2002. I had everything planned, I joined a site called www.disboards.com as well as a Yahoo mailing list to gather up as many tips I could. I also visited sites like www.allearsnet.com to get info for height restrictions for Mackenzie and which rides I needed to avoid being pregnant. There’s so much info out there and I know this next trip, I will definitely be using these sites again.

So on to my story…I’ll start by setting up what was going on in our lives just before this trip. We just had our offer accepted to by our house, and Andrew was just getting settled back into a new position at work after spending the past three years working for a spin-off company out of Maine in the US. We decided to drive to Bangor, Maine to fly into Orlando, this can be a really good cost cutting measure for anyone that lives close enough to the US border, it usually allows for more flight options as well compared to Canadian Airlines, it unfortunate as I prefer to support Canadian airlines, but living in the city I do, there’s very little inexpensive options. I noticed as we were clearing security at the airport that Andrew seemed oddly nervous, at the time I thought it was because he was carrying so much, Mackenzie’s car seat, our carry on bags, his laptop, but in reality, it was because he had “the ring” in his pocket and was nervous they were going to spoil the surprise!

We spent the our first evening getting settled into the resort, and resting up for the big day, a trip to the Magic Kingdom! For anyone that’s not aware, Walt Disney World (WDW) is divided into 4 different Theme Parks, the Magic Kingdom, Epcot Center, MGM Studios and the Animal Kingdom. There’s also 2 Water parks, a shopping village. and a new addition since I worked there called Downtown Disney. I’m sure I’ve missed a few things, but I digress… So after Mackenzie went to bed, I was reconsidering going to the Magic Kingdom. I had remembered reading that some kinds are so excited by it, and if they go there first the can sometimes be let dwn by the other parks. Andrew then said to me, “No, we’re going there! I want to go there on our first day!” This was completely out of his character, but I figured if he felt this strongly than the Magic Kingdom (MK) it was!

Here’s a few pics of our morning there!

I know this is from a distance, but when zoomed WAY in this is Mackenzie and Andrew on Splash Mountain!


After spending most of the morning and afternoon it started to rain, so we figured that we’d go back to the resort then come back in the early evening so Mackenzie could meet Mickey and we’d stay for the Fireworks. I was pretty cranky I will admit as the rain didn’t stop as I had hoped. We wandered over to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Mackenzie got to give Mickey a great big hug. I didn’t expect this from her at all, but it was so cute. Take a look at us in the second photo we look like drowned rats, it was so wet out!

After we’d met “the Mouse” I figured that was the highlight of the day and asked Andrew if we really needed stay for the fireworks, I mean who really wants to watch fireworks in the pouring rain? He was adamant that we needed to stay, but was acting very strange. We headed over to Cinderella’s Castle, where he said he read about this great place to see the fireworks from, called the “Secret Rose Garden”. This is when I got completely confused! We arrived at this area the was cordoned off, and one of the cast members said, “I, think we’ve been expecting you!” Andrew was looking confused too, so I said to him, I don’t think this is meant for us, we better get out of here, he just had this dumb grin on his face! One we walked down the path, they had a nice little loveseat setup facing Cinderella’s castle, all sheltered from the rain. I’m in shock for a few more minutes thinking we’re crashing someone else’s plans! The cast members, told us to have a seat, and grab a chocolate truffle. Just as the fireworks started, I look over and Andrew is getting down on one knee, and passes me a perfect little glass slipper. Inside it, the most perfect 3 stone diamond ring! Of course my answer was “YES!” (warning the next few photos are a little blurry and Andrew was so nervous he had the camera settings wrong, for the cast member who took the pics)

What made this even more special was that Mackenzie was included in all of this, Andrew made sure that instead of Champagne chilling that they had sparkling cider for both Mackenzie and I, he also had arranged to have a gift for her, a beautiful Cinderella’s Castle Snowglobe as well as her first set of Mickey ears, as we were both wearing our “bride and groom ears”. We ended up being the last people in the park, it was truly magical and something none of us will ever forget!

I love you Andrew!

I have to apologize, since I’ve been a little neglectful with my Blog. The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. Our meal planning has been going great. I really like Sandi’s system, and plan on sticking with it!

So what have we been up to? Well last weekend we decided to take an impromptu trip to Maine. The kids had Friday off school, so Andrew took the day off as well and we drove down to Maine for the night. We really didn’t go down for anything specific, we did try and get some ideas of want the boys would like for their upcoming birthdays and some ideas for Christmas gifts.

The drive down was beautiful, it was a gorgeous fall day and the foliage was so colourful. I kept forgetting to take photos all weekend! I did manage to get one of the International Boundary sign on the bridge at the border. We always joke around when we see this sign. The boys sit in the third row of the minivan, and I always say jokingly, “Mom and Dad are in the US, and the boys are still in Canada!” The second photo was also taken from the International Bridge, at the St. Stephen, NB, Calais, Me border crossing.

We ended up staying the night in Ellsworth, Me instead of our usual Bangor. It seems that with the Canadian dollar being so high right now, the hotels in Bangor are fully booked! We didn’t mind the extra drive, and we got to stop at my mother’s favorite little takeout called Jordan’s Snack Bar. My mother is always raving about this little place and their amazing Lobster Rolls. Take a look at the Reviews they’ve gotten on TripAdvisor

For those of you wondering what TripAdvisor is, a site where you can get feedback and reviews on everything travel related. It includes, hotels, flights, attractions, and restaurants. Some times you can even check out extra photos of properties that people have reviewed. It’s a great place to start when researching a trip!

Our next morning we got up nice and early and had a swim in the indoor pool then went out to Denny’s for breakfast. Took a drive into Bangor and did a little shopping at Target and ToysrUs. Here’s the kids showing off their new Pokemon characters.

I was very excited to spend our last day on the Grand Cayman at a place called Rum Point. It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. The water was a crystal clear turquoise that traveled as far as your eyes could see. It was overcast and even though started to rain, it didn’t dampen our spirits. Greg and his daughter Evelyn picked us up and we made the drive across the island to the Northside where Rum Point is located. Here’s few pics of our morning there.

Greg, Evelyn, Finn and I

A Sting Ray!

Our last afternoon was spent relaxing and getting ready for a double date with Greg and his wife Christine. Since Greg had arrived last fall, he had been wanting to take a Sunset Cruise on one of the Pirate Ships, so they called in their babysitter and off the adults went for an evening out on the Jolly Roger. Originally we had planned to do the Sunset Dinner Cruise, but there was some confusion when the reservation was made, and the caterers only had us down for appetizers. Greg and I were famished so we ran across the street to KFC to grab a quick bite to eat. (KFC- is extremely popular in Grand Cayman, I saw at least 3 locations. The funnier thing is that chickens are wild all over the island, I nearly burst out laughing seeing them roam around the front of the restaurant!)

The Jolly Roger is moored in the George Town Harbour, so we had to take a smaller boat out to it and we all set sail at 6pm. A friend of our operates a similar vessel in St Maarten, so it was a lot of fun for all of us. Here’s a few shots:

Since the sun sets so early in Grand Cayman (they do not observe Daylight Savings Time), it seemed a lot later than it was, so we decided to see a bit of the nightlife. We decided to go to the lounge at the Ritz Carlton Resort. What an amazing place, it’s hard to believe all of the décor, furniture etc. all has to be shipped in, it’s no wonder that can charge $500 + a night! I must say that their women’s restroom has to be one of the nicest I have ever seen! Of course I snapped a pic!

I must say, it was a wonderful week on a beautiful island, that I hope to return to with all of the kids. I know that they would really like it as well.

A huge thanks to Greg and Christine for taking some time out to entertain us, it wouldn’t have been the same without you guys!

After Last night’s dinner, Greg came over to drop of his vehicle for us to use for the day today while he and his wife Christine are working. Here in Grand Cayman they follow British Driving rules, so that means driving on the left hand side of the road! YIKES!

Well I did it, and it was fun, but very backwards feeling! We started out at our resort and headed West past Seven Mile Beach and headed to a place called Hell! What is Hell you ask? Hell’s intriguing formation, which resembles the charred remains of a hell fire, is weathered from rock called ironshore. Common around the island, but in less dramatic form, ironshore has been estimated at 1.5 million years old. The formation, which looks like volcanic rock, is actually made up of very hard limestone, at one time snow white, now blackened by a surface coating of the algae which are secreting acid and eroding the rock into these unusual shapes. There is also a little post office and a couple of token t-shirt souvenir shops close by.

***Note for Mackenzie-*** Hi sweets! We stopped by this post office and sent you a little note from there. I’m sure we’ll be home before you get it, but be watching the post office! Here’s some shots of Hell!

Next we decided to drive clear across the island, here’s a shot of me driving out to the East End of the Island to the resort we were originally going to stay at, called Morritt’s Tortuga Resort. Even though the day was overcast it was beautiful and a place I would definitely consider staying at in the future.

Dinner tonight consisted of leftovers from last night’s Chicken & Rice dish. I’m so used to cooking for everyone that I made way too mich last night. Just as we were finishing up dinner we caught this outside, a beautiful Cayman sunset! We’re really hoping this means sun for tomorrow!

Yesterday, we spent the day at the resort enjoying the pool, taking a few walks on the beach, reading and relaxing. It was truly heavenly. I decided to do a little video of the resort, so hopefully this will work for you. As well here’s a few pics from our day relaxing.

Coral Sands Resort Video

Dinner Fix Cayman Style
My original plan was to blog my families experiences with the Dinner Fix Challenge, but this opportunity to come to Grand Cayman came up so quickly, I haven’t had time to start the Challenge. I did however, get to make a really nice dinner here last night, and it happens to be one of Mackenzie’s favourites. I ended up cheating a little bit and used a seasoning I bought in the grocery store made by www.atasteofthai.com ‘s Chicken & Rice Seasoning as well as canned vegetables to prepare it quicker.

Thai Chicken & Rice One Pot Dinner
INGREDIENTS

DIRECTIONS

This morning we woke up to a beautiful site the most gorgeous rainbow hovering over the Caribbean Sea, both Andrew and I agreed that this was something we could get used to! The sun comes up early here as they don’t switch over to daylight savings time, so the sun also sets early around 7pm.

Take a look at these shots, they are stunning!

As most of you know I’ve been cloth diapering Finn, and decided that since I knew we’d have a washer & dryer in our condo that I would continue to do so while away. I remembered to bring a few clothespins and a string to hang his covers while the inserts I dried in the dryer. I took this photo for my fellow CDC members!

We decided to head across the street to pick up some groceries to make some meals here to take advantage of the kitchen in our unit. I was prepared that the grocery prices would be very high, but surprisingly they were very comparable to home with something actually less expensive! The biggest thing I noticed was that frozen, snack and convenience foods seemed to have the highest premiums. The selection of foods was very impressive, I think we spend close to 2 hours browsing around.

**Note for Mackenzie***- take a look at the photo below, I thought you’d like this

Once we got home from the grocery store, we decided to take a walk into Georgetown, which is the “downtown” on Grand Cayman, and home to many of the world’s most prominent financial institutions. They have their own currency, but the US dollar is also excepted everywhere, however it is taken at .80 cents Cayman dollar so in order to buy $1 CI it costs $1.25 USD. Now that the Canadian dollar is at par with the US Dollar, this makes things much more affordable here for us Canadians. The currency is very similar to Canadian money.

After browsing around a few shops and finding a wireless connection to update my blog (unfortunately our resort does not have one ) we had dinner at a restaurant that specializes in Caribbean cuisine (Andrew’s favourite ). Finn also had a quick drink but was more interested in entertaining everyone else in the restaurant. On the walk back to the condo, we ran into Greg out for a walk with his daughter Evelyn and invited them over for a drink and to play. Finn and Evelyn are almost the same size despite a 6 month age difference, so it’s so cute to see Evelyn walking circles around him and Finn trying to figure out how to pull himself upon everything.

So we finally made it to Grand Cayman after a slight delay in Saint John. Our flight was delayed over 2 hours, which in turn made us too late for the hotel shuttle once we arrived in Toronto. Finn fell asleep in the Saint John Airport and slept straight through until we arrived at our hotel in Toronto. After a diaper change and a feed he was back asleep.

We got to the airport, checked in without incidence, I would recommend to anyone that is flying with Air Canada, to check in online at home (or from your hotel)! What an easy process, they have a special area to queue up for those that have already checked-in to check your baggage and the lines here were a fraction of the other check-in area.

Finn was more than happy to people watch and smile at everyone who approached him while hanging out in the pouch sling. Once on board he fell asleep and slept through the majority of the flight, but here’s a few shots of him on his first plane ride:

The fight was relaxing, I also managed to get some sleep and relax, and listened to a few Podcasts. I did make a few observations while having a can of Coca Cola. Andrew and I both ordered a can while refreshments were being served. His was from Canada, bottled in Ontario, mine was from Mexico, with Spanish print all over it! The I decided to check out the Nutrition Facts listed in each can and was surprised to see that they differed!
Canadian Coke

For 1 can (355ml)

Calories 160
Fat 0g
Sodium 40mg
Carbohydrates (Sugars) 42g
Protein 0g

Mexican Coke

For 1 200ml portion (1.77 portions in a can)

Calories 82 (145 for full can)
Protein 0g
Fat 0g
Carbohydrates 21g (37g for full can)
Sodium 44mg (79mg for full can)

So dissecting this…the Canadian Coke has more calories, most likely due to the fact there is a bit more sugar, but what surprised me the most was that the Mexican Coke was almost doubled in the amount of Sodium! Here I thought Coke was Coke, but if differs everywhere!

When we arrived in Grand Cayman, the sun was shining beautifully and was about 30 degrees celcius. We cleared immigration and customs with I must say the 2 most pleasant officers. Our friend, Greg who is living here was waiting to pick us up. We loaded up out luggage in his car and Andrew was waiting to get in to the vehicle, not realizing it’s the right hand drive vehicle, as they drive on the left hand side of the road here! Greg took us on a little drive around his side of the island and over to his condo to relax for a bit before we checked into our resort. We hung out with his wife Christine and Finn hung out with their daughter Evelyn.

Next we checked into our Resort called the Coral Sands, it’s a quaint little resort right on the beach. The complex also has a little pool, but the best part of our unit, has to be the view! Take a look at this view from our bedroom window, actually there is 5 huge windows and a glass sliding door, so this view is seen from pretty much anywhere in the 2 levels of the condo.

In the evening Greg invited us to a Sunday family tradition of his and Christine’s to a restaurant.bar that is right on the beach called…………… You can sit relax, have a bite to eat, go for a swim, come back have a drink, it was a lot of fun. Christine and Evelyn actually sat this one out so Finn borrowed her stroller and car seat. What a nice time, there were so many families there!

When we got there we actually joined the table with a fellow Saint Johner who is now living in Grand Cayman as the Auditor General to the Cayman Islands. Thanks again Dan for a nice evening!

Dinner Fix Challenge Cayman Style- Tomorrow is about coming up with some ideas for Dinner that don’t need a lot of ingredients or spices. Luckily the grocery store is literally across the street from the resort, so this is a definite benefit!

**Note for Mackenzie** highlight below- Hi sweets! I can’t wait to come back down here again with you and the boys, it is amazing! I wanted to tell you a funny story, because we arrived on a Sunday the stores were not open, only small convenience stores and restaurants. Daddy and I decided to go to the Esso store that was close to get a few things. Daddy got 2, 2 litre bottles of Coke, and a big bag of Doritos, I got one 2 litre of milk, a tiny bag of cheesies and a 1 litre bottle of water. Guess how much it cost? $22.20!!!!!!!!!! Just so you know at Sam’s this would have cost $9.41. Crazy, eh?

Well the focus over the past month has really shifted to getting the house in order and less traveling. Knowing that our time with everyone home together would be ending soon, we decided to take a spontaneous last minute trip to Maine.

Wednesday afternoon while enjoying a sunny afternoon out on our deck with Andrew’s parents, Andrew brought up taking a drive down to Maine, as his mom was also on vacation. She liked the idea, so I quickly jumped online and checked out www.roomsaver.com and found a great deal in Bangor, Maine. I love this website for getting great deals in walk-in rates. So by 5pm, we had the van all loaded up and we ready to hit the road! We made a quick stop for some fast food once we crossed the border. Here’s Mackenzie and Finn getting ready to load back into the minivan on our way to Bangor.

We had no trouble using the RoomSaver rate at the hotel, but I had also printed off a few more of their coupons in case we didn’t get into our first choice. We enjoy the Ramada as they have an indoor pool that the kids love. This is usually where we stay while in Bangor and at $69/night it’s a good deal!

The next morning we all slept in, I keep joking with everyone that the whole summer we’ve been on Pacific time as we’ve all gone to bed so late and slept in every morning. We decided a big breakfast was in our so we decided that Andrew’s parents would really enjoy:

Next was a quick trip to my favorite of all department stores Target! I like the whole shopping experience there and I also like that they are an environmentally conscious company, read about Target’s Environmental Philospohy . I picked up another cube storage unit and the fabric drawers as well as some Method Cleaning Products I have been trying these and I’m very happy with them. They are an environmentally friendly cleaning products to use in our home. I was happy to find a larger variety of these products that I’ve not been able to find locally and at a better price!

After our shopping excursion it was a pit stop back at the hotels pool for a refreshing dip and some time to unwind for the kids. The boys have been loving they new wetsuit style swimsuits that have flotation aids built into them. Liam is getting more confident trying to swim on his own, it’s lots of fun to watch.

Next was a visit to something I always remembered from my childhood and a Bangor Landmark, the Paul Bunyan Statue.

A little history of the Paul Bunyon Statue, this specific statue of Paul Bunyon is reputed to be the largest in the word of him. He is a symbol of the great era in the late 1800’s when Bangor was “acclaimed” to be the Lumber Capital of the World. This legendary woodsman stands 31 feet tall and it weighs 3700 pounds and over looks the Penobscot River that used to be filled with sailing vessels shipping lumber all over the world. Ironically it looks as though he may not be able to see the river as there’s a huge new piece of construction being developed right across the street that will block his view. I just had to get a photo of that!

Our next day was cut short as we wanted to get back home for Andrew’s brother’s arrival. He was travelling from Nova Scotia with his boys for the weekend. They are both six months younger than Liam and Ciaran, so there’s never a dull moment when we get all of the cousins together.

Today was our check-out day from the Villas at Fairway. I don’t think we’ll be returning to this resort again. After a week of being sick, I know we didn’t make the best of the amenities, but I just don’t think we’d return to the Poconos again. One positive of his resort that many have taken advantage of, is it’s close proximity to New York City, only an hour and a half drive. Mackenzie has been asking to go to NYC for a few years now, ever since she first saw the movie Eloise at the Plaza. I know that this past week wasn’t a lot of fun for her, so even though I was a little apprehensive about going into the city with the younger boys, I knew it would make her trip. Andrew was on board, actually I think he may have been the one to suggest it!

I had read that the best way to get into the city from where we were in Pennsylvania was to drive to Staten Island and take the Ferry over to Manhattan. My one stipulation if we were going to NYC was to not have to drive in the city. By going to Staten Island you can park a few minutes walk from the ferry terminal in a municipal lot for $4 for the entire day and ride the Ferry for free! We got to Staten Island just after noon and managed to just catch one of the ferries. I wore Finn in the Pouch Sling and Andrew wore Ciaran on his back in the BabyHawk. Ciaran is just too much of a runner and will not hold hands, so we felt this was the best place for him. We also packed his little doggie backpack style harness to have with us for the day. The ferry ride was uneventful, although I thought it was pretty funny that in the ladies restroom, they have a separate vanity area that was filled with women all applying make-up and doing their hair in a mad rush before they hit the City. Another plus of taking the Ferry into the city is that it passes by the Statue of Liberty, something that Mackenzie really wanted to see!

Once we got off the Ferry we picked up day passes for the Subway and rode as far as Penn Station. Finn was fussing a little so I nursed him on the Subway, a definite first for me! The kids were in awe when we got up to the street level. We walked for a while along 7^th Avenue then soon hit Times Square. Liam immediately spotted the ToysRUs!

We went in and were all amazed by the size of the store. It’s 3 complete floors and on the bottom floor there is actually a Ferris Wheel! We went up to the second level and spotted the Pokemon Store! They actually have dedicated departments for some of the more popular items. It was sad to see him pass right by the Thomas setup and run for the Pokemon. We ended up buying the kids each a t-shirt, with the boys choosing Pokemon and Mackenzie a NYC Hello Kitty one.

Of course hunger was setting in, and Ciaran immediately spotted the Times Square McDonald’s, so lunch was spent there. I will be the first to admit that I do enjoy McDonald’s food, but not the US McDonald’s! I despise it, I find the food tasteless and just plain gross, but I couldn’t talk them out of it! We continued along 7^th Ave until we reached Central Park. I knew that there was a huge play area for kids (saw it on Law and Order…lol), it was much bigger (and better) than I remembered.

The kids had a lot of fun playing in the water area, it was just surreal being there. Here’s this huge park right in the middle of this Urban Jungle. Another I couldn’t help but notice was all of the highend strollers. Urban Mountain Buggies, Bugaboo Frogs…they were everywhere! The only way to get Liam and Ciaran out of the park was to bribe them with Sponge Bob Icecreams. Yes, bribery gets you everywhere! We stopped for a few minutes on one of the park benches and this butterfly would not leave Liam alone! It would fly around, but kept coming back and landing on him. It was really funny!

After leaving Central Park we walked down to Broadway to see the Ed Sullivan Theater home of Dave Letterman’s Late Show. Then we spotted a sign for the Nintendo World Store, near Rockerfeller Center. We’re huge Nintendo Fans, so we just had to check out the store while there. Along the walk there we saw Radio City Music Hall too. The kids (including Andrew) really enjoyed the Nintendo Store.

After this we decided that it was probably time to hit the road, as I really didn’t know my way back out of Staten Island and would prefer to do it during daylight. This plan was botched as we just missed the Ferry and had to wait for the next one. One thing we didn’t realize was when we got our directions (we use Microsoft’s Streets & Trips software) the route it gave us was directly through the city! Not fun at all, especially in the dark. I persevered and got us out! We drove as far as New Haven, Connecticut and spent the night there. It was a great day and definitely a great end to this leg of our travels!

Last night was not much fun! Firstly Ciaran just did not want to go to bed. Once he finally settled, I think he was up about 5 times. He was feverish, and his nose was completely congested. Andrew and I tried to get some Tylenol Cold into him, but because it was liquid form, he would not take it.

By mid-morning Ciaran seemed to be feeling much better, The kids had a fun time playing in the condo. There was a cool sleep loft with a single bed and a trundle bed under it. This is where Mackenzie slept, she really liked it as it gave her, her own space away from he boys, the boys really like playing up there though!

This gave me time to get all of the laundry done and the suitcase packed. Nothing better than packing CLEAN clothes! I took out enough for the weekend for our drive home, and the rest will stay in the monster size suitcase in the back of the van. Depending on how everyone is feeling tomorrow we’re going to do something SUPER EXCITING! I’ve been feeling bad that this week didn’t turn out as planned especially for Mackenzie, so we have something in the works for tomorrow! Stay tuned!