momof3kids-Yvonne

I am sorry we missed meeting you Lorna, but I understand about life getting in the way. I am still trying to work on Steve about Sone Mtn. He is still complaining about the cost of gas. Normally we ended up taking both the van and the truck as all of us going in the truck would be very tight. I mentioned that we could all just squeeze into the truck, but he still said it would cost too much. So, I said we could take the tent. He gave me a look like I was crazy. My youngest and I really want to go so, we will have to keep working on him. Oh and thanks for reading along. I am about to ad

She is a beautiful ship. Not as large as some of the other RCI ships, but being that it was our first time cruising this was probably best for us. As it was I felt we didn't get a chance to explore every thing anyways couldn't imagine trying to do and see it all on a much larger ship. Talking to some people we were cruising with us they did mention they liked the activity areas for the larger ships (full court basketball verses the 1/2 court they had on the jewel as an example). We got to peek in at some of the regular balcony rooms as they were open when we walked by sometimes. We had th

Glad you all made it there safely. Sorry about the truck trouble, but love that you all did not let that ruin your trip and instead just adjusted your plans accordingly.

One thing I had forgotten to mention was that our room did not have a balcony, but we had two large bay style windows. It was the perfect place to sip a glass of wine, eat some breakfast or simply pose for pictures. It was now about time to get ready for dinner. The travel agent that we used for the trip had booked us at a table that sat 6 people as she thought since this was our first cruise and there would be times where we were going to be off in different directions we might want that time at dinner to reconnect. Now as I had read on the various boards of how rude it was to show up

I loved your New Years Eve trip report so, I'm in. Zac Brown Band is actually playing here in Alabama this summer at Bama Jam. Should be interesting to see how many male fiends decide to grow beards now.

I'm in!! Looking forward to reading about all the new memories you all created.

Also wishing I lived close enough to drop in for a visit, but thankful for fiends who do and post trip reports.

Thank You Carol. I will most likely not post another one until after Easter.

It is about 9:30 am on Cruise Departure Day! Somehow my fellow passengers here with me do not understand the urgency of this matter. GET UP PEOPLE!!!!! Finally we are on our way to the Port. The ride was very easy. Well except for the fact I forgot to write down the terminal from which we were leaving. No worries though it seems our ship was the only one leaving from the port that day and we found where we needed to go. As I mentioned we were going to leave our van parked in the garage while we were gone. The cost for that was $15 per day. For a few extra dollars per day we could hav

Well I finally caught up (well at least on this TR) have yet to catch up on the others. As usual I am enjoying your pictures and am so thankful you were able to recover them. I liked your April Fool's prank.

As promised to Carol an update. :) So, after a nice restful night Steve’s alarm went off around 9am and the girls and I decided to go and see what the hotel had for the breakfast offerings. Not too much really the typical cereal, pastries, biscuits and gravy and make your own waffles. Jessica decided on a bagel with cream cheese, Rachel had a danish and I had biscuits and gravy. The guys ended up missing breakfast, but did not seem to mind. Finally around noon we got back on the road. I had already booked our hotel for the night. We were going to be staying at the Best Western in Wesley

Thank You for joining along. This was our first cruise, but probably will not be our last. Though dh did say he would like to go on some other vacations first such as trip to Italy (being planned for summer 2013), Grand Canyon trip, Colorado ski trip, etc. Glad you are here Stef! Hmmm sounds like you would fit right in with our Mad Libs games. This is true. I have to think God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Steve and I together. Steve's lack of planning and my obsessive compulsive over planning seem to have ways of balancing each other out many times. Glad to have you a

The plan was to leave around noon on Saturday, March 24th and drive for about 6-7 hours. Well let’s just say we tend to not stick to “plans” too well. I will admit it use to drive me crazy, but now I am just use to it. So, the van is packed up and we are ready to go. My girls! At this point DS and DH had not yet gotten into the van. Finally the guys arrive and we pull out of the drive way and head out of our neighborhood, but before we get too far ds realizes we do not have the extension cord that we use on the trips so, all electronic devices can be charged and in use at all times. S

Love the pictures!

Trying to catch up on all that I missed while we were on our cruise last week. We were in that traffic heading north on 75. At first we thought it was bad on our side of the interstate, but the further north we got we saw how much worse it was for all those traveling south. Enjoying your report and loving all your mugs.

We made it to our pre-cruise hotel. The guys are watching the basketball game. So much better than trying to listen to it on the radio and hearing static about half the time. Oh did have a bit of a panic last night as I couldn't remember if I had grabbed the folder with all the cruise paperwork (including birth certificates). All was good though they were safely packed in my suitcase. I just didn't remember putting them in there.

The quarters are for laundry??? Who knew :rofl3:

Well I guess it's a good thing I didn't buy you that Snow White Barbie doll I saw today at the local children's consignment sale. :whew: Enjoying your report Gwen!

Great report! As you came to the end of the day, I found myself smiling thinking about the twins sharing this day with their friends back at school and one day in the future with their own families.

Thank you Ed for doing this again!

Add me to Lou's group. Still enjoying your trip and really glad you got over to the Fort.

The pictures you took are beautiful!

The cruise departs on March 26th. We would be staying the night at the hotel on Sunday March 25th. It looks like it is right off of I-75. Right now the plan is to leave on Saturday late morning drive for awhile and then stop for the night. Then finish up the drive on Sunday. We could drive it all in one day, but DH has learned after numerous drives to Kansas City and Nebraska that everyone is much happier when we just take our time. Depending on when we get there, maybe we could meet for dinner on Sunday March 25th if you will be in the area.

Lorna, we will be departing from the Tampa port (Channelside).

Thank you once again for all the advice you have given. I have another question. What is the Wesley Chapel area of Florida like? Would it be considered a "safe area"? The reason I am asking is that is where we are looking to spend the night before the cruise. I have looked into some of the hotels closer to the port that offer the stay and cruise packages, but Steve said he would rather just leave the van parked right there in the garage at the port. Of course most hotels nearby are rather pricey. Looking at the map it looks at though Wesley Chapel would be on our way to the port and would