Day 27 - Texas

Once again Margaret was up again early to make breakfast for us, this time it was spicy pumpkin muffins and they were delicious! Today Karen, Wendy and myself were taking the kids to Six Flags Over Texas - a huge roller-coaster park situated in Arlington just over an hours drive away.  Unfortunately the drive took us almost 2.5 hours due to highway construction and losing Karen and Wendy travelling the car behind me!  All good though - Karen managed to find a gas station where she placed more credit on her phone so we were able to locate each other - a bit of a scary moment though!



The kids had a great time on the roller coasters even though they only had about 4 hours to have fun.  Karen, Wendy and myself had fun shopping at a local mall in Arlington where all the shoppers apart from us appeared to be either Mexican or African Americans!

Nick, Daf and Glen had a boy's day out and visited a gun show at Lewisville which had thousands of guns for sale and show.  Glen was amazed at the pricing - apparently about a quarter of our pricing in Oz. They enjoyed lunch together at Mimi's - a local diner which had good food!

After collecting the kids from Six Flags we travelled stright to Ponder to join everyone else at the Ranchman's Cafe to have chicken friend steak for dinner.  The food at the Ranchman's was fabulous and was enjoyed by all!  Jonathan got up and played a piano in the restaurant and played very well (and he was quite chuffed with himself!)

Day 26 - Texas

Margaret was up early this morning and made us blueberry muffins and bacon for breakfast - yum!  A cold front had come across Texas overnight and it was drizzling and cold (thank goodness we had all purchased some sweaters in our shopping sprees!).

Nick, Jonathan, Glen, James, Livvy, Daf, Ryan and Teags were all headed to the State Fair of Texas by train today but their plans were changed once they realised that the train ride was going to take them 1.5 hours to get to the fair and they had just missed a train and had to wait for another hour.  They decided to join Donny and go and visit his ranch up in Tioga about a 35 minute drive away.  The kids all had a lot of fun chasing the two dogs Rosie and Lilly all around the ranch and playing with the oodles of kittens.  They got to see all of Donny's horses and Jerry-Lee, the long-horn steer (Donny's pride and joy!).  Margaret was meeting a bunch of girlfriends and having drinks together to celebrate her birthday!

Karen, Wendy and myself decided to visit Southfork Ranch from the TV series "Dallas".  I had been to Southfork about 16 years ago and it was completely different this time.  Nowadays you can go for a tour through the mansion and the grounds and it is quite magnificent.  We thought we would only be there for an hour or so but ended up staying for about three hours.  They had a great gift shop so we all managed to stock up on some Southfork souvenirs.  Luckily we had visited the Ranch this day as they would be closed in two days' time as they were about to start filming again for the second series of the new Dallas show!

We arrived back in Denton quite late so we fed the kids in the Texas Roadhouse steakhouse adjacent to the Best Western and then Donny drove us to Billy Bob's to experience a night at the biggest Honky Tonk in the world.  Unfortunately we arrived too late to watch the events in the bullring but we did have fun listening to a local band, watching everyone boot-scooting around, drinking, having photos taken on a bull and once again spending up in the gift shop.  It was a great (and late) night and we had a ton of fun!

Day 25 - Texas

An early morning start for us this morning with our shuttle bus arriving at 5.05am to take us from the Monte Carlo Hotel to the airport for our 7.45am flight to Dallas, Texas.  We had breakfast at the airport and had a smooth flight to DFW with most of us having a nap on board (especially Karen who had decided to stay up the previous night - she had been gambling until 2am so decided not to go to sleep for two hours!).

We collected our cars from EZ Car Rental and then went in "convoy" to Denton.  There was massive highway construction going on around the DFW airport but we managed without too many hiccups or U- turns!

We stopped at the Best Western Premier Hotel in Denton for the Patmans and Careys to check in - a very nice hotel @$90.00/ night which included a bedroom, lounge-room, kitchen and breakfast all included in the price - really 5 star!

We jumped back in our rental cars (subaru and camry's) and went to the Golden Triangle Mall in Denton  400m away for a late lunch and then to leave the "troops" whilst we headed to Don and Margaret's home at Oak Bend Circle.

It was wonderful to see both Don and Margaret!  Donny looked really well after only having a heart operation four weeks earlier - he was really quick to inform us that he couldn't lift anything! We settled in very quickly and then we were off to El Fenix Mexican Restaurant for dinner with Don and Margaret, their friends Glenna and Johnny and Margaret's son, Andy.  We had eaten at El Fenix on a previous visit to Denton and the food did not disappoint us!  The strawberry daiquari was delicious!  We went home and sat around Don and Margaret's back porch having a good old catch up until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer.

Day 28 - Last day in Texas

For our very last day of our fantastic holiday we went with Donny and Margaret to the Old West REstaurant for breakfast and it was a magnificent breakfast!  We will definitely go back to this restaurant next time we are in Denton!

Nick and Jonathan caught up with Daf, Glen and James and visited Cabela's a huge outdoor/camping store with Don and Margaret.  They spent three happy hours shopping in Cabela's before moving on to shop at Best Buy and then returning home.

I decided to take a quick drive to Vista Ridge Mall for some last minute shopping and I wasn't disappointed as I had a great couple of hours!

It was then back and Don and Margaret to pack the last of our belongings before heading back to the Best Western to collect the troops for the drive back to DFW for our flight home at 10pm.

We spend a few hours at the Admiral's Club at DFW having a few drinks and some nibbles before settling down in the plane for our flight home.  Arrived home in Brisbane 30 minutes later than our scheduled time and Scott our shuttle bus driver was there to greet us.

In summary, we all had similar thoughts about the trip but we all though the following regarding a "special" moment -

Glen - "definitely the chopper ride to the Grand Canyon"
Livvy - "shopping - especially in Las Vegas and New York" (I love this girl!!!)
Teags - "New York"
James - "all of the holiday"
Ryan - "everything about the holiday" (but I think he really enjoyed Harry Potter World most of all!)
Jonathan - "the cruise"
Daf - "the cruise and the helicopter ride"
Wendy - "the cruise and the shopping"
Karen - "the cruise, the shopping, the pedicure"
Nick - "the cruise and helicopter ride"
Allie -  "the cruise, helicopter ride and managing to walk the whole distance of the Brooklyn Bridge and the view from the Empire State"

We ALL had a most wonderful time and can't wait until the next trip.  We'll be catching up in the next couple of weeks to compare photos!

Day 24 - Las Vegas

Today is our Helicopter ride to the Grand Canyon. Thanks to Barack Obama, there was an airspace blackout around Vegas so we were lucky enough to end up with more air time for our tour. Our group had 2 choppers and we flew out of Gene which is 45 minutes from Vegas and adds a little extra time in the air.

 All of us were very excited to be flying and we made sure we were going to get a good look at Hoover Dam. Our pilot was great and he even laid on a race with the helicopter that the Carey's were in. The whole trip was absolutely awesome and would recommend it to anyone.




On returning to the resort and getting the kids settled, we were able to fit in a Happy Hour for a while. As it was the last night with an early start to the airport, we decided to eat at The Big Belly Buffet which was very good. 

Day 23 - Las Vegas

Today I was having some FREE time as everyone else had other activities. Glen had organized a pickup by a Gun Range to shoot some high end weapons with all the boys and the Ladies had decided to visit an Outlet Centre and had raced off in a Taxi.  I headed off to the Casino for a tutorial on playing craps. It was very interesting however I got the impression that it was pretty easy to lose a lot very quickly. That is why there are so many huge resorts in Vegas.



After my tutorial I got myself settled by the pool and spent some quiet time reading.

Everyone returned to Monte Carlo at approximately the same time, however I was able to find out that Jonathan had fired an AK47 assault rifle and a Navy Tactical MP5 Sub-machine Gun. As there is no such thing as a failed shopping expedition the ladies were happy with their purchases.


We headed off to Bellagio for dinner and after encountering a very sour Maitre'd, we enjoyed a beautiful meal. As there was more money to be won, we all headed off to the Casino for a drink and a gamble.

Day 22 - Las Vegas

After a long day yesterday, Jonathan joined all the kids in the pools in the morning for a laze. We went for our own walking tour looking through the Hotel Lobbies and shopping areas of the Bellagio, Venetian and Winns resorts. The extensive features that are packed into these places are just incredible.

We walked back to Monte Carlo and joined everyone in a bar aptly called The Pub. Tonight we were on a tour that took in the sights such as the Volcano at The Mirage and the fountains at The Bellagio. Armed with a lot of info about the Resorts and having gone through Madame Tussaud's we eventually got to Fremont Street.
This was our kind of place and we loved it. Everyone just walking around in a Party atmosphere looking at the masses of street performers. On the hour every hour a massive light show in the roof over the mall area which was fantastic. We all enjoyed it immensely, then back on the bus and back to Monte Carlo. After settling the kids down all of us headed off for a quiet drink at a bar in the Casino. After one drink Allie called it a night and the rest stayed and gambled . A good night for all.

Day 21 - Leaving New York

Our plane was at 6.30 to Las Vegas so after packing and checking out some last minute shopping was packed into the rest of the day.

We all got ready for the trip to the airport and chased down taxis that could fit us and all the bags. We got a very talkative and entertaining driver and the trip seemed to take no time at all.

The flight was very uneventful however it was very interesting to see everyone's faces when the rows of Pokies were spotted at the Airport. Welcome to Las Vegas.

Day 20 - New York

More sightseeing was on the agenda today as we were all off to Brooklyn for a look around, a lunch at Grimaldi's and a quick stroll over the Brooklyn Bridge.

 We negotiated the Metro with very few hiccups and alighted at Hall Street Station going up to the Bridge area. Imagine our surprise when everything was packed on a Saturday  We had landed in the middle of a huge Art Exhibition so we went for a look around. After an interesting time browsing we started our Bridge walk. All was good until Allie realized that she was walking on timber slats that were pretty close together but certainly had space that she could see through. 


With curled toes and a vice like grip, Allie completed the walk however I am sure many on coming pedestrians wondered why we made no room for them as Allie DID NOT LET GO at any time.
After a small amount of time at the Manhattan end of the bridge, we packed up and headed off to the Empire State Building. Following instructions provided, we entered the building at the wrong entrance to be sent away by security. From there the efficiency of entry went downhill, however we eventually made it even after walking the last 8 floors to miss the 25 minute elevator wait. The view was spectacular and being dusk the buildings were lighting up providing an amazing vista.

We all met up at the Hotel for our last night in New York. We got dinner for the kids and the parents set off  for the Crown Triple Pub as it was so good the night before. We were all a bit sad to leave New York but the lights of Vegas were beckoning.

Day 19 - New York

A sleep-in morning today and we had breakfast in our room after purchasing fruit, cereal, OJ and pastries the previous night.  We had a 10 am appointment at the 9/11 Memorial which we missed as we all got lost in Penn Station - thank goodness for the mobile phone that we purchased in Orlando.  We had all gone off in different directions after receiving differing instructions on where to purchase metro tickets.  After the "kerfuffle",  we all had a good laugh and set off by metro to the Memorial.

The Memorial is really magnificent - two beautiful waterfall pools standing where the twin towers once stood.  The area was surrounded by trees and there was even one tree (aptly named the "Survivors Tree) which had withstood the demise of all the buildings.  It was a very moving experience to see the memorial and we were very humbled by the experience.

Upon leaving the Memorial, we split up into two groups.  All the boys went to the Intrepid aircraft carrier and museum and apparently enjoyed themselves.  Us girls were on a serious mission - we went shopping at Macy's!  We had a fabulous five hours of shopping, Livvy and Teagan had a most wonderful time trying on nearly every "prom' dress in the shop and they were in heaven.  It was lovely to watch their enthusiasm and I encouraged them to buy anything and everything which was on sale (I'm not sure that Karen and Wendy liked me saying that to their daughters - lol!)  We all had a great time and we were exhausted after our 5 hours.

Wendy, Daf, Nick and myself went for dinner at the Crown Triple Pub and had a fab meal.  The Patmans went uptown for Subway and to check out the Toys r Us store.

Day 18 - New York

This morning we were up and at it early for breakfast and to pack our bags as we were moving hotels.  Our next hotel was only a block away, the Affinia Manhattan Hotel on Seventh Avenue.  We were used to walking up 6th and Broadway so walking along 7th Ave was a bit of change for us.  We walked the block to our new hotel and luckily our room was a lot larger than our room at the NYMA Hotel. We had a room with 2 double beds, a kitchenette and a small bathroom and we were able to get a roll-away bed for $30.00 in total for the three nights for Jonathan so we were all able to spread out in a bed for each of us!  After hearing all the gossip from GKJOWDR & T we all walked up to Times Square for a look around before we left GKJOWDRT to go on a tour to Liberty Island and Ellis Island.  We were particularly interested in Ellis Isalnd as it is steeped in history - it is the point where immigrants landed and were processed to be able to enter the USA back in the 1865 to 1925's approx. It was extremely interesting learning about all the different European nationalities journeyed across the Atlantic (sometimes taking up to a month) by boat and then maybe being turned back if they didn't fit the "criteria" required by the US government.  Certainly glad we didn't live in those times and need to migrate to the USA!

For dinner, the adults went to Mustang Sally's for a really good nosh whilst we tucked up the children with pizza in our hotel.  A really good night out but once again a late night!

Day 17 - New York

We started our day with the NY style brekkie again of yummy bagels and coffee etc and decided to tackle the NY subway system as we wanted to visit the American Museum of Natural History.



 Jonathan was particularly interested in visiting this museum as he had read a book called "Wonderstruck" earlier in the year as one of his "Reader's Cup" books. Wonderstruck gave a story and history of this museum so Jonathan wanted to check out the museum to ensure that the book was "true to life".  The museum was totally amazing but far too much to take in in for one day.  After six hours our brains couldn't take in any further information so we left and went by subway to Columbus Circle to take photos of Christopher Columbus and then we visited FAO Swartz - the world's biggest toy store.

 FAO's was beautiful (and sparkling clean) and I think there were more adults than children in the store! Next we walked down Fifth Avenue and window shopped in all the designer stores!

We stopped for dinner at "Bill's Burgers and Bar" a ritzy bar on 6th Avenue.  It was a great restaurant serving fabulous burgers and a huge variety of beers.  We were all grateful to walk the 12 blocks back to the hotel after a huge meal!  Karen, Glen, James, Olivia, Wendy, Daf, Ryan and Teagan all arrived safely from Orlando this evening.

Day 15 - New York

Another great night's sleep in an Embassy bed before getting up to enjoy our last breakfast and morning in Orlando.  The Careys and Patmans were off to Epcot for the day so we said our goodbyes to them and we will see them in New York in two days time.  We caught up on all our washing,drying, ironing and packing of our bags and set off for the airport with two stops along the way.  Jonathan wanted to purchase a pair of Vans (shoes) at the Vans factory outlet store.  Apparently these shoes are considerably more expensive in Australia than the $30.00 we paid for them.  Our second stop was at the Florida Mall to have a security tag removed from one of Nick's shirts that was not removed when we purchased the item.  We had a quick last look around and then headed to Orlando International Airport for our flight to New York City.













We had a very smooth flight of 2.5 hours to New York. It was an empty flight so we were lucky to have six seats between the three of us.  We took a Yellow Cab to Our hotel in midtown Manhattan which cost us $70.00 including the tip (the flat rate for NYC cabs was raised just last week). Our hotel for the next tree nights is the NYMA (New York Manhattan Hotel) and it seems very nice although our room is the size of a postage stamp! That's New York hotels for you.  Nick and I squeezed into our double bed whilst Jonathan was finding his double bed quite luxurious!

Day 16 - New York

We had a typical NY breakfast this morning in our hotel - beautiful fresh bagels with cream cheese, donuts (plain, jam, iced), pastries and coffee.  We hit the streets for a walk around around our surrounding area on 32nd St and walked towards Times Square (amazing) up to the Theatre Distict to join our half day tour with "On-board" Tours to familiarize ourselves with this very busy city.  Our tour was 5.5 hours in total and encompassed the following areas in NY - Greenwich Village downtown to Wall Street, Sea port pier where we boarded a boat which took us out to view the Brooklyn Bridge, NY skyscrapers, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We also visited Chinatown, Hells Kitchen, Battery Park, Chelsea, Central Park, drove
down 5th Avenue and received any "tips" from our tour guide (and local Brooklyn lady), Faith. Our tour finished at 7.30pm so we set off to have dinner at the Soup Nazi's kitchen (from Seinfeld show) and we all enjoyed our soup even though Nick was told "no soup for you" when he first ordered his soup!  We walked home taking in all the lights at Times Square and stopped and purchased a cupcake each from a local bakery shop named "Crumbs".  We were fairly exhausted after our first day in the "big smoke".

Day 14 - Orlando

We docked back at Cape Canaveral at 5am on Sunday morning but we slept in until 7am. We had our last on-board up in the Windjammer Restaurant before disembarking for the final time at 9am.  Our transition through Customs went extremely well and quickly and within 20 minutes we were boarding our white stretch Hummer for our return to the car rental company and the Embassy Suites Hotel at Lake Buena Vista.

After checking in, Nick, Jonathan together with the Careys and Patmans went for an "extreme" airboat ride through the swamp lands and everglades for a few hours.  They saw heaps of wildlife including gators,snakes,eagles and bird life and they all said that it was a fantastic tour.  Allie had a return visit to the Florida Mall for some last minute bargain shopping.

In the late afternoon and evening we sat around in the bar of the hotel and had many of the free drinks and nibbles duing happy hour.  Needless to say, none of us felt like a large meal so we decided to stay at the Embassy for dinner rather than drive out to a restaurant.

Day 13 - Freedom of the Seas - Day 7 - at sea

Just love this ship and never want to leave!

Nick and I had breakfast with three Negro ladies from New York in Leonardo's restaurant this morning and we learnt alot about New York from these ladies.  It was a relaxing day of sitting by the pool for a few hours and reading our books even though we forgot to attend the animal towell figure making and the male belly flop competition!  I think I was in the spa or the steam room and Nick was making headway with his book!  Jonathan had a busy day of collecting/exchanging names with new friends and attending the ship "prom" at night to enjoy an evening of dancing.  Not much was said about the evening except that it was awesome!  A late night for Jonathan, he woke us when he came back to the room just after 1am!

Day 12 - Freedom of the Seas - Day 6 - Cozumel, Mexico

The Ship didn't dock til 10am this morning so we decided to have breakfast in the Silver-Service dining room, Leonardo's. Nick and I had bircher muesli and eggs benedict whilst Jonathan had Chocolate Waffle. After breakfast we disembarked and caught a taxi to downtown Cozumel.

We enjoyed all the souvenir shopping and also bought some jewellery. The weather was really sunny and hot just like our whole trip has been so far. We met up with Daf and Wendy and sat in Senor Frogs Margarita Bar where Allie and Wendy had "Sex on the Beach" Shots. Luckily, they were able to walk back along the pier to the ship and indulge in a bit more shopping.
 

We enjoyed all the souvenir shopping and also bought some jewellery. The weather was really sunny and hot just like our whole trip has been so far. We met up with Daf and Wendy and sat in Senor Frogs Margarita Bar where Allie and Wendy had "Sex on the Beach" Shots. Luckily, they were able to walk back along the pier to the ship, after a bit more shopping. We managed a few 2for1 Magaritas in the Ship's bar, before enjoying another wonderful meal in Galileo's, whilst Jonathan, Ryan and James with Olivia and Teagan enjoyed their night eating in the Windjammer, and participating in the Teen Feud night. Ryan and James didn't make it back to their staterooms until 2am, so I was glad that Jonathan was back in the stateroom earlier!

 

Day 11 - freedom of the Seas - day 5 - George Town, Grand Cayman Island

Our ship docked at George Town at 8am this morning.  We had decided not to do any tours today but just to explore this tiny township.  Jonathan, Nick and I had breakfast together in the Windjammer (buffet) Restaurant.  I am so glad that I had managed some time at the gym yesterday, just 30 minutes on the treadmill but with all this wonderful food, the weight is just stacking on! Anyway, Nick and I ventured into George Town on our own as Jonathan has hurt his foot on Tuesday on a rock whilst at the beach at Labadee and his foot was hurting him so he opted to stay on the boat for a leisurely day.  Nick and I puchased a couple of small souvenirs and looked around the town and then headed back on the tender boat to our ship, just in time for lunch.  Afterwards, Nick had a quiet afternoon reading in the library whilst I spent a couple of hours in the steam room at the gym and the spa pool - lovely and relaxing.  At 4pm Nick and I met with Glen for afternoon tea and then time for a quick "nana nap" before heading for the "on Air" bar for happy hour!  It's our second formal night on-bord so we need to get dressed up for our dinner in the Galileo Restaurant. It was also lobster night in the restuarant which Nick thoroughly enjoyed - Broiled Lobster Tail and Garlic Prawns. Jonathan had dinner in the Windjammer with Ryan and James, then headed off for a Teen night, and DJing class.

Day 10 - Freedom of the Seas - day 4 - Falmouth, Jamaica

We docked at Falmouth at about 10am and left the pier to join a bamboo raft ride down the Great River.  Candy was our tour guide and she was a local lady with a wicked Jamaican laugh and attempted to teach us some local language.  Needless to say we learnt "common mon" like a local.  We travelled for an hour in an airconditioned mini bus before touring down the river on the rafts.

 Along the way, our guides give us pedicures from the limestone rocks tht they dug out from the river's edge.  The limestone was just like pumice stone but only better.  Have lovely smooth feet now!  After the very peaceful raft ride we were taken around a banana plantation on a jipney (tractor and wagon) and given a very informative talk on the history of bananas and other quirky information.  We then had a Jamaican BBQ lunch consisting of tender (partly spicy) chicken, coleslaw with pineapple and rice and beans cooked in coconut milk - all delicious!  We then learnt how to make Pina Colada's from scratch, using coconuts, pineapples and rum.  Great tasting Pina Colada's and can't wait to get home to make them in my Thermomix! The adults had another wonderful meal in our restaurant for dinner followed by entertainment in the auditorium by the lead guitarist from Foreigner (can't remember his name) - he was dynamic, played the clarinet and guitar and entertained us magnificently.  Afterwards, we went to the Casino for a bit of a "flutter" but left due to the cigarette smoke! Not to worry worry, mon, it was after midnight so we headed back to our stateroom and shortly followed by Jonathan who had been at a table tennis tournament for teenagers followed by free arcade games!

Day 9 - Freedom of the Seas - day 3 - Labadee, Haiti

We left the ship after a leisurely breakfast to explore this peninsula that Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines have leased from Haiti for 20 years. A beautiful tropical island, extremely hot but the ocean water was extremely refreshing.  Jonathan went on the "zip line" which was a 500m zip line ride from the top of the mountain right down over the entire bay.  He said it was awesome!

I had a luxurious hot stone massage, facial, scalp massage and foot and ankle massage in the day spa - just too gorgeous and felt like a million dollars! We had our first "formal" night on-board with some ladies really looking exquisite and some men in tuxedos!  At least our husbands had long pants packed for the occasion!  The meals served in our dining room at night are "silver service" and the quality of the food is amazing - so fresh and tasty and beautifully presented, all melt in the mouth food!  By this time, we have sorted out the kids with their dining - they are happy to eat in the buffet restaurant each night so we are happy to "fine dine" each night without them!  We love happy hour from 4.30 - 7.30pm each day, buy one margatita for $6.50 and get another one free!  Needless to say we take them up of this offer!  Loved the "Marquee" show after dinner, great way to end an evening!  Slept like babies, must be the fresh ocean air!

Day 8 - Feedom of the Seas - Day 2

OMG - this ship gets better by the minute.  I just want to stay here forever.  Everything on this ship is beautiful, the glass lifts, the leather sofa chairs in the library, all "adults only" spa pools hanging over the ocean and the margarita's are just too divine!  Today was a day at sea to familiarize ourselves with the ship.  Our kids are having a ball - have no idea what Jonathan has been doing all day as the teenagers have their own (supervised) area and adults are not permitted. We do catch up with our children at breakfast and some lunch and dinner times.  Entertainment is never ending with always something to do for us adults and our children.  We caught up with our children today as we all watched the ice skating show - marvelous!

Day 7 Freedom of the Seas - Cruise

We had a leisurely breakfast for ourlast morning at the Embassy Suites followed by packing our bags and returning the rental cars to Orlando Airport.  Karen, Wendy and I had a treat for our husbands and children as we had hired a Hummer limousine to transport us from the airport to the cruise terminal.  The Hummer had seats for 20 guests so there was plenty of  room and we had a great one hour drive. Casey our driver really got the Hummer moving swiftly along the highways!

We were all breathless when we sighted the Freedom of the Seas - it is such a magnificent and huge boat! We skimmed through customs and boarded the boat.  OMG!  This boat is just stunning. Our stateroom was beautiful and exceptionally clean, the staff everywhere are so attentive and courteous, and the food is divine.  No sea sickness encountered by any of us, the boat is so huge that it just devours the waves and the only gentle "rock" is felt up on the top deck restaurant (but nothing to bother us).  We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon exploring the boat, shopping at the ship's promenade deck, checking out the gym, day spa, pools, ice rink, rock climbing wall, flow rider,pools, library, all the restaurants and the bars!  We also enjoyed the opening night "welcome on board" show in the ship's auditorium.  Had a wonderful night's sleep in an extremely comfortable king size bed even though it is a late night!

Day 6 St Augustine - 15.9.12

The others were today visitng Anmal Kingdom. As we had already been to Animaln Kingdom on a previous visit, we decidede to visit the quaint old town of St Augustine, built in 1565. We went directly to the visitor information centre and bought our "Old Town Trolley Tour" tickets then went around the old spanish town by open air trolley cars. St Augustine was actually the first settlement in the USA. Jamestown, which was settled by the British, was settled 42 years later, the Spanish therefore wre the First settlers of the USA. We saw the Fort, cbblestne streets, the oldest wooden building in the USA, oldest schoolhouse building, went into the old jail house where they used to hang criminals, and just had a fun time walking around this historic town. We'd go back there in a heartbeat.

 On the ay back to Orlando, we phoned Margaret and had a quick chat and luckily we got back to our hotel just ij time for the nightly manager's reception of free alchoholic beverages.