The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 11 & 12 (Complete!)

(Previously: Days 1 & 2, Days 3 & 4, Days 5 & 6, Days 7 & 8, Days 9 & 10)

Day 11 - Tuesday, September 29th

Last full day of the cruise... and Castaway Cay Day!

The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 9 & 10

(Previously: Days 1 & 2, Days 3 & 4, Days 5 & 6, Days 7 & 8)

Day 9 - Sunday, September 27th

Rain!

The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 7 & 8

(Previously: Days 1 & 2, Days 3 & 4, Days 5 & 6)

Day 7 - Friday, September 25th

Today we hit some rough waters and the boat was rocking crazily in the morning. I had breakfast, snapped a few photos of Belle (who was now wearing her yellow ballgown)...

The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 5 & 6

(Previously: Days 1 & 2 and Days 3 & 4)


Day 5 - Wednesday, September 23rd 

I had a slow morning. A little breakfast, then back to the stateroom for Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Dumbo on TV. I still felt dizzy and pretty bad. My sea bands may have been helping a little, but they weren't doing enough....

The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 3 & 4

(Previously... Days 1 & 2)

Day 3 - Monday, September 21st

Another amazing, and arguably too big, breakfast at Cabanas....

The Time I Did A Disney Transatlantic Cruise - Days 1 & 2

This is my super detailed, picture-overloaded cruise trip report of to the 11-night trip I took in September, 2015. It was originally posted on disboards.com. On that forum I was writing for people who are already familiar with the Disney cruises and ships. The following is an edited (and yet... expanded) version that anyone should be able to read. (And enjoy? Hmm, maybe!)

Read on, if ye dare....

Employsion

Six weeks.

You know, sometimes I just don't feel like blogging.

Still, I feel the need to compose an update to this entry from February 24th. 

2.5 weeks after the above post, I found out about a job opening at a local school. I applied. I had an interview a week later. Four days after that, I got a call that I'd gotten the job.

B-)

The following Monday, the job began.

Two things to note:

1. I've actually worked at this school before. Half the staff is different now, and only the 5th grade students have a ring of familiarity (they were in Kindergarten when I worked there five years ago), but it's funny because I feel like I've just slipped back in to my old groove.

--This can feel a bit wrong, too... as if I'm taking a step backwards in life.

--But deep down inside I feel at peace 

that this is where I'm supposed to be right now.*

2. I had already agreed to work/teach at this after-school program at a 2nd school, before I got this job. So each day I work 6 hours at one job and then drive over and do 2 hours at another job. And it's exhausting.

Which may explain why I haven't blogged much.

I do want to say that I am happy... even though some of my students drive. me. nuts. I'm happy because I have a job, it's something I know how to do, and it's something I'm comfortable doing. I don't expect to do it forever, but then... who knows? 

Meanwhile, a picture of my favorite dog....

And favorite baby....

Life is good.

*and God is faithful.

And Exhale...

When I left my job last year, after a lot of prayer and thought, then embarked on a trip, then began a new job search, I knew I was abandoning "stability". However, I believed that all would turn out right in the end, and that before long, I would have a new job, and it would be a better job, and I would be able to say, "Aha! Yes! This is why all this happened!"

Hahahahaheehhhh....

So this blog entry is tough because essentially I have to admit, to the world, that I still don't have a full-time job or even a half-time job. I've spent the last 4.5 months going on interviews that either go horribly awry or seem to go really well, then yield nothing. To a casual observer (or a certain close relative) it seems that I am a pathetic failure who made a huge mistake. Oh, but if only I could pop back in time and make things "right" by staying at that one job... forever?

There are lots of stories about waiting in the Bible. Joseph, David, the enslaved people of Israel, pretty much every prophet ever. God works on His own time, and that can make humans pretty impatient.

4.5 months, really, ain't much. But will I still feel hope six months from now, if I still don't have a full-time job? Or will I grow bitter?

I try to look at what blessings I have been given, even as I'm in this waiting period. Not working full-time has allowed me to devote extra energy/creativity into the 1/4-time job I do have. It has allowed me to spend extra time with my grandma and be available to take her to appointments, which has freed my mom up to spend extra time with her baby granddaughter. Not being exhausted has allowed me to spend more energy writing and studying a foreign language. I've been inspired to open an etsy shop, which has not only made me a tiny extra bit of money, but led to a re-acquaintance with an old-school-days friend.

My 1/4-time job would almost pay my monthly bills, but not quite. But the gaps have been filled by the etsy sales, a couple of Extras jobs, a number of babysitting stints, and a few things here and there. No, I can't buy LEGO sets these days or take weekend trips. Yes, I have to be very frugal. But He's providing, and I have enough.

One example of a recent blessing: I sponsor two children through World Vision, a girl in Mexico and a boy in Colombia. It had been weighing on my heart recently that I should send them each a package. I hadn't done so in over a year because sending packages to those countries requires filling out custom forms as well as paying hefty shipping fees, even for tiny little packages.

And then in January I went to the dentist, had no cavities, got to enter my name in the "No-Cavity Club" drawing for a $50 Fred Meyer gift card, won, got the gift card, and used the money to buy toys & things to fill the packages for my two WV kids. The toys + the shipping for both kids' packages added up to about $43.

 Excelente.

It's easy to settle into a place of discouragement, especially when you're expecting something, or hoping for something, and you're being told, No... wait. For how long? 4 months? 40 years? It's not easy, because humans are impatient little buggers. But--

Trust Me. Wait.

Okay, I'll wait. But what about the next time a certain relative tells me I'm a pathetic failure?

Trust ME. Because I've got a plan and it's going to be amazing....

Wait.

Notes Of Inspiration ♬

Bern, Switzerland: A city buzzing with the noise and confusion of words I don't recognize, accents that mystify... and bells, so many bells.

And then, just outside the train station, my ears perk. I hear something familiar....

It's a song. It's a song in English. And it's a song I know.

Somehow, thousands of miles from my home, street musicians in Switzerland are performing a song I know. It's like a little sign reminding me that I am not alone.

Last December, I wrote about my sudden and intense love for pop music that came about at age 15. Over the years since, I've gone through phases of intensely enjoying a particular genre... Pop, Country, 80's Rock, Classical... and currently, it's Contemporary Christian music. There are so many great songs out there right now. In fact, several of them became very meaningful for me this year as I was preparing to leave my job, and later, as I was preparing to embark on my trip, and even now, as I'm looking for a new job.

Below is a list of songs that have had special meaning for me this year....

The Glorious Unfolding - Steven Curtis Chapman

Voice Of Truth - Casting Crowns

Drops In The Ocean - Hawk Nelson

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) - Hillsong United

Praise You In This Storm - Casting Crowns

10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) - Matt Redmond

Holy Spirit - Francesca Battistelli

Your Love Never Fails - Newsboys

Good To Be Alive - Jason Gray

Through All Of It - Colton Dixon

Soul On Fire - Third Day

Greater - Mercy Me

And here are other songs that I just enjoy...

You Are I Am - Mercy Me

Sky Spills Over - Michael W. Smith

That Was Then, This Is Now - Josh Wilson

More Than You Think I Am - Danny Gokey

Shoulders - For King And Country

Because He Lives (Amen) - Matt Maher

Flawless - Mercy Me

Lord, I Need You - Matt Maher

Remind Me Who I Am - Jason Gray

He Knows My Name - Francesca Battistelli

Start A Fire - Unspoken

Fix My Eyes - For King And Country

All The People Said Amen - Matt Maher

Unchangeable - Matthew West

Love Stands Waiting - Matthew West

Write Your Story - Francesca Battistelli

This Is Amazing Grace - Phil Wickham

With Every Act Of Love - Jason Gray

In Conclusion...

Trip Blog Index!

Pre-Trip

Exodus

Baggage

Planning

This Thing...

Germany

I Heard They Had Chocolate Cake Here

Castleton

Switzerland

The Lady Photographs

Bern, Baby

Alps!

Italy

A Day In Milan

Castle In The Park

Venice At Night

Ah, Venice!

Spain

Transportation Vexation

Hopping On

Architecture & Animals

Cruise

Posted While Aboard...

You Can Be Blase About Some Things, Rose...

Rocking The Boat

Where The Ocean Meets The Sky

The Magic Has Landed

After-The-Facts Detailed Cruise Trip Report...

Days 1 & 2
Days 3 & 4
Days 5 & 6
Days 7 & 8
Days 9 & 10
Days 11 & 12

Washington, D.C. Area

And The Streets Are Paved With Cheese

Back In Time

Maryland Renaissance Festival

National Zoo (Washington D.C.)

Now I've Seen Everything

Boston

Dorchester (Boston, Massachusetts)

Post-Trip

Home!

Delicious Kevins

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My world travels came to an end three weeks ago, and my travel blog posts are concluding as well. This makes me a little sad. I loved that trip. Being home is a semi-disappointing reality, like waking up from a terrific dream. I love my family and home, but... the wild blue younger! I need more of it! So I need to get back to working, back to saving money, so that I can do more....

But before I start blogging again about TV shows and antiques and all other manner of goofy things, I want to make a few last-minute remarks and reflections about my trip.

1. I am so grateful to God for providing me with safety and good health. I know I was praying for both, I'm sure my mom was, and I believe others were, too. Even though I was sometimes in weird situations, like where I had to walk back to my hotel in a strange city in the dark, I always made it safely. One ship, one small boat, four planes, five trains, several buses and shuttles, two taxis, lots of subways, and miles of walking, and I had no injuries to report (beyond cutting my finger on a cheap umbrella), no robberies or pickpockets, and no sicknesses beyond some dizziness during the first part of my cruise. That said, on my final flight home, I started to get a sore throat, which, after returning home, turned into a cold which turned into Bronchitis. But that all happened afterward.

2. Many people have asked me what my "favorite thing" was, and honestly, there were so  many great moments and "things" that I can hardly say.

Best food? Switzerland. The bread and cheese were divine.

Most beautiful? The Alps, notably on the train ride from Switzerland to Italy.

Coolest thing I saw? The Last Supper in Milan was a big deal. Lots of little things -- the Olympics complex in Barcelona, the Alps, the panda in D.C., castles in Germany and Italy, the U.S. Capitol and Washington Monument, etc. etc. 

Most fun? The cruise. That's hardly fair to the other places, really, because that was 11 nights, the longest I stayed anywhere on the trip. With all the shows and events and things to do (and eat!) on board, along with the advantage of not having to unpack or walk long distances, I was able to really relax and unwind and enjoy myself.

Places I would definitely want to visit again? Germany for sure. I want to see more. Italy, especially Rome and the cities I didn't get to see. Boston... well, all of New England.

Places I wouldn't visit again? Probably Venice. That was on my bucket list, and now I've seen it. It was beautiful, but I'm not sure I will ever feel the particular need to go back there (especially when Rome, Florence, and so many other places are calling my name.) 

"Maybes"... Barcelona. There's certainly more to see, there, and it was a nice city overall, but it wouldn't be at the top of my list.

3. Smushed Pennies/Coins acquired: nine. One in Germany, eight in Washington D.C., seven of them involving pandas.

4. Things I neglected to pack that I had to buy en route: Razor, sewing kit, flipflops, non-sneaker shoes. (Well, I had packed flipflops but they were old and started to disintegrate circa Italy.)

5. Things I packed that I hardly ever needed or used: Swimsuit, swimsuit cover-up, hand sanitizer.

6. Things that surprised me about Europe:

*Public restrooms sometimes cost money (my cousin warned me about this)

*Bathroom stalls nearly everywhere I went were super private and secluded, not like in the U.S. where anyone can peek under the door or see you through the cracks.

*Airport security is more lax. No shoe removal.

*Language barrier wasn't really an issue in most cities. I did pick up some Italian before I went, and I knew some Spanish, so both of those helped a little. However, a lot of people there were bilingual. It was only in the German-speaking countries that I felt like a dope. Note to self: learn some German before the next trip.

*National Archives Museum photo by Wes D.

Delicious Kevins

Signs. They try to tell you something important, and sometimes they fail. This is perhaps especially true in places where the people reading the signs may not speak the native language, such as in tourist-centric cities and in the vicinity of famous landmarks. The people who made the signs, being aware of potential language barriers, may have tried to make the signs simple and their message clear.  Sometimes they succeeded. Other times? They just made me laugh.

Here are some examples of signs that caught my attention on my travels....

In Boston:

"Slow children?" Okay, well, that child is clearly running, so I don't think he's slow. And if he is slow, I'm not sure I should be worried about him at all. I could outrun him, even if he is a zombie or something.

Same neighborhood:

Oh, you want me to drive slow(ly)? Because of the slow children who may be in the road, but may actually be running and not be being slow? WHO IS SUPPOSED TO BE SLOW, ME OR THE CHILDREN? I give up.

In Milan:

I like how whoever designed and/or erected this sign clearly went on Google images and just grabbed the first four pictures that appeared. There are watermarks on the hamburger picture, which is visually superior to the other pictures (more like MS paint icons), and the red circle-lines don't even all go in the same direction. 

LAZY. DO BETTER.

"Please behave respectfully," say the words in English.

Hmmm. So it looks like that means:

*No throwing things at the birds

*No sliding down the stairs

and

*No throwing litter at other litter. 

Got it!

In Venice:

Umm...?

*No wearing ugly bathing suits?

*No sitting on steps while wearing ugly bathing suits?

*No throwing ice cubes or possibly sugar cubes on the ground?

*No ball games?

At least, that's what the icons are telling me. What do they really mean?

The fun police are watching. NO FUN! EVER! Exceptions: gondola rides and buying beads.

Zoos are a great place for funny signs, because they often involve DANGER, which, when not actually happening to you or your loved ones, is pretty funny.

Here I am reading about what peril (perill, peligro) may occur should I nonchalantly hop the fence, while that lioness there looks particularly peaceful and content. As if she's daring me to defy the sign. "Go on," she says, "I won't bite you. Hop the fence, do!"

But heck. Just about everyone knows lions are dangerous. It's almost as if the sign doesn't even need to exist. But this one...?

Pelicans bite? Holy crap.

Rumor has it, bears bite too. So don't do this, potentially moronic parents....

How can we make it any clearer? Adult + little person + over fence = NO! 

Although the following sign was probably meant for zoo visitors, I like to think it's actually intended for the zoo's pandas to adhere to also:

No, seriously, pandas. We'll feed you at staggered intervals. Stop trying to help yourself to the goods!

Nearby...

Meet the otters! All named after delicious things you can find at Whole Foods:

Kevins! Yum! I wonder if Kevins taste like asparagus water?!

And how bout them crocodiles?

"Evil" and "cherished": two extremes, neither of which actually pertain to my feelings toward crocodiles. After careful consideration, I'm somewhere in the middle.

A few non-signs that amused me on my travels....

At the Smithsonian Museum Of American History, an old ad for 7-Eleven:

"LEAVE THE YOUNGSTERS IN THE CAR?

Why not? You can see them from anywhere in the store.

That's a 7-Eleven drive-in grocery for you. Park right at the door... leave the youngsters in the car... pick up everything you need... and they've never once been out of sight. How many times have you given up any thought of going in the grocery for that something you needed... because taking the car pool in with you was out of the question? Try our little "park-at-the-door" store next time you have a car full of youngsters.

Open from 7am till 11pm... 7 days a week. 7 Eleven."

There's no "i" in team, and pretty soon, there'll be one less "u" in "agriculture."

In Barcelona, while on a tour bus, I was hoping to get a Wifi signal. Suddenly, I got one, and it didn't even require a password or watching a lame video or me signing away the rights to my firstborn child.

 I looked up, and realized... My little iPhone 3 had located the mothership! 

In Germany, they don't just have gummy bears. They have gummy everything. Even cows in lederhosen...

They also have cheap Lego there. And... really cheap non-Lego, too:

 I'll leave you with one more picture whose sign offers some essential advice:

If you're being chased by a hammer, pickaxe, or similar instrument, this is NOT the time to be slow! RUN TOWARD AN EXIT.

I mean, duh.

Back In Time

The Smithsonian Museum of American History.

Dorothy's ruby slippers? Cute. 

Giant American Flag made out of Lego? Nice.

Really old house, with antique furniture, relics, and hundreds of facts about the houses' residents over the course of 200 years?

HEAVEN.

The Smithsonian exhibit Within These Walls was like a dream come true for me. 

About half a century ago, this house was standing somewhere in Massachusetts and about to be demolished. Instead, it was brought to the Smithsonian and put on display in a large room where people can make their way around the house, looking in through its windows and some cut-away portions to see what living quarters looked like why back then. Furthermore, there are models, posters, and signs all around the house that allow you to more fully understand who lived here and what their lives would have been like.

When it was first built, this house had X number of rooms. But over time, more were added. Signs in the exhibit point out how researchers figured which rooms had been added later, and approximately when. Visitors can actually see how the materials in the flooring or the walls were different in various parts of the house.

So architecture buffs? You're in for a treat.

If you're interested in a American history, there's plenty of that, too. Several of the houses' residents fought for abolition or women's suffrage, and there's tons of information in this exhibit to give you a good idea of what that entailed. During World War II, the residents, like many Americans, raised a victory garden and recycled scrap metal to help with the war effort.

If you're fascinated by domestic life way-back-when (ie, if you ever wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and get your water from a well and cook on a wood stove), there's enough here to keep your imagination swirling: antiques and replicas of the household items that were used by people who lived here, as well as information about how they would have done laundry, cooked food, or even fixed their hair. 

There's just so much to look at!

Of course, there's plenty more to see at this Smithsonian museum. Within These Walls may have been my favorite exhibit, but I did enjoy others, particular one about the history of food and its consumption in America:

The Smithsonian Museum Of American History is a great place, and well worth a days' visit if you're in Washington D.C.

Maryland Renaissance Festival

From Wikipedia: "The Maryland Renaissance Festival is a Renaissance fair located in Crownsville, Maryland. Set in a fictional 16th-century English village named Revel Grove, the festival is spread over 25 acres (100,000 m²). The second largest renaissance fair in the United States,^[1] it is open from the last weekend of August and runs for nine weekends."

* * * * *

I attended this fair on October 4, and...

...I've decided the world needs more of these!