Hat on Top, Coat Below
« previous archives home notify list e-mail next »
A Week in Photos: 2025, Part 14
April 16, 2025
Monday, March 31: You guessed it: more driving. This time from Wentzville, Missouri, to Kennesaw, Georgia. We made it through St. Louis fine; glad we’d decided to do that in the light while relatively well rested, as the tricky exit that I missed that last time we were through continues to be tricky (something about how it’s laid out confuses the GPS so thus we get confused trying to follow the nav). One of our pee stops coincidentally worked out to be the rest area in downstate Illinois that we’d driven through trying to find a spot to watch the eclipse last year; it probably would have been a good place to be but by the time we found it it was so full of cars that they had police directing traffic and moving people along. We hit Nashville around evening rush hour, with the nav showing slow traffic and accidents all around the Beltway, so we stopped for dinner to let that die down. I was so impressed with the diversity of businesses in the strip mall we ended up at: a Chinese buffet, a Vietnamese-Japanese restaurant, a store with African fashions, a Mexican bakery, and a halal grocery store. Somewhere along the way, we stopped for gas and saw a BP pig, something I’d never run across before, so it gets the photo of the day slot.
Tuesday, April 1: Atlanta was the hurdle on this day; it was slow in the usual spots, and the lanes being added and taken away were annoying as usual, but we made it through without any unusual hassle. After that we drove and drove until we got to Walt Disney World, specifically Epcot, pulling into their parking lot about two hours before park close. Yay for having an annual pass so we could “waste” a park day on such a short visit. We rode Spaceship Earth, had dinner from some of the Flower & Garden booths, and found a spot to watch the nighttime show, Luminous, without having to stake it out far ahead of time like was usually needed for the late great Illuminations. On the drive down, I’d found a room at All Star Music with a passholder discount that brought it down to a reasonable rate, so after we left the park, we drove over there and got into our room using my phone as the key after doing online checkin. Living in the future.
Wednesday, April 2: Our reward for the long days of driving was a day at the Magic Kingdom. Since it was last minute, we didn’t bother trying to get Lightning Lanes (the paid offering that lets you get in a shorter line for attractions) but just did things with lower waits: Carousel of Progress, the Peoplemover, Ariel’s ride, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Small World, the riverboat. Had a late lunch at the Plaza, where we’d never eaten before (and probably won’t again; it’s small and noisy), caught a character cavalcade going by, then took the monorail over to the Polynesian to chill out and get some Dole Whip before taking a boat back and doing more attractions: Tiki Room, Pirates, the fireworks (from the hub … sooo crowded), Haunted Mansion. Left the park and caught glimpses of the Electrical Water Pageant from the walkway to the busses.
Thursday, April 3: Drove across and down to Miami to position ourselves for getting on Cruise to the Edge the next day. Bumped into two of our fellow cruisers at rest area along the turnpike and a few more in the hotel lobby when we checked in. Decided not to go to the pre-cruise concert/party so grabbed dinner at a quirky convenience store (perfume from Dubai, anyone? coconut water direct from the coconut?) near the hotel and relaxed in the room, recharging for the busy days ahead.
Friday, April 4: Got to the port on time (no thanks to Miami traffic), waited in line to check in, waited in chairs in the waiting room for our boarding group to be called, only to have them decide to give up on that before our number came up so waited in a longer than necessary line to finally board the ship. Once on, we checked if our room was ready (no) then found a shady spot near a bar and had a margarita. The rest of the day was a blur of getting settled in our room, catching all or part of five (?) shows, each in a different venue, and eating when we could. I would have been so lost without Mr. Karen to guide me (he’s been on this cruise several times before, including on a ship with a very similar layout).
Saturday, April 5: Day at sea, with more shows (though not as many as we could have fit in; the way the schedule worked out, most of the bands we were most interested in weren’t performing this day). I ended the day tired and windblown (last show we saw was on the very breezy pool stage).
Sunday, April 6: Woke up docked in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, somewhere I’d never been before. Got off the ship after breakfast and explored the tourist-friendly area near the dock (a sister ship from the same cruise line was also there). I was delighted to find that Coconut was one of the categories of waste they collected in the little village. After a bit, we got back on the ship for more shows in the afternoon and evening. The last band of the night had had the chairs in front of the stage removed so they could get a most pit going, which they did. Mr. Karen and I steered clear of that.
On this date in 2008 through 2024: No journal entries
2009: Not Pabst Blue Ribbom
2002 through 2008: No entries
« previous archives home notify list e-mail next »
Leave a Comment