Hi gang!
So, after Dad's awesome NASCAR driving experience on Friday, we decided to put the video and some of the pictures, as well as finally getting up my Masters graduation video, on YouTube.
Here are the two links to the videos!
Hope you enjoy!
Whitney
Dad's Racing Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir2D5qZMYoY
Whitney's Masters Graduation Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFTpyXn6P4k
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
"The Year of the Characters" - Our Graduation/Disney Trip post 1
Graduation/Disney Trip: Thursday – “I think I killed a colonist…”
On Thursday, the Bradshaw family bid our faithful dog, Marlee, adieu, piled up in the Scion, and headed for Florida for my graduation on Friday. Because it was in Florida, we left Thursday morning. The drive down was fairly uneventful. We stopped just over the Florida line to get lunch at Chick-Fil-A, otherwise known as Chick-Fa-La (but that’s another story…). So, we’re sitting there, and it’s chilly in the restaurant, where we’ve gone in to eat because we’re sick of sitting in the car, and we decide that milkshakes are in order for the continuing drive. We give Dad our orders and he goes to put them in. When he comes back and sits down and announces that our shakes will be brought out to us, Allie replies with “Our shakes?” with which she does a little shimmy shake. That brought on all of us doing the “shake” whenever the world “shake” was mentioned. Ask us and we may do it on command…
We got to the hotel and drug all of our stuff up to the room in one swoop. That evening, we were going to lunch/dinner (linner, dunch) at Olive Garden and then Allie and I were going to Disney Quest, this really awesome place at Downtown Disney that’s got all kinds of different video games and interactive games. Dad called and asked the concierge what time Disney Quest closed. He told Allie that it closed at 11pm. Allie said, that, okay, we would go to dinner and then go to Disney Quest because we had plenty of time because the place closed at 11pm. Dad turned and replied, “No it doesn’t, it closes at 11.” Allie looked at Dad; Allie looked at me; I looked at Dad. She and I started rolling with laughter. Dad looked like nothing was wrong. Needless to say, his repetitive-ness and redundancy made for easy fodder. Dinner was nice and Mom and Dad took Allie and I over to Disney Quest to play for awhile while they did other things. I will chronicle Allie and I’s adventures before detailing what happened to the parents.
Allie and I started out by paddling our own Jungle Cruise, seriously. You sit down in this raft that’s attached to an airbag that lifts you up and rocks you around in front of a screen. You have to paddle to move. Seriously. Lots of work, there. Then we were pirates that fired cannons at 3-D pirate ships. We played some lame Aladdin-carpet game that we still can’t figure out. Then, one of the most awesome parts of the night, we built and rode our own rollercoaster – The Jolly Banshee – 4 stars, 6 total inversions. It was awesome! We went to an art session where we learned to and successfully drew Mickey Mouse (Mom has the fruits of our labors). We played a game where we were comic book super heroes (in virtual reality helmets with “lightsabers”… yep, we looked like idiots). The final game we played was this mission simulator, where you climbed into the seat, like a Mars lander thing, and one person drives and one person shoots the aliens. The goal is to rescue colonists. The last thing the chick who was running the ride says to us is, “Don’t shoot the colonists.” I’m driving and Allie is shooting and we’re going along. Suddenly, Allie goes, sheepishly, “Oops… I think I shot a colonist…” Yup. I can’t make something like this up…
Mom and Dad, on the other hand, went to walk at Disney’s Boardwalk, which has some shops, but mostly is just really lovely land surrounding some of the parks and the man-made lake, there. They hung out there, then it started to pour. They got massively wet. It stopped raining and Dad decided that he wanted to go putt-putting at Disney’s course, Fantasia Gardens. Mom and Dad started the hardest course, the Fairways course, and it started to pour again on about hole 3. They ended up getting back in the car and hanging out, soaking wet, but got two rain checks out of the deal.
Needless to say, Allie and I did a little shopping, caught up with Mom and Dad, and we went back to the hotel to sleep.
On Thursday, the Bradshaw family bid our faithful dog, Marlee, adieu, piled up in the Scion, and headed for Florida for my graduation on Friday. Because it was in Florida, we left Thursday morning. The drive down was fairly uneventful. We stopped just over the Florida line to get lunch at Chick-Fil-A, otherwise known as Chick-Fa-La (but that’s another story…). So, we’re sitting there, and it’s chilly in the restaurant, where we’ve gone in to eat because we’re sick of sitting in the car, and we decide that milkshakes are in order for the continuing drive. We give Dad our orders and he goes to put them in. When he comes back and sits down and announces that our shakes will be brought out to us, Allie replies with “Our shakes?” with which she does a little shimmy shake. That brought on all of us doing the “shake” whenever the world “shake” was mentioned. Ask us and we may do it on command…
We got to the hotel and drug all of our stuff up to the room in one swoop. That evening, we were going to lunch/dinner (linner, dunch) at Olive Garden and then Allie and I were going to Disney Quest, this really awesome place at Downtown Disney that’s got all kinds of different video games and interactive games. Dad called and asked the concierge what time Disney Quest closed. He told Allie that it closed at 11pm. Allie said, that, okay, we would go to dinner and then go to Disney Quest because we had plenty of time because the place closed at 11pm. Dad turned and replied, “No it doesn’t, it closes at 11.” Allie looked at Dad; Allie looked at me; I looked at Dad. She and I started rolling with laughter. Dad looked like nothing was wrong. Needless to say, his repetitive-ness and redundancy made for easy fodder. Dinner was nice and Mom and Dad took Allie and I over to Disney Quest to play for awhile while they did other things. I will chronicle Allie and I’s adventures before detailing what happened to the parents.
Allie and I started out by paddling our own Jungle Cruise, seriously. You sit down in this raft that’s attached to an airbag that lifts you up and rocks you around in front of a screen. You have to paddle to move. Seriously. Lots of work, there. Then we were pirates that fired cannons at 3-D pirate ships. We played some lame Aladdin-carpet game that we still can’t figure out. Then, one of the most awesome parts of the night, we built and rode our own rollercoaster – The Jolly Banshee – 4 stars, 6 total inversions. It was awesome! We went to an art session where we learned to and successfully drew Mickey Mouse (Mom has the fruits of our labors). We played a game where we were comic book super heroes (in virtual reality helmets with “lightsabers”… yep, we looked like idiots). The final game we played was this mission simulator, where you climbed into the seat, like a Mars lander thing, and one person drives and one person shoots the aliens. The goal is to rescue colonists. The last thing the chick who was running the ride says to us is, “Don’t shoot the colonists.” I’m driving and Allie is shooting and we’re going along. Suddenly, Allie goes, sheepishly, “Oops… I think I shot a colonist…” Yup. I can’t make something like this up…
Mom and Dad, on the other hand, went to walk at Disney’s Boardwalk, which has some shops, but mostly is just really lovely land surrounding some of the parks and the man-made lake, there. They hung out there, then it started to pour. They got massively wet. It stopped raining and Dad decided that he wanted to go putt-putting at Disney’s course, Fantasia Gardens. Mom and Dad started the hardest course, the Fairways course, and it started to pour again on about hole 3. They ended up getting back in the car and hanging out, soaking wet, but got two rain checks out of the deal.
Needless to say, Allie and I did a little shopping, caught up with Mom and Dad, and we went back to the hotel to sleep.
"The Year of the Characters" post 2
Graduation/Disney Trip: Friday – “Fu Sail Graduation” or “It a Beaver!”
On Friday, we had to get up massively early, because I had to be AT Universal Studios at Hard Rock at 8.00am. First, in order to get to Hard Rock, you have to enter what’s called Universal’s City Walk, a big area that connects both parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) that is full of restaurants (like Hard Rock, Margaritaville, NASCAR Café, etc) and shops (like Fossil). Hard Rock sits between the two parks, on one side of a lake. We were some of the first people in the area, because it doesn’t open until about an hour before the park does (the time that I had to be present at Hard Rock). We tromped around the lake and on the giant billboard/sign that changes pictures on the Hard Rock Café was a huge sign that read “Fu Sail University Graduation”… they had some of their LED lights out… Mom and Dad helped me get myself together for graduation and they went to sit, leaving me with my thirty or so classmates to stand and chat for an hour. Graduation went well. I didn’t fall. I won an award for my gaming class, for the design of one of the games I had to come up with (an educational game based on a combination of the Logical Journey of the Zoombinis – a computer game that I love – and a short film that I love called “The Chubb Chubbs” – if you haven’t seen it, YouTube it). From graduation, we walked around Universal’s City Walk, letting me get a t-shirt from Hard Rock (a Jovi shirt!) and Allie get one from Margaritaville. On our way past the NASCAR Café, there was a guy dressed up as a character by the entrance. This character was Digger, a gopher who shows up in the races on one of the cameras as a little cartoon. We’re walking by and Allie goes, “Look! A beaver!” Dad goes, “That’s not a beaver. That’s a gopher.” Dad got his picture taken, albeit reluctantly, with the beaver… er, gopher.
From there, we went over to Fuddruckers for lunch (which was awesome) and then to Downtown Disney. We walked all over that place, which is sortof huge, and bought stuff, which was fun. We then went back to the hotel and crashed for a few hours before going to dinner at the Rainforest Café. Dad ordered a $30 steak, which was okay, because Allie and I were paying, and we had SOOOO much food. After an amazing dinner, we walked around Downtown Disney and took some pictures before Mom and Dad decided that, since they hadn’t finished playing mini-golf the night before, we were going to play Friday night. We’d been up since 6am. It was 10.30pm. Allie fell out of the car getting out at the golf course. We played the other course at Fantasia Gardens, the Gardens course, which is modeled after the two Fantasia movies. Holes were decorated with characters, musical instruments. One hole, for example, was a cave where you had to shoot between pillars, and when you hit the end of hole and tripped a motion sensor, the big dark monster guy from “A Night on Bald Mountain” appeared on the wall, which made Allie jump. One hole, when you shot through it, made an elephant spout water. One hole, when you walked under it, had brooms that poured out water (like those in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice), and the last hole, once you sank the ball in, shot water up and made lights come on, like the Sorcerer was stopping the water, but mostly sounded like a toilet flushing. Because it had rained earlier, I, also, slipped and did a nice little split on the golf course. Dad won, with Allie in second, and Mom and I pulling up the rear. Needless to say, we were exhausted and everything was hilarious.
On Friday, we had to get up massively early, because I had to be AT Universal Studios at Hard Rock at 8.00am. First, in order to get to Hard Rock, you have to enter what’s called Universal’s City Walk, a big area that connects both parks (Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) that is full of restaurants (like Hard Rock, Margaritaville, NASCAR Café, etc) and shops (like Fossil). Hard Rock sits between the two parks, on one side of a lake. We were some of the first people in the area, because it doesn’t open until about an hour before the park does (the time that I had to be present at Hard Rock). We tromped around the lake and on the giant billboard/sign that changes pictures on the Hard Rock Café was a huge sign that read “Fu Sail University Graduation”… they had some of their LED lights out… Mom and Dad helped me get myself together for graduation and they went to sit, leaving me with my thirty or so classmates to stand and chat for an hour. Graduation went well. I didn’t fall. I won an award for my gaming class, for the design of one of the games I had to come up with (an educational game based on a combination of the Logical Journey of the Zoombinis – a computer game that I love – and a short film that I love called “The Chubb Chubbs” – if you haven’t seen it, YouTube it). From graduation, we walked around Universal’s City Walk, letting me get a t-shirt from Hard Rock (a Jovi shirt!) and Allie get one from Margaritaville. On our way past the NASCAR Café, there was a guy dressed up as a character by the entrance. This character was Digger, a gopher who shows up in the races on one of the cameras as a little cartoon. We’re walking by and Allie goes, “Look! A beaver!” Dad goes, “That’s not a beaver. That’s a gopher.” Dad got his picture taken, albeit reluctantly, with the beaver… er, gopher.
From there, we went over to Fuddruckers for lunch (which was awesome) and then to Downtown Disney. We walked all over that place, which is sortof huge, and bought stuff, which was fun. We then went back to the hotel and crashed for a few hours before going to dinner at the Rainforest Café. Dad ordered a $30 steak, which was okay, because Allie and I were paying, and we had SOOOO much food. After an amazing dinner, we walked around Downtown Disney and took some pictures before Mom and Dad decided that, since they hadn’t finished playing mini-golf the night before, we were going to play Friday night. We’d been up since 6am. It was 10.30pm. Allie fell out of the car getting out at the golf course. We played the other course at Fantasia Gardens, the Gardens course, which is modeled after the two Fantasia movies. Holes were decorated with characters, musical instruments. One hole, for example, was a cave where you had to shoot between pillars, and when you hit the end of hole and tripped a motion sensor, the big dark monster guy from “A Night on Bald Mountain” appeared on the wall, which made Allie jump. One hole, when you shot through it, made an elephant spout water. One hole, when you walked under it, had brooms that poured out water (like those in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice), and the last hole, once you sank the ball in, shot water up and made lights come on, like the Sorcerer was stopping the water, but mostly sounded like a toilet flushing. Because it had rained earlier, I, also, slipped and did a nice little split on the golf course. Dad won, with Allie in second, and Mom and I pulling up the rear. Needless to say, we were exhausted and everything was hilarious.
"The Year of the Characters" post 3
Graduation/ Disney Trip: Saturday – “The Great Search for Air Conditioning” or “My Dad was THAT GUY”
Saturday, we got up fairly early to head over to the Magic Kingdom. Once we got in, Mom and Dad headed to the restroom and Allie and I found a booth where a chick was giving away celebration buttons – we picked up two for Mom and Dad (Anniversary buttons) and one for me (a general celebration button with Graduation written on it). We all wore yellow, also, as a sidenote. We rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Allie got to see Wendy and take a picture with her. She asked Allie if we’d been to the best adventure yet. Allie said no, but she could guess what it was, to which Wendy went about unfolding Allie’s map and pointing out number 21 – Peter Pan’s Magical Flight. From there, we rode the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World. It started raining. We found a ledge to hide under. Once it let up, we headed for air conditioning – because the rain had made the already hot temperatures (between 92 and 94 degrees) even humider. So we found a show inside (Mickey’s Philharmagic). We went from there to get lunch, even though we’d said we weren’t going to eat because we were going to Chef Mickey’s for dinner, and ate inside, because it was cool. Then we went to meet the fairies from Tinkerbell’s movie. So, we’re in the cueing room before you go in and meet the fairies, and there are these motion sensors that show images of fairies when they’re activated. Dad spotted them and reached up to see if he could stop them. All of a sudden, the attendant, who was letting people in, barks at him, “Don’t do that.” Dad held up his hands like he didn’t do anything. To which she turned around to let more people in, and he set off the sensor anyway. We met Tinkerbell, who was impressed with Dad because he gave Mom a lot of Pixie Dust to keep her around for so long (we didn’t ask what that meant), Fawn (the animal fairy who said to say hi to Marlee) and Silvermist. They all seemed attracted to my earrings, which were very shiny, apparently. We rode the carousel and Dad tried to pull the Sword from the Stone. It was so hot, so we went to get FastPasses for Buzz Lightyear’s shooter-thingy and went to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor to pass the time. We’re sitting there and, during the show (which is inside in the AC), there is audience interaction. The characters, which are animated, can actually see the audience and pick on people in it. Dad was one of those people. Every time they needed a punch line for a joke, they just pointed out Dad as, “THAT GUY”. For example, one of the monsters was joking about being stinky and it being a compliment, particularly “THAT GUY” (my Dad); that they owed the success of the laughter they were collecting to “THAT GUY”, etc. Dad played along well, and got a sticker in the process, announcing him to be “THAT GUY”. We then went to the AC of the Stitch Alien Encounter Ride, then back to Buzz Lightyear to use the FastPasses. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad’s car didn’t work at all, which was sad. We then we to see the Carousel of Progress, because it was inside in the AC. We then got soft frozen lemonade and walked through the shops on Main Street. We sent Dad back to the car with our purchases, and it started to rain again. So, because we are brilliant, Mom, Allie, and I went into the bakery, where we proceeded to munch on the largest Cinnamon Roll, Apple Turnover, and a piece of Banana Nut bread, all of which were as big as the plates they were on, I’m talking HUGE here. While we were still waiting on Dad, the rain stopped and we watched a street parade. Once Dad joined us, we went back over to the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, which was inside in the AC, and to find Allie a stuffed dog she’d wanted.
We took a monorail over to the Contemporary Resort, where Chef Mickey’s is located. We spotted a five-legged goat on a mural on one of the walls while walking (yeah, we didn’t get it either). We had a wonderful buffet. We met Minnie, Donald, Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy (in that order) and took pictures with everybody. Mom and Dad and I also got little cupcakes for our celebrations, which was really nice. From there, we went back to Magic Kingdom, where we picked up a beautiful picture that Mom and Dad had hand-drawn for me for my graduation gift. We then scouted out some primo curb on Main Street to watch the fireworks and parade. We were like an hour and a half early, but we were tired, so it wasn’t so bad… and we were massively full. We watched what we called the Mass Sleeping Baby Exodus. We watched the fireworks, then sat down and waited for the parade at 11pm. It was the Spectromagic light parade and it was AWESOME! So many of the performers waved at us and looked straight at us because we were right on the curb. We slowly trudged back to the car and basically fell asleep immediately once we got back to the hotel.
Saturday, we got up fairly early to head over to the Magic Kingdom. Once we got in, Mom and Dad headed to the restroom and Allie and I found a booth where a chick was giving away celebration buttons – we picked up two for Mom and Dad (Anniversary buttons) and one for me (a general celebration button with Graduation written on it). We all wore yellow, also, as a sidenote. We rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Allie got to see Wendy and take a picture with her. She asked Allie if we’d been to the best adventure yet. Allie said no, but she could guess what it was, to which Wendy went about unfolding Allie’s map and pointing out number 21 – Peter Pan’s Magical Flight. From there, we rode the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World. It started raining. We found a ledge to hide under. Once it let up, we headed for air conditioning – because the rain had made the already hot temperatures (between 92 and 94 degrees) even humider. So we found a show inside (Mickey’s Philharmagic). We went from there to get lunch, even though we’d said we weren’t going to eat because we were going to Chef Mickey’s for dinner, and ate inside, because it was cool. Then we went to meet the fairies from Tinkerbell’s movie. So, we’re in the cueing room before you go in and meet the fairies, and there are these motion sensors that show images of fairies when they’re activated. Dad spotted them and reached up to see if he could stop them. All of a sudden, the attendant, who was letting people in, barks at him, “Don’t do that.” Dad held up his hands like he didn’t do anything. To which she turned around to let more people in, and he set off the sensor anyway. We met Tinkerbell, who was impressed with Dad because he gave Mom a lot of Pixie Dust to keep her around for so long (we didn’t ask what that meant), Fawn (the animal fairy who said to say hi to Marlee) and Silvermist. They all seemed attracted to my earrings, which were very shiny, apparently. We rode the carousel and Dad tried to pull the Sword from the Stone. It was so hot, so we went to get FastPasses for Buzz Lightyear’s shooter-thingy and went to the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor to pass the time. We’re sitting there and, during the show (which is inside in the AC), there is audience interaction. The characters, which are animated, can actually see the audience and pick on people in it. Dad was one of those people. Every time they needed a punch line for a joke, they just pointed out Dad as, “THAT GUY”. For example, one of the monsters was joking about being stinky and it being a compliment, particularly “THAT GUY” (my Dad); that they owed the success of the laughter they were collecting to “THAT GUY”, etc. Dad played along well, and got a sticker in the process, announcing him to be “THAT GUY”. We then went to the AC of the Stitch Alien Encounter Ride, then back to Buzz Lightyear to use the FastPasses. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad’s car didn’t work at all, which was sad. We then we to see the Carousel of Progress, because it was inside in the AC. We then got soft frozen lemonade and walked through the shops on Main Street. We sent Dad back to the car with our purchases, and it started to rain again. So, because we are brilliant, Mom, Allie, and I went into the bakery, where we proceeded to munch on the largest Cinnamon Roll, Apple Turnover, and a piece of Banana Nut bread, all of which were as big as the plates they were on, I’m talking HUGE here. While we were still waiting on Dad, the rain stopped and we watched a street parade. Once Dad joined us, we went back over to the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Room, which was inside in the AC, and to find Allie a stuffed dog she’d wanted.
We took a monorail over to the Contemporary Resort, where Chef Mickey’s is located. We spotted a five-legged goat on a mural on one of the walls while walking (yeah, we didn’t get it either). We had a wonderful buffet. We met Minnie, Donald, Mickey, Pluto, and Goofy (in that order) and took pictures with everybody. Mom and Dad and I also got little cupcakes for our celebrations, which was really nice. From there, we went back to Magic Kingdom, where we picked up a beautiful picture that Mom and Dad had hand-drawn for me for my graduation gift. We then scouted out some primo curb on Main Street to watch the fireworks and parade. We were like an hour and a half early, but we were tired, so it wasn’t so bad… and we were massively full. We watched what we called the Mass Sleeping Baby Exodus. We watched the fireworks, then sat down and waited for the parade at 11pm. It was the Spectromagic light parade and it was AWESOME! So many of the performers waved at us and looked straight at us because we were right on the curb. We slowly trudged back to the car and basically fell asleep immediately once we got back to the hotel.
"The Year of the Characters" post 4
Graduation/ Disney Trip: Sunday – “Well, what we could do…” or “Stalking the Beast”
Sunday, we had to get up at the butt crack of dawn again, because we had breakfast scheduled with the Princesses in EPCOT. We got to EPCOT before you had to pay for parking and trudged up to the gate, at which we were instructed to go through and head around to the back side of the park, where we would go to the second country on the left, Norway. Along with one other family, we headed that direction and located Akershus Royal Palace, where our breakfast would be. We ended up being the first group in, and were greeted by Belle herself, who talked to us for a minute before taking a picture with us. We ate at a buffet and had barely finished our plates when Aurora, from Sleeping Beauty, popped out of a room next to us to circulate around the room. Each princess took a moment to talk to us and take a picture before moving on. Cinderella was next, who is my FAVORITE, and I got a picture taken with her by myself, which was nice, and then Ariel, who was also very nice. We rode the big ball, which was updated from the last time we were there. Allie also wanted a drawn picture of Wendy, which we looked for there. After that, we trekked back across the park to the exit and drove to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM).
Once there, we went in and rode the Toy Story shooter ride, which was amazing, but had a really long line. We were sleepy and, inside, there was a box with a cow drawn on it, to make it look like a kid’s toy. Hence began the cow jokes. Lots of cow jokes. Bad cow jokes, such as “Did you know that cow was Russian? It was from MosCOW,” “Udderly amazing,” “Moolan Rouge,” etc. (2 days later, Dad’s still coming up with bad cow jokes.) Imagine that for between 30 and 40 minutes. Yup. We were tired. It was the exhaustion talking. So, Allie beat me in the game, which, ya know, sucked, but it was fun. From there, we went to meet Prince Caspian, which was slightly awkward, but nice. Then we went to meet the cast of “Up,” the animated movie, because I wanted to meet Doug, the talking dog, who is my favorite. Allie and I also got our picture taken with the Incredibles and Mom and Dad got their picture taken with Mickey. We managed to miss a rain storm and headed to see the Beauty and the Beast show, our favorite. We got ice cream and went to see the Indiana Jones show. We checked out some shops there for the illusive Wendy picture. Allie wasn’t feeling so good, so we left the park and got lunch at IHOP and got medicine for everyone. By then, Allie had figured she wasn’t going to find the picture, so she wanted a box with Beauty and the Beast on it that she’d seen at Magic Kingdom. We were going back to EPCOT, so we decided to look for it there.
When we arrived back at EPCOT, we hiked across the park, to the back side, where the countries are, because I wanted to meet the Beast. We passed Britain, where we saw Mary Poppins and Alice along the way, whom we got pictures with. When we arrived in France, where Belle and the Beast were, they were getting ready to take a break. We found out what time they were coming back, the Beast specifically (because we’d already got a picture with another Belle), and walked on to Morocco, where we found Jasmine and Aladdin (of the cute dimples… well, they were!). We went back to France, where we proceeded to form our own line, with a couple other people, who were waiting for the Beast. Belle came out about 10 minutes before the Beast, so we were waiting in one line, letting other people and kids in front of us until the Beast showed up. It was so funny, because those of us who began the Beast line were us, of course, one other chick about my age, and a dad who was there holding a place for his two daughters. We’re pretty sure we made Belle feel bad because we kept telling people, “Oh, you can go ahead of us… We’re waiting for the Beast.” Anyway, we went on around to Italy, where I bought earrings, and on around to Germany, where we stumbled upon Snow White, who was very nice and a lot cuter up close than in the picture. From there, we took a monorail back to the Magic Kingdom ticket center, and from there, to the Magic Kingdom itself, because, apparently, we have learned that not every park has exactly the same merchandise.
There, we found Allie’s box and I was going to get her a Beauty and the Beast snowglobe, that, no great surprise, could not be found at the Magic Kingdom. We decided to walk over to Peter Pan, which we hadn’t ridden the day before because of the wait. The wait was still ridiculous (35 minutes for a continuously moving ride… don’t ask us, we don’t understand either). So, we’re standing, tired, hot, icky, trying to figure out what we’re going to do and Mom makes a statement she’d made when we were trying to figure out the plan several times the earlier in the day, “Well, what we could do…” and it was just too much. We all burst into laughter. We ended up going to get ice cream and left the park, taking a monorail back to the ticket center and back to EPCOT. We drove back to Downtown Disney, which is where I had also seen the snowglobe. The parents dropped Allie and I off to run into the Disney Store and get it. No great surprise with this next comment – they only had one which they couldn’t sell because it was broken. The chick there sent us across the area to the Art of Disney Store to see if they had one there, which they didn’t, but we found something Allie would like as much and just got it instead. Then Allie and I got lost trying to find the parking lot and Mom and Dad had to keep circling the parking lot until we found them. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were exhausted.
We didn’t do anything except come home on Monday. The only remotely funny thing that happened was that we had the back of the car so filled up that you couldn’t see out the back window. It was a mess. Allie also managed to ask Dad “Are we there yet?” all the way from Walterboro, about a 45 minute trip, poking him every ten seconds.
Overall, though, we had a fantastically fun and entertaining trip. Certainly one of the most interesting we’ve taken in a while. Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we did!
Later!
Whitney (and the family)
Sunday, we had to get up at the butt crack of dawn again, because we had breakfast scheduled with the Princesses in EPCOT. We got to EPCOT before you had to pay for parking and trudged up to the gate, at which we were instructed to go through and head around to the back side of the park, where we would go to the second country on the left, Norway. Along with one other family, we headed that direction and located Akershus Royal Palace, where our breakfast would be. We ended up being the first group in, and were greeted by Belle herself, who talked to us for a minute before taking a picture with us. We ate at a buffet and had barely finished our plates when Aurora, from Sleeping Beauty, popped out of a room next to us to circulate around the room. Each princess took a moment to talk to us and take a picture before moving on. Cinderella was next, who is my FAVORITE, and I got a picture taken with her by myself, which was nice, and then Ariel, who was also very nice. We rode the big ball, which was updated from the last time we were there. Allie also wanted a drawn picture of Wendy, which we looked for there. After that, we trekked back across the park to the exit and drove to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM).
Once there, we went in and rode the Toy Story shooter ride, which was amazing, but had a really long line. We were sleepy and, inside, there was a box with a cow drawn on it, to make it look like a kid’s toy. Hence began the cow jokes. Lots of cow jokes. Bad cow jokes, such as “Did you know that cow was Russian? It was from MosCOW,” “Udderly amazing,” “Moolan Rouge,” etc. (2 days later, Dad’s still coming up with bad cow jokes.) Imagine that for between 30 and 40 minutes. Yup. We were tired. It was the exhaustion talking. So, Allie beat me in the game, which, ya know, sucked, but it was fun. From there, we went to meet Prince Caspian, which was slightly awkward, but nice. Then we went to meet the cast of “Up,” the animated movie, because I wanted to meet Doug, the talking dog, who is my favorite. Allie and I also got our picture taken with the Incredibles and Mom and Dad got their picture taken with Mickey. We managed to miss a rain storm and headed to see the Beauty and the Beast show, our favorite. We got ice cream and went to see the Indiana Jones show. We checked out some shops there for the illusive Wendy picture. Allie wasn’t feeling so good, so we left the park and got lunch at IHOP and got medicine for everyone. By then, Allie had figured she wasn’t going to find the picture, so she wanted a box with Beauty and the Beast on it that she’d seen at Magic Kingdom. We were going back to EPCOT, so we decided to look for it there.
When we arrived back at EPCOT, we hiked across the park, to the back side, where the countries are, because I wanted to meet the Beast. We passed Britain, where we saw Mary Poppins and Alice along the way, whom we got pictures with. When we arrived in France, where Belle and the Beast were, they were getting ready to take a break. We found out what time they were coming back, the Beast specifically (because we’d already got a picture with another Belle), and walked on to Morocco, where we found Jasmine and Aladdin (of the cute dimples… well, they were!). We went back to France, where we proceeded to form our own line, with a couple other people, who were waiting for the Beast. Belle came out about 10 minutes before the Beast, so we were waiting in one line, letting other people and kids in front of us until the Beast showed up. It was so funny, because those of us who began the Beast line were us, of course, one other chick about my age, and a dad who was there holding a place for his two daughters. We’re pretty sure we made Belle feel bad because we kept telling people, “Oh, you can go ahead of us… We’re waiting for the Beast.” Anyway, we went on around to Italy, where I bought earrings, and on around to Germany, where we stumbled upon Snow White, who was very nice and a lot cuter up close than in the picture. From there, we took a monorail back to the Magic Kingdom ticket center, and from there, to the Magic Kingdom itself, because, apparently, we have learned that not every park has exactly the same merchandise.
There, we found Allie’s box and I was going to get her a Beauty and the Beast snowglobe, that, no great surprise, could not be found at the Magic Kingdom. We decided to walk over to Peter Pan, which we hadn’t ridden the day before because of the wait. The wait was still ridiculous (35 minutes for a continuously moving ride… don’t ask us, we don’t understand either). So, we’re standing, tired, hot, icky, trying to figure out what we’re going to do and Mom makes a statement she’d made when we were trying to figure out the plan several times the earlier in the day, “Well, what we could do…” and it was just too much. We all burst into laughter. We ended up going to get ice cream and left the park, taking a monorail back to the ticket center and back to EPCOT. We drove back to Downtown Disney, which is where I had also seen the snowglobe. The parents dropped Allie and I off to run into the Disney Store and get it. No great surprise with this next comment – they only had one which they couldn’t sell because it was broken. The chick there sent us across the area to the Art of Disney Store to see if they had one there, which they didn’t, but we found something Allie would like as much and just got it instead. Then Allie and I got lost trying to find the parking lot and Mom and Dad had to keep circling the parking lot until we found them. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were exhausted.
We didn’t do anything except come home on Monday. The only remotely funny thing that happened was that we had the back of the car so filled up that you couldn’t see out the back window. It was a mess. Allie also managed to ask Dad “Are we there yet?” all the way from Walterboro, about a 45 minute trip, poking him every ten seconds.
Overall, though, we had a fantastically fun and entertaining trip. Certainly one of the most interesting we’ve taken in a while. Hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we did!
Later!
Whitney (and the family)
Monday, May 18, 2009
Fighting to the finish...
Hi!
So, as official poster for the Bradshaw's, I, occasionally find it in my purview to comment on my own personal situation. Here goes...
I am in the home stretch, folks. We are turning the last corner at any major NASCAR race. I am lining up for the last putt. And, yes, I am hammering the last ace over the net and down the outside line.
Today, I finished my media project. When I say this, I mean that I have edited, soundtracked, filmed, thought through, and completed the final media project for my Masters. I also submitted the final draft of my thesis.
In effect - I am done.
I have to present and defend both on the 15th of next month, but today was a huge step.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel -
And it is bright and shiny...
Whitney
So, as official poster for the Bradshaw's, I, occasionally find it in my purview to comment on my own personal situation. Here goes...
I am in the home stretch, folks. We are turning the last corner at any major NASCAR race. I am lining up for the last putt. And, yes, I am hammering the last ace over the net and down the outside line.
Today, I finished my media project. When I say this, I mean that I have edited, soundtracked, filmed, thought through, and completed the final media project for my Masters. I also submitted the final draft of my thesis.
In effect - I am done.
I have to present and defend both on the 15th of next month, but today was a huge step.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel -
And it is bright and shiny...
Whitney
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
It's WHITNEY'S BIRTHDAY! YAY!
Hi all!
So, today was my 23rd birthday, as most everybody knows. I thought I would take a sec and relate a little about my day, just for your personal enjoyment and pleasure. So enjoy... and take pleasure...
I got up at a ridiculously early time which I will not even mention here because I could not sleep. I know, boo, right? I chatted with Allie and Mom and Marlee, who were all awake and wished me a happy b-day before going upstairs to get ready. Now, when Mom let Marlee out this morning, she made the statement, "Wow. It's windy. It's going to be chilly at the beach." Dad wasn't feeling well, but we decided to persevere anyway and didn't think about Mom's comment again... for awhile at least... Mom and Dad, who gave me my birthday gift (some money) a couple months ago when I really needed it, also sent me to the spa for a massage. Now, most of y'all know that I am not so big on the whole "people rubbing on me" thing. Not so much. However, I must say... WOW... That was AWESOME! An hour later, I felt like a nice little soppy pool of Whitney goo. Nice, very nice.
Once I managed to scoop myself together and get home to get cleaned up, we met with "Auntie" Kim from church, who'd agreed to go with us to the Isle of Palms to take some pictures of us on the beach, something that Mom had wanted us to do for a long time. We drove out there and went to lunch first at Coconut Joe's on the beach. YUM! I heart Coconut Joe's! So the food was great and then we walked down the boardwalk to the beach.
Yeah. It was COLD and WINDY! Lots of both, just as Mom had predicted, the little weather forecaster she is...
Kim started trying to pose us and between the GALE FORCE winds and the coldness that came along with them, yeah... not so much... However, there was this one really hilarious moment that involved me crawling up a sand dune, apparently looking like someone would as they crawled across the desert... And there was the infamous Mom and Dad perching on a dune moment when the wind picked up and all they could see was sand... Good times... Good times...
Anyway, we got some pretty good pictures, despite the cold and wind, which are here, with my comments, of course.
We then came back and Mom and I went to Wal-Mart and Best Buy, ended up buying frames for some signed posters I had (one for an HBO show called "True Blood" that's signed by the cast and Allie got me a pair of signed "Watchmen" posters signed by the cast for my birthday) and movies ("Slumdog Millionaire" which is amazing, and "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" which has cute little Ben Barnes, even if he does have a terrible Spanish accent).
Overall, a fun day. Good times were had by all. I had a great day!
Thanks for all of the birthday well-wishes, cards, and gifts. I appreciate everything!
Love to all!
Stay AWESOME!
Whitney
So, today was my 23rd birthday, as most everybody knows. I thought I would take a sec and relate a little about my day, just for your personal enjoyment and pleasure. So enjoy... and take pleasure...
I got up at a ridiculously early time which I will not even mention here because I could not sleep. I know, boo, right? I chatted with Allie and Mom and Marlee, who were all awake and wished me a happy b-day before going upstairs to get ready. Now, when Mom let Marlee out this morning, she made the statement, "Wow. It's windy. It's going to be chilly at the beach." Dad wasn't feeling well, but we decided to persevere anyway and didn't think about Mom's comment again... for awhile at least... Mom and Dad, who gave me my birthday gift (some money) a couple months ago when I really needed it, also sent me to the spa for a massage. Now, most of y'all know that I am not so big on the whole "people rubbing on me" thing. Not so much. However, I must say... WOW... That was AWESOME! An hour later, I felt like a nice little soppy pool of Whitney goo. Nice, very nice.
Once I managed to scoop myself together and get home to get cleaned up, we met with "Auntie" Kim from church, who'd agreed to go with us to the Isle of Palms to take some pictures of us on the beach, something that Mom had wanted us to do for a long time. We drove out there and went to lunch first at Coconut Joe's on the beach. YUM! I heart Coconut Joe's! So the food was great and then we walked down the boardwalk to the beach.
Yeah. It was COLD and WINDY! Lots of both, just as Mom had predicted, the little weather forecaster she is...
Kim started trying to pose us and between the GALE FORCE winds and the coldness that came along with them, yeah... not so much... However, there was this one really hilarious moment that involved me crawling up a sand dune, apparently looking like someone would as they crawled across the desert... And there was the infamous Mom and Dad perching on a dune moment when the wind picked up and all they could see was sand... Good times... Good times...
Anyway, we got some pretty good pictures, despite the cold and wind, which are here, with my comments, of course.
We then came back and Mom and I went to Wal-Mart and Best Buy, ended up buying frames for some signed posters I had (one for an HBO show called "True Blood" that's signed by the cast and Allie got me a pair of signed "Watchmen" posters signed by the cast for my birthday) and movies ("Slumdog Millionaire" which is amazing, and "Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" which has cute little Ben Barnes, even if he does have a terrible Spanish accent).
Overall, a fun day. Good times were had by all. I had a great day!
Thanks for all of the birthday well-wishes, cards, and gifts. I appreciate everything!
Love to all!
Stay AWESOME!
Whitney
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Well, here goes nothing...
Hiya!
So, as most, if not all of you know, I applied for a job with the South Carolina Federal Credit Union as their Young and Free Spokesperson for SC. The job basically entails blogging, podcasting, etc., as well as public speaking to engage more of the 18-25 year old crowd, my age bracket, to educate and involve them in banking.
Which is kinda awesome, right?
So, I applied. And now it is up to the Media gods and the fine people at the Credit Union. I won't know anything until the 23rd of March, at which point they announce their top 3 choices. The public then votes on those choices, who are also interviewed formally for the job, and the winner of everything gets the job.
I know, like I said... Awesome...
The winner also gets a car to drive for a year (with the insurance and gas paid for), as well as the job for a year, a Mac, a camera, and a Blackberry/iPhone type thing paid for for a year.
Again, awesome...
But, to me, the cool part would be the interacting part. I enjoy that kinda thing.
But, like I said, I won't know anything until the 23rd.
So, the waiting game is on. I hate this part.
I'll keep y'all up to date on my status, as well as if anything comes of this... I hope so...
Pics from Allie's Disney trip are coming soon, as well as her account of the trip as a whole.
Later, all!
Whitney
So, as most, if not all of you know, I applied for a job with the South Carolina Federal Credit Union as their Young and Free Spokesperson for SC. The job basically entails blogging, podcasting, etc., as well as public speaking to engage more of the 18-25 year old crowd, my age bracket, to educate and involve them in banking.
Which is kinda awesome, right?
So, I applied. And now it is up to the Media gods and the fine people at the Credit Union. I won't know anything until the 23rd of March, at which point they announce their top 3 choices. The public then votes on those choices, who are also interviewed formally for the job, and the winner of everything gets the job.
I know, like I said... Awesome...
The winner also gets a car to drive for a year (with the insurance and gas paid for), as well as the job for a year, a Mac, a camera, and a Blackberry/iPhone type thing paid for for a year.
Again, awesome...
But, to me, the cool part would be the interacting part. I enjoy that kinda thing.
But, like I said, I won't know anything until the 23rd.
So, the waiting game is on. I hate this part.
I'll keep y'all up to date on my status, as well as if anything comes of this... I hope so...
Pics from Allie's Disney trip are coming soon, as well as her account of the trip as a whole.
Later, all!
Whitney
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
An Entry from Allie: The Varnville Incident
Okay, so after coming home from a more than interesting New Vision weekend, I felt the need to share with the world a running commentary of this trip. It was definitely unlike any other I’ve ever taken with our NV ensemble. The family got a laugh, so I hope you guys will too.
On Saturday, the group left for Varnville, a.k.a- the middle of NOWHERE. In case any of you were wondering, Varnville is near Hampton, SC. In fact, here’s a little tidbit of information that our host family gave to us; Varnville is actually where they filmed several scenes from Forrest Gump. The scene where he runs down the street in the beginning of the movie and gets rid of the braces…yep, that’s Varnville, folks. He also runs through Varnville on his run across the country, and many of the extras are actual Varnville residents. So there’s the tiny town’s claim to fame.
Anyway, we get to the church, which is evidently supposed to have some sacred meaning to us (as we were informed SEVERAL times) because the Lightseys, who founded the Lightsey chapel, were members of the church. Also a little factoid for you all- the church is in the shape of a cross. Very nice touch in theory, but in all reality, it makes unloading an absolute pain in the persqueeter. The only entrance to the church’s sanctuary is up this EXTREMELY long ramp which is painted a lovely shade of gray to coordinate with the church. Well, all that’s just peachy, except for the fact that’s it’s pouring down rain when we arrive. And, for those of you who don’t know, we have a bus-full of equipment we have to unload every time we travel, because we provide our own sound and computer equipment. We have no choice but to unload in the downpour, and, on top of the pounding rain, the painted ramp is wet…and slick. Needless to say, slips and falls occurred frequently. Of course, by the time we get all of our equipment inside and set up, it’s stopped raining. We are introduced to the pastor, who is…nice. In a really…weird way. Let’s just leave it at that. We rehearse, and then are informed that the youth have planned a “game night” and we’re invited to join them. We go to their fellowship hall, where the games consisted of a Wii, a PS2 with Guitar Hero, and a PS3 with Rock Band. To our surprise, we greatly outnumbered the youth; there were maybe 10 total. After basically standing around, watching the youth play, we were asked to sit in a circle with the youth, the pastor, and some of the parents of the youth and share about ourselves and why we chose to go to CSU. Unfortunately, most of us had no great, spiritual reason in choosing to go to the college; definitely not me. So, it makes for a really awkward 45 minutes of the New Vision crew speaking and the youth saying NOTHING.
Afterwards, our host families show up to take us to their house for the night. Three of us are introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Pulaski, our host family. They are a nice, old couple; Mr. Pulaski is a retired doctor, and Mrs. Pulaski is a retired teacher. They take us to their house, which is a timely drive, not because they live far away, but because Mrs. Pulaski drives about five miles an hour. We are led inside, and Mrs. Pulaski shows us to our rooms. Taylor, one of the girls, takes a room to herself- one of the Pulaski’s daughter’s room. Lesley and I are led to the other room, a bedroom that was converted into a playroom for the Pulaski’s grandchildren. The room, and for that matter the ENTIRE house, is a throwback to the 1930’s. If that’s not bad enough, there are porcelain dolls EVERYWHERE. The room was taken over by dolls; very creepy dolls that watched you as you moved. The bathroom, which was connected to the bedroom, was ceiling to floor Pepto-Bismol pink. The tile on the floor was pink. The tile on the walls was pink. The tile on the counter was pink. The ceiling was pink. The toilet was pink. The shower was pink…you get my drift. And there were about five dolls in there too. Enough said.
We arrive at the church that morning, in the rain, because, guess what? It’s pouring…AGAIN. And this time, we’re under a severe weather alert. The church has two services; a “contemporary” service at 9, and a “traditional” service at 11. We sing at the first, and all is well. We get a break for Sunday school at 10, and then we settle in to sing at the 11a.m. service. Now granted, the church had the heat cranked because it was so cold outside, so it was stifling in the sanctuary. We get about halfway through our set list of songs when, in the corner of the sanctuary, about halfway back, I see a rush of movement. An elderly man is stark white and unmoving, and his concerned wife is leaning over him, trying to find out if he’s okay. Well, we don’t really know what’s going on, so we continue singing. Suddenly, the man sways, and several congregation members swarm the man to lay him out in the pew. We’re still singing as his wife strips his suit coat off of him, and the man sits back up. WE’RE STILL SINGING as he sways again and passes out on the pew. We finally finish the song and sit in awkward silence for about a minute, until somebody finally says, “Call 911!” Nobody moves. An elderly lady digs in her purse and finds a cell phone. Instead of calling, she proceeds to hold the phone out to the preacher, saying that “She’s got a phone! Here, preacher!” Everyone in New Vision is mumbling for HER to call, but the lady never gets the drift. Somebody finally calls, and we’re left in more awkward silence. A man stands up and asks everyone to take hands and pray, a rather smart thing to do at a time like this. Allen, our director, tells our pianist to play something soft to fill in the lull. So, Jonathan proceeds to play “It Is Well”. Now, for those of you who don’t know, “It Is Well”, while a lovely song, is most well-known as a funeral song. The church proceeds to join in TWO verses and a chorus of “It Is Well”. All through the singing, several of the church members manage to get the elderly man up and out of the sanctuary. Allen motions to Taylor, who is supposed to give her testimony, to go ahead and begin. Most of the congregation is in tears, so Taylor doesn’t really know how to begin. She decides to pray to try and create a segue way into her testimony. She wants to pray for the man, but she doesn’t know his name. So, she begins with, “Oh Lord, we lift up to you the man in the back.” That’s right- the man in the back. Taylor mercifully finishes her testimony, and we hold an invitation to conclude the service. At this time, the pastor reenters the sanctuary to make a few announcements. He tries to soothe the upset congregation by giving them an update on Gerald, the man in the back.
Okay, before I share this part, you have to stop reading this story and think like a churchy person. Just a warning. He says, “Folks, I just wanted to let you know that Gerald has gone home.” Alright, now, the pastor truly meant that Gerald had literally GONE HOME, as in, to his place of residence. However, as most know, GONE HOME is also a euphemism for…well, death. So, it had to be explained to the shocked congregation that Gerald didn’t really GO HOME. He went home. Literally.
So, in a nutshell, or a really long-winded tale, that concludes most of my weekend. The exciting part at least. Hope reading this gave you as many laughs, cringes, and groans as it gave me.
Yours Truly,
Allie
On Saturday, the group left for Varnville, a.k.a- the middle of NOWHERE. In case any of you were wondering, Varnville is near Hampton, SC. In fact, here’s a little tidbit of information that our host family gave to us; Varnville is actually where they filmed several scenes from Forrest Gump. The scene where he runs down the street in the beginning of the movie and gets rid of the braces…yep, that’s Varnville, folks. He also runs through Varnville on his run across the country, and many of the extras are actual Varnville residents. So there’s the tiny town’s claim to fame.
Anyway, we get to the church, which is evidently supposed to have some sacred meaning to us (as we were informed SEVERAL times) because the Lightseys, who founded the Lightsey chapel, were members of the church. Also a little factoid for you all- the church is in the shape of a cross. Very nice touch in theory, but in all reality, it makes unloading an absolute pain in the persqueeter. The only entrance to the church’s sanctuary is up this EXTREMELY long ramp which is painted a lovely shade of gray to coordinate with the church. Well, all that’s just peachy, except for the fact that’s it’s pouring down rain when we arrive. And, for those of you who don’t know, we have a bus-full of equipment we have to unload every time we travel, because we provide our own sound and computer equipment. We have no choice but to unload in the downpour, and, on top of the pounding rain, the painted ramp is wet…and slick. Needless to say, slips and falls occurred frequently. Of course, by the time we get all of our equipment inside and set up, it’s stopped raining. We are introduced to the pastor, who is…nice. In a really…weird way. Let’s just leave it at that. We rehearse, and then are informed that the youth have planned a “game night” and we’re invited to join them. We go to their fellowship hall, where the games consisted of a Wii, a PS2 with Guitar Hero, and a PS3 with Rock Band. To our surprise, we greatly outnumbered the youth; there were maybe 10 total. After basically standing around, watching the youth play, we were asked to sit in a circle with the youth, the pastor, and some of the parents of the youth and share about ourselves and why we chose to go to CSU. Unfortunately, most of us had no great, spiritual reason in choosing to go to the college; definitely not me. So, it makes for a really awkward 45 minutes of the New Vision crew speaking and the youth saying NOTHING.
Afterwards, our host families show up to take us to their house for the night. Three of us are introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Pulaski, our host family. They are a nice, old couple; Mr. Pulaski is a retired doctor, and Mrs. Pulaski is a retired teacher. They take us to their house, which is a timely drive, not because they live far away, but because Mrs. Pulaski drives about five miles an hour. We are led inside, and Mrs. Pulaski shows us to our rooms. Taylor, one of the girls, takes a room to herself- one of the Pulaski’s daughter’s room. Lesley and I are led to the other room, a bedroom that was converted into a playroom for the Pulaski’s grandchildren. The room, and for that matter the ENTIRE house, is a throwback to the 1930’s. If that’s not bad enough, there are porcelain dolls EVERYWHERE. The room was taken over by dolls; very creepy dolls that watched you as you moved. The bathroom, which was connected to the bedroom, was ceiling to floor Pepto-Bismol pink. The tile on the floor was pink. The tile on the walls was pink. The tile on the counter was pink. The ceiling was pink. The toilet was pink. The shower was pink…you get my drift. And there were about five dolls in there too. Enough said.
We arrive at the church that morning, in the rain, because, guess what? It’s pouring…AGAIN. And this time, we’re under a severe weather alert. The church has two services; a “contemporary” service at 9, and a “traditional” service at 11. We sing at the first, and all is well. We get a break for Sunday school at 10, and then we settle in to sing at the 11a.m. service. Now granted, the church had the heat cranked because it was so cold outside, so it was stifling in the sanctuary. We get about halfway through our set list of songs when, in the corner of the sanctuary, about halfway back, I see a rush of movement. An elderly man is stark white and unmoving, and his concerned wife is leaning over him, trying to find out if he’s okay. Well, we don’t really know what’s going on, so we continue singing. Suddenly, the man sways, and several congregation members swarm the man to lay him out in the pew. We’re still singing as his wife strips his suit coat off of him, and the man sits back up. WE’RE STILL SINGING as he sways again and passes out on the pew. We finally finish the song and sit in awkward silence for about a minute, until somebody finally says, “Call 911!” Nobody moves. An elderly lady digs in her purse and finds a cell phone. Instead of calling, she proceeds to hold the phone out to the preacher, saying that “She’s got a phone! Here, preacher!” Everyone in New Vision is mumbling for HER to call, but the lady never gets the drift. Somebody finally calls, and we’re left in more awkward silence. A man stands up and asks everyone to take hands and pray, a rather smart thing to do at a time like this. Allen, our director, tells our pianist to play something soft to fill in the lull. So, Jonathan proceeds to play “It Is Well”. Now, for those of you who don’t know, “It Is Well”, while a lovely song, is most well-known as a funeral song. The church proceeds to join in TWO verses and a chorus of “It Is Well”. All through the singing, several of the church members manage to get the elderly man up and out of the sanctuary. Allen motions to Taylor, who is supposed to give her testimony, to go ahead and begin. Most of the congregation is in tears, so Taylor doesn’t really know how to begin. She decides to pray to try and create a segue way into her testimony. She wants to pray for the man, but she doesn’t know his name. So, she begins with, “Oh Lord, we lift up to you the man in the back.” That’s right- the man in the back. Taylor mercifully finishes her testimony, and we hold an invitation to conclude the service. At this time, the pastor reenters the sanctuary to make a few announcements. He tries to soothe the upset congregation by giving them an update on Gerald, the man in the back.
Okay, before I share this part, you have to stop reading this story and think like a churchy person. Just a warning. He says, “Folks, I just wanted to let you know that Gerald has gone home.” Alright, now, the pastor truly meant that Gerald had literally GONE HOME, as in, to his place of residence. However, as most know, GONE HOME is also a euphemism for…well, death. So, it had to be explained to the shocked congregation that Gerald didn’t really GO HOME. He went home. Literally.
So, in a nutshell, or a really long-winded tale, that concludes most of my weekend. The exciting part at least. Hope reading this gave you as many laughs, cringes, and groans as it gave me.
Yours Truly,
Allie
Sunday, March 1, 2009
So, um, I lied...
My b. Forgive me.
I got another tattoo.
It was for Allie's birthday and she got one too. Pictures and a full update are coming soon. Until then, enjoy this pic of last year's tat!
Whitney
Monday, February 9, 2009
Widescreen vs. Fullscreen (i.e. Pan-and-scan)
Okay, so, for some of you who are reading this, you may ask, "Whitney, why are you going on a rant about the continuing battle between Widescreen and Fullscreen movies?"
I would answer you, "Because it is something that is currently and will forever plague my existence."
First, I suppose, I have to say that, as an avid movie viewer, people ask me this question all the time. A good place to start, I suppose, are the pros and cons of each. Widescreen movies show the film in the aspect ratio, meaning the format, the shape, that the film was meant to be shown in, which, on a TV, means that there is a black bar above and below the movie itself. Fullscreen movies show the movie the full size of whatever screen you happen to be watching it on.
The biggest difference is this: Fullscreen movies enable, usually, what is called "Pan and scan." This means that the entire frame of the film isn't on the screen at the same time; somebody, usually an editor or someone from the release company, decides what the most important pieces of the frame are and that's what you see.
Here lies the conundrum.
If you want to see the entire movie the way you see it in theaters, the entire frame of the film, you have to watch it in widescreen. Period. The problem with this is that, particularly with older movies (like those in Cinemascope or something that actually oversizes the screen), the black on the top and bottom of the screen may be really large, leaving just a teeny-tiny strip of movie in the middle.
BUT... with fullscreen, you are missing the edges of the screen, where there are sometimes some really cool cinematic elements. Now, if these don't matter to you, then by all means, watch fullscreen movies.
So, what is my opinion, you may ask (if you can't tell already).
Well, if you are a true filmophile, a cinemaphile, a lover of all things movie... If you can quote entire passages of movies by heart, or think about naming your children after your favorite movie characters... You should probably watch widescreen movies; these produce the most authetic film experiences. Just watch them on a bigger TV.
If you just watch movies to watch movies, feel free to watch fullscreen movies. I also recommend fullscreen movies for viewing a movie for the first time, i.e. a new movie - this gives you the biggest picture to pick up the main plot (what's most important for a first time viewing).
However, in my humble opinion, go with the widescreen.
Now, enjoy the movie.
And pass the popcorn...
Whitney
I would answer you, "Because it is something that is currently and will forever plague my existence."
First, I suppose, I have to say that, as an avid movie viewer, people ask me this question all the time. A good place to start, I suppose, are the pros and cons of each. Widescreen movies show the film in the aspect ratio, meaning the format, the shape, that the film was meant to be shown in, which, on a TV, means that there is a black bar above and below the movie itself. Fullscreen movies show the movie the full size of whatever screen you happen to be watching it on.
The biggest difference is this: Fullscreen movies enable, usually, what is called "Pan and scan." This means that the entire frame of the film isn't on the screen at the same time; somebody, usually an editor or someone from the release company, decides what the most important pieces of the frame are and that's what you see.
Here lies the conundrum.
If you want to see the entire movie the way you see it in theaters, the entire frame of the film, you have to watch it in widescreen. Period. The problem with this is that, particularly with older movies (like those in Cinemascope or something that actually oversizes the screen), the black on the top and bottom of the screen may be really large, leaving just a teeny-tiny strip of movie in the middle.
BUT... with fullscreen, you are missing the edges of the screen, where there are sometimes some really cool cinematic elements. Now, if these don't matter to you, then by all means, watch fullscreen movies.
So, what is my opinion, you may ask (if you can't tell already).
Well, if you are a true filmophile, a cinemaphile, a lover of all things movie... If you can quote entire passages of movies by heart, or think about naming your children after your favorite movie characters... You should probably watch widescreen movies; these produce the most authetic film experiences. Just watch them on a bigger TV.
If you just watch movies to watch movies, feel free to watch fullscreen movies. I also recommend fullscreen movies for viewing a movie for the first time, i.e. a new movie - this gives you the biggest picture to pick up the main plot (what's most important for a first time viewing).
However, in my humble opinion, go with the widescreen.
Now, enjoy the movie.
And pass the popcorn...
Whitney
Monday, January 26, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Our Cruise 2009! Days 1 - 2
Hiya, all!
So, since we're now back from our fabulous 7 day Bahamas cruise, I see that it is my duty as scribe for the Bradshaw family to record the events that took place while we were otherwise unavailable. Sidenote, pictures are below, at the bottom.
Oh, and, sidenote, read this from top to bottom. It works that way. (As opposed to the first time I tried to post about a trip, the Disney Trip.)
Day 1 – Saturday (embarking): "So, this bed can hold a person?"
On Saturday, we left the house about 1.30/2.00-ish to head to the port to board our ship, the Norwegian Majesty. Upon getting close to the port, we discovered that, due to some serious fog, everything was delayed. We sat dead stopped in traffic waiting to enter the port terminal until close to 3.30; we were supposed to leave at 4.00pm. Needless to say, that didn't happen. The ship was then told that, because of the fog, it couldn't leave port. We finally left Charleston at 6.00 or 6.30pm Saturday night. Once we got onto the boat, we made our way to the Bradshaw suite, our postage stamp sized stateroom, room 926 on deck 9, Norway Deck. No, seriously, it was a bit bigger than a postage stamp. The bathroom wasn't, but... Anyway, there were two twin beds and two fold-down bunk beds that were attached to the walls by hinges. Allie, my darling genius sibling, saw the beds, realized that she was sleeping in a bunk and made the most brilliant statement of the whole cruise. She pulled a bunk down, put a little pressure on it, and said, "So, this bed can hold a person?" Not a statement. A question. It was fantastic. We went up on deck and ate. I kid you not, we weren’t on the boat an hour and we were eating, and more than that… Dad went and grabbed a hamburger, which they were grilling on a barbeque. Because he was hungry, he woofed it down. Now, for those of you who are thinking clearly, eating really really fast is not the best plan ever. Needless to say, it came back up, very quickly. Within two minutes of eating the burger, it came back up… in his hand… which he then proceeded to finish regurgitating the disgusting remains into a garbage can marked “Plastic only”. No, I can’t make this stuff up. After completing our meal, we returned to the stateroom to unpack a few things. After that, we went down to deck 6, where a small theater was located. The production crew put on a nice little opening variety show, with music, and lights, and singing, and dancing. Also, there was a comedian who was to perform later in the week, as well as a few musicians who would be performing onboard. The entertainment on this ship was actually of a much better quality than I had thought it would be. So, that was fun. We then went back to the room after the show and went to bed, knowing that we had a couple days to just explore the boat at our leisure.
Day 2 - Sunday (at sea): Getting in the swing of things
So, Sunday was our first day on board. We were at sea all day, so, basically, we spent the day doing pretty much nothing. When we got up, we all got ready, a tricky process with four of us and a pint-sized bathroom. We headed up to deck 10, where a buffet resided. Dad scouted out other stuff on the ship while Mom, Allie, and I just chilled on the deck in the sun, reading. It was truly a nice afternoon. We returned to the room and got all dolled up, so that we could get some nicer pictures with all of us, before we got too tired, or had too long days to want to get all nice to take pictures. That night, after dinner on deck 5, in a nice little restaurant called the Seven Seas, we went back up to deck 6 for another show, this time one composed of music from Broadway shows. Again, it was really a nice show, very well done. Some excellent singers, dancers, and musicians on that boat, to be sure. Randomly, Allie had a hard time remembering which direction our room was, so we were heading towards our room, trying to decide which way she thought it was. Dad turned her in the correct direction, and she was all, I knew that. Dad responded with “Really?” Allie said, “Si” (yes in Spanish). Mom said, “Oui” (yes in French). There was a brief silence. Simultaneously, both Mom and Allie said, “Queso” (cheese in Spanish), a reference to another Bradshaw joke. (Queso, it’s cheese… in Spanish. See other blog entries on stupid Bradshaw statements for more info.) The running joke for the week seemed to be that, if all else failed, “The Dark Knight,” the newest Batman movie, would be on the ship’s onboard channel. So, we returned to the room and watched a little of “The Dark Knight” before going to bed, knowing we had to get up early the next morning.
Days 3 - 5
Day 3 - Monday (Great Stirrup Cay): A four mile hike… right…
Okay, so, we woke up a little early so that we could head out to Norwegian’s private island, Great Stirrup Cay. We were docked just off-shore, so we had to take a ferry over from the boat to the island. Mom and I had an excursion booked for that day, our first. When we arrived at the island, she and I headed over to a little cabana where the excursions were set up. One word: parasailing. It was AMAZING! We rode out with these two local guys, to older gentlemen from Charleston, WV, and a mom and her two daughters. The two older guys went up first. It was warm, and the day was perfect for something like that. When they came down after between 7 and 10 minutes in the air, it was Mom and me’s turn. I sat in the front and she sat behind me. They took off and sent us flying. It was breathtaking. So quiet. And the water was so clear that, even where we were high in the air, it was like you could see the bottom. We could see the entire island and went close to our boat. When they were pulling us down, we got a nice cold dip in the water, thanks to our boat driver, and much to the cheering of the other passengers on the boat. Overall, just so fantastic; I can’t put it into words. The other members of our party went and then we were sent on a speed ride back to the beach. On the way, we saw some real-life flying fish. These little things shoot out of the water and take off across the top of the water, wings/fins flapping, like 200 feet at a go, best we can figure. Once we arrived back to the beach, we met up with Allie and Dad and the three girls got set up on the beach, while Dad went and found a hammock to nap in. There was reading, and sunning, and Mom and Allie sat in the water for awhile, in beach chairs of course. After a little while, we all decided to look around a few little shops near the beach and saw a sign for a lighthouse. So, the sign says that the lighthouse is 2 miles, which would mean a 4 mile trip all-around. We set out. Mile one wasn’t bad. By mile 1.5, it was hot, we couldn’t see the lighthouse, and we weren’t sure we were going to make it. Randomly, about 1.25 miles in, we pass this seven-foot by seven-foot piece of concrete with white lines painted on it; next to it was a sign that read, “Great Stirrup Cay International Airport,” above signs that said arrival and departure – an idea of a joke in the Bahamas. Frankly, it was a nice break in the tree monotony that had been the rest of the hike. We finally saw the lighthouse, which was, literally, just a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere, nothing else around it. We had been told that there was a stunning little cove just down from the lighthouse, so we walked another quarter-mile down to the cove, which was beautiful. It was totally empty of people and we just marveled at the quiet and the clear water and fish. A perfect little area. Then… yup… we hiked back. 4 miles, round trip. Good times. When we got back to the beach, we went back to the ferry, then the boat. After getting cleaned up, we went down to dinner at the Seven Seas. Post-dinner, we went to hear a comedian, Sam Griesbaum (no joke), who was the entertainment for the night, a pretty funny guy. Between the two shows that he would do for the night (one at 7.30 and one at 9.45), there was bingo. We decided we wanted to play. We lost. Not much more to say. Then, because of being drained by the evil sun, we all watched a little “The Dark Knight” went to bed early.
Day 4 - Tuesday (Nassau/Atlantis): You thought the walk yesterday was bad…
We had to be up and on the dock at 9.15am, which was great for everyone, but we were there. Dad forgot a hat and had to go back to get one, shocker. We followed a guide around, through a little marketplace and customs, to a ferry to take us over to Paradise Island, where the Atlantis hotel and casino is located. The islands are right next to each other, so the boat trip was only 10 or 15 minutes. We knew that the area was spread out, but we had no idea. After following a quick-footed little tour-guide through the area, we ended up at a beach, where we could spend the day, or we could wander the property. Originally, we had planned to walk around for awhile, then chill on the beach, possibly. We slogged down the beach to put our towels down, and I literally mean slogged, because the sand is imported, making it thick and extremely hard to walk through. We headed back out to the path, away from the beach, and walked out to examine the map and explore. We, obviously, were not comprehending that, when the ferry guide told us that the property sat on something like 500 acres, that was a lot of ground to cover. And we did. Multiple times. Needless to say, the entire complex is stunning, composed of penthouses, two hotels, a timeshare area, waterslides, pools, aquariums with lots of fish/sharks/etc, and a multitude of shops and restaurants. Everything is beautiful and there was much picture taking as we explored. However, no one thought about us walking that much, so none of us had donned the appropriate footwear. Pain ensued. There was taking off of flip-flops and treading on hard concrete. Much pain. The entire place is meant to be like what Atlantis could/might have been like, including ruins for aquariums, temples for waterslides, random statues and symbols everywhere. Included in such statues is one composed solely of these sculpted clear crystals – total value: $1 million. Yup, you read that right. For one sculpture. Other than the walking thing, it was a nice day to walk around the area. We went through a little tourist-y shopping type area just outside the Atlantis and got ice cream, which was yum. We took the ferry back to Nassau, deciding to walk around the straw market for awhile before we went back to the ship. When I say straw market, the old one got burnt down last year and they have relocated. The space is probably the size of a block, one-story building. Crammed in this space, probably a hundred to a hundred and fifty vendors have set up stalls in long, thin aisles, basically on top of each other. Very VERY crowded, particularly for the claustrophobic like myself. Allie got a nice knock-off Coach bag for next to nothing; mom got a cute giraffe and red print Dooney and Bourke bag for cheap, and I got a Prada knock-off for very little. None of them were real, but that doesn’t really matter, now does it? After the exhaustion of the day, we barely made it back to the boat and, after getting cleaned up, we went to get dinner and headed back to the room, where we proceeded to read and watch “Ghostrider”, then “The Dark Knight”. HAHAHA. Then bed. Yay.
Day 5 - Wednesday (Freeport/Port Lucaya): Way, hey, and up she rises…
Mom and I had an excursion early, with shopping and a tour, while Dad and Allie’s left a little later, to go snorkeling. We all ate breakfast before going our separate directions. Mom and I boarded a bus, driven by Roly Poly Alexander Junior, which then proceeded to take us to three stops. We learned random facts along the way. I will share them with you like they were shared with us. Freeport/Lucaya is actually a privately owned, leased property, currently on year 53 of a 99-year lease, by a lumber company. Once you buy a piece of property, if it is privately owned, you don’t have a time limit with which to build on it, you can take forever… the government wants natives to own their own homes. The people build their own foundations with materials produced on the island, then move into shacks created on the property, pouring their previous rent money into buying the imported materials for the roof and windows and doors. In Freeport/Lucaya, you drive on the wrong side of the road, the left side, but, since cars have to be imported, you can drive on either the left or right side of the car (the steering wheel can be on either side). Price of gas is currently lower there than it has been in 8 years, at 3.00 a gallon; two weeks ago, it was at 5.75 a gallon. Natives can be arrested for gambling in the casinos built on the islands (a $300 fine for the first time, then jail time); they have to gamble in their own gambling houses set up in the ghetto. On a given Sunday morning, 80% of the businesses are closed and 75% of those people are in church – mostly Baptist, not Catholic. Because Hurricane Francis poured over between 5 and 6 feet of water on the Bahamas and left Freeport standing in that water for months, there are hotels and buildings just standing empty – one hotel that employed 1300 people never reopened after the hurricane because of the standing water. Average pay is between $5 and $9 per hour. Wow, you had enough yet? So, our first stop was the Freeport Farmer’s Market. There was pretty much a lot of the same stuff as in Nassau’s farmer’s market, so Mom and I walked across the street to a bakery. We bought this huge cinnamon bun… SO GOOD! The next stop we made was to Taino Beach, a popular, local, public beach. We didn’t stay there long, but it was a beautiful spot. We proceeded to our last stop at Port Lucaya Marketplace, which is basically a loose collection of shops and stalls in this strip. Surprisedly, we bumped into Allie and Dad there. Apparently, due to some high winds, they didn’t get to go snorkeling, so, thanks to my brilliant sibling, they caught a taxi and headed to where the cabbie told them we were most likely to be. We all wandered around; I bought a hat (because I kept getting sunburned, particularly when we go to the beach). Finally, we told Allie and Dad that we’d meet them at the boat and headed back, via bus again. After cleaning up and eating, again, we chilled for awhile before dinner and a show. We were expecting to see a juggler which, when you consider that the theater had ceilings that were only 8 feet, would have been entertaining in itself. However, when we got there, our cruise director, Ered, informed us that, because the juggler’s luggage had gotten lost at the Nassau airport, he would be unable to perform; so he and another entertainer had thrown something together. Now, I say that to say this – Ered was a good cruise director and he didn’t have an awful singing voice. But when he said, “We’re gonna have a sing-along, and we’re going to sing a traditional sea shanty,” I was done. We were FORCED to sing along with all 80 verses of “What do we do with a drunken sailor?” At which point, the Bradshaw family took off. It was just too much. We proceeded to make stupid sea shanty jokes the rest of the night. Ask us, we can tell you the words. The sea, speaking of it, was really rough because of the wind; we could tell because, as we were sitting at dinner, you could literally see other people, particularly your family, swaying back and forth. Funny stuff. It was like everyone onboard had been drinking, even those of us who were sober. Lots of swaying.
Days 6 and 7 - Final Thoughts
Day 6 - Thursday (Sea World): A’lure, the Call of the Ocean
We knew that we were going to dock early in Port Canaveral and that we needed to get off so that we could travel the hour to Orlando to go to Sea World, so Thursday was another early morning. We went to the gangway to find out that we couldn’t leave yet, so we popped a squat and waited on the stairs with a very nice family. We then waited after we got off the boat for our rental car shuttle to show up. The same family waited with us, so that we were the first two groups that were supposed to get on the shuttle. When the stupid thing showed up, all these people swarmed the shuttle, trying to shove their way onto the bus/van thingy. The little woman that we’d been waiting with put her foot down, told all those people that her family and our family were the first two groups there, and that it was only fair that because we had been waiting the longest, we were going first, period. We made it to the rental car company (with me sitting on the wheelwell) and got our little rental car, a nice Mazda. Dad got us some brekkie and we went to Sea World. One of the first things we did, after we got there, parked, and took our picture with a penguin, was stop at a show, A’lure, the Call of the Ocean. Sounds pretty cool, right? Not so much. It was vaguely Cirque du Soleil-ish, with tumbling and juggling and music, all of which was great. The story sucked, though. Which just provided more fodder the Bradshaw family joke factory. We saw a show with a bunch of dolphins. We went to see another show featuring Clyde and Seamore, two sea lions, also a walrus and an otter… and people. The show was a comedy thing, which was entertaining. Particularly when, half-way through the show, the actors/trainers got so cracked up because of stupid things the volunteers were doing or not doing. One of the actors actually stopped, dropped character, said, “We’re gonna have to do this again,” walked back to his starting place, and fought his way through to start the scene again. Particularly entertaining. Otherwise, we saw lots of sea animals. We saw some manatees, “the majestic sea cow,” and learned fun facts. These are free, they will cost you nothing: Manatee females are fertile and can mate year-round, with multiple males. So, really, it seems like if you need to pick a sea animal to be, the manatee would be the one to pick. Good times for the manatee. Mom and I fed seals, especially little seal number 65, who we fed most. Dad and I fed dolphins, and got a little wet. We ended the day with the Shamu show – Believe. It was awesome, and cute, and as good as I remember it being, probably better. Lots of whales doing good things. We made it back to drop the car off, caught a cab to the port, and hopped on our boat in time to catch dinner and a show, this one with music from the radio of various time periods. Another good show. Well done. We fought our way to stay awake until 11pm… when the highlight of Allie’s cruise experience began – the Chocoholic Buffet. That’s right, an entire buffet comprised of items made of chocolate. We’re talking full sculptures, like big houses, castles, statues, famous buildings, animals, etc, created only of chocolate. AND food, all chocolate, other than the fruit set out to be dipped in a chocolate fountain. It was like heaven in a buffet. Due to the chocolate, we basically passed out when we got back to the room (and between Sea World and massive walking at Great Stirrup Cay, Port Lucaya/Freeport, and the Atlantis, and the nice, warm, sunny sun). Sleep was good.
Day 7 - Friday (at sea): Cards, deep thoughts, and myths
Friday, we slept in late, because of all the sun-and-walking thing. When we rolled over and realized that it was like 10.30-ish, we decided it would probably behoove us to get off our lazy afts (yup, you can see the jokes there) and go get brekkie, which we did. Because there was really nothing going on during the early/mid-afternoon, we were sitting at this table in the sun, inside, twiddling our fingers, when Dad mentioned a library, with games, like board games and cards (deck 5). We were in. We tromped down to discover said library and retrieve said deck of playing cards before returning to our table in the sun (deck 9). We proceeded to spend the afternoon playing rummy, which I kinda suck at (but I kept going out early, even with ridiculously pathetic low points), and spades, which Dad and I never need to be partners at (because we suck). Lots of sucking. Well, not for Mom and Allie, who beat the flipping pants off us. When we got tired of cards, Mom began waxing philosophic about how small we were in the vastness of the ocean, to which Allie replied, “Yeah. If the boat goes down, there’s no one to hear you scream… except your fellow passengers.” Mom kept trying to reel us back in, which didn’t work. Then we got on to the subject of Pirates of the Caribbean… there was a connection, I promise, I just can’t remember what it was. Anyway, we discussed if we thought it would be possible to flip a ship using the method in the 3rd movie – having people run back and forth on the deck in synch, creating momentum – and if you could do it with the number of people on board – and the physics behind it. To which we decided to submit the idea to Mythbusters. There was a crew variety show scheduled for later in the afternoon, so, after snacks and the beginnings of lunch, we headed down to the theater to see the show, comprised of four acts (not much of a show). After a traditional Philippine dance, a traditional Winward Island dance, an Italian aria, and an interesting rendition of “I love the nightlife”,” we were treated to a display titled “Fountains,” which comprised some of the crew spitting on each other, much like fountains, set to music. Both gross and, randomly, somewhat entertaining. We then had our mid-afternoon naps (with me watching some more “The Dark Knight”) and then dinner. Our last supper, as we termed it. Post dinner, we went to the last show, a variety show with entertainers who had performed earlier in the week. In addition to an excellent pianist/singer whose show we had missed because we thought he was somebody else (long story, our mistake, we pay no attention), the juggler guy actually performed, Edge, who was a nut, we didn’t get it. In addition, and due to him telling a story earlier in a meeting about disembarking about making waffles and singing while he was doing it, our brilliant and stupid cruise director Ered sang a song he had composed about waffles. Yup. Thus ended our show. On our last trip through the onboard shops, I mentioned that these drink glasses were really cute, so Dad, good padre that he is, decided to try to get some from the bar. Apparently, he couldn’t get the glass without getting the drink that came in it, so he, my father, bought two virgin daiquiris, banana and strawberry, so that Allie and I could have the glasses. We returned to our estate, where we proceeded to try to shove all of our newly acquired purchases (including jewelry, t-shirts, hats, and stuffed animals) into our previously full suitcases, a truly interesting time. There was much stuffing and groaning and shoving. Again, good times. We had to sit out our luggage in the hall so that it would be ready for us to pick up when we disembarked. After a final few moments of “The Dark Knight”, we went to bed.
Day 8 - Saturday (disembark): Saying bye and going home
We had to get up at the butt crack of dawn to get ready to leave the boat, technical term – disembark. We actually didn’t think we were leaving until about 9.20, so why we got up at 7.00, I have no idea. We actually made it to breakfast before we had to leave. So then we were standing in the room, waiting for our color (Pink, the color of our tags) to be called. We went from standing in the room, to standing in a hallway on the deck where we could disembark, to standing on the stairs close to where we could disembark. Lots of standing. Interesting times. Sadly, we got through disembarkation and back to the house. Back to the real world.
So, what did we learn? What did we think overall?
1. There’s not that much to do in Freeport/Lucaya.
2. Yes, that bed can hold a person.
3. Don’t eat burgers too fast.
4. Don’t forget where your aft is (imagine all the jokes we made).
5. Si. Oui. Queso.
6. Sea shanties aren’t the answer to making the night a success. What do you do with a drunken sailor? We still don’t know. (But apparently shaving his stomach with a rusty razor, putting him in bed with the captain’s daughter, and throwing him in another boat till he’s sober are good ideas.)
7. No more waffle songs.
8. Who wouldn’t want to be a majestic sea cow?
9. Parasailing – s’marvelous, s’wonderful!
10. When all else fails, “The Dark Knight” is probably on.
No, seriously, overall, this trip was a HUGE Bradshaw vacation success. We hope that you enjoyed taking the trip with us. It probably took you as long to read this as it took us to think it up, maybe longer than the trip itself took. We look forward to many more vacations with the fam and hope that you do, too. Cheers.
Until later.
Whitney (and the family).
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