Returning to Labrador City

I must admit that I was a little worried about returning to Labrador City, we had quickly gotten used to the warm weather and I wasn't sure if I could cope with more snow.  There had been snow on the ground in October when we arrived and when we left in the first week of May it was still snowing.

Fortunately when we returned all the snow had finally melted.  The town looked very different but sort of dirty because all of the dirt and litter caught in the snowfall over the past eight months was left on the ground.  The town council had commenced lawn sweeping which is something I have never seen or heard of.  Basically they use a sweeper to sweep the sand and debris off your front lawn.  Once your lawn is swept it looks really nice, we also had a little bit of rain last Monday which is also greening up the lawn which had turned brown under the snow.

Tuesday night must have been cold as the Monday rain turned to snow and on Wednesday the whole town was white again!  I couldn't believe it!  However when I drove home from work on Wednesday it had melted again; thank God.  Our idea of nice weather has changed significantly from our days in Karratha.  The past week has been up to 18 degrees but mostly around 12 degrees.  This prompts everyone to get out and about, there are people out walking and gardening, the local park is busy with kids and even though it's not really that warm you feel like it's ok to wear t-shirts and sandals.  After a week or so back here I can say that we are happy to be back in our home.

Lawn sweeping

Ports of call

We stopped at three different ports while on the cruise. St Maarten was our favourite, this island is half French, half Dutch.  The beach was a short way from the ship and the shops were right behind the beach.  It had a real Caribbean feel with colorful buildings, music playing and a gorgeous beach.  We spent the whole day on the beach which was really relaxing.

The island of St Maarten

Ryder on the beach at St Maarten

Our second port was in the US Virgin Islands, St Thomas.  While this was lovely too we just didn't have the same good feeling like in St Maarten.  It was more expensive and it was 20 minute drive across to the other side of the island to get to Magen's Beach which was great but too crowded.

The third port was our last day on the cruise, Castaway Cay is an island in the Bahamas owned by Disney.  Again, we spent the day on the beach.  There was a water park and water slides for the kids and the water was a perfect temperature to stay in for ages.  We made the most of the beaches as this is something we really miss in Labrador City!

Busy beach at Castaway Cay

A photo opportunity!!

Cruisin’

The next two days were spent at sea.  Cooper enjoyed himself by playing Fooseball, swimming and spending time on the waterslide.  Ryder enjoyed the babies water play area and just being outside in the sun for a change.  Taylor went to learn how to draw Disney animations and we all watched a couple of 3D movies plus some other Disney classics on the big screen by the pool.  The pool snacks were hard to resist; pizza, tacos, burgers, fries, chicken strips plus some healthier options of salads, sliced fruit and delicious wraps.  The kids went to the kids club and nursery for a few hours while Steve and I relaxed by the adults only pool.

Looking off deck 10

All Aboard!!

We arrived at Port Canaveral, Florida just after lunchtime.  There were two ships in Port including our ship, the Disney Magic.  Check in was very smooth with the excellent service that was standard for the rest our cruise.  All my last minute panicking about whether we needed visas for the Caribbean islands we were visiting was allayed as he scanned our passports but then we came across a glitch, passport control had not stamped Taylor’s passport for the US.  We had a few tense moments as they checked this out, but since Taylor was under 18 and the other four passports were OK they allowed us to board, phew!

Disney Magic at Port Canaveral, Florida

We stepped on board the Disney Magic and they announced the Campbell Family!  The ship is described a modern classic with design features that you might imagine on the Titanic!  A gorgeous lobby with an atrium, wooden handrails, marble bathrooms.  Our room was roomy enough with a double bed, a couch, three fold-down beds, a split bathroom and a balcony.

Disney Magic Lobby and Atrium

We headed straight for the buffet lunch then out on deck for a look around, and a welcome drink of course!  We set sail just after 4pm when the ship sounded its horn with a Disney tune. 

The bow of the Disney Magic

Walt Disney World, Orlando Florida USA

Cooper was very impressed when he woke up in the morning in his pirate ship bed at the Disney Caribbean Resort.  The weather was lovely and warm so we headed off to Walt Disney World Hollywood Studios.  It did feel a little surreal walking into Disney World, there was some great street entertainment and it wasn’t too busy so Steve and Taylor went on some rollercoaster rides.  Cooper and I had a long wait for the Toy Story ride but it was great fun in the 3D shooting gallery once we got there.  After a long lunch we went back to the resort pool and took the kids swimming in the pirate themed pool which again was a hit with Cooper! 

 

Day two at Disney World started with a character breakfast at the Magical Palace with Pooh bear and friends.  Ryder was scared but Cooper had a photo with all the characters.  The kids got to go on lots of rides today including the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and the Jungle Cruise.  I had real trouble getting Ryder off the carousel and he threw a big tantrum once I prised him off the horse.

The pirate merchandise was hard to resist

Day three was overcast and as soon as we entered the Disney World Animal Kingdom Steve was off buying us all plastic ponchos for the rain.  It didn’t rain too much and we had a good look around, our favourite ride was the Kali Rapid ride which is similar to the rapids ride at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.  I got saturated as we slid to the bottom of a big rapid and all the water rushed in on top of me.  As I walked back looking for Steve lots of people said ‘I guess you’ve been on the rapids ride?’ I didn’t see anyone with wetter clothes than me.  Cooper loved it and wanted Steve to come on with him again so they lined up for another turn.

Tree of Life at Magical Kingdom

After three days at Disney I am happy to say I have seen it and don’t feel the need to go back again.  There were a lot of shows and rides I didn’t do but it was great to be there and see everything going on around us, the level of detail they go to was amazing, in the Animal Kingdom it really was like being in a street in Kathmandu, the street entertainers were great and the parades with all the characters were definitely a highlight.

On Friday night Taylor and I headed to Downtown Disney to see Cirque du Soleil La Nouba.  This was a great night out and we were amazed at the circus as this was our first Cirque Du Soleil.  It was hard to say what was the best but the five little girls with Diablo’s doing acrobatics got the loudest clap at the end.  We finished with a dinner at Planet Hollywood.

Taylor enjoying a non-alcoholic cocktail at Planet Hollywood

On our way

Finally, we are going on vacation to somewhere warm! We had a long day ahead of us with five flights from Wabush, Canada to Orlanda, USA.  We had a long wait in Montreal but then tight connections to Toronto and Orlando.  We cleared US customs in Toronto and were almost last to board so when our bags didn’t arrive in Orlando we weren’t surprised.  It was about midnight, we were all so tired and the baggage carousel restarted and our bags came out, yippee!  Now we had to find the Disney Magic Express bus to our resort.  We were in our room by 1.30am which was 2.30am our time so it was a very long day travelling once again.

Cooper loved the pirate beds at the Caribbean Resort