This was our first full day in Charleston. We woke up to 42 degrees with a real feel of 35... in South Carolina. It was also cloudy and there was a bit of wind. Our first stop for the day was to visit Fort Sumter which involved a ferry ride to and from the Fort. I knew it would be even colder on the water so we had to wear our winter coats... again. From Mount Pleasant, it was about a 20 minute drive to Aquarium Wharf were we parked in the garage for $5 for the whole day. Being used to NYC parking prices, this was a dream! We parked and walked a short bit over to the Fort Sumter building. I had purchased a package online that included the ferry to Fort Sumter and admission to the South Carolina aquarium. It gave you a small discount to purchase them together. I presented my printed reservation and was given the tickets to the ferry and the aquarium. We had about 15 minutes until the ferry boarded so we walked around the small exhibit area inside the building. We headed outside to board and it was cold! We bundled up and settled in for the 30 minute ferry right to Fort Sumter. There was a recorded narration about what you could see and some history about Fort Sumter. As we approached Fort Sumter, the ranger gave us a return time of a little over an hour and told us there would a ranger talk and flag raising ceremony at 10:30. It didn't sound like much time but it was really plenty of time. Everything inside the fort is original and there were plenty of informational signs explaining what you were looking at. We explored all around and then went to the flagpole area for the ranger talk. The ranger gave an interesting talk about the civil war and it's place in history. He then asked for volunteers to assist in the flag raising. We had about 15 minutes left to explore before we had to head back to the ferry. There was a small museum area that we didn't go into but other than that, we saw the rest of the fort. We opted to sit in the downstairs area on the ferry on the return trip in the hopes of warming up a bit. We were back at the dock at about 11:45 and headed next door to the South Carolina Aquarium. The aquarium housed fish and wildlife specific to South Carolina. They also had a connection with Lego. So there would be an exhibit with the actual animal and then a Lego version of the animal next to it. It was kind of cool and kind of weird at the same time. I noticed many kids that were more interested in the Lego versions than the real thing. I love seeing Bald Eagles and the exhibit was so close that it was easily my favorite part. It only took a little over an hour to walk around the entire place. There was an "interesting" special event going on at the aquarium. There were mermaids from Weeki Wachee (in Florida) doing some special performances. It was a big deal. We entered the aquarium at the end of the first show and there was a huge crowd. As we finished seeing the aquarium, another showing was about to start so we stayed to check it out for a few minutes. The mermaid entered the tank and would swim around waving to the kids, while every once in a while taking oxygen from a hose that she held in her hand. Now I had never heard of Weeki Wachee Mermaids but a little internet research taught me that they have been performing in Florida since 1947. After lasting about 5 minutes looking at mermaids, we left the aquarium and decided to make our dinner a late lunch instead. We finished the aquarium earlier than expected and debated trying to add something else to do or just calling it an early day. I had some work to get done and we have a long day tomorrow so we opted to call it a day.
For our late lunch, we went to the Tattooed Moose. I had found it on a site that mentioned restaurants featured on the Food Network. It was definitely a "dive" and it was a little scary to walk into. It wasn't overly big and by the time we left (about 3:15 pm) it was packed. They are known for their duck club and duck fat fries so I had to have both. They also used to have this amazing multi-layered chocolate cake. It was even still on the menu but when I asked for a slice to go, the waitress said they no longer carry it. So I chose peanut butter pie. The pie was good, but I still would have liked the chocolate cake. Tomorrow is another full day in Charleston and then driving to destination #3.
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We left Mount Vernon on schedule (yes, I have a planned out daily schedule) at 9 am. Today was a travel day to drive to Charleston, SC. I had hoped we would arrive around 6 pm but it didn't work out like that.
Except for the first hour or so, we drove in rain all day - heavy rain at times. We also decided to stop at Cracker Barrel for lunch. There was a wait and then the service was slow on top of that so we were there at least an hour. It started pouring like crazy the last 30 minutes and we got soaked just walking from the car into the hotel to check in. We arrived at about 7:30 pm and dropped our bags to head out to dinner. We are actually staying in Mount Pleasant, SC, instead of in Charleston itself. It looks very nice from what I could tell in the dark and rain. I hope to see more tomorrow. For dinner we went to Jim n Nick's BBQ. From what I can see on the website, it looks like a chain but we don't have any in the northeast. Being a Saturday night, I was worried there would be a wait but there wasn't. We had corn muffins to start which were included, and then we each had a combo platter. I had country pulled pork, spare ribs, mac n' cheese and fries. Chris had pulled pork, hot links, fries and BBQ chips. Everything was very good. AND I remembered to take pictures of everything! Tomorrow will be a full day in Charleston. After about six months of planning, we finally hit the road. The plan for today was to leave New York and drive to Mount Vernon, Virginia. This was our earliest morning as we left at 5 am to beat the traffic around New York City. With the exception of a few short slow downs, it was a smooth trip and we arrived at Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, around 11 am. In researching the best way to tour Mount Vernon, I found that twice a day they offered a premium tour of the house. With admission, you received a time entry to do a self guided tour the main floor and second floor. With the premium tour, you would have a guide and also be able to visit the third floor and the basement. The premium tour was $15 per person so I decided we would give that a try. The two times available were 11:15 am and 2:30 pm. I didn't know if we would arrive in time for 11:15 am so I reserved 2:30 pm. We had plenty of time to explore before the tour started so we started out by going to the education center where there was a museum and 4D movie. The museum told the life story of George Washington. It was easy to navigate and had mix of displays and text. One the highlights was a display of George Washington's "wooden" teeth. The movie was good though calling it "4D" was stretching it. Other than a snow effect for the crossing of the Delaware, it was mainly some lighting and loud cannon shots. We left the education center and finally got our first look of the house itself. With plenty of time still before our tour, we explored the grounds. Our first stop was Washington's tomb where he is buried with Martha Washington. We then started going from building to building, taking a brief look into each. One of my favorites to visit is the blacksmith shop. Today he was making nails. We wanted to get a bite for lunch but first wanted to find out where our tour started. This was a bit of a challenge. The printed ticket said to get in the mansion line, but that didn't make sense as that was the line for the free self guided access. It took asking three people until we finally find someone who lead us in the right direction. We had time to share a personal pizza from a food court type area and then went to our meeting spot. The tour started right at 2:30 with a group of 15 guests and our guide. We were lead to the front of the self guided line and then an employee waited for the first room to clear out before sending us in. They also held up any more guests doing the self guided tour so that we had the first room all to ourselves with the guide. This was how the entire tour went and it was funny to hear our guide's walkie talkie say things like "The premium tour is now entering the New room. Leave a buffer." The tour was well worth the $15. Our guide was excellent. She was very knowledgeable on the history of the house and property as well as the life story of George Washington. There were no photographs allowed inside the house due to make of the paintings and furniture being originals. The master bedroom still contains the original bed of George and Martha Washington. George Washington passed away in the same bed. Our guide had many interesting facts about each room and was able to answer questions about items we saw. We ended our stay at Mount Vernon at that point, besides a quick stop in the gift shop. In total, we spend about 4 1/2 hours there. Some activities that we didn't do were to take a shuttle to the distillery as well as some activities that can be found on the official Mount Vernon app. One activity that stood out was a game in which you are a spy and need to find different items around the property. The description seemed like it uses bluetooth technology to interact with your phone. We started it when we arrived and watch the introduction video but didn't get to actually try it out. The early morning was catching up to us so we decided to check in at our hotel which was only about 10 minutes away. We had 90 minutes to regroup. Chris napped and I caught up on some work. Then it was time to head back to Mount Vernon for dinner. The full property closed at 5 pm but the restaurant that sits right outside the gates was open. We had 6:30 pm reservations and were seated right away. I had planned to take food pictures for this trip. It isn't something I normally do but I always like looking at other people's so I wanted to do it for this trip. Well, I am not off to a good start. We were both pretty hungry and the skillet cornbread hit the table and we dove in... before I could get a picture. So forgive the half eaten picture, but it was so good! It was warm and the butter on top was a honey butter. Chris had the jambalaya and I tried the shrimp and grits. I have never had grits before and I really enjoyed these. We then shared bread pudding... which I remembered to take a picture of when we were finished. I need to work on food picture skills. It was about 8 pm when we arrived back at our room. I wrote this blog and we got organized for tomorrow. Thankfully, we don't need to be up super early. We plan to leave around 9 am for city #2... stay tuned to find out where we go!
Hello blog!!
It has been awhile since I have written a post here. But things are about to get interesting! In about a week, I will be heading out on a 10 day road trip. My husband and I will be visiting 4 cities over the course of the trip. I plan to blog from the road so stay tuned. I will also be posting daily on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/magicaladventuresawait Excited to get started on our adventure!! A taste of Disney came to NYC today at the "Once Upon a Holiday" breakfast at Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks has their holiday windows themed to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Snow White so Snow White, the Prince and Dopey came to NY to be part of this special breakfast. My sister and I took my nieces this morning to the first one (there are several more being held on up coming Saturdays). The event was from 8:30 - 10 am and our tickets said to arrive 15-30 minutes ahead. We had booked a table for six (my other sister was supposed to come as well but was not able to) . The cost was $100 per person. We were a few minutes early so we looked at the windows outside and then went to the door just before 8 am where a handful of people were waiting. Right at 8 am, they opened the doors and had a table with 5 people waiting to check us in. Check in was simple and we were given a small card with our table number and then directed to the elevators. The event took place in the Cafe that was located on the 8th floor. As soon as we arrived, we were shown to our table. The Cafe was decorated for the event and Christmas music was playing. Each place setting had a yogurt parfait waiting for us and a menu card listing what was to come. Our server came over to get us drinks and after those arrived, he came over with a little booklet for each of the girls. There were coloring pages (crayons were on the table) and two blank pages in the back for autographs. Within about ten minutes, music started to play and an announcement that Snow White, the Prince and Dopey were arriving. They all entered the room and walked around the entire room while music played, waving to everyone as they went by. Then the music ended and Snow White and the Prince were stationed by a backdrop for photos while Dopey started going table to table for photos. Dopey did pause for a moment to lead all the servers out of the kitchen area and around the restaurant marching to "Hi Ho" while bringing out the second course of breakfast which was baskets of muffins (Later we received a tower with the other breakfast items and we ended with some little cupcakes). The entire morning was a well orchestrated event. In between courses, they would have something else for us to do. One time, they played "The Silly Song" from Snow White and we all were encouraged to wave our napkins in the air. Another time, our server dropped off golden bags for the girls and said for them not to open them yet. Within a few minutes, they said for them to open the bags, they played Jingle Bells and inside the bags, there were bells for them to rings. The bells were even engraved with "Once Upon a Holiday." At some point during the morning, each table was brought up to meet Snow White and the Prince. They were great at taking time to talk to the girls and sign their books. I was able to take a photo but they also took one photo and then printed it out and placed it in a folder for the girls to take home. And, of course, Dopey made is way to our table as well. His handler was great. She was very energetic and helped the girls engage with Dopey. She had them naming all the dwarves. And then they took a picture. We couldn't say enough good things about our server. He was great with the girls and had a great personality with us as well. He told me that they did special training for the servers to get ready for these breakfasts and it really showed.
At about 9:50, music played again and all of the characters danced their way around the room again before making their exit. So it ended just before 10 am. Yes, this was not an inexpensive ticket. And we were concerned that there might be hiccups because this was the very first one. But I really can't say that was the case. If I was to make one critique, I would say that the food could have been a little more child friendly. We could have even used just a plain bowl of fruit salad for our youngest niece who was a little less willing to try some of the other items. This morning we would be leaving the Disney Magic. In my research prior to the cruise, I had discovered that usually 1-2 port adventures are offered that will drop you off at the airport if you have a flight after 4 pm. Our flight was at 5:45 pm so we were definitely interested. The drawback was that we wouldn't know what was available until we were on board. On one of our first sea days, we went to the port adventures desk and asked. There was one port adventure called "Royal Copenhagen." In reading the description, it did cover some of the same sites we would see on our full day tour the day before but it also went to Christiansborg Palace and either way it was better than sitting at the airport all day so we signed up. We were given special luggage tags when we signed up for the tour and tickets that had an early meeting time of 8:15 am in one of the lounges on the ship. We finished the last pack up of our room, took our carry on luggage and went to Cabanas to grab a quick breakfast. The meet up in the lounge was just like other port adventures. When we were escorted off the ship, our luggage was all in one spot, thanks to the luggage tags, so it was easy to grab our suitcases and go to the motor coach. There were about 12 people, all adults, on our bus. Our first stop was Christiansborg Palace. It was the royal residence at one time but it is now the government building for all three branches of the government and host to all the royal receptions. Being early on a Sunday morning, we were the only ones there. We all had to put on plastic booties over our shoes to protect the floors and then our guide was able to give us a private tour. Each room was more magnificent than the next. Our guide was excellent. She would explain what it was like to attend a royal event there and what the protocol was for guests. It was great to have the whole place to ourselves so we could take our time and really see everything. We had some time in the gift shop and then it was back on the motor coach. We made two more stops which were repeats of the day before.. the Little Mermaid statue and Amalienborg Palace. We didn't mind because our guide gave different information than our previous guide so we still learned new facts. And at the Palace, we got to see the guard yell at some tourists. Our guide had just told us the rules about standing 3 meters away from the buildings and she joking said that the guards are armed but don't worry they will warn you before they shoot. As if on cue, we heard yelling. The guard was yelling "Oy" repeatedly and loudly and we turned to see that two tourists had been leaning up against the palace looking a map. They realized he was yelling at them and moved. Our guide said "see, I told you they would yell first."
After our last stop it was off to the airport. We still had about 4 hours until our flight but it was fine to not be in a rush since we were navigating a foreign airport. We had time to get through security and have lunch before heading to our gate. The trip was amazing. It seemed like we had so much time and yet it also seemed to go by so quickly. I would definitely recommend the experience. We had reached our final destination of Copenhagen! We would actually be in port overnight so there was no "all aboard" time this day. You were free to stay in the city and come and go as you like all evening. We had an all day port adventure scheduled which started out with a motor coach tour of "city highlights." We liked our guide right away. He was quiet with a dry sense of humor. We drove around the city and past Tivoli Gardens and other highlights and then got to stop at the Opera House to take some photos. Our next stop was Amalienborg Palace which is actually a large courtyard with 4 identical palaces. One of them is the residence of the Queen of Denmark, one is for the Crown Prince and his family, one is for the Queen's other son and the fourth is for guests. The courtyard is completely open and you can freely walk around but there are guards. The rules are that you must stay 3 meters away from the guards and all of the palaces. We had about 30 minutes to explore on our own and our guide told us that the changing of the guard ceremony would take place at noon which was about 10 minutes away. He said that because the Queen was not currently at the palace it would be a smaller ceremony but still worth seeing. I have posted video on my facebook page www.facebook.com/magicaladventuresawait. Once back on board the motor coach, we were head to the Open Air Museum which was about 30 minutes outside of Copenhagen. Here we were scheduled to have a "traditional Danish" lunch and then have some time to explore the grounds. Now when traveling in tour groups, you are bound to come across a fellow guest who is not the most pleasant and may make your experience a bit difficult to enjoy. And in our tours on this trip, there were one or two but none that really worth mentioning. Unfortunately, on this tour we had a woman, let's call her Lady T, that stuck out. Lady T was seated in the back of the motor coach and she wasn't a quiet person. We were seated about in the middle and could hear her clearly. From her comments alone on the bus, she seemed unaware that we were in a different country as she compared all the prices that she saw to what things cost at home - though the current exchange rate that day was 6.5 Danish Kroners to 1 US Dollar. I could tell you everything that she did to make herself a problem for the entire tour (and I started to write it all out) but I had to experience it and it wasn't fun so I don't think you want to read about it either. We were thankful that she was only on one of our six port adventures. Our "Danish lunch" was a small buffet that started with some cheeses and meats, bread and herring. I was not brave enough to try the herring but everything else was good. There was then some steak, vegetables and salmon meatballs. For dessert, there was what looked like a large shortbread cookie with fruit on top. It was very light and tasty. Once we finished, our guide started to just give us the lay of the land. The Open Air Museum is about 100 acres and has over 100 rural buildings from 1650 to 1950 from all over Denmark. They are all the original buildings that were dismantled and then rebuilt on the property of the museum. The idea is to show the different buildings from peasant / farm life over the years. There are also people there dressed in period clothes that will do demonstrations for you. One woman showed us how she takes wool from the sheep and makes it into yarn. They will have different demonstrations on different days. You really need a full day or more to explore the whole area. We could only do a small portion but it was a beautiful place. Our last stop of the day was to see the Little Mermaid statue which is iconic to Copenhagen. Our guide told us the original Hans Christian Anderson story...not the Disney version. We were able to get off the bus for a photo. The statue is of course popular so it is crowded and challenging to get your photo but we managed. Despite putting up with Lady T and her many complaints, we enjoyed the tour. The show that evening was a variety show with two performers we had seen already, JUNNK and John Kimmons. I actually enjoyed John Kimmons more this time than his full show. It was our last night at dinner and we had the Frozen menu.
We also had to have our luggage outside by 10 pm. Boo!! After 3 days of exploring different ports, it was nice to get back to a day at sea. It was also sad to know that it was our last day at sea. I started out with the last session with Ian Gooding. It was an open question and answer session. It was very well attended and could have gone on for a lot longer than an hour. He answered questions about the animation process as well as what it takes to become an animator for Disney. I then went to the atrium to get a spot to watch the character dance party. The characters came out and mingled with the guests dancing to different songs. Each character would also take a turn on the stage dancing. It was very cute and you could tell the kids enjoyed it. After lunch, I started the packing process. We knew we would have a busy day in Copenhagen so I wanted to pack most of our things and leave out just want we would need for the last few days.
When I finished, I took advantage of something that had been going on for the whole cruise. In the movie theater, they showed different "Modern Classics" throughout the cruise, such as Forrest Gump, Ghostbusters and Top Gun. I hadn't gone to any but had time today and went to see Sleepless in Seattle. The show was Disney Dreams which is a big Disney production show and was very well attended. Between the show and dinner, there was a Officers Dance Party in the atrium. All of the officers were there as well as all of the characters in their formal wear. Again they all mingled and danced with the guests. I have posted some videos on my facebook page. www.facebook.com/magicaladventuresawait. Our dinner was at Carioca's and it was the Til We Meet Again menu. Even though it wasn't our last night, the next night we would be in port overnight in Copenhagen. I think the thought was that some guests may do dinner on their own in Copenhagen so they did the farewell dinner tonight. After dinner, we had an event we were really looking forward to... the PremiEAR at sea of the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie! Everyone was encouraged to come in their pajamas. I put on my PJs and a sweatshirt, grabbed my blanket and we went to the theater. The movie was great and it was a fun way to see it. Next stop: Amsterdam I was really looking forward to checking out this city and after you read about our day, I feel like I need a do over. Our port adventure for the day was a two hour walking tour and then a visit to Anne Frank's House. Anne Frank's House was my "must do" for Amsterdam. Yes, it was possible to get tickets on your own (they go quickly so you have be online as soon as they become available). But that would mean figuring out how to get there on our own and then we probably wouldn't have seen much more of Amsterdam. So this port adventure would give us a walking tour around the highlights of Amsterdam (they bus you to the center of the city first) and then we get into Anne Frank's House so we didn't have to worry about tickets on our own. We met our guide and on the bus she gave out listening devices so that we would be able to hear her on the street. She said this was the first time she had used them and, of course, when we all go to test them out on the bus it doesn't go well. When we get out of the bus, we try again and some people can hear, some people can't hear at all, some people can hear a little. I could catch some of what she said but often had static. Chris' didn't work most of the time. At that point, there really isn't much she can do about it so we just have to carry on. We are all looking around as we wait to get going and see piles of trash everywhere. There are beer bottles and paper everywhere. Someone asks the guide and she said that the day before had been a soccer game that Amsterdam had ended up losing but they were winning at one point and there were premature celebrations. The day we were visiting was a national holiday so the sanitation department was closed. Ok, that was an unfortunate series of events. But at least we knew why and once we got out of that one area there wasn't any more trash. So we started our tour and, again due to the holiday, the streets were crowded. Our guide walked fast and it wasn't easy to maneuver through the crowds and keep up. She also wasn't very aware of this and didn't seem to keep a count or be sure she had everyone with her. And of course, most of us could only hear about half of what she was saying. We did stop a few times and gather up and then we got some information about the area and got a chance to regroup for a minute. I do have some photos from a few times when we stopped but not that many because our walking time was spent just trying not to get lost. While it was a shame that we didn't enjoy that part of the tour, we were still glad that we were going to the Anne Frank House. Our guide brought us to a side entrance and we were let in and given audio guides. There were no photos allowed inside.
There is an annex building that has rooms you start off in that give you information about the history of the time and of Anne Frank's family and story. Then as you step into the house itself, the audio guide says there will be no more audio until you exit the house. So you walk through the house, in a single file, in silence. There is information in each room to tell you about that room and about the family's experience. All of the rooms are empty because the Germans removed everything when the families were taken and when Otto Frank returned he said it should stay that way. It was a very powerful experience and a very well done exhibit. When you come out of the house, there are actual pages of the diary that you can see and some more information on the audio guide. I was so glad we got to experience the entire exhibit. We met our motor coach and headed back to the ship. In all of our Disney cruises, we have never had a "bad" tour though some have been better than others. The walking tour was not good but it was really because our guide was not the best. That is always an unknown variable. It was still all worth it to get to go to the Anne Frank house and hopefully some day I will get to return to explore more of Amsterdam The show for tonight was JUNNK which was a combination of singing and percussion on various objects (like STOMP if you are familiar with that). For dinner we were in Animators Palette and it was animation night. You get to draw a character and then later in the evening, everyone's characters come to life on the screens around you. It is a lot of fun. Our next stop was Dover. I always like to take a look out on the balcony first thing in the morning when we arrive in port. This is what it looked like on this morning. But thankfully, the fog lifted as the day went on and we had a great day. We did a port adventure to took us to the town of Sandwich and then to Dover Castle. The ride to Sandwich was maybe 30 minutes and again our guide gave us some information about the English countryside as we drove there. When we arrived in Sandwich, we followed our guide through the small town to the center area. It took about 10-15 minutes of walking and she pointed out some of the architecture of the buildings. We then had about 15-20 minutes to explore on our own before meeting back at the bus. It was early in the morning so many of the shops were not open yet. There was an old church that we walked too and I took some photos there. In hindsight, it was cool to walk around the little town for a bit but nothing overly exciting. Perhaps there was more there that we missed... maybe a more in depth tour would have revealed more.. or maybe not. Our next stop was Dover castle. We had watched a documentary about Dover castle before our trip so we were anxious to see it in person. When we arrived, our guide gave us our admission wristbands and we had about 90 minutes to explore on our own. There are underground tunnels and a free guided tour is available. We debated because we wanted to do that but if we did, it would take up most of our time and we wouldn't get to do much else there. So we decided that we wouldn't get to do the tunnels and we set out to do as much of the rest of the castle as we could. We got a map and really were able to cover most of everything else. We even climbed all the stairs to the top of one of the towers. We really enjoyed our visit here. We could have used a bit more time to do the tunnel tour but other than that we think we saw most of the grounds. In hindsight, we could have done this day on our own, without a Disney excursion. Disney ran free shuttle buses to the city of the Dover and to Dover Castle. We would have missed seeing Sandwich, but we would have had more time at Dover Castle. Of course, we didn't know that beforehand... so there is a tip for future cruisers. When we got back on board, all the morning fog was gone and we were able to see the White Cliffs of Dover. The show that night was John Kimmons. He was a magician / ventriloquist. I thought he was ok. I like his magic better than his ventriloquism act.
We were in Lumiere's for dinner and the menu was "Princes and Princesses" |
AuthorI have been a huge Disney and travel fan since childhood. I love going to new places and, of course, heading to Disney as often as I can. Archives
May 2023
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