Race for the Taste 10K

This past Sunday Kim and I and 4011 of our closest friends did the Race for the Taste 10K out at Disney. First let me say Disney knows how to do races. Very organized and started on time (two very important things for me), we even had someone sing the Star Spangled Banner and fireworks.

The 6.2 miles went by very fast and it was very interesting to see just where we were walking and how we got from one place to another. We went in back gates to Hollywood Studios that I never knew existed and then a back entrance at EPCOT that I always wondered where it went.

We both had very good finishes, Kim ran more than she thought she would and finished about 15 minutes in front of me. Her time was 1:11:20 and she went more than the 6.2 miles according to her GPS . We both ended up with longer distances because of weaving in and out of the masses and for me I always seemed to be on the outside of the curve. You wouldn't think that would add up much but for the both of us it was about 1/4 mile extra.

My time was 1:26:05 which gave me a pace of 13:30 per mile, a personal best for me since I started walking.

Here I am crossing the finish line, that's me right in the center withe the purple shirt.


Here we are after our official pictures (hope to have them soon) and picking up water and fruit. We were looking for Tammy and Dan. Kim has spotted Tammy and I'm still looking for her.

Here we are feeling pretty good about the whole race and looking forward to our next one on the 24th of October. Another one at Disney, but this one is run at night and we are hoping it will be cooler then.

And yes, I did steal all these pictures from Tammy, thanks Tammy.

Nassau

It's our last full day aboard the ship and we started with a walk. Did four miles this morning and it was just Kim, Tammy, and me walking, everyone else must be tired out from all the good times they have been having.

Stopped in to talk to Dan for a few minutes and then I was off to shower and straighten up the room.

Another beautiful sunrise.

I was back to the Red Sail in about 25 minutes and we headed over to our normal breakfast location and it was just Kim and Tammy. Kim left to take her shower and the three of us got breakfast. The rest of our crew started showing up one by one until most of us were there.

Watched the ship pull into Nassau.

Dan and I were off the ship by about 0910, just going out to do some exploring before our excursion this afternoon.

Ran into one of our good friends and got our pictures taken.



Then we were off to find this church that Tammy had visited on her last trip to Nassau. Had no problems finding it, we could see it from the ship and just headed in that direction.


A very beautiful church and we enjoyed walking around reading all about it's history.

While we were in there the skies opened and the rain came down. We hoped it would stop before we were ready to leave but it wasn't looking promising. So out came the raincoats and off we went. Ended up soaked from the knees down and there was water flowing everywhere.

Didn't really have a destination in mind so just walked. It eventually let up and the walking became much more enjoyable.

A shot of the church after the rain when we walked by it again.

This is Atlantis, a huge tourist area/hotel.

This is our next cruise ship, can't wait.


Got back to the ship to change out of our very wet shoes, that felt really good. Went to the Red Sail with Tammy, Kim, Tom, Sami, and Breann to get a snack to tide us over for our afternoon excursion.

Headed ashore at about 1215 so we could get a picture at the Bahamas sign.

Our tour leader for the Segway was at the gangway when we got back. It ended up being just the eight of us: Dan, Kim, Tammy, Tommy, Michael, Sami, Cole, and me. Tom, Dennis, and Breann were doing the glass-bottom boat tour.

We walked to our taxi and even though it was advertised as being air conditioned it wasn't but the ride was short and we were there in no time.

Got all outfitted with our safety gear and got a short lesson. The instructor made it look so very easy, then I stepped on the segway and thought this is going to be too hard but within a couple of minutes I felt very comfortable and was ready to go.



This was at our first stop, we really needed the break. Found that your feet get sore because you are afraid to move them and tense them up as you are riding. We all appreciated the time to step down and walk around for a bit.



We had a really great time, felt like we were zipping along at about 30 miles an hour but the top speed on these was about 10 mph. If you ever get a chance to ride on a segway, do it. It is a blast and I will do it again someday.

We rode for about an hour and it was all through the woods and on dirt paths. So much fun.

Here are those two people again that always seem to be watching us get back on the ship.

Leaving Nassau Harbor.




Can't believe it is our last night to go to the dining room. It was another great meal and we were kept amused by Guillermo again.

Dad and Ilona, our assistant server.

Paul Handy the Maitre d' and also Jack of all Trades.

Checked out our pictures one last time and then we pretty much called it a night.

This was a great vacation and if you want to vacation with lots of people it is the way to go. Can't wait until June.

At Sea Day 2

We found that we really enjoyed our days at sea and always made the most of them.

We were back on eastern time this morning so it really was 0515 when I went out for my walk. Kim and Tammy were doing laundry, weren't they the lucky ones. It was long walk day for me and about half way through I decided what was 4.5 more laps, might just as well do 8 miles today. I was planning on moving up to that when we got home so I was just a week early and didn't have anywhere to be.

After my walk went and sat with Dan for a bit and then headed off to take my shower and get the day rolling. I was back for breakfast in about 20 minutes and of course we all sat together and planned our day.

First on the list was to sign up for the On Deck for the Cure Walk benefiting the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation. On our way ran into Mum and Dad relaxing in these chairs and joined them for a few minutes.


Found out the store where we were signing up for the walk didn't open until ten so we were a bit early. Decided to look at pictures and get the new ones that were out. I ran the pictures up to the room and by the time I got back the shop had opened and Kim and Tammy had started the sign-up and we were done in no time.

Off to the towel-folding demo, Mum, Tammy, Kim, and Sami were the folders. Had lots of fun and the folders did a great job with their creations.




Shots of the dogs they made.



Then some of the crew came in to get introduced and the ship's Captain spoke to us.

Then we played a round of BINGO, we were all hoping the win the $1199.00 and I got very close, only needed one number when Bingo was called.

Right after that was the debarkation talk, so we now knew everything we needed to know about leaving the ship on Saturday. About 1/2 way through the talk noticed that Dan was in the balcony and I joined him when it was over. Gave him a rundown of our plans and showed him where we would be getting carrot cake later in the afternoon if he wanted to join us. He has really enjoyed reading on his days at sea.

Ran into Tom on our way and let him know we would be going to lunch so he headed to the Red Sail and we all met him there a few minutes later.

Today was the chocolate dessert buffet bar and here are a few of the offerings. There was a lot more then just chocolate and we tried lots of different things. One of the the big advantages to having a large group you can just sample a bit of everything and nothing goes to waste.

After lunch we were heading out to watch Breann in the Family Wet Water War but it started pouring on the walk up so that activity was canceled.

By the time we got organized it was time to do the "On Deck for the Cure" walk. There were lots of participants and we walked a mile.

Met up with Dan and Dennis at the Amber Room to watch the Marriage Show, a very funny version of the Newlywed Game. One couple was married 6 days, one for 22 years and one for 60 years. They were all winners and got a bottle of champagne.

On to carrot cake and let me just say it is a good thing we didn't try it earlier in the cruise because we would have needed (wanted) a piece everyday.

We decided even though it was elegant night in the dining room again tonight we were going to put on our best duds, sneak in the back entrance and have dinner in the dining room. Ended up at the wrong staircase so our sneaking in was thwarted but we didn't care had a great time at dinner and saw people dressed in just about everything so we weren't really out of place.

More dancing tonight, can't remember the song but of course Kim and Michael danced.

Then on to a slow song and the Old Folks got up and gave us a show.

Along with Kim and Dennis.

After dinner Guillermo entertained us again with his napkin creations. A pair of shorts or a baby diaper.

A bow for Dad.

A boot.

Then he made this little animal that he cradled in his arms and pet and the next thing we know it is attacking Breann and there were screams and laughter everywhere. Another great meal.

Took a walk on deck and Dan and I called it a night.

Day 5 Costa Maya, Mexico

Today was a four mile day and not quite as windy. Did a few laps with Tammy and Kim and then it was off to take a shower and head down to breakfast.

On my way to the Red Sail caught another beautiful sunrise.


Today we sat on the port side of the ship and we were glad that we did. Saw this rainbow spanning between two clouds plus we were able to watch the ship pull into Costa Maya.

Costa Maya pier, built just for the cruise ships. Always amazes me how easy the Captain makes it seem to just pull right up to the pier.

Armed guards to keep us safe, not sure from what but they were there.

These were the only buildings we saw for miles in either direction. It was a very nice area for us tourists.

You should see this in the afternoon when we got back from our excursion, wall-to-wall people. I didn't think to get a picture then.

They are just coming out of their dry season, so everything is kind of dried up and brittle but there was no litter anywhere. Such a change from yesterday.

The Home Depot of this little town, Dan would have liked to stopped in just to see what they had.

Gas Station where the gas was $6.00 for whatever their measure was, not sure. But $6.00 seems very high.

This was the same road we were on when we went to Tulum in Cozumel, just much further south.

All the houses had such clean surrounding areas.

And most had a satellite dish.

A couple little stores grouped together.

The little town we visited before the small ruins we saw today.

This is the town of Limones and their Mayan ruins. Couldn't compare with Tulum but still very interesting to see.

Then we were on to the main portion of our tour, a Mayan Homestead or at least that is what I'm calling it.

Francisco our tour guide made a big deal about the purity of the water from the well as has every tour guide we have had so far. I'm still not drinking any water in Mexico that isn't bottled.

This is Don Chucho and he is uncovering our lunch. He was very meticulous moving the palm fronds making sure none of the dirt fell down on the charcoal or the pot with the chicken.


Here is lunch. We had the chicken on homemade corn tortillas with some onions and guacamole and of course some hot sauce that was way to hot for me. Everything was delicious.

Not sure what kind of flower this is but it looked like a type of orchid.

We had some peppers like these that grew in Guam called boonie peppers and they were very hot also.

This is Senora Gloria showing us how she makes the corn tortillas. She was making them and looking all around and watching one of the women from our tour make a mess of her tortilla.


Then Francisco showed us the leaf/frond that Don Chucho was going to make sisal from.

Put it on the leaning sawhorse thing and anchored it.

Then took this triangled shaped log tool and stripped off all the green pulp leaving the sisal fibers.

Francisco showing us the left over fibers.

These are a few of the things that can be made from the fibers.

The seeds in this pod are what were used to season the chicken we had at lunch.

Got back to the ship and who do we find people watching but Mum and Dad on deck 5 just watching everyone come back onboard.

Stopped off to get me a diet coke, my first of the day and I really didn't even miss not having one until now. So I guess just keeping hydrated keeps those caffeine withdrawal symptoms at bay.

Dinner was another fun time tonight. Michael really got into the dancing again.


This is Dad showing us what he looked like when he was a member of the Beatles!

Can't believe the cruise is starting to wind down, we waited so long for it to start and just a day at sea and one more port and we will be heading home.