Tam & Bob Adventures

Travel and Enjoy Life to the Fullest

Day at Animal Kingdom

On August 12th, 2022, We got the opportunity to visit Disney’s Animal Kingdom with our friends Linda and her son Brandon. We initially headed towards the Pandora area from the movie “Avatar”. The scenery was amazing with literally islands floating in the sky.

The first ride was a water ride “Na’vi River Journey” traveling through the planet of Pandora at night with all the luminescences seen in the movie.

The second ride “Avatar Flight of Passage” involved sitting on what looked like a motorcycle but was supposed to be a flying horse called a “Mountain Banshee” from the movie while you were wearing 3D glasses and watching a screen in front of you. Now I am not good with most rides like these, so I had the GoPro running and kept my eyes closed for most of the ride. Tam sitting next to me would let me know when it was safe to open my eyes whenever we would stop momentarily.

After Pandora we had Lunch at Tiffins Restaurant. I ordered a “Lamu Libation” which contains Starr African Rum, Cruzan Banana Rum, and Guava Puree with Orange, Lime and Pineapple Juices and topped with Gosling’s 151 Rum; it was very tasty . As the rest of the folks other than Alyssa were not day drinking, I only had the one. For lunch I had the Tamarind-braised Short Ribs which was delicious with Chocolate Gateaux for desert.

We stopped for the obligatory photo in front of the tree of Life on our way to Dino Land

After lunch we went to Dino land and went on the Dinosaur ride which was a journey back in time to the land of the dinosaurs and was fairly lame, though Jordan screamed a lot and that kept Alyssa amused.

After the Dino land, we visited an area where there were boats with characters in them heading under the walking bridge towards the main lake for an afternoon show. Jordan was wearing Minnie Mouse ears and when the boat with Mickey and Minnie passed underneath, Minnie pointed up at Jordan and then at herself. Jordan and Brandon road Expedition Everest several times using the single rider line. Jordan after said she should have stopped at one.

I was starting to get a little tired and Linda and Brandon went and got me a wheel chair for the rest of the day. Jordan and Alyssa road the “Kali River Rapids” while Tam and I waited at a Cafe.

The last thing we did was ride the “Maharajah Jungle Trek” which was a large jeep safari trek to see wild animals in the park.

We saw everything from Elephants, Rhinos, Giraffes, Lions and more. After the Jungle Trek we headed out of the park through the Rain Forest Cafe, tired but excited to have seen Animal Kingdom (Finally after all these years. Jordan had been before but Alyssa, Tam and myself had not).

Mariner of the Seas 60th Birthday Cruise

We got onboard and finished our e-muster drill then headed towards the Solarium Bar. We met a couple in the Solarium pool that were also doing the Ultimate World Cruise. Unfortunately we failed to meet up with them the rest of the cruise. There was much drinking that afternoon by all the girls (who had the ultimate Drink package) and Alyssa did not make it to dinner.

However Day 2 found her up and ready for breakfast. After breakfast we went to the Schooner bar and discovered that there were people in the water. It seems that a boat with Cuban refugees was spotted in the water and several people were holding onto wooden items and one was swimming towards the ship. People on deck threw down life rings for them. The captain then came on and made an announcement to please stop throwing the life rings over board as they were in the process of rescuing the people in the water. We ended up stopped for most of the morning as a coast guard plane and coast guard ship joined us to take custody of the refugees. By mid day Mariner of the Seas was released from rescue operations and continued on towards Cozumel. We were informed by the Captain that the delay would be made up on route and our original arrival time in Cozumel would still be in effect. After that excitement, we grabbed a quick bite to eat at the Promenade Cafe before our visit to the Escape Room.

This was my first experience with an escape room. In addition to the six of us (Myself, Tam, Jordan, Alyssa, Britney & Briana) there was another group of six. We all had to work together to solve the puzzles which unlocked the keys that could be used to repair the telescope (that was the premiss anyway). It took us a while before we solved the first clue and unlocked the key, we worked in smaller teams trying to solve the riddles. One by one we unlocked all of the keys. Finally each key had to be simultaneously inserted into the telescope requiring five different people. It was exciting and a challenge that I enjoyed. That afternoon we got ready for formal night and pictures. Since it was my 60th birthday, I wore my sparkly red jacket.

Day 3 we were in Cozumel Mexico. Here we did a shore excursion to the Mayan Ruins as well as Chocolate testing. We also visited a Bee Sanctuary where we could purchase some Honey or Bee products. The Chocolate trip included a demonstration of how the locals made chocolate. It wasn’t until the Europeans arrived that Milk was added to make milk chocolate. This was mostly about purchasing the various bars of chocolate in the gift store. After the excursion we did some shopping in the port area and then got ready for the Ice Show. There was one of the skaters that did a back flip!! I had never ever seen anyone do this (let alone on a moving ship) the show was very good and then we had dinner.

Day 4 was a sea day returning to Port Canaveral, It was my actual 60th Birthday and everyone dressed up in Hawaiian Shirts (My signature trademark 🙂 ) We also went to see the Singers and Dancers perform in the theater. If you are on Mariner of the Seas in the near future I would give this show a pass. Most of the singers needed a vocal coach and I think the dancers needed more time working together.

Upcoming August 2022 Adventures

  • Mariner of the Seas 4 Day cruise to Cozumel
  • Visit Epcot Center
  • Road Trip to New Orleans & Panama City Beach
  • Visit Universal Studios

August is a very busy month as our Daughter from Australia is coming over to visit. It is also my 60th Birthday and so we are celebrating.

Welcome to our Adventure

Tam & Bob Adventures follows our life in retirement. After 34 years working for NASA and Contractors at the Kennedy Space Center, Bob retired in 2019 to travel and explore the world. Then COVID hit and we spent the next two years at home. Now we are starting to live the retirement lifestyle. So whether we are on a Cruise, on our Boat, on a Road Trip or something more exotic, you can follow our journeys here or on our Instagram or YouTube channel.

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