Kit's Wilderness

 Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond is a fantasy adventure story.  Kit and his friends play a game called Death, where they take turns, pretending they are dead and have left their bodies.  After playing the game, Kit feels something supernatural and he starts seeing the ghosts of his ancestors who died in the mines.  

Into the Wild

Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst is a fantasy adventure book with a clever concept.  I love fairy tales.  The protagonist is 12 year old Julie who lives in a world where fairy tale creatures exist.  Her mother is Rapunzel, her grandmother is a witch, and her cat is Puss in Boots.  Her father is a prince who was killed helping Rapunzel escape the forest.  They have the seven dwarfs over to her house for dinner a lot.  The fairy tale creatures who have escaped the Wild, have to repeat their stories over and over because of a supernatural object.  Julie has to go rescue her family out of the Wild.

The Clique Series

 The Clique by Lisi Harrison is similar to its young adult predecessors such as Gossip Girl and The A-List.  All three series deal with mean girls.  This one doesn’t have the graphic language and sex the other two do.  This one is for middle school girls and how hard junior high is.  I was picked on a lot in junior high because this is the development stage between the maturity of a kid and the maturity of an adult. 

The Chocolate War

 The Chocolate War by Robert Comier definitely measures up to his other books, After the First Death and Tenderness.  Cormier has an interesting writing style and writes about problems other authors don’t dare to write about.  What starts out as a hazing ritual after refusing to sell fundraiser chocolates ends in a brutal beating.  I had to sell chocolates while I was in junior high and they weren’t very good so I doubt people would buy them if it wasn’t to support the school.  I liked how Jerry was able to stand his ground surrounded by peer pressure.  It made it seem like all the teachers at the school were menacing. 

Shooter

 Shooter by Walter Dean Myers is a very sad book about because of similar events that have happened at Columbine, Virginia Tech and even as close to us at Trolley Square in Salt Lake.  The book is very relatable and the characters are believable.  The ending shows us we need to help people overcome obstacles. 

Whale Talk

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher is about a high school senior named T.J. Jones, who struggles with racism, bullying, society, anger, and fear. He is adopted and lives with his foster parents. His mother is a lawyer and his dad is stuck on a day when he accidentally ran over his girlfriend's son with his truck.

Because of his mixed heritage, he is discriminated against a lot by his peers. There are two men in the book named Mike and Rich, who make T.J.'s life harder in and out of school. T.J. has to control his anger a lot through out the book, because of the actions of these two men. T.J.'s dad always advises him to take "Not one minute for revenge."

T.J. joins the swim team and finds solace with the other outcast members. Being on the team, bonds the boys, and makes them feel like they belong somewhere. The boys look up to T.J.

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle

Reflections on a Gift of Watermelon Pickle by Stephen Dunning is book of poetry and photographs. The poems are short and easy to read. The poems have a broad range of subjects and interesting styles. Books like this one are helpful to get young adults to like poetry.

Feed

Feed by M.T. Anderson is about a group of teenagers. A boy named Titus is described as gorgeous, because his parents modeled him after a popular actor. He had has the Feed all his life, which is a microchip run by a corporation, hooked into his brain, giving him access to the Internet and television. He and his friends don't even think for themselves, relying on the Feed for instant gratification.

Titus' girlfriend Violet didn't grow up with the Feed, but her parents bought one out peer pressure. Titus is surprised when Violet wants to talk about current events and is able to hand write notes instead of just sending it as an I.M. The other teens think Violet is weird and when she challenges them, they call her names.

The book presents the dilemma of growing technology, capitalism, and knowledge. Except for Violet, there is not a lot of character development. The other kids are so addicted to the Feed, they are the same at the end.

Speak

I first read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson about five years ago and recently read it again for my Young Adult Literature class. I have read several of Anderson's other books, so I am familiar with her writing style, which is descriptive and sharp.

Melinda Sordino, the main character, doesn't talk to anyone. After a horrific event at a summer party, every one at school is mad at her for calling the cops. Her three best friends dropped her as a friend. These three friends and Melinda's parents are too involved in their own lives to notice Melinda's pain and change of personality. Melinda spends most of her time, drawing and painting, with the help of friendly teacher, Mr. Freeman. Melinda learns through her experiences, everyone should find their voice and make sure they are heard.

Uglies

Uglies is the first book in the quadrilogy by Scott Westerfeld. The book is written in third person, but the main character is a sixteen year old girl named Tally Youngblood. In her world, there are Uglies and Pretties. When someone turns sixteen, the are able to get three operations to make them into Pretties. All the Pretties live in their own compound, don't have to work, and shun the Uglies.

Tally is really excited to turn pretty and can't understand why her friend Shay wants to run away to Smoke, a town full of runaway Uglies. When Shay disappears, Tally is blackmailed by Dr. Cable to find Smoke and the missing Uglies, or else the doctor won't let her have the surgeries.

The first couple of chapters seemed to drag on, but then the pace picks up. The books shows that no matter where you live or in what decade, people will problems with self image. It shows how far some people will go to look perfect in every way, very reminiscent of the Hollywood mindset. The only time we hear of Tally's parents is when they come to her dorm for her birthday. I think this book would be appropriate for any read who has a problem with body image.

The Book Thief

This is the first book I've read by Markus Zusak. He has a German mother so she must have sparked his interest in Nazi Germany and two of his books (including this one) have been chosen as Michael L. Prinze award Honor winners.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, is narrated by Death and tells the story of girl named Liesel who lives in Nazi Germany with her foster parents. Liesel steals books and takes care a Jewish man named Max hiding in the basement of her house. Her foster mother Rosa is very stern disciplinarian and her foster father Hans is a kind teacher. Max draws and writes stories for her to read. Liesel spend most of the time reading and dreaming about her dead brother while the war is at her doorstep. The Mayor's wife lets her steal books from her house and makes her cookies, because Liesel reminds her of her dead son.

I thought Liesel and her parents are believable. Liesel was very brave and matured greatly in the three years the book takes place. This book would be appropriate for all young adults and I would recommend it to any reader who has read books about the Holocaust before.

Carnival Triumph

This was my fifth cruise. I have previously cruised on the Spirit, Inspiration, Victory, and The Valor. My parents have been on the Paradise, Elation, and Monarch of the Seas. We flew from Salt Lake City to Ft. Lauderdale on Friday night and stayed at the Plantation Hotel. It was a dive. Don't stay there. We rented a car at Alamo.


Saturday Oct 20

We drove to Miami and dropped the car off at Alamo. We took the Alamo shuttle to the seaport. Since my mom has to be in wheelchair because she has Multiple Sclerosis, we got to the front of the line and were on board by 1:30 pm. We stayed in cabin 8278 on the Veranda deck, but we prefer the Rivera deck, because it doesn't rock as much. We had the 6:15 dining time and were at table 173 in the London dining room. We sat with a couple from Texas, and a couple from Missouri. Our head waiter was Yudi, and he was very friendly. Each night he called us by our names and was very fast and helpful. This was the first dining room, where the lights only dimmed and didn't blink. After dinner, I went to watch TRIVIA: SOMETHING ABOUT NOTHING hosted by the social host Chris. After trivia, there was Latin DANCE CLASS to the song "Copacabana" taught by one of the male dancers. After that we watched GAME SHOW MANIA hosted by social hosts Chris and Amanda. Then we saw the WELCOME ABOARD SHOW, where we met the cruise director Brad Calabrese, the singers, the dancers, the Assistant cruise director Bonnie, and the other social hosts Paula and Murie. The comedian Mike Panzeca was hilarious.

Sunday Oct 21

After breakfast on the Lido Deck, we went to TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE TALK hosted by Brad, since we had never been to Grand Turk before. THE NEWLYWED NOT SO NEWLYWED SHOW was quite interesting. For the first time in the five cruises I've been on, a same sex couple was chosen in the drawing for the newlyweds. This was the first formal night. I tried the Spaghetti Carbonara in the dining room, and it was very good. WONDERFUL WORLD is the better of the two shows. This was also the first night that we smelled the sewage smell that I have read about in the reviews. It's mostly in the Lounge and the decks surrounding the Lounge.


Monday Oct 22

In the morning we went to MUSIC TRIVIA, SEA FUED, and IN THE BAG. We were in SAN JUAN from 5 to 12, so we just got off the boat for a couple of hours and went shopping near the port. Since we were during the evening, the dining room was open seating from 5:30 to 8:30. We went to the Austin Powers DANCE CLASS taught by one of the female dancers. The show was Grammy nominated vocalist CECIL PARKER.


Tuesday Oct 23

We arrived in ST THOMAS from 8 to 6, so we took a cab to Red Hook, and then took a ferry over to St. John. We sat on the beach while my dad snorkeled at Trunk Bay. When we got on the ferry to go back to ST. Thomas, it started pouring. Then we went shopping in Havensight. The NEW WAVE MAGIC show starring Kevin &Caruso was okay. I had seen several of their tricks before.


Wednesday Oct 24

At the SHOPPING TALK for Grand Turk, Bruce seemed to giving the freebies to people in the fifth row in the middle, or the sides in the front. We all got a free Del Sol plastic ring on our way out. The LOVE & ROMANCE GAME was hosted by Amanda. The BATTLE OF THE SEXES was hosted by Chris. I skipped the HYPNOTIST SHOW, but my dad went and he said the one last year on the Valor was better.

The ship was decorated for the M&M's sponsored Halloween Deck Party and there were ghosts, pumpkins, black cats, and a castle background for pictures. The guests and crew had some interesting costumes, such as a towel animal, togas, Zorro, and a devil with cereal boxes around their neck on beads.

Thursday Oct 25

We were in Grand Turk from 7 to 5:30. We signed up for the ISLAND BUS LOOP "THE GUANA" in Grand Turk, which took us to the Grand Turk Lighthouse and the Her Majesty's Prison. It wasn't worth the money. The bus comes by every fifteen minutes to pick you up, since the island is only 7 or 8 miles long. The bus driver said most of the resorts are on Provencales, but they are building two in Grand Turk. This was the second formal night. The show CENTURY CAFÉ was good, but not as good as the other one.

Friday Oct 26

The DEBARKATION TALK with Brad was at 11 am and he told us his list of the top 10 funniest questions asked by guests. The social host Amanda was one of four employees of the month. At the CRAZY LIDO PARTY, Murie, Chris, and Amanda taught us the Cupid Shuffle, the Ketchup dance, and the Mississippi slide. They also had Carnival Color games. The LIAR'S CLUB was hosted by Bonnie. Amanda, Brad, and Chris were the panel. They brought up 4 guests at a time and had them determine which one was saying the real definition of not often heard words such as lavacan, fullfart, pudd, and erectarine. GAME SHOW MANIA II was hosted by Murie and Chris. CARNIVAL LEGENDS was better this year than last. Brad was Dolly Parton. Chris was Cher and Ashley, the karaoke host, was Sonny. They had guests playing Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Ricky Martin, Madonna, Aretha Franklin, Garth Brooks, Elvis Presley, and Britney Spears.

Saturday Oct 27

This Debarkation was the worst one I have ever experienced. We were number 30 group and had to wait till 11:10 am to get off the ship. We didn't get out of the terminal until an hour later. Since our flight didn't leave till the next morning, we were going to go to the Bayside Mall, but it costs 10 dollars to park as the minimum. So we drove to Ft. Lauderdale and went to the Sawgrass Mills Mall and went to Sonny's BBQ for dinner.

Orlando

On September 15th, we flew to Orlando, via Denver. We stayed in a condo in Kissimmee. Our condo is pretty nice. I have my own bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room.

On September 16th, we went to Animal Kingdom. We saw Festival of the Lion King, Finding Nemo:The Musical, and rode the Kilimanjaro Safari. After our nap, we went to Epcot. Rode the Living Seas with Nemo and Soarin'.

On September 17th, we went to the Magic Kingdom. We saw Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and The Enchanted Tiki Room, and rode the People Mover, It's a Small World, the Haunted Mansion, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

On September 18th, Mom and I stayed in the condo while Dad went to his conference. When he came back, we went to Carrabbas for dinner and then went shopping at Downtown Disney.

On September 19th, we went to the Florida Mall, Chick-Fil-A, and Wal-Mart.

On September 20th, we went to the Lake Buena Vista Outlets, Sonny's BBQ, Old Town, and then it started raining.

On September 21st, we went to MGM studios.

On September 22nd, we flew home.

Jackson Hole

We got back yesterday from a family reunion in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The family reunion was for my mom's side of the family.  We stayed at the Virginia Lodge.

On Thursday, we drove to Grand Teton National Park and went to the Colter Bay Lodge and gift shop. That night, we went to the Bar J Ranch for dinner and watched their program.

On Friday, we all met at the Alpine Slide. Then we went over to the park near by. After our nap, we went shopping in the shops next to the Town Square. For dinner, we met at the park. That night, we went and saw "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" at the Jackson Hole Playhouse. It was fun, except we were on the front row, so they picked on us.

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My Celebrity Look-A-Likes

Maui

My family and I were in Maui from May 5-May 12. We had a good time. We visited Haleakala National Park and did the road to Hana, which made me sick. We went to Big Beach, Hookipa Beach, Kaanapali Beach, Lahaina Beach and Koki Beach. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, Royal Lahaina Resort Luau, Fred's Mexican Cafe, and BJ's Chicago Pizzeria. We went shopping at Queen Kaahumanu Center, Lahaina Front Street, Shops at Wailea, Whalers Village Mall, Lahaina Cannery Mall, and the Kahului Saturday Swap Meet.

Grease: You're the One That I Want!

Including the songs from Grease, here are the songs they performed on the show.

• "All By Myself" by Celine Dion
• "All That Jazz" from Chicago
• "Burning Love" by Elvis Presley
• "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" from The Lion King
• "Can't Help Fallin' in Love" by Elvis Presley
• "Don't Know Much" by Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt
• "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston
• "Ease on Down the Road" from The Wiz
• "Endless Love" by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross
• "Faith" by George Michael
• "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow
• "Fun, Fun, Fun" by The Beach Boys
• "Hard to Handle" by Otis Redding
• "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
• "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes
• "I Love Rock and Roll" by Joan Jett
• "It's in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)"
• "It Takes Two" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell
• "Mony Mony" by Billy Idol
• "Phantom of the Opera" from The Phantom of the Opera
• "Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison
• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder
• "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall
• "Summer of '69" by Bryan Adams
• "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar
• "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley
• "Take that Look Of Your Face" from Tell Me on a Sunday
• "These Boots are Made for Walking" by Nancy Sinatra
• "Walkin' in Memphis" by Marc Cohn
• "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" by Diana Ross
• "You Keep Me Hangin' On" by The Supremes
• "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin
• "You're Still the One" by Shania Twain
• "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley

Las Vegas

I just got back from Las Vegas last night. My parents and I stayed at the Palms. I haven't been to that hotel since they put the Fantasy tower in. The pools hanging over the edge of your floor, sure would be scary to swim in. It would feel like the pool could drop at any minute. We stayed in the Palms tower.

My Mom and I went shopping a lot. We went to three different malls. I prefer the Meadows Mall, though. My Mom nearly bought the whole Disney store. She collects disney beanies, antenna toppers, and figures. It was kind of funny to see her lap full of stuff almost to her chin, while she was sitting in her wheelchair.

We saw "Santa Clause 3" at the Brenden theatre in the hotel and I liked it. The next movie I really want to see is "The Holiday."

It's a lot warmer in Las Vegas than it is here, a 30 degree difference. I'm glad it snowed here while we were gone, and has now stopped.

Carnival Valor

Day 1 Sunday

My Dad, Mom, and I flew in on Saturday night into Ft. Lauderdale and stayed at the Yankee Trader, which has an oceanview. We returned our rental car in Miami, and took the bus from Alamo to the port. Embarkation was breeze. My mom has Multiple Sclerosis and with her having her wheelchair, we got to use V.I.P. line. So most of the time was spent waiting for the elevator. The ship is gorgeous. The flags are a little duller in color than the pictures I've seen and I really like the eagles on the columns. Our Cabin was on the Riviera deck room 1439. I'm used to sleeping on this deck, because it doesn't rock as much as the upper ones. For lunch, we went up to Rosie's Restaurant on Lido Deck. I had the chocolate raspberry pie, and it was delicious. We waited for the second announcement of the muster drill, before we went up. It wasn't bad. After the muster drill, we went up to the Lido Deck for the sail away and listened to the band Eclypse play.

We were at the 6:15 pm seating in the Lincoln Dining Room at table 110. There were only us 3 at a table for 8 the whole entire cruise. Our waiters were Felix and Maryna. After such horrible service on the Victory last year, it was great to finally have some good service. For dinner I had the fruit, a Caesar salad, the Chicken ala Grecque, and the Apple Mousse cake. The first night our dinner was tad ruined because of the drunk lady at the table across from us who kept yelling and laughing the entire time. There was a couple next to them at a single table that asked to be moved, because of her.

My dad checked his bill after he ordered our shore excursions and found a bill for $5.18 in the Bronx bar that he didn't make. He went to the purser's desk to complain, and the lady told him it would be gone off his bill by the end of the week when they verified the signatures on the receipts.

Welcome Aboard Show was good. The Cruise Director is Brett Alans, the assistant cruise director is Kelly, and the social hosts are Dan, Charlotte, and Alan. They had the dancers and the singers do an act and they had a comedian named Michael Macy, who was the best of the three comedians we saw. After the show we went up to Lido deck for some ice cream for my parents and some hot chocolate for me.


Day 2 Monday

For breakfast every morning I had a muffin and some strawberry yogurt. I figured I'd be eating more for dinner, so I wanted to keep Breakfast a light meal. My mom and dad are a big fan of the omelet bar.

When we docked in Nassau, we went to the straw market and then took a taxi over to the Atlantis. It's better take a regular taxi than a water taxi, because you have to walk a couple of blocks if you take the water taxi, whereas the land taxis drop you off in front of the hotel. The Atlantis was really pretty and neat to see after seeing it a lot on television and in movies. When we got back to the pier we went to Hard Rock Café for some t-shirts and then went back to the straw market, and my dad bought a watch. We went to get back on board, my dad realized he must have knocked his sail and sign card out of his pocket reaching for his sunglasses. So my mom had to verify him with the security guard. My dad had to go to the Purser's Desk and get him to print him a new one.

For lunch, we went up to the Fish and Chips bar and the fish is really good. In the American Lobby, Alan hosted the cornhole contest, which is throwing beanbags through a hole cut out in a ramp.

For formal night, we got our pictures taken with the stairs from Titanic backdrop. For dinner I had the prime rib and the strawberry bisque. The show was the "Nightclub Express." The singers were Penny and Lawrence. Penny was the singer when we went on the Victory last year. Lawrence was the better of the two. The dancers are incredible.

Day 3 Tuesday

It was a first day at sea. In the morning Brett did a Travel Talk for St. Thomas and St. Maarten. For Lunch I had a roast beef on a baguette from the deli and it was good. In the American Lobby, Alan hosted Name that Tune and Dan hosted Battle of the Sexes: Beat the Clock. It was funny, and the Men won. Since there weren't a lot of chairs, people kept standing in front of our booth. It would have been better if it were hosted in the Ivanhoe Lounge. For dinner I had the fruit cocktail, a Caesar salad, the Penne Mariscos, and the Raspberry Vanilla Cake. The Raspberry Vanilla cake has real raspberries in it. Our travel agent Charlie from Rainbow Travel called our room and met us at our table, because we had never met him in person before. The show a couple of comedians. One that was a mime, and juggled. The other was the winner of the Carnival comedy contest, who has cerebral palsy, and was pretty funny at the beginning of his act, but ended rather uneventful.

Day 4 Wednesday

When we docked in St. Thomas, we had to go up to the One Small Step disco for immigration. Then we got off the ship and went to the Havensight Mall for shopping. While we were shopping, it started pouring. We went on the Coral World tour. We had to meet for our tour in the disco at 12:30. It was very interesting seeing the turtles, the sharks, the fish, the stingrays, and the reefs. It was good for people who like to snorkel, but don't like to get wet.

After we got back on board, we went and got some pizza from the lido deck. It's always good. Then when I was taking a nap, I heard some noise that sounded like hammering coming from deck 0. For dinner had the Farfalle with Turkey and Peas, and the warm chocolate melting cake. The chocolate cake is the menu every night, under alternatives, and is one of the best desserts they offer.

The show as supposed to be a singer, but couldn't fly in due to engine trouble and ended up in Bermuda instead. So they grabbed Glenn Miller, the hypnotist from the Elation and he did the show instead. Glenn had people making out with Alien dolls, being Victoria's Secret models, members of the Village People, impersonating Michael Jackson and Britney Spears, and men hiding balloons under their clothing. It was hilarious. My dad liked it so much, he went to both shows. The only bad thing was the Glenn told people if they came and visited his table where he was selling his hypnosis CDs, they would get a 50 dollar bill. Too bad his CDs are $100 a piece.

Day 5 Thursday

I was up all night sick, because the ship was rocking so badly. I had to put on my motion sickness bracelets I usually only wear on the airplane. That's the first time in 4 cruises, I have gotten sick. So I was really tired when we docked in St. Maarten.

We took the St. Maarten Island Tour. It was supposed to leave at 9 am, but we had to wait 15 minutes for two people who never showed, so we left without them. To make up for the tour guide gave 15 extra minutes in Marigot to shop. We also stopped at lookout point. When we took this tour 3 years ago, it also had a stop in Phillipsburg at the beginning, not just at the end.

In the afternoon My Dad went on the Pinel Island Snorkeling Tour. Even though Brett said it was the best snorkeling in St. Maarten, he said he only saw 3 kinds of fish and it wasn't worth the money.

For dinner, I had the rigatoni, a Caesar salad, vegetarian Lasagna, and New York Cheesecake. I like all of them. The show was supposed to be a singer and a comedian, but the comedian couldn't fly in because of weather conditions. So Brett did a card trick and tried to get one of his parrots to talk, but all it said was hi. Yolanda Barber, the singer was very good. She sang songs from Motown like Marvin Gaye, and Gladys Knight. She even got Lawrence, the singer in the two Vegas shows to sing "Ain't No Mountain High." There was a guy in the audience named Bob who kept trying to dance with Yolanda when she was singing in the aisle. He was hysterical.


Day 6 Friday

In the morning they had Trivial Pursuit Trivia, Sea Feud, the Morning Show Live, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The Sea Feud is family feud, and it was a bit hectic, because they had 15 teams of six, and if they knew the answer, everyone from their team had to jump up and yell out their team name and answer. The Morning Show Live had Q and A with Kelly and Brett was interesting. We learned that the crew has 28-day menu, what the dancers' jobs are beside the shows, and the boat has enough fuel for 2 weeks.

In the afternoon, Brett hosted the Newlywed Game and Deal or No Deal Bingo. The Deal or No Deal Bingo was pretty fun. It ranged from a penny to $1000. The lady got $250, even though the deal she took was $50. I thought that was nice of them. She had a dollar in her case. After that Kelly, the assistant cruise director hosted "The Great Game Show," which is 3 rounds of 3 people answering questions from song clips.

It was also the second formal night. I had the Bing cherry soup, a Caesar salad, the surf and turf, and the caramelized apples on a pastry. The surf and turf is shrimp and filet mignon. I didn't care for the dessert. I wish I had gotten the Grand Marnier Soufflé instead. Our travel agent Charlie from Rainbow Travel bought us all sodas in the dining room, so that was nice of him.

The show was "Far From Over" and it was tribute to 1980's, which included Madonna, Pee-Wee Herman, and the Eurhythmics. I wish that it had some songs from INXS, Duran Duran, or the Go-Gos, but it was still good. I ordered a virgin Raspberry Daiquiri before the show started and when I went to drink it; it tasted weird like cough syrup. That was my first taste of alcohol, and since I am a Mormon, that is a bad thing. LOL. So I had to wait for the waiter to come back so I could exchange it for one with no alcohol. It was on the receipt correctly, but the A was missing in the N/A.


Day 7 Saturday

In the morning they had Entertainment Trivia, Win a Cruise Bingo, and the Debarkation Talk. In Bingo, there were two finalists, so they had to draw a ball from the machine, and who got the highest number won the cruise. Brett gave the person who got the lower number a set of free watches from the gift shop.

In the shops today they had 2 for $30 Carnival Valor t-shirts. I bought a couple and a blue lanyard to put my house keys on. While we were waiting in line, we overheard a man telling the gift shop employee he was mad they didn't have wine for sell in the gift shop. She said if he wanted to buy some, he would have to go to the dining room.

Lunch was the chocolate buffet. They had fondue, different chocolate cakes with fruit, and milkshakes. I got some chocolate cheesecake and it was good.

In the afternoon it started raining. In the Ivanhoe Lounge they had a Saturday Night Fever Dance Class and Dan host the Love, Sex, and Romance quiz.

For dinner I had the mango soup, a Caesar salad, the chicken fettuccini, and the lemon crème brulee. Our waiters Felix and Maryna signed our Valor picture for us. My dad gave Maryna some extra money, because every time we saw her outside of the dining room and in port she would come and say hello to us.

Since "Legends" show didn't start till 10:30 pm., they had a couples dance class, big band music, and coverall bingo to fill up the 8:30 show time. The couples dance class was the cha-cha and they were dancing to the song "Smooth" by Santana. During which my Dad complained to the Purser's Desk again, because the drink charge was still on his bill. They gave him a bill dispute form to fill out.

"Legends" was okay. There were a couple of good singers, but the rest not so much. The legends people had to audition for were Madonna, Britney Spears, Elton John, Elvis, Garth Brooks, Ricky Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Gloria Estefan. They had two girls from the crew dressed as Sonny & Cher and It was really funny seeing Brett, the cruise director dressed up as Dolly Parton.



Day 8 Sunday

Debarkation is the worst part of the cruise. It's bad because you have to get off the ship and go home, and it's bad because you have to start carrying luggage around again. They need 3 lines out each door rather than 1 line that wraps around the entire building. We got off the ship at 9:05 am and then didn't get through with customs till 9:45 am.


In conclusion, I liked this ship and enjoyed this cruise a lot. I thought the dining room service was great and I thought the crew was friendly. I also liked the islands we visited and the entertainment was good.

Anaheim

I just got home on today from a week long trip to Las Vegas and Anaheim. I had a good time.

On Monday we drove to Vegas, staying at the Excalibur. On Tuesday, Mom and I went shopping while Dad was in class. On Wednesday, I pushed Mom in her wheelchair from the Excalibur over to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay. We also went to the Meadows Mall, The Aladdin, and The Hawaiian Marketplace with Dad. Then we drove around Fremont Street.

On Thursday, we drove to California, stopping at the Prymm Outlet Mall. We are staying at the Quality Inn. We got some chicken from Knott's Berry Fam and went to Downtown Disney. I shopped and bought a lot of books, clothes and Disney stuff.

On Friday, we went to the Block at Orange. We stayed at the Homewood Suites. My Uncle Jerry and Aunt Becky were also in California visiting their oldest daughter Mandy and her husband Sam, so my parents and I went and ate with them at the Crab Cooker in Newport Beach. While we were trying to find the LDS temple in Newport, we saw a guy get out of his car at an accident site and tried to beat up an undercover cop.

On Saturday, we went to the Costa Mesa swap meet and drove around Newport. We went to El Torito and back to Downtown Disney. On Sunday, we drove back to Vegas and stayed at the St. Tropez Suites.