PTR-Celebrating Retirement with a European River Cruise - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
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We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
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Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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We are under 2 weeks and counting! Wow!! Wade and I talked about the Amsterdam sight seeing the other day and decided to purchase a 48-hour I Amsterdam card. This card will get us a free canal tour, free entrance to the Van Gogh museum, free bus transportation and discounts at a number of restaurants in the city. The cost for the card is 57 euros, so based on what I can find, I think we will just about break even, depending on how much bus riding and eating we do. It will be worth the cost, especially in time in lines waiting to purchase tickets. Unfortunately, it does not cover the Anne Frank museum. It does, however, cover a lot of other museums, churches and sights that we might make use of when exploring. I’m sure we will enjoy some of those that we might not have taken in due to the added cost without the card. We will make that purchase upon our arrival, for even if we purchased on line, we would still have to go to a location to pick up the cards. It is supposed to be available at many hotels, so hoping our hotel is one of those.
Right now, we are at the stage where there’s not too much to do but wait. I have exactly one full week of work left, followed by the one day after Memorial Day. I can’t believe that a 34-year career is wrapping up! Many mixed emotions flowing, but mostly happy ones. I’ve been packing up my room and bringing things home a little at a time. Much of what I have collected is staying and being given to fellow teachers. I’m even leaving all the posters on the wall, for the teacher who is moving into my classroom is a good buddy and doesn’t really have posters. I was digging in my desk the other day and found a collection of paper clips with Disney characters on them. I put them in a little bag with a note for him to give them to his daughter who is about 7. ☺ Some of my good co-workers are having a little party for me on Friday, as our last day with students is Thursday. Next Tuesday, I will start the day at the County Office for a retirement breakfast with the superintendent, then return to my school for our end of year luncheon.
Last night I looked on the Delta website and found the May movies for our flights. I couldn’t find the June ones for our return, but that can wait. Looks like I should be good as both “Saving Mr. Banks” and “Frozen” are on the list. Also, “Despicable Me 2.” I have 2 of those on my iPad if I need it, but it looks like I won’t. Once I see the June list, I can remove them from my iPad to make room to upload pictures if possible. Also, last week one of our house sitters came by to meet the fur babies and see the house. We have 2 college girls who work with DD and DSiL sitting for us, as we just couldn’t see boarding the dogs for over 2 weeks. Thursday, I had to administer an Advanced Placement test at work. While there I spent time making up 2 lists (the only way I get stuff done!). One is my to-do list for everything between now and the trip. Some of those items will be assigned to DH, who is out of school now, although still has meetings and such. (He’s a college professor.) The other list is all the things I need to put on the house sitters’ note. I’ll type that up as it gets closer to time, as I keep remembering more things that need to be added.
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Getting very exciting now! With the end-of-year school activities and special retirement events, you'll be pretty busy, which will probably make the next week go by even faster. Glad you've got some good movies on the flight. That really helps to pass the time.
This has been a rainy, cold and gloomy weekend, so I’ve stayed in and done some trip planning. This afternoon I was on the Cruise Critic river cruising boards and saw a post about audio tours of the Rhine castles by Rick Steves. After checking that out, I ended up downloading 4 podcasts to my iPod. I also printed out the accompanying maps. One is the mid Rhine castle tour, and the other 3 are walking tours of Amsterdam: City Walk, the Jordaan and the Red Light District. I don’t know which ones I will follow, but at least I will have a guide to help me.
I know we spend one whole afternoon sailing the mid-Rhine viewing castles from the boat. I need to get down to specifics and see which ones we should see. I bought a book that was recommended on Cruise Critic a while back called “Castles and Palaces on the Rhine.” It has some beautiful pictures and tells a bit about the castles. The problem is they don’t reference exactly where the castles are. I think they are arranged in order as you would sail by, but where do we actually sail? Time to print out some maps and start putting “two and two together”!
Getting very exciting now! With the end-of-year school activities and special retirement events, you'll be pretty busy, which will probably make the next week go by even faster. Glad you've got some good movies on the flight. That really helps to pass the time.
This week will definitely fly by. I find myself waking up before the alarm right now and wanting to get up and get the day going. You know, the sooner I start, the sooner it will be over. Of course, that philosophy doesn't really work, but that's how the brain flows. I'm meeting Wed. with my replacement teacher. She graduated from our high school several years ago and has just graduated from college. I'm going to give her some of my notes and syllabus, etc. to give her something to work from.
I think on Viking excursions are included at each of the stops, but I didn't know you'd also maybe have some free time to arrange a tour on your own of one of the castles. Do you receive a fairly detailed daily itinerary before the trip? On Adventures by Disney tours one of the frustrating things is that they like each day to be somewhat of a surprise, so you don't really get more than a broad outline. Makes it hard to know if you'll have time to wander and shop on your own.
It's nice that the teacher taking your place grew up in that school system. I'm sure she'll greatly appreciate the notes and supplies you're leaving for her.
Cruising down a river admiring castles sounds like a perfect day to me, although like you, I'd want to know everything I could about them. I'd hope Viking would do some form of commentary to keep everyone informed....
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
I think on Viking excursions are included at each of the stops, but I didn't know you'd also maybe have some free time to arrange a tour on your own of one of the castles. Do you receive a fairly detailed daily itinerary before the trip? On Adventures by Disney tours one of the frustrating things is that they like each day to be somewhat of a surprise, so you don't really get more than a broad outline. Makes it hard to know if you'll have time to wander and shop on your own.
Laurie, we got a fairly detailed itinerary in the travel materials we got a couple of weeks ago. There is an excursion planned every day. Some last most of the day, but many are much shorter. When there is extra time, it is mentioned. There are optional (extra charge) tours available in some areas, but we won't get details on them until we are onboard the ship I believe.
It's nice that the teacher taking your place grew up in that school system. I'm sure she'll greatly appreciate the notes and supplies you're leaving for her.
She was indeed thrilled to get them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Cruising down a river admiring castles sounds like a perfect day to me, although like you, I'd want to know everything I could about them. I'd hope Viking would do some form of commentary to keep everyone informed....
I've studied now and have my book figured out. Our cruise is actually in reverse order of the book and audiotape. No problem with the book but makes the audio a bit challenging.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Sounds like it's all coming together! Not much longer!
Almost there!!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Sounds like your trip is all set! Retirement is almost here.
One week from today we will be in Amsterdam!! Wow!! Things are really snowballing now. I actually have one more day to work, but that will be parties only. I will be heading to the county office Tuesday morning for the superintendent’s breakfast honoring retirees. After that I head back to my school where we will have our end of year luncheon where I will be recognized for my retirement. Soon after that I will be heading home as a retired lady! Today my fellow math teachers and other co-workers on my hall had a breakfast in my honor.
I’m the one in the blue scarf. This is about ˝ of the great folks I’ve been working closely with over the past years. They gave me a beautiful quilt, a really cute door decoration with my favorite Memphis Tigers logo and a nice gift card for a local restaurant. I managed to hold back the tears and only shed a few. I later went to lunch with one of my best buds who is going to also be working with me in teacher training for our textbook company. We have our first teaching “gig” 2 days after I return from Europe. Hope I’m awake and alert enough to do it.
Speaking of that trip, look what we got today! I think the next few days will be quite busy as we get all the things done before our trip.
I got a few of those a couple of days ago for our Med cruise and road trip around Italy...
I look forward to hearing about your Med cruise, as that's next summer's plans. I forget that you aren't on the Euro system in England.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
What great co-workers and celebrations!
The folks I've worked with over the years, especially the last few, are amazing. Our math department is facing real changes next year as 3 of us are leaving.
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