Travel File: New England Cruise

I've been lacking in updates lately! Lots has happened in the last month and half, and as usual, I have a lot of catching up to do with my posts. This time around, we'll talk about the cruise I went on last month with my family and friends!

It was a trip I suggested on a whim to my friends because I had seen that it was on sale in a brochure my parents had received in the mail. The cruise consisted of going to New York, cruising between Canada and the US to visit "New England". The itinerary consisted of a round trip starting and ending in NYC, Halifax - Nova Scotia, St. John - New Brunswick, Bar Harbour - Maine, Boston - Massachusetts, and Newport - Rhode Island. I've gone cruising before, but it's been a couple years since I've gone since I had to miss out on the last cruise my family went on. So here we go!

We sailed with Princess Cruises, on board the Caribbean Princess. My first cruise was on this ship! However, it was before they renovated it. But all the bigger ships seem to all have similar layouts.

Day of sailing on our ship, Caribbean Princess

Appetizers!

We went a day early to explore a bit of New York, and I'll have to go back eventually since there's always unfinished business in New York and things to see!

One of the best things I like about cruising is the food. My friends and family know that my stomach is like a bottomless pit, and I can eat a lot. Since Bosu and Yumi also came along for this trip, initially I was a bit wary of how they would react to our eating...but I think they started to match us on the food intake towards the end of the cruise! (^o^)*!!

I'll just do a short rundown of all the places we went to and some of the interesting things we ate and saw!

Peggy's Cove, Halifax

The five of us went to Peggy's Cove to see the rock formations and the light house. My parents opted to not go since they have already seen it before...and apparently, so have I...when I was 2. (>_>);;

We were fortunate enough to have lovely weather that day, not a cloud in sight and it was not foggy! Our excursion was at 7:30am, so there was a huge chance that it would have been foggy.

Rock formations at Peggy's Cove, Halifax

The ocean view and the atmosphere is just breathtaking. If I could have sat there for a couple hours, I would have, but I decided to walk around the rocks and see what else was around. I found some inukshuks and just had a good time climbing the rocks. Afterwards, we went to walk around the city and eat some lobster rolls. (*o*@!!)

Reversing Falls, St. John, New Brunswick

In St. John, we decided to walk from the port to the Reversing Falls. It was a bit of a walk, but it was only about an hour, it was fun to see all the houses and neighborhoods in the area. In the picture above, you can see the ships in the background. There were 3 ships docked that day! (Ours is the one on the top right).

Panorama of the Reversing Falls

We arrived a bit early for the tides to reverse, but we managed to kill a lot of time to see the tides fall and for the current to reverse and create vortexes/whirlpools. There are two look out points on either side of the gorge to view the rapids.

Bar Harbor, Maine

Lobster Ice Cream

While we were in Bar Harbor, Maine, our cruise agent recommended that we try lobster ice cream. The idea was a bit odd, but apparently it was very good! Our crew went to find it (@ Ben and Bill's) and Bosu even got a super lucky ice cream, as he got the lobster claw meat on his! *Jealous*

I really liked it. It had lobster meat mixed in with Vanilla ice cream, so you would get salty and sweet tastes. Either you love it or you hate it. (^__^;)

LOBSTAH!

Since it's a New England cruise, and this area is famous for it's fresh seafood, of course, we have to eat some of it! Above is a picture of my sister's twin lobsters we got at one of the restaurants at Bar Harbor. I opted to get Lobster Bisque since I know my mom can't make that. (Looking at the lobster again is making me hungry... >_<;;!)

You can see our ship from the Sand Bar

We had an excursion to go up to Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, but the weather was dreary that day and when we got to the top, it was very foggy and misty. You could not see anything. That's one thing about the weather, you can't control it. . .

However, since our excursion ended early, Bosu, Yumi and I speed walked to the sand bar to check it out. When the harbor has low tides, there is a sand bar that appears that links the main part of the island to another. You can drive and walk across it, which is really neat! The sand is made up of small pebbles and broken shells, so I went to hunt for some sea shells.

Freedom Trail marker, Boston

The weather cleared up for Boston, and we had nothing planned for the day. I had suggested to do the Freedom Trail walk since it would bring us to the historical buildings and parts of the town and lead us to Quincy market. I had seen on TV that a series of markers mark the important parts of the trail and it is all linked together by a red brick/line along the road.
I'm not very sure of the historical significance of the trail because I'm not familiar with American history. (>o<;;)

Boston Chowda!

And of course, while we're in Boston, I have to try the Boston Chowda! I actually really like seafood and clam chowder, so I was really looking forward to this. I got it in a bread bowl since I've never had one before, and it took a lot of effort to finish it by myself! The bread bowl was almost as big as my head, but it was super yummy. Lots of chunks of clams, fish and mussels.

Out in Rhode Island, the crew went to tackle the famous Cliff Walk. It's a walkway that is about 2.5 miles long and runs along the backyards of some of the most famous mansions in the area. You can catch a glimpse of some of them, however you're only looking at the back door. Sadly, we didn't get to explore or tour any of the mansions there, as it would have been great to see the interior of the Marble House, but our time was running out. 

The Cliff Walk

The Breakers

The weather had once again turned overcast and along the cliffs, it was very windy and chilly. I woke up that morning with a runny nose, so I dressed warmly for the day and even wore a rain poncho to keep me warm. 

The walk was nice but you could only see some of the houses. I'm sure if it was a sunny day the view and the ocean would have looked a lot better. Around the halfway point, we stopped the walk to go back to town.

Sadly, as the day progressed, I got progressively sick, but since it was the last day of the cruise, I was really thankful that I got sick right at the end. I blame my dad since he got sick earlier on the trip and was spreading his germs around. When we returned home, I felt bad since I had to call in sick for work because I had become very ill and needed to see my doctor. I bet they thought I was bullsh*ting since I had just come back from my trip and probably needed a day off. (>o<;) (But I went into work later in the week, and they all saw how horrible I looked..LOL)

So that was my trip is a super fast post! I came back with some small souvenirs. My sister gave me a funny crab plush and a lobster plush finger puppet. Seafood themed items! 

 Overall, I had a great time on the cruise. Everyone on the ship is so inviting and nice. I love the food and it was fun having a large group on the cruise! I'm sad Keiko could not come on the trip with us, but there will always be future cruises! 

So until next time Princess!

♥

Casual boy

One of the things I've stumbled on lately on Den of Angels was Kakeru's default outfit that he wears in his promotional pictures and documentation papers. It was completely by accident as I wasn't actively looking for it, but I took the opportunity to get the set! It's not officially his default outfit, rather it was sold separately, and it was called, Cool Vest Set. 

The package arrived quite quickly and I was very amused by all the stamps the seller used on the envelope! Always amused when I see and get new stamps...although I don't collect them! I think there's something eclectic to it.. (^_^*)!

Olympic stamps!

The set itself is simple and cute. I like it since I don't really have a tiny sized boy wardrobe for Sora...so he's safe from wearing dresses for now! The outfit comes with a shirt, vest, belt, cargo pants and shoes.

Volks Cool Vest Set

Honestly, I'm glad the print on the shirt makes sense! I was afraid of some odd engrish translation of some sort. The print says:

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dream. 

Wandering by lone sea breakers, and sitting by desolate streams. 

Time to show a picture of Sora in his new outfit!

Rilakkuma hat Kiiroitori makes an appearance too! 

Sora, a Volks YoSD Kakeru

Until next time!
♥

My little boy, Sora!

I'm so behind on blogging, I haven't even introduced my new little one! One of my favourite doll sculpts out there, Volk's Yo-SD Kakeru was on my wish list for awhile. I just found his sculpt to be so cute and endearing.
I happened to see one for sale on the Den of Angels marketplace and after a couple weeks of contemplation whether to purchase or not because it was a bit expensive, I decided to go for it!

~~~
So, without further delay, let me introduce you to Sora, my Volks YoSD Kakeru!

I finished the layaway rather quickly and the doll arrived in late July, but there were a few bumps along the road as the seller forgot to include his wig. >_<;

A shipment box!

I actually meant to tell the seller to seal the doll box with string or something because I didn't want to deal with tape, but I think she misunderstood me and used string on the packaging box! Hehe, which I found extremely amusing.

Volks YoSD Kakeru's default box

The box got a bit dented during shipping, but nothing too severe. I was surprised because the seller didn't bubble wrap the box within the shipping box...but I suppose it's what is inside this box that really matters!

Delilah with Kakeru's default papers

I asked the seller to look for his default papers and hoped she could find them. I was curious to see what where in the papers, and what difference there was to the papers compared to the Volks kits. Not too much of a difference besides the paper with Kakeru and Chika information, and the booklet shows you how to restring the dolls, etc. 

Wrapped mummy!!

He was wrapped so well, it was very difficult for me to get him out of the bubble-wrap mummy! After a bit of cleaning and replacing the eye putty, I dressed him up. Only to realize...that something was missing! The default wig that I asked to include in the sale was not there >__<; 

After contacting the seller, she apologized profusely and sent it out quickly to me the next business day. Although, the wig she sent me wasn't his default...

We arrived at an amicable solution and although I don't have his default wig, I'll just have to make an effort to find it later. The wig she did send me didn't really match his face up or look I was going for. However, the shade compliments the other wigs I have for Delilah and Lareine, so they all look like siblings. It's really cute!

The eyes that he also came with don't photograph super well unless there's direct contact, so I'll have to look for a new shade for Sora soon :)

Lareine, Sora and Delilah

Otherwise, he's crazy cute and I'm really happy with my purchase. I'm really surprised how mobile and posable the his limbs are. It's much better than Delilah's and better than Lareine's too. His stringing is a bit loose, but it doesn't seem to hinder anything in my opinion. I also touched up a bit of his face on on his lips, as the seller had wiped a bit of it away before because it was too dark. I thought it wasn't that balanced so I went ahead and added some color and gloss. (^__^)"

~~~
Last week I gave Sora to Auntie Archangeli to take on a trip to the Volks USA showroom in California. I sent her on a mission to find him a new wig there, and since he is a Volks doll, I thought that they would be kind enough to let her try on some wigs before she purchased anything. The staff were really nice and let her try on some different styles.

Archangeli's Aerie and Sora @ Volks showroom
Pic Credit: Archangeli

I really like the wig she chose! It's one I saw on the Volks site and recommended her to find, but she forgot which one it was. LOL! >_<;

The showroom displays had a London Olympic theme, and it gave my sister another idea. She decided to take Sora on an extended adventure...

To London, England!

Sora, with London Bridge in the background
Pic Credit: Archangeli

Sora and a new friend!

You can see her blog post about his little adventure here. Thanks for bringing him around! The pictures turned out really cute (*o*@)!!

I went to go pick up Sora a couple days ago. I don't really have much clothes for him to wear and since he's been on his adventure he hasn't had a wardrobe change! Even his outfit he's wearing right now it technically Lareine's. It's made for a boy, but I bought it for her in mind and made a skirt to match. The shorts have an odd fit...so I had to adjust how they fit or else they looked like capris.

Shadow Totoro from "Mei and the Kittenbus"!

That concludes Sora's introduction! He's fitting in with the rest of the family quite well!
Thanks for reading!♥

Meido for Charity!

As one of the maids for Cafe Delish, I had the pleasure of working for an event where the proceeds go towards charity. Since our home base is Anime North, our afternoon tea earnings go towards Sick Kids Hospital Foundation, since the convention is one of the fundraisers for the Foundation. 

We also had the pleasure of raising money for the Canadian Red Cross last year for Japan Relief after the devastating tsunami that hit Fukushima and other affected areas. For the last 3 years, maids have been designing limited edition pins to sell to earn more money for charity, and the money made from these sales are given to a charity of Bosu & Yumi's choice.

This year, our pin sales and extra money earned from Anime North and the smaller cafe event at Atomic Lollipop were donated to World Wildlife Fund. (*o*@)!!

World Wildlife Fund

For WWF, you adopt endangered animal plushes with charitable donations. Proceeds go towards conservation projects to ensure diversity and global effort to help endangered species and habitats. We earned enough this year for all the maids and staff to receive an animal! It was a great effort everyone, but definitely worth it!

At our wrap up party, we were all presented with our animals. Since I volunteered for two events this year, I was allowed to adopt another animal from our proceeds from Atomic Lollipop!

Let's meet my new adoptions!

Riku, a Jaguar!

Shamu, an Orca

All the maids ended up choosing a different animal each, and I chose one of the newly added animals on the adoption list, a Jaguar! He's really cute and cuddly, the plush fur they used is very soft. I named him Riku (^__^*)/

The second animal I adopted was an Orca, killer whale. It reminds me when I was younger going to SeaWorld and watching the shows there. So, I named her Shamu ♥!

I think the plushes are super adorable and are very good quality. It also helps to know that the money used to adopt them are going towards a great cause. 

Adoption papers!

Each animal comes with a booklet with information and facts of the adopted animal. There is also a personalized certificate of adoption and as a tribute for donating to WWF. A small trading card of the animal is included with the slogan to "Collect them all!"
The certificates have my name on them, so I opted to cover up my name with some of the pins designed this year for this charity, and to keep me anonymous (^__~)*!

The US site for WWF has a large and extensive amount of animals to adopt and collect, and I wish we could also have that selection as well! I know Keiko wants to collect them all!

So, cheers to another successful year for Cafe Delish!
Until next year and a new charity, perhaps?

♥