Tuesday, April 3, 2012

It's a Pirate Parrrrrrty ... and a contest!


Those of you who know me well know that I'm really interested in pirates. I don't particular like what they did (and still do) because they were ruthless, violent people. I am, however, fascinated by the history of pirates, especially what is considered to be the Golden Age of Piracy. I have many books on piracy and am currently reading one by Nigel Cawthorne called A History of Pirates. To me, it's fascinating stuff, although brutal and heartless.

Whenever I see something pirate-themed, it easily gets my attention. You can guess that by the photograph above. That was taken last May when we were at Walt Disney World with my in-laws. My MIL really wanted to do the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage. It was a lot of fun. We started off at a reception area where they made us put on these silly bandanas. Then we literally pillaged the food area that was filled with massive amounts of loot, including treasure chests bursting with chocolate gold coins. After we stuffed our booties -- I mean, our faces, which probably went right to our booties -- we got our picture taken Captain Hook and Mr. Smead ...


After the reception, our group boarded a boat and headed out onto one of the lakes to watch the fireworks show. It was a lot of fun and the crew members really got into it. There were contests for the kids. Nathan won a pirate-themed backpack and Neil ended up with water pistol shaped like a pirate's flintlock. When we returned to shore, we were greeted by Peter Pan himself, who I might add, was quite spastic. I suppose any grown man running around in green tights would have to be a little spastic.

Of course, Disney is an awesome place for any pirate fan. Not only is there the pirate voyage, but there's also the beloved Pirates of the Caribbean ride. That's always been a favorite of mine. I went on that ride when I was a baby at Disneyland, possibly right after it first opened. I honestly believe with all my heart, that that ride is my very first memory. I still remember seeing the skull & cross bones up on the wall above the tunnel. I couldn't have been more than a year old. Bizarre. Oddly, I didn't get into the movies when they first came out. I waited and saw the first two on DVD when they were released. By the time the third and fourth came out, I was hooked and went to the theaters to see them. Of course, the boys and I had to stop and get this picture while we were in Downtown Disney one night ...


It's a little blurry, but you get the idea. Nothing better than a bigger-than-life sized Captain Jack Sparrow! Besides reading books about them, I'm also really into pirated-themed music. I especially love pirate rock. One of my favorite bands is called Pirate Jenny. They're don't perform or make albums anymore, but if you check iTunes, you'll see they have some awesome songs. They later formed a children's pirate band called Captain Bogg & Salty. I have all their music as well. I don't think they're active right now because they recently signed on with Disney and now do the music for Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I couldn't be happier for these guys to have made it big like that, but I have to admit, I still love their old stuff a lot.

So anyway, this brings me to the reason for this long, blog post -- pirate music! Awhile back, I received a copy of a Disney pirate-themed CD. It's called Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean Swashbuckling Sea Songs. I already had a copy of it, so this extra one has just been sitting in my dresser unopened. I'd like to give it away to someone who might enjoy it as much as I do. Keep in mind these are kid's songs and they're all pirate-related. There are some great songs on this CD, which came out in 2007. To enter the contest, all you have do is leave me a comment on this thread telling me something pirate-related. It can be a movie you like, a book you've read, a favorite song, a dream -- anything, just as long as it relates to pirates in some way. Then I'll randomly choose one winner exactly one week from today on April 10th. Good luck to everyone who enters -- ARRRR!


10 comments:

  1. Edward J. Wolfe Jr.April 3, 2012 at 11:55 AM

    There's an event in Tampa every year called Gasparilla it celebrates the apocryphal legend of José Gaspar (Gasparilla), a mythical Spanish pirate captain who supposedly operated in Southwest Florida

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  2. Ahoy there, me heartie! My son LOVES the whole idea of being a pirate. In fact, we just watched the Monkees pirate episode over the weekend. Adorable and hilarious! My favorite pirate are a tie between Captain Feathersword and the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything...hmmm, maybe they could be Paddy's new crew??

    Stef

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  3. I love/hate/fear/admire pirates, too. :) I used to live across the water from The Thimble Islands in the Long Island Sound, where it was rumored Captain Kidd buried his treasure.
    And my daughters would love that music. Peter Pan is one of their favorite books; my 2-year-old pretends she's Captain Hook and makes me walk the plank! :)

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  4. What a fun CD! My son's favorite book when he was younger, was Pirate ABC's. He actually learned all his letters from reading that book!

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  5. we adore pirates here, too--and rode that dang Disney ride at least 5 times when we went there!
    One book we enjoy is "You Wouldn't Want to be a Pirate" where we learned how some pirates got punished by being DRAGGED behind/under the boat! Awful!

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  6. Yeah, Melissa, that's called "keel hauled" where they tied people up, threw them overboard, and then had the boat go over them. If they didn't drown, they were cut up or killed from the barnacles on the boat. Nasty stuff.

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  7. Have you read "Under the Black Flag" by David Cordingly?

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  8. Hey, Rena!

    I had to write you on here because Blogger won't let me reply to any of the comments on my blog. That's great how much weight you've lost; you look great!

    I'm not doing any program or diet. I just excercise and try to eat healthy. :)

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  9. I love that you love pirates! My mom and my stepfather recently went to a Pirate Party. The pictures are priceless.

    Sounds like your Disney pirate excursion was fantastic!

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  10. Oh no, I wrote on here but for some reason it didn't post. Someday I will get the hang of all this. I love looking at your pictures once again....just a reminder that you and I will both be back at Disneyworld again soon, enjoying the Pirates of the Caribbean.....Hayley loves the ride and listening to the music. I play the song off YOU TUBE for her all the time.....there is just something about pirates:)

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