CJHokie

Well, we got Loop 500 but that's all he would tell me. Waiting for a site ready text. He said he couldn't give me the actual number in case something went wrong.

How do you walk like that?

When done, I want planes to use them as a beacon

I may not have that many. :D

We stayed there spring break '14 and didn't see any shenanigans.

Definitely, lots of people do that. Plus fridges, tons of lights and inflatables, golf carts, any who knows what else. We have never had a problem with power at the Fort.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

I'm about to test it with lots of lights!!

Can't remember where we discussed whether faxing still works, or I would post there.

 

Anyhoo, faxed my letter yesterday.  No idea whether it went through as my multi-use printer/scanner/fax doesn't do a confirmation.  I have used it successfully in that past and did a test fax to Canon yesterday that worked, so hopefully it actually went to Ft. Wilderness!

Great adventure has hand metal detectors for years ( at least since 1994ish). You had your bag through the metal detector, then they poke through it and then you walk through. But their attendance is nothing compared to Disney.

Carowinds has had walk through ones for years too.  I remember having to send bags through, then the stroller with kid, then I would walk through.

They did check my phone pouch each time we went in the no bags line and hubs was asked to be allowed to Check his large shirt. Hubs is a

Leo and has this style of shirt so he can CC. This was only at MK. My phone pouch was every park. Hubs also took off sunglasses on way in and made eye contact as professional courtesy. He wasn't stopped after the first day.

Lol, I was like what does his sign have to do with anything? Then I realized you were talking about the acronym LEO.

No, no, please don't back out.

 

Frank Beamer did a great job at Va Tech.

 

I was just questioning about the record of consecutive bowl appearances, as I thought FSU had the longest current streak, and I remember that UF had a great streak wrecked by their last coach.

 

And, the ACC had a great year this year.  I think you'll have an even better one next year.

 

TCD

Cheers!  :cheers:

True,,but then again you don't have a full time staff to make sure they are all lighting correctly.

 

And maybe it's a family member messing with you!

Nah, they're too lazy for that.

Say what?

 

FSU will be playing its 34th consecutive Bowl game this year, which is one shy of the record currently held by Nebraska.

 

UF had quite a streak going until Mushchamp happened.

 

What record bowl streak does Va Tech have?

 

TCD

Well, according to wikipedia (bastion of truth, I know), The Hokies currently have the longest official bowl game streak in the country, having participated in the postseason every year since 1993. Florida State has a longer current streak, but due to NCAA sanctions, officially, FSU's streak ended in 2006.  No mention of Nebraska there.

 

It's not like we made it up.  The announcers of literally every game we played this year mentioned it.  Would it make you feel better if I said Frank Beamer had the longest bowl coaching streak? Or is there another coach with a longer one?

 

Sorry, just trying to get in the conversation here, but I'll back out.

Just to play devil's advocate here, Christmas lights have a mind of their own.  Part of a strand can go out one day and then come back on the next. I've seen it here at my house. 

I went to the Independence Bowl as a student in 1993.  VT killed Indiana. That was a big deal considering the year before we were 2-8-1. So, you may or may not know (since everyone here is apparently SEC), that was the first bowl for Frank Beamer at VT - the start of the longest bowl streak in history. (Some of those bowls we would like to forget, but that's neither here nor there.)  

 

So, this year the Hokies have been invited back to the Independence Bowl. Some fans think it's crappy, but 1) we were pretty crappy this year and 2) I think it's kinda neat FB will be ending his streak the place it started.  

 

I just hope we can beat Tulsa. :D

 

PS - I will not be going this year as we will be at the Fort.

I didn't realize you were looking for cooler in the winter. I thought you meant summer, but I guess it doesn't matter either way.  

 

Another place we loved (but also SC) is James Island County Park in Charleston, but it books up pretty far out too.  Also, I know you're in a big 5th wheeler, and the road in to that is not for the faint of heart.  We're talking low, low Live Oak branches draped across the road like every 3 ft.  The ranger gave us a different way to leave, but I'm not sure it was any better.  Even the 4 lane road off of that road had them in the right lane. Mr. CJH was driving super slow and had a long line of angry car drivers behind us, but we didn't want to lose an AC.  He actually said he would never go back there when we were driving out. But he has changed his mind and said he could. :-D  Best dog park I've ever seen there if you have any dogs.

We went on the Fantasy in 2013. Were going with another family who were able to book excursions before us, so I did most of the same ones.  Then they ended up having to postpone last minute as their son started throwing up the day we left to drive down.  My kids loved the sea turtle hospital/stingray city on Grand Cayman.  I don't think I saw which ports you were going to so it may be different ones now.  Anyway, it Cozumel we did dolphins interaction and in Costa Maya we did a bike ride to a "glass" bottom kayak.  It was okay, but as they explained to us once we got to the kayak, the reef is pretty much dead from a hurricane a few years before, so all we saw through the clear bottom of the kayak was seaweed or plants, no actual fish.

 

As far as tips on the ship, I don't really have any that haven't been mentioned.  My kids played the detective game on the different floors. They were 12 & 10 at the time and didn't really like the kids clubs.  I think if our friends had gone they would've spent more time there.  After a couple of nights, our waiter would have their dinners pretty much out while we were still ordering and then they would go change into swim trunks and do the aqua duck a couple of times before changing again for mini golf or basketball.  

 

We did get stuck at our dinners with a family we didn't know since we were supposed to be dining with our friends who didn't go. I think they were originally signed up for the other dinner time and wanted to switch, so were put with us since the tables were already reserved for 8.  They were very strange and couldn't have been more different from us, but it was okay.  I don't know a tip to tell you to keep that from happening.  

 

We actually didn't go to the pool at all.  I think the hubs & I went to the adult one once.  It was an Easter week cruise so it was pretty crowded.  A kid drowned in one of the pools before we ever left port. He was revived, but I still follow on FB and he has a lot of problems. We were slightly delayed on our departure and the sail away party was moved inside so they could investigate.  Pretty horrible.

 

My husband is insanely paranoid about stomach bugs and it took a lot for me to talk him into going. He & my oldest son definitely get stomach bugs easier than me & the other one.  Of course he started violently throwing up the night before Castaway Cay.  He called the front desk and basically demanded they give him a room. He did offer to pay for it, but I don't think they charged us. They kept saying they didn't have any, but somehow they found one. I didn't know where he went and couldn't even call to check on him the next day.  He finally called us. Originally we had to scrap Castaway due to weather, but then a window opened up, so the captain turned it around and flew back, so we had like 1/2 day there. Mr. CJH rallied and went out to a beach chair. He thinks maybe he had food poisoning instead, but we had run into a coworker of his the day or two before who said part of her family were shut in all day with a stomach bug, so who knows. 

 

He & the oldest do not want to ever do a cruise again, but the youngest asks all the time when we can go back on a Disney cruise.  I am torn.  I enjoyed it, but I have had bad motion sickness issues my whole life, so I took Bonine every day and wore the bracelets when necessary.  People that say you can't feel the big ships moving are either lying or crazy.  We were eating dinner when we left Port Canaveral, and I was like, oh, we just left. No one else at the table believed me, so my boys ran out to a window to check, and sure enough, we were moving.  I can also remember being in shows and seeing the curtains swaying and feeling movement.  I never got sick, but it took from departing on Sat. til the next Wed. to not feel swimmy headed.  

 

Anyhoo, that sure turned long and rambling.  If you made it this far, congrats! ;-)

Also, this is SC, but just above the GA border I think, so I don't know how far it would be for you, but I have heard rave, rave reviews on Hunting Island State Park.

Thanks - looks like a very nice place.  How's the parking and spaces?

Just consulted my notes (yes, I keep a camping journal  :D ).  The only thing I wrote down besides the weather and bugs was that we were in G26. We have a 40ft MH. IIRC, the spaces were pretty level hard packed earth that were roomy enough.  I will ask my husband when he gets home later what he remembers.  That may have been our first or second trip in the MH after having a pop-up, so I think if there were difficulties with big rig we would remember.

We took our big rig to Jekyll Island one spring break. Only issue was it was very windy crossing the very high bridge.

Our friends had been there all week (3 families, 7 kids)., and we just stopped for a day or two on our way to FL at the end of their week. There was a LOT of rain so they all packed up and left early. We did not get to check out the beach, but we went to the sea turtle hospital and my kids enjoyed that.

Not sure how cool it is in the summer. I'm thinking hot, but there were a lot of live oaks providing shade in the campground.

No-see-ums were horrible when we were there. Couldn't have the windows open because they came through the screens.

Sad, I was looking forward to crazy decorations. OTOH, maybe mine won't look so bad now.

 

Maybe there will be more closer to Christmas?

Alright, got my letter written, now will just wait for 5 days ahead!

Thanks to both of you.  I did skim the Info page but apparently I skimmed over it.

I still fax for all my customers and in at least one case I have spoken with one of the site assigners about a discrepancy. They definitely still get the faxes. 

Good to know! Thanks!  Wish I could remember which threads I've seen the handy link for faxing. Mo?

Honestly its been debated how much time you would save with online check in at the Fort. You still have to stop and get your site assignment and when towing they dont have an online check in line unless thats changed and I missed it. I dont know that online check in is really worth it at the Fort. I would just have your reservation noted and stick with that. 

When I went in and looked at the online thing a couple of weeks ago, it had 500 loop checked for me. I think that was from another time I called months ago and said we wanted the closest premium loop to the dog park.  So, I wonder if that is still on there too.

 

What's the latest word on the fax method? Is that still working for some people? Do they still actually have a fax machine with the online check-in?  Guess I could do that and mention that's the loop we want, what size we have, etc.  I would go in and check out my online thing to see what's showing and then cancel out of that screen, but I'm afraid!

Just as an FYI for everybody I have been seeing some discussions lately involving issues with requests and online check in. Not specifically Fort related but since they all use the same system figured I should share it here. 

 

If you or your travel agent call in and place requests on your reservation and then you do online check in it seems any requests made during online check in are sent over and anything placed on the reservation previously are hidden from view. They are still there according to Disney but the resort does not seem to see them. 

 

This can be especially important to be aware of if you have multiple in the cases I am seeing rooms with connecting/adjoining requests. 

 

As I said not sure if it will or has effected Fort reservations but an interesting tidbit I thought I would share. 

I actually just called last night about a dining issue and then had them transfer me to reservations, where the lady per my request a) noted that our 2 reservations were continuing so we wanted to not change sites and 2) that we were traveling with another family and would like adjoining sites.

 

I have not done online check-in but was planning on it. I don't think they have my camper size, etc.  So, you are saying I shouldn't add anything in the notes?  Or should I skip online check-in altogether, or should I just put those 2 things in my notes in the online check-in?

Yes having to work around school is no fun.

I used to be against year-round school, but now I think it would be great. 2 or 3 weeks off every so many weeks and you're not stuck with the masses everywhere you go in the summer, around Easter, or Christmas.