disney92

Wow, you are good. I even want to camp with your family.

GAG Me With A Fry
We pulled out of the Atlanta South RV Resort early…I think around 7:00 or so. And we hopped back on I-75 south. I figured we’d get some miles behind us before stopping for breakfast. By the time we got to Macon, we were all complaining a bit about hunger, so we pulled off at one of our favorite breakfast places. And I know it is one of livluvsdisney’s fave places too!

We parked the trailer across the road from the Chick Fil A in a plaza, and I handed the camera to one of my daughters to carry while I got Anna out of her seat. That daughter handed it to another daughter, who mistakenly thought I wanted the camera placed into the TT. So, it never made it into the restaurant to photograph our breakfast. But I assume you’ve all seen a Chick Fil A chicken biscuit before…in my opinion one of life’s greatest pleasures.
After a great breakfast, including some conversation with the restaurant’s manager who explained how they are introducing chicken tortilla soup this winter (Yum!), we hit the road again. INC snapped some candid photos of me driving.
My candid serious look.

My candid stupid look.

Yes, quite candid. As Hank Hill once said...I look like a jackass!
We pressed on, and made decent time through GA and FL. Took the Turnpike to 429, and before too long we saw this sign.

Ah, good old Western Way.
I normally am a proponent of taking 535 down from 429 to Vista Blvd, rather than going all the way down to Western Way. And now I remember why. 429 is so dang long! Just when you think you are almost to Disney that road goes on forever.
But it wasn’t long until we saw this!


And then, of course, the Magic Kingdom gates themselves!

The booths were decorated for Christmas.

A quick right turn, and then we saw the most blessed sight in the World!

Notice how the Fort Wilderness sign was not decorated yet when we arrived on the 16th. Within a few days it would be, per TCD's trip report showing the sign decorated when he arrived that weekend.
The security guard was on top of his game, and we were soon being directed to check in.

I love how INC got him in my mirror. Reminds me of a pic someone else posted recently showing the guard in their mirror…was it TCD?
We pulled up to an empty lane. No waiting!


I had used online checkin, and our process was very fast and smooth! I had faxed a site request in 5 days earlier requesting a site backing up to the canal in 500 with room for our trailer, van and an easy up. I asked for 528 or similar, but we were given 523. I was disappointed! 523 doesn’t directly back up to the canal. But, once we pulled into the site, I was absolutely thrilled! This site is HUGE! We had tons of room for our stuff…even more so because I decided to park the van in overflow. I loved this site.
After putting out the slides and hooking up, I took the van to overflow and swapped it for our super fast, 6 passenger Kenny cart! And then we headed straight to Pioneer Hall to order our standard first night dinner…the Giddyap n Go!
We LOVE the GAG. And the primary reason? No, not the chicken. Not the mac n cheese. And certainly not the cowboy beans. While those are all very tasty, the primary reason we love the GAG is the big, crispy steak fries!
On previous visits, we have been given an entire chicken bucket full of steak fries. That bucket of fries, along with about 20 packets of ketchup, and I am in HEAVEN.
So, I ordered the GAG, all white meat, with mac n cheese, fries and biscuits. While waiting, the kids played some checkers.


Anna didn't do too well. She's more of a chess player, being Russian and all.
I snapped a pic of the horrible Nescrappe machine. Man, I miss the real brewed coffee. But at least we got used to the instant crap in Russia and can actually drink it and somewhat enjoy it.

It wasn’t long until our chicken was ready. I excitedly grabbed the bags that the Trails End clerk so carefully packed for us, and headed out to a picnic table on the side porch. And here is our bounty.

Say what??
Where’s the bucket of fries?? Oh, wait. They just gave us a bag of fries. Well, that’s ok. That’s still a lot of steak fries. But wait…those aren’t steak fries. Those are standard Disney floppy fries! Yuck!!
I wasn’t pleased.
Stella wasn’t pleased.

Anna wasn’t even pleased, and she never even had the old steak fries.

But, truth be told, I enjoyed my meal anyways. The chicken is still good. And you can’t beat the ambiance of eating on the porch. Not in a million years.
Despite having to choke down cold, floppy fries, it was still an awesome meal, in an awesome place, with the best wife and kids any man could dream of having. At least in my humble opinion. So I consider our first night back at the Fort, and Anna’s first night EVER at the Fort, to be a complete success. Floppy fries and all.
Coming up….Breakfast at Kona Café, and I’m A Blessed Man!

Ok, got the video on youtube. Will try posting here... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pei4x-yXMs&feature=youtu.be

The Beginning

January 16, 2008.

The dead of winter in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The sun rises around 10:00am and sets by 3:00pm. It is a cold and dark day. (How do I know this? They’re ALL cold and dark in Russia! But I digress.) A woman pregnant with her 9th child heads to the hospital to deliver. This in itself is remarkable, as she has aborted the previous 7 pregnancies. But despite prenatal testing indicating this child has Down Syndrome, she carries to term and delivers a baby girl. And, as occurs in 95% of Down Syndrome births in Russia, she abandons the baby to state custody. Another orphan among 700,000 in Russia.

The fact that she was born at all, after her birth mother’s history, is a miracle. Absent logical conclusions, we can only assume that God intended for that child to be ours from the very beginning. He only took a different path for her, maybe to illuminate the situation these children face over there. But regardless, on January 16, 2008, our daughter entered this world.

At two weeks of age, the little girl, named Anastasia Orlova, was sent to live at Baby Home #1on the outskirts of St Petersburg. She lived among several dozen orphans, many of them typically developing kids.



But little Anastasia, or Anna as we named her, wasn’t typical. She has Down Syndrome. And unfortunately, in her society, that makes her worthless. She has no chance of being adopted domestically. No Russian family ever visits or inquires about her. Even her birth mother, who lives in the neighborhood, never once calls to check on her. So she spends her first few years in the only home, and the only neighborhood, she would know up to that point, never venturing beyond the courtyard.





By the time she is 2, she has been identified by Reece’s Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry as an “at risk” child.



In the Russian orphanage system, children with DS that have not been adopted by age 4 are transferred to mental institutions. They are considered “unadoptable” at that point, and do not do well. Many don’t survive a year in that environment.

And so, it was through Reece’s Rainbow that we learned of Anna. Our future daughter…and future Fiend.

Prior to starting down the path to adoption, we had been visiting the Fort twice a year in our motorhome. And for the last couple trips, we had annual passes. We had a blast! But around the time of what would be our last trip in the MH, in March 2010, God presented a bit of a detour to us. He put the idea of special needs adoption in our hearts. And that process took most of our time (not to mention our money!) for the next 18 months. We sold our motorhome. I honestly wasn’t sure whether there would be any trips to the Fort in the future. But once we made our first trip to Russia and met Anna, I knew that kid was a future Fiend. We are blessed that she is a healthy and happy little girl. And so this past winter we bought a TT and I began planning this trip.

My little girl is a miracle! She is full of life! And throughout our long and difficult process of adopting her, you Fiends were there with us every step of the way. You provided moral support. You showered our older girls with love, cards and gifts when Christy and I had to travel for an extended period to Russia without them. And you have been family to us, sharing in our excitement. That is why, just 10 days after we returned home to the States with Anna, we traveled to Stone Mountain for the Fiend Grand Gathering over Memorial Day weekend. Some people thought we were nuts for traveling so soon. But we wanted to share our joy with our Fiend Family.






 
We had a great weekend at Stone Mountain! But despite all the fun we had, a true Fort Fiend like Anna needs to make the ultimate pilgrimage. A trip to the Fort itself. And so the planning continued, the final details were hammered out, and on the afternoon of November 15th, we pulled out of our driveway to complete the journey of our littlest Fiend.

Well, my fine Fiends, it’s time for me to begin this trip report. The DaveInTN gang just got home from spending a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Fort. And what a great trip we had! 10 nights at our favorite place on the planet, beautiful Fort Wilderness. I’m excited to share with you all everything we did, everything we ate, and everyone we visited with. But a word of warning to y’all…we did not plan any park days on this trip. Our plan was to relax, spend time with Fiends, and bring our little Anna to the Fort for the first time. Oh, and to EAT. If you live for park pics, or if you don’t enjoy some good pood forn, this may not be the trip report for you. For those of you with nothing better to do, let’s get going.
But before we get rolling….it is my custom to present headlines in my trip reports; the highlights of our trip that I will build this report around. I also like to keep my readers interested due to the incredibly boring commentary that will unfold on this thread over the next couple of weeks. So, without further adieu, here we go!
In this report, you can expect to read:

The Beginning
Wetlanta
GAG Me With A Fry
I’m A Blessed Man
Now I Have TWO Princesses To Mock
Loop De Doo
Slap That Duck!
My Super Fast Dead Kenny Cart
Is That A Moose??
Ohhhh…..(wait for it)…..HANA!!!!
and, What Do Russia, Costa Rica and Wisconsin Have In Common??

So, where do we begin? At the beginning, of course! Only in this case, the beginning requires us to take a step back in time for a moment. We need to venture a few years into the past before we can make sense of the present. This was a special trip for me. And I'll explain all that in due course. But for now, let's start at the beginning....in the past.
So, if you’re ready, step into the Delorean, buckle up and let’s go! Por favor manténganse alejado de las puertas. We’re about to hit 88mph!