MetalDad

Love this TR so far - ESP the one on one time. My DD went tent camping with me last fall on a rainy weekend (in a tent). We still had fun. Now she's 13 going on 18 and I am so glad we went.

Thanks. We are already planning some others, and now the other two want dibs...hmmm... camping or re-tile the floor, mow the yard...

I hope You plan some trips before she really hits 18.

I'm not so much worried about them thinking I'm cool... I'm worried about the not wanting to spend any time at all!

You are a smart dad and she is precious!

Dory

Thanks! Awesome screen name. "His son Bingo...Fabio..."

I didn't even know it was there.

I googled it after you mentioned going to a KOA so close.

Looks kind of nice.

But I say no way you can get there from where you live in 15 minutes.

TCD

BUT, he said the trailer was in his office parking lot that day and his wife brought their daughter to the office and they left from there. So it may be 15 minutes from his office ;=) Keep up !

Duh. You're right. I missed that. And that also probably explains why he took his camper to work on Friday. I do need to try harder to keep up.

TCD

Ding! The trick is to beat the light. Setting up in the dark sucks, so MetalWife delivers the child, and half my travels are covered!

Not only is it cool to have the camper parked outside your office, but there's a weird euphoria pulling a camper through rush hour, knowing you're going to the office, but also knowing you're going camping, kind of regal, mentally. Whatever that means!

Sometimes, we'll set-up for 10 days, and I commute during the week from the campground. That's interesting.

I'm in.

Great you were able to spend quality time with Annie :jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy

"A wolf in sheep’s clothing" :heart: :rofl2:

B/c of MD enfluence, took some magic hat for others to experience. Didn't realize it would end up being more enfluence than I thought. :rofl2: Let's just say there are some extreme MH lovers out there....

I feel like a proud papa! I'm friends with Hat on facebook. Electronic inspiration! Hmmm, now I gotta stop at Publix on the way home.

I was wondering the same thing?

Love a good MD report, even if it's short and at a KOA.

I've never had a horrible experience at a KOA. Granted, some are better than others, but we usually only use them because it's in the vicinity of some kind of plans. I am curious to where this one is though.

Way to be a good Dad!!

Piggy Joe? There's gotta be a good story behind that. ^-^

She has great names for her stuffies. She's colorful to be sure.

How sweet taking your little girl camping for some one on one time. She looks so happy!

Awww! I'm all a mushy now...I need to do more things with the kids individually...*sigh* they grow up so fast! :heart:

Agreed. We try to split up into sub-groups... mother/son bowling. Things like that.

Are those pink satin sheets or at least a pink satiny sleeping bag? That makes a special weekend with Dad even more special!

It's a frou-frou pink satiny girly sleeping bag, strawberry dirtbag chuckle patch kids or something like that!

I must say I feel sheepish that I haven't done any flat stanleys.

Leaving for Atlantis in a few days. I'll make it up to you. I swear.

Looking forward to more TR. :)

Yeah, they've cut me off down there till I get some production from the street team. Get crackin'!

Nothing like Daddy/daughter time!

Amen, We're going to a Father/Daughter dance this weekend! They keep asking me to DJ, but I have an important date, so I'm happy to be in the crowd instead.

It looks like fun so far (even with a little rain). Looking forward to more as always.

The rain was OK, an early night was probably a good thing.

Another MD TR!!! Yeah, baby! your daughter is so. darn. cute. I didn't know KOA's were the subject of jokes, though? We've stayed in many, they're better than a lot of places!

I think this is fantastic. I love one on one time with my kids, too. Even if it's just the drive over to school in the morning or a long bike ride, being able to talk to them and just listen to what they have to say is priceless.

I also love the shoe picture.

Thanks. Yeah, some camping boards bag on KOA. "Too cookie-cutter!" "Motel 8 with campers!"...that sort of thing!

Wow, John, this is great!

What a great idea to spend one-on-one time with each of your kids camping.

So, where is this KOA that is only 15 minutes from where we live?

With waterfront sites no less?

TCD

It's in St. Pete/Mad Beach near Bay Pines, it's on Long Bayou. My big brother is the grounds manager there!

Let me know if you wanna join up some weekend down there.

I'm in too. Everything i learned not to do (while camping) i learned on camping trips with my Dad.

Great...that's inherently dangerous in my case!

I'm in also, always love it when you can spend one on one time with the kids makes for some great memories!!!!!

I'm in... I'm in!!!

This is so sweet. Makes me want to go pick up Bell from school and squeeze her. They are such an awesome age. The Mommy I'm in your spot picture is so cute.

Yeah, actually made Mommy cry...so that backfired! Annie still talks about Bell. "Daddy, remember my friend from Disney?"

Looks like a great start. Can't wait to read more. My DDs are 8 and 10...wouldn't trade time with them for anything, so I can imagine how special this weekend must have been.

It was cool. As I mentioned, the other two got 2 solo trips. We'll continue the practice. They really respond to them.

I am soooo in for this one!! I think you just won Father of the Year!

Can't wait for more!

Thanks. I don't know about that. It dawned on me...you met Annie!

I'm in. Sounds like a fun weekend!

Sounds like fun to me. Love some Aerosmith to get a trip going.

Indeed, I made a new camping mix... heavy on the Rocks/Draw The Line/Night In The Ruts-era Aerosmith (76-79)

Awesome. Can't wait to see more.

All in! :pc:

I'm in :pc: What special memories you are building!!

I'm in too!

I'm in!

Welcome aboard!

These are the type of trips that I love. I am planning on one of these with my oldest soon. For us it is a little backwards the youngest and the boy gets a lot of the cool stuff while she gets left out a little. I am loving it!

I can see that, my oldest seems to get the least attention, but it's because she's the least needy. I try to remember that and make sure she does an errand with me, or we'll sneak and get a cone, something like that!

Day One:

Music: Heart, Aerosmith, Mott The Hoople, T. Rex

Drink: Diet Dr. Pepper and Kool-Aid...Ok, I packed some beer too!

Smell: Low Tide and Canvas

Yes indeed dear reader…you’ve tuned into a TR from a KOA.

I’ll wait a minute til’ you get that chuckle out of your system. And you in the back that’s just getting ready to check out…that’s cool…but you’ll miss a nice one, plus it’s short!

You’ll see some regular MetalDad stuff… Beer, Fire, Food, and the Hat! Well both hats…camo and Magic…

Some things you won’t see… the moustache. Ben’s not in this one. You also won’t see the daughter with all the fish, or the kid with the mohawk. This was a Father-Daughter trip, just me and my little Annie!

You’ll also meet some of the fam…

Ya’ see Timmy, there’s this ongoing thing with my kids. There’s three of them. So often, the oldest gets to experience everything because she was first, my son gets some leftovers, but gets to do just “boy” things, since he’s the only one.

And Annie...she gets all the hand-me-downs from both of them, has to grow up a bit quicker, because she hangs out with the other two, and has up until now, has had the least amount of time with us (duh, she’s the youngest).

For me, that translates into camping. I’ve taken the other two on two solo trips each.

One each to the KOA on consecutive weekends, and one each a trip to the Fort to meet up with Ben and Will.

Annie has put it to me that she hasn’t had a solo trip yet, so we’ve been trying to put it together for awhile…actually almost a year. She's old enough now!

We have a local KOA, it sits in an industrial park, but actually is surrounded on two sides by the bay. It’s at a spot where a large lake spills over into the bay, and provides for a very unique sight every once and awhile, an alligator swimming in salt water.

The KOA is the site of our very first camping trip, and our very first trip with our camper. For us, it’s ideal because it’s 15 mins. Away, and it’s free.

So, after months of scrutinizing every weekend, plans, forecast, work… I said the hell with it, Annie and I are going, we’ll work everything else out around it!

We were at my folks celebrating their 60^th anniversary, I checked with big brother, and he hooked us up with a site.

BTW, here’s a shot from the party. I set up and played, had ‘em dancing all day!

We’re going for the weekend, set-up Friday, come home Sunday.

That means Friday is… ‘Take Your Camper To Work Day’!

Work is a sweet torture when you have your rig parked outside of your office window.

MetalWife drops off Annie at the office as I’m closing up, and wheels up.

A quick stop at Publix for some ice and Magic Hat and we’re on the road… 10 minutes later, we’re at the KOA.

Big brother hooked us up with a great site, right on the water, neighbors only to the back of the PUP.

Ever have one of those moments where a real non-descript decision ends up saving you hours or even days of trouble and years of embarrassment? For me, that could be daily.

But in this instance, it was a matter of inches. I backed in, got the PUP pretty much where I wanted, but was going to adjust by a nudge and push, once unhitched.

I set the chocks about 4-6 inches behind the wheels, to leave room for adjustment.

As I cranked the tongue wheel, the camper starts to raise up off the hitch.

Just as it clears the ball, the camper starts to move backwards under its own weight, towards the bay.

It rocks up the chocks and back down, and settles in hard and tight…cool…I’ll set it up here!

Meanwhile, I’m carrying on a conversation with a six-year old while trying to beat the light.

“Look Daddy! Everything!”

By the way, that’s “Piggy Joe” she’s holding. More on Joe later.

The good Lord sent in the cavalry.

My brother decided to camp the weekend too. He had a cabin 100 feet away, and pulls up in the KOA cart. He took Annie for a ride whilst I set up the camper.

Our mantra for the weekend, Less Is More. I was set up in no time.

Know what this is?

Nope.

That’s Pixie Dust.

That’s coquina and site droppings from the 1500 loop of the Fort from the Fourth.

See here:

http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/7002-blood-sweat-and-fiends-a-fort-fourth/

Now, normally, I’m not a big fan of garbage burning, but I sometimes use my beer boxes to start the fire. Plus I had to send a photo to Ben to rub it in that I had Hat and a fire ring.

I fired up Paul Jr. and rocked the Bubba Burgers, with Cole Slaw, Pickles, and Lay’s Stax (a Pringle’s rip-off!)

Annie took one of me!

A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

We were planning on staying up late, hanging out by the fire, visiting with my brother.

Then the skies opened up.

And the Lord spoke “Thou shalt go to bed early”, so we set up for the night.

Dear fiends, my favorite photo from the trip!

We snapped one of the vacant ‘North Bunk’ to goof on Ben.

And Annie wanted one more to send to MetalWife before she fell asleep.

The caption read “Mommy, I’m in your spot!”

Tomorrow… a full Father-Daughter Saturday!

My first trip to the Fort was in the cabins for a weekend in 2007.

We invited another family, one of my best friends, to join us. His wife was pregnant and our third wasn't quite a year yet. The two of us sat on the cabin porch until 4am listening to old Neil Young records.

All I remember of the next day is being exhausted, hungover, and being "that family" with the gaggle of kids and strollers. Walking to the bus and pool... rookies!

Now we go up often, with the PUP. Kenny carts, and Ben!

But somehow someway, I still remember that first trip, as I, like a dumbass, put the whole thing on a credit card, which by now I've paid for several times over.

Fortunately, we got rid of all our credit cards before we got the camper. Keeps us camping smartly instead of spending money we don't have! Much more relaxing.

Plus now I have that sign. You guys are stuck with me!

Growing up in Florida, I somehow got behind FSU as a young'n, then my buddy Ben came along, and he was a Gator, so I learned a bit about them over the years...the something amazing happened. Tim Tebow. My son took him on as a hero of sorts, so I kinda glommed on to that, it was fun being a UF fan with a guy with that charisma. Now I comfortably pull for both, but my team I follow the closest is the USF Bulls.

That might work in theory, however, the Fort hosts events that are attractions in and of themselves, BYBBQ, HDDR, Campfire Sing-a-Long, and in the distant past, River Country. That makes for a lot of non-camper incoming traffic. I really don't see where hopping in the WL pool is an issue. I mean heck... I'm sure that was partially in mind when they hatched the idea of resort-to-resort boats. Not to mention, I always seem to drop some dough at the bar... pay to play!

MD, great wrap up. We once had to "pop back up" to find the car keys. They were actually in the door of the car, an hour later! I feel your pain. Great TR, thanks for sharing!

Thanks! We're heading up there for New Years! Might your crew be around?

What the heck? I come home from work, eat dinner, and you already slap down a 2 pager? You win...I quit!

I write the TR update in MS Word, add the photobucket photo codes to the word document, then copy/paste the whole segment into FF.net.

My TR's generally end up in 2 segments per day, 3 if really busy or lots of photos. If it's a big report, like my last one, I carry around my latest update on a flash drive so I can work on it during a break at work, or at home.

It is time consuming, but what's really cool, is going back and reading your old TR like 6-9 months later, all the details come right back to mind, and it's way more thorough than thumbing through an album.

Not to mention, your group can see the trip from your perspective.

Very Nice! Welcome!

This was my favorite line. I laughed out loud!

The ice machine was out of order so I called the front desk and demanded an upgrade to the Grand Floridian

You'll fit in perfectly here!

the end is so sad... and as an ex-airstreamer I just can't decide how I feel about all those lovely silver tubes stuck in the ground.

Better than a landfill, and at least they look cool and draw attention to the place that sells new ones!

I don't know how I missed this TR. Now I have to go back and catch up.

Cool, let us know what you think when you get back here!

Genny Screamers....the drink of my youth. That and regular Genny in the 16 oz bottles aka Pounders. Or if we were really lucky, someone would have access to a beer ball of Genny or a quarter keg.

Really, how good can beer be made from Genesee River water?

Holy crappola, I forgot about beer balls, or, at least they're different now.

Nice flashback with the Genny beer. I have family members that worked there for many years.

(Didn't everyone, who lived in that area, work for Genny brewery or Kodak, at some point?)

I'm sad to see your report end, but it looks like everyone had a great time.

You got some really good family pics and that's what it's all about.....well, that and the hokey pokey.

Enjoyed it as always!

Thanks Stef!

Great TR, John! It was great meeting you and Annie, I think of her every time I go in the MH and see my purple kooshie flamingo. Next time I hope to spend more time with you and meet the rest of your family!

Thanks! By the way, on the saturday, I think you guys passed me. I was taking a photo and heard someone yell a compliment about the flamingo on my windshield.

By the time I turned around and saw it was a green cart, it was too late! Looks like you were heading to TE, if it was you.

Very awesome trip report!!!! And now you really have an excuse to go back to the Fort, you have to return the key!!!!

Exactly. Ben was here tonight. We're talking about New Year's!

Dude, your first sentence is spot on. Here's what I'm thinking. I create a tshirt that senses blood pressure. We put your sentence across the front, with a small red LED that draws attention to it when our BP gets to certain level. We will make millions, or at least enough to each have our own fort site for life. Excellent idea! Make them stain proof and I'm in!

Note 1: Kenny is great! No argument here ever!

Note 2: your truck is a good looking hot rod Cool! Thanks. Took a lot of sacrifice, but we're very happy together!

Note 3: your TR is epic. Nice job and thanks. Thanks for joining!

Who knows may sneak up there some time soon!

Ya, ok, it's an alright TR, I guess.

What's up with the Blue Grass Festival at Indian Rocks Beach t shirt?

I lived there for a number of years before moving to the Orlando area and never saw it.

This year was Second Annual. My brother-in-law will be a co-sponsor next spring, I'm hoping to be a bit more involved. Only 2 of the 4 acts were bluegrass this year, we'll need to work on that.

Last time I was in Grand Floridian it was 1992. I feel like a Beverly Hillbilly even passing it on the monorail. "Sir....we have no cee-ment pond here!"

I may have to sneak a trip with just my girls and bring them to the tea. I'd even do something I've never done camping....shave.

Day Five:

Music: Motown

Drink: Diet Coke and Water, not mixed.

Smell: Sweat, Lysol wipes, breakfast

The Last Day!

As per usual, I’m up early, before anyone else, Ben is not far behind.

I’m not sure why this happens, because I can’t wakeup to save me at home!

The routine begins, Lysol wipes, folding, rolling, stacking, packing.

It’s so much easier before the kids wake-up.

Then when they wake, we try to get them involved, takes longer, but they need to participate.

The first order of business is to go out to overflow to get the boxes and doo-dads to pack the truck, van, and trailer.

Once we make the left at the 4-way, we hit a back-up that ends somewhere between the 4-way stop and the hitching swerves.

It wasn’t that it was bumper to bumper, but more pure chaos.

Notice everyone pointing in the wrong direction.

And notice the double-yellow stripe in the road running the length of my drive train.

And why am I in the passenger side of my own truck?

Damn, left the color filter on again.

Ben has a quick phone chat with Sir Kenneth of Cart.

They’ll be by shortly to get one of the carts, the black one I’d been using.

Once back at the site, everything is being boxed and ready for home.

We get ready to crank the popup back down, and the last thing we do before we strike the door, is get all of our keys that stay a special secret spot.

Not the one by Bay Lake… different special secret spot.

Gracie and I have meticulously packed the truck like a game of Tetris.

All of Ben’s stuff is packed and stacked.

We’re about 10 minutes from hitting the road.

“Honey? Where’s the key to the cart?” bellows MetalWife.

Guess where they weren’t.

Anywhere…

We unpacked, unrolled, unzipped, opened, shook, tossed, and felt….everything.

Now, I was soaking wet with sweat, I saw my pulse pounding away in my vision, and I was losing control.

“Where’s the emmereffen key? ”

Ben calls Kenny to advise that we’ve lost the key.

"No problem, happens all the time", he’ll send someone over with a replacement to pick up the cart.

Kenny’s friend comes to the rescue, with a key.

She has it on one of those curly bands, like a manager from The GAP.

We joke a bit, and they head off.

Ben’s met her on other trips.

I ask Ben “who is she?”

That’s Judy, she’s a travel agent!

Ah-hah! That was Fiesty!

She’s a fiend.

We feel like dumbasses!

And relieved.

And the kids had go to the CS, so I escorted.

Parting shots…notice the hat on Annie!

And John 2 with the Dodge Ram hat on!

We repacked, restacked…

Once again, we need to do “the dance”.

That’s the shuffling of, and dropping off and picking up carts and vehicles from overflow, getting the trailer back out there so Ben can bring his garage back home.

It’s like the old logic riddle about the fox, chicken, and corn, how do you get them across the river, one at a time…

The final sequence has me dropping off the last cart and hoofing it all the way back out to the farthest part of overflow.

Grab a scenic shot before I hit the freshly sealed asphalt, and Farenheit kicks my ass.

As we assume our places in our own vehicles and hit the road, I always feel like this is the threshold.

Once you pass here, it’s over, and it’s just “hang in there til’ next time!”

We cue up some Motown.

I know you wanna leave me, but I refuse to let you go…

Fitting, I ‘spose!

It’s actually homework, my next beach gig is going to be a Motown throwdown to open the new outdoor bar.

The spot that I was playing in at the reggae jam was destroyed by TS Debby.

Like the ride in, but in reverse, I hand the phone-cam to the Mrs. for some highway shots!

Home is to the right.

Don’t rub it in!

These are heading southwest. I love this detail.

The kids assume the position.

If you’ve read along before, you know we no longer eat breakfast at the campground, but hit a roadhouse on the way home.

This one was crowded, had to park my rig in the field next door.

Well, partly because it was crowded, and partly because I suck at backing a trailer.

Wanna guess where we are?

I’ll give you a hint.

Here’s the gang celebrating a victory meal at Cracker Barrel.

Me and my girls…

MetalWife and MetalSon!

With William…Ben took this shot.

Here’s a great shot of Ben and William, in fact this shot may be my favorite of the trip.

Actually… this one is my favorite…

To the right is a kid fishing, and it says “I caught a bass”

To the left is the firepit, the EZup (looks like a robot), and the camper.

Look, they even drew the wheel chocks… and prominently.

Gotta love a kids perspective… which I guess is why we go in the first place!

Back in the truck, I lock it in at 59mph.

And let it rip… I guess you’d say…. What can make me feel this way?

Back by the Airstream garden, Tampa’s getting closer.

Look at the campers in the mirror in the lower left, what a cool quirk of photographic luck!

We get home, unpack, unhitch, unwind…

And there’s MetalWife with the cat that ate the canary look.

As I carried in all the stuff she sorted it all out, emptied backpacks, purses, pockets.

Pockets.

In her pocket was the contents of my pocket the night before.

Good thing we’re married.

She had all my cash.

And wrapped inside?

That’s Kenny’s key!

I hope you enjoyed living vicariously through the absurd observations of my family and best friend.

It was a Fourth of July extended weekend chock full of bugs, beer, bass, brats, blood, sweat, and fiends.

And we wouldn’t have it any other way!

Thanks for noticin’

See Ya Real Soon!

You guys see what I have to deal with?

Very cool update!!!! Relaxin at the Fort is the BEST!!!!

Indeed indeed. Next time we hope to achieve sloth!

Oh my goodness. OV splits! Yup, I remember them. I think we'd drink twice as much though, thinking they're so small it was OK.

I'm from a small - no tiny - town called Sidney. I was born in Oneonta, and went to college in Binghamton. Sidney is on I-88 in between those 2 cities.

I worked in Syracuse for a while, and still root for the Orangemen!

I don't miss it, to be absolutely honest. We go up by you guys kind of often. My sister lives in Orange Park.

<------Yeah, who would think an insurance agent would be reckless...especially whilst camping.

Anyone, anyone?

Bueller?

Ingredients for a great TR:

Reference to a Brady bunch camping trip with pics.....check

Quoting a line from Christmas vacation.....check

Paul McCartney and wings tunes.....check

Yep, you hammerin' out one heck of a TR!!

PARTY ON WAYNE......PARTY ON GARTH!!!

Excellent! I applaud your taste in pop culture!

That B&W RC photo is actually pretty fitting. Kinda sums up how sad it looks now.

Fort-thirty. Freakin' hilarious! And that Casio bit. And the Frasier reference. You're killin' me, dude.

I might just have to dig out a big hair photo to rival that mullet one.

And finally - don't be hatin' on the Genny! Brewed in good ole' Utica, NY - just about an hour north of where I grew up! That was my Dad's lawn-mowing beer of choice, and I too stole many a sip! Now, the cream ale - ick. I remember in college those were referred to as "Genny screamers". And not because of how they made you talk!

FP4

Looking back at the B&W photo, kinda has a Gilligan's Island timbre, ahhh, it's probably just me.

Utica. I grew up on either side of it! I was born and raised in Orange County, NY, and lived in Syracuse for a few years before becoming a Floridian way back when.

You must remember Old Vienna, and the case of 40 little ones, "OV splits".

Great update MD! Looking forward to more!

Thanks, appreciate you riding along. One more update, then time to plan for the next one!

This report just keeps getting better!

Great job on the Dole Whip! Sorry about your little punching bag.

GCA- I had forgotten all about that, but if I'm not mistaken that stuff was the cause of my first bad experience with adult beverages.

I also love Fort-Thirty. I'm going to use that.

TCD

Thank ya' sir. That's the first time I saw GCA in years. Thought it might be a comical take on the BTS.

Heck yeah! Great TR.

First of all... Rays! Awesome.

I was quoted with the fake tats. As Eeyore would say! "Thanks for noticin'"

And Jarts! The very last time we played Jarts, we were dumb enough to say "Let's play catch with them!"

Either Mom or Dad got wind and tossed 'em.

I love how your family is content with jarts, basketball, and tetherball, makes that over-priced hot dog taste that much better!

I can't sit in a stadium without a bag of roasted, salted shell peanuts...ballgame, concert, seminar... I'm a mess with shell shrapnel.

Day Four Concluded:

As the afternoon began to cool, the MetalFamily headed up to the Marina to start our next adventure!

We hopped aboard the boat to the Contemporary.

We had never taken a standard Contemporary photo, so time to fix that!

Again, we took a walk-through the gift shops and arcade before heading up to the monorail platform.

I still think that place looks like an airport.

There’s always people napping in that lounge area in front of check-in.

I was just waiting to hear a boarding call over the PA.

We monorailed over to Poly.

The goils posed for another silly one once we were inside the Poly.

Got another urban tag for my brother-in-law’s pizza bar.

I had an awkward visit to the Poly this time.

I’m a lifelong Beatles fan.

Just prior to our trip, I read that John Lennon had signed the legal documents in his room at the Polynesian that officially broke up the Beatles.

It was on December 29, 1974 even though they announced the split-up in April of 1970.

Anyhoo, downstairs to see the good Captain.

We were there for ‘you know what’… but we were starving, so we ate!

Dear Lord…thank you for pork nachos!

I went back up for our Dole Whips!

And you were all there with me, cheering me on as it swirled and swirled and swirled.

Niles Crane: Less is more!

Frasier Crane: But think how much more MORE would be!

So I swirled on!

The one on the left is vanilla/pineapple.

The guy on the right is pure pineapple.

Excuse the mess, but it was so wide I had to hold the whip like a frozen pineapple football to get it back to the table.

Everyone shared the vanilla/pineapple one.

I ate the other one by myself.

That little punching bag at the back of my throat still doesn’t work right!

We hopped back on the monorail over to Magic Kingdom to grab the boat back to the Fort.

On the ride, I grabbed this shot that photogal06 had been trying to grab of the EWP preparing for the evening’s show!

The kids thought that was like peeking behind the screen.

I went to get a shot of main street and a dang monorail jumped in my way.

The phone has a delay before it fires. Happens a lot!

Better from a distance.

The lady in the foreground wasn’t with our group.

In fact, I don’t remember her at all, and now I’m a little pissed that she’s in my picture.

I’ll get her at recess!

Gotta love the shipwreck on Disco Island.

And the obligatory River Country shot.

I’ll settle for this since I don’t have a Balkan cousin with better access.

I futzed around trying to get another shot, and ended up with another black & white shot, which came out pretty cool!

Dumb touch screen.

Look at that!

It’s Fort-Thirty!

A joke that goes back to an earlier Fort excursion.

Ya’ see Timmy, I take my watch off as soon as I get there, and don’t put it back on until load-out.

So when asked what time it is, I look at my blank wrist and reply…

It’s Fort-Thirty

This trip I finally convinced Ben he should let go a bit and go watchless.

He did on and off, but I see in this next photo that he’s back to sportin’ that same cheesy Casio digital that I had in 7^th grade.

It’s alright, he finally gave in and got him some camo. He’s on his way!

Notice the bandage?

The old hook through the finger… told you there’d be blood!

When we’re in this seating arrangement, rockin’ the purple cups, it can only mean one thing.

BTS

For tonight’s theme, we’ll be slumming at the bottom of the barrel.

Last time I was at the local KOA, I grabbed this bootleg tall boy for $2 while we watched Dispicable Me.

Ever since then, I had this idea of creating a BTS that was the old-school beers of our fathers.

And tonight, it was a salute to all those sips of Dad’s beer while he mowed the yard.

Here’s to you Dad!

Schlitz and Genny Cream Ale, couldn’t locate Schmidt’s or Rheingold for the trip!

Ben actually ended up taking home about 8 bottles of Sam Adams…quitter!

On occassion we pack Yuengling and PBR for visitors and/or overtime. Not this trip.

As we sipped and chatted about what a great trip it was, we gave Burny a little bit more work.

Admired the site a bit.

Ben and some of the kids dropped a line in the water, some goofed around.

I went for a stroll and took some photos of the back of the site.

There they are!

And some really weird looking colored filter shots.

Tomorrow we’d be heading home.

But tonight, we were far away from Facebook, work, bills, video games, and worries.

We finished with a relaxing evening at the site.

We still have Sunday morning, and some more photos.

One more update kids, then I’ll dismiss the class!

Caught up...love the pool hopping.

Sorry MW got hurt.....seems she was a trooper though since she even let you take pictures of the wounds.

Looking forward to taking that nature trail for the first time in February.

I see TCD just got back and has some more photos of the nature trail area.

MD and BM, let me introduce you to one item you will want next time for you next adventure.

http://www.target.co...an/-/A-13465885

Buy it! You will not regret it. We have two for the races and other adventures. The only drawback, is that your back will sweat! But no pulling to the right and it has pockets for other items. Like cigars, lighters, tickets, sunflower seeds and jerkey. That is our NASCAR list.

I would absolutely get one of those!

I own one called WHATADAY Totepack and Cooler in One. You want me to bring that along as well so MD has something ELSE to yell/laugh at me about bringing too much stuff. You must know that one of the MD motto's is: "LESS IS MORE". Maybe next trip.

Yes, next time we'll work a new concept, "INSTEAD OF". As in, bring a nice multi-purpose cooler like this INSTEAD OF that raggedy old Gators styrofoam job from the your graduation (what year was that 75-76?).

You know that one that you store dirt, worms, AND food in? I bet that thing's radiocative and has an infection of some sort.

Funny though, the Less is More bit comes up in the next update, that I just wrote before I saw this!

Back where you belong...in a popup!

Up until the pic of your poor wife's knee, I was cracking up! Can so relate to crashing the other resort pool (and paying via the bar), the lopsided bike riding with a bag, and toting my own water to save the 3 bucks a pop WDW charges. I even go so far as to bring those little powder pack mixes as well, so we can refill and not have to taste the yucky warm tap water!

So sorry that happened to her! I know it probably still hurts - I injured mine last spring, and had a lingering ache/bruised area for a while.

And, for what it's worth, I'm still confused by the sign.

I started getting those packets as well, trying to curb my Diet Dr. Pepper habit.

She's doing much better, it still looks scarred a bit and is itchy, I'm sure it'll be all gone in a few weeks.

The most confusing thing about the signs is that it says "No Carts Beyond This Point", does that mean they were allowed up to that sign?

If so, I'm pissed at the guy in the cowboy hat that yelled at me last year for being past the stables!

Poor MW. I am sure being the good husband you check to see if she was ok, which apparently was followed by picture taking (and laughing?).

I helped take good care of her, I did laugh eventually, and she got the kids mad at me for taking the picture, which made me laugh harder!

By the time she got to "you jerk!" I couldn't breathe.

"Freaky tiki take a leaky ding dang margarita" :rotfl5:

Classic MD funny-ism!!

Great pictures of the nature trail. It's been so long since I've been down it, but you have inspired me. Looks like a perfect place for a morning run.

Even though I have a 12 inch inseam, I run better than I bike. Many times I've come home looking like MW. Hope she's all healed up!

I couldn't remember the name of the drink from the board, so I made it up!

You wouldn't know from my physique, but I used to run quite well, even lettered in cross country in school!

I actually just started again, I run with the dog after work. First goal is better fitting pants and no more manboobs!

But I can't run midday in the Florida summer.

We passed one guy that was jogging. He looked insane.

That miscellaneous meat sandwich looks pretty good!

Great job on the geyser shots!

Sorry about MW's knee. I was wondering about the blood part. I am glad it wasn't worse.

TCD

Oh, there's a bit more blood!

I thought the geyser looked cool for a moment, then it just seemed like a hose on a rock.

I will say that the food on this trip was better than ever, and that's all Ben's doing.

What a great bike ride, I enjoyed virtually riding along with you. That's as close to a bike ride as I will get. Yes I am a bike riding klutz. I have walked to the WL via that path and loved it. Next time I walk it I will definitely get me one of those "Freaky tiki take a leaky ding dang margarita" drinks. I may even use the pool.

MW's boo boo looks very ouchy, hope she got lots of tender loving care.

Next time, we're going to explore a bit more, maybe even by foot.

By the way, dood, to continue our discussion about Captain Morgan. I've been mixing it into Iced tea lately, give that a try too!

Still, nothing beats the Morgan & Pepper!

Elvis, BigFoot, TCD... I see a pattern forming.