doodlebug....Cherie

Puttin' a little gravel in our travel....

Just in case you were wondering if driving across the hayfield is allowed.

Here is Hayseed H in front of his Hay field Palace.

Bella Vista.... :rofl2:

stay tuned for more exciting adventures from the hay field. ;D

Ever have a ruff morning? I did. Wasn't happy about it, but shit happens!

A cake race?

Yes I knew that and they also have some nice discounts to the park for guests.

The campground at Cedar Point is pretty awesome isn't it!!

Lou, my Mama didn't raise no fool! Would ou please pick one up for me. :heart:

I hope your trip is filled with fond memories and new traditions.

I love it!! I have a few wine bottles that could get a new life!!

Great update! What a nice surprise you received!! Didn't try the bidet? Wow, that's the first thing I would have done. :flush2: :rofl2:

TnBob makes them and they are awesome. I have 2!! You can pm him right here on Fort Fiends!!

Alternator-$230, gas for Indians $120, Fiends to talk me through-priceless!!!
We are all fixed and will be heading out in the morning. No side trips, going to stop and sleep and keep on going.
Thanks again to all my Fiends for worrying and praying for us. I think you guys are the best!! :heart: :wave1:

It's working Lou! Keep it up. Good for Buddy too!

It was in the mid to upper 40's and beautiful if you were in the sun.

We have picked up 7 mpg more just by dropping the trailer!!! New plan, since the weather is clear we are going to take I90 home. I will get to see more of this great country this great I've never seen before :jumpforjoy

You're going to visit the Four Seasons, am I right??

Happy New Year, everyone. Y'all be careful if you are doing the party scene tonight!!

How come everytime a sports subject comes up about a Tampa Bay team, we have to hear sh*# from the Boston peanut gallery. Let me sum up a conversation that a Bostonian would have with anyone from Tampa....."hey you wanna be sports fan, the Rays suck, The lightning suck and o yeah, the Bucs suck. Keep hockey to the snowbelt, keep baseball to spring training and just get rid of football...why? Because Boston is the best...period. We drink beer, eat fried chicken, play video games all the while loosing a wild card berth" Boston needs to stick to comedy sitcoms. Cheers was the only thing going for them and that was in the 80's...and maybe Larry Bird. I'll give them that much. Sorry to hijack the thread..... GO LIGHTNING

If I know that group, and I probably know LOTS of the group that came personally, 99% of them were Disney Resort Guests, DVC members, and/or Cast Members. This particular group spends THOUSANDS of dollars at Disney every year. Believe me, they are NOT FREELOADERS.

Great, a new way to get 120 of my closest friends in the fort as guest without making a trails end ressie or reserving a site....lol. Although I would focus on showing them the pool not the decorations

I suspect you're refering to me. That's ok, I like it.
I'd like to take your post as tongue in cheek trash talk, but I'm not sure that's the case. Fell free to correct me if I'm wrong though.
Assuming, for now, that I'm right, I recall a while back you took a post I made tongue in cheek as serious. This last post I made was just kidding around, stirring the sports pot.
There is something about me that makes you think I'm being serious. Maybe it's me. I'm hardly ever serious, it's trash talk and you shouldn't take it any other way. Maybe it's because we've never met, don't know.
Anyway to set the record straight and to maybe change how you look at me, I lived in the Tampa Bay area for a long time after leaving New England. We raised kids there. Had a successful law practice in Clearwater.
I was very active in the community and am solely responsible for forming the first high school robotics team in Florida that competes in a national competition. That high school is in St Pete and the team still competes.
We were there when the Devil Rays were formed. We were there when the Lightning were formed. We've gone to numerous Rays games. Supported the Bucs. Attended Rays and Bucs practice sessions. I was there for the Bucs Super Bowl victory.
To put it in perspective, if Jacksonville had a baseball or hockey team and there were Fiends that were fans, I'd trash talk them too.

My Eyes... My Eyes... Somebody Stop the Slide show... PLEASE
Now for that park you've been asking for..... Glacier National Park.
A few things to remember:
1. The Fort AT Halloween has more parking.
2. The season is short so it's always busy.
3. Bear Spray.... don't forget the bear spray in the truck.
4. The Rangers have enough to do... don't add to their "issues".
5. If you can, hire one of those Red Jammer Cars. Trust my husband, he missed half the sites just navigating The Road To The Sun.
Our first day, we arrived at our campsite which was just a few miles outside of West Glacier, MT. After getting thru the "Normal" unhitching routine, we ate at a REALLY BAD restaurant (dont' remember the name but it was on the south side of the main road and white) before heading into the park. We stopped in the Historic Apgar village, looked into all the souvenir shops and picked up the necessary Junior Ranger Booklets for the kids to get their badges. (Starting in Custer, Junior Ranger program became both a blessing and the bane of our existence...) This place was crazy busy as was Lake McDonald Lodge. We decided that the crowds must thin out during the week. Kind of like someone who's never been to WDW thinking no one would think of going at Christmas.....Yes, we were wrong.
Here is the view of McDonald Lake from the Apgar Village Boat Launch.

The same view, almost, from the Lake McDonald Lodge. (can you read the name of that boat?)

The view from McDonald Lodge toward Apgar Viliage -

Random Water Rapid Picture- (and my finger nails)

Here we have Lake McDonald Lodge or the Lodge at McDonald Lake. It is gorgeous inside this lodge and see that red car. That's a Red Jammer Car.

After visiting here, we had planned to take a hike but couldn't find ANY parking so decided to call it a day. That was ok because the next day we were Going to the Sun, West to East starting at 9am.
Going To The Sun




1.5 hours into the drive and we have reached the half way point.



We did eventually get in a small hike on the drive. It was a half mile hike to a water fall. My husband left the bear spray in the car. No big deal, says he. We were going down with a huge crowd of people. Coming back it was just us. Another group of four passed us, they said casually, in passing "Better be careful there is a bear up there". I promptly made my husband, "the forgetter of the bear spray" walk in the lead. Either we made enough noise to scare it off or they previous group did but we didn't see that bear. However, sometime in the week we were there some poor guy got mauled on one of the Many Glacier hikes....
Nicki's National Park Survival Rule #1 - Don't Forget the Bear Spray. (Despite being back in the urban wilderness, the bear spray is still in the truck).

Back on the road again -

Two Medicine Lodge -

We ended our epic drive here. Most of the above pictures are from the Going to the Sun drive but the last few are from Many Glacier. We could have driven the Going to The Sun Road East to West, which would have been funny since we'd have been headed toward the sun's actual position twice in one day, but we were exhausted and by the time we got back it would have been 5 hours since we left and the dogs would need to be let out.
I can tell you that my driver, DH, was exhausted when we got back to Minerva (the Airstream). He actually said when we go back he's springing for a Red Car Jammer Tour so he can enjoy the ride. Doing the drive in an F150, stacked like the Clampets, with huge tow mirrors was not exactly un-stressful. When he was downloading the pictures he claimed that he hadn't seen half of the sights I'd taken pics of because driving was that involved. The original Going to the Sun road was built back in the day before large trucks, minivans, and good brakes.
I can also tell you that for TWO days every time I closed my eyes some gorgeous scene flashed behind them. I think I dreamed Glacier. It got to the point that I just wanted the images to stop so I could sleep but I guess my mind needed sometime to "download" all the sights. I will also say that I took about 200 pics of this road. Seriously, get a camera with the sports feature and hold down the button.......
A few days later, we headed back into the park to do their Ranger lead tour (a ride in the "DeSmet" boat, on Lake McDonald, while a ranger talked about forest fires). he was the oldest working Ranger in the park, late 80's or early 90's he was. We got his autograph (in the Jr Ranger program booklet). We then took the kids back to Apgar to get them sworn in as Glacier National Park Junior Rangers.
Also while there -
We bought the Truck Roof Bike Rack.
Spent and evening getting the oil changed.
Next Up - Hurricane... They have a Hurricane in Washington?

Now that all the excitement of Christmas is over, I can continue on with this report.
My morning walk from my room to the bus stop.
The progress on Lady's paint job

Now, how I got to Universal/IOA. When I arrived at MCO, I went to a Mears desk and purchased a round trip ticket from my resort to Universal. The cost was $19 RT. You do not have to purchase the ticket at the airport, but I wanted to use a credit card, otherwise, it is cash only paid to the driver.
The day before I went to Universal, I called Mears and scheduled my pickup time. The bus showed up right on schedule, and several of us boarded the bus. One nice thing about Pop Century, is it's on the outskirts of property, so is frequently one of the first/last stops for DME and Mears buses. We headed directly to Universal.
My bus time was 7:35 and we arrived at the Universal Parking area around 8:00. Plenty of time to wander. I also stopped by a ticket booth to make sure my ticket really was still valid. It was an old 4-day two-park nonexpiring ticket that we had purchased back in 2004 for only $100!!! I was pretty sure it still had one day left and it did!!!!
Here are some pics as I wandered around before Islands opened.

Germany?

WHAT A JERK YOU ARE, PRETENDING TO BE SOMEONE YOU ARE NOT. MOST FOLKS DON'T MIND SOMEONE WHO IS HONEST. DID YOU CHECK WITH THE ADMINS TO SEE HOW MUCH IT WOULD COST TO ADVERTISE ON THEIR SITE? NO, YOU'D RATHER CREEP AROUND HERE AND LIE TO PEOPLE. I FEEL VIOLATED THAT YOU CAME INTO THE CHAT ROOM AND PRETENDED TO BE A NEW MEMBER WANTING INFO AND WE WERE WELCOMING AND HELPFUL. I HOPE YOUR DAD REALIZES THAT HE RAISED A DISHONEST, CREEP.
WHO WANTS TO RENT FROM A COMPANY WHEN IT IS OBVIOUS THAT Y'ALL ARE DISHONEST. I THINK WE NEED TO POST ON THIS THREAD THE NAME AND NATURE OF YOUR BUSINESS AND RECOMMEND AGAINST IT BASED ON YOUR DECEITFUL PRACTICES.
YES, I MEANT TO YELL!

I've been given small gifts, been asked for a hug, it was a little boy so I was ok with it. paid compliments for my driving, done high fives, gotten thank you cards, but today was a first.
This really happy and friendly small group got on my bus this morning at CBR when all of a sudden one of them yelled out, lets sing "hail to the bus driver". Which they did. They had a song all prepared hailing, yes, me. It was too funny and I really got a kick out of it. I told them they should have waited until I got them to their destination in one piece.