Specularius

Or get an electric kettle. Something like this:
Electric Kettle on amazon
I use one for French Press Coffee. Also used one like this to make my wife hot tea in the Hospital after she had a procedure. Nursing staff was in Awe. 

Here is a video. Hope everyone enjoys.
https://youtu.be/LB209ewg2to

This was the western side of the beach.

Enjoyed the fireworks last night from the dock. The eastern side of the beach was reserved for a desert party. Here is a picture from the dock of the party.

Next to the poop tanks! Maybe they could find a better spot?

Home from the cruise. It was FANTASTIC! Loved the Wonder. There were a couple of things that are better on the Dream, such as Senses Spa, but the smaller ship was just so much fun. We were surprised that our Captain was the same Capatain we had on a previous cruise aboard the Dream, Captain Henry Anderson. The weather was great, the scenery even better, and the crew was Awsome. I learned a lot that may be valuable to other Fiends in the future and I will get that out in a trip report coming soon. Now to catch up on laundry and recoup from the trip. Left Vancouver at 58 degrees and arrived home to 103 degrees. Talk about wanting to go back right now!

For a first time buyer I would recommend a used one, but take your time to find a decent one. Try to find one from an individual, not a dealer. Climb up on the roof and look at the caulking. That will give a good indication if the previous owner took good care of the unit. 
If going for a new unit, 30-35% off MSRP is a good starting point on price. Look out for gimmick add-ons such as protective coating and excess service/prep charges that are just profit enhancement. 
Ultimately be prepared to change units within a year to two years as you figure out what you like and dislike, or to completely step away from RV ownership altogether.

And don't forget about the hidden fees and other issues associated with ownership such as property taxes, storage fees, and HOA/city rules/laws. 

Just looked through the May issue of Trailer Life and there is an article about camping at the Fort. Boy, with it as hard as it is to get reservations there now, the Fort does not need this kind of publicity! Oh, and the top of one page is titled "Fort Wilderness "Fiends"". 

Just looked through the May issue of Trailer Life and there is an article about camping at the Fort. Boy, with it as hard as it is to get reservations there now, the Fort does not need this kind of publicity! Oh, and the top of one page is titled "Fort Wilderness "Fiends"". 

Congrats to UGA. I know Kelly is happy!

This year was rather quiet. Being a Tuesday Night played a big part in that, I believe. The most rowdy Halloween's are the ones that fall on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. At first look for this year, it appeared that the Fort management tried to downplay "Camp-or-Treat" as they named it, this year. But then on Halloween night they closed down the main road, Fort Wilderness Trail, from the intersection with Peacock Pass to the 4 way stop at Frontier Way and Big Pine Trail to turn the small meadow at the Hitch/Unhitch area into a parking area complete with porta-pottys and a hand washing station. They then laid out tape arrows on the roads to try and direct the flow of "Camp-or-Treators" through the various loops. We were in the 1700 loop and saw an estimated 400-500 kids this year. 2 years ago we saw over 1,000 kids in the 500 loop with that being a Saturday night. We sat out last year and missed it so much that we made sure to go back this year and will be there again next year as well. Come on and have fun and don't let a few rowdies scare you away.

This year was rather quiet. Being a Tuesday Night played a big part in that, I believe. The most rowdy Halloween's are the ones that fall on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. At first look for this year, it appeared that the Fort management tried to downplay "Camp-or-Treat" as they named it, this year. But then on Halloween night they closed down the main road, Fort Wilderness Trail, from the intersection with Peacock Pass to the 4 way stop at Frontier Way and Big Pine Trail to turn the small meadow at the Hitch/Unhitch area into a parking area complete with porta-pottys and a hand washing station. They then laid out tape arrows on the roads to try and direct the flow of "Camp-or-Treators" through the various loops. We were in the 1700 loop and saw an estimated 400-500 kids this year. 2 years ago we saw over 1,000 kids in the 500 loop with that being a Saturday night. We sat out last year and missed it so much that we made sure to go back this year and will be there again next year as well. Come on and have fun and don't let a few rowdies scare you away.

I saw a picture of a Grand Design Imagine set up this morning in their site. Nothing looked out of the ordinary in the picture.

That big trailer was there when we left on Friday morning the 2nd, but was gone when we checked back in on the 7th. I bet it cost more than 90% of the campers in the Fort.

Monday brought us back to Castaway Cay. Shardi decided that since we are fair skinned European descent, easy to sunburn, rarely get to the beach people, that she would rent a Cabana on Castaway Cay for our second day. It is a bit pricey but has some very good perks. You get soft drinks and snacks, snorkeling gear rental, bicycle rental, and golf cart service to run you around the island. The Cabanas are at the end of the beach. Each Cabana has its own fresh water shower to rinse off. I am not sure if it was by design or not but the Cabana area has its own swimming area separated from the other swimming areas. Here are a few pictures to give you an idea.





It was a great hangout. We were the first Cabana renters to check in for the day. I immediately hit the smaller swimming area with the snorkel. It did not take long to cover most of the area. I found two Conks and a fairly large hermit crab. That is a size 13 foot for reference. I took them all three to the off limits area, outside of the swimming area and released them. 


After lunch, Shardi and I got a pair of bicycles and headed for the observation Tower. I had wanted to visit it on our first cruise but is was so hot and another 1 mile walk to get that that we stopped at the airplane. So with bikes, an overcast and somewhat cool day, we made it.

We then went down to the adult beach followed the path to the right all the way to the end. That was a much longer ride than anticipated. It is a great view when you get there.


We enjoyed the Cabana as much as we could, and were the very last to leave. We were given a golf cart ride to catch the last shuttle from Pelican Point back to the ship. We were not the last ones to go back aboard, but we were close to it. It made for a wonderful second day on the Cay. It started raining shortly after getting back aboard. We had dodged another day of rain while on the Cay. 
That night was Pirate night. After supper at Animators Pallet, we were greeted by this, I guess Ninja Monkey, upon our return to the stateroom.

We were so exhausted from our second day on the beach that we stayed in the Stateroom and went to bed early.
Tuesday was sea day. It rained most of the day making it hard to enjoy the top deck of the ship. We spent part of the day watching movies in the theater. We started with the new edition of Beauty and the Beast, then finished with Pirates of the Caribbean Dead Men Tell No Tales, in 3D. We had waited to see if it would be shown during the cruise, because what could be better than watching Pirates of the Caribbean while cruising around in the Caribbean! After supper we packed our bags, got a bit depressed about the cruise coming to an end, and went to sleep.
 

MNSSHP is a great event, but it pales in comparison to the Fort on Halloween night. My children have had so much fun during Halloween night at the Fort that they begged to go back this year after missing it this past year and the oldest is 19 and the youngest is 11. I am sure we will go to MNSSHP but it will not be Halloween night.

MNSSHP is a great event, but it pales in comparison to the Fort on Halloween night. My children have had so much fun during Halloween night at the Fort that they begged to go back this year after missing it this past year and the oldest is 19 and the youngest is 11. I am sure we will go to MNSSHP but it will not be Halloween night.

The SKU is 400000677880 if that helps.

Looks like they did not have a season at all for 2016 but may try again in 2017. Personally I believe hunting to be a vital part of the management process.

Kelly,
The Mini Max nest has a band that goes around the middle with a handle on each side. This is a Mini.

I think you need to get that picture of the deer blocked by the Gator Fence to go viral. How dare Disney disrupt the life of that poor deer. And it also deprives the poor alligator from its food source, thereby increasing the risk of another alligator attack. Did Disney get approval from Biologist before installing all that fencing? I bet not. Now they have impacted the migration patterns and who knows what else. These fences need to be dismantled NOW.

Before this season started I was looking forward to our game this Saturday against Alabama. Now, after watching two games, I am wishing this was not so early in our schedule. I think we are in for a thrashing. Our defense is non-existent after just 20 minutes of play. Wishing the Rebels a ton of luck for Saturday.
 
On the other side of things, Looks like Florida has found itself and should be able to take care of Tennessee for the SEC east title. (Sorry Kelly)

The campers at the Fort are the only ones that can change this behavior. I think everyone should have a campground meeting the morning of Trick-or-Treating with management and Security. Enough people demand something be done, and it will happen. All it would take is a cast member with a magic band scanner at the entrance to every loop. No current reservation, no entrance into the loop for Trick-or-Treating.

The campers at the Fort are the only ones that can change this behavior. I think everyone should have a campground meeting the morning of Trick-or-Treating with management and Security. Enough people demand something be done, and it will happen. All it would take is a cast member with a magic band scanner at the entrance to every loop. No current reservation, no entrance into the loop for Trick-or-Treating.