fortpartyof4

It was just one of my husband's concerns, other than the cost and him being able to get time off. Us going on a cruise is a dream (no pun intended) at this point, and we had all of a 3 minute conversation about the FL resident special and it having to be during the week. If we were to decide to pursue the idea, I would be able to convince him that it would be OK, but still absolutely respect his opinion. But it's moot anyway because we cannot go on one. He probably just said that to me as a knee-jerk comment instead of having to give me the real reason. My husband's thoughts about the miss

Thanks! Very interesting. And, now I am caught up reading that trip report. I will have to finish it later, but am really loving it so far! I like it when the Mrs. pops up in your TR's. You sure are outnumbered. At least the dog is a boy! Also, it looks like that was just about a year ago - so that means you have a birthday coming up?

So it was before all of the cabins that we see now? It's cute, reminds me of the little hunting cabins I used to see scattered in the woods near my home town. We did that wagon ride to watch the fireworks one night a year or 2 ago. We did go back on that trail and parked not far from that little bridge and we could hear the music from the speakers. It was really pretty to watch them back there in the dark. And with no other people around, we could actually hear the narration. Totally worth what we paid to ride. You mean Yuri hasn't already done that? Those sandwiches were good. It's cal

We left off on Saturday night. I forgot to mention that because the weather pretty much spoiled our plans on Saturday, I had started to suggest that we stay another night so my husband could have some fun since he hadn't been with us the entire week, and his one day got rained out. He checked his calendar and agreed it would be OK as long as we got out right away on Monday morning so he could still get into the office that afternoon. I went up to the check-in counters on Saturday afternoon and made that happen. I also tried to extend our cart rental by a day, but Kenny was fully booked and

You are welcome! We don't play a ton of tennis here at home, but enjoyed it at the Fort. We were very close to the courts so it made it an easy thing to do. We do ride our bikes a lot at home and almost all of our camping and beach trips. The swim goggles are mostly because the chemicals really do a number on their eyes and now they've gotten to where they can't be without them.

It means you ate one too many little squares of that pretty paper, Yosemitebear. I am so sorry - this didn't even occur to me - didn't intend to bring that up again! I've only seen this once and had forgotten all about it! The rainbows were really pretty - the colors really stood out on the dark sky. Thanks! I want to get that same picture during the day! I agree and that is the only reason we did it. And it's not the last time during this trip. However I still wish the pool at the resort we're paying to stay at was better so we could just stay put. I didn't either! See above. They ha

Good to know. Your state has so many amazing places to camp! I live in FL so am not usually able to get up North during the school year. At least not to go camping.

Oh, no! It is in a valley though so I can see where that would happen. The stream was very calm and shallow when we were there.How was Granite Hill?

Love your title! What a wonderful surprise for your beautiful ladies. Can't wait to see what lies ahead. Reading all of these cruise reports really makes me want to take one, too. I am so tempted by the FL resident rates for next month. But, my husband isn't down with the kids missing school. I need to work on him! My birthday is coming up too! Did you lose the points you had used to book the original trip to Orlando? Or were you able to transfer them over to this flight? FP4

Enjoying your leisurely day at Epcot! Can't wait for more.

hahahaha - that's funny! But I doubt it, since the MK costs money to get in! My guess is the mom is putting on the girl's swimsuit so she can play in the Casey splash area. But still, how about using the girl's room next time? Good catch, Mecha Geek, and welcome!!!

My husband and son came back very late Friday night. I got up and made pancakes and bacon Saturday morning while everyone slept in a little. I just have this one picture of the food, but it's the best part - the BACON! Making that meal while camping is like cooking Thanksgiving dinner. It takes forever to make it and everyone's done eating in 20 minutes. And then you have a big mess to clean up! It was good, though. While I was making breakfast, I noticed this HUGE grasshopper on one of the trees by our site: After breakfast we went looping. Tried to see if the alligator we saw on day

There's another really popular one called "Drummer Boy" that people like a lot. It's larger and has more amenities. But it also looked like the sites were out in the open and we liked the trees here. And the price here. I looked at the KOA. It looked really nice and fun for the kids. Honestly, the reason I didn't consider it was because they don't allow any alcohol at all. I know that sounds lame to some folks, but we do enjoy our beer when we're camping. There are quite a few CG's in the Gettysburg/Hershey area. I am sure we'll be back. I love it there in the summer.

Now that you zoomed it like that, I kind of think that the guy is her Dad maybe? They have similar features in the mouth/nose, even their expression is alike. Maybe the groom is in the potty, or didn't want to go on his honeymoon with his new FIL. That guy's hat is huge. Or his head is very small. We call those "high hats". FP4

We changed into dry clothes and got something to drink at the OKW counter place. Then it was time to get on the road to head to Daytona and meet up with Dad. I only hit a little bit of traffic in Orlando and counted myself lucky for that, since it was about 4 pm on a Friday afternoon. But, when we got closer to the I-4/I-95 merger, the skies started to look very gloomy. I handed my phone to one of the boys to get a couple of shots: It was one of those spooky kinds where you see beautiful sunny sky with fluffy clouds on one side, and black clouds covering the other side. It began to thund

Enjoying your report! I need to get mine done. Slacking! TCD & Dave, don't rule out the possibility that the woman next to the bride could be the spouse. She also has a bottle of Dasani. FP4

They don't sound familiar. That story doesn't surprise me though, there was a lot of nepotism and secret handshake type of stuff going on there all the time. That was a big part of the stress of the job - the political BS. Also I think back when I was there that position didn't exist and maintenance or QC took care of environmental stuff. Congrats on winning that sweet bid! Mayport or NAS?

MD!!! I am glad to see you here. You're right. And there are ways around everything anyway. If people want to do something badly enough they will. This will come up again later, as it's not the last time we hop on this trip.

Oh! So on the sales side. Well I actually do know someone at the CC office here in Jacksonville who works in sales. I've been gone for over 10 years and didn't realize CCE had merged. There are a lot of those types of outlet/closeout stores in our area. Maybe he'd find something, too? That being said, I don't like living here so I am not the best person to talk to about relocation! Thanks - we did. It was a nice little treat. Good points. I know the definition of freeloading/pool hopping/misuse is up for interpretation when it comes to WDW resorts. I tend to agree with you. But, I ca

We never used to get a cart, always used bikes and the busses to get around. Then we started renting one from the Fort for a day or two each stay, both for fun and for getting around. Much easier to go see the nightly movie, go for a quick swim, or go watch the fireworks when you have one. Then at Christmas time to go around and look at the lights. We were almost always in 2000 which is kind of off the beaten path anyway so it really helped. Then I found FF and learned about renting for less. Now we have a cart for almost every day of our stays there (but not always). It just depends on w

Friday morning rolled around, and we wanted a change of scenery. Later in the day, we were driving to Daytona to meet my husband halfway. My older son had a karate belt test that night and he didn't want to have to make it up so he was going back to Jacksonville for the night. Before we had to get on the road, I wanted to stop over at the new resort and look around. I had also wanted to stop and visit my friend from back home in NY who is a CM at Pop Century. She had said we could come over and visit her and go for a swim there. So the plan was to visit, have lunch and swim, tour A of A a

I worked for CCBCC (aka "Consolidated") in Charlotte, NC, which is also where their headquarters are. I believe the one in Jacksonville is a CCE bottler (aka "Enterprises") - the big one based in Atlanta. Different franchises. I'm not even sure if their is a bottling plant anymore, may just be distribution. There is a big Pepsi plant in town, and a small copacker that I worked for before Bacardi who does 7 Up/Canada Dry and Snapple. I do still have one or two connections at Bacardi, but the place has changed a LOT since I was there. What do you do for Coke?

Yeah I saw those reviews. They're pretty accurate. I use that site a lot and need to post my reviews for our summer stays. If they would just give this place a little spit and polish and reduce their rates, it wouldn't be bad at all. I wouldn't even care about the remoteness of it either but they also need to beef up their camp store a little. They didn't even have milk when I needed some.

We did. I love going to historical places, forts, national parks. This was one of my favorite trips ever. You should go if you get the chance. It is humbling and educational. None of the CG's we stayed at this summer were overly elaborate or anything (except the Fort!), but it really makes a huge difference when the owners/managers really care about their guests.

Ah! When I saw them in state park swim areas, I figured it had to be some sort of new regulation. Yup, we did a whole lot of those things, add in some biking, playgrounds, basketball and tennis and that pretty much sums it up! Thanks! I took more on this trip. Actually, I am supposed to be working too! Gotta get back on that. I usually go for a margarita, not sure why I chose the daiquiri, but man it was good! The stains came out, though I don't expect the shirt to stay white for long. With 2 boys I always have the Shout handy! Yes, it was a cool job in terms of the perks and fun partie