PrincessNana

Last night while we were eating at Trails Inn, the couple next to us asked the waitress for the cornbread recipe. Joy brought it to them and while we were visiting the lady said," I wonder how they get the crust crunchy, that's the best part." So, if your interested...this is how we do it in Texas.

You can use any cornbread recipe or mix, we like to add a little sugar.

Use a cast iron skillet - I use my small one for one cornbread mix (like Morrissons or Pioneer)

Pour a little vegetable oil in the skillet and put it in the oven to preheat. (1/8 of a cup)

When it is preheated to the needed temp, pull the skillet out and pour off the oil. Put in your prepared cornbread mix and bake about 20 minutes. The cornbread will be great with a crunchy crust.

We're currently in site 912 and the app says its 38' long, but we have a 40' motorhome on it with a 10' trailer on the concrete pad attached to the back of the motorhome and the golf cart in front of the motorhome. My best guess is the concrete pad is at least 60' long. We are loving the app, even my dh is hooked on it, but we've been here enough that we know where we'll fit.

Congratulations!!! You made it.

Getting closer!

Still here reading. Checking into the Fort tomorrow!

Doing my part. I read it several times a day, does that count?

Thank you so much for putting names with the Tea Party group shot. I love to be able to put a name with a face.

Great report Gwen, can't wait to read more. And, those segways aren't easy to handle for the balanced challenged. I had a guide assigned just to me because I was so bad on it. LOL

Thanks all. The only thing i know about bears is the joke about how to tell the difference between a black bear and a grizzly.

I hate to be a wuss, but the bear sightings have kind of rattled me. Bears are about the only forest type animals we don't have any experience with. Do we need bear spray?? The National Park system recommended taking bear spray when we go to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons...I never thought we would need it at Fort Wilderness. For those of you more experienced, am I over reacting? (I'm not the fastest runner so I don't want to be dinner!)

Love your trip report! I have been guilty of using my best teacher voice and "the look" a couple of times around the pool area, much to the embarassment of my grand kids. But sometimes, enough is enough. Can't wait to read the next installment.

I replaced my TT tires at 4 years, but I know they are different than MH tires.

We have a friend who had a blow out on his motorhome, luckily he wasn't seriously injured but it totaled his motorhome. It scared us to death, so now we tend to err on the side of caution.

We were told 5 years ( on several different forums). We replaced four tires when we bought our motorhome but we still need to replace the last two (they were a little newer). I think it ended up costing about $500.00 a tire but I was real paranoid about having a blowout. The four tires we replaced were original tires, so they were about eight years old.

The rule of thumb on motorhome tires is 5 years, even if they still look good. Sometimes units are low mileage because the owners were uncomfortable driving after they bought the unit, they didn't have as much time to travel as they had hoped, or they were living in it full time. Check out the wear and tear on the inside...carpet, furniture,appliances, etc. if it was kept outside, check out the roof and ac units. You really need at least two ac units on anything over 30 ft. I'm not sure where Damon motorhomes fit in the quality level, but make sure you check everything out carefully. Motorhomes depreciate probably worse than cars...moral..make sure you like it, the layout, the amenities and the storage. (This lesson was learned the hard way) . If you buy a used unit from a dealer, they can usually find financing, maybe not always at the best interest rate but it could give you some choices.

We have a class a with three slides and we have plenty of room for adults, grand kids and dogs. We had to search for a unit that had a booth dinette that would turn into a bed, but they are around. Because we have two slides in the living area, we can also put a queen size air mattress on the floor to sleep more people. We looked at the bunk models, but my granddaughter is tall and the bunks looked a little short for her. I know this isn't the bed situation you are looking for, but it works out real well for our family. We had a class c before we bought this unit, but we like the extra room we have in the class a. For financing, you might contact Essex Credit. They specialize in financing rv's and boats. Good luck on your search.

I was doing a little more checking on Ponchatrain Landing (hoping for the Superbowl....Go Texans!!!) didn't check the price, but they have a shuttle to the French Quarter. Looks to me like they're on the West End on the Industrial Canal. We've only been there by boat, but it isn't too far to the French Quarter if you drive or take the bus.

I know this is a little late, but we have friends who stayed at "Ponchatrains Landing" in New Orleans and thought it was a good place to stay. Fountainbleu State Park ( which is beautiful) is close to New Orleans but I'm not sure if it suffered any damage during the last storm. Hope this helps.

We've stopped at a few campgrounds on our way to the Fort that wanted to charge us extra because we had our golf cart with us, even though we weren't going to unload. These campgrounds rented golf carts to their guests and expected to make money off any golf cart brought into their park. Something to think about, a lot of parks may be golf cart friendly but check to see if they're going to charge you extra if you bring your cart.

We can flat tow our Cadillac srx and our gmc Sierra 4 wheel drive truck.

It is fun to stir the "Lou" pot !! But, if we cause a brown out at Lou's house, he can come by and use our abundant fort electricity for his heating pad. I did see a grinch inflatable on eBay that kind of personifies Lou's current Christmas spirit.

Thank goodness I never said exactly what loop I was requesting( it isn't the 1200 or 1300)...I would hate to be banned to the tent sites forever and never get my perfect site again.

I've even downloaded all the new apps, no more picking up maps and entertainment schedules for us!!!

(I don't post a lot, but I do try to find time to read all the posts.)

I hate to disappoint Lou, but if we get the site we requested there's not a lot of room for decorations on the street side. But, if I request loop 1200 or 1300, and if I get the right site, I could decorate the front and the back of the site. HA! That should make Lou happy!

So ......it's going to be multiple inflatables. Christmas along with football, what could be better. Come by for a beer Lou, I missed the Drink around the world GG last year. Beer or tequila, what's your poison? But, we are going to be at the Food and Wine Festival on Sunday and Monday so come by after that.

We're going to be at the Fort November 11 - 18. Of course we have our Fort Fiend sign, several purple flamingos and our Houston Texans stuff, but.........should we put up Christmas or Thanksgiving decorations to go along with everything else?

Here's another one I've made. The boys all like the polo shirts better than regular Tee's.

Here are a few of the shirts I have been working on for our next trip. I've been using a combination of applique and embroidery.