diane+ not THAT monte

Since we have such a long way to go, we need another update today, right?
 
We're still in Dublin.  DD is in that store trying to spend all off her graduation money, and I'm out on Grafton Street people watching.
 
A street performer came and set up shop.  This guy was pretty old, but he was pretty well dressed for a street performer.  Definitely classier than what you might see in Times Square, Key West of Bourbon Street:
 

 
The old dude did a little dancing, and didn't attract much attention:
 

 
There was more excitement over to my left, where a car tried to drive in to the pedestrian street:
 

 
That driver earned a TCD Real Man of Genius Award!
 
In the meantime, the old dude in the purple pants started to lean over:
 

 
 
Check out the Irish fitness nut smoking while he walks his bike.  There's a lot more public smoking in Europe than in the US.  I thought Dublin was bad.  But, then I went to Paris:
 

 
I'm sure there is some kind of trick to this, but that old guy in the purple pants sure could lean over far without falling:
 

 
Finally, the DD came out of the store, and we continued on our walk to our ultimate destination.  The Trinity College of Dublin (TCD):
 

 
The big attraction here is something called the Book of Kells.  It's a really, really, old book with elaborate illustrations accompanying the new testament gospels.   It costs a few euros to see the book, and you're not allowed to take photos.  As with all museums, there are a lot of fancy displays leading up to the main event.  This is a poster outside of the room where they keep the book, and shows what the illustrations in the book look like:
 

 
When we finally got to the glass case where two pages of the book were on display, I understood why there are no photos allowed.  They don't want people to be able to see what a ripoff all of this is and not come in here to see the two pages from the old book for themselves.  All I have to say is:  Big Whoop- I got to see two old pages from an old book.
 
After that, we got to see this recreation of Hogwarts they just finished:
 

 
Just kidding.  That's the old college reading room.  And those are real books.  I have to admit that I found this to be pretty cool.  And we were allowed to take non-flash photos in this room.
 
They had busts of all your favorite authors in here:
 

 
And posters full of all kinds of fun facts:
 

 
They had more marble busts in here than you could shake a sheleighly at:
 

 
After that exciting tour, we were back out on the campus.  Trinity College Dublin looks like it has the same issues with late 20th century architecture clashing with their classic buildings:
 

 
The campus looks a lot like a college campus you could find in the US:
 

 
Complete with the ugly modern "art:"
 

 
By this time, it was getting to be near lunchtime.  At least according to the clock.  Our interior clocks were pretty messed up.  DD wanted to search out a place where the boys from the band One Direction like to eat.  It's called Nando's.  We have since found out that they have these restaurants in the US in Maryland and Virginia.  If you get a chance to try it- I recommend it.  Very good stuff.
 
On the way to Nando's we passed a very inviting pub:
 

 
And some old church:
 

 

 
We found another statue.  I liked this one better than the modern art or the famine one:
 

 
That's Molly Mallone, in case you're wondering:
 

 
I don't know her story, or why she wore such little clothing.
 
We found Nando's right down the street from here.  We both ended up liking it a lot.
 
When we checked in to the hotel, our room wasn't ready.  By now, it would be.  So we decided to head back that way.
 
I don't know where this guy got the sand, or what he was trying to sculpt, but he gets to be in this report, because I didn't expect to see a sand sculpture in Dublin:
 

 
We are heading back to the arch into St. Stephen's Green:
 

 
These poor Dublin folks really must not get to see much sun.  They were everywhere around the park, just basking in it:
 

 
It turns out that rock thing we saw earlier was a monument to some other dead guy.  I can't read his name, but he died in 1915:
 

 
The waterfowl were really enjoying their designated area:
 

 

 
More folks enjoying the afternoon:
 

 
This building was called the Summer House.  I'm not sure what happens in it, but it was nice:
 

 
We headed out the same way we had come in earlier, past the famine and Wolfe Tone statues, and came out on the street.  Look at how that building across the way is covered by ivy- very pretty:
 

 
This restaurant was right around the corner from our hotel.  It's called Eddie Rocket's, and looks suspiciously like a Johnny Rocket's.  As best I can tell, they are not the same company:
 

 
Next up, we will see the hotel, and later we will head out to a pub for a Guinness.
 
TCD

Wow, what a trip.
 
How are they going to keep me down on the farm now that I've seen Paree?
 
Please make yourselves comfortable, as I will be sharing what ended up being a two week journey from Orlando, to Dublin, to London, to Paris, and then back to Orlando in time for the 24 hour summer kick-off event at WDW.  Our travels took us to Disneyland Paris, where we stayed two nights in their version of the Fort:  Davy Crockett Ranch.  But, we will get to that in due time.
 
It all started back on Tuesday May 12.
 
We had long ago encouraged our oldest daughter to take a trip to Europe.  But, the way things worked out is that she never had time to go while she was in school.  So, we agreed that she would go as soon as she graduated from Auburn this spring.  The whole TCD gang was in attendance on Saturday, May 9 to see her accept her Master's Degree.  Then, it was back to Florida to pack for the trip.  Just a dad and his daughter, out to see the world.  Mrs. TCD and the twins sat this one out.
 
I was in charge of planning the trip, and had done so for months.  I've never been to Europe before, so it was no easy task.  For flights, I used Google Flight to find the least expensive option to get us to Europe.  It ended up that the best deal for a direct flight was on Aer Lingus from Orlando to Dublin, which ended up being over $500 cheaper for two tickets from Tampa to London on a flight that required a connection.  So Orlando to Dublin it was.
 
It's a long way from Orlando to Dublin, and with the time zone changes, you can lose a lot of time flying.  I decided that we should fly overnight.  So, we left the USA on a Tuesday evening, and began our trip in Dublin on Wednesday morning, May 13.
 
It has been hot in Florida, and it looked like a typical summer evening as we waited to board our Shamrock decorated plane at MCO:
 

 
I never really thought about how far north Ireland is, or what route our flight would take.  But, the handy on board video screen showed us:
 

 
I have read mixed reviews about Aer Lingus, but we had an absolutely great flight.  We were on time, and they fed us twice.  There were all kinds of free movies and TV shows to watch, and in between all of that, we tried to catch a bit of sleep.  Before we knew it, we were flying over a very green landscape:
 

 
It was 9:35 am local time when we arrived in Dublin.  That's 5 hours ahead of the time when we left.  So, to us, it was 4:35 am ,and we were going on very little sleep.  This wasn't a problem for us, though, as we were excited to be there.
 
For our hotels, I relied heavily on the Tripadvisor website.  I liked how they rank the hotels in each city, and allow you to search for rooms by putting in price parameters.  Putting this trip together was like putting together a puzzle.  Dublin was not on the list of places my daughter wanted to visit, but since the flight brought us here, I decided that we should at least spend a day and night before heading off to London and Paris.  So, I ended up booking us a night in a place called Waterloo House.  Tripadvisor ranked it as the 22nd best hotel out of 174 hotels in Dublin.  And, we got a good deal on the price- just 129 Euros, which is around $140 a night- with a free full breakfast included.
 
I had thought about renting a car, but the hotel website told us that they were near a bus stop for a bus that runs from the airport.  I decided to use that, and it worked great.  We had to walk about a block to get to the hotel.  That was not a problem, because we were traveling with only carry on luggage.  I had read this tip from several travel experts, and first was skeptical that we could do it.  It ended up that we could, and I'm really glad we did.  We did a lot of moving around on this trip, and it was great to have just a small bad and backpack each to manage.  And, we didn't have to worry about our luggage getting lost, because it was always with us.
 
This is the Dublin airport- the terminal we were in is new and very nice:
 

 
Hey- they have articulated buses here just like WDW!:
 

 
What a lovely color scheme:
 

 
Since it is good to be TCD, we ended up with a beautiful sunny day to enjoy as we explored the city.  The hotel website told us that we were within walking distance to many of Dublin's famous sites, so we dropped our bags off at the hotel, and headed right on out to enjoy the day.
 
We hadn't walked very long at all when we came to a beautiful park called St. Stephen's Green.  We entered through a corner entrance marked with this statue:
 

 
Do you recognize that guy?
 
My neither.
 
Here's his name:
 

 
That's Wolfe Tone.
 
Do you know him?
 
He didn't live very long.
 
He was the leader of the Irish Revolution of 1798.  You will note that is also the year of his death.
 
Things didn't go so well for old Wolfe.
 
He was killed by the British while in prison.  But at least he got a statue out of the deal.
 
Just inside the park, we saw this statue, which commemorates the famine in Ireland:
 

 
Geez.  How about a statue of something fun?
 
Here's a map of the green.  The entrance we came in is there on the top right.  We're heading to the Grafton Street exit over there beneath that arch on the top left:
 

 
This is the park.  It was beautiful and very green.  And notice how everyone is dressed in the next few photos- it was probably only in the 50's that day:
 

 
They hadn't been getting a lot of sun here in Dublin, so everyone was out enjoying the day:
 

 
This is what they called a Waterfowl viewing area on the map, and those birds you see are the waterfowl:
 

 
Spring has come and gone where I live in Florida, but trees were still sprouting leaves here in Dublin:
 

 
Look at this nice stone bridge- it's way over 100 years old:
 

 
I liked how there was no rail to keep guests from accidentally walking in to the waterfowl viewing area.  I also couldn't help but notice the lack of personal injury attorney billboards and bus benches in the park:
 

 
Here's a bunch of filthy pigeons enjoying a free meal from a filthy pigeon guy:
 

 
They have rocks like this in the movie Brave- must be an Irish-Scottish thing, right?:
 

 
People were loving this weather, and so were we:
 

 
It didn't take us long to find the arch that we were looking for.  This arch says it was erected in honor of those who lost their lives in the African war of 1899-1900.  We know that as the second Boer War:
 

 
 
This is Grafton Street.  It's a pretty well known pedestrian shopping district in Dublin, with lots of famous stores.  You can see there's a Disney Store there on the left:
 

 
Over here, we have the Captain America Grill.  We passed.  We didn't fly all this way to eat there:
 

 
Of course we had to check out the Disney store.  The stuff they had for sale in there was the same as the stuff you'll find for sale in your local store:
 

 
Of course, there was a big Frozen display:
 

 
I thought this shot came out kind of cool:
 

 
Now we're back in the street:
 

 
I loved this big display of fresh flowers:
 

 

 
DD saw this store and needed to go in.  I agreed to stay outside and people watch:
 

 
It was 10:59 am local time when I took this photo.  This street sure was busy:
 

 
The busyness made for some good people watching.  I'll have some photos of that, including the recipient of the first TCD Real Man of Genius Award ever awarded on foreign soil.
 
TCD
 
 

Well after going back and forth with Disney reservations trying to drop our extra days, we were ready for our Memorial Day/24 hour Weekend to the Fort to begin.
 
But first, the PUP needed some prep work done.  So last weekend was getting it ready to go time!
 
First, new wheels and tires, cleaned and packed the bearings and put on new seals.
 
 

 
 
 
Made some add on steps to make it easier to get in and out.  The drop down from the floor to the original step was a doozy.  This cut it down to about 2 to 3 inches.  The ground step made it easier to get down from the new added on one.
 

 
Then a good scrubbing of the roof and a general washing.
 

 
The next day I sealed the roof with some mobile home roof coating I had left over from a project.  I was concerned that the aluminum roof may be getting some of those small holes that develop over time.
 

 
 
The rest of the week was finishing organizing, packing items into the PUP and storing what was going in the truck bed in our kitchen and screen room.
 
Finally Friday arrived.  Got up early and got the truck loaded. Later got the  PUP hooked up, and we headed out from Tampa about 11:30 after getting my granddaughter out of school early.
 

 
Traffic was good, we took our time and kept a steady speed of 55 on the way over. I was getting used to towing with the new truck.  This was a 4 door with an 8 instead of my older 2 door with a 6.  Averaged almost 19 mpg using Tow Mode  
 
We had a lot of various types and sizes of campers pass us. Each time we wondered if the check-in line was getting longer and longer at the Fort.
 
Saw a lot of Trooper action in that westbound long merge lane near the Mickey Ears power line.  A lot of people don’t realize that the speed limit there is only 50/55 and they treat it like it’s a interstate 70 mph lane.  State was making a lot of $$ that morning.
 
Got to the Fort about 12:45, and had 1 car in front of us finishing up.  All the lanes were open with 1 or 2 vehicles in each lane.
 
Yea, we got our favorite site in the 1500 loop.  Things are looking up!
 
Found it odd, the only thing the CM asked us was if we had our MB’s and how many parking passes.  Nothing about payment or setting a PIN #.
 
Is this because I did an on-line check in?
 
Also, didn’t the parking passes usually have your site # either printed or written on them?
 
Got to the site, and made a couple of attempts to back the PUP in.  I need more practice that’s for sure, but since it’s a hard surface, and the PUP’s total weight was about 1100, I dropped it in the road and pushed it into place.
 
Size matters, since the total length including the hitch is only about 9 feet, we can set up sideways on the driveway, and leave the sand for the tent and everything else.
 

 
While I was setting up the PUP, my wife and granddaughter set up the tent.
 
After the housing was in order we set up the cooking area.
 

 

 
Then it was time to relax under the trees with a nice breeze blowing and enjoy an adult beverage.
 
A few minutes later we got attacked by the dreaded yellow/three cornered flies.  They would come and go.  I was able to kill a lot before getting bit.  Note to self, pack a couple of fly swatters in the PUP. They hung around all weekend.  My ankles and feet looked like a connect the dot page by the time I got home. The others got a few bites, but not like mine.
 
My wife and granddaughter headed to the pool while I put some finishing touches on the site, hanging lights on the awning and in the front trees, putting up a clothes line, etc.
 
Our 3 daughters and son were going to be joining us later in the day.
 
Two of the girls and our other granddaughter were already over at the MK.  They said it wasn’t too crowded.
 
Our other daughter and son were heading over from Tampa after work.
 
More to come…

Getting off base from deposit problems (but who cares) I think for the most part Disney started losing it's Pixie Dust quite a few years ago.
 
I remember when my kids were growing up, the Disney Channel was a wholesome great place for the kids to watch Disney movies and cartoons.
 
Somewhere in between my kids growing up, and my grandkids coming along, it's turned into a heaping pile of crap.
 
Like MTV it veered off of it's original idea.
 
There are very few Disney movies or cartoons on it now.
 
There are tons of shows that have rich families with snarky kids ruling the roost.  The parents are dumb and clueless, the kids do what they want, spend what they want etc.  No matter what kind of trouble they get into there is always a hilarious way they get out of it without suffering any major consequences.
 
The parks and resorts (including the Fort) are being neglected and are getting run down and shabby looking.  They are overcrowded, and all they are doing is trying to separate your wallet from you at every turn.
 
They have let their core business model slowly die while constantly expanding into more and more ventures that are "not Disney".
 
ESPN, ABC, Marvel ,Star Wars, etc.
 
They all make them boatloads of $$$, but they are not Disney, and never will be.

After lunch, we headed out to meet Merida.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Next up was another ride on the Tea Cups.  I was happy to ride in a non-spinning cup with Mo and Yvonne.  Sarah went to ride with Jen, as Jen said she wanted to spin.  Sarah wasn’t expecting lessons on the best way to spin!  Jen takes this very seriously.
 

 

 
From there, we headed for Carousel of Progress, and then we met Stitch.
 

 

 

 
We watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade near the Hall of Presidents.  Afterwards, we found tables and chairs in air conditioning near outlets!  More learned Womenz said it used to be a shop.  It was definitely a welcome pit stop for some hot and tired Wild Womenz.  I recall some snacks, and Yvonne got me some ice water.  Thank you, Yvonne!!!
 

 
We got some great pictures taken in front of the castle.
 

 

 
Next, we decided to go meet Tinkerbell.
 

 

 

 
Then we headed to Epcot.  On our way in, we got a photopass picture.
 

 
On our way to France for slushies, we met Belle.
 

 

 
 
We found a cool topiary, so we got our picture taken.
 
  
 

 
Sarah took some pictures in China (or is that Japan?  I should know this!).
 

 

 
We decided to have dinner at Via Napoli.  
 

 

 
I am close to the photo limit, so I stop here.

Chris and I have been best friends for 42 years.  We met at work and have been inseparable ever since.  If I hadn't moved to another city when I was 4, we would have attended the same high school together.  But God in His wisdom brought us together anyway.
 
When Chris was a little girl, her grandmother made her a rag doll and asked her to guess the doll's name.  After several unsuccessful guesses, the grandmother finally told her the doll's name was Gwendolyn.  And then she went on to tell Chris that one day she would meet a friend whose name was also Gwendolyn.  The rest is history.
 
Anyway, Chris suffers from severe fibromyalgia and asthma (foreshadowing).  We were planning to attend WWW 2014 but her health prevented her from going on the trip, so I went alone.  I had a great time, but all the while I was wishing she could be there to share in the fun.
 
Her health improved, and we happily planned to attend WWW 2015.
 
Thursday, April 30
 
David and I left home a little after 4 am and met Chris at Carowinds about 6 am.  (Unfortunately we now live two hours apart.)  We transferred all my luggage to her SUV and set out on an adventure.  Dawn was just breaking.
 

 
This is Chris, my designated driver.  I hate to drive and she hates to be a passenger, so she drove the entire way.
 

 
Flat Snarky was happy to be riding along.
 

 
We cruised down 77 and soon were on 26.
 

 
Ya'ay, 95!
 

 
Let me say right now we don't travel like Mo and Nicole.  We are two old ladies who have to make frequent pit stops and also stop for meals.
 
We had a leisurely breakfast in Columbia.  A pit stop in Walterboro.  Refueled in Hardeeville, SC.
 
And then we arrived at this beautiful sight.
 

 
Snarky was so happy to be here!
 

 
We refueled again in Deland, FL, and soon arrived at I-4 after admiring the beautiful Florida clouds.  We rarely have clouds like this in NC.
 

 

 
We took 417 from Sanford to the Disney exit, and it was worth every penny!
 

 
And soon we arrived here.
 

 
And here.
 

 
And at 4:30 we arrived.
 

 
We were really tired but happy to be home.
 

 
Here's the party tent with Mo, Nicole, Jen, and Yvonne's pop-up from Kurt behind it, and in the back is Carol's tent with another canopy.
 

 
And here's Gretchen's hybrid next door. Chris and I really enjoyed camping with her.
 

 
And here's a picture of all the 2015 WW.  
 

                                (credit to Jen and CJ, who took the picture for us)
 
 
Sorry to stop this report here, but I forgot to charge my camera battery that night.  The next day's pictures are on Chris' camera, and it's going to be at least the first of the week before I can get them from her.

Happy Birthday ! Have a Mo Magical Day .

There's already been talk on some other threads about who is going, so I figured I'd start an official thread. We're excited to finally go!
Pezheadval 10/15-11/15
TnBob 10/23-11/8 (premium, link)
LornaDuck 10/23-11/8 (premium, link)
mouseketab... Carol 10/23-11/8 (premium; link)
BradyBzLyn... Mo 10/23-11/13 (preferred pet)
BeckersDadJohn 10/23- 11/1 (premium; link)
Wicked… Tracy & Ronnie 10/24-11/2
Total Joker... TJ 10/24-11/7
Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy 10/25-11/3 (premium)
Sheraugh & Campinghound 10/25-11/8
Diane+ Not that Monte 10/25-11/13
DinDavie 10/26-11/2
CCIntrigue... Gwen 10/26-11/23 (premium pet)
BigTom 10/27-11/5
Camp Mimi (Missy) 10/28-10/30
Specularius 10/28-11/1
Beckers 1/28-11/1 (premium; link)
GaDawgFan... Kelly 10/28-11/1 (premium; link)
Specularius 10/28-11/1 (premium)
TwiceBlessed... Nacole 10/28-11/15 (preferred)
AuburnJen 10/29-11/1
Katman... Jason 10/29-11/4
Family of Bears 10/29-11/2
Cortezcapt... Derek 10/29-11/2 (premium)
Travisma 10/29-11/2 (partial)
NVWSSV 10/29-11/04
Helmsey... Todd 10/29-11/7 (premium)
wdwpoohbear... Jennifer 10/30-11/3
Buckeye Fort Family 10/30-11/9 (premium)
Bouncing Tiggers... Steve 10/30 - 11/21
Parrothead7368 Norm 10/31-11/8
TurkeyPants... Nicole 11/1-11/14
McMonsters... Kelly 11/5-11/9
Stockboys ???
Disneylitch... Debbie Dates not decided
The GRANDEST of gatherings will be held at Lorna's site to celebrate her BIG birthday on 10/30!!! All Fiends better be there or else are welcome!
Party time is 6:00 or earlier if you stalk them.
Food:
Special cups for the first 30 guests- GaDawgFan
Cocktail meatballs and smokies- GaDawgFan
Lobster Mac- Mo

I CAN'T WAIT just a reminder (which I will keep doing until we get there)
BIG PARTY (GRAND GATHERING) MY SITE THE 30th
please don't ask me the time (most of you know me will enough LOL)

Best thing a new Fiend can do .

Hey , the water parade is a WDW classic . The best viewing is from the dock at the Fort (of course ) .

All of the contributors of this EPIC thread are to be commended for going above and beyond . It is about a three hour read at this point . Thanks one and all.

Gee ,Lou we need all the HAPPY drivers we can get , don't quit .

Thanks to all for making us feel welcome , we are happy with all our new friends ,er , fiends . Glad you  all got a chuckle , and how much will it cost me to make that video disappear ?