Memorial Day Madness At The Fort

[stefa70 205]

Amanda and I were both getting hungry so we grabbed a couple snacks to share, and sat down to watch an African band:

This guy brought the girls out first, which was cute. Then he brought the boys out, and we had a good time laughing at the lack of rhythm displayed. The band guy had too much rhythm, if you catch my drift, he was really shaking what his momma gave him. I now know why Disney makes them wear a loin cloth OVER the pants they wear! :holysheep:

Nate and I missed most of Asia on our last visit, so it was on my list for this one.

After Asia, we wandered over to Dino land. Primeval Whirl is still shut down. Now, remember the snack we had back in Africa? I didn't drink even half of my sprite, so I stuck it in my backpack. Then we decided to ride Dinosaur. For those of you who have rode Dinosaur, know that it's a VERY bumpy, jerky ride. Upon exiting, I realize the back of my shirt is wet, and something is running down my leg! :siren: I guess the ride was rough enough to cause my sprite to fizz up and spill, all in my backpack. So while I sit on a bench, emptying my bag and all it's contents, trying to dry everything and get some of the sticky off of my leg....it starts raining!! We knew that it was supposed to storm later in the afternoon so we thought we'd make our way to the bus before we got caught in a downpour.

Back at the fort, Nate & Amanda decide to go out to dinner, and Trevor and I decided it was Happy Hour! :doublebeer:

After 3 cocktails on a stomach of 1/2 a pretzel and a couple pieces of fruit, ole' Stef was one happy camper! The kids were texting me from Joe's Crab Shack, and I later found out the dangers of drunk texting. I was missing a few letters, and not making a whole bunch of sense. Of course the kids thought it was hysterical!

It did POUR buckets of rain later that evening, so we were stuck at camp. With my park days out of the way, I've got nothing but Fort for you coming up!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

The gorilla was amazing, you sure got your money's worth that day. Except for the Sprite incedent it sounds like you and Amanda had a great day :banana:

I must of been texting you before you had your last cocktail, you were still making sense :rofl2:

[stefa70 205]

I wonder why he put the leaves in it - its like he was making his morning tea.

Whip, it was so crazy how human-like he was. You could see how well thought out everything he did was. I guess the leaves flavored the boring water.

Love the TR....we left this morning....Waaaaaa!

BTW....nice pics...what camera are you using? :rofl2:

I thought about you guys this morning, knowing you were headed home. Hope you have a safe trip. Loved meeting you all and hanging together on Sunday. Mason slept hard for about an hour after Aiden left. ;D Can't wait to see you guys on Halloween! :banana:

I have a great little camera that a sweet lady recommended to me! :heart:

Wow! You did see a lot of animals on your safari ride.

We often hit AK for rope drop, but we always have to go to Expedition Everest first. Then Dinosaur. We never make it to the Safari until later in the day. By then, the animals are scarce.

I didn't know that there was a baby gorilla. We haven't been down any of the trails in a while. I'll put that on my to do list now.

Looking forward to more!

TCD

You will have to change up your itinerary and hit the safari first thing. This was actually the first time seeing the lions in a long time.

The baby gorilla is adorable, even better when he's active! Last trip, he was running back and forth between the glass side and the open bridge side & terrorizing his mom. Go see him before he grows up!! YES, that was an order! :popo:

I must of been texting you before you had your last cocktail, you were still making sense :rofl2:

:whew: Glad to hear it! That was the night you texted me Tiggers site #, and I said I would go check it out tomorrow. Not the best time for fiend meets! :laugh:

[stefa70 205]

What a frickin............ nevermind :o

Gee, I don't know how I missed these two replies. I guess I'm just used to passing over anything stacktester posts.

If you can't say anything nice, then stay the heck out of my TR!

wow thats a great report and I love the pics!! Looks like you had a blast... I can't wait to go now!!

Thanks pixi, we did have a great time! I have some "JJ stuff" pictures coming up in my next post.

[campingpixi 11]

woo hoo great pics!! can't wait to see the jj stuff!!

[liv luvs disney 2]

Where do I start?

I want to snuggle up with Mason. :heart:

Happy belated birthday to Nathen. I don't think I looked that young at 21. He's a doll!

You weren't kidding about being short. Okay, so I am taller than you. I'm glad I finally got to put a face with your cute little self! :hugs2:

Your pics are amazing and your writing is fantastic. :yourock: So, what are you waiting on? Carry on! :suspense:

[dngtrumps 0]

Loving your trip report and photos! From one Jimmie Johnson fan to another, expect fans of other drivers to give you grief but who else has WON FIVE CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS??? :banana: :banana:

[stefa70 205]

Where do I start?

I want to snuggle up with Mason. :heart:

Happy belated birthday to Nathen. I don't think I looked that young at 21. He's a doll!

You weren't kidding about being short. Okay, so I am taller than you. I'm glad I finally got to put a face with your cute little self! :hugs2:

Your pics are amazing and your writing is fantastic. :yourock: So, what are you waiting on? Carry on! :suspense:

Thanks Liv!You may snuggle with Mason anytime, if you don't mind hair in your mouth, in your nose, on your clothes. He has crazy hair for a golden retriever. ;D

I am all of 4'10" and probably shrinking with each birthday!

Loving your trip report and photos! From one Jimmie Johnson fan to another, expect fans of other drivers to give you grief but who else has WON FIVE CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIPS??? :banana: :banana:

Another #48 fan!! :banana: Where have you been hiding?!?! Watch out for that stacktester character, he has anger issues with Jimmie or his fans! :rofl2:

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Catching up ... GREAT trip report and awesome pics, Stef!

I agree about going to see the baby gorilla. We watched him for almost 40 minutes in November - I could have watched him all day. So cool to see "gorilla tea" being made. :)

On the TE pizza... we always order it "well done" and it comes cooked nicely, crisp on the bottom and not doughy. Oh, and DH says it's even better warmed up on the grill the next morning with a fried egg on top!

Doodle... no AM EMH here either - I'm on vacation! But we'll make a 2am MK PM EMH any time.

Lou - hope Buddy is OK! Please check in and give us an update.

[LONE-STAR 370]

:popcorn:

[beccaewert 10]

great trip report!....I'm counting down,...I'm there in 5 days!

[Discamper 394]

Stef have I missed your weekend pool updates W/pics?

[NoRegrets…BucketListTour 11]

Steph…sorry we missed you…and I had to eat your peach cobbler after we left on Friday….

enjoying your trip report….

[Lou... 3,118]

Lou - hope Buddy is OK! Please check in and give us an update.

Thanks for asking.

He's home and appears to have gotten over the hump. He's still on a couple of Meds though.

He'll be going back to the Vets sometime this week for another test. They think, but don't know for sure, that it was some sort of stomach infection.

We were very worried because at one point he started throwing up small amounts of blood. Luckly it was because of the severe throwing up process and not something more serious.

He's eating well, very playful, and trying to get to those neighborhood cats again.

[LORNADUCK 261]

Thanks for asking.

He's home and appears to have gotten over the hump. He's still on a couple of Meds though.

He'll be going back to the Vets sometime this week for another test. They think, but don't know for sure, that it was some sort of stomach infection.

We were very worried because at one point he started throwing up small amounts of blood. Luckly it was because of the severe throwing up process and not something more serious.

He's eating well, very playful, and trying to get to those neighborhood cats again.

Lou I am sorry I forgot to ask how he was doing, glad it is better and hope he is on the mend :heart:

[Otter Spotter aka Debbie 58]

Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce

The Sauce is Boss!!

(I use the sweet & spicy)

I use Mojo Criollo and lots of gahlic. 1st meal is pork over black beans & rice, 2nd meal is pulled pork with Ray's.

Never thought about root beer or orange juice. They both sound good! I typically use a pork tenderloin roast but if there is a good sale on another type of pork roast, I'll purchase the cheaper one. Pork! The other white meat!

[stefa70 205]

Catching up ... GREAT trip report and awesome pics, Stef!

I agree about going to see the baby gorilla. We watched him for almost 40 minutes in November - I could have watched him all day. So cool to see "gorilla tea" being made. :)

On the TE pizza... we always order it "well done" and it comes cooked nicely, crisp on the bottom and not doughy. Oh, and DH says it's even better warmed up on the grill the next morning with a fried egg on top!

Doodle... no AM EMH here either - I'm on vacation! But we'll make a 2am MK PM EMH any time.

Lou - hope Buddy is OK! Please check in and give us an update.

Oooh, asking for well done is a good idea. If I had only one complaint, it was that I like my crust a little crispier!

The whole warmed up on the grill with an egg sounds strange, but I'm up for anything that's food related!

great trip report!....I'm counting down,...I'm there in 5 days!

Thanks Becca! Have a great time, wish I was going back so soon. Even 5 days wasn't enough.

Stef have I missed your weekend pool updates W/pics?

No, you have not missed it! Was that a hint? ;D That's next on my agenda. I'm going to put all the fort pics in one post. (or maybe more than one since there is a 30 pic limit)

Steph…sorry we missed you…and I had to eat your peach cobbler after we left on Friday….

enjoying your trip report….

Oh No, I'm so sorry that you had to eat my portion of peach cobbler! :user2552: Everyone said it was delicious! We came by twice but no one was home. I guess another trip is in order, and more cobbler!!!!

Thanks for asking.

He's home and appears to have gotten over the hump. He's still on a couple of Meds though.

He'll be going back to the Vets sometime this week for another test. They think, but don't know for sure, that it was some sort of stomach infection.

We were very worried because at one point he started throwing up small amounts of blood. Luckly it was because of the severe throwing up process and not something more serious.

He's eating well, very playful, and trying to get to those neighborhood cats again.

Lou, so happy to hear Buddy is feeling better! I hate it when the babies are sick.

[Lou... 3,118]

I make a mean pulled pork myself, but I use orange juice instead of the root beer and Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce (supposedly it has no high fructose corn syrup). I have always used a bone-in Boston Butt Roast. I think I will try a tenderloin next time.TCD

I'm expecting an invite next time you're at the Fort and making up a batch.

Sweet Baby Rays, that could be the Tampa Bay Rays new name. Sounds better than that just Rays?

[stefa70 205]

Saturday & Sunday were going to be "lounge around the fort day" No schedule, no plans! That is exactly what we did, so I'm going to put all the fort stuff in this post.

Saturday was the first day that we actually smelled smoke, though it turned out to be a different fire than the fort fire. No knowing this at that time, we rode down by the group tent camping area to see what was going on.

You can see that they were still running big sprinklers to keep the fire under control.

You can see the hoses were run all the way down to the fire hydrant up by the 2000 loop.

I told you that we were in site 552. this is our site from behind:

Through the trees we could see the dog park:

We had GREAT neighbors:

Why were they great? Check out their camp chairs:

Group tent camping:

Cabins:

Down at the beach:

Standing on the beach, looking through the trees at the playground:

Settlement Trading Post:

Mason has his own folding bed, but never lays in it unless it's cold. Saturday morning (after the rains from the night before) EVERYTHING, including our outdoor carpet was soaked, so he chose to be high & dry:

Riding through the 1700's (Wagon Wheel Loop)

Riding back out of Wagon Wheel:

Bridge to the pool:

Main road coming into the campground:

Mason napping in the A/C with a stray balloon:

Continuing.................

[stefa70 205]

Amanda & I did some exploring down at the settlement:

R.I.P. River Country:

You can still see the "rocks" above the ugly green barrier:

This field in front of TCD ranch was one of the few areas that was nice & green. Hot temps and very little rain, has Florida pretty brown:

Meadow Trading Post:

My "Superstar"

Meadows from the back:

From the campfire area:

The fire rings are new since I had seen them last:

Bridge from 600 loop to campfire:

Looking for lunch:

Bridge from pool area to Meadow Trading post:

Saturday afternoon the kids went to Bass Pro, so Trevor and I made our way to the tavern, and then to the beach. We found some chairs in the shade and kicked back. It was a beautiful day with a gorgeous view of the lake. It's hard to imagine being in the middle of Disney World with such a peaceful scene. I found myself watching the exhausted, sweaty people getting off the boats from MK, wondering if they ever take the time to relax while there.

Daquiri for me:

Beer for Trev:

Water Po Po's:

Continuing..............

[stefa70 205]

baby duck & family:

The kids came back from Bass Pro and came looking for us.......There's NO escaping! :laugh:

Of course, they wanted food. After a couple of daquiri's, this was my idea of dinner:

It was delicious as usual. The fiends are not the only ones who enjoy a good GAG though:

Now for the pool!

These first pics were taken on Friday. Doesn't look too bad:

I went back to check on Saturday afternoon and this should have been my first clue on how many people were there. The golf cart parking area by the campfire was FULL, all the way down the golf cart road behind the pool was FULL. And they were "creeping" out and beyond those areas:

Up by the tennis courts:

Beside the bike barn:

Didn't look bad from this view:

Oh wait, check out the slide:

There was no way I was going to try and find a parking space and walk in there, so we went out to the main road for some shots:

Literally all you could see was heads! The pavilions were all being used. Were they resort guests? Were they locals freeloading? Hard to say. I heard no mention of anyone being asked to show KTTK cards, and I wasn't asked on Friday when I walked in to take pictures, so who knows. The kids went over to Wilderness Lodge, went to the pool bar and were stopped immediately and asked if they were guests. I highly doubt we had that kind of "security"

I will try to get this done today. I have a few more pics from Sunday. I will also tell you why I know they were not too concerned about letting guests in the front gate even though it was a holiday.......................

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Great report!! LOVE the pulled pork and GAG pics! I too will have to try your pork recipe...I always do a butt on the smoker and it's such a production. Would love an easier, lower fat recipe to try sometime.

The pool pics are crazy. No way I'd brave that crowd either.

[stacktester 78]

Jimmie Johnson sucks and so does your neighbor. Oh how I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, Jimmie sucks, oh yes he does, he cheats every week and Chad sucks too.

[Discamper 394]

I soak and cook our pork in Dr. Peper Thank you for the pool update I guess the local crack down was just hopeful thinking

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

S70- I am continuing to enjoy your report very much- I love all of the Fort photos, especially the GAG photos. I just hope Rocky doesn't see that Mason gets some chicken from the GAG, or it's going to be all over for me the next time he is at the Fort.

On the TE pizza... we always order it "well done" and it comes cooked nicely, crisp on the bottom and not doughy. Oh, and DH says it's even better warmed up on the grill the next morning with a fried egg on top!.

Hi Monique! For future reference, about what time is the pizza and fried egg dish prepared? I may need to check this out.

The Sauce is Boss!!

(I use the sweet & spicy)

I use Mojo Criollo and lots of gahlic. 1st meal is pork over black beans & rice, 2nd meal is pulled pork with Ray's.

Never thought about root beer or orange juice. They both sound good! I typically use a pork tenderloin roast but if there is a good sale on another type of pork roast, I'll purchase the cheaper one. Pork! The other white meat!

Deb- I love that idea. There is a Cuban restaurant (Gordo's for those of you familiar with Tallahassee) that my FSU DD always likes to visit when we are in Tallahassee. They serve a great pork dish with black beans and rice. It sounds like your recipe is similar to this dish. I may need to give it a try.

I also like the sweet and spicy from Ray's.

Hey, let me know the next time you will be at the Fort and making some pulled pork. I'll stop by for a sample.

I'm expecting an invite next time you're at the Fort and making up a batch.

Sweet Baby Rays, that could be the Tampa Bay Rays new name. Sounds better than that just Rays?

Come on, Lou, stop hatin' on the Rays!

Great report!! LOVE the pulled pork and GAG pics! I too will have to try your pork recipe...I always do a butt on the smoker and it's such a production. Would love an easier, lower fat recipe to try sometime.

The pool pics are crazy. No way I'd brave that crowd either.

Dave- Definitely try the pulled pork in the crock pot- it is ridiculously easy.

And, I agree with the pool. That is the worst that I have seen it. And, I was there on July 4th last year.

TCD