Memorial Day Madness At The Fort

[AuburnJen 771]

Happy Birthday Nathen!

[Lou... 3,118]

I really wanted to stop by, and not to make excuses, but our little Buddy had a really bad week, looked terminal for a while, so we were preoccupied with Vet emergency hospitals late nights, etc.

I wouldn't have been good company anyways.

Nathen looks like a really good kid. Someone did something right.

And Amanda, what can I say?

[Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy~~ 9]

Enjoying your Trip thanks for sharing! Mason is really cute! Love the pictures of you son and the signs They do grow up fast. Does he still like going to Disney?

[stefa70 205]

I really wanted to stop by, and not to make excuses, but our little Buddy had a really bad week, looked terminal for a while, so we were preoccupied with Vet emergency hospitals late nights, etc.

I wouldn't have been good company anyways.

Nathen looks like a really good kid. Someone did something right.

And Amanda, what can I say?

Lou, I'm so happy you had a good excuse. I was feeling pretty neglected But I TOTALLY understand now. How is Buddy now? Hope he is feeling better. :heart:

We can always meet up next time!

Enjoying your Trip thanks for sharing! Mason is really cute! Love the pictures of you son and the signs They do grow up fast. Does he still like going to Disney?

Nathen LOVES Disney!! I doubt I will ever get rid of him when it comes to camping at the Fort. :laugh: I say that as a joke because last time he had to leave 1 day early, and I cried! He is most definitely a fiend at heart, he just doesn't post on the board.

Thanks for all the Birthday wishes everyone!

I promise first thing in the a.m. to get more TR up.

[YodaGirl 13]

Love the TR!

I haven't had TE pizza since 97...maybe even 89. I remember it tasting like cardboard and ketchup. Maybe I'll try it again. It did look good.

Love the pics of the mother-ship...err...the unique RV. You can tell that the guy spent a lot of time, money, and effort for the desired effect.

What a cute picture of your son on the sign from when he was little. Nothing better than celebrating your birthday at the Fort!

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Great trip report and even better pictures, thanks for posting.

[ajcjmom 8]

Great report and looking forward to more! :popcorn:

[BouncingTiggers 98]

Great trip report!!

Looks like your trip went better than JJ's Coca-Cola 600. :rofl2:

[~Kristina~ 10]

I love the report!! Where did you get the sign? I would love to do that for Ayden's 10th.

[thecplusplusguy 7]

Well. that makes four of us.

When I first saw the photos, I thought this vehicle had been on an extreme RV show that I had watched somewhere along the line.

But, when I looked at Stefa70's photos, I thought how is this thing an RV?

And, I never realized the guy was from Florida. I got the impression that the one on the show was from out west somewhere (maybe California?).

So, thecplusguy, does this guy live in Central Florida somewhere?

TCD

I don't remember exactly where, just that he lived in Florida. He lives somewhere that there is a big Finish population, I think they said. He spoke no English, another guy translated and told the stories.

Dan

[stefa70 205]

We've arrived at MK:

Everyone decides to go to Space Mt. first (by "everyone" I mean everyone, but me!) So while they go there, I sit and take in the sights:

After they came off Space Mt. we snaked around Fantasy Land figuring they would unleash us into Frontier land so we could hit the other mountains:

I think someone posted that they're getting ready to tear down the old skyway building?

Tom Sawyers island wasn't open yet:

And Splash Mountain was still having technical difficulties:

So......onward!

]

About this time, Trevor started looking a little worse for the wear. He said he wasn't feeling well. We went over to the fruit stand at Liberty Square and got him a gatorade and some fruit, found a bench and people watched while he replenished.

Unfortunately, he wasn't feeling any better, so we thought we should head back to camp.

The kids stayed behind and we hightailed it out of there. Thank God, a boat was waiting when we got to the dock and hopped right on.

We had an empty boat going back:

The backside of Discovery Island:

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

[stefa70 205]

After arriving back at camp, Trevor crawled up in bed and slept for an hour or so while I played brain games on my DS. The kids came back about an hour after we did saying it was too hot and crowded (the no-pressure of annual passes ) Trevor woke up feeling fine and decided he is getting too old for coasters, as he reminded me that the very same thing happened at Mickeys Christmas party last year.

So we thought it was a good time to go hunting for fiends. First stop, Tri-B's site, but no one was home. Next up, Fortwilderness Rick's where we met Rick, his wife and their little furball. No Regrets, who was right near Ricks, wasn't home either.

Back at the site, we had pulled pork sandwiches and drinks:

The "mountains" were extra blue!

After dinner, we all hopped in the cart, back on our hunting expedition. Tri-B was home, so I dragged them out of their MH and we all talked, and talked, and talked. So much, that my family left me there while they went to the tavern for drinks. Mason and Aiden played with sticks, while Aiden told me that he was coming back for Halloween and he was going to dress as Snarky and I was going to be a ghost. :heart:

They finally dragged me away from Aiden and we went for a ride so Mason could cool off. Back to camp to hang out, shower and bed! Amanda wanted to go to AK to see the baby gorilla, so that was our plan for Friday. Trevor and Nate said "Thanks but no thanks!" SO, girl trip it is!!!

[stefa70 205]

Love the TR!

I haven't had TE pizza since 97...maybe even 89. I remember it tasting like cardboard and ketchup. Maybe I'll try it again. It did look good.

Love the pics of the mother-ship...err...the unique RV. You can tell that the guy spent a lot of time, money, and effort for the desired effect.

What a cute picture of your son on the sign from when he was little. Nothing better than celebrating your birthday at the Fort!

Thanks Steph (wow that sounds weird ^-^ ) I would say give the pizza another chance, especially when your tired and too lazy to cook. I'm sure that's one reason why I enjoyed it as much as I did.

Great trip report and even better pictures, thanks for posting.

Thank YOU for reading along!

Great report and looking forward to more! :popcorn:

I have more, and a couple days of just Fort stuff. If I didn't have to work I could get this done faster! :argh:

Great trip report!!

Looks like your trip went better than JJ's Coca-Cola 600. :rofl2:

:nyd: OH, YOU WILL PAY!!!! But yes, if I had been at home watching that, I would have been much angrier! There's something about the Fort that makes even the worst situations easier to handle. After he blew his engine, maybe he should have siphoned out the rest of his gas for JR. :raspberry:

I love the report!! Where did you get the sign? I would love to do that for Ayden's 10th.

Thanks Kristina! I ordered the sign online at victorysign.com. Fairly easy to design and upload the picture and I received it about 4 days later.

[anolefan 8]

Loving your report!

I love this photo. If you haven't heard "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch or read his book, I highly recommend it. He worked for Disney for a time period.

Here is a little back story for you in case anyone does not know who he was. Very sad, but extremely inspiring.

http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm

Nathan looks the same today as he did as a toddler, I love it!

Keep it coming!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

More great pics, Stef. I don't do Space Mountain either, it gives me a headache everytime. Love the picture of you and Aiden and the pulled pork sandwiches look yummy :banana: Keep it coming girl :heart:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

S70-

You are doing a great job on this trip report!

Inquiring minds want to know: Did you make the pulled pork, or buy it pre-made?

If you made it, how about a recipe?

If it was pre-made, where did you get it, and was it good?

It sure looks good!

Loving your report!

I love this photo. If you haven't heard "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch or read his book, I highly recommend it. He worked for Disney for a time period.

Here is a little back story for you in case anyone does not know who he was. Very sad, but extremely inspiring.

http://www.thelastle...e.com/index.htm

Nathan looks the same today as he did as a toddler, I love it!

Keep it coming!

Tom-

Thanks for pointing that out- I don't remember seeing this sign before, but the name Randy Pausch seemed very familiar. I wasn't placing it. I read the Last Lecture a few years ago, and remember seeing the video of Randy before. Very inspiring!

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Loving your report!

I love this photo. If you haven't heard "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch or read his book, I highly recommend it. He worked for Disney for a time period.

Here is a little back story for you in case anyone does not know who he was. Very sad, but extremely inspiring.

http://www.thelastlecture.com/index.htm

Nathan looks the same today as he did as a toddler, I love it!

Keep it coming!

Thanks Tom! I do know the story of Randy Pausch, but never realized the connection, I just liked the sign!! I also didn't know he once worked at Disney. Geez, I'm learning more from you all than you are from this darned TR.

S70-

You are doing a great job on this trip report!

Inquiring minds want to know: Did you make the pulled pork, or buy it pre-made?

If you made it, how about a recipe?

If it was pre-made, where did you get it, and was it good?

It sure looks good!

TCD

TCD, my friend, you are in luck! Pulled pork sammies is a staple in my house. My boys love it, it's the one thing Jordan missed the most while in boot camp. I am more than happy to make it for them too, as it's the easiest thing I make.

1 pork tenderloin (you can use pork roast, but it's much fattier)

1 can of root beer

Dump into a crock pot and cook all day on low. Pull the meat out, as it literally falls apart. Use 2 forks to shred it as fine or course as you'd like. Dump the liquid out of the crock pot, put the meat back in with your favorite bbq sauce. (we like Sonny's sweet)

I buy the ready made bagged coleslaw in the produce section, and Kraft coleslaw dressing. (I make the coleslaw when I put the meat in, so it has time to soak up the dressing)

Pile it all on a bun and get busy!

I buy rolls from the deli as they are "tougher" and don't get soggy from the meat like regular hamburger buns. This trip I used ciabatta rolls and they were fantastic!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD, my friend, you are in luck! Pulled pork sammies is a staple in my house. My boys love it, it's the one thing Jordan missed the most while in boot camp. I am more than happy to make it for them too, as it's the easiest thing I make.

1 pork tenderloin (you can use pork roast, but it's much fattier)

1 can of root beer

Dump into a crock pot and cook all day on low. Pull the meat out, as it literally falls apart. Use 2 forks to shred it as fine or course as you'd like. Dump the liquid out of the crock pot, put the meat back in with your favorite bbq sauce. (we like Sonny's sweet)

I buy the ready made bagged coleslaw in the produce section, and Kraft coleslaw dressing. (I make the coleslaw when I put the meat in, so it has time to soak up the dressing)

Pile it all on a bun and get busy!

I buy rolls from the deli as they are "tougher" and don't get soggy from the meat like regular hamburger buns. This trip I used ciabatta rolls and they were fantastic!!

Thanks for the recipe. 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

[stefa70 205]

Thanks for the recipe. 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

Never tried OJ, but it probably has the same effect. Don't get me wrong, I love a good bone-in :) (sorry couldn't resist) but the tenderloin has VERY little fat on it.

[stacktester 78]

Never tried OJ, but it probably has the same effect. Don't get me wrong, I love a good bone-in :) (sorry couldn't resist) but the tenderloin has VERY little fat on it.

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

[campingpixi 11]

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

[stefa70 205]

Friday a.m. ~ Amanda and I get up and get ready to go to AK. We went straight to the safari ride as there was very little wait time.

Since it was right about 9:00, most of the animals were out, and some even in the road.

BTW.....Hippos smell bad!

On my last TR, a few of us discussed always getting the backside of the elephants. As you've just seen, that didn't happen this time! Instead I got Rhino butts:

You can just see the top of the male lion's head near the tree:

After the safari, we went in search of the baby gorilla. First we stopped for the meerkats.

One of the reasons why I love AK so much is that I'm not a big "ride" person, and I am not very patient when it comes to lines. AK gives you the opportunity to just stroll at your own pace looking at the animals. Every time is like a new experience, as the animals just "do their thing." I LOVE monkeys.....be it chimps, gorillas, orangutans........I just have a lot of monkey love! On our trip in March, Nathen & I saw the baby gorilla running all over. This time, him & his mom were pretty quiet.

On the other side of their enclosure a silver back was leaning against a rock, minding his business, until he noticed a crowd had gathered.

Then he decided to get up, and the whole crowd watched in amazement at what he did next. First he walked over to his bucket and stuffed some leaves into it.

He then picked it up with his mouth and carried it over to the stream.

He first laid the bucket down the wrong way, but quickly realized it was not collecting water. He turned it the right way, filled it with water (and leaves remember) and sat down for a nice cool drink.

The whole time the crowd was oohing and aahing over him, so he gave us this look:

Continuing on....................

[Just Whipperwhirl 24]

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

[Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo..Karla 77]

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

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

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

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