DaveInTN's Christmas 2012 Extravaganza (AKA 700 Photos Of Anna and Food)

[Beckers 1,136]

I'll take this one.

Here's a good photo of the bear when the water is higher. Can you see how it looks like a bear swimming in the water going after that stick? :

In case you can't, here's an annotated version of the photo pointing out the bear's features:

Can you see the bear now?

TCD

I can see it! I can see it! Thanks TCD!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Loving your TR. Christmas morning pics are great!

Never heard of Elf on the Shelf, so I googled it. Just finished watching the video by the creator. What a great, fun tradition!

We have enjoyed it...although it can be a bit of pressure on the parents to make sure you move the Elf, and to make sure you don't touch it when the kids are around. But now that we have older girls, they actually take care of that for us and they get a kick out of it.

okay, I'm right there with your mom, I can't see the bear. Never can, if someone could be so kind to bust out some editing tools and drawl a face or something on it for me?!!?

I'll take this one.

Here's a good photo of the bear when the water is higher. Can you see how it looks like a bear swimming in the water going after that stick? :

In case you can't, here's an annotated version of the photo pointing out the bear's features:

Can you see the bear now?

TCD

Thank you TCD. That's actually the clearest pic I've ever seen of the bear.

Well, Dave, I was away from the computer all weekend, and I come back to find that I am way, way behind on this report.

Great job.

Your best Trip Report ever!

And that's saying something.

I loved:

-Gwens videos!

-Anna riding the pony, and Stella being a great big sister!

-Free cookies and cider!

-Donald!

-Santa!

-Tinker-Bill (well, I really don't like him, but I loved the discussion about him, especially how Lou tries to defend him).

-The Big Red Wagon (I didn't get a chance to see it in person).

-The Christmas Story!

-Crock Pot Lasagna! (I am totally making that the next time we camp!).

OK, I think that's it.

But, I'm sure I missed something.

This is a great report!

TCD

Thanks! Glad you are reading, and more should be coming up later, including a very special Christmas gift I received later in the week.

Dave, love the gift of the scotch glass. That is very sweet. Your parents seem to be really great. We did the same thing a few days later with my parents, show them around and spent some good quality time for 24 hours. I owe my parents my love of the fort, they raised me pop up camping there. :)

My parents brought me to the Fort once as a kid, and it was a very formative thing for me. In fact, it was for Christmas, in 1977. I still remember it.

:heart: What a beautiful way to spend Christmas. I used to think I'd never want to be away from home on Christmas Day but your TR is changing my mind about that.

It was a great day! But like I've said before, it was a one time thing for us. I want to be back home next Christmas.

I just love it when Harold TCD busts out the purple crayon!

:bravo:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Wait. Did you just call me (and 5 others) a knucklehead?

Well, this is all I have to say about that: :raspberry2:

And I will be reconsidering my pie offerings in the future!

Good for you, standing up for yourself. Don't let him bully you.

I have carefully examined the picture and have had it analyzed by my friends at CSI. The conclusion is that Lou has some gender identification issues. Tink is a dude.

I have to concur with you. Lou is protesting a bit much, I think. Is it possible that Lou is moonlighting at Tink, and he's afraid we are on to him?

I so wish to see the water level back at that point. Bear Rock is not Bear Rock high and dry like it is now.

Same here.

It's not the first time and I suspect not the last time.

Ditto!

You got me. I'll take you off the knucklehead list...........for now.

You are so easily bought with pie.

I can see it! I can see it! Thanks TCD!!

Glad that is settled.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

That really is the best picture of bear rock.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Just a quick update to wrap up the rest of our Christmas Day, primarily comprised of Anna pics.

I did warn you in the title of this report....that there are 700 pictures of Anna and food. And we haven't even scratched the surface yet.

Are you ready for some pictures of Anna sucking her toe?

Well too bad. I'm posting them anyways.

When we left the Poly, we monorailed it to the MK, and from there caught the boat back to the Fort. On the way, I snapped some interesting pictures.

This first one is the MK ferry boat through the monorail window, with abomination on top. I call it "Ferry Boat Through Monorail Window With Abomination on Top".

I have no idea why I took this picture. Is there anything remotely interesting about it?

I'm sorry...but these things are still cool looking.

Sorry kids! But we're not going in there today...

Here comes our boat!

You can see in this picture that Christmas day was overcast and breezy.

Have a freaking bird.

We settled in for the long boat ride back to the Fort.

Anna was sitting in her stroller, and at this point started entertaining herself as only Anna can do.

At this point, she thought her toe looked tasty.

Is that enough Anna pictures for now? :rofl2:

Probably so.

So let's move on. Someone was doing some Christmas Day parasailing on Bay Lake.

Another mandatory picture of the old shipwreck.

We got back to the Fort and arrived at the campsite to the smells of ham and lasagna. Oh my!

We poured some drinks and sat a bit while I threw together a green bean casserole. We had some microwaved potatoes too, and some rolls. My Mom brought wine, and we had to borrow a corkscrew from Feisty to get it open! But opened it was, and we enjoyed it.

Dinner was very nice, relaxing and tasty. I poured myself some of my new scotch in Tutu's glass, and between the scotch, the wine and all the food, I never picked up the camera again until later that evening. :rofl3:

Let me just tell you, if you've never done ham in a crock pot before...you should give it a try. It's the easiest thing in the world too. Just a semi boneless ham and 2 cups of brown sugar. Put about 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar spread on the bottom of the crockpot, put the ham in and spread the rest of the brown sugar over the ham. Cover and cook on low 8 hours. It literally falls apart, and toward the end of cooking I like to shread the meat a bit so it gets down into that bubbly brown sugar and ham juice mixture. Awesome stuff!

Anyways, after we all ate till we could eat no more, plus had pies my parents had brought, Mom and Dad packed up and headed back to the Villages. That left us with our evening to roam around a bit.

We headed back to the porch for a while, and they were giving away cookies and cider again!!

FOR FREE!!!!

I absolutely LOVE the instrumental Christmas music they play at the Fort during the holidays. I could sit on the porch and listen to that music for hours.

That's all the pictures I have of Christmas. If my memory serves me correctly, we went back to the trailer to get the kids settled in, and INC and I did some looping. One thing we found on this trip, is that when we went looping most evenings there were very few people out and about. The weather was just too chilly for that. But we typically stopped at the Meadows to make ourselves some mochas.....half hot chocolate and half coffee. Throw a couple of creamers in and you've got yourself a nice treat for a cold evening. We'd loop around the Fort enjoying our beverage many evenings before turning in for a sound night's rest.

So once again, Merry Christmas from the Fort!

Coming up....Is This The Best They Can Do??

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, talk about an emotional rollercoaster! Your latest update had it all!

That "Ferry Boat Through Monorail Window With Abomination on Top" photo got me good and mad.

But, then the Anna sucking her toe photos calmed me right down.

Are there any Dave sucking his toe photos?

Your Christmas dinner sounds like it was great!

And more free cookies?

No wonder the rates keep going up!

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

The Anna pics were awesome!!!!! The entire day looked awesome!!!!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

APNA has been satisfied with it's Anna dose for page 11. But Stella has been missing.....

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

The weather was just too chilly for that.

What, a few sweatshirts at Christmas? You should have been there at Halloween! It was absolutely freezing then!

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Perhaps the Title was " Monorail lever puller trying to escape and wishing he could drive a bus?" :rotfl6:

I love the Christmas pictures. It looks like a great time. I would love to do this and be at the Fort for Christmas or even Thanksgiving, yet I know it is next to impossible. I am not sure how it happened, but over the last few years after my parents passed away, and my wife's side of the family has gotten older, we have become the destination house for the Holidays. We had 13 people for Thanksgiving and 21 for Christmas. Huge feast, lots of work, and in the end it is always worth it... :cheers:

[stefa70 205]

After coming home from the Fort, this was a nice surprise! Love your reports, though it makes it hard to compete for the rest of us. Your family is so darn cute.

Sorry that you've been in a funk. Hope things are looking up. I wish I could have kept our Fort dates to coincide with yours, but I had to work around Jordan's schedule.

Without commenting on everything, here's a couple things that stood out.

The cucumber salad is my favorite thing at WL!! Delicious. I could eat a plate full of just that.

Stellas videos are amazing!! Does she want to get into film making or is it just for fun?

Trevor gets ticked at me when I suck my toes while riding the boat. Party pooper.

Great job so far!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Wow, talk about an emotional rollercoaster! Your latest update had it all!

That "Ferry Boat Through Monorail Window With Abomination on Top" photo got me good and mad.

But, then the Anna sucking her toe photos calmed me right down.

Are there any Dave sucking his toe photos?

Your Christmas dinner sounds like it was great!

And more free cookies?

No wonder the rates keep going up!

TCD

Sorry to say that I can't reach my mouth with my toes. Not that I've tried.

The Anna pics were awesome!!!!! The entire day looked awesome!!!!

It was a good day! Thanks Carol!

APNA has been satisfied with it's Anna dose for page 11. But Stella has been missing.....

Stella has plenty of pics coming up.

What, a few sweatshirts at Christmas? You should have been there at Halloween! It was absolutely freezing then!

According to almanac.com, the coldest low temp during Halloween week in Orlando was 48. There were 3 nights during Christmas week where the temps dropped into the 30's. :raspberry:

Perhaps the Title was " Monorail lever puller trying to escape and wishing he could drive a bus?" :rotfl6:

I love the Christmas pictures. It looks like a great time. I would love to do this and be at the Fort for Christmas or even Thanksgiving, yet I know it is next to impossible. I am not sure how it happened, but over the last few years after my parents passed away, and my wife's side of the family has gotten older, we have become the destination house for the Holidays. We had 13 people for Thanksgiving and 21 for Christmas. Huge feast, lots of work, and in the end it is always worth it... :cheers:

I think your title is perfect. And your Christmas celebrations sounds perfect too...lots of family.

After coming home from the Fort, this was a nice surprise! Love your reports, though it makes it hard to compete for the rest of us. Your family is so darn cute.

Sorry that you've been in a funk. Hope things are looking up. I wish I could have kept our Fort dates to coincide with yours, but I had to work around Jordan's schedule.

Without commenting on everything, here's a couple things that stood out.

The cucumber salad is my favorite thing at WL!! Delicious. I could eat a plate full of just that.

Stellas videos are amazing!! Does she want to get into film making or is it just for fun?

Trevor gets ticked at me when I suck my toes while riding the boat. Party pooper.

Great job so far!!

I'm sorry to have missed you too...maybe someday we'll be there at the same time and can go to the WL for a plate full of cucumber salad.

Gwen is the film maker...I have no idea what her ultimate plans are. But she sure is into it now!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Love the anna/toe pics!

Free stuff again! That must have been nice.

Late evening looping with mocha concoctions.....very nice!

[ftwildernessguy 778]

No camper, and I mean NO CAMPER should be without a corkscrew. Even those of us who travel with box wine have a corkscrew.

As far as sucking toes, you know you would if you could.

[kampfirekim 260]

Ahhhhh.... the Days of Wine and Ham.... awesome! ;D

[CKCK 45]

If I had a dime for every toe sucking pic on a boat that I've taken...

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Love the Anna pics!! :heartsmiley:

...and all the other pics too.

Well except maybe the "Ferry Boat Through Monorail Window With Abomination on Top."

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Love the anna/toe pics!

Free stuff again! That must have been nice.

Late evening looping with mocha concoctions.....very nice!

Mocha concoctions....I like it!

No camper, and I mean NO CAMPER should be without a corkscrew. Even those of us who travel with box wine have a corkscrew.

As far as sucking toes, you know you would if you could.

I can honestly say this is the first bottle of wine we've opened while camping since the last time we camped with my parents at the Fort several years ago.

And as far as the toe sucking....no comment.

Ahhhhh.... the Days of Wine and Ham.... awesome! ;D

Sounds like a movie title. Maybe Gwen could make that as her first blockbuster.

If I had a dime for every toe sucking pic on a boat that I've taken...

I hear you.

Love the Anna pics!! :heartsmiley:

...and all the other pics too.

Well except maybe the "Ferry Boat Through Monorail Window With Abomination on Top."

That pic is just sad, huh?

[Lou... 3,118]

No camper, and I mean NO CAMPER should be without a corkscrew. Even those of us who travel with box wine have a corkscrew.

You finally said something I can relate to, box wine.

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

For Unto You Is Born This Day

My parents know me well, and gave me some Glenmorangie scotch.

What I didn't get a picture of, and meant more to me than the scotch, is that my Mom gave me my grandmother's scotch glass. Tutu, as we called her, was a scotch drinker going way back, and always drank from the same glass. She passed away 7 years ago, but now I have her glass to use and cherish.

What Am I, A Drunk??

INC gave me...

Now I'll have something to do some cold winter weekend. Make beer! Y'all have made it sound intriguing on the beer thread, so starting out with a kit should let me know whether I like it or not.

Dave you need to teach me how to drink Scotch! I have never had any and my father never drank it, that I know of. Now the beer that is a different story...

[DaveInTN 3,247]

You finally said something I can relate to, box wine.

How many years did that take?

Dave you need to teach me how to drink Scotch! I have never had any and my father never drank it, that I know of. Now the beer that is a different story...

Sounds like a plan. Bonefish Grill sometime in the next few weeks? The ladies can sample their fru-fru martini list, and we can drink some scotch.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

What a great way to spend Christmas Day. I could look at 700 pictures of Anna sucking her toes and the family eating deserts pictures are great. And if could combine desert pictures with toe sucking pictures you might win picture of the year.

[lklasing 16]

No camper, and I mean NO CAMPER should be without a corkscrew. Even those of us who travel with box wine have a corkscrew.

Damn straight. I have drunk many a bottle of wine and even a good bit of box wine at the Fort.

I can honestly say this is the first bottle of wine we've opened while camping since the last time we camped with my parents at the Fort several years ago.

:dropjaw:

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

Loved all the Anna pics. My all time favorite ones though are the ones where she is walking with your parents holding their hands. :heartsmiley:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

What a great way to spend Christmas Day. I could look at 700 pictures of Anna sucking her toes and the family eating deserts pictures are great. And if could combine desert pictures with toe sucking pictures you might win picture of the year.

I'm not quite sure what to say there, Ray. :rofl3:

Damn straight. I have drunk many a bottle of wine and even a good bit of box wine at the Fort.

:dropjaw:

Shall I explain? INC has a pretty high sensitivity to sulfides, so we don't drink much wine. We will occassionally get a bottle of organic wine that is low in sulfides and enjoy it (red only...I HATE white wine), but typically I stick to beer or scotch. Or vodka. Or whiskey, or gin (I like gin), sometimes rum, or maybe tequila...oh heck, you get the picture.