Spankalishish 40!!!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Backstory:

Stef told me about her Jan trip to celebrate Jordan's return home from AStan. When I found out what dates she was considering, I asked if she minded company. She said no, so off to convince Tony. Wasn't to hard, I told him we were going as my 40th bday present. The poor man didn't have to think or actually shop for anything. See, easy peasy lemon squeezy.

I told Stef what dates would work for me, and once Jordo unknowling signed off on them, things started falling into place. Or so I thought.

By mid December there was REAL concern, I would have to cancel b/c of some work developments. Needless to say it wasn't pleasent. But things turned Golden right before Christmas. But by then, Tony and I had decided that even if we couldn't go as long as we wanted, we would tent camp at least. We considered a value resort, but that spling second thought went out the window. But then, we decieded REGARDLESS of how long we went we would tent camp. Save fuel costs (RV vs Car), site costs (Premium vs Full), etc. BUT then again we didn't cook and Savannah was boarded. So in reality we probably just saved the miles on the RV.

Then come January, things are work were getting tight. Work comes first, and with a project I am detailed on, it is getting VERY busy. So I really wasn't sure about my schedule until Friday before my birthday. And then, if I would have to work Wednesday morning or not until Monday prior.

Once I found out we were clear after work on Tuesday to leave, I made reservations at Pop Centrury. I debated staying outside WDW for that night, but with resort fees being added on, not knowing the hotel reps, and a great discount at Pop, we stayed there.

Luckily for us, we requested a king bed and received it: This is what we saw when we checked in late Tuesday.

Then off to DTD to celebrate at Ragland Road and Fuego's: (like there was anywhere else we would go the first night)

Butt SHOT:

Sheapards Pie (was Meh, kida bland, but filling)

Fish and Chips (AWESOME)

Guiness:

Fuego:

Then back to the resort for the last night of a solid bed until we got home........

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm in!

Glad to see that you got your trip started off right!

Can't wait to hear the rest!

TCD

[SCTigerCock 171]

Wednesday morning rolls around and we are just taking it easy. I get up and head down to the food court to pic something up around 0700. I'm an early riser and my tummy wanted some food. So I picked up a quick fruit cup and split that with Tony when he woke up later that morning.

After we checked out, we headed to what I thought was the nearest Publix. Even Google said so. And I knew where it "was" since I saw it back in October while down for the BBS concert. BUT NOOOOOOOOO, it was closed down the week after Thanksgiving and they opened up a new one down the street. At first I didn't realize this, so we got a full bfast at McD's to avoid WDW prices. then we hit the nearest Walgreen's for a free ATM. And of course, walking out of Walgreens we see a PUBLIX sign down the road. :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: We did go there, b/c we needed beer and I wanted to know when it opened and the other closed.

THEN and only THEN, we made our way to the Fort......Checked in, but our site wasn't ready.....durn it. So we headed in anyway and visisted with Stef, TJ and later Jason. We knew which site was suppose to be ours, so I kept an eye on it. It was not vacated until 1102. I then gave the FW staff 20 minutes to clean it, and then I stalked it like Stef taught me. I parked across from the site and waited. and waited. but when the great castmember left, we jumped on it! Well not jumped, there were no recorded earthquakes or trimmers but you get the point. After we set up, we let Stef know we were done. Then, we stayed at our site for a while. Met Kelly in Bama that day too! She recongnized TJ's outfit from afar. :rofl2:

Trev brought us a couple of cold ones, since by then our Publix purchase had gone warm. He also ran Tony up to get ice for our cooler. Either Trev is really really nice or he wasn't goin gto let us use, "but our beer is warm" as an excuse again? :rofl3:

Then back to Stef's for few, then DTD for another cigar and margarita.

That night we ended up at Stef's after Nate and Jordan showed up. Good times.

Thursday: HAPPY 40th to me!!!!!!!

We took our time getting up, then drove over to Kona Cafe for bfast.

After that we headed out, off property, to vist Bass Pro Shop and Corona Cigar store.

I wanted seafood for lunch, so we ended up at Tchop Tchop by Emeril at Universal:

We've been there several times before, but this will probably be our last. The memu offerings at lunch have been cut and honestly for the $$ it was just OK. We were the ONLY guests when we arrived at 130ish. :hah:

Then back to Stef's to party. We did grab 2 lone riders from Trails End later that night for dinner.

Damn photobucket!!!!! Since it just crapped out, I will end my bday night in the next post. I'm not going to cheat looping and Cindy (THANKS AGAIN)!!!!!!!!

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

I'm in...Page 1... I like the Pop... Never have been to Ragland Road yet. Oh... why did you photograph a Guinness Glass... Was there something in there at one point? :rofl2:

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I'm in too.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I'm in...and In this one too! Woohoo!!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm in, but all those food pictures made me hungry!

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

Awesome start!!! Can't wait to read more!

[stefa70 205]

Woohoo!! I'm in!

I was thrilled that you guys were able to come. One of the best trips we've had with a bunch of our favorite friends. :heart:

I will be able to fill in some blanks whenever I can get my report started.

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

I'm in.

I think it is funny that you said Fuego a few times....TCD probably doesnt find it amusing though.

Looking forward to more G!

[SCTigerCock 171]

So later that night after a few of these:

Cindy (fortpartyof4) shows up with these:

I had a tear in my eye after that! I got beer!!!!!!

We ended the night with some looping and I saw the 2000 first hand.....later that week I saw it in the daylight with boyscouts and there is NO WAY in SAM hell I will pay Fort prices for that! So Tony and I have decided to stick with preferred.

In addition to Cindy's GREAT and THOUGHTFUL gift, I got this from Stef and Trevor. They are so WONDERFUL and THOUGHTFUL too. True Friends.

You might not be able to tell what it is. It's a keychain that when you whistle it will alert you to your key location. A KEY FINDER!!!!!!!!!!!

Lets all say awwwwww in unison......AWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

Until they realized I can't whistle loud. So if you see me on the Fort beach sands kissing sand, it is because I am trying to whistle for my keys....

AWWWWWWWWWWW

The next morning (Friday), we had bfast at TE's with Cindy, Nate, Jordan and 3 of Nates friends. Food was great, but it's not something we will do every trip. In fact, I doubt we will go again without our cooking equipment.

Tony and I left from there to get some supplies from Wally World. And after taking care of some tent TLC and restocking coolers, we hit DTD to try out the margarita stand.

The habernaro margarita was good. Had a slow heat build. Once again not to dominant, but good overall.

Tony had the wildberry or something blue and it was good too! He didn't get any salt.

And I stayed away from the LIME one due to language difficulties.

[SCTigerCock 171]

I'm in!

Glad to see that you got your trip started off right!

Can't wait to hear the rest!

TCD

Thanks. Even though we didn't hit any parks, there was stuff we still didn't get to. Maybe next time.

I'm in...Page 1... I like the Pop... Never have been to Ragland Road yet. Oh... why did you photograph a Guinness Glass... Was there something in there at one point? :rofl2:

YUPPERS!

I'm in too.

Please remain seated and fastern your seat belts.

I'm in...and In this one too! Woohoo!!

Dude, if I could get away in July, I would head down to the meet the wife. I bet with both of you together, things are off the chart! GREAT TIMES

I'm in, but all those food pictures made me hungry!

We enjoyed our meals, but damn not cooking at the Fort sux. Both in the pocket and since we like spicey and well seasoned food.

Awesome start!!! Can't wait to read more!

Cool Beans!!!!!

Woohoo!! I'm in!

I was thrilled that you guys were able to come. One of the best trips we've had with a bunch of our favorite friends. :heart:

I will be able to fill in some blanks whenever I can get my report started.

Will Ya? Okkkkkkkk, maybe I don't want some things filled in.....or stuck, or picked, or pointed......

I'm in.

I think it is funny that you said Fuego a few times....TCD probably doesnt find it amusing though.

Looking forward to more G!

Thanks! Tomorrow probably. I need to spend time some quality time with Savannah. AND GET REST!!!!! :clint:

[kampfirekim 260]

I'm in! Looks like fun so far! Smart move on sticking to a preferred site!

[stefa70 205]

:lmao1:

That gift was even funnier once Tony told me you couldn't whistle! (hence where duck tape came into play for the key situation)

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Holy cats did I actually just get in on page 1 of a TR?? (gonna be close, have to see when I hit "post")

Regardless, I'm excited to see lots more pood & drink forn, and hear about all the birthday fun! :studsmatta-smiley:

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Think I get to be on top of page two.

Great report so far. Tenting and not cooking sounds pretty good for a birthday trip.

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

The PBR pic made me thirsty.

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

:wave1: :pc:

[SCTigerCock 171]

Going to quickly finish this one up:

I didn't take to many pics. Between Stef and Jason's reports I figure they will have it covered. And mine will be quick because I don't want to steal their thunder. Or get put into a headlock in the future.

Friday afternoon we thought about heading to the Marathon Expo. Heck NO, when we say traffic backed up to Pop Centruy headed that way. Oh Heck NO!

Decided to check out the Lodge and ran into Jason coming back from MK. He told us about his 5K and was damn proud of him. Something I would consider doing, IF my schedule would allow, which I already know it won't next year. We ate at Roaring Forks for lunch and I had the Blue Cheese Roast Beef sammy. Freakin Awesome!

My shirt Tony got me for my bday. My first kill using my Browing:

Saw these at the Marina Golf Cart Parking.

Saw this in the parking lot:

Friday night was fun!!!! We all got our groove on knowing it would be the last night before our last night. I learned back in October how long a drive it can be after PBR. So I left the rest to Nate....Aint I the sweetest? :rofl2: Nate called me something else, but he's just young..... :flush2:

We got our dinner grub at Stef's. Some mean but somewhat healthy chicken squitti. Or as Nate likes to call, Campbell's Soup.

And then Saturday morning, we headed to to the Sizzler off property. Paid 3.99 for the buffet, and 1.90 for coffee. Not bad. If we have transportation next time, we will do it again. Plus they were advertising steak and crableg buffet for 14.99. Heck, that beats Cape May's price by 3X or more.

Got back to the Fort after some shopping at DTD for Sosa cigars. And looped. This is when we ran into the scouts that were taking up the entire roadway and didn't move for at least 5 minutes. If Tony wasn't driving, there might have been some battering ram cart action. Hey, they had helments on. What better way to test them out right? :beathorse:

Then we napped at the site for awhile.

Got over to Stef's around 1600 to help her decorate and then partied more that night.

Was broke down and out of the Fort by 0930 and back home by 1630 and able to get Savannah from the kennel.

She called me names after I picked her up since I didn't take her.

Before Tony got up on Sunday, I took the cart to the TCD point for sunrise:

I'm going to miss the Fort until I get back. Which probably won't be until next year. Buty luckily, I will get to see some friends before then.

And speaking of friends. Stef, Trev and Nate came through big time for Tony and I. They provided coffee MOST mornings. AND most importantly, they arranged to have Nate bring down a cart for us. 20 years younger and Tinyless, I may be saying "who's my daddy" to Trev. B/c Nate was a darling to do that. He didn't have to, but he did. I swear he was switched at birth. No way he could be Stef's. :flush2: Possibly Trev's but not Stef's. :heart:

So to regurgitate:

Met new (to me) members: TJ, Jason, Kelly from Bama, Cindy, Ed and Moma.

Had a freakin blast turning 40.

Got me some beer for my bday! Freakin Awesome.

Was proud to be able to celebrate Jordo's homecoming.

No headlocks (Even though Tony asked to see it)

No PoPo

Had a few new drinks at the Margarita Shack.

Enjoyed every trip to Fuego. Even got a free margarita for my bday.

Learned more than I ever thought possible about mixing drinks WITH army men.

Speaking of army men, Ranger Panties RULE!

Drank the new punch and loved it.

I think I actually shocked Stef at one point.

Would do every last thing over again! Cause that's how I roll. bumpty bump bump. bump.

Didn't get to see and do everyhing on my list. But God willing, the Fort will be there when I can go next time. In a preferred (hopefully 300 with Savannah), with a cart and with provisions to cook for ourselfs. But by all means with beer, so stop by and join the party. I don't bite. To hard.

[kampfirekim 260]

:rofl2: @ the regurtitation. I had a few questions but I am afraid of the answers .. so I will just say GREAT report!

[SCTigerCock 171]

I'm in! Looks like fun so far! Smart move on sticking to a preferred site!

Funny thing, all the way up to and even when checking in, I was looking for a partial to save money. Thankfully, none were available. I WOULD not be a happy camper in 2000. Having been the Fort as a kid, yearly, I believe in respecting to your neighbors. I KNOW, I would be fuming within the first hour. So yes, we WILL be staying in a full hookup or above. But we really REALLY appreciated the 300 and proximaty to the Dog Park. So preferred from now on, I think.

Holy cats did I actually just get in on page 1 of a TR?? (gonna be close, have to see when I hit "post")

Regardless, I'm excited to see lots more pood & drink forn, and hear about all the birthday fun! :studsmatta-smiley:

Yes dear! :jumpforjoy

Great call on the margarita shack DTD. The Habernaro was a do over. But the STRONG Grapefruit ones at Fuego, by far the best. In fdact, after I ordered my first, a young lady ordered on after me. Her's was TOO strong....WTF. She switched to Crown and Coke. WTF. So when I ordered my next on the bartender weakened it down. I asked, if it had tequilla in it, since it was noticabley weaker. She took my glass and made SURE it wasn't weak. :heart:

And Cats are not HOLY, one was loose at the kennel when I was checking out Savannah. I petted that sucker and before I was 5 minutes away, my right eye was swollen. Ended up taking Benadryl and being out for the count by 0730 last night. Just feeling the effects of that.

Think I get to be on top of page two.

Great report so far. Tenting and not cooking sounds pretty good for a birthday trip.

It was nice, but the pocket book says differently. Plus Tony is a wonderful cook, so why not use him. :rofl3:

The PBR pic made me thirsty.

Nate would differ. :clint:

:wave1: :pc:

:wave1: Right back at ya!!!! :batman:

[SCTigerCock 171]

:rofl2: @ the regurtitation. I had a few questions but I am afraid of the answers .. so I will just say GREAT report!

Why? you only live once. :clint:

[SCTigerCock 171]

Damn it, I meant to add this in, but forgot twice. I met ED and Moma Koot!!!!! I can't break down and call her Old.......

Ed was a sweetheart and so was Moma.

Was only able to spend a few minutes with them while they were looping and we were waiting on a bus the first day there.

But I met ED!!!!!!!!! :jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy :jumpforjoy

Was hoping Rita was going to be there that week-end, but it didn't work out.....

[fortpartyof4 108]

First of all, you are WELCOME!! Glad I could make it down after all, even if it was only for one night. And I am happy to hear you made it back safe and it didn't rain on you in the tent.

Some random comments:

Love the bathroom picture at POP where you are showing off your guns in the mirror!

I hadn't caught on to the key finder story……now it makes sense! However, I did make a mental note when you were in a panic about your money & cards then Stef magically produced them…….

Saw that tractor too. I wondered if someone was gonna try and drive it around the fort! How did they get in with that? Now that I see your zoomed shot of it, it looks like a restored antique, maybe they do shows or something.

Maybe I missed it, but where does the spank part of this TR come in?

SML (as my kids refer to Spanish Moss Lane), aka the 2000 loop, isn't always so bad. We have stayed on it many, many times. Don't count it out forever. Yes I had some rude neighbors the one night but a lot of times in the pup we never heard anything. Speaking of which, did anyone take care of that revenge I requested later that night? Few things make me angrier than being woken up by rude people! Mess with my kids, or my beauty sleep, and you are in for it!

(had to edit because I forgot a very important comment!)

Thanks again for breakfast!!! It was yummy and a nice treat for me since I typically don't eat out while at WDW.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Maybe I missed it, but where does the spank part of this TR come in?

Birthdays involve spankings!