CCIntrigue...aka Gwen

9 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Good grief...some days this world is simply too stupid.

 I agree.

I grew up with hula hoops ... my kids grew up with hula hoops.  Would someone explain what's dangerous about them?  I don't understand.  They are round ... they have no sharp edges ... they are thin plastic that would be hard to do damage with ... it would be difficult to break a bone or put out an eye with one ...

Maybe they think someone might have a heat stroke using one in the hot Florida sun.

Wow!  Looks a lot more choices and a lot more locations!

8 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

While I agree with you about the excessive cost of the MVMCP, I wanted to point out that last year they added a new stage show and a lot more "free" Christmas treat stations.  So, there are more special things in addition to the parade and fake snow.  The stage show is very good.

TCD

What are their free Christmas treats now?  Both times we went the treats weren't very good.   The sugar-free cookies were nasty.  

Glad to hear they added a good stage show.  Still, not enough to entice me to pay to go back.

12 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

How fun!  That's so awesome Gwen.  How exciting for Gabe!

Thanks, NaCole!  Unfortunately his team lost in the semifinals. No word yet on his individual performance.  This year he's playing with a new team, the Atlanta All-Stars ... unsponsored.  Last year he played with an Adidas-sponsored team.  Ho-hum.    Years before that he played travel ball with a Nike-sponsored team.  I can tell you horror stories about that!  Tomorrow morning he's meeting with his Dorman team and the Chamber of Commerce in Spartanburg.  No idea what that's about.

18 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

I know, I remember you mentioning this.  I'm sorry it wasn't a good fit for you and David.  Our family is not big on halloween, but the Christmas party was perfect for us.  We went in 2015 and had a great time.  We'd like to go back again, this year and/or next at the end of our AP (figured that since you have to pay for the tickets anyway, that we'd use up the AP and then make our last park visit the MVMCP after our passes have expired).

If we had young children like you do, I'm sure our perspective would be different.  Enjoy!

23 hours ago, berger said:

Hello to all,  we are upgrading from a trailer to a big 5th wheel. What would be a good premium loop to request? 

Premium loops are great, and generally the sites are easier to get into.  But there are good and bad sites, even on premiums. 

11 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

It seems like a lot of folks with big 5th wheels end up in the 700 loop.  That would be a good one for you. 

We prefer the 700 loop, but not in the middle of the loop.  The best sites and the easiest ones to get into are on either end of the loop.

3 hours ago, Dogdiver said:

Try to get only sites you back into on the drivers side and NOT the blind passenger side. It's a big learning curve with a 5er.

Great advice!  And welcome!

On 4/6/2017 at 8:51 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you!  We want to go to the Christmas party, with our November trip!

We've attended MVMCP twice.  The first time we had complimentary tickets due to a hateful Fort CM that refused to sell them to us.  When we complained the next morning, we received free tickets.  The second time was part of a D23 Magic & Merriment package.  So thankfully we never directly paid for tickets.

We didn't really enjoy MVMCP either time.  It was nothing special except for the parade and the fake snow on Main Street.  IMHO neither is worth the admission price.  And, needless to say, David won't even consider paying to attend MNSSHP.

The Charlotte Observer (newspaper) has named Gabe as "the player to watch" on his team this weekend, the Atlanta All Stars.  This is his travel team for the summer.

Charlotte Observer

It's a red-letter day!  Dave receives the sign, the fly-over was great, and Lou appears!

6 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Very nice!!

Thanks, Nacole!  Love your pictures.

5 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

That's great. Is he leaning towards one school more than the rest?

he does know Oklahoma is beautiful this time of year?   

Sorry, Ray.  Gabe is determined to stay in the southeast.  He'd like to play for an ACC school.  At one time he was interested in Clemson.  He's definitely interested in NC State, but they haven't contacted him.  He and his family recently made an unofficial visit to Georgia Southern, and they were all very impressed.  GS is willing to sign him today if he would agree.  But the next few months will be pivotal in offers, and he wants to see what else comes in.  

Gabe has scouting services promoting him big time.  Jamie Shaw from Phenom Hoops recently tweeted about the upcoming tourney:  " I'll make sure to bring reinforcements for the rim ... every time TallGabe plays there is a risk of A backboard shattering"   

On 3/11/2017 at 6:24 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

This weekend Gabe is attending some sort of invitational in Columbia, SC.  Not sure what it is, but he's the first player from Dorman to ever be invited.

This summer he will be playing with the Atlanta All-Stars, a travel team.

Gabe had an outstanding showing at the invitational .., so much that he's been contacted by the coaches at Clemson and the University of South Carolina,  But he's being contacted by 2-3 coaches every day.  

If he he can repeat his performance at another tournament, he will hopefully draw even more D1 coaches.  This weekend he will be playing at a tournament in Charlotte.

His parents hope all this insanity will end by midsummer with a signing to a D1 team.  We do too.

Enjoying your trip report.  Thanks for taking the time to write it!

Hope Jessica and her friends have a great time!

4 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

There is a better than 50/50 chance we'll be there. Should we do a second TITWIT? The first one a few years back was fun.

What?  After all these years we might finally meet?

Oh, wait.  I forgot.  It's April Fools Day.

On 3/28/2017 at 2:24 PM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Yep...yep...yep.   Tom has said a couple of times over the past few years, "we could fly out and stay at this hotel".  My response is always: 

LOL!  That emoticon is just how I felt in those hotel rooms!  If it hadn't been for the dewinterizing and rewinterizing possibility at home, we'd have looked into campgrounds.  It turned out we made the right decision, even though it was hard.  We've been home 25 days now and we haven't come down with any dreaded diseases, so I guess we survived the hotels.

21 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

Very true, but it's my bed, my recliner and my germs, not somebody else's.  We also have our kitchen, fridge etc.  We can really relax in the FW, something I find very hard to do in any Resort Hotel.

I so agree!  We've had to stay in a hotel twice in the last month, and it was tough, no matter how nice the rooms were.

2 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Then it stays in there until Spring?  Won't there be water with the antifreeze?

No water (or very little) because you've drained the water lines and winterized in the fall.  In the spring I run an empty load with just water to flush out the antifreeze.  Same with an ice maker.

1 hour ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Thank you.  I'd rather a combo unit, as we don't FT and I would only do small loads... plus, I don't know if both could fit 

On the antifreeze (just to make sure I understand), you started a load like you typically would...but instead of soap, put antifreeze in there??

 

We have a Splendide combo unit and really like it.  Yes, it only takes small loads.  But for just the two of us I do a load every day or two.  For a load like towels, I turn it on to wash and dry in the evening.  For a load that needs to be hung up, I wash in the evening and then dry the next morning.  

As for the antifreeze, once everything else in the moho has been winterized, the antifreeze goes into the soap dispenser and then the washer is turned on for a few minutes.

On 3/8/2017 at 2:43 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Congratulations Gwen to your grandson and the team , that's a great accomplishment !!

Thanks, Gretchen!

This weekend Gabe is attending some sort of invitational in Columbia, SC.  Not sure what it is, but he's the first player from Dorman to ever be invited.

This summer he will be playing with the Atlanta All-Stars, a travel team.

1 minute ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

I've been to Sloppy Joe's in key west several times. 

You're making me hungry ... I love their sloppy joes!  And they have the best margaritas.

Welcome!

That looks great!  Love the sign post too.

18 minutes ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

Congratulations to Gabe and his team. That would have been an awesome game to watch. Looks like both teams really played hard.

Thanks, Yvonne!  The game was really intense from beginning to end.

We've always avoided Bongo's because of bad reviews.  But that food looks really good!