Happy Fall Y'all! TCD's September 2013 Not So Scary TR

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Finally caught up!

 

Work comes first right now so I read when I get a chance!

 

I am hoping to check out the food this weekend.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

I hope you make it out to the Food and Wine Festival this weekend.  It looks like we are in for some really nice weather.

 

Being from the south I am very pro y'all, and standing IN line, or offering a Coke to someone and then asking what kind.

 

I am anti youins, or yous guys, or being ON line, or offering Pop (unless I am offering my father or grandfathers help.) 

 

So bless your heart Lou for making fun of "y'all"  I know I don't have to worry about Lou seeing this because he doesn't read trip reports.

 

I know you're from the south.  But, my DD was born and raised in Florida.  So was Mrs. TCD.  And her mother.  And her grandmother.  But they don't say Y'all that much. 

 

And you're right.  You can say whatever you want about that schmuckface Lou here- he'll never see it.

 

Very funny.  My first thought was, "bite me", instead I will simply rub it in that in fact the weather I am experiencing now is far more pleasant than what I remember being this time of year in FL.

 

It's gonna be 80 today, the windows are open and I can go for a run without feeling like I am going to melt into the pavement!

 

The hills are beginning to get very colorful and there are REAL pumpkin patches and hayrides and apple picking!

 

And, I don't have to change my shirt after going out to get the mail or a short ride in the car where the a/c didn't have time to cool it down.

 

I realize this will all change very soon……but am making the best of it and "blooming where I'm planted".

 

Good for you.

 

Real fall weather is what I miss most about the north.  Actually, it may be the only thing I miss.  Oh, and apples from an orchard.  And the cider.  But, that's it.

 

It was only 76 degrees here this morning!  I love it when there's that first hint of fall.  Of course, it's in the upper 80's now and may reach 90, but it felt cool this morning before the sun came up.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's move on.

 

It's now Friday morning, September 27.  We have no plans for the morning or afternoon for that matter.  Just Fort time, and then head over the MK in the late afternoon.

 

I slept much later than normal.

 

It was just past 8 before I left the site for my morning rounds.

 

My first stop was the Meadow Trading Post.  I was going to break down and buy one of the new refillable mugs for testing purposes.  To save a few bucks, I intentionally waited for this morning rather than buying in yesterday afternoon.  That way,  I would just pay for three days, and have the use of the mug most of the rest of our trip.  I bought the mug, filled it with the new Joffrey's coffee, and headed out back.

 

Sometimes I don't get around to taking photos of Bob's dock until near the end of a Fort visit, and poor Bob has to keep checking back to look through hundreds of pictures until he finds the one he's looking for.

 

This time, I remembered to take care of Bob early.  So here's your dock, Bob:

 

 

And look- fall has arrived at the Fort.  The big sycamore tree behind the trading post is just starting to drop its leaves.

 

There's still a long way to go, though:

 

 

Here's something that I haven't seen in a couple of years, at least- Bear Rock is actually in the water again! :

 

 

Remember how they wrecked that nice wooded area next to the trading post so they could add a few more campsites?  Well, those bushes they planted to hide the backsides of the trailers are finally filled-in to the point that you really can't see the sites anymore:

 

 

I guess that also means that the guests who wanted a view of the water from these sites don't get the water view anymore.  So what was the point of wrecking this nice little spot of wilderness?

 

Here's a look at the Fishing Hole from Bob's dock:

 

 

They have to use that fish feeder for the times when Bob is not there to feed the fish.

 

And, Bob usually wants to know if the bubbler was working.  Well, I could hear the motor running, but I saw no bubbles, so that would be a no.

 

How about a wildlife photo? :

 

 

I believe that is what you call a bird.

 

The view of the Meadow Trading Post as seen from Bob's dock:

 

 

You see all those leaves on the ground?  It's Fall Y'all!

 

There's all the canoes and kayaks ready for today's guests:

 

 

I decided to take a walk over to the Bobber Tree to see what kind of crop it has this year.

 

Looks like a pretty good crop:

 

 

 

I love the view of the campfire area from here:

 

 

If you have ever read a TCD trip report, you know that I endeavor to notice and document any changes which have occurred at the Fort.  We already saw a missing tree in the first post.  Well, I found something else missing here behind the Meadow Trading Post.  Look here:

 

 

Looks like they replaced a section of the sidewalk with the hop scotch court.

 

This is what it used to look like:

 

 

Notice how the concrete doesn't extend all he way to the end of the porch.  And notice that there is a blue line under the box with the number one in it.  If you look at the new photo, you can see that the concrete now extends past the porch, and that they apparently cut off the bottom of the one box when they poured the new square.

 

At the corner of the old section with the number one box, this was written in the concrete:

 

 

Now, that date, which had been there for almost 35 years, is gone.

 

Hardly a big deal.

 

But, I always liked to see that date.  And think about how somebody stopped to write in back in 1978.  Back then, the train was traveling around the campground.  And the Meadow Swimming Pool wasn't there.  A lot of things were different.  And better.  The guy who wrote that date probably stopped in the Trading Post and got himself a freshly made sandwich from the deli.  Now his claim to fame is gone.

 

Progress.

 

Speaking of progress, the 1000 loop was completely empty the entire time I was there.

 

Here's how it looked:

 

 

If you're a fan of pine straw, and will be visiting the Fort soon, 1000 loop is for you:

 

 

 

I'm not sure what else they may have been doing on the loop other than adding pine straw, but there was a tractor involved:

 

 

This is the last site on the 1000 loop.  We stayed there a few years ago.  I remember that I could sit outside my camper and see the main road and all the activity on it.  Now, these bushes screen all of that :

 

 

 

I guess that's a good thing.

 

Whatever they were doing on the 1000 loop, it required all the picnic tables to be placed off the sites.  This site looks like it's waiting for some attention, and has no picnic table at the moment:

 

 

From 1000, I looped around 1100, cut out the back sidewalk next to the comfort station, and headed around the 2000 loop.  Even though I couldn't get a reservation for a partial site, there were many open sites around the loop.  I took a couple photos of site 2024, so I can remember to ask for it on a future visit.  I like the looks of this site a lot, and it would be easy to get to the 900 loop bridge from here:

 

 

 

It was time for a coffee refill, so I headed down to Trail's End.  Being at the Fort on a Friday morning has its advantages.  That means Josie will more than likely be there.  And she was.  But, she was busy working at the time:

 

 

I snapped this photo of the breakfast take-out menu.  I guess the breakfast sandwich is gone.  Too bad:

 

 

I was only there for the coffee, but I had to laugh to myself when I saw a CM working on the Rapid Fill soft drink machine.  I hope that they make enough money on the mug sales to pay for all the new employees it will take to keep the machines running:

 

 

It's been a long time since they've changed the refillable mug design, so I thought maybe there would be signs posted or something to tell guests they can't use their old mugs from two years ago.  Nope.  This lady here was helping herself to some stolen coffee in her 2011 model pink mug:

 

 

Since we were not going to be rushing off to a park this morning, that meant I could cook us a big breakfast.  That meant I needed to break out the Official TCD Snow White Spankula:

 

 

The girls were still asleep, so I had time to go for one more loop.

 

I'm glad I did too.

 

Because I spotted the first camper to decorate for Christmas.

 

I found him on the 400 loop.

 

Remember, these photos were taken on Friday, September 27:

 

 

 

That deserves a What The Fort?

 

Christmas decorations already?

 

Really?

 

Well that's 30 photos for this post.

 

So, I need to stop.

 

Be sure to check back, though.

 

I will start the next update with a photo of something really rare.

 

And really sad.

 

Really.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Wow, Christmas already. Are they going to add spider webs for Halloween?

 

I didn't use the word y'all until I was around 20. Since I have Yankee parents, the word wasn't used in my house. I am now officially pro-y'all. It's a useful pronoun.

[caveat lector 181]

The site with Christmas decorations kind of looks like Feistys fancy big rig (minus all the bikes)

[fort4evr 0]

I will have to look for Christmas Mickey while I am there on Halloween!

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I am stressing out trying to learn YouTube, write my report, process my photos and read this report. Overload. I will comment on meeting Andrew on my report. It was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of my trip.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Forgot to ask, How did you get to your site with those cones blocking your way?

[Laura 17]

WOW! I'm so excited, I was just getting sad your last trip report was over! Your reports never disappoint and they sure give me something happy to read! It was very nice to see a picture of Lou and Mrs Lou! No picture of the buff beef? Nice job getting all the family together, you guys amaze me. I hope when my kids are older I am as good as you at doing fun stuff and getting such awesome pictures! Can't wait to hear the rest  :clint:

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Bottom of page three isn't too bad. Glad to be along on another TCD TR. And I'm jealous cause I didn't even get to meet Lou let alone travel around Epcot with him. 

[LONE-STAR 370]

I have been saying yall since I could talk. It's a great word.

[Memphis 105]

wow I thought I was jumping the gun putting up Halloween in September. 

 

Now that you have tasted the Jofferys coffee, what do you think about it?

[campingdawgs 4]

Having grown up around Atlanta, I have less of an accent than some Georgians, but I say y'all. My parents are from South Georgia though, so we had plenty of Southern spoken at our house. My children have even less of an accent, with so many teachers and friends who are Yankees.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I am all for a word as useful as y'all. It does not, however, sound right coming out of the mouth of a guy who grew up in western New York and now lives in southeastern PA.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Question...isn't florida in the south? I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that key west was the southern most point in the US.

Floridians. The original ones not the transplanted northerners, should be using "y'all" more than everyone else.

It's a great word and would make your life so much easier if you were to incorporate it in to your daily life. Also throw in an occasional fixin.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, Christmas already. Are they going to add spider webs for Halloween?

 

I didn't use the word y'all until I was around 20. Since I have Yankee parents, the word wasn't used in my house. I am now officially pro-y'all. It's a useful pronoun.

 

I don't think there will be spider webs.  These folks are skipping Halloween and going right to Christmas.  Heck, it's only 3 months away!

 

Since I was born in NJ to parents who are from Long Island, I also never had occasion to use the word Y'all until well into adulthood.

 

I still feel weird saying it, but it is a useful word.  Plus it rhymes well with fall.

 

The site with Christmas decorations kind of looks like Feistys fancy big rig (minus all the bikes)

 

Funny you should mention Feisty.  Stay tuned.

 

I will have to look for Christmas Mickey while I am there on Halloween!

 

Check the 400 loop.  Of course by then, they may have moved on to decorating for Easter.

 

I am stressing out trying to learn YouTube, write my report, process my photos and read this report. Overload. I will comment on meeting Andrew on my report. It was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of my trip.

 

Please.  FWG stressing?  Nobody's going to believe that.  Nor, will they believe that meeting TCD was the highlight of your trip.  Not even close.

 

Forgot to ask, How did you get to your site with those cones blocking your way?

 

I assume you are asking about this mess:

 

 

It appears that all the traffic has to pull through the lanes and then go to the right.  There is one lane open for folks to drive through.  No problem when it isn't busy.  But, I'm not sure this will work on busy days.

 

As far as I can tell, this is all set-up like this to give them an easy way to move the golf carts in and out of the backstage area.

 

Dumb.

 

WOW! I'm so excited, I was just getting sad your last trip report was over! Your reports never disappoint and they sure give me something happy to read! It was very nice to see a picture of Lou and Mrs Lou! No picture of the buff beef? Nice job getting all the family together, you guys amaze me. I hope when my kids are older I am as good as you at doing fun stuff and getting such awesome pictures! Can't wait to hear the rest  :clint:

 

 

It was great to get to see Lou and Gail.  Sorry, but there's no photo of the buff.  I needed and assistant to take food photos for me, and all of my assistants were touring without me.

 

I am glad that the girls and I have a love of Disney World in common.  I think that will assure of us getting together at least a few times each year.

 

 

Bottom of page three isn't too bad. Glad to be along on another TCD TR. And I'm jealous cause I didn't even get to meet Lou let alone travel around Epcot with him. 

 

I am sure that Lou would love to meet you.  He actually stops by the Fort frequently to meet Fiends.  I know he was stalking FWG, but I'm not sure if they ever met up.

 

I also introduced him to a Fiend he had never met on this trip.  I'll have some more about that epic meet-up when we get to the Friday afternoon part of this report.  Which will probably be some time tomorrow.

 

I have been saying yall since I could talk. It's a great word.

 

Of course you have.

 

I would guess that Texas is one of the places y'all is used the most.

 

wow I thought I was jumping the gun putting up Halloween in September. 

 

Now that you have tasted the Jofferys coffee, what do you think about it?

 

I agree with you- we usually try to hold off on Halloween decorations until the calendar turns to October.

 

I liked the Joffrey's coffee.  Much more than Nescafe.  I have very low standards, though.

 

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

So bless your heart Lou for making fun of "y'all" I know I don't have to worry about Lou seeing this because he doesn't read trip reports.

Lol. Only a southerner knows what "bless your heart..." Really means.

[TnBob 311]

so this is what a TDC TR looks like, hmmmm. I feel bad for the dock, it looks so lonely, you could throw a line in once in a while to make it feel better, Andrew.

 

as for the north/ south accent thing, I am a caught between, raised in the north lives in the south for 20 yrs, I stumble across some words when I am up north because I am hearing it different than I have been used to hearing it and it rolls out of my mouth as an in between kind slur. The funnest thing is I don't ever notice my one grand daughter Sissy's accent until we are up north then it is very pronounced. Ty doesn't seem to have any discernible accent and little Peanut sounds like Lorna when she speaks and she has never been near New York in her life. 

[Laura 17]

BTW it took me until page 3 to figure out who the heck Andrew was.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Having grown up around Atlanta, I have less of an accent than some Georgians, but I say y'all. My parents are from South Georgia though, so we had plenty of Southern spoken at our house. My children have even less of an accent, with so many teachers and friends who are Yankees.

 

My wife's father's side of the family moved to Florida from South Georgia when he was a baby.  They still have relatives there.  Honey Boo Boo type folk.  Like subtitles would help.

 

My late father-in-law had just a slight southern accent, nothing like his people back in Georgia do.

 

I find it kind of strange that with all the communication we have these days that there are still accents,  but there sure are.

 

 

I am all for a word as useful as y'all. It does not, however, sound right coming out of the mouth of a guy who grew up in western New York and now lives in southeastern PA.

 

Yeah, you can't use y'all back home.  But feel free to do so when you're in the south.

 

Question...isn't florida in the south? I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that key west was the southern most point in the US.

Floridians. The original ones not the transplanted northerners, should be using "y'all" more than everyone else.

It's a great word and would make your life so much easier if you were to incorporate it in to your daily life. Also throw in an occasional fixin.

 

Geographically, Florida may be in the south, but culturally it really isn't.  Where I live, in the very congested west central coast, native Floridians are rare.  There are areas around here that have more New Yorkers than New York.

 

Lol. Only a southerner knows what "bless your heart..." Really means.

 

LOL.

 

I know.

 

so this is what a TDC looks like, hmmmm. I feel bad for the dock, it looks so lonely, you could throw a line in once in a while to make it feel better, Andrew.

 

as for the north/ south accent thing, I am a caught between, raised in the north lives in the south for 20 yrs, I stumble across some words when I am up north because I am hearing it different than I have been used to hearing it and it rolls out of my mouth as an in between kind slur. The funnest thing is I don't ever notice my one grand daughter Sissy's accent until we are up north then it is very pronounced. Ty doesn't seem to have any discernible accent and little Peanut sounds like Lorna when she speaks and she has never been near New York in her life. 

 

I knew you'd like the dock photos.  I have another one coming up.  With people on your dock.  Don't worry-they weren't there long.

 

Now that's funny.

 

How did Peanut end up with Lorna's accent.

 

BTW it took me until page 3 to figure out who the heck Andrew was.

 

LOL.

 

That's TCD's real-life name, but don't tell anyone.

 

TCD

[PoorGABoy 4]

Hello TCD- love the report. We're going to the Fort starting this weekend- how crowded was it while you were there?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hello TCD- love the report. We're going to the Fort starting this weekend- how crowded was it while you were there?

 

I will be getting into that in my report, but since you may already be at the Fort by when I do, I'll tell you that the Fort was not very crowded at all.

 

Even on Friday and Saturday night, there were lots of open spaces on all the loops. 

 

When Sunday rolled around, the Fort emptied out.  We were the only campers on half of the 900 loop Sunday night. 

 

I usually go during holidays.  Our last camping trip was over Memorial Day weekend.  It was odd seeing it so empty.

 

From what I hear, the Fort pretty much stays empty during the week, and only gets semi-full on the weekends.  It has been that way since this past summer.

 

TCD

[PoorGABoy 4]

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to the rest of the report.

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

There are still accents because there are still morons.  If there weren't still morons, everyone would talk like I do.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I am waiting for some big revelation.  This report has been quite low-key so far.  Pine needles.  Coffee.  Bobbers.  We need something shocking.  Like a visit from OCSO.  Or a bulldozer at River Country.  Or maybe a closed off dam. 

[TnBob 311]

 

 

How did Peanut end up with Lorna's accent.

 

 

 

 

she likes Lorna