TCD's Halloween 2011 Trip Report

[lklasing 16]

Great updates! Love the camping Elvi! One year I've got to make it to the Fort for Halloween. Till then, thanks for helping me feel like I'm there!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Loving this TR as always!

And you learn things from a TCD TR...like the fact that the plural form of Elvis is Elvi....good to know! :rofl3:

[Discamper 394]

Here is the leader in 2008

and in 2009

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

and in 2009

should be this every year

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks for sharing the golf cart parade photos. You did such a great job, I actually felt as if I was there watching it with you.

All kidding aside, it was a treat for me to watch the parade with you and the girls. I know you're a man on the go when at the fort, so that made it extra special. I hope we can get together again soon.

I'll bring some Corona's for you and Trev, and me and the twins can do some girly stuff. (which could include, but is not limited to, crafts, dancing, or singing our favorite song )

The pleasure was all mine, S70. It was fun to share this event with you and Trevor.

And if you're bringing Coronas, then come over whenever you like. I'll make sure the girls have all their ZB songs loaded on their ipods.

Great Job TCD. Another great report......

Thanks, Joanne!

Great updates! Love the camping Elvi! One year I've got to make it to the Fort for Halloween. Till then, thanks for helping me feel like I'm there!

Thanks, Leslie.

You should think about a Halloween trip. The weather is always nice (mostly) and there are so many fun things to do.

Loving this TR as always!

And you learn things from a TCD TR...like the fact that the plural form of Elvis is Elvi....good to know! :rofl3:

You didn't know that?

It is Elvi, isn't it?

Here is the leader in 2008

and in 2009

should be this every year

I totally agree.

(former) Ranger Sean just doesn't start things off with a bang, does he?

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

is there an update coming? (asking nicely...not nagging)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here we go . . .

Right after the parade ended, we served up the pulled pork and got ready for the Trick or Treaters.

It was getting dark, and they started arriving.

Here is our set up for candy dispensing this year:

These are some of our first customers:

Last year we were on the 700 loop, and we were slammed with TOT'ers from the get-go.

This year, things started off kind of slow.

For a while, I thought we would have a ton of candy left over.

Mrs. TCD was sure to send us with a box of dog biscuits this year for our four legged visitors. Last year, we had quite a few doggies stop by. This year, we didn't have any. Except for this one:

After a slow start, it really picked up, and for a while, we had quite a crowd. I think being near the bus stop and campfire brought extra visitors to our loop.

We had some adult visitors too, like Lou and Bob, who both stopped by for a while. I remember that MLM5 stopped by with her crew.

We ended up running out of candy before we ran out of TOT-ers. I hate that. But, it's hard to figure how much candy to buy.

The TCD twins were on the fence again about TOT-ing themselves. But, when we ran out of candy, and there still was about 45 minutes of TOT time left, they headed out. They came back with quite a haul. They reported how they were treated like royalty when they arrived at the sites of the Fiends. Many Fiends had special treat bags for the Fiend kids. Thank you to all of you who did that- the girls enjoyed the special treatment.

While the girls were TOT-ing, I got to pop over to the 1400 loop to meet up with Russell the engineer and enjoy his FWRR set-up. Great job Russell! I didn't get to see the candy dispensing train in action last year. It was great to see how the kids and parents enjoyed this so much.

When TOT-ing ended, we decided to go out and do some looping. It was pretty quiet this year compared to in the past. We didn't see any wild golf cart riding, or any wild anything.

We stopped by the 500 loop just as a special guest arrived.

Here he is:

What was HE doing here?

I don't know.

I think he and Joe Biden were sharing a tent on the 2000 loop.

Anyway, we got to see the Pres meet some of the Fiends.

Here he is with Doodle-

And with the man Doodle was hanging out with (who is not her husband by the way- but who am I to judge):

Actually, I don't know who the dude in the overalls is.

Does anybody know who that is?

Lou was surprisingly nice to the special guest:

And of course, Ed's sister, Rita was nice too:

And Gonzo was polite:

Even TNBob was gracious to the visitor:

But, Kathy had seen enough.

She literally took matters into her own hands:

After the neck wringing, the special guest kind of slunk off.

Then Donnie broke out his hula hoop:

That was actually a lot more uncomfortable to watch than I expected,

and trust me, I was expecting it to be pretty painful.

So, we took off at this point.

We did more looping and enjoyed all of the Halloween decorations for the last time for this year.

There was absolutely nothing going on anywhere in the Fort, so we ended up back at the 500 loop.

We found Rick hanging out with another Democrat:

(So we are clear, that is Al Gore, not Ronald Reagan)

I guess he was in the tent with Joe and the other guy too?

Ed and Jeff seemed to like Al fine:

And so did Lou:

And Rita and Joanne:

I saw Kathy try to sneak up on Al, but he went running off into the woods before she could grab him.

It was quite late at this point.

So we said our goodbyes to the Fiends.

We wanted to say goodbye to S70 and Trevor, but the lights were off at their place.

Lightweights.

The girls turned in, and I spent some time packing up our decorations and other stuff so I wouldn't have to do it all in the morning.

Nobody was out.

Except Donnie, of course, who looped by some time after midnight.

I finished up with the pre-packing around 1:30 or so, and then went out for a solo loop.

I saw that this 1st place sign was now up on the last site in the 1000 loop:

I think these should have gone up before Halloween night. But nobody asked me.

After a bit, I returned to the 900 loop.

As I turned in to the loop, I noticed a group of deer grazing on the grass right in front of the Meadow Trading Post.

Cool!

It was obviously dark, so you can't see things too well, but here's a few photos of the deer:

Considering how this day had begun, I was pleasantly surprised on what a great day this turned out to be.

It was one of those days that you hate to see end.

But, we were heading out in the morning, and it was time for me to get some sleep.

It was a nice cool evening, so I unzipped the window in my bunk end, and was able to watch the deer grazing across the street as I drifted off to sleep.

Next up, it's time to pack up and go home.

Boo!

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

That was Fantastic Fiend post. Scooby doo was cute but then I'm partial... I have a Scooby Dumb look alike sleeping on my foot.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

This is Campinghound...Tim. He and his wife, Sheraugh joined Fort Fiends about a week before the GG.

[stefa70 205]

Lightweight? Yes, after 5 consecutive days of partying, but for the first 5 days I was a naked, punch drinking, heavyweight! (I more than earned my tag that week)

I did come back out somewhere between Donnie hula hooping (Thank you God!) and Al Gore's appearance, as I saw Al pull up in the cart. I had come out to meet Steve and was standing in the street talking with Angie. I just wanted to go to bed at that point, knowing we would be up early to pack up.

I agree with Nicki, Scooby Doo was cute, but he's no Rocky!

[gramme 2]

Geart Pics TCD. I did make an observcation however! In all of those pics Rita was the only one with a RED SOLO CUP!

I think she was hogging all the TOASTED ALMONDS!!!! LOL

[kampfirekim 260]

I am still following along and enjoying tremendously! But also very sad that this is getting close to being over.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That was Fantastic Fiend post. Scooby doo was cute but then I'm partial... I have a Scooby Dumb look alike sleeping on my foot.

Scooby Dumb?

LOL!

This is Campinghound...Tim. He and his wife, Sheraugh joined Fort Fiends about a week before the GG.

Thanks, Cherie- I wish I had know that- I would have spiked him!

I'll be on the lookout for him.

Lightweight? Yes, after 5 consecutive days of partying, but for the first 5 days I was a naked, punch drinking, heavyweight! (I more than earned my tag that week)

I did come back out somewhere between Donnie hula hooping (Thank you God!) and Al Gore's appearance, as I saw Al pull up in the cart. I had come out to meet Steve and was standing in the street talking with Angie. I just wanted to go to bed at that point, knowing we would be up early to pack up.

I agree with Nicki, Scooby Doo was cute, but he's no Rocky!

OK- I withdraw my lightweight comment.

I don't think I could make it for 5 days at that pace.

I know how you felt on your last night. It was mine too.

Geart Pics TCD. I did make an observcation however! In all of those pics Rita was the only one with a RED SOLO CUP!

I think she was hogging all the TOASTED ALMONDS!!!! LOL

Boy, you are right!

Of course, there were a lot more red solo cups in use a few days before this.

I am still following along and enjoying tremendously! But also very sad that this is getting close to being over.

Ah, thanks, Kim.

But, don't get all sad.

I'll let you in on a little secret . . .

There will be another TCD TR starting up shortly after this one!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The last night passed quickly.

It seemed like I had just gone to bed and then it was time to get up again.

It seemed that way because that is what happened.

I had done a lot of the take-down the night before, and I was glad I did.

I left the hammock up, thinking maybe I would lie in it and look at the stars, but I never got around to that.

But, that allowed me to take this photo, which I call Hammock at Sunrise:

I had this nagging thought over the past few days that I had forgotten something really important.

And I had.

Do you know what is missing from this trip report?

Did anyone guess photos of site 617?

If you did, then you're right!

Actually, I hadn't forgotten, I just had not stopped by there for the photos- I had too much else going on.

I quickly remedied that.

Here you go, two photos of the best site in the Fort:

While in the neighborhood, I headed over to the footbridge. I crossed this bridge many times over the weekend:

And I'm sure that I will cross that bridge when I come to it again in the future.

Here's a shot of the canal from the bridge (600 loop on the left, 1400 on the right):

I always get a shot of the lake looking toward the Meadow Trading Post from here.

Here you go:

Hey!

Wait a minute!

Do you see a small speck of blue there toward the center of that photo? Look right above the rock there on in the center on the far side of the lake.

What is that?

Let's look again:

Why, it's a man!

And, not just any man, it's TnBob, of course:

They don't call that dock over there Tennessee Bob's dock for nothing!

Here's a shot of the campfire area from the foot of the bridge:

From here, I headed down to the Settlement.

Here's the last shot of this area you will be seeing for a while without a giant Christmas tree in that little fenced in circle:

The River Country wagon is still missing:

There were a bunch of buzzards flying over River Country:

Of course I had to go and check that out.

I also wanted to see if there was a big mess from the Halloween Backyard BBQ.

There were some workers over by the pavilion, so I couldn't go over there:

Hah!

Got you!

Of course I went over to check on what was going on.

Workers love to be checked on.

I thought I would take a last photo of the Scarecrow. Who knows, this all may be gone this time next year:

Do you remember way back at the beginning of this report that I mentioned that I ran in to an old friend?

Well I did!

Right here!

Look:

It's my old friend the Barrel Painter!

But, look, he's painting the picnic tables.

If it takes him one day to paint one barrel, how long do you figure it's going to take him to paint 144 picnic tables?

I know that there are 144 picnic tables because he told me.

And he said he would get them done in two days.

I didn't believe him.

And, I have a photo coming up to show you that I was right for not believing him.

Anyway, I had a nice chat with the barrel painter.

He is a great guy.

No stress.

He just paints stuff brown.

He clearly has job security at the Fort.

Have you ever noticed how much brown stuff there is at the Fort?

I told you earlier that I didn't like the photo I had already taken of the weather vane. This one I like much better:

From there, I said goodbye and good luck to the Barrel Painter, and I headed back toward camp.

I took a slight detour to look at the Lawnmower Tree:

You never know what you might find parked in the golf cart parking area around Halloween:

From here I really went back to camp.

As I was pulling in to the 900 loop, I noticed a familiar golf cart behind mine.

Look who was heading up to the Outpost for a break:

It's the Barrel Painter!

He had just spent a bunch of time talking to me and not painting, and now he was on break!

I want his job!

Next up . . .

the last batch of photos.

And then we're done!

TCD

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

Cool update!!!!

[caveat lector 181]

TCD,

Thanks for taking us along on another great TR. Reading along as you experience a holiday at the Fort is just plain FUN. It must be nice knowing that all the great memories you've created are cemented for posterity. Matter of fact, you've motivated me so much, I'm going to make a conscience effort to take pictures when we are at the Fort next month.

Thanks again.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, I said that I would be finishing up this report by the end of this week, and by golly, I have.

That's right!

This is the last of the photos from this trip.

But, don't worry, it will not be long until the next one.

That's how I roll.

After I did some packing, I decided to walk over to the Meadow Trading Post and take a few more photos. It was a beautiful morning. The day before I had been trapped here by the rain. But not today.

Here's a look back at the 900 loop from the porch of the Trading Post- notice there are no giant Gators or Seminoles ruining the view:

I went out back and took another photo of Bear Rock:

And here's the back porch of the Trading Post:

And a look at the lake- I never get tired of this view:

I think I always take a shot of the Bike Barn from across the lake:

I walked over toward the big bridge, and noticed this candy corn strewn on the ground. It kind of captured how I felt- Halloween was over- it's time to clean up the mess and move on:

The leaves on this giant Sycamore are just starting to turn. They will be dropping soon, and then Fall will finally have arrived at the Fort (of course it will nearly be winter by then, and Spring will be fast behind):

I thought this shot was neat, so I took it:

You can't hear them, but there were kids laughing and splashing in the pool right over there. On November 1st. Gotta love Florida weather:

I did just a bit more packing, and then took a break to do my last looping of this trip.

I wanted to get photos of the signs on the sites that had won the decorating contest.

The 3rd place winners on the 800 loop were already almost completely packed up and gone. Their sign was nowhere to be seen.

The 2nd place winners on the 100 loop's sign had fallen down, but I still got a picture of it:

They weren't leaving today.

Their decorations were all still up:

There was a gathering of high powered management types in the grassy oval area by the Settlement Bus Stop:

This confirms that a new DVC resort will be standing on this spot at this time next year. And it will feature its own waterpark built on the site of River Country, and use some of the old River Country elements. It will be for the exclusive use of the DVC guests, and regualar campers will not be permitted. Also, they are banning all private golf carts and rental RV's, and they will be raising the price of ice at the comfort stations to $5.

Actually, I tried to eavesdrop, but I couldn't hear anything.

I just made that stuff up.

Or did I?

The last few spots on the 600 loop had cleared out, and some tree trimmers were going to town:

I didn't know what to do with our pumpkins- so I set them up across the loop.

Maybe they will still be there the next time we visit the Fort:

I finally finished the last of the packing, and it was time to go.

I told the twins to hop in the truck.

But, they took off in the other direction (take that former Ranger Sean!):

They came around and picked me up, and we made one last visit to the 500 loop.

We said our goodbyes to the Fiends who were still around.

And then we headed out.

That's all I got for you.

Until next time . . .

TCD is out!

[stefa70 205]

"Hammock at Sunrise" You're like a regular Ansel Adams (but in color)

I hate it when you say "last batch of photos, and then we're done"

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great report, Andrew. It was a pleasure to meet you and your twins. Thanks for sharing. Until next time. :wave1:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Cool update!!!!

Thanks, Carol!

TCD,

Thanks for taking us along on another great TR. Reading along as you experience a holiday at the Fort is just plain FUN. It must be nice knowing that all the great memories you've created are cemented for posterity. Matter of fact, you've motivated me so much, I'm going to make a conscience effort to take pictures when we are at the Fort next month.

Thanks again.

Well, good!

Please do take a bunch of photos.

And then post them on here!

People seem to like that.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

"Hammock at Sunrise" You're like a regular Ansel Adams (but in color)

I hate it when you say "last batch of photos, and then we're done"

Ansel Adams?

Who's that?

One of those NASCAR guys you like?

j/k- thanks.

And, believe it or not, I don't like it when I say "last batch of photos and then we're done" either.

But, all trip reports must end eventually (well, with one notable exception)¹

TCD

¹ That is not a dig, KFK.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great report, Andrew. It was a pleasure to meet you and your twins. Thanks for sharing. Until next time. :wave1:

Thanks, Cherie-

It was good to meet you and Mike, too.

I hope to see you both back at the Fort again soon.

And, the twins want to meet your pups.

TCD

[TnBob 311]

I look better in the long away pictures, It was good to see you and the girls again, see ya next time.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I look better in the long away pictures, It was good to see you and the girls again, see ya next time.

Agreed about the pictures.

And, it was great to see you and Kathy again.

I hope to see you back on your dock soon!

TCD

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Great trip report thanks, we might not get down there till next Oct. and then it will be at a DVC resort, just hope there will be some Fiends there in earlly Oct to visit with at the Fort.