TCD's Halloween 2011 Trip Report

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well here it comes!

TCD's 12th Trip Report here on FF.net!

I returned from the Fort almost a week ago, but I am just now getting around to getting this one kicked-off.

I took me a while to come up with a catchy title.

I mean, there have already been numerous Halloween trip reports, and I was trying to think of something that would stand out.

It finally came to me.

Seriously. this was a bit of a different trip for us. Between the weather and some special guests, I was not in my typical TCD trip mode. In fact, I struggled to find something new to report about. But, I did find something. And, I was only able to solve one mystery. And, the TCDRMOG award for this trip is kind of weak.

But, it was a great trip.

With lots of Fiends.

So let's begin at the beginning.

It's just TCD and the twins on this trip. No Mrs. TCD. No TCD oldest DD, and no Rocky. We were lucky to get this trip put together, and poor old Rocky just did not fit in to the plans. I owe him a trip, and he knows it. I will make it up to him soon.

We arrived on Friday October 28th, at a little after 4 pm.

The weather in Central Florida had been glorious for the week plus leading up to this trip.

Of course, once our arrival day rolled around, it had to rain.

So, this is what we saw as we pulled up to the fabled gates of the Magic Kingdom:

You see all of that water on the windshield? That's rain.

Boo!

One of the TCD twins was in charge of the camera at this point in our journey, and she thought it was important to take a photo of her new pillow pal, who had joined us for our trip:

That's an official University of Florida pillow pal. We were representing for the Florida-Georgia game on Saturday.

We will hear more about that later.

There was just a short line at the guard shack as we pulled up. The garden planted outside looked great:

Since it was almost Halloween and since Joe Biden was making an appearance at the Contemporary Resort that evening, I thought a little trick might be fun:

So, what do you think the Castmember did when a guy in an Obama mask pulled up to the Fort?

Well, she asked me for a photo ID.

So, I showed her mine.

I didn't take off the mask.

She directed me to the check in lanes.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love the Fort's Security Guards?

She did a great job protecting the Fort:

We had no major issue at check in.

We were going premium on this trip, and I faxed loop requests for 700, 800 or 900 for this trip.

We were assigned to site 901.

And, then we headed off in the rain to our site.

This firetruck was coming out as we were going in. As far as I know, this was not any kind of big deal:

Note the wet conditions.

I don't like it when it rains when I'm camping.

But, it was raining.

We got to our site.

I really didn't like it. We were the first outside site on the loop. The side of our site was very close to the loop road. Plus, we would be set up so that we would catch the headlights of any vehicle exiting the loop at night.

The TCD twins disagreed with my opinion. They thought the site was great- right in the middle of all the action.

I walked across to the comfort station anyway to call the front desk just to see if we could possibly change. The phone was out of order. There was a number posted for the front desk, so I called it. That must have been an old number, because I got a recording for some other business. So that was that. Clearly, we were supposed to stay put and make the best of it.

So we did.

And I'm glad.

I ended up liking our site very much.

That shows you how much I know.

So, it was now 5-ish.

Did I mention we had special guests for the first part of our trip?

It was one of my sisters, and her four year old son, and my nephew, Nicholas. My sister told me that Nicholas had been bugging her about going camping. She knows that I camp. So, we invited them along. She bought tickets for the Not So Scary Halloween Party for Friday night. So, my sister and Nicholas parked at our site and took off for the Magic Kingdom.

I got camp set up.

And, then the girls and I headed down to Trail's End for our Giddyap and Go chicken dinner. It's our traditional first meal. It did not disappoint. If I remember right, we were visited that very first evening by Stefa70 and her great husband, Trevor. S70 filled me in on the gossip, and on who was where. I told them we would stop by to see them later.

We saved our chicken skin for Bob.

And a little later, we headed over to the 600 loop to look for Bob.

We found Bob at his site. Along with a bunch of other Fiends. Some we had met before, and others we were getting to meet for the first time. We hung out there briefly, and then we were on our way.

We hung out at the Fort that night. We looped and enjoyed the decorations and the atmosphere. We picked up Nicholas and my sister at the marina just after midnight, and we called it a night.

The rain ended up being not so bad. It held off for most of the night, and then started back up some time after midnight. It rained softly for most of the night, and it was still drizzling when we got up on Saturday morning.

Coming up . . .

A full day of Halloween festivities at the Fort!

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Finally!!!

You always have a title that stands out: "TCD's Blah, blah, blah." With that name, it doesn't matter what the rest of the title says!

Sorry for interrupting your GAG dinner. I told Trev not to bother you, but he has no manners. :)

I'm so excited for another report! :jumpforjoy

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

Wow I haven't been on here in a while and I log on and I'm the first to a TCD trip report!

Can't wait for more!

WBI

Edited: Well, second.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Finally!!!

You always have a title that stands out: "TCD's Blah, blah, blah." With that name, it doesn't matter what the rest of the title says!

Sorry for interrupting your GAG dinner. I told Trev not to bother you, but he has no manners. :)

I'm so excited for another report! :jumpforjoy

I am glad that Trevor insisted on visiting. It was great to see you both again, and you caught us right up on what was going on with the Fiends, including the Red Solo Cup and Hunch Punch news.

That was all very helpful!

Wow I haven't been on here in a while and I log on and I'm the first to a TCD trip report!

Can't wait for more!

WBI

Edited: Well, second.

Yeah- you have to be quick to beat S70 when it comes to anything TCD related.

Not bad, though.

And, while you're here- weren't you supposed to be visiting the Fort on Halloween so you could prove to Lou and others that you actually exist?

TCD

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

I'm in!!! You got the site I would LOVE to have, but later in our trip, I realized why we couldn't get 900 Loop, and I'm GLAD we didn't get it. :-)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm in!!! You got the site I would LOVE to have, but later in our trip, I realized why we couldn't get 900 Loop, and I'm GLAD we didn't get it. :-)

I heard from a couple of Fiends that they had asked for 900 and didn't get it.

Both you and Donnie told me that you would like that site. I did love the location. I did not love being that close to the entrance road. I'll have some photos later to show how close we were.

I wonder what happened after we left?

Was it tree trimming?

TCD

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Hey! Look at me! 1st page of a TCD TR!!!

TCD, we missed you again . The Buckeye Fort Family pulled out the Saturday morning after your arrival. Site 1313. We did have a wonderful week of weather but I hate packing up in the rain. Looking forward to more of your TR!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Enjoying the TR!!!! :jumpforjoy

ETA:

I beat KFK on a TCD report!!!!!

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

I agree with Stef - Fianally! I have to post real time to try and stay ahead of you and some of the others. I finally got to meet you and was glad to do so!

Meanwhile, :popcorn:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hey! Look at me! 1st page of a TCD TR!!!

TCD, we missed you again . The Buckeye Fort Family pulled out the Saturday morning after your arrival. Site 1313. We did have a wonderful week of weather but I hate packing up in the rain. Looking forward to more of your TR!

Yeah- look at you! First page, Baby!

Way to go!

I'm sorry that we missed each other again. I knew you weren't there, because I didn't see a single Brutus the Buckeye all weekend.

Enjoying the TR!!!! :jumpforjoy

Thanks for reading along- you made first page too!

I agree with Stef - Fianally! I have to post real time to try and stay ahead of you and some of the others. I finally got to meet you and was glad to do so!

Meanwhile, :popcorn:

Well, Ed, you are one of the reasons I didn't get started sooner.

I wanted to read-up on the other reports to make sure that I didn't repeat too much of what has already been posted.

It turns out that with your great report and others, there isn't much that hasn't already been reported several times over.

But, I've got a few tales to tell that have yet to be told.

It was also great for me to meet you, as well as your lovely sister, Rita, and your beautiful friend Joanne. And, of course, you know that your momma is a sweetheart. You are a lucky man, Ed.

TCD

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

I wonder what happened after we left?

Was it tree trimming?

TCD

I'll start my report soon, and you'll just have to read it to find out!!

[kampfirekim 260]

What!? I made it on the first page!! :yay:

Nice job on the catchy title. It caught my attention right off!

Can't wait to hear all about it! :banana:

[stefa70 205]

Yeah- you have to be quick to beat S70 when it comes to anything TCD related.

TCD

[kampfirekim 260]

Enjoying the TR!!!! :jumpforjoy

ETA:

I beat KFK on a TCD report!!!!!

Dang it!!! We were reading at the same time and you finished before me! :argh:

Oh well.. good job Genia! ;D

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'll start my report soon, and you'll just have to read it to find out!!

What The Fort?

What's with the suspense and mystery?

Who do you think you are, TCD?

What!? I made it on the first page!! :yay:

Nice job on the catchy title. It caught my attention right off!

Can't wait to hear all about it! :banana:

WTG KFK!

You know I told you and H that you need to visit the Fort for Halloween some time.

Maybe not next year, since it will be on a Wednesday.

But the year after that for sure!

Right back at ya!

TCD

Hey look, everyone- only a few more spots to be on the first page- you had better hurry!

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

Out of popcorn, so I will grab second's on the first page while more pops ...

:popcorn:

[NVWSSV 25]

Enjoying the TR!! Sorry I missed you there but thanks sooo much for the Spike!!!!!!!

[kampfirekim 260]

WTG KFK!

You know I told you and H that you need to visit the Fort for Halloween some time.

Maybe not next year, since it will be on a Wednesday.

But the year after that for sure!

Hey look, everyone- only a few more spots to be on the first page- you had better hurry!

Yes you did tell us we need to visit on Halloween. Hopefully one day that will happen. That darn time and money issue is cramping my style. ;D

[SCTigerCock 171]

Dang it!!! We were reading at the same time and you finished before me! :argh: Oh well.. good job Genia! ;D

KFK, don't you know us Clemson people just look at the pictures. We don't read. :whew: :rofl2: :heart: :clint:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You may have noticed that the first installment of this report was a bit light on the photos, as far as TCD trip reports go.

That's because of the rain.

It's hard to take good photos in the rain.

Plus, on a previous visit this year, I killed a camera from taking too many photos in the rain.

So we all got gypped with the photos on that first evening.

Which is bad. Because the photos help me to remember exactly what happened.

I'm pretty sure we visited Stefa70 and Trevor at their site that first night.

I know I was offered some of the punch. But I also heard folks calling Trevor Jim Jones.

So I passed.

I was in college during the last grain alcohol craze.

My punch drinking days are safely behind me.

I did get to meet Mason, though.

He didn't seem to like me so much.

They say dogs are good judges of character.

Something must be wrong with poor old Mason.

Anyway, as far as this report goes, Friday is already behind us, and we are on to Saturday morning.

I was up early, as per usual.

But, it was still raining.

I did some looping in my poncho.

There's nothing wrong with that.

The girls and I had agreed that they would just sleep in this morning. No one wanted to do a rope drop in the rain.

Nicholas didn't get the memo.

He was up early.

I watched him while my sister got a shower.

It was weird having a four year old boy in the camper.

The twins were four when I bought the camper.

They never got into any of the stuff that Nicholas did in just that one morning.

On my watch, Nicholas slammed his finger in the door and got himself a nice big knife out of a drawer in the galley. Luckily, my sister got back while he was still alive.

Here is Nicholas:

My sister didn't have any definite plans for Saturday. I showed her the schedule of activities. She thought Nicholas would enjoy making a Halloween craft. So, right after breakfast, we headed off for that. Here are Nicholas and my sister at the pool to work on the craft:

That castmember there helping Nicholas is Amanda. She was like a young Ellen DeGeneris. Only with a deeper voice and darker hair. Not that there's anything wrong with that. We had several encounters with Amanda and other castmembers over the weekend. They did a great job and were a lot of fun.

The place was flooded with cub scouts. They all came from the group camping area. They walked past our site on the way to and from the bridge to Creekside Meadow many times that Saturday:

When I dropped Nicholas and my sister off, I picked up a couple of the crafts to bring back to the TCD twins. It was a very simple craft. It was a piece of multi-colored card stock covered with black paint. The kids just scratched off the black paint to make a decoration. Here are the cousins with their crafts:

As I mentioned, my girls all began camping at the Fort when they were just a bit younger than Nicholas. In those early days, they used to love just playing around the campsite. They would collect sticks and pine cones, and dig holes, and just enjoy the great outdoors. They aren't in to any of that so much any more. But good old Nicholas was.

As luck would have it, our campsite was not only right on top of the loop road, it also was right next to an awesome puddle. And Nicholas just so happened to have his boots with him. I'll bet you can guess what happened next:

The drizzle eventually stopped, but things were still wet.

Here's the view from the back of our site:

That's the Meadow Trading Post you see there behind the bus.

It was pretty cool being that close to it.

Because of the rain, we hadn't set up any of our decorations yet.

We started with our Mickey Dracula, which Nicholas thought was pretty cool:

Before I could break out the rest of the decorations, it was already time for the Mummy Wrap relay.

Unless I missed them, no one has posted any photos from the Mummy Wrap relay.

Well, I have some.

Actually, many.

And you will be able to see them in the very next post!

TCD

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

Page one? Lol or two

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

One of the TCD twins was in charge of the camera at this point in our journey, and she thought it was important to take a photo of her new pillow pal, who had joined us for our trip: TCD

I have been anxiously waiting for this report. Now I don't know if it's because of all the talk about Stef's great punch or not, but I have to tell you that what really caught my eye in this photo was not the Pillow Pet, but the magazine article title itself. Maybe it was just the word Rum! :rofl3:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Page one? Lol or two

LOL! You got poned by your brother!

Hey- it was great to see you and Missy again.

Thanks for the gift you gave me- I will be mentioning it a bit later in the report.

Also, the TCD twins reported to me that when they Trick-or-Treated at your site, you had special bags of candy made up for the Fiend kids. That made their night! That was a super-nice thing for you to do.

Thanks!

I have been anxiously waiting for this report. Now I don't know if it's because of all the talk about Stef's great punch or not, but I have to tell you that what really caught my eye in this photo was not the Pillow Pet, but the magazine article title itself. Maybe it was just the word Rum! :rofl3:

Hey- I see the word Rum now, too.

I wonder what this says about you?

a. you have excellent powers of observation, or

b. you have a thing for rum.

I think it's "b" isn't it?

TCD

[Discamper 394]

TCD will this be a long trip report? I hope you have some great new adventures to tell and show

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

LOL! You got poned by your brother!

Hey- it was great to see you and Missy again.

Thanks for the gift you gave me- I will be mentioning it a bit later in the report.

Also, the TCD twins reported to me that when they Trick-or-Treated at your site, you had special bags of candy made up for the Fiend kids. That made their night! That was a super-nice thing for you to do.

Thanks!

Hey- I see the word Rum now, too.

I wonder what this says about you?

(a) you have excellent powers of observation, or

( you have a thing for rum.

I think it's "b" isn't it?

TCD

You forgot © I am a true fiend or

(d) all of the above.