A Trip Report Sure to Win Applesauce. . .TCD's NYE 2011 TR!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to move along.

In case you are wondering, it looks like there will just be this update and one more after it, and then we will be done with another TCD trip report.

There was no wild partying for the TCD gang on NYE.

We saw the fireworks, and that was about it.

Things were kind of subdued around the Fort anyway.

Since it was the first day of the new year, I was up and out for my typical patrol early.

It wasn't as cool as it had been on some of the other mornings of this trip, but there was quite a bit of fog and mist around the Fort.

I happen to like misty mornings around the Fort.

I can't really explain it, but I like to see the mist rising from the Meadow Swimming Pool on cool winter mornings.

So, that is where I headed first.

I found something odd there.

This:

Somebody had lost 9 towels the pool.

I say lost, because there was no other explanation for why there would be 9 towels left at the pool like that.

There are signs posted at the pool telling us that we are not to try to save chairs.

That's the rule at all the WDW pools.

And even on the DCL ships.

So, no actual Fort guest would be so rude as to try to save 9 chairs at a prime spot on the pool deck.

Would they?

I didn't think so.

So I did a good deed.

I'm sure whoever forgot those 9 nice towels would want them back.

So, I folded them up and brought them up to the front desk for them to put in the lost and found.

I'll bet whoever left those towels there was really happy about that.

It made me feel good to do the right thing too.

But enough of that.

Here's one of those misty pool photos I like so much:

And, here's another misty pool photo including the kiddie pool:

Since the sun was rising, I needed some sunrise shots.

So, I took this one, which I call "Sunrise Over the 1500 Loop As Seen From the Area near the Corner of the Fort Wilderness Tennis Courts: "

Maybe I need to work on the title of that photo.

It doesn't quite roll of the tongue, does it?

I thought that photo was pretty good, but then I wanted to try it again and maybe leave out the sign that you see in the foreground. So I got this:

I wasn't quite happy with that one, because the tennis court fence got caught on the right side of the photo. So I tried one more time:

And then once again, just for good measure:

I figured one of those photos would work, so it was time to move on.

I headed out of the Meadow area, and turned left to head down to the Settlement.

I snapped this photo of the swamp that sits across from the pool and campfire area:

In case you are wondering, that photo is my favorite from this trip.

Yes, that swamp photo is my favorite.

I like it because it is kind of amazing to me that this scene sits in the middle of the busiest vacation destination in the world. All weekend, we heard reports of the parks closing because of overcrowding. The WDW was packed. But, here I was all alone admiring this misty swamp. I think this photo speaks a lot on the subject of why the Fiends love the Fort. Just look how peaceful and calm everything looks in that photo. And that is exactly how it was that morning- peaceful and calm.

From here by the swamp, I took this photo looking back toward the 1500 loop:

And then this one looking toward the 1400 loop:

This is why I always get up early when I am at the Fort.

There is nothing like the feeling of having the whole place to yourself.

As I continued on my journey to the Settlement, I snapped this photo of the 300 loop playground:

And here we are looking down the road toward the 500 loop bus stop. I like how you can see the fog hanging over the road:

Since I was here, I decided to take a peek behind the 300 loop. Maybe the fog would make for some interesting photos back there.

Here we are lookng at the canal behind the 300 loop:

Earlier, I shared some photos from last year's new year's eve trip. I was pointing out how much greener things were at the Fort this year than they were last year at the same time. Well, here are a couple of photos from last year taken along the same canal as the photo above:

It's kind of amazing to compare how brown everything was last year with how green everything still was this year.

So far, we have had a very mild winter in central Florida.

Maybe that global warming we have heard so much about is happening.

Boy, it will stink when the polar ice caps melt, and this is all under water.

But we aren't going to worry about that now.

Since I was in the area, you can probably guess where I went next.

Yes, I visited my favorite spot for the fourth morning in a row.

Today, the fog obscured the castle and Space Mountain:

You can still see a resort boat motoring past Discovery Island, and you can see the top of the Contemporary Resort over the tree tops. At least it is a different view from what we saw the first three mornings.

Here's a look at Bay Lake over to the right from that spot:

And, turning even more to the right, there's the old cabin over there in the fog:

Now we are turned all the way to the right, and we are looking back toward the dam and bridge that crosses the canal here:

As you know, the field behind Pioneer Hall was full of golf carts the night before.

Today, there was a lone golf cart still there under the fog:

There had to be a good story that went with this.

Like when you see a car left in the parking lot of a club.

Somebody went home with somebody else.

If I didn't have better things to do, I would have staked out this scene to wait and see who came to retrieve the cart.

But, I'm sorry to report that I didn't.

So we will never know.

As you know, the Fort's beach was wall to wall people last night.

I wonder if they left a mess?

We will never know the answer to that either, because a crew was already hard at work cleaning up and putting everything back in order:

Since I was already here, I thought I would take one last look for this trip around the old River Country area.

Nothing new was going on here. Just the sun beginning to illuminate everything and burn off the fog:

The snow people were still in place, but probably not for long:

I took a couple of shots of the old River Country pavilion. There are plans for this to be replaced with another building behind the Settlement Trading Post. The plans for he new building have already been filed, so who knows how much longer this one will remain? :

Will this be the last year that we see this pavilion with its Christmas decorations?

Maybe.

Or maybe not.

Last year, I thought I wouldn't be seeing this pavilion this year.

So, who knows?

From here, I headed out of the Settlement area for a last look around the Meadow Trading Post.

On the way out, I stopped for a final photo of the big Christmas tree.

It won't be here the next time I visit the Fort.

And, I will miss it:

That's it for this post.

That was 29 photos, in case you are wondering.

That leaves us with just one more batch of photos.

We will start back up looking at the area around the Meadow Trading Post.

And I'll tell you about the Fiends I didn't get to meet.

TCD

[Lil Lisa 53]

You took the towels to the lost and found?? You da man! :rofl2:

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

I loved the swamp photo too!!! Great update!!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

First of all I think you deserve a Junior Ranger badge. How thoughtful of you to take the time to fold those towels and take them to lost and found. I know I would be frantic if I had forgotten my towels at the pool. :rofl2:

I love the fog pictures, especially the ones over the water.

One of these days I really need to get up early and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Fort.

I am ready for the next update now, even though I know the end of this report is near.

[Discamper 394]

TCD I love shooting the misty Fort photos also

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Bol... "bark out loud"?? :rofl2:

Bite on leg? :rofl2:

LOL!

I was going to ask Todd what the heck BOL meant.

But, it has to be one of these two!

You took the towels to the lost and found?? You da man! :rofl2:

Heck yes I did!

If I had lost 9 towels that the pool, I would hope some honest camper would do the same for me.

OK, I really didn't.

But, that would have been funny if I did.

I loved the swamp photo too!!! Great update!!

Thanks.

First of all I think you deserve a Junior Ranger badge. How thoughtful of you to take the time to fold those towels and take them to lost and found. I know I would be frantic if I had forgotten my towels at the pool. :rofl2:

I love the fog pictures, especially the ones over the water.

One of these days I really need to get up early and enjoy the peace and quiet of the Fort.

I am ready for the next update now, even though I know the end of this report is near.

Hey Cherie-

You're slipping.

Or maybe you're improving.

You missed the squirrel in the two abandoned golf cart photos.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Hey Cherie-

You're slipping.

Or maybe you're improving.

You missed the squirrel in the two abandoned golf cart photos.

TCD

I've been working on that. With all the golf cart traffic it could be dangerous for me to be distracted by squirrels. :rofl2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

1. I think those are some of the best photos taken of the Fort. They just scream peace and tranquility!

2. I miss the Christmas tree at the Fort. I'm working on DH for 2013 WDW Christmas.

3. Doodle... Doodle... Doodle... how did you miss the squirrels?

4. I am so proud of you for taking care of those towels. Those poor people must have been absolutely devastated.....

5. I think it might be time for you to go back to the Fort....

[michele j 9]

I want to click me heels and be at the fort NOW!!!

You take fantastic photos..

Michele

[Discamper 394]

You take fantastic photos..

Michele

Michele you need to go back and look a the photos in his old trip reports. ewwww

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I've been working on that. With all the golf cart traffic it could be dangerous for me to be distracted by squirrels. :rofl2:

True.

Whatever you have been doing to keep yourself focused seem to be working.

Good job!

1. I think those are some of the best photos taken of the Fort. They just scream peace and tranquility!

2. I miss the Christmas tree at the Fort. I'm working on DH for 2013 WDW Christmas.

3. Doodle... Doodle... Doodle... how did you miss the squirrels?

4. I am so proud of you for taking care of those towels. Those poor people must have been absolutely devastated.....

5. I think it might be time for you to go back to the Fort....

on #4- I didn't really take the towels to lost and found. But some day I might do that- especially if I think it's non-Fort guests saving the seats.

#5. I think you're right!

I want to click me heels and be at the fort NOW!!!

You take fantastic photos..

Michele

Thanks.

But, I never have claimed to take good photos.

I deal in quantity.

Not quality.

Michel you need to go back and llook a the photos in his old trip reports. ewwww

Great.

Just what we need around here.

A snarky dog.

TCD

[kampfirekim 260]

BTW, when people confuse the lyrics frequently, as in "wrapped up like a douche..." it is called a mondegreen I'm not sure where I picked up that little piece of odd knowledge, but I thought I'd share. Another example that I remember hearing about was, CCR's "There's a bathroom on the right!"

:rofl2: :rofl3: Thanks Rita! Now that is stuck in my head forever!

Sorry for the outburst... moving along now...

Love the updates Andrew! (and i am pro-silly glasses) ;D

Beatutiful "misty" photos.

Those towels were really lost in plain sight weren't they? Even I could have backtracked and found those. Geez! :gaah:

[stefa70 205]

:rofl2: Because I have a lot of deputy friends I thought Todd was saying Be On the Lookout for Rudy!

Trevor and I both agreed on your choice for best picture! Crazy that a yucky old swamp can look so nice with a little fog over it. Nice work....I would question if you really took the picture, but I know the girls weren't awake that early.

Bravo for being such a considerate camper. I bet those people were heartbroken that they left their towels at the pool. Must be the old Boy Scout coming out in you.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

I laughed right out loud when reading about the towels and you turning them into lost and found.

Now I find out that you really didn't.....well, I had a good laugh anyway!!

I have been guilty of spreading out a towel on a bench before the campfire sing-along. Of course, I always used an old towel, in case someone "turned them into lost and found" for me!!!!

Looking forward to the next update, but sad it will be the last..............

Hopefully, you have another trip report to post soon. I have chemo tomorrow and quite honestly, your trip reports, as well as others here, truly brighten my days.

Heidi

[michele j 9]

Michele you need to go back and look a the photos in his old trip reports. ewwww

:rofl2: you guys are so funny. ff.net is the best :heart:

[wanttogo 1]

Thanks.

I am pretty sure that I could make the swim no problem.

The only thing holding me back is those dumb laws about trespassing and such.

I could send my cousin Yuri over there, but I don't think he can swim and he is a big chicken, too.

Since I had run into Tom at the Fort the previous New Year's Eve, I thought about him too, but I hadn't seen him before running in to him at the beach, so that was a big surprise.

Like Tom said, he was pretty active here on ff.net at the beginning.

I'm sorry that he has not and will not be as active, but I'm sure he will be back some day.

You know, I think I saw somewhere that y'all had a new trailer and would be visiting the Fort.

I thought you checked in on New Year's Day, so I figured that I missed you.

I didn't know you were there for New Year's Eve. We probably weren't far from you on the beach.

Remember how we were practically next to each other last NYE?

Glad to know that you are still reading along!

Yes, the crowd was big, but it was a lot of fun to see that much activity on the beach.

Santa Claus for Adventure?

That's a good one!

There's a commercial that I've seen a couple of times on TV lately where they show mulitple clips of people singing the same song, but each person sings the words just a bit different. I can't remember what the song is at the moment, but that is a good example of what your DH did. I know that it happens to all of us.

And when family hears it, look out!

I love that commercial. The song is "Rocket Man" and I find the commercial hilarious because I am one of the people who just mumbled thru the lyrics, not knowing what the words were. Every time I see it I laugh :)

I can confirm that Denny was alive and well on NYE. But he needs to post some on here, doesn't he? I never made it over to the Fiend party, but Denny said that is where he was going.

Yes, I think you are right about doing up the last year right.

The only thing holding me back right now is looking at how busy we are going to be with things in this next year. I'm not sure we will be able to use the passes as much as we would like.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I agree...there is nothing quite like early morning at the Fort. I love the peacefulness, which usually is broken by 7:30 or 8:00. My favorite time is around 6:30 or 7. A cup of hot coffee in my mug, and either sitting under my awning or roaming in the GC or walking. Pure bliss.

[stefa70 205]

A cup of hot coffee in my mug, and either sitting under my awning or roaming in the GC or walking. Pure bliss.

I couldn't agree more Dave. I'm an early riser and though it's usually dark when I get up, I love my quiet, coffee time. (Even better when I'm not suffering from a hangover) :gaah:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, here we are.

At the end of another TCD trip report.

This has been a fun one.

Thanks for all who posted comments. That always makes it fun. And, you never know what kind of tangents those comments will lead.

We all learned a thing or two from those tangents.

Some of what we learned is interesting and/or useful.

Like about the guy with the house by the fire station. I didn't know about him.

Or how about that there are four fire stations at WDW? Even good old Lou didn't know that.

And I'm sure that none of us knew that there was such a thing as a Snow White Spankula. Now, unfortunately, we all know that there is such a thing.

I was reminded that there is a name for misunderstanding song lyrics.

It's been fun.

But, it's time to finish this one off.

So, here we go. . .

Before we get to the end, I realized that I forgot one important event that happened during our visit. It was a quick meeting with the Mayor of the Fort. Yes, I got to catch up with good old Donnie! He cruised by our site one afternoon. I think it was Friday, the 30th. At the time, his trailer was still parked out in overflow. He said that the Fort was overbooked, and there were a few folks who might have to camp out in the parking lot overnight. Donnie had Lil' B with him on his cart. Then, I never saw Donnie again. I don't know if he ever got his site, or what happened to him. That was kind of strange.

So, that's my Donnie story.

Now, on to the final photos from 1/1/12. . .

As I left the Settlement area for what I thought would be the final visit on this trip, I snapped a photo of the Settlement Trading Post. Note how the sun is hitting just the very top of the tree on the far right of the photo, and how it looks like that tree is glowing:

Now, we are at the other side of the 600 loop footbridge, looking across the lake at the Meadow Trading Post. I thought that this photo would have more mist rising from the lake, but the sun was already doing a good job burning it all off:

Here's a shot of the campfire area at sunrise:

And, now we are in front of the Meadow Trading Post:

From here, I headed over to the 1200 loop. There was something there I wanted to snap a photo of, but didn't get a chance to yet.

This is what I wanted to take a photo of:

Those same folks were on that site when I was at the Fort for Thanksgiving. They were still there as of January 1. Lucky! And, note that they have a Tab trailer hidden back there. Awesome! Maybe everyone here could let Carol park her Tab like that on their sites.

Just around the loop, I snapped this photo of this red pop-up. With a red truck:

I recognized these folks. They went with the big red motorhome and van that you see on the site in the back of this photo:

I have seen these folks at the Fort many times. They are from South Carolina, and have a thing for the Stars and Bars (as you may have noticed on the truck). As much as they are at the Fort, I figure someone reading along must have met them or know them, or maybe, just maybe, they are already Fiends. If anyone has any info on them, let me know.

You may have noticed that this TR has a lot of photos from the 1200 loop.

Do you wonder why?

Well, I went around that loop a lot. I was stalking some Fiends. It was Ken and Judy. They go by Retired and Happy and Retired and Tired here on ff.net. They were camped on the 1200 loop. I went by their site many times hoping to catch them outside. But I never caught them. Those are the Fiends whom I wanted to meet, but didn't. Lou knows them pretty well, and when I saw him, he said I should just knock on their door. I didn't. When I was around early in the morning or at other times, I didn't want to disturb them. So, Ken and Judy, I'm sorry we didn't get to meet. Next time for sure!

From the 1200 loop, I went back to the Meadow Trading Post to get one last cup of coffee before heading back to my site to get packing.

I took a few photos from the back porch:

And, then I stepped out from under the porch to get a few across-the-lake shots of the Bike Barn:

I headed up the sidewalk toward the bridge, and then turned around to take these shots:

From the bridge, I took this shot of the bright sun shining down on the canal:

Then I headed back to my site to get packed up.

I didn't want to go, but we had to.

On the way back, I remembered something that I had seen last night in the dark, and I headed there to get a photo.

It was on the 1700 loop.

There is often a bit of debate and controversy when people ask if you are allowed to have more than one RV on a site.

We just saw above a small travel trailer on the same site as a motorhome. You saw that they kind of hid the little trailer in the back of the site.

Well, these folks on the 1700 loop made no effort to conceal the fact that they had a 5th wheel and a pop-up camper on the same site:

Since this is apparently OK, if anyone is at the Fort in the future and has some spare space like this, let me know, and I will be happy to come by for a visit.

While I was on the 1700 loop, I decided to get a couple of photos of these campers, who won the award for the most crap on your site:

From the 1700 loop, I finally went back to the site and got packing.

When I was finished, and before I left, we decided to head down to the Settlement for one last drink.

I got a last photo of Pioneer Hall with its Christmas decorations:

And, I guess I was mistaken in the last post when I said that I was posting the last photo I had of the Settlement Christmas tree, because you can see it in this photo:

The fog was gone and the sun was shining bright as we left the Settlement and headed back to our site to leave.

I snapped this photo of the path that goes to and from the Settlement. Since it is winter, the live oaks have a few less leaves than they do in the summer, which makes this path a lot brighter this time of year:

While I like the sunlight, I prefer how the path looks in the spring and summer, when there is a solid canopy of leaves above.

As we headed down Fort Wilderness Trail on the way back to our site, I snapped my last photo of this group of campers on bikes heading toward the Settlement for some type of adventure. Note how they are dressed in t-shirts. On January 1:

I thought a lot of folks would be leaving on January 1, like we were. But they weren't. It appeared that most folks decided to take advantage of the fact that January 2 was a holiday for many people, and they stayed the extra night. Not us. It makes it harder to leave the Fort when the weather is perfect and there are so many people having fun. But, it was time for us to go. So we did.

And, that, my fellow Fiends, is that.

The end of another TCD trip report.

Thanks for reading along.

Until the next one.

TCD is out!

[shoreline99 137]

[CDNCruiser 14]

The end of another TCD trip report.

Thanks for reading along.

Until the next one.

TCD is out!

Awwww! It's over! :'(

I'm sure gonna miss my daily dose of The Fort!

When are you back?

We'll be there Feb 1 - 15, probably in the 700 loop.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I think I have also missed meeting Ken & Judy last year at the Fort. My only excuse was I was knew to the other place and didn't know who he was. (also missed MO.. she was I think, in the same loop with us). We rode the same bus with Ken and two of their kids (girls). There was not enough room for Judy to get on it... she had to wait for the next one. It would have been just before Judy hurt herself. If it was Ken... he has actually seen both my kids....

It is very sad to the end of another TCD TR. However... we will be awaiting the next trip......

[Specularius 102]

Fantastic!!!! Loved every word and every picture!!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

It's over. I'll be okay, I think. Love the pictures. Two RV's on the same sight, wow. I am pretty sure I would never get away with that. Rule followers never do. Or maybe I'm just not gutsy enough to try it.

So when is your next trip? I'll be watching for a report!!

[michele j 9]

Excellent!!! :yourock:

When will the next trip report be?