CKCK "Photos and Thoughts" trip report, 2/11-2/16

[CKCK 45]

Yes, but just on the Debate forum where it belongs. The faint of heart should stay away from there.

If I read TRs, I guess I would read this one, but as usual, I can't be bothered. I have my ping-pong ball collection to organize.

And what's up with CKCK without an AKA after it? I hate insulting screen names.

And as far as Hector goes, what, there's only one ugly guy with whatever his real first name is?

Are you both in the witness protection program or something?

At least you don't have the obligatory pics of the EWP, but they can't be too far behind?

Your little girls are real cuties. Good thing they get their looks from their cute mom.

Thanks for calling yourself a dork.

Not that it means anything, but we are the parents of two former long, long, time Drum Corp kids. No wimpy Clarinets or Trombones for us. One is still in it as an instructor and is sought after by the major big corps.

Anyway, the very little that I glanced at of this TR is very good, I guess.......so far.

And how dare you not be at your site when I stopped by to harass you.

I know I probably shouldn't even respond, since you won't ever read the response because you don't read TR's.

However, maybe someone can relay this info to Lou.

If I knew you better I would make a comment about ping pong balls, and brain sizes, and so on...but since I haven't yet met you in person, I'll refrain from that comment.

Speaking of not being at my site...

I know, I suck. I was really hoping to meet you while we were there. I have to admit, I was a little scared, but I was ready to face my fears. Mark your calendar for June 5-10. We'll be in a full hookup.

CKCK...aka...CKCK. How's that?

I was in the witness protection program, but now that you just outed me I guess that's over.

You'll be happy to know that we did not see the EWP once on this trip. The girls never could stay awake long enough. We did hear it every night.

Stay away from my girls' mom.

You had mentioned once before that you were a drum corps dad. Sucks for you, because that ups your reputation with me a little. And the fact that one of your kids is on staff with the big corps? More bonus points for you. We are huge DCI fans in the CKCK house. Hopefully some day one of my little girls will grow up and march.

What corps did they march and when? I know a few people involved with some corps. I almost marched in 2000, but didn't. I went to a camp and everything. That darn wife, who was not yet my wife at the time (she's a wimpy clarinet player), and the whole really expensive thing kept me from doing it. Instead I stayed home and got a job. Wish I had marched, though.

Don't glance at too much of my TR, or you might start liking it too much.

Oh, and here's one from a previous trip:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

There is absolutely nothing better than a Fort day, I'm so glad you extended another day.

I would not buy a coke at that ridiculous price either, I won't even buy a single coke from the gas station. Yes I'm cheap but every penny I save feeds my coke addiction!

Love the parasols and the little redhead modeling it!

Don't feel bad about bear rock, I don't know which one it is either.

Finally only CKCK can make a trip to the laundry room seem fun!

Now I'd say hurry up with more but knowing the end is near I'm feeling conflicted.

[stefa70 205]

Shake that bad boy like you mean it.

:rotfl6:

I don't like junk in my drink

Do you like junk in the trunk? :hah:

Would you pay $16.50 for a six pack of beer?

Maybe, possibly, if I was in a jam. Or at the Fort.

Great update CKCK. No pictures of you singing in the rain with the red parasol?

Yes I'm cheap but every penny I save feeds my coke addiction

:dropjaw: Doodle, I had no idea? Do we need to do an intervention? :rofl2:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

:dropjaw: Doodle, I had no idea? Do we need to do an intervention? :rofl2:

Yes, no. Um maybe? :rofl2: I have a bad feeling I will be seeing a new tag in my future.

[CKCK 45]

Now I'd say hurry up with more but knowing the end is near I'm feeling conflicted.

All good things must come to an end. I'm not sure if this was a good thing or not, but either way, it's ending!

Great update CKCK. No pictures of you singing in the rain with the red parasol?

Maybe if I keep drinking margaritas tonight you'll get one...

[CKCK 45]

Okay, it's time to put this TR to bed.

Here we go.

After naps we decided to...

go looping, what else?

Actually, my first task was to go and get some medicine from the Trading Post.

DD2 woke up from her nap with a fever.

Doh.

We think it started as a little exhaustion combined with maybe a little bit of overheating the day before. Combine all that together, lower the immune system, add in the crazy weather, and we think she just got something. Once she got the medicine (and it wasn't cheap coming from the TP) her fever went down and she felt a little better.

She was no better the next day on the way home, and stayed kind of puny for a couple of days. Then she gave whatever she had to all of us, which made for a great week...

Anyway, once we got her feeling a little better we hit the GC and started out looping and hitting playgrounds.

We first went to the playground by the 1300 loop. It wasn't that exciting, but then there was a commotion out on the road.

Golf carts started pulling over.

This is why:

Turkeys!

I knew there were turkeys at the Fort, as we had seen them on previous trips.

I had never seen this many at once.

It seemed as though two males were showing off and kind of fighting back and forth for supremacy.

They kept coming over towards the 1300, so we got in the cart and just waited for them to come to us.

There's only so long that you can watch turkeys, so we finally moved on.

Over in the 1800 loop there had been a guy with a dog pen set up on the pine straw just off of the concrete pad. I didn't get a picture of it, but there were two huge dogs in the pen and they had dug a HUGE hole in the ground. I don't mean a hole to bury a bone in. I mean a hole that they both could have fit in. It actually was verging on being destructive.

This is what the site looked like today:

See all the pine straw (apparently the Restoration Specialists of Florida had been here too)? That was covering up the mess that the dogs made.

I thought it was a little disrespectful of that dog owner to allow them to do that.

But no one asked me.

I saw this in the 1500s:

I have no idea what it was, but it looked cool.

We stopped by the playground by the dog park:

Finally we made it back to the Settlement.

As the girls headed to the playground, I first walked around to get a few pics of HDDR guests.

See the just married couple?

See the rest of the crowd coming to the HDDR?

Do you know what that is?

That's someone's trash.

TRASH.

That they just left sitting there.

Now, in their defense it looks like it would have been pretty hard to pick it up and throw it away, so I can understand a little how they would have left it there.

No I can't.

They were lazy.

And slobs.

If I had seen them walk away I would have yelled at them. Magical place or not, I would have yelled at them because that's ridiculous.

STOP BEING LAZY SLOBS.

When I finally made it to the playground, the girls were swinging. Well, DD3.5 was. DD2 was mostly just being pissy at this point, but she didn't feel well so I understood.

And that's when it happened.

I got an awesome pic of DD3.5.

I have to share it with you.

My favorite picture of her ever.

CKCK winning.

It was apparently nearing time for the carriage rides to start, because here it came.

If I could remember TCD's TR, I might be able to tell you what kind of horse that is.

But I can't.

It probably wasn't too happy I was taking a picture right next to it, but I wanted to get a picture of his reflective safety tape on his front legs.

We then headed down towards RC.

I didn't go all the way down, but stopped here:

I've gotten RC pics before, and nothing has changed.

A problem I have had with the Fort is knowing where GC's are allowed.

I think the Fort should be more clear about where GC's are and are not allowed.

There are certain areas, especially around the Settlement, that I feel like GC's should not be allowed, but there aren't any signs saying one way or the other. One area is the path going back towards RC.

It isn't that I don't think that they should be allowed, it's just that I don't feel like they are.

Are they? There are GC tire tracks going through the ropes, so I would think that others have driven there.

Either way, we drove down to the entrance of RC.

Because I'm lazy.

Was a rule breaker? I don't know.

I don't have a "Great Place to Get Lost" shirt, so I was flying by the seat of my pants here, people.

Living on the edge.

My wife wanted some "artsy" lamp pics, so I did my best:

I should have framed the lamp on the side rather than middle on that one.

I like the framing better there, but not the lighting. Though I like that you can see the azaleas.

This one was back by the Settlement.

We headed back to the TT and I started getting things ready for the ride home the next day.

Not fun, but necessary.

We made it back to the sing-a-long one more time to listen to Cowboy Anthony.

I like Cowboy Anthony. We actually had seen him playing and singing in front of the Country Bears in the MK on Tuesday.

He gets around.

I feel bad for him too.

He sings his heart out, makes corny jokes, and tears it up on the guitar and banjo.

And it falls on a lot of deaf ears.

It was pretty crowded this night since the weather was finally warm, but the crowd was pretty dead.

I sang, DW sang, and both DD's sang.

We danced.

We had a good time.

And we applauded loudly for Cowboy Anthony. He deserves it.

Next time you are there, please at least pretend you care, even if you don't. It will make him feel better about it.

And for that matter, the next time you are somewhere that musicians are playing...even if they're just in the background...APPLAUD!!! Make them feel appreciated! They don't do it for the money, because heaven knows musicians don't get paid enough. They do it because they love music, they love making music, and they love making music for other people! They love making people happy through music!

If you're in the GF for hoity toity tea, applaud the musicians playing in the lobby as you walk through! Applaud the really cool jazz combo way over on the balcony!

If you're in the MK and you just heard the Dapper Dans or the Mainstreet Philharmonic, APPLAUD! Even if you weren't standing there listening to them! They add to the atmosphere that you love when you're walking down Mainstreet, so give them thanks!

As a musician myself, I can tell you that even if my purpose is to be background music, it's still nice to know that people appreciate me being there.

If you attend musicals, Broadway shows, etc., applaud the pit orchestra. And please be quiet during the Prelude! That's when the orchestra starts playing BEFORE the show starts. That's actually part of the show, and you're supposed to shut your loud mouth and listen.

Okay, that's my PSA for the day.

And that's it! No more pics, no more thoughts.

Thanks for reading along.

If you commented, thanks for your comments.

If you voted on hoity toity tea, then you can turn your Fiend card in to TCD the next time you see him.

Okay, maybe not.

Who am I to judge?

You like what you like, and I'll like what I like.

Even though what I like is better than what you like.

If you didn't comment, thanks for not commenting. I appreciate your focus.

THE END

(now it's appropriate to applaud the orchestra)

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

:bravo:

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

I LOVED this TR, one of my all-time favorites! I hope to meet you and your family one day! I also love the PSA!

[HappyCamper...Deb 61]

:thank-you-smiley3:

Outstanding TR!

[Sunset Lady 6]

:bravo:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Loved the TR!

[stacktester 78]

I believe the horse is a Belgian. I noticed the reflective tape on our last visit. The way golf carts wiz around the horses I'm not surprised to see it on the horses.

[Lou... 3,118]

I wanted to get a picture of his reflective safety tape on his front legs.

What would we do without government regulations, that's ridiculous.

I'm surprised that the horse doesn't have to wear one of those silly reflective vests too.

As a musician myself, I can tell you that even if my purpose is to be background music, it's still nice to know that people appreciate me being there.

Ditto, but you're right, we do it, or use to do it, because we love it.

If you're in the GF for hoity toity tea, applaud the musicians playing in the lobby as you walk through! Applaud the really cool jazz combo way over on the balcony!

I worked nights at the GF front desk for a while and got to hear them every night.

I met all of the musicians and I would often complement them for a job well done as they were leaving.

What a great gig they have.

[stefa70 205]

Great report CKCK!! Sad to see it's over.

Beautiful picture of your daughter.

I look forward to meeting you and your family for a cold beer and a GAG.

[FtWildernessFamily...Holly 25]

EXCELLENT! So sad to see this come to an end.

And that is my fave picture of your DD too, and I've never seen any others except those you posted here. She's a beauty! :)

[blm2003 2]

:bravo: What a great report, I'm late to the party but really enjoyed catching up! You have a wonderful family, thanks for sharing your trip with us!

And as a fellow trumpet player thanks for your PSA, very well said.

Joe

[kampfirekim 260]

Yes, but just on the Debate forum where it belongs. The faint of heart should stay away from there.

Good to know. I normally use the new content button and have wandered in the Debate Forum unawares. :bugeyes:

The 1700 loop was pretty empty. Probably everyone leaving because they heard about the WWW coming in.

On a side note, later that day while looping we came across Carol setting up her T@B and campsite getting ready for everyone.

If you're reading Carol, it was great meeting you!

I might add, that she told us about her having to leave the Fort because of work, but she was still there setting up camp for the other women fiends coming in!

HOW COOL IS THAT?

You are probably right. Those people in 1700 were no dummies. They knew when to get out of Dodge.

As a participating member of the WWW, I can say that IT WAS VERY COOL!!! When we arrived the giant tent shelter was already set up along with chairs, lights, etc. Carol most certainly is a WWW girlfiend rockstar!!! :heart:

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

I finally got on a real computer and read this report!! AWESOME!! It was awesome meeting you too!! Plus I'm blushing at your comments and Kim's comments. I just wanted to get everything done, so that when I did get there with my family, I could enjoy being with them instead of setting up camp!!

[kampfirekim 260]

I finally got on a real computer and read this report!! AWESOME!! It was awesome meeting you too!! Plus I'm blushing at your comments and Kim's comments. I just wanted to get everything done, so that when I did get there with my family, I could enjoy being with them instead of setting up camp!!

Dang. And we thought it was all for us! :rofl2: Just kidding.

[TnBob 311]

Ok guys and Gals, what is missing from CKCK's pictures to TCD's Thanksgiving pictures, and I don't mean the fat ugly guy that fishes off the dock.

[CKCK 45]

Ok guys and Gals, what is missing from CKCK's pictures to TCD's Thanksgiving pictures, and I don't mean the fat ugly guy that fishes off the dock.

Oooh, your trees! Where did they go?

Good catch, (pun intended) Bob!

[Lou... 3,118]

That dock just doesn't look right without a certain person fishing from it.

[TnBob 311]

I almost came unglued when I saw it, but it does clean it up a bit

[Lou... 3,118]

Wonder why they did it?

Maybe there doing something else in that area too?

I'll keep an eye out.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

CK²-

I was traveling a couple of days last week, and I missed the end of your report!

But I am caught up now!

Great job!

Outstanding!

The photos are great, but the writing is even better.

And, to TnBob- good job on noting the work done around the dock.

And, that work was done very recently.

This is a photo I took in January:

And, this is CK²'s photo:

Not only were the two large bushes near the dock removed, they also removed all of the azleas along the water.

TCD