Our Wildest Halloween Ride through the Wilderness!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Tuesday, October 23 – Upchucking and Lysol

Woke up a little after midnight with one of the worst sinus headaches I’ve ever had. Not a good way to start vacation.

Played on the computer until the alarm clock went off at 3.

We’re off to Disney World! Left home at 4:15. Stopped at Cracker Barrel in Orangeburg, SC, and finally made it onto I-95.

Finally made it through South Carolina and into Georgia:

And into Florida a little before 1:00:

Stopped at the Florida Welcome Center to stretch our legs and get that tiny free cup of juice.

We’re so happy with our Mighty Hauler! DeeDee rode down perfectly and was so easy to load and tie down.

We ended up taking the western loop around Jacksonville to avoid the construction and the high bridge on the eastern loop.

Went over a long bridge crossing the Saint Johns River, but it wasn’t scary:

We stopped to overnight at the Flying J in St. Augustine. Had an early dinner there at Denny’s. Wish I had taken a photo of my amazing burger and onion rings (hey, I’m on vacation, I’m gonna treat myself).

Other than my splitting headache, so far, so good. We got away early, we encountered little traffic, had a couple of good meals, and were ready to settle in for the evening. And then we gave Kassie a treat.

She has an esophagus problem that her vet assured us would go away by the time she was two. She is now 8 and it hasn’t gone away yet.

Kassie was standing in the passenger seat and suddenly started throwing up … into my open camera bag … all over my camera, the manual, and the inside of the bag.

My camera strap still smells of Lysol.

We were parked next to a Prevost … a CBS Sports Road Trip bus. They ran the generator all night. It was the loudest generator I’ve ever heard.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Whoo hoo a new TR and I am on page one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I'm in! How can I resist a trip report that starts out with headaches and cat vomit?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm in! How can I resist a trip report that starts out with headaches and cat vomit?

Sorry, that's dog vomit. I'm allergic to cats.

Still at the fort. Report will be slow going. Will be home in a week and will really get going on it then.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wednesday, October 24 – On to the Mouse!

Needless to say, I didn’t sleep well. I was awake at 2:30 and reading a book while watching the traffic come and go. It’s amazing. The place never sleeps.

Had Cracker Barrel leftovers for breakfast and left a little after 5am.

We arrived onto Disney property a little after 7.

Tried to take a pic of the signs, but it was too dark and this is what I got:

And

Check in took at least a half hour, despite being the third unit to check in. We were initially assigned to the 600 loop, but I said no way! So they reassigned us to a site in 700.

I was on my new smartphone checking out our FortFiends site app … introduced it to the CMs and gave out some cards. They were like “oh, we have all the site information here.” I said but you don’t know where the utilities are located or the difficulty of backing in. And you don’t have photos like we do.

Meanwhile we went to the overflow lot and unloaded DeeDee. We checked out the site we were assigned to and weren’t happy with it. We noticed that 703 was open and went back to request it … CM was on the phone with another CM … someone else who was arriving the next day was assigned to 703 … but why? If there was no specific reason, then we could have it … finally we were cleared. I was a little apprehensive about the site because it was smaller and backed up to a main road.

I’ll have pics of our site later.

It turned out to be a great site! It was very private, and I never heard noise from the road. One thing I really liked was that my Fort Fiends sign was visible from the main road.

Note to self: next trip, leave St. Augustine by 4:30 a.m. to avoid Orlando rush traffic.

Just as we got everything set up, Grumpy and Grandma and TnBob dropped by!

I took Kassie to the dog walk and encountered two young deer. I so wished I had my camera! We got about 30 feet from them before Kassie spooked them.

I rode DeeDee up to the Meadow trading post and got a refillable mug.

And then rode around:

I encountered a segway tour and saw a guy fall off (I thought I’d be nice and not take a pic of him):

Saw this Halloween display:

More fort photos:

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Photobucket isn't cooperating ... will resume later.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Great start. Two weeks and a day and we will be on our way there.

[dellasgirl 7]

Removed

[photogal06...Sommer 10]

Loving the TR so far! Bummer about the dog though...been there too many times, though never in my camera bag! Can't wait to see the rest of your trip. And lol about the guy falling off the Segway....I promised DD that when she's old enough we'll do the Segway Tour, but I'm secretly afraid I'll fall off. Hopefully whoever sees will be nice like you and not take a photo of it!

[beccaewert 10]

Im loving it all so far--- except the dog puke---bummer!

[fortpartyof4 108]

Great pictures! Sorry about your pup. Is she feeling better?

You were 10 min. from my house when you crossed the Buckman! And then again when you were at Flying J!

Hope you get some better sleep while you are down there and thanks for sharing!

[Momoffive aka Loretta 34]

:wave1: Gwen, we'll be on the same trek tomorrow. 16 hours and counting!!! Have to wait for eldest DD to finish at 2 PM. Special event that goes until end of class, ugh. Love the pictures. and I 'm on page 1!!! I'm on for the ride. Sorry to hear about the furbaby. Poor baby, and in your camera bag yuck! (thank goodness I didn't really hear it, I would have puked too) Now the picture of the guy on the segway would have been a hoot, but you have good taste. See you soon!

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

I am in. Loving the report. I love taking pictures of the state signs as we enter and leave. There isn't much better than the MK and FW sign though. Looking forward to reading more.

YC

[KeepSwimmingDory 2]

Off to a great start--at least after the puke part. Looking forward to more!

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I am in too!

Sorry to hear about the dog getting sick.

Thanks for taking the time to share about your trip.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Whoo hoo a new TR and I am on page one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for reading!

Great start. Two weeks and a day and we will be on our way there.

And sadly I'll be home. A 16-day trip isn't nearly long enough. I guess I'd say that even if it were a month or two. Have a great trip!

I am in i know what you mean when you say "finally made it though South Carolina" That seems to be the LOOONNNGGGEST state in our trip making Georgia seem small in contrast. oh and we love Denny's-their restaurants are a must do on our road trips anywhere(there or Waffle House) Ann and family

Yes, SC takes forever to get through when you're headed to Disney!

Loving the TR so far! Bummer about the dog though...been there too many times, though never in my camera bag! Can't wait to see the rest of your trip. And lol about the guy falling off the Segway....I promised DD that when she's old enough we'll do the Segway Tour, but I'm secretly afraid I'll fall off. Hopefully whoever sees will be nice like you and not take a photo of it!

I've always thought the segways were easy to ride and safe ... don't know if the guy did something dumb to cause his accident. One minute he was riding along and the next he was sprawled on the ground!

Im loving it all so far--- except the dog puke---bummer!

Thanks for reading. If you've read any of my previous TRs, you'll know that we always have some sort of drama on our trips. And many times it involves Kassie.

Great pictures! Sorry about your pup. Is she feeling better? You were 10 min. from my house when you crossed the Buckman! And then again when you were at Flying J! Hope you get some better sleep while you are down there and thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading along. Sorry we were so close and didn't meet! As for sleep, I was up at 3:30 this morning. I think we've slept in until 6 one day. Old habits are hard to break.

:wave1: Gwen, we'll be on the same trek tomorrow. 16 hours and counting!!! Have to wait for eldest DD to finish at 2 PM. Special event that goes until end of class, ugh. Love the pictures. and I 'm on page 1!!! I'm on for the ride. Sorry to hear about the furbaby. Poor baby, and in your camera bag yuck! (thank goodness I didn't really hear it, I would have puked too) Now the picture of the guy on the segway would have been a hoot, but you have good taste. See you soon!

Have a safe trip down. Really looking forward to meeting you! (For those of you who don't know, we live about 20 minutes apart and have never met. Can you believe that?)

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I am in. Loving the report. I love taking pictures of the state signs as we enter and leave. There isn't much better than the MK and FW sign though. Looking forward to reading more. YC

Off to a great start--at least after the puke part. Looking forward to more!

I am in too! Sorry to hear about the dog getting sick. Thanks for taking the time to share about your trip.

Thank you all for reading along! I've unfortunately had some down time here (you will find out why later) and so have been able to start my TR. Hopefully things are looking up and I'll be in the parks rather than posting for the next 5 days. So much to see (and eat) and so little time!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wednesday, October 24 - continued

After getting everything all set up and comfy, we went down to the Settlement to catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom.

And we arrived!

We walked onto Main Street during the parade:

And then the parade was over and I got a clear view of the castle (sniff, sniff):

Aah, I’m home! I’m in my happy place looking forward to 14 days of stressless fun! Who am I kidding, but it’s so nice to dream …

We just roamed around a little soaking up the ambiance and reassuring ourselves that we were finally here.

Had an interesting ride on the boat back to the fort.

We had a boat captain who was apparently in training. She tried to dock the boat … and missed

… and missed

… and missed

... and missed

... I asked David if we should just swim back (and I can’t swim more than 20 feet).

Finally on the seventh or eighth try she made it to the dock.

We had GAG for dinner. A few years we got the GAG and really disliked it. The chicken was tough, the slaw was weird.

This one was better. And no one can argue about it being a great value.

But I really have to say that it just doesn’t compare to KFC. It just isn’t crispy enough and doesn’t have any seasoning.

If I went to the HDDR and were fed this chicken, I’d be terribly disappointed.

After dinner we rode over to Bob’s site. We met Kathy, Cheryl and Jeff, momofmany (Kristina and Bill), TJ and Missy, Missy’s mother, and Doodle.

The guys were off to help Mike get settled onto their site, but I’ll have pics of them later.

Jeff helped me with my new smartphone. Turns out he has the same phone with the same carrier as me. He was a lifesaver!

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Yay!! Another TR!!

Hope Kassie is feeling better!

Can't wait for more.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Is Doodle channeling Lorna here? :rofl3:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Gwen-

Great start.

It's good to see that your camera is working great despite the gift from Kassie. You have some great photos there.

The Mighty Hauler looks cool! I'm glad to hear it was easy to load and worked well.

What is up with how they assign campsites? I would like to know who these people are that are able to have specific campsites held for them and how they do it. I'm glad you got one that you liked.

Enjoy the rest of your time at the Fort!

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

What is up with how they assign campsites? I would like to know who these people are that are able to have specific campsites held for them and how they do it. I'm glad you got one that you liked.

Enjoy the rest of your time at the Fort!

TCD

I would like to know that as well. Also, how those large groups mentioned in TCD's current report managed to get sites all together.

I have unsuccessfully tried to do both of those things, yet it appears it is in fact possible to do it. If anyone knows, I'd love to hear your secret!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Hi Gwen,

just after you left I decided to say hi again!!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Is Doodle channeling Lorna here? :rofl3:

:rofl2:

Gwen- Great start. It's good to see that your camera is working great despite the gift from Kassie. You have some great photos there. The Mighty Hauler looks cool! I'm glad to hear it was easy to load and worked well. What is up with how they assign campsites? I would like to know who these people are that are able to have specific campsites held for them and how they do it. I'm glad you got one that you liked. Enjoy the rest of your time at the Fort! TCD

Thanks, but I'd rather have less of those "gifts"!

I'm clueless as to why someone else was assigned our site and they suddenly decided to give it to us. But I'm not complaining. Looking forward to tomorrow!

Hi Gwen, just after you left I decided to say hi again!!

Hi, Nicki! Enjoyed meeting your imaginary husband and children today!

We had major pixie dust today. Will write about it in my TR.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Thursday, October 25 – Food and Wine, Here We Come!

I cooked breakfast in the moho and then we went to EPCOT. Our first time at the Food and Wine festival. We drove DeeDee to the outpost. We waited …. and waited … and waited … and waited. A Downtown Disney bus … then another DD bus … numerous outpost buses … a Hollywood Studios bus … then another outpost bus … then finally an EPCOT bus!

We went to The Living Seas (IBALT) and visited only the aquarium because Nemo was down.

And to The Land (again, IBALT)

I can just hear my mother! Those fish fertilize the lettuce? I can’t eat the lettuce because I’m allergic to fish:

Wanted to visit Figment (IBALT), but it was down too.

Then I had our F&W card loaded:

And it was on to our first-ever visit to the Food and Wine Festival!

I let David talk me into bypassing Canada and several others. Big mistake!

First tasting was at Hops & Barley. Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Roll and Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Clam Chowder.

What did we think? The lobster roll was such a waste. It was tough and didn’t even taste like lobster.

The chowder was good, but it had a really spicy aftertaste.

Our nest stop was CHEESE. I tried the Artisan Cheese Selection … my favorite dish of the day!

And we paired this with Germany’s Roast Bratwurst in a Pretzel Roll.

The Bratwurst was great with the accompanied mustard. Some have reported that they received a stale pretzel roll, but ours was perfect.

David tried the Sterling Vintner’s Collection Rieseling … so good that we brought a bottle home!

I’d like to nominate this person for “What Not to Wear”!

Next up was Mexico’s Crispy Shrimp Taco. It wasn’t so crispy …

But it was still very good!

We stopped by the Festival Center and got a peek of Robert Irvine doing a cooking demonstration:

I am a big fan of Robert. Had I known early enough that he would be here, I would have purchased a ticket to the demonstration and also registered for his book signing. Oh, well, I didn’t do my homework and it’s my loss.

In the afternoon while David rested I went to visit with Doodle, Mike, TnBob, Kathy, and Lou. Had a great time.

Several of the Fiends went over to Wilderness Lodge for dinner (I was jealous), but I had thawed shrimp for dinner and thought I needed to cook my planned scampi with broccoli and coleslaw.

We were awaiting Hurricane Sandy …