TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving @ The Fort 2012

[stefa70 205]

I'm caught up again. I feel as if I'm living it....oh wait, I am! :)

Mom jeans or not, this twin thinks you're still cool. Better than hip huggers. :animated-smileys-character-024:

[ftwildernessguy 778]

My dogs are effective lion deterrents. In all my years of camping with them, I have never encountered a lion.

[Family of Bears 98]

Hey now, I was one of those savages you speak of in the 2000 loop. Did you see my sign?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great trip report..

Haha... I like the Clark Griswald reference

Help me out . ..

Where was the Clark Griswald reference?

I don't remember it.

I'm caught up again. I feel as if I'm living it....oh wait, I am! :)

Mom jeans or not, this twin thinks you're still cool. Better than hip huggers. :animated-smileys-character-024:

Good job,

I see you are up early.

Way to go!

Thanks for lying and saying you think I'm cool.

I'll remember that when I re-write my will.

My dogs are effective lion deterrents. In all my years of camping with them, I have never encountered a lion.

Can't argue with that logic.

But who was talking about lions?

Hey now, I was one of those savages you speak of in the 2000 loop. Did you see my sign?

No.

As we will soon see, I became cartless on Wednesday.

So there was no more looping for the TCD gang. Except foot looping. Which works, but is kind of time consuming.

I really, really wanted to loop around the 2000 loop on Thanksgiving afternoon. You'll see why in the next update.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Believe it or not, it's still Tuesday morning.

I guess I got a little carried away with the photo taking on Tuesday morning.

That's OK, it makes up for Monday.

And this was one of those mornings where there was a lot to look at.

As stated, our next stop is party central a.k.a. the 2000 Loop.

Some crazy stuff goes on on the 2000 Loop whenever there's a holiday.

I had just driven into the loop when I saw my first crazy thing.

Check this out:

Halloween + Christmas ≠ Thanksgiving.

It's November 20th people! What's with the Snoopy in the mask? And, I don't think it's cool to have Snoopy in a Disney campground. GTFO Snoopy!

You see what I mean?

Crazy.

If you have ever read a TCD TR before, you are undoubtedly familiar with the TCD Real Man Of Genius Award (TCDRMOG).

If you have ever read a TCD Thanksgiving TR, you may remember that the TCDRMOG award goes to the same guy every Thanksgiving.

And this year was no exception.

Here is the back of his site:

This is another example where photos do not do justice.

Here's a zoom on one detail I must point out:

Do you see that blue hose there on the ground?

It is connected to a dishwasher on the back of that guy's site.

Yes, I said dishwasher.

Just like you have at home.

But this guy brings one with him.

And drains it right there on the ground in the 2000 loop.

He does it every year.

Doesn't even try to hide it.

If you camp, you undoubtedly have heard of black water and gray water.

Black water is what gets flushed down your toilet.

Gray water is what comes out of your sink.

Supposedly there are laws governing how this kind of waste water is to be disposed.

it is my understanding that water that drains from a dishwasher falls under the definition of black water.

But even if it is gray water, you aren't allowed to just dump it on the ground.

But this guy does.

In plain sight.

Every year.

And nobody says a thing.

WTF?

Campers are supposed to collect and dispose of their wastewater properly.

There's a great article on that subject written by a fellow Fiend here: http://www.title-3.com/GrayWater.htm

But the Fort lets this guy dump dishwasher waste water on the ground?

It's not just the dishwasher that earns this guy the TCDRMOG.

He has a full compliment of full-sized household appliances on his site:

Amazing.

Nobody else ever comes close in the TCDRMOG award competition during Thanksgiving week.

Props to him.

Since I was back this way, there was something else I needed to see.

The Tee Pees.

They come every year and take over the group camping area.

And every year I take too many photos of them.

This year, I took just a few.

And I will post them all here:

These people try to keep it real, but some of them wreck the illusion by parking their tee pee transport trailers right next to their tee pees:

This is the last tee pee shot you will have to look at. It's called Sunrise Over Tee Pee:

Time to refill the coffee mug.

So, we are heading to the Meadow Trading Post.

On the way, I come across an interesting looking cart. I guess it belongs to a castmember:

Who goes by the name of Woody:

Or is his name Buzz? :

Or does this cart belong to a couple named Buzz and Woody?

Like that Happy and Grumpy camper?

I don't know.

And while I am asking questions-what's with that bird next to Woody's name?

That ain't no woodpecker.

Look at its beak.

And why would a man in this day and age use the nick name Woody?

WTF?

Moving along.

Here we are behind the Meadow Trading post.

I wanted to get a picture of Bob's dock.

And Bear Rock.

Those show up in every TCD trip report.

On the way, though, I saw a critter:

Do you see him?

How about now?:

That's an armadillo.

Yankees and Texans who have never been to Florida are often shocked to see an armadillo at the Fort.

But they are quite common.

Not when the sun is up though.

That one must have rabies.

Or leprosy.

So, I gave him a wide berth.

Speaking of wild life, here's a nice photo of an egret by the canal (he's right in the middle of the photo) :

Here's a photo of my favorite Sycamore tree. It is starting to shed its leaves in preparation for the long cold winter at the Fort:

This wreath was hanging on the back of the Meadow Trading Post:

And there's the Bike Barn across the pond:

For Bob:

This is another one of my favorite places at the Fort- the back porch of the Meadow Trading Post:

They had the Christmas tunes cranking on the speakers. I love the Fort's Christmas music. It's mostly familiar Christmas songs played on a banjo. Simply awesome.

I was pleasantly surprised by something here near the porch.

This:

The hop scotch court was recently repainted!

This is how it looked back in the spring of this year:

Good job on that, management.

You won't hear me say that very often.

But in this case, praise is deserved.

The only thing is, I'm not sure if anyone knows how to play hop scotch anymore.

Truth be told, I have never known how to play hop scotch.

And I don't really want to know.

But, I am still glad that there's a fresh paint job on the Fort's hop scotch court.

Here's a photo of Bear Rock. It's the rock all the way to the right. It looks exactly like a bear. Especially after you've been drinking:

And here's Bob's dock:

I have some more photos of this area, but we have reached our photo limit.

So, we will continue with our look around the Meadow Trading Post in the next update.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I love hop scotch. Only without the hop.

[Beckers 1,136]

Do I get bragging rights for reading your TR on my birthday?!?

[MetalDad 33]

Here's a photo of Bear Rock. It's the rock all the way to the right. It looks exactly like a bear. Especially after you've been drinking:

That explains the Black Bear problem.

It was probably night time, someone was hooched up, and was mauled by Bear Rock. May have even been me. It was probably Dave though.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I love hop scotch. Only without the hop.

Sorry, I'm not buying it.

I heard you like the hop too.

Do I get bragging rights for reading your TR on my birthday?!?

Heck yes!

Is today your birthday?

Happy Birthday to you!!!

Enjoy your Bragging Rights!

Here's a photo of Bear Rock. It's the rock all the way to the right. It looks exactly like a bear. Especially after you've been drinking:

That explains the Black Bear problem.

It was probably night time, someone was hooched up, and was mauled by Bear Rock. May have even been me. It was probably Dave though.

Wow.

I think you're on to something here.

Especially the part about it being Dave's fault.

TCD

[michele j 9]

I think I watch the "Vacation" movies to much.

Remember when Griswalds went to Vegas and did the Hoover dam tour? He got lost and said where's the dam(n) dam tour?

I know, useless knowledge. :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I think I watch the "Vacation" movies to much.

Remember when Griswalds went to Vegas and did the Hoover dam tour? He got lost and said where's the dam(n) dam tour?

I know, useless knowledge. :)

No, I didn't remember that. But I do remember them going to the dam, so maybe my subconcious remembered it?

Anyway, thanks for mentioning the Griswolds. I need to watch Christmas Vacation.

TCD

[SCTigerCock 171]

That's an armadillo.

Yankees and Texans who have never been to Florida are often shocked to see an armadillo at the Fort.

But they are quite common.

Not when the sun is up though.

That one must have rabies.

Or leprosy.

So, I gave him a wide berth.

You didn't bring out the purple crayon (PC) because??? You afraid the PC might get leprosy?

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Tour Guide: Are there any more dam questions?

Cousin Eddie: Yeah. Where can I get some damn bait?

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I still say you should do an early February Fort excursion an get Yuri to take me on an all expenses paid tour of the place of awesomeness formerly known as River Country. Just sayin.

Its weird that Bob is never on his dock. He is not getting his money's worth out of it. Maybe he should sell it?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You didn't bring out the purple crayon (PC) because??? You afraid the PC might get leprosy?

Exactly.

That would be bad.

Tour Guide: Are there any more dam questions?

Cousin Eddie: Yeah. Where can I get some damn bait?

OK, I need to watch Vacation sometime soon.

Thank you.

I still say you should do an early February Fort excursion an get Yuri to take me on an all expenses paid tour of the place of awesomeness formerly known as River Country. Just sayin.

Its weird that Bob is never on his dock. He is not getting his money's worth out of it. Maybe he should sell it?

As in this February?

It could happen. The only thing is if you invite Yuri, he's probably going to drink all your beer and steal your camera.

Yeah, it's been a while since I saw Bob on his dock. And the last time I saw him, he wasn't even on the 600 loop.

Who wants to buy a dock?

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

My son said Armadillo are good eating, they come with their own bowl. ROFL I have no idea where this stuff comes from.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I will be at the Fort 2-2 thru 2-7.....and your troublemaker dominican cousin is welcome to some beer....as long as he doesnt steal the camera!

I wonder if a RC excursion and spike hunting trip could be arranged?

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

My son said Armadillo are good eating, they come with their own bowl. ROFL I have no idea where this stuff comes from.

That is awesome. The boy is a genius and will do very well for himself I think!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

My son said Armadillo are good eating, they come with their own bowl. ROFL I have no idea where this stuff comes from.

I believe it is FWG who also points out that their tails make a good toothpick.

Bravo to your son!

I will be at the Fort 2-2 thru 2-7.....and your troublemaker dominican cousin is welcome to some beer....as long as he doesnt steal the camera!

I wonder if a RC excursion and spike hunting trip could be arranged?

We'll see.

Lucky for you, I have no way of reaching Yuri. It's been a while since I've seen him. That means he is likely to show up sometime soon. If I see him, I'll tell him you are offering free beer in February. You'll be sorry.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, one more update for today, and then you'll have to wait until Monday.

We left off behind the Meadow Trading Post, so we will pick it up from there.

Here's a photo from Bob's dock. Bob always wants to know if the bubble maker is working, and I am here to say that it was:

That's Bob's bobber tree over there, but I was too lazy to walk over there for a photo. Next time:

Looking at the Meadow Trading Post from Bob's dock:

Now, let's take a look at the front porch:

Have you ever sat in one of those rockers and just listened to the music they play on the porch?

If you haven't, you really ought to.

I promise, if you sit there and listen to just one song, you will feel much better.

I guarantee it.

There's the 900 loop bus stop over there:

From here, I headed back to camp.

I needed to make breakfast for the girls.

So I got busy with that.

While things were cooking, I took a moment to review the offiical 2012 Thanksgiving holiday activity list. One of the girls picked up a copy in the Trading Post the day before. That was earlier than they made them available last year, when they weren't distributed until Wednesday evening.

So here you go:

That doesn't look like much, does it?

If you think they were offering less activities this year than they did last year, you're right.

Here's what they offered last year (there's a front and back) :

Some things I noticed that are different is that this year there is no Bingo, no Pine Cone craft, and no Thankful Board. Also, all those letters of complaint I have written have paid off because they changed the name of Corn Hole to Corn Toss. Even that great improvement doesn't make up for everything they took away.

Bad job on this Fort Management.

But, I'm sure you don't care.

Let's not dwell on the negative.

Here's a photo that might cheer some of you up.

It's called Sunrise Over Snow White Spankula:

Yep, that's the Spankula hanging right there next to my lucky horseshoe:

Another wagon came by:

It was right around here that I woke the girls and we had breakfast.

My DD's BFF had to head back to school, so she left after breakfast.

The other girls needed to hit the showers.

So, I went looping.

This blow up was on the 900 loop. I had never seen one like this before. That's supposed to be Santa in a tent there behind the reindeer. I like it:

There was some kind of work being done on this site in the 1000 loop:

It's a good thing Rudy wasn't here to write his name in the new cement.

The overachievers on the 1600 loop were still working on getting their site set up. They had a lot done, but still more to do. I also see that they have a motorhome now instead of a fifth wheel:

I liked this display near the entrance of the 1800 loop:

This is also where I met up with Fiend CKCK. He an his family were camped across from this site. He has been quiet on the board here lately. Any Georgia fans reading along might be pleased to know that he has a nice Georgia themed golf cart.

Also on the 1800 loop:

And then there's this guy. He's around every Thanksgiving. His car license plate says E Ticket:

Also on 1800:

Those folks have a utility trailer way back there next to their pad. I guess the Rangers let anything go on the 1800 loop.

Now, here we are at the Sanford and Son site. The last time I saw it, it was covered with every imaginable Halloween decoration and some that you would never imagine.

Today it looks like this (no comment - TCDMR) (That's TCD's Mother's Rule- If you can't say anything nice, do not say anything at all) :

Since I was back here on 1800, I decided to park and take a walk down the canal to take a look at the Four Seasons project.

I could see the cranes right away:

And after just a few steps, the whole project:

They were going to town on it, and I could here the construction noise from here:

It looks like they might be working on stuff down at the ground level now- like maybe the lazy river:

I am going to check on all of this in more detail on my next visit. SInce it was later in the morning than when I usually visit, there were a lot of folks over there, and they might not like me looking around.

I turned the other way and liked what I saw much better:

And that makes 30 photos.

So we have to stop.

We will pick this back up on Monday.

So, if you are one of those who just look at the pictures, go back and read the text now.

And, if you are a lurker and haven't posted anything, you need to go ahead and post.

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

What could possibly go wrong? As long as he crashes with you or some construction site on property afterward...i'm all set.

[caveat lector 181]

Work has been crazy busy lately. Your Christmas decoration pics thankfully provided a reality check that a fun time is just around the corner.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I am going to invite a pre-school class or two to the lazy river when it is complete.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Rumor has it they didn't bring back the thankful board this year because there were some unthankful people spouting off about steak fries on it the past couple of years. If there's one thing that IM do not like, it's unthankful french fry eaters.

Now I, on the other hand, am very thankful. I am thankful for a spankula pic. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside...like I'm filled with Holiday spririt.

[Beckers 1,136]

why does the wagon go around in the morning? I thought that was a nighttime thing?