DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 We left AK after the Festival of the Lion King, and headed back to the Fort by mid-afternoon.Not bad, since AK is just a half day park, you know.We debated whether we wanted to go do something later that evening, but everyone decided (and by everyone, I mean INC and I) that we would just relax and rest up, and enjoy the Fort a bit.We arrived back at the campsite to find though that we had been vandalized.You think the Fort is a safe place. You know deep down that bad things can happen anywhere, but then, for some reason, you let your guard down at the Fort. I know we did. We had left some things outside under our awning, and we were viciously and without warning attacked while we were off enjoying ourselves.Yep, those stinkin', flea infested tree climbing rodents got into my biscuits!I don't normally leave food outside when camping, for this very reason, but after breakfast that morning I had neglected to put away the biscuits. They were on a table under our awning, and the feckin squirrels got to them.GRRRRR, feckin squirrels!!Now we were out of biscuits. And I LOVE me some biscuits, especially these biscuits...the Pillsbury ones that Sam's Club sells. (They really are yummy, by the way.)I turned around and saw one of the little scoundrels perched to the side of a pine tree watching me throw away the biscuits. I was sure he was the culprit, the way he was watching so intently. So I picked up one of Anna's matchbox cars and, not really expecting to hit him, threw it at him. Well, surprising even myself, I nailed the SOB pretty hard. But not hard enough to knock him off the tree, and he scurried away. But INC was convinced that he kept coming back every time I sat outside the rest of the trip and was plotting my demise. The little jerk.After that episode, I needed some relaxation. So we left the girls to rest while INC and I hit the porch.They were getting pictures of the early show HDDR guests.One thing I like about Florida is the Spanish Moss. It always reminds me of my time in Gainesville.I was still ticked off at the feckin squirrel, so INC decided I needed something fruity to drink.Yes, I'm not ashamed to admit I like a fruity drink now and then. Especially a strong one. And Crockett's makes a pretty strong Mai Tai.Now we're talkin'!We sat a bit longer, enjoying our drinks and people watching as the Hoop De Doo crowd meandered up. I always enjoy watching the Hoop crowd gather. It is so obvious when sitting on the porch during that time of day who the Fort guests are and who just got off a boat or bus from a Deluxe resort. Some of those poor folks keep looking around nervously like they were just plucked from their homes and set down in a 3rd World country, where they don't speak the language, understand the culture or have a clue how to act. "No Timmy! Don't touch that hula hoop! You don't know who's ass it's been twirling around".So fun!After people watching for a bit, we left the porch to loop some before going back to being Mama and Daddy.The back of Feisty's site.No explanation necessary.Just glancing at this picture, you'd have no idea I was standing in the middle of a busy Disney World resort.I really hope the above scene doesn't change too much over the next few years. But I'm a bit fearful of what is in store.Back at the campsite, Stella has been on rodent lookout.Now, to be honest I thought I had put together a crockpot dinner for that night. But this next picture in order tells me that this was the night we decided to go to DTD to do some shopping and hit Earl of Sandwich for dinner. What? That doesn't look like Earl of Sandwich??You're right.We drove over to DTD, but at each intersection where you would enter the parking lot, the signs up on the light signals indicated "LOT FULL".Whodathunk DTD would be busy 3 days after Christmas?Yeah, I'm usually a better planner. But this wasn't working out so well. And, as I've said before, I don't like people. So while we may have been able to find a parking spot, the thought of fighting crowds in the shops and to get a table at Earl's was not how I wanted to spend my evening. So we aborted that plan and turned around.I remember one time a few years ago we had hit the food court at Port Orleans and they had a build your own pasta bar. So everyone decided that sounded good.The problem was...I couldn't remember if it was Riverside or French Quarter.When leaving DTD to head back toward the Fort, the first PO entrance you encounter is FQ. So I turned in there and asked the guard about a food court. She said "yes, there is a food court here. Enjoy your dinner". So we parked there at FQ and went inside to the food court.Well, sure enough, there was a food court. But there was no sign of a pasta bar. However, by this point everyone just wanted to eat, so we did.And as you can tell by the picture above, I had a mushroom swiss burger. I was hoping it would be as good as the mushroom swiss burger I had in Gatlinburg back in October when visiting with Livluvsdisney.It wasn't. Not even close. And everyone else was disappointed with their dinners too.Note to self: POFQ food court sucks monkey butt. Second note to self: It's the PO Riverside Food Court that has the build your own pasta bar. So our evening didn't turn out as we had hoped.Considering our disappointing dinners, we were hankering for something good. And I had just the thing, that I had bought on my last trip to Buffalo.SPONGE CANDY!!!!This is one of the things I most miss about living in Buffalo. Easy access to sponge candy...the best candy in the world IMO.We busted out the container and devoured it.That's some good stuff. I felt better, and went to bed on a chocolate high. That was about it for 12/28.The forecast for the next morning called for rain, so we thought it would be a good day to drive up to the Villages for another visit with my parents, and to see their new home. They had moved within the Villages just a couple weeks before to a new place with a water view, and wanted us to see it.Yep, that's water. They get a lot of birds out there, so there's plenty to watch.Anna checked out their golf cart. In the Villages, you can go anywhere via golf cart. Their car doesn't get a lot of use there.We visited, ate lunch on their lanai, and then hit their Sam's club to restock on provisions, including buying more biscuits to replace those we lost.By mid-afternoon, we drove back down the Turnpike to the Fort. We had plans to hit the MK yet that day. That is coming up in the next update. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Great update!Loved the porch pics.And the squirrel story.And the HDDR guest people watching.Sorry you picked the wrong food court. The build your own pasta at Riverside is great.So what's with the sponge candy? What does it have to do with sponges? Never heard of it.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Tell me more about sponge candy! Never heard of it until now.Damn tree rats.....you should have brought a pellet gun or maybe a bow.Disney is selling Merida's bow so they must approve of them.Your parents do have a nice view.....and they can loop at their home. Nice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Another great update!Those fort squirrels can be downright mean ... I had a problem with one stalking me a couple of trips back. Kudos to Stella for keeping them away.Please explain sponge candy. I've never heard of it either.Your parents' back yard looks great! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Dave,Add me to the list that has never heard of sponge candy!!!Too bad about the bad meals at the French Quarter.......believe it or not, its one of our favorite places to eat on property!!! We stayed there for a few nights way back in 2001, now we make a point of always eating there at least once per trip. My must have meal is the ribs and my husbands is the pot roast. In the last 11 years, we have probably eaten there at least 20 times and it has been excellent each and every time!!!!Oh and count me as odd, but I always loved going to the Boneyard when the my boys were little!!!! Of course, we always had a plan!!! We are a rope drop family, so after doing a couple rides we would go to the Boneyard, when it was still early and the place was deserted. We would sometimes have the whole place to ourselves and the four of us would all run around together. When they got a little older and we werent worried about them so much, my husband and I would hang out on a box/ bench thing in one of the corners and just chill together, while they ran around. Now my guys are 19 and almost 17, I truly miss those days.........All right, ready for the next update!!!Heidi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Great update!Loved the porch pics.And the squirrel story.And the HDDR guest people watching.Sorry you picked the wrong food court. The build your own pasta at Riverside is great.So what's with the sponge candy? What does it have to do with sponges? Never heard of it.TCDI remember the pasta being good on the one time we dined there. Will have to get back sometime. I'll address the sponge candy questions below...Tell me more about sponge candy! Never heard of it until now.Damn tree rats.....you should have brought a pellet gun or maybe a bow.Disney is selling Merida's bow so they must approve of them.Your parents do have a nice view.....and they can loop at their home. Nice.Yeah, the Villages is a great place to loop. The place is ginormous...covering parts of 3 counties and has over 90k residents I think. Another great update!Those fort squirrels can be downright mean ... I had a problem with one stalking me a couple of trips back. Kudos to Stella for keeping them away.Please explain sponge candy. I've never heard of it either.Your parents' back yard looks great!Sponge candy will be addressed in a separate post...Dave,Add me to the list that has never heard of sponge candy!!!Too bad about the bad meals at the French Quarter.......believe it or not, its one of our favorite places to eat on property!!! We stayed there for a few nights way back in 2001, now we make a point of always eating there at least once per trip. My must have meal is the ribs and my husbands is the pot roast. In the last 11 years, we have probably eaten there at least 20 times and it has been excellent each and every time!!!!Oh and count me as odd, but I always loved going to the Boneyard when the my boys were little!!!! Of course, we always had a plan!!! We are a rope drop family, so after doing a couple rides we would go to the Boneyard, when it was still early and the place was deserted. We would sometimes have the whole place to ourselves and the four of us would all run around together. When they got a little older and we werent worried about them so much, my husband and I would hang out on a box/ bench thing in one of the corners and just chill together, while they ran around. Now my guys are 19 and almost 17, I truly miss those days.........All right, ready for the next update!!!HeidiWow Heidi...maybe we just picked the wrong things to eat. And maybe we had the wrong attitude...having had our EoS plans foiled and then also not picking the right resort to get the pasta bar. Maybe we just weren't in the right frame of mind by the time we sat down to eat. I'll have to try it again someday on your recommendation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 It seems no one outside of Buffalo has ever heard of sponge candy. Here is a description I lifted from a website that sells the stuff:Every once in a while a customer in our store will ask, “What is Sponge Candy?” Our immediate response is always the question, “Where are you from?” We know without doubt that this person isn’t a Buffalonian.Sponge Candy is one of those things that’s really hard to describe without actually experiencing it. The Sponge Candy center is a simply flavored piece, caramelized sugar, almost molasses-like with a very unusual, crisp at first, then melt-away texture. We then load this center with as much milk chocolate as it will carry. When you bite into a piece of our Sponge Candy, you experience not only the chocolate’s opposing properties of solid firmness giving away to melty smoothness, but you get the center’s crispness immediately dissolving with a very complimentary mixing of chocolate and caramelized flavors. We’ve never read a description of Sponge Candy that’s come close to the experience of actually eating it and we’re sure this description is no better.The stuff we ate at the Fort came from Wegman's, which is a Rochester based grocery store chain prevalent in Buffalo. Theirs is pretty good, but in my opinion the best sponge candy is from a candy store in Buffalo called "Fowler's".I crave the darn stuff quite often, and have never found a place outside of Buffalo that sells it. So I always buy some when I go up there.This picture shows the texture of the sponge. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fortpartyof4 108 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Loved the porch photos…..and was imagining the sounds and trying to pretend I was there.Stupid squirrels! Worthless creatures. I once saw one crawl into a bag of Lay's chips that our neighbors had left out on a table at a campground. I had to warn them when they returned not to eat them.Never heard of sponge candy, but I have heard of Wegman's!! Loved that store when I lived in NY. Good bakery.My parents lived in The Villages for a few years. My boys were very small then and we all loved cruising around in Grandpa's golf cart. My husband and I liked hitting the square each evening for some 2 dollar margaritas and music! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 the truth of why they visited is actually behind Anna... Dave's Poor Parents earned a visit for laundry purposes.... :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Buffalonian?Man, I am learning a lot from this trip report.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Here is link to the Dave-approved sponge candy:http://www.fowlerschocolates.com/catalog/p-100021/sponge-candyI think i will get my order in now. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 the truth of why they visited is actually behind Anna... Dave's Poor Parents earned a visit for laundry purposes.... :rofl2:Poor Nicki. She's always thinking of laundry.Sponge candy sounds and looks a lot like malted balls. What's the difference except one is square and one is round? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Poor Nicki. She's always thinking of laundry.Sponge candy sounds and looks a lot like malted balls. What's the difference except one is square and one is round?did you see that bunch I posted on FB the other day? 9 or ten loads I did! Is it any wonder I think about laundry all the time? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Loved the porch photos…..and was imagining the sounds and trying to pretend I was there.Stupid squirrels! Worthless creatures. I once saw one crawl into a bag of Lay's chips that our neighbors had left out on a table at a campground. I had to warn them when they returned not to eat them.Never heard of sponge candy, but I have heard of Wegman's!! Loved that store when I lived in NY. Good bakery.My parents lived in The Villages for a few years. My boys were very small then and we all loved cruising around in Grandpa's golf cart. My husband and I liked hitting the square each evening for some 2 dollar margaritas and music!Wegman's is not only about the best grocery store in the world (not my opinion...documented in industry publications), it is also on the Fortune list of Best Places to Work every year, sometimes at the very top. It was also INC's college job. I think those margaritas in the square are a lot more than $2 now. And the Villages has grown so much, there are now THREE town squares.the truth of why they visited is actually behind Anna... Dave's Poor Parents earned a visit for laundry purposes.... :rofl2:How did I know that you would be the one to pick that out? :rofl3:Buffalonian?Man, I am learning a lot from this trip report.TCDWhat are you learning? That people from Buffalo are called Buffalonians? Or that I am from Buffalo? Here is link to the Dave-approved sponge candy:http://www.fowlersch...21/sponge-candyI think i will get my order in now.Order me a box too. Milk chocolate please. Poor Nicki. She's always thinking of laundry.Sponge candy sounds and looks a lot like malted balls. What's the difference except one is square and one is round?The texture is somewhat similar to malted balls...but the flavor is completely different. did you see that bunch I posted on FB the other day? 9 or ten loads I did! Is it any wonder I think about laundry all the time?Completely understandable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 What are you learning? That people from Buffalo are called Buffalonians? Or that I am from Buffalo?No, I knew you were from Buffalo.I didn't know people from there thought so highly of themselves that they had a name by which they called themselves.Or that the name was Buffalonian.TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 No, I knew you were from Buffalo.I didn't know people from there thought so highly of themselves that they had a name by which they called themselves.Or that the name was Buffalonian.TCDComing from a Jerseyite. Joiseite? Jersey Person? No, I think it's Jerseyan. Oy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Coming from a Jerseyite. Joiseite? Jersey Person? No, I think it's Jerseyan. Oy.I try very hard not to mention it.It's interesting there's not a word for it.I wonder why?TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 I thought they were called Snookian? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hey Dave, I just remembered something I meant to comment on a while back, but I needed to look for a photo.It's about your Nutella Waffle.I hate to tell you but your waffle SMB'd.Your waffle:Here is what we had....A fruit and nutella waffleMy waffle, from September, 2012:TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stefa70 205 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Holy flashback Dave!It's been so long since I've had sponge candy that at times I've thought about having it as a kid but not knowing what the heck it was called, or if I had even dreamed it up in my pea sized head.I'm calling my father and having some Fed-exed, ASAP!I wish I had known you were in the Villages. I'm about 40 minutes from there. We love to have dinner there and walk the shops. Maybe I'll just go and meet your parents first. Wegman's is not just a grocery store, it's an attraction! Love it!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Hey Dave, I just remembered something I meant to comment on a while back, but I needed to look for a photo.It's about your Nutella Waffle.I hate to tell you but your waffle SMB'd.Your waffle:My waffle, from September, 2012:TCDIt was still better than that Gawd-awful chicken waffle. That thing TRULY SMB'd. While our fruit one may have had a few less strawberries and a smidge less nutella than yours, it was still tasty. Of course, you could spread nutella ON a monkey's butt and it would taste good. The problem is, you wouldn't be able to tell for sure that it was nutella without trying it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted January 23, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Holy flashback Dave!It's been so long since I've had sponge candy that at times I've thought about having it as a kid but not knowing what the heck it was called, or if I had even dreamed it up in my pea sized head.I'm calling my father and having some Fed-exed, ASAP!I wish I had known you were in the Villages. I'm about 40 minutes from there. We love to have dinner there and walk the shops. Maybe I'll just go and meet your parents first. Wegman's is not just a grocery store, it's an attraction! Love it!!Wouldn't THAT have been a hoot....our two families taking over the Villages square, drinking and raising hell? We could have closed the place down. And still been home by 9.And I think you need to go up to NY for a visit and to get some sponge candy. Bring me back some. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nicki aka Rebelstand 272 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 Leave you boys alone for an hour an look what happens..../ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ftwildernessguy 778 Posted January 23, 2013 Report Share Posted January 23, 2013 If it weren't for Wegmans and their free food samples on the weekends, I would have starved to death in dental school. Thankfully, they built two stores within 10 miles of us over the last few years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kahuna aka John 71 Posted January 24, 2013 Report Share Posted January 24, 2013 Ok, I found my RRC picture. Please, Please laugh along with my husband who still loves this picture.And a closer view.Wow Bo ! I can't believe that your husband stepped on your foot right in front of the camera... It must have hurt :rofl2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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