Can We Go Camping Already?!

Sad but true:

We have not been camping since January!

If you've kept up with this blog you'll know that we went to Bristol in March but stayed in a hotel.

Then as our busy season was ramping up, I had emergency surgery.

May, June, July and August have been a living hell with work!

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful to have as much work as we do but by the end of summer we are exhausted.

It was time to plan a camping trip. I told you back in January that I was "Disneyed out"

I am tired of the constant price increases, while amenities decline. I also HATE the new magic band system!!

The problem is, we renewed our annual passes back in January and hadn't even used them yet. That's a whole lot of cash down the drain. It was time to get something out of them, if only for a couple of days.

I got a decent rate for Labor Day weekend through the Florida resident deals so we booked from Wednesday, August 27th through Monday, Sept 1st.

Trevor and I busted our ass to get all our work done so we could take off. Jordan and Nate would come down on Friday after work. (Karissa had to work all weekend so she had to skip this trip)

We were so busy working and getting the RV ready, I never took a picture until we were on the road.

With Kitty tucked away in her carrier and Mason sleeping beside her, we headed to Orlando.

Before long the signs that makes everyone smile were in front of us.

Who doesn't love the monorail?

(Complete with my truck antenna in the foreground)

We arrived at the Fort around 11:30 to a very empty campground.

Check in was super fast. I hadn't even requested a site but as luck would have it the cast member asked if we preferred one area over another. I asked for 550 (which we've stayed in numerous times) and she was able to give me 552. SCORE!

My childish side always comes out when I'm arriving:
"Ha Ha, you gotta go home fellow camper!!"

HEY! Don't judge me, I'm sure someone is saying that to me as I pull out.

We got backed into site 552 and let the animals out.

Mason is keeping his eye on kitty...he really likes her, though he would never admit it.

About an hour or so later, we were all set up for the next six days.

Once kitty settled in and quit hiding in every cabinet, we took Mason for his first cart ride of the trip.

The majority of the sites were empty, though we knew they would start filling up soon for the holiday weekend.

Even the deer were enjoying the quiet sites.

We drove back behind the 300 loop to let Mason walk along the water.

There were a few canoes out canoeing.

And the bat house they had started back in January?

It is a bat condo!

Whether or not bats are living it is anyone's guess but I can say there were no mosquitoes to deal with on this trip.

Mason and Trevor played in the grass while I took pics.

This is Trevor's "Why do you have to take my picture?!" look.

I had already planned to cook as little as possible on this trip, especially when the kids weren't there yet. That first night, Trevor and I hopped a boat to the Wilderness Lodge to grab a sandwich.

Some pics while we waited.

On the boat

Boat selfie

A quick ride and we arrived at the Lodge.

Roaring Forks used to be counter service. You ordered your food, took it and found a table. Now you order your food, find a table and they bring you your food. Not sure why they changed that, but we were order number #17

Trevor had a bacon cheeseburger and I had the roast beef and blue cheese which was FANTABULOUS!!

That evening we did some looping and enjoyed the quiet campground.

The next morning we relaxed under the awning, then took Mason out for a ride to get some ice.

Mason keeps his eyes on Trevor the whole time he's out of the cart.

Once the cooler was good and cold and the animals had been tended to, Trevor and  debated on what we wanted to do.

I mentioned earlier that I HATE the Magic Band/Fast Pass system!!

 I don't want to ever plan my vacation down to the minute:

At 9:45 we will ride Space Mountain

At 10:15 we will ride It's a Small World......

We like to go with whatever feels good at the moment. This now means you may not get to ride much of anything since most guests have booked ride times well in advance. Yeah, sure, you can still wait in line but because of the fast passes being booked, you may wait 2 hours for something. NO THANKS!!

I guess for guests who seldom get to Disney, the fast pass system allows them a guarantee to ride all their favorites. For locals like us, I want to go with the flow....but no one asked what I liked.

SO that morning we decided to go over Epcot. There is only one ride I like at Epcot. I mainly go for the food and drinks.

It was scorching hot that day so I bought a hat to wear. I sent this photo home to Nate with the text:

"Bought a hat in case I need to throw up in it after Epcot"

(Nate had an unfortunate hat accident on the bus after a rough night at the House of Blues)

We made it to Epcot around 11:00 and I made Trevor take a picture with the ball

(like we dont have hundreds)

"Yep Stef, there's the ball.....again"

We made our way right to Test Track to see how long the wait was. Single rider line said 10 minutes so we jumped on it. We were in separate cars but walked right in with NO wait whatsoever.

With our favorite ride out of the way it was time to walk through the world showcase and get a couple of cocktails.

I took this photo to show just how dead it was on a Thursday.

We stopped into China for a Cantaloopy drink

While we enjoyed those, I took this photo.

Do you see it?

It's a Mickey Head cloud! Pretty sweet, huh?

Because we were enjoying ourselves just relaxing and people watching, we picked up some frozen margaritas in Mexico.

And took our picture with the ball.

(which is mostly washed out by the scorching hot sun)

In case you're wondering, I have not resorted back to a teenager who takes a ton of selfies. The ones where I'm drinking I sent to my friend Genia who was working (and hating me)

Since Trevor and I were alone and he hates me taking pics of him, this was my only option :)

We strolled all the way around the world where I got another ball shot.

And caught a CM doing her water art

We only spent a couple hours at Epcot before we decided we'd seen enough for the day.

We must not have done too much that evening as I didn't take many photos. I know we went looping because we saw a bunch of deer back by the 2000 loop.

It's strange how unafraid they are, just hanging around the roads in the middle of the day.

At home, they would be someones dinner :(

Speaking of dinner.....I do know we had BLT's and potato salad for ours because I took a picture.

Friday morning we thought we'd head over to the Magic Kingdom before all the crazies showed up for the weekend.

Here we are back at the Marina

Just in time for a MK boat.

It was a beautiful day but getting hot already.

Though we were still 3 days away from Labor Day, the MK was all decked out for Halloween.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was to begin September 1st.

No matter how much I bitch about the changes at WDW, one thing never changes....

That giddy feeling you get when you first see the Castle. 

For me it brings back memories of being a little girl with my Mom & Dad, with not a care in the world!

That my friends, is why I will continue to pay the exorbitant prices, fight the crowds and listen to screaming children and stressed out parents, although my visits will be less frequent.

I love that Castle!

(see, I can be sappy)

Apparently some people love balloons

We decided we would ride whatever we could walk on and just enjoy the atmosphere and each others company.

We waited about 5 minutes for Pirates of the Caribbean, which was cool, both literally and figuratively.

Come to think of it.....the musty, cool, damp smell and feel of Pirates evoke memories also. 

Do they pipe that stink in? Anyone?

Next up was Splash Mountain. We waited about 10 minutes for that.

Neither of us got soaked and the little wetness we did get we welcomed, as it was sunny and hot.

We ventured into Tomorrow Land and went to a comedy show.

"Always watching...."

(Only a Disney nut will understand)

Then on to the People Mover!

Wedway Selfie!

The crowds were picking up and we knew there were two more stops we HAD to make.

We shared a Nutella and fruit waffle and it didn't disappoint. YUM!

Our final destination was Main Street. We crossed the bridge and I had the bright idea to get a selfie with the Castle. Between the sun in our eyes, trying to squeeze the three of us in and our height differences, it didn't turn out so great :)

Ahhh, the Castle alone looks much better

And this super couple

I stopped to admire some of the storefront windows

Trevor was admiring snacks

And buying his mega sized Mickey rice krispie treat

Now we were officially outta there, or as they say in Disney speak:

See ya real soon!

As we caught a boat back we saw the sky was darkening.

We made it back to camp just in time for my good ole buddy Donnie to stop by for a short visit.

Nate had called and let me know that it was pouring at home and both the storms and he (& Jordo) was on his way. 

Donnie took off and I checked the radar..

Time to batten down the hatches! 

It rained hard enough and long enough to soak our entire outdoor carpet but slowed down just in time for my boys to arrive.

*Note to self:

through a screen + in the rain = blurry photo

We had a couple beers then decided on the Lodge or Contemporary for dinner. The boats were still spotty because of the weather so we ended up right at Trails End for the buffet. It was surprisingly good!

I must have been too hungry to take any food pictures.

The four of us spent the rest of the evening dry, under the awning, enjoying camp life.

Saturday morning we woke up to a nice, sunny day. We had no intentions on going to any parks because of the crowds. We hung around that morning with Mason on his bed (God forbid he lay on the wet carpet)

We did some looping in the cart and then the kids and I went on a bike ride down to the Tri circle D ranch.

The young girl behind them hollered that she was bringing "Tom" out, if we wanted a better picture.

Why, of course we do!

I even got in on the action. 

Tom is HUGE!! Freaky, intimidatingly HUGE

You can't see the look in his eyes but he was surely giving me a look!

I'm happy to say that they've put all new gates in the horse barn.

Those are the big ones that lead down the back, the ones on the stalls are all bars so you can see much better than the old "peep-hole" types.

(I guess if you're normal sized you could see above the old ones, but I could not)

After the horses, the kids needed a pit stop so we rode down by the settlement.

There are rules at the Fort as you can see by this sign. You can see that I am a rule follower and took this photo from behind the sign.

You can also see two small bikes leaning against the bench up by the restrooms.....some people just can't be trusted to obey the rules.

We then rode down to the store

Where I modeled a Jessie hat, complete with braid.

Best news of the day?!
I rode my bike around the whole campground and didn't crash once!!

For those that have seen me ride, that's no easy feat.

We had worked up a thirst on our bike tour so we decided on catching a boat to the contemporary, then the monorail to the Polynesian for a Pina Colava.

Yes, you can get Pina Colavas at any of the bars but it's not the same as having it at the Poly.

Our journey begins...

Dock selfies!

We all enjoyed a couple of Pina Colavas while enjoying the smell of wet dirt.

Again, why does the Poly always smell that way? Do they pipe that in too?

This photo I call "Success"

Jordan decided to try "the back scratcher" just for the back scratcher.

He loves his ball, ass, head, back scratcher, hated the drink!

It was time to start heading back, but this time we took the monorail to the MK, then hopped a MK boat back to the Fort.

Once we were back at camp, we took Mason out for a stroll

Then he rested comfortably while I cooked some burgers and taters.

Again, we spent the rest of the night around the Fort, realizing how much we enjoy camping. Whether we're at Disney or in the backyard, we just enjoy each other.

Sunday, the kids and I took a bus to Downtown Disney to walk around the shops.

The morning trail rides were gearing up at the stables.

Waiting for a bus.

We finally make it to Downtown, where there is a lot of construction going on.

First things first...

Poor Jordan, his system hadn't been quite right since he got out of the Army :)

Me, Nate and an elephant

Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum....and a couple of Disney characters.

See what I did there?

We strolled through all the shops, stopped to have some Wetzel Pretzels and some liquid refreshments from the Irish pub

Love my boys!!

We spent a couple hours at Downtown and then caught a bus back to the Fort. I had some dinner prep to do along with a NASCAR evening.

Seriously.....camping, The Fort, family, food, beer and NASCAR?

Life really doesn't get much better.

It was a beautiful day, though still pretty damn hot. Since we would be checking out in the morning we needed to squeeze in more fun. Nate, Jordan and I hopped on our bikes and rode over to the Lodge for a poolside drink. By the time we got back it would be time for eating and racing.

Our ride over was nice and relaxing. Our ride back was NOT.

The poolside affair started out good.

About 5 sips in, Nate turned toward Bay Lake and said:

"OH, that doesn't look good"

The sky was black.

I told the boys to "get sucking!"

We downed our frozen concoctions and took off.

Imagine riding (especially ME riding) your bike as fast as you can, wind blowing against you, sloshy belly and a brain freeze to boot.

Good news! We beat the storm. Bad news, we were all sick to our stomachs.

That'll teach me.

We chilled at camp for a while before dinner.

What could possibly be cooking that needs all 3 men staring at the grill like vultures?

A slab of meat and tasty ocean critters.

It was a nice "Last supper"

We spent that night watching the race, dreading the clean-up process the next morning.

Unfortunately, it came anyhow.

We got the cart loaded by 9 ish and were pulling out by 10.

Another great trip with the people I love.

We were home and unpacked within a couple hours. 

Til the next time.....