The open October 2015 pre-trip report

[tiggerdad]

Well, well, wellllll...

Getting about time for some more squirrel chasing at the Fort for ole Tiggerdad.

Man, we got a lot of good stuff going on on the camping forum right now. We got a live September group trip report thread, an October group trip report coming up, and what is shaping up to be a good November run as well. I have to say this is some of the best activity we have seen on these boards in a while.

I for one am loving it.

I have another stolen idea (from BamaEd of course) that I have turned into our tradition which is a pre-trip report. Some of you have asked exactly what that is? Well, it's just a countdown and planning thread. I like to show some projects that I am working on (last year it was my putting together of my Mickey lamp) along with maintenance, packing, fixing, cleaning. You know, all the stuff we all go through in preparation for our trips.

This year my workings leading up to the Fort will include some modifications to my Mickey lamp, gathering up my Halloween decorations for the site. Some of you might remember last year I brought a truck bed full of inflatables and even got the attention of the "Decorations police". Well, I'm packing again this year. I'll show some of them as they arrive in the mail or as I pick them up locally. The camper is dirty and needs a bath, the truck needs maintenance, etc. Also, there is a little Dismeet that is shaping up for Tuscaloosa on September 19th as my Ole Miss loving wife and I are going to watch my beloved Crimson Tide and her Rebels play football and intend to tailgate with BamaEd and SouthAlabama5er.

I know Snowmedic posts some pre-trip stuff as well and I figured why not just make this an open thread as well. So, everybody who is coming in October, feel free to post on here your daily preparations. I like to hear everybody's ideas for packing and what you are bringing. Also, we need to try and line up a date to see if we can get us together and possibly have a Dismeet/dinner. I'm willing to cook and host, no problem.

More to come...

 

[bama_ed]

Getting about time for some more squirrel chasing at the Fort for ole Tiggerdad.

Uh, dude, don't know if we can handle you on another trip with the squirrels. All I know is after you've left, they give all the rest of us a hard time to make up for what you do to them...

I have another stolen idea (from BamaEd of course) that I have turned into our tradition which is a pre-trip report.

He stole it from somebody else. Plus he posts too much....

Also, there is a little Dismeet that is shaping up for Tuscaloosa on September 19th as my Ole Miss loving wife and I are going to watch my beloved Crimson Tide and her Rebels play football and intend to tailgate with BamaEd and SouthAlabama5er.

Let's take a vote - SouthAlabama5er brings the beer.

All in favor say "Aye". AYE. All opposed? <crickets>

The "ayes" have it.









Come on man, I want to read some more pre-trip stuff.



Him.

 

[snowmedic]

What a great idea Tiggerdad.

So, we are well underway for getting things together for our trip to the Fort in Oct. Posted pics of our mickey lamp here: http://www.disboards.com/threads/mickey-mouse-lamp-post.3431257/page-2#post-54383190 post #24. Here is another pic



At the top of the forum page there is a ad for ordering magic band skins, ours came in about 3 weeks ago.



DW's is the top one, stars, mine is the second one and it says Dis, the third is glow in the dark ghost for DD 8, and the last is glow in the dark spiders for DD 16.



We are also trying to figure out what of our camping gear we left in our storage unit in Fl., ( I didn't make a list last year).

We have already started packing and my bag is ready to go, but we are down to 28 days before leaving.

Work is keeping me busy so for me the days are going by fast, not so much for DW and the kids though. Dw homeschools the kids and they are trying to get all there lessons in so they will not have to do school work on Vacation.
That is about all for now. Will post more when it happens. Looking forward to reading more pretrip reports to help the time along.

 

[tiggerdad]

Yeah Vince, I saw your lamp and I like that base idea. The green bulb was something that I had looked for but could not come up with. I did however find an orange one, so that is probably what I will be using this year at the Fort.

Last year I worked on the Mickey lamp and got it ready to go just before we pulled out but I had already still wanted to do some things differently with it. One of the things that I wanted was a cross piece like yours and others where you can hang a flag from it. So I went to work today on it. The pole is 3" PVC so I figured I could drill it out and use 1/2" for the cross piece.

I got out the ole drill press and made my initial hole...



Then I got out this bad boy, my tapered drill bit. I used this to expand the holes out to fit exactly to the 1/2" PVC to keep it snug. This thing is cool. It expands holes in plastic, wood, metal, car tires, ti...., whoops! Did I say car tires? Nope, not sure where that came from...


Once I got the hole right I cut me a piece of 1/2" pvc and sprayed it black. I also repainted the main lampost as it had gotten scratched up. So they are out drying so I'll pick up again tomorrow. I also gotta round up some PVC caps to go on the end.

My wife also reminded me today that she and I have not come up with a costume idea for the MNSSHP. Any ideas? The girls have no idea, but they have an 8:30am appointment at the castle at the Bippidi Bop to have a full makeover of their favorite princess. We'll keep that to ourselves though...

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

I'm going to have to go Sam's Club to buy enough popcorn for these trip reports!

 

[tiggerdad]

Ed, it is not my fault that I take excellent care of the squirrels (feeding them heavily) and everybody else holds out on them. I respect them, I mean have you seen those teeth? The talons? The lightning quick reflexes? Forget Planet of the Apes, those guys (orangutans) would have nothing on the squirrels if they decided to rise up.

Had to put some more paint on the lam post so not done with the fixing up yet.

I did go to Lowes this morning to pick up some PVC caps and noticed that they had this on sale so I picked one up.


This should be a good prop for the campsite.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Ed, it is not my fault that I take excellent care of the squirrels (feeding them heavily) and everybody else holds out on them. I respect them, I mean have you seen those teeth? The talons? The lightning quick reflexes? Forget Planet of the Apes, those guys (orangutans) would have nothing on the squirrels if they decided to rise up.

Had to put some more paint on the lam post so not done with the fixing up yet.

I did go to Lowes this morning to pick up some PVC caps and noticed that they had this on sale so I picked one up.
View attachment 123096

This should be a good prop for the campsite.

We just bought the exact same Mickey solar light a few days ago at K-Mart. It is the first decoration we have purchased for our trip! It is a good time to shop for outdoor decorations as they are all on sale.

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

This should be a good prop for the campsite

Now your not only copying Ed now,

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This was us last trip. See one of Grumpy at Lowes, I wanna get before we go in February.

 

[sirenia88]

My feelings are hurt. You didn't include me... bahhhhaaaaha.

 

[snowmedic]

You didn't include me

Jump on in, let us know what you are up to, and how things are progressing for your trip. I have been looking at the map to see what direction I want to take coming down this time. Thinking about what you said last year and going through PA. to get around NY, and the DC area.

Tiggerdad, I got my green bulb from lowe's, DW wants me to try and find one that changes colors. I am going to put mine on a timer so if it is dark when we get back from the parks it will already be on.

 

[sirenia88]

I just had to bust chops, snowmedic. I know I am going to be welcome on this thread. I have not given the route a thought yet. The last time was the fastest I got down there which was 95 to 4. Coming back up it was 95/ 695/83/81/78. We came up on a Monday Morning so there was DC traffic. The trip down I am probably going 95 down. I just need to figure out the stops. Going down is not as a much of a problem than coming up. Don't know what to think yet.

 

[tiggerdad]

My feelings are hurt. You didn't include me... bahhhhaaaaha.

I said "everybody coming in October"

So get to posting!

 

[tiggerdad]

Vince, I did find a "party bulb" at Lowes but it changes color too fast. Look for a bulb that has a push button at the bottom of the bulb. I would pass on it since you have to press the button each time you turn it on to make it work. This means you have to take the globe off.

 

[sirenia88]

Tiggerdad,

Honestly, I got nothing to really post. I just had to be a troublemaker for a post or two. However, our magic bands have shipped according to the E mail. Then to only find out the system changed in which our old bands would work. My DW said she didn't want to risk anything. Go figure. The trailer is going into trip mode. The pup's stuff has been removed since he will not be joining up this time. 27 days to go now....

 

[lindsey]

We are counting down too! When the AP fall room only rates came out, we decided to book All Stars Music for our check out day. We can pack up (which can take awhile since we will have pop-up and "stuff"), then go to hotel and do nothing, or a park, then leave following morning early.

We have not camped at FW in awhile, and am looking forward to the trip.

 

[tiggerdad]

Welcome aboard Lindsey

 

[benjyt]

Well, we got nothin'. What I mean is, we've got nothin' much to do. We're renting from Fl. Camper Rental, so everything will be set up when we arrive on Oct. 3rd. The guilt is hard to live with...

 

[benjyt]

Actually, I have a secret hope that the more we do the camping thing, even with others doing the hard work, that we'll fall prey to the siren call of the RV. One day, the secret will be shared with my wife. That might be my last post...

 

[benjyt]

On a much more serious, and ultimately thankful note, my wife and kids are OK after a very serious car accident today. Minor injuries - restraints and air bags helped avoid serious injury - but certainly a great reminder of the preciousness of life. Our FW trip comes at a great time, giving us a chance to enjoy each other and some Disney wonder. We can't wait for our trip.

 

[tiggerdad]

Benjyt,
Glad to hear the family is doing good. I see a lot of people in the ED who don't wear seatbelts that are not as lucky.

Last post!? Nah, I used my wife's fear of bedbugs and staph infections to get my camper. Just figured out a way to use her concerns to my advantage.