ADRs, Touring Plans, Free Dining, What?

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

That tour sounds really interesting and you are right the price is right!

 

[rebecca06261]

First the fermentation of the ingredients. The ferrnenter holds the corn mash. It looks like barf. Like 'I just ate some oatmeal that didn't agree with me' kind of barf. It doesn't smell like barf. More like fresh bread. Yeasty.

So many thoughts come to my mind...yeasty???

The distillation area is where you get to see the JD in it's pure white lightnin' form. You can drink it at this point. Notice the lock. I would guess somebody was sneakin' a taste every so often.

Okay.. I'll go ahead and show ya'll all my redneck roots- if ya'll want to properly drink white lightnin' you better have yourself a great big jar of pickle juice! You take a swig of liquor and chase it with pickle juice. I can't remember why they do it- but I have an entire redneck side of the family who regularly throw hoe-downs and bring out the lighnin'

*I wish I were joking

Ginger opened this up so we could get our nostrils full of this heavenly scent. It was very potent even in snorted form. We had to exit using about 2 flights of stairs. As I peered into the abyss with a half loopy brain, I was sure I would end up bouncing down those stairs on my behind. I am a cluts extraordinaire when I'm completely sober, let alone when schnockered.

So was it like sniffing a sharpie, xerox copy (you know what I'm talking about) or rubbing alcohol??? I'd love to be a loopy fly on that wall!

Note that the Southern Charm of Ginger brought a smile to Doug's lips. And I forgot to mention, the tour is free!

I think he's smilin' 'cause Ginger and you could be twins if you had on a little make up with curlier hair!!!

I was getting a kick out of some of the bill boards on our way to Cartersville. I noted a sign that said - Lyon's Den: Adult Food & Fuel Superstore. There sure were a lot of these in Tennesee. Must have some ornery folk in them there hills.

Yeah, that's what it is.. they're ornery

We got to Cartersville. The Comfort Inn was on a very steep hill. If you had a big rig, no way. Not even a camper. You'd get stuck in the dip in the road between it and the drive. It was a typical refurb run by Indians or some other mid east. people. They were very nice.
The room was the usual - 'slap some wallpaper and paint on and it's new' type. The bed was clean and comfortable. All I can say is, those of you that complain about WDW Mousekeeping might want to pass this one up. It was OK for an overnighter though.

I'm not familiar with it... I thought ya'll were staying at the new one next door to Shoneys?

The waitress gave us our drinks and Doug decided to play the part of that 5 year old of told you about. I don't know what he was doin' but he knocked the whole Coke he ordered over.

I did this last weekend at Buffalos!

Excellent update Can't wait to see what happened when you got to POR! Not to be a downer and all... but I'm really curious to know what your reaction was if you took the boat-ride down the Sassagoula River...

 

[Mrs. The King]

Notice how your free trip cost you $72. Thats' how free things work out for me too

Great update!

 

[Diamondintheruff]

Very cool side trip. So would the restaurant be "dry" too?

 

[lazydoxy66]

That tour looks so cool Kristel. Something Jim would wanna do, if we ever had cause to be in Tennessee!

It was worth the trek. They said there was a store in town that made furniture out of the barrels when empty, as they only use them once. I wished I could have seen it. Then again, I probably would have bought a rockin' chair. Could you see us drivin to Fla. Clampet style, chair on the roof of the nissan?

That tour sounds really interesting and you are right the price is right!

We like wine tours and brewery tours too. Most are free, for the tour part anyway.

Okay.. I'll go ahead and show ya'll all my redneck roots- if ya'll want to properly drink white lightnin' you better have yourself a great big jar of pickle juice! You take a swig of liquor and chase it with pickle juice. I can't remember why they do it- but I have an entire redneck side of the family who regularly throw hoe-downs and bring out the lighnin'

*I wish I were joking

I'll just take mine straight with no chaser, thanks.



So was it like sniffing a sharpie, xerox copy (you know what I'm talking about) or rubbing alcohol??? I'd love to be a loopy fly on that wall!

Sweeter than all those but way stronger. It actually clings to the back of your throat.

Excellent update Can't wait to see what happened when you got to POR! Not to be a downer and all... but I'm really curious to know what your reaction was if you took the boat-ride down the Sassagoula River...

Just hold your horses. I'll get there.

Notice how your free trip cost you $72. Thats' how free things work out for me too

Great update!

Yeah. We went on the Miller tour in Milwaukee a few years back. It wasn't nearly as interesting as this one, but they did give you 3 free 12 oz. glasses of beer at the end. Miller, Miller lite and Foster's. Then we spent $150 at there shop. Good racket!

Very cool side trip. So would the restaurant be "dry" too?

Yes, ma'am. They do have a bakery in town that sells cakes with JD in them. I saw it on the Travel Channel. They looked so yummy!

 

[DisneyJo]

Sounds like a great tour can't believe how long you queued for a signature

And they still have dry parts of America?????

 

[jcc0621]

It was worth the trek. They said there was a store in town that made furniture out of the barrels when empty, as they only use them once. I wished I could have seen it. Then again, I probably would have bought a rockin' chair. Could you see us drivin to Fla. Clampet style, chair on the roof of the nissan?

Well, you could have always picked up a hitch hiker and made some extra cash for DIsney

And they still have dry parts of America?????

SOme places still have Blue Laws too. No businesses open on Sunday's!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Here in Indiana you can't buy liquor on Sundays unless you are in a restaurant or a bar that serves food. I think that is just ridiculous. If you live close enough to Illinoise you just go there and get it.
You can't buy a car on Sunday either. This one doesn't bother me. It gives you a day to go look without being bothered by a salesman.

 

[2BusyPlanning]

Kristel... did you get lost in here?! We're dying to get to WDW!

 

[xoktenox]

Here in Indiana you can't buy liquor on Sundays unless you are in a restaurant or a bar that serves food.COLOR]

Wow that is crazy, ya learn something new everyday don't ya? In New York, or at least in the county I live in you used to not be able to buy alcohol before 12 pm on Sundays but they got rid of the law a couple years ago.

 

[lazydoxy66]

Sunday,Sept. 7th

Ok. Here we go!

Doug and I were awakened by the alarm at around 3ish AM. We were going to stop at Gatorland before we went to WDW. I figured 8 hrs which, if we hit the road by 4ish should put us there about noonish. Got it!?? That was the plan.

I was prettying myself up while Doug did his regular morning dooty. (Get it D-O-O-T-Y.) Thank the Lord there was a door between us. OOOOEEEEE! ZPS has nothin' on the master of bathroom disaster.(Zoo Poop Smell - coined by a DISFocker). I tell him to have some cereal and ask that he start putting stuff in the car while I finish up.
He eats and grabs the overnight bag and the keys to the rental and scoots out the door. In about 2 minutes, I hear a car alarm. Hmmmm??? After an agonizing 2 minutes, it is silenced and I'm thinking 'What ijut is waking up the whole complex?' Yep you guessed it. It was my ijut.

He returns for the cooler. 'Uh, prob. with the alarm?' I inquire. Doug's response, 'Yeah, musta' hit the button on my leg.'

I go back to packing up the toiletries and------ HONK, HONK, HONK!!!! Then a short silence and more HONK, HONK, HONK!!!!!! What in Hades in he doing??!! I'm sure by now I'm going have to put my fighting face on 'cause I'm betting there are some p.o.'d neighbors by now.

I poke my head out the door and see Doug and no one else - shooo. No fights on this morning.

Once again I question, 'It's a high-tech machine, I guess you still haven't got it figured out yet??' 'How was I supposed to know that if you open the trunk without unlocking the car, the alarm goes off.' He says kinda snotty-like. 'OK, OK, settle your rump down. I think you've already woke up enough people today.', I laugh-------- and chuckle------ and snort! which only serves to make him mad. He's so cute when he's mad.

We head back out to I-75 and Atlanta at precisely 4:00AM. YAY!!! I do love it when things are running on schedule. It was cloudy and 68 deg. F.

The drive to Redneckville, I mean Gatorland was pretty uneventful with the exception of 1 wrong turn, thanks Emma, in Atlanta. She told me to keep right and I did. As soon as we stayed right we needed to be left. She did tell me this, just a tad too late. My co-pilot was asleep and no help at all until I screamed at him to deal with Emma while I got us back to I-75. Good thing it was 5AM on a Sunday. Nobody, I mean, nobody around.

Georgia and Florida are the most agonizing states to have to drive through. It seems like forever and ever and ever until you get to Orlando. (Kinda like the beginning of this update.) It SUX!!!

We crossed the Florida state line @9:04 AM. I snapped this at that first big Tourist Stop in Florida.

We used the facilities and stretched and made a few calls. BTW. This was the first sun we had seen. Things were feeling right!

Just before we got to the turnpike, we stopped at a small town to gas up, for Doug, gas down, and eat.

I didn't see any 'nice' spots for a picnic. There was an empty lot across the road and down a bit. There wasn't any shade so we just stayed in the car and ate some more chicken and cole slaw.

While we were there a truck pulled in. It was pulling a smoker. Ya' know like for BBQin' pigs. The guy got out and went into a Waffle House across the road. I got looking at the smoker and I'll be dipped if it wasn't made up to look like a gator!!!! Too cool! I got a pic.

Isn't that just neater than sh - oops, neater then all get out!!

Next: Day 2, Part 2 - Car Alarms, Gators and POR

 

[lazydoxy66]

So we had ourselves some lunch. We hit the turnpike and made a bee-line to Gatorland. We arrived at precisely 12:30 PM. 8 1/2 hours. I'm good!

Their are a couple of photo ops before you even pay! Want to see a very happy Doug? Here he is.

We hopped up to the admission window. Admission is regular $22.99 for adults. They have a web site: www.gatorland.com
You can purchase tickets at a discount. I had a coupon for $2.50 off. The nice lady asked us if we wanted to ride the train. Well of course - $2.00. Also, at this point they will schedule you for a picture with an alligator. We didn't want this so I don't remember what it cost . Our total for entry with the government tip was $47.90. Then she gave us wrist bands for the train and paperwork so we wouldn't get lost.

Doug is in the throws of pure reptile loving passion. I think I saw his eyes roll back in his head when we entered this sanctuary that only a true 'Crocodile Hunter' worshipper could understand or enjoy.

A ditty from the past:
When I first started dating my DH, I found out he had a peculiar taste in pets. After my first Christmas dinner with his family, he took me to his room. Settle down. This isn't that kind of story. It was in the garage. Yeah, real classy.We walk in and there are 2 huge aquariums. One contains Oscars, fish. That's nice. The other contained>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>> a camen. (Small Croc.)
Then I get a glimpse of something running under his bed. I'm thinking it's a cat. WRONG!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Skunk!

Uh-huh, a skunk. He told me she was descented. Oh, OK, Not!
And just before he met me he had 2 pythons. Friends let me just say I am not against having pets like this. But HECK NO! Not in this woman's home. Needless to say the only pets he brought to my house were the fish.

Ok, back to the present. When you enter, there's a dock type walkway with swamp water and big gators on each side.

Then in under a covered area, there's some smaller pools with baby alligators. They were probably around 3-4 ft. long. There's also a food bar. There was a little breeze that felt wonderful.

The park sprawls out from there on dry land. Lots of exhibits.
We'd missed the gator wrestling. It was an hour until "Jumparoo". So we headed to the train.
I haven't got any pics. from the train. Want to know why? 'Cuz it just wasn't that interesting. If you have little ones that like trains - it's worth the $2. Otherwise skip it. They don't tell you anything you can't find in a flyer and the park isn't that big. I think the ride only lasted about 10 minutes. That's because it was going very slow. Also if you have kids, they have a small watering hole with sprayers and such.

Jumparoo time!!!
A couple of nuts take chickens and make a competition out of seeing who can get the gators to jump the highest to grab the chicken. They ask the audience to whoop it up!

CRAZY! They even have a place where you can feed gators yourself. Of course they make you stand back about 5 ft and throw the chicken at them. That isn't any fun!!

After the show, we went croc hunting.

A big croc. They're saltwater crocodiles. One was named----Morton.

A Korean croc. I tried to chat with him. He didn't understand a word of English.

Someone left this nice boat out in the middle a nowhere. I knew we should have taken the truck! Look at me. All sweat and stink!!

I don't know. It's so ugly it's cute.

They have an observation tower out in the swamp breeding area. You can watch some alligator lovin'. Yee Haw! Now that's what I come to Florida for!!

One big alligator!!!

We do have one of these at home. A Sulcotta tortoise. (sp.?) He's not that big. But will be one day. Don't even ask! I was as surprised as you are.

Now it's going on 3:30 PM. I ask Doug if he wants to stick around for the next wrestling match. It is really hot today and he says he is ready to get to the resort. I snapped this guy on the way out. Yes he was laughing at us.

You have to walk through the gift shop to exit. Those darn marketing experts. Doug found a shirt he liked.

We had a good time and it was worth the money. You could stay all day. Really you only need about 3-4 hours. And that's if you want to see the shows.

Off to WDW and POR!!!!
Did we get a room with a view? Did we have to fight a mob upon our arrival? Did we find any bugs in the beds?
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Next: Day 2, Part 3 - Car Alarms, Gators and POR

 

[lazydoxy66]

Snuck 2 in on all of you!!!!

 

[jcc0621]

Jim and I did Gatorland once pre kids and enjoyed ourselves. Do they still have Gator Nuggets on the menu at the CS place they had We are thinking of taking Jimmy back, he'd probably get a kick out of it!

 

[2BusyPlanning]

Yea! Gatorland... hmmmm... I think I will pass on that one. That "zoo poop smell" comment made me think (I work in a zoo, and the only smell that bothers me is the gorilla. They have the worst B.O.). Yummmmmm - o!

I can't wait to hear more!

 

[Hsminnie]

A SKUNK! I don't THINK so!!!

Keep em comin!!!! Sounds like a hoot so far!

 

[lazydoxy66]

Jim and I did Gatorland once pre kids and enjoyed ourselves. Do they still have Gator Nuggets on the menu at the CS place they had We are thinking of taking Jimmy back, he'd probably get a kick out of it!

Sorry, I don't know. We weren't hungry so I didn't even look at it. Bad DISer.

Yea! Gatorland... hmmmm... I think I will pass on that one. That "zoo poop smell" comment made me think (I work in a zoo, and the only smell that bothers me is the gorilla. They have the worst B.O.). Yummmmmm - o!

I can't wait to hear more!

I have to admit, pigs are the worst. If ya' live in the country I guess it's called CPS, Country poop smell.

A SKUNK! I don't THINK so!!!

Keep em comin!!!! Sounds like a hoot so far!

The skunk's name was----Stinkers! Doogles had to stretch fur that one, huh??!!
Thanks! I'll get another one on here before the end of the week!

 

[rebecca06261]

First- TMI on your hubby's morning constitutions ewww... lol

Second- I'm glad I got to go on that Gatorland trip vicariously through you! I now know that I will never ever feel bad for not going


oh yeah- fav line "A Korean croc. I tried to chat with him. He didn't understand a word of English."

 

[xoktenox]

Hey great update! I went to Gatorland once with my family when I was younger and we had a great time too. You're too funny with your bathroom humor with your DH, my BF and him seem to have something in common

 

[puggymom]

Great start, I'm all cuaght up.

I have to tell you I could never go to Gatorland, too much of a chicken!

So it was interesting to see what is really is like.