Canadian Buffoon's Back to Front Vacation - Update! 05/18 - Falling Down

[vamassey1]

Depends on what all expenses means to you...

Tent - $50
Rental car - $50 per day x2 days (one there and one back)
Gas - $150 (just because I don't know exact mileage...I think that's generous)
Space in my back yard for tent - $0
10 days at DTD - $0

Sounds like a pretty good deal for $300.

You forgot park tickets and food.

Actually... yes it does!

Nope, nope and nope.

 

[vamassey1]

The Festival has several events
or attractions, such as snow sculpting:

The snow sculptures are beautiful.

And no French Canadian
festival would be complete
without Beaver Tails.
(Flat pastry with cinnamon
and sugar. mmmmm...)

That sounds so good. I never got to try them when they were at Epcot.

Within the Fort
you can take in
blacksmithing
and other early
1800s activities.

Very cool and I be much warmer in there.

Kay, posing for the camera
at the top of one of the
guard towers.

Lovely!

As you can see,
she had fun.
It was only about
a 7-8 minute run,
but I think it was
money well spent.

This does look fun!

Then you roll it up
and eat!
Yumm!!

Yum!

 

[pkondz]

Cool. I had to bail on Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota a couple of years ago when our flight was cancelled. Would have been neat to learn a little more about them.

Funny. I've never heard
of it so looked it up.
Just a little out of the way.

That's really impressive! They're all so big!

Huh!
And here I thought people
were going to comment
that they were small!
Not kidding!

I can get on board with that idea.

Sooooo good.

It doesn't take much to do that, does it?

Well... no.

Gesundheit.

Looks nice. I'm a sucker for rustic log cabins. Bet it's nice inside.

I've never seen inside.
Every time I've tried,
a private function has
been going on.

They'd better step back from the fire!

Heh. The thought occurred.
Haven't seen anyone go
up in flames yet.

Whoa. It's like Moses and the burning bush!

Doubt very much the same
"person" is tending these fires.

That would be cool!

Because why not?

Worth it.

That's a neat trick.

And tasty!

I did! Thanks for sharing about it.

You're welcome!

But I thought I saw a Dole Whip!

 

[pkondz]

I haven't visited the Trip Reports board in, well, probably, years, as the Dining Reports board is where I hang out most of the time now. Feeling like I've been probably missing some good reading, I decided to venture over here yesterday morning.

Hi!
First off... to the TR!
I was getting a whole bunch
of alerts that someone named
@TeresaNJ was liking all my
chapters.

Glad you decided to pop in
to say hello!

I, too, have a bad back (actually had to do WDW in a wheelchair a few times)

Bad backs... suck.
In one of my earlier TRs,
I write about having to come
home from Europe in
a wheelchair.

but was doing great for quite some time now, until a week ago. I've recently started babysitting my four month old grandson, as his mom, my daughter, recently went back to work, and he is quite the big baby, weighed 9lb 12oz when he was born a week early. Anyway, because I'd been doing so well I wasn't being careful carrying him, and bending to change his diaper, etc. I stupidly bent over to pick something up while holding him, and OMG. My back. What the heck did I do? I was in more pain that evening than I had ever been. Called my PM&R doc (physical medicine and rehab) immediately the next morning to schedule an appointment. She's given me injections in the past that have really helped. Sadly for me, she was away, and because of that I can't be seen until next week, which means I won't be able to schedule injections until at least the week after that, as it is done in an outpatient OR setting, under conscious sedation, and guided by fluoroscopy.

Yes. That is exactly how it
happens, isn't it?
When you least expect it
and when you are doing
something totally innocent.

It certainly sounded painful
the way you wrote about it...
And I can completely relate.
I've never had any shots, though.
(outside of that one in Italy.)
Not sure if it would help or not

Whew, that was a mouthful.

Yes it was!
I feel so much more
enlightened, now.

To top it off, I'm taking off in 30 days on a WDW adventure! I have to get this back under control! The point of me telling you this is that I so feel your pain, literally, and unless one has back issues, one has no idea how excruciating and debilitating it can be.

30 days...
If you're anything like me
(and... who the heck knows???)
you will hopefully be okay enough
in a month to be able to get
around without too much pain.

I don't think I've ever read any of your TRs before, but I'm so glad yours was the first I stumbled on to!

Why thank you!
I'm glad you found me.

Even though it isn't a traditional WDW trip report, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and read the entire report over the last 24 hours, with some time thrown in there for sleep, lol!

Sleep!?!?!
How dare you!
No breaks!!!

I mean, I can't do much of anything else right now, so what better way to spend time?

I feel you.
When all you can do
is lie flat on your back,
the DIS is a Godsend.

I feel like I've taken a tour of Canada and parts of the US I've never been to! What fun!

Glad you've enjoyed
the ride (so far)
More to come!

Loved all your DISmeets, too!

So did I!

I've been on a few, shout out to @Dan Murphy, and to my DIS friend from Israel, DeeDee, who my husband & I met back in November 2016 at WDW. We had ice cream at Ample Hills Creamery at the Boardwalk, and then did the California Grill brunch together the following day after my husband ran the half marathon. I feel pretty close to several dining report DISers, and consider them friends, as we are also FB and IG friends now, after all, lol, and hopefully we'll meet in real life some day in the near future!

DISfriends are the best!
Even though you've never met,
you already know you have
one thing in common
and one thing to talk about.

Wow, this reply is almost like a mini real life report! Sorry. I tend to be chatty. Looking forward to the rest of your report!

I love chatty.
I encourage people
to share on my reports.
It's the other people
chiming in and sharing
that make this work!

 

[pkondz]

If I'm not mistaken, I think I saw this on Rick Mercer's show a few years back. It looks like a great festival.

I wouldn't be surprised
if it was on his show.
It's not bad.

Amazing sculptures. It's hard to believe they can get the snow cut so sharp and precise.

I know!
Lots of skill involved...

And then it melts.

I enjoy some Beaver Tail now and then.

Umm...

Oh! Right... pastry.

They have a food truck that hits the festivals and harbour front during the summer around here.

Not surprised.
And... sooooo
good.

I've always liked watching blacksmiths. I could never do it myself. But it's fascinating.

I enjoyed the little I saw.
Not as much as glass blowing,
but it is pretty cool.

Great idea. You can't beat a warm fire on a cold night.

Cool. I did this only once many years ago. There aren't many dog sleds around here, but I used to know a friend of a friend who kept sled dogs.

Oh! Nice that you got to.

I have never done this but always wanted to.
Do you have any idea if you can just do this with your bottle of maple syrup from the cupboard? Or does it have to be warm and thinner/watery?

I do believe @pooh'smate
has answered you're question.

 

[pkondz]

Yes you can. We make it here at home. I think you have to heat your syrup to 234/235 (you will have to check on the internet to be sure) then pour it on your snow. We pack our snow in 9x13 pans. We just made some this weekend as we had 10 inches of snow.

No way!
You did that?? So cool!
I've had it before,
but never done it myself.

And thanks for the info!

 

[pkondz]

You forgot park tickets and food.

I believe the reference to DTD
implied no park visits would
be happening.

The food?

Also implied is that Doc
would feed you.
Right @docsoliday1 ?

Nope, nope and nope.

The snow sculptures are beautiful.

I love seeing what they
come up with.

That sounds so good. I never got to try them when they were at Epcot.

Too bad.
They're soooo good!

Very cool and I be much warmer in there.

Lovely!

She certainly is.

This does look fun!

I think the smile on Kay's
face pretty much confirms that.

Yum!

 

[docsoliday1]

You forgot park tickets and food.

Okay, I may have forgotten food, but you said to Disney...that's why all the time at DTD...no park tickets required.

Bagels for breakfast
Peanut butter & jelly @Captain_Oblivious for lunch
Ramen for dinner
Okay, another $50 should cover it.

Still a good bargain.

 

[docsoliday1]

I believe the reference to DTD
implied no park visits would
be happening.

The food?

Also implied is that Doc
would feed you.
Right @docsoliday1 ?

Okay fine, I'll do a real breakfast. I'll even include some of the really good bacon.
Lunch and dinner are still PB&J and ramen....I still have to pay my mortgages.

 

[pkondz]

Okay fine, I'll do a real breakfast. I'll even include some of the really good bacon.
Lunch and dinner are still PB&J and ramen....I still have to pay my mortgages.

Plural mortgages.
So you haven’t sold the
Atlanta place yet.
Any bites?

 

[docsoliday1]

Plural mortgages.
So you haven’t sold the
Atlanta place yet.
Any bites?

DW wants to rent vs sell, so I'll have two mortgages, but hopefully have one paid for in rent.

 

[TeresaNJ]

Hi!
First off... to the TR!
I was getting a whole bunch
of alerts that someone named
@TeresaNJ was liking all my
chapters.

Glad you decided to pop in
to say hello!

DISfriends are the best!
Even though you've never met,
you already know you have
one thing in common
and one thing to talk about.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I feel like I've made a new friend already! Thanks for making me smile this morning!!! I've been here, on the DIS, for a very long time, pretty much from it's inception, but I'm more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count. So glad I found it back in 1998 (the site had a major crash after that, and we all lost our post counts and "joined" info, hence why mine says 1999. I was planning a last minute trip with my then 12 year old daughter, and found out about Annual Pass discounts here on the DIS! We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn that trip, and it was amazing. Ah, memories!

 

[pooh'smate]

No way!
You did that?? So cool!
I've had it before,
but never done it myself.

And thanks for the info!

We have. When your dh is from Montreal and you have really close family friends (we called them grampy and grammy) who ran a sugar shack we make do with what we can here in the middle. My grandparents have passed now but my uncles are still running the shack. My family used to go for a week every spring help with the boiling off. They still send me a jug of maple syrup every year. My dad brings me the rest of our supply. He buys it straight from his friend in Quebec (who owns a legit cabane a sucre) as our friends only make enough for their family and a few friends now. So needless to say no fake syrup in our house. Also I owe you a Tourtiere recipe.

 

[pkondz]

DW wants to rent vs sell, so I'll have two mortgages, but hopefully have one paid for in rent.

Ah! Okay, got it.
So... how's the finding
a renter process going?

 

[pkondz]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I feel like I've made a new friend already!

There's a reason for that...


You have!

Thanks for making me smile this morning!!!

I've been here, on the DIS, for a very long time, pretty much from it's inception,

I'm was going to go out
on a limb and guess
Sep 13, 1999, but...
Then I read the rest of
your post.

but I'm more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count.

That's still a fair amount
of posts.
I've seen a couple posters
with years on their log books...
And less than 100 posts.

And I just looked at my own...

I just cracked 22,000 today!

So... apparently, I talk too much.

So glad I found it back in 1998 (the site had a major crash after that, and we all lost our post counts and "joined" info, hence why mine says 1999.

Oh really!
I wasn't aware of that.
I'm more of a
Johnny-come-lately.

I was planning a last minute trip with my then 12 year old daughter, and found out about Annual Pass discounts here on the DIS!

I've had a similar experience.
Came here before taking the
family on our first trip.
Learned a lot.

We stayed at the Boardwalk Inn that trip, and it was amazing. Ah, memories!

 

[pkondz]

We have. When your dh is from Montreal and you have really close family friends (we called them grampy and grammy) who ran a sugar shack we make do with what we can here in the middle.

Well, that would do it!

My grandparents have passed now but my uncles are still running the shack.

Nice that it's stayed
in the family.

My family used to go for a week every spring help with the boiling off. They still send me a jug of maple syrup every year.

Nice!
Bottle of the good stuff.

My dad brings me the rest of our supply. He buys it straight from his friend in Quebec (who owns a legit cabane a sucre) as our friends only make enough for their family and a few friends now.

Very nice. I tend to buy when
I'm in Ottawa (once in a while).
I'm not a massive fan/critic,
but my mom is. I buy for her.

So needless to say no fake syrup in our house.

Nope!

Also I owe you a Tourtiere recipe.

Now that is weird!
Just before sitting down
and seeing this,
I pulled a tourtiere that
my mom made, out of
the freezer for dinner tonight.

 

[pooh'smate]

Tourtiere

1 double crust of your choice
1 1/2 pounds ground pork (traditional, but you could also substitute beef, chicken, or turkey)
1/2 pound diced potato
1 large chopped onion (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon savory
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
egg wash made by beating 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water

Prepare whichever pie dough you choose and chill it while you make the filling

Place the ground pork, onion, water and spices in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir it frequently to keep it from sticking. You want the liquid to cook down to prevent the filling from being too soupy.

While the filling cooks, roll out two rounds of pie dough. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one. Brush the bottom with some of the egg wash to keep it from getting soggy while it cooks.

Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover with the second circle of dough and crimp the edges.

Cut vents in the top and brush with the egg wash to give the crust a bronzed appearance.

Fifteen minutes before you are ready to bake your pie, preheat your oven to 500 F. Bake for 10 minutes at 500; then turn the heat down to 375 F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more.

​

Notes- I do usually use ground beef just because that is what I have on hand, we like it either way (pork or beef). If I plan ahead I use pork if I don't I use beef lol. I just use premade crust because I just don't make a good pie crust. I also let it set for 5 min before I slice it. When I first started making this could not find savory anywhere so I just left it out now my grocery store sells it so I use it but to be honest I don't taste much difference lol. Let me know if you have any questions.

​

 

[pooh'smate]

Now that is weird!
Just before sitting down
and seeing this,
I pulled a tourtiere that
my mom made, out of
the freezer for dinner tonight.

Sorry it took so long. I forgot then our internet has been acting out and only working occasionally. They came out 7 times and never did find out what was wrong with it but it is working again. At least they comped us for the time that it wasn't working.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Tourtiere

1 double crust of your choice
1 1/2 pounds ground pork (traditional, but you could also substitute beef, chicken, or turkey)
1/2 pound diced potato
1 large chopped onion (1 to 1 1/2 cups)
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon savory
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
egg wash made by beating 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water

Prepare whichever pie dough you choose and chill it while you make the filling

Place the ground pork, onion, water and spices in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes. Stir it frequently to keep it from sticking. You want the liquid to cook down to prevent the filling from being too soupy.

While the filling cooks, roll out two rounds of pie dough. Line a 9-inch pie plate with one. Brush the bottom with some of the egg wash to keep it from getting soggy while it cooks.

Pour the filling into the pie shell. Cover with the second circle of dough and crimp the edges.

Cut vents in the top and brush with the egg wash to give the crust a bronzed appearance.

Fifteen minutes before you are ready to bake your pie, preheat your oven to 500 F. Bake for 10 minutes at 500; then turn the heat down to 375 F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes more.

​

Notes- I do usually use ground beef just because that is what I have on hand, we like it either way (pork or beef). If I plan ahead I use pork if I don't I use beef lol. I just use premade crust View attachment 385228 because I just don't make a good pie crust. I also let it set for 5 min before I slice it. When I first started making this could not find savory anywhere so I just left it out now my grocery store sells it so I use it but to be honest I don't taste much difference lol. Let me know if you have any questions.

​

thank you! This looks like a recipe I could actually try.

 

[pooh'smate]

thank you! This looks like a recipe I could actually try.

We love it and it is on regular rotation here through the fall and winter months.