The DisFort's Chit Chat Cafe

[bama_ed]

Ok so higlights of the trip was the dolphin thing. $$$$ plus $$$$$$ for the pictures. But I figure it was a once in a lifetime thing. Disney may have been cheaper. View attachment 705184View attachment 705185View attachment 705186View attachment 705184View attachment 705185

Good for you, @Sjm9911 !

I have looked at this possibility of swimming with dolphins at Orlando/Sea World's Discovery Cove. But never pulled the trigger. If it's on your bucket list, grab the opportunity while you can, I say.

Some memories are indeed pricele$$. Just bite the bullet and if anyone mentions the price, pull out the pictures.

I've bit the bullet in the past and have plans to do the same. Again, good for you and the family. It should be a fantastic memory for DD for sure.

Ed

PS - although, dude - really? We need to talk about the hat.

 

[Sjm9911]

Good for you, @Sjm9911 !

I have looked at this possibility of swimming with dolphins at Orlando/Sea World's Discovery Cove. But never pulled the trigger. If it's on your bucket list, grab the opportunity while you can, I say.

Some memories are indeed pricele$$. Just bite the bullet and if anyone mentions the price, pull out the pictures.

I've bit the bullet in the past and have plans to do the same. Again, good for you and the family. It should be a fantastic memory for DD for sure.

Ed

PS - although, dude - really? We need to talk about the hat.

Ill send you one ed, i have multiple hats just like it. Lol.

 

[Teamubr]

Ill send you one ed, i have multiple hats just like it. Lol.

I think I have a couple too. Looks like it is a new trend!

j

 

[Sjm9911]

Been wearing those for like 30 years. It was never an in style thing. But I like it. It says made in alabama on the lable?

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

So a couple days ago I mentioned a "reclamation" project. It's time I came clean about it.

A couple years ago we had a thread on the Camping Community board about getting a Blackstone cast iron griddle. It was all the rage and I bought into it (and got a griddle). A 22" rectangular model with a lid and a stand. I used it once down at Gulf SP and then put it up back in my garage when I got home.

And it sat.

And it sat.

And it sat.

(I'm just being honest here).

But I had bought the 22" (versus a 17" or bigger on the other side) because I thought I could use it for a bigger group of 4-6 adults (or more) while the 17" is good for a couple. And the time is coming soon where I NEED to cook for 6 adults soon so I need to get my a** in gear, right?

So after I got the toilet all squared away as related above, a couple days later I dragged out the Blackstone griddle. It looked good with the top closed.

View attachment 700365

But when you lift the lid, I cringe (look away)!

View attachment 700366

I determined (after cruising the Internet gods on YouTube) that the griddle needed a total makeover. A complete reclamation, if you will. So I had to call in additional reinforcements. WalMart Superstore is my friend.

View attachment 700369

And put with that the "secret ingredient":

So with the red box and scrub tools, I applied some elbow grease and started the cleanup.

View attachment 700370

After the deep scrub, this is what the griddle looked like.

View attachment 700371

(the diamond symbol is from the reinforcement iron on the underside).

After several applications of the "secret ingredient":

View attachment 700372

Good enough for government work (Don).

Why am I telling you this, you might ask? Because I cooked on it finally tonight (weather allowed).

Pix tomorrow....

Bama Ed

PS - I want to take this griddle to the Fort for our November trip so that's why I'm working on this NOW.

Looks great, we love our Blackstone and use it regularly but it's absolutely awesome for breakfast!!

 

[Sjm9911]

Ok, i will post some more cruise pictures when I figure out how to get them from my old phone to the new one. Unfortunately, on the Royal Carriban cruise you need your phone to hook up to ship wifi in order to reserve shows and navigate the boat. No more sheets of paper with the daily happenings, everything is on the phone. As I am technological slow, and didnt want to chance roaming charges, I brought my old phone for this task. It worked fine. But it was still not great. Having everything on the phone at the ship was great, but when off the ship it dosent work, no wifi. So you need to input all the times in your alarm settings so you dont miss the boat. I will also say they never told you when the gangway was open, no anouncements from the staff that I was used to, so if they opened it early, you had no idea.

 

[bama_ed]

Ill send you one ed, i have multiple hats just like it. Lol.

Save your postage money, Spence. Booney style hats don't look good on me. ED

 

[friendofeeyore]

Sjm9911, The dolphins looked like so much fun! What a happy smile on your daughter's face. Glad you took that off your bucket list.

 

[jbrostek]

@Sjm9911 Rocking the bucket/ranger hat eh? Sucks about the cruise crud (covid or otherwise), just one of those things that exist. Seems everyone I know that's gone through FL this year has gotten it within weeks of returning.

This past weekend was a boring weekend of yard work, doing fall weeding and hedge trimming. The rest of this week is work and preparing to head to a Grand Design Rally. I have never done of these, the FROG (Forrest River Owners Group) Rallies where always at bad times of the year for me or too far away. This one is nearby at Cherry Hill Campground in College Park, MD. Have other friends going there so it should be a fun time.

First order of business will be washing vehicles. They are all filthy, and then come later this week work on the RV some. Or at least pack/prep to do some work at the Rally. I want to get the router setup so it can run of 12v instead of 120v, same with the RV whisper. I just need to pick its final spot and sort out where to run the wiring. I am hoping to find a good spot mid RV, or at least put the RV whisper there so the BT coverage is good. Then work on the router that I think will end up in under the radio up front.

 

[Tallis]

Ok so higlights of the trip was the dolphin thing. $$$$ plus $$$$$$ for the pictures. But I figure it was a once in a lifetime thing. Disney may have been cheaper. View attachment 705184View attachment 705185View attachment 705186View attachment 705184View attachment 705185

Oh my goodness! I had just shot you a message as we hadn't spoke in a couple of years. Then I saw this. Your daughter is growing up so much. What a beautiful young lady she has turned into. Great to see some pics!

 

[bama_ed]

Found a souvenir in a desk drawer from a LONG time ago. Time to hop onto the Wayback Machine.

There was a ticket from our first recent era trip to WDW/FW. I recorded it as a "Jan 2002" trip because we were there for the Marathon Week in early January but it appears that we came in early and did MK on 12/31/01. This was after 9/11 in 2001 and Disney was running room discounts and we stayed in a cabin (1st time).






Pictures confirm we were in MK this day.

The current price for a 1-day theme park (non-hopper) on 12/31/22 is $159. For those folks who can math, that is an annual price increase of 5.9%. Which is high by ANY standard but much less than the current inflation rate.

Gonna keep this just to remember "the good ol' days". (Paper tickets, paper Fastpasses [not long after they started]). Wish if I could know if we ate in any restaurants (no pics/records).

It was simpler time then.

Bama Ed

 

[jbrostek]

@bama_ed Right? I have a spreadsheet of every trip to Disney since 2010. Crazy to think what we spend now on a 1 week trip in 2021 at FW is what I spent on 2 weeks at FW including AP purchase in Jan 2013, the last trip I had with the DP.

Getting ready for the GD rally, finally got around to a mod I recently read about that is perfect. Since we use the front gen compartment for storage of the extra propane bottle, mickey light parts and more I added a 1/2" think rubber paddock mat so things would stop sliding around.



Even if I an inverter and batteries the inverter will probably go in the conditioned storage area and the batteries will stay in that ventilated area anyway. The mats are 3'x4' and 32.99 each so it was a low cost mod.



This evening the truck and trailer get a much needed bath even with the forecast of the remains of Ian over the weekend arriving sometime Saturday.

 

[4077]

My parents in Venice came through with almost no damage to home (pool cage screen and trees down, but not on to house… house from 50’s so feel very fortunate). Pics from down there are crazy! Just found one from Arcadia of the Peace River campground (was a KOA years and years ago that we stayed at in our A-liner back in the day). What a mental trauma for so many that will last for so long

 

[tigger92662]

New Halloween decor.
Happy Birthday to me

 

[Stratman50th]

New Halloween decor.
Happy Birthday to me
View attachment 707724

Are all 3 available in case you want the whole gang?

 

[tigger92662]

Are all 3 available in case you want the whole gang?

They were, it's from 2007 so I'm thinking I've got my work cut out for me to find the other 2

 

[bama_ed]

They were, it's from 2007 so I'm thinking I've got my work cut out for me to find the other 2

Given your skill, Joe, at garage and estate sales finds, I bet it won't take you long. My money would be on you versus anyone else.

Ed

 

[tigger92662]

 

[garneska]

Whisky officially destroyed her elephant last night while I slept.



Now she sleeps.

 

[jbrostek]

@garneska The world is safe now that she has dispatched the Elephant in the room?