The Scooter Strikes Back-A F&W 2017 TR- Bonus Features, Link to new TR 3/22

[franandaj]

Hey folks! It's one week until we're on the ground and likely in our hotel room at WDW before the cruise, so I thought it was high time to get people onboard.

Here is the link

 

[pkondz]

I haven't set a date for the next one, but I'm leaning toward the end of September.

Ah. That wouldn't work for me anyway. I'll be on the road then.

See those are the ones I don't forget because I have a dedicated travel bathroom bag with all that kind of stuff. I rotate out the things like shampoo and deodorant, when I run out in my bedroom/bathroom, but I have an entire dresser dedicated to "stuff we use on vacation". Extra phone chargers, special pillow, Door magnet decorations, MBs, the creature comforts we like in the rooms....

So it's mostly the meds you're worried about then.

They've been in there for over four years now and I've only done two rent increases since then. The two bedroom unit in front rented for more than they were paying for their three bedroom unit!

Then yeah... for sure you'll want to increase it.

Incredibly exhausted. I ordered room service around midnight after the concert and slept until the last possible moment and we checked out right at noon.

Awwww.....

I liked the second one, it had lots of humor in it. The third one is bittersweet for me, partially because of the subject matter. I saw that one at the El Capitan Theater and cried almost the whole way through it. I know this because they had a Toy Story Fun Zone in the back for patrons to enjoy after the movie. Then we went to the Disney Studio Store and Soda Fountain after the movie. But that's closed now.

I've heard the third one is a bit of a tearjerker. I'd like to see it sometime, just to see why.

Well the kittens started it, they kept scratching me back then cause they didn't know their own strength. I had the same thing while you were visiting too. They have finally calmed down and stopped biting and playing with my forearms, but for a period of about six months my arms looked awful. There were a couple times (like getting our stuff out from under the bottom of the bus) where my arms got scraped and I was bleeding all over. Luckily that was after the concert and not before.

Yes, I remember your poor beat up arms. Glad they've stopped.

We bought it because of Larry the Cable Guy, but when I finally got up the courage to make it, the batter was excellent!

Huh. I would never have thought to buy anything with him on the box!
Not because I don't like him, but... he's not a cook (is he? I just know he's a comedian) so...

Well, the folks who were paying for it paid something like $9.95 or $12.95 for the "buffet". It was part buffet, and then there were a few different cooked to order entrees you could choose from. They gave each of us at least four pieces every morning, between that all everything else, omelettes, waffles, fruit, toast, potatoes, and sausage too, we couldn't eat that much bacon in one sitting.

Lots of grub. Sure! take the good stuff to go!

They had a map on one of the walls with all the shipwrecks along the rivers and more than half I believe were explosions or steam engine fires.

Wow. That's... a lot.

way

Yeah, but I can't say that to her.....

Really, those must have been really tedious to clean, but the kid said that the whole family was involved for as long as he could remember.

Really! The kid was there?

The Day before was Memorial Day, I'm sure you're aware of the significance of that holiday. Most people don't realize that we are supposed to be celebrating fallen soldiers and not the first weekend of Barbeque.

I just meant the fact that it was an 8 track tape player. I wonder how many folks here remember those....

Ah! Okay. Yes, 8 tracks I do remember. They were great! You never knew what you'd get. I mean the odds of a song coming on are about...... one in eight.

 

[Steppesister]

By the way.... was looking at your update again, and noticed the lamp photo... looks very similar to the ones on Discovery Island at AK. Just sayin....

Sure. Let's blame it on her.

Oh sure, You Guys. Just because I find the DIS cathartic and all...

Hey folks! It's one week until we're on the ground a likely in our hotel room at WDW before the cruise, so I thought it was high time to get people onboard.

Here is the link

Be there soon!

 

[franandaj]

Ah. That wouldn't work for me anyway. I'll be on the road then.

Well bummer. Not sure if it's even happening though.

So it's mostly the meds you're worried about then.

Well no. All my meds are packed in my carry on. Wrapped that up yesterday. I had to get a vacation exception with the insurance company for one of them. Whatever I'm worried about forgetting belongs to Fran. She has given me three shirts so far and that's it. It's her last minute packing that we always forget something.

Then yeah... for sure you'll want to increase it.

Awwww.....

I've heard the third one is a bit of a tearjerker. I'd like to see it sometime, just to see why.

Without spoiling the plot, I can tell you why. It's about Andy going off to college, the toys get donated to a day care center. I won't tell you the end but that's where the real onion cutting starts.

Lots of grub. Sure! take the good stuff to go!

Why not?

Wow. That's... a lot.

Very dangerous.

Really! The kid was there?

He wasn't really a kid, probably in his 20s, but since it's a family business, they like someone from the family to be there at the end of the video to give it that personal touch.

Ah! Okay. Yes, 8 tracks I do remember. They were great! You never knew what you'd get. I mean the odds of a song coming on are about...... one in eight.

I just know on one road trip my family did to Monterey, if I head "Nights in White Satin" one more time I was gonna barf.

Oh sure, You Guys. Just because I find the DIS cathartic and all...

We're just giving you a hard time!

Be there soon!

 

[Steppesister]

We're just giving you a hard time!

I know!

 

[pkondz]

Well bummer. Not sure if it's even happening though.

Then I guess I'll stick to my sure thing.

Well no. All my meds are packed in my carry on. Wrapped that up yesterday. I had to get a vacation exception with the insurance company for one of them. Whatever I'm worried about forgetting belongs to Fran. She has given me three shirts so far and that's it. It's her last minute packing that we always forget something.

Oy... And if something's forgotten, I'm pretty sure I know who has to scramble to save the day.

Without spoiling the plot, I can tell you why. It's about Andy going off to college, the toys get donated to a day care center. I won't tell you the end but that's where the real onion cutting starts.

Oh dear. Maybe I'll watch with a box of tissues nearby.

Why not?

I was agreeing with you.

He wasn't really a kid, probably in his 20s, but since it's a family business, they like someone from the family to be there at the end of the video to give it that personal touch.

Oh! I actually thought... older.

I just know on one road trip my family did to Monterey, if I head "Nights in White Satin" one more time I was gonna barf.

 

[franandaj]

By the way.... was looking at your update again, and noticed the lamp photo... looks very similar to the ones on Discovery Island at AK. Just sayin....

Huh. I don't even know if I could remember the lights on Discovery island.

Oh sure, You Guys. Just because I find the DIS cathartic and all...

Well it was more the fact that you aren't shy about sharing very personal details...

Be there soon!

Aye, aye matey!

Then I guess I'll stick to my sure thing.

Probably a solid plan.

Oy... And if something's forgotten, I'm pretty sure I know who has to scramble to save the day.

Oh dear. Maybe I'll watch with a box of tissues nearby

Probably a good idea.

I was agreeing with you.

Oh, OK. I can be dense sometimes.

Oh! I actually thought... older.

OK.

 

[franandaj]

Wednesday was our last full day in the Midwest, and actually last day for anything fun. We started off with the complimentary breakfast from the hotel, and I might add that while we were staying there, Fran ended up taking a whole lot of strips of bacon back to the room with her every morning. We literally had a baggie full of bacon by the last day!

We had not put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and lo and behold the room had not been cleaned. Because we had eaten some of our meals in the room, and dessert every night, there were quite a few paper plates, napkins and utensils in the tiny trash can. Not to mention a few take out containers as well. We figured they would get it this afternoon.

We decided to visit the Museum of Money on this day, first cause it sounded interesting and secondly cause it was free!

We took some fun pictures around the place, they had lots of opportunities for photos ops.

They had some very interesting displays of money. Back in our country’s infancy, coins were standard currency. Bank notes were just that, notes from a bank that verified that you had that much money in coins invested with them. As the country grew and interstate commerce became more common, John’s bank’s note wasn’t necessarily honored at Harold’s bank. The Continental Congress issued bank notes, and eventually the Second Bank was granted a charter that lasted until 1835. The Government issued greenbacks during the Civil War and the Confederate States also created their own currency.

Following the end of the Second Bank’s charter the Free Banking Era occured.

You can see what a headache this became!

The National Banking era began in 1863 and that was in hopes to standardize currency, and while it was a great improvement over the previous banking eras, it had it’s problems as well. I don’t really remember (we took the tour and our guide explained it all to us, but I don’t really remember the details. Go there yourself! )

And thus the Federal Reserve was created in 1913.

There was a fascinating display on the history of the KC Federal Reserve that was really interesting, at least to me!

How would you like one of these babies?

Then we decided to check out the Truman coin collection. We had started to look at this when the tour guide announced the upcoming tour, so we left the coins and joined the tour.

This was a quote from Harry Truman. Wouldn’t it be amazing having a President with values like this?

I was amazed at how many different coins that were issued under the various presidents and that there were half cents and half dimes before they ever came up with the Nickel. On our tour, the guide gave us all kinds of neat information. He showed us a few fun facts about the coins. Like this one that Teddy Roosevelt insisted on being made no matter how much labor and cost it took. You see the relief on this particular coin is twice as detailed as a regular coin and the presses could not make them as quickly as a standard relief coin. Needless to say it wasn’t in circulation very long.

One of the perks of the museum is that they give you free money!

After this we decided to go to the Kansas City Auto Museum. It was about 40 minutes South of the City in a cute little industrial type Mall. There were only about 4 rooms which were packed full of cars. All the cars are on loan from local Car Enthusiasts and they switch out their display often to keep things interesting. I don’t know why I didn’t take any pictures in the first room, probably because we were getting a private tour from the curator until we finished the second room. He was telling us all about the museum and the some of the folks who had loaned their cars for display. Their seasonal display was in this second room and it was “station wagons”. The kinds like most of us old folks may remember piling into the back of them and making funny faces out the back window to the cars behind us.

The third and fourth rooms had some unique cars.

They even had a ‘63 Lincoln with suicide doors, just like ours! I like the coloring of ours better, though.

This one is crazy!

We had one more stop, but no pictures here. There was a hat store, and Fran really wanted to visit. She ended up with a black top hat (it has a better name, but I don’t remember right now), which provided a challenge for packing the next morning.

Then we headed back to the city for dinner. Tonight we were using the Gift Card I had received from the conference hosts. They finally got it to me on the day of the concert, so I was glad that we had these extra few days to use it. The place was Jack Stack and I have to say that this was sort of the most disappointing BBQ meal that we had on the trip. Maybe if we had ordered a platter instead of a sandwich, but we’d already had so many good things like brisket, pork ribs, beef rib, burnt ends, pulled pork that we were a little overwhelmed with the various BBQ flavors. I was actually thinking about chicken, but Fran convinced me otherwise.

You can’t go wrong with a starter of onion rings, these were really good!

We hadn’t eaten any vegetables all week pretty much so this spinach salad sounded good to both of us (they split it in the kitchen).

We went with the pork burnt ends sandwich (or maybe it was both beef and pork, I don’t remember). It was OK, but not really juicy or BBQy.

As many people said, the Cheesy corn was like crack! We ate every last little bit of that.

I was glad we ate early (around 5PM) because when we left the restaurant there was a huge waiting list.

We came back to the room to find our overflowing trash cans and ¼ roll of TP unchanged from the morning. If they weren't going to do anything about this we were at least going to call for some more TP! Needless to say we did not leave a tip.

The next morning all we did was pack up to leave, but when we went down to breakfast, I took some of our slices of bread and toasted them in the toaster. When I got back to the room I made Fran a bacon sandwich and I made myself a BBQ Beef sandwich to eat on the plane. I packed the rest in my carry on and hoped it didn’t spoil on the trip. It’s now in the freezer for when we want a taste of Kansas City again.

The plane ride was easy, and I remember all aspects of getting to the airport. It’s amazing what being well rested does for your cognizance! I would say that’s it for band conferences until next year in Orlando, but wait there’s more! In September there is a Southwestern Conference taking place in Phoenix (can you say hot?) where conductor’s from the bands in Phoenix, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Denver and Albuquerque will be conducting. It starts 5 days after we get home from our cruise this summer, so again we’ll be traveling a lot!

 

[Steppesister]

Probably a solid plan.

I was going to use that one too, but thought cathartic would Ben more obvious. It wasn’t. Lol.

 

[pkondz]

Oh, OK. I can be dense sometimes.

Nah. I doubt that.
Sweet, often.
A friend, always.
But dense? Nah... not buying it.

I'll be back later to read the update.

 

[pkondz]

We had not put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door and lo and behold the room had not been cleaned.

well.... yeah? You were surprised by that, or just making an observation?

We decided to visit the Museum of Money on this day, first cause it sounded interesting and secondly cause it was free!

Two very good excuses.

What are those? Hundreds? (or the representation thereof?)

Heh. This one's cute.

Bank notes were just that, notes from a bank that verified that you had that much money in coins invested with them.

Oh! In coins. I thought it would be in gold.

the Confederate States also created their own currency.

Which is valueless now, isn't it?

How would you like one of these babies?

Yes please. I'll take two.

This was a quote from Harry Truman. Wouldn’t it be amazing having a President with values like this?

I am going to not comment on this. At all. Nope.

there were half cents and half dimes before they ever came up with the Nickel.

Really. Huh.

Like this one that Teddy Roosevelt insisted on being made no matter how much labor and cost it took. You see the relief on this particular coin is twice as detailed as a regular coin and the presses could not make them as quickly as a standard relief coin. Needless to say it wasn’t in circulation very long.

Ohhhh... so that's why they're so valued.

Sure, but glue is extra.

All the cars are on loan from local Car Enthusiasts and they switch out their display often to keep things interesting.

I like that.

They even had a ‘63 Lincoln with suicide doors, just like ours!

I didn't know this, did I?

There was a hat store, and Fran really wanted to visit.

Does she collect?

You can’t go wrong with a starter of onion rings, these were really good!

They look really good.

I was glad we ate early (around 5PM) because when we left the restaurant there was a huge waiting list.

Rope drop. It's not just for Disney.

We came back to the room to find our overflowing trash cans and ¼ roll of TP unchanged from the morning. If they weren't going to do anything about this we were at least going to call for some more TP! Needless to say we did not leave a tip.

The next morning all we did was pack up to leave, but when we went down to breakfast, I took some of our slices of bread and toasted them in the toaster. When I got back to the room I made Fran a bacon sandwich and I made myself a BBQ Beef sandwich to eat on the plane.

Smart. Good idea.

It starts 5 days after we get home from our cruise this summer, so again we’ll be traveling a lot!

 

[tiggrbaby]

You certainly found a lot to do on this trip! I especially love the ship museum.

Safe and magical travels on your cruise!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Fran ended up taking a whole lot of strips of bacon back to the room with her every morning. We literally had a baggie full of bacon by the last day!

I like the way she thinks!

We decided to visit the Museum of Money on this day, first cause it sounded interesting and secondly cause it was free!

If it's free, it's for me.

I don’t really remember (we took the tour and our guide explained it all to us, but I don’t really remember the details. Go there yourself! )

I did! And I still don't remember the details.

One of the perks of the museum is that they give you free money!

I think they said there was about $125 in there.

Looks like something out of a James Bond movie!

The place was Jack Stack and I have to say that this was sort of the most disappointing BBQ meal that we had on the trip.

Well, that's sad. I remember they had the baked beans with brisket drippings in it.

We came back to the room to find our overflowing trash cans and ¼ roll of TP unchanged from the morning. If they weren't going to do anything about this we were at least going to call for some more TP! Needless to say we did not leave a tip.

Good grief. That's poor.

The plane ride was easy, and I remember all aspects of getting to the airport. It’s amazing what being well rested does for your cognizance!

Hey, I should try that sometime!

In September there is a Southwestern Conference taking place in Phoenix (can you say hot?) where conductor’s from the bands in Phoenix, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Denver and Albuquerque will be conducting. It starts 5 days after we get home from our cruise this summer, so again we’ll be traveling a lot!

Cool! I mean...hot.

 

[jlovesee]

Being from KC its always interesting to read someone's trip report! I went to Steamboat Arabia in high school, many moons ago, but never either the Jazz Museum or Federal Reserve (I knew where the Fed Reserve is but didn't realize it had a museum!), I am surprised you missed the Liberty memorial, Union Station, Crown Center (which has a Hallmark Visitors center, which is also free btw), Truman Library and Home. Of course, for some of those I haven't been there since HS either! BTW I can't stand Arthur Bryants, and love Jack Stack, but Bryants is more of a love/hate kind of thing, my dad loved it.

Jennifer

 

[jedijill]

Mmmmmmm, BBQ! I love me some cheesey corn but that's the best thing about Jack Stack!

Jill in CO

 

[Steppesister]

Of them all, I like this one best.

but I don’t remember right now), which provided a challenge for packing the next morning.

You needed a good old fashioned hat box.

The place was Jack Stack and I have to say that this was sort of the most disappointing BBQ meal that we had on the trip.

How disappointing. At least it was free. Or mostly.

We hadn’t eaten any vegetables all week

That'll certainly get you in trouble!

We came back to the room to find our overflowing trash cans and ¼ roll of TP unchanged from the morning.

Yuck!!!

 

[franandaj]

Nah. I doubt that.
Sweet, often.
A friend, always.
But dense? Nah... not buying it.

I'll be back later to read the update.

You've only seen me at some of my more coherent moments. Talk to me after I've moved three carloads of crap from the garages!

well.... yeah? You were surprised by that, or just making an observation?

Just an observation.

What are those? Hundreds? (or the representation thereof?)

I think they are representing hundreds. Seems to me most of that case was just paper.

Heh. This one's cute.

Thanks!

Oh! In coins. I thought it would be in gold.

OK, that's what I meant.

Which is valueless now, isn't it?

Pretty much. Unless you want to display it as art.

Yes please. I'll take two.

Except they are no longer valid.

I am going to not comment on this. At all. Nope.

Ohhhh... so that's why they're so valued.

And very rare.

Sure, but glue is extra.

I didn't know this, did I?

I don't know if you did....

Does she collect?

She collects almost everything!

They look really good.

Mmmmmm onion rings....I would say I want some, but I just had some a couple nights ago.

Rope drop. It's not just for Disney.

Exactly.

Smart. Good idea.

And it was a yummy snack!

You certainly found a lot to do on this trip! I especially love the ship museum.

Safe and magical travels on your cruise!

We did, and she didn't think there was much to do here.

I like the way she thinks!

Bacon, it's not just for breakfast anymore.

If it's free, it's for me.

I thought of you and your family when we were here.

I did! And I still don't remember the details.

And now I remember even less!

I think they said there was about $125 in there.

Huh. I wonder if you could send it in to the mutilated money department and get it back.

Looks like something out of a James Bond movie!

I know, doesn't it?

Well, that's sad. I remember they had the baked beans with brisket drippings in it.

That would have been good!

Good grief. That's poor.

Makes me wonder about Hilton Garden Inns....

Hey, I should try that sometime!

Nah, you have kids. Doesn't work that way.

Cool! I mean...hot.

it sure was!

Being from KC its always interesting to read someone's trip report! I went to Steamboat Arabia in high school, many moons ago, but never either the Jazz Museum or Federal Reserve (I knew where the Fed Reserve is but didn't realize it had a museum!),

Well all the hotels had brochures on the Reserve so they were pushing it kind of hard.

I am surprised you missed the Liberty memorial, Union Station, Crown Center (which has a Hallmark Visitors center, which is also free btw),

There was only so much time!

Truman Library and Home.

However, this was next on our list if we'd had more time.

BTW I can't stand Arthur Bryants,

What is it about it you don't like?

love Jack Stack,

Maybe if we had eaten there earlier in the trip or tried a different kind of meat it may have been better.

 

[franandaj]

Mmmmmmm, BBQ! I love me some cheesey corn but that's the best thing about Jack Stack!

I could use some BBQ about now, but it won't happen until after your visit at this point.

Of them all, I like this one best.

That's the one we have in a garage!

You needed a good old fashioned hat box.

We have plenty of them, at home. We made one out of the wine box that we got from Costco.

How disappointing. At least it was free. Or mostly.

Yeah, plus we had some really good BBQ throughout the week.

That'll certainly get you in trouble!

We weren't necessarily in trouble, but we were feeling rather unCalifornian.

Yuck!!!

I know, not the best hotel I've stayed in.

 

[franandaj]

A couple days after we got back from Kansas City, we got to go to a party for Gogi winery in the Santa Rita Hills of California. This is where Kurt Russell makes his wines and the party was free to club members, all you had to do was book a night at the designated hotel. They had bus transportation to shuttle you to and from the party. Here was our view for the night.

We were among the first to arrive, so it was rather peaceful until everyone got there, then it was totally rockin’

At one point Kurt gave time for a photo op, and everyone lined up for this.

It was a fun evening and we got to keep the souvenir glasses too!



A couple days later we went to Trader Sam's to get the new Tiki Mugs that they introduced. My Tiki mug shelf is full now so I'm going to need to move the collection to another cabinet. Here is Fran with our mugs and our Pu Pu platter.

Panko crusted long beans, Sweet and Spicy Asian Wings, Fried Spring Rolls and Pork Gyoza.

And then we ordered an Uh Oa! They wouldn’t let her order it by herself, we both had to get it.

And evidently the Pu Pu Platter was not enough food for us as you can catch the burger that we ordered and split in the background of this action shot of the Uh Oa!

Feeling sober enough after our burger, we took our souvenir mugs and headed home.


It was Mid July before we made it back out to Disney. It had been a long time since we had seen our friends John and Suzie. He had a birthday coming up and wanted to celebrate his upcoming birthday with us. We met up around noon, and I immediately wanted to ride the Incredicoaster. A couple weeks before we had come out to buy a pin and since we were here, I wanted to ride the coaster. I waited in line and was two trains away from riding in the front car when it broke down. It was good that I was waiting for the front car, cause if I had been in a middle car I would have likely been on of the folks stranded on the ride!

I was also glad that I didn't ride it until this day because we went to see the movie earlier this week. The ride made a lot more sense if you've seen the sequel.

While Suzie and I rode the coaster, Fran and John got cookies from the Jack Jack Cookie Num Num stand.

This is the warm chocolate chip Cookie which was amazing!!!!

John and Suzie also got the Gluten Free cookie and said that it was really good too.

Then we rode TSMM, I still suck and Suzie and I even unlocked some of the extras.

Then we went over to Guardians to ride that one.

Three adrenaline packed rides was enough for me, so we decided to head over to Carthay for a drink. I got a Mojito, I think.

Then we all went to dinner. I didn’t get any pics, except for when they brought John his birthday Sundae!

After that we went and found a spot for viewing the fireworks and sat and enjoyed them before calling it a night.


The last weekend in July Jill came to visit. The day she arrived, she replaced a part on the starter of our 59 Ranchero so the next day we went to Disneyland. Jenny came along and we had a blast although it was a very long day.

We started by riding the Incredicoaster.

Then we tried to ride Guardians but evidently the ride was down, the line didn't move at all so we decided to come back later. We got some drinks and Tiki mugs.

We had a dinner reservation at the newly opened Lamplight Lounge. Fran went directly there while the rest of us rode Guardians.

The Lamplight Lounge opened in June so it was only a month old. We were not sure how we felt about the menu (at least Fran and I felt that way), it turned out that unless they do a major rehab of the menu, we may not be going back.

They had an extensive drink menu, but I didn’t take pictures of that. It had kitchy decor all Pixar related.

This was Fran’s drink and from reading the list of drinks, I have no idea what this is. She doesn’t like Gin or Whiskey so I can rule out those, but I don’t see any drinks with Tequila on the menu which is her favorite spirit.

This is my drink which is an Open Ocean with a Splash a Frozen Cocktail made with Bacardi Raspberry Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao, Liquid Alchemist Orgeat (Almond), Agave Nectar, and fresh Lime Juice

These were the lobster nachos. There was something wrong with them and Jenny ended up getting sick from them. She had them removed from the bill. I was not impressed with the nachos.

These were the Potato Skins, and they were just weird.

These were the only redeeming part of our meal, the Crispy Piggy Wings. They were excellent.

Dinner was overall meh.

After dinner, we all did the Tiki room show and then Jenny, Jill and I rode Pirates. I don't like the new red head.

I’m not sure what Jenny and Jill did between Pirates and the Fireworks, but Fran and I sat in air conditioning and I got more of a bite to eat before we all met back up. The Pixar fireworks were always impressive! I wonder what show they are playing now?

 

[jedijill]

Lamplight Lounge was VERY underwhelming and the lobster was bad! I felt so sorry that Jenny was so sick from them!


I don't remember what Jenny and I did either! 17 more days until I see you guys again!

Jill in CO