THE LAST 2 DAYS AT THE FORT

 The last days at The Fort were quiet without the Meyers there to keep us moving and laughing. We were lazy and didn't do much.The whole campground was quiet since it was after the weekend and Valentine Day and many of the campers had gone home. We did more looping at night with Bentley in the gold cart and found lots and lots of deer. It was a little cool our last night there due to the rain, but still fun looping around to loops we hadn't been to before. The wild turkeys were all around our campsite.

                Even Finnegan even went out in the stroller for a ride around the loop. You can see the remains of Emma and Trevor's chalk drawings in the driveway. 

There were so many deer around The Fort.

                    Turkeys, turkeys and more turkeys.The cats didn't know what to think of them.

                                  Nickie even enjoyed driving in the bed on the dashboard on the way home.

                      Emma's chalk drawing almost washed away by the rain.

    On our way home to rain, ice and snow we stopped at the KOA in Cordele, Ga for one last night before getting home.

THE FORT IS THE BEST

The Meyers arrived and we had such a good time. We drove the golf carts down near the lake  and over to the barn, then through some of the CG loops and to the pool, tennis courts and fishing area.

We saw a whole new crew of horses, including Patches which was just over a week old SO CUTE !!!

On the way the kids found little prizes hidden throughout the CG. When I went on FB I noticed a Ft Wilderness scavenger hunt group so I joined the group. The idea was that you hide little prizes around the CG and give hints as to where they are hidden and others find them.  I had some big cute pens and pencils and candy so we went around the CG hiding them and taking pictures of where they could be found and posting the picture and hints on FB. People were finding them really fast. On the weekend there were a lot of kids in the cg and lots of people hiding and looking for prizes. The kids had a great time.

We saw lots of wild turkeys in the cg. We saw 4 right together near the barn.

Even Nicholas went for a fun rie in the golf cart. He loved looking at everything and the wind in his face.

At night we had campfires, roasted marshmallows and had a wonderful time.

                                                                    More treats to be found.

                          

On one night we had fried rice on the griddle. It was really good and Trevor and Emma really liked it.

Trevor had 3 helpings and ate it again for breakfast the next day.

Ryan and the kids went for a canoe ride through the canals in the campground. At one point I went outside to get the paper towels from the night before and the 3 of them were paddling down the canal in the back of our campsite. They had a great time doing that and going to the huge pool.

On Sunday Najla's mother fell while riding her bike alone in St. Augustine and The Meyers had to leave a day early to go take care of her. They think she had a concussion as she had some memory loss and didn't remember what happened to her or anything that she had done for the last 6 months. We had reservations for breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge so they left after breakfast to drive back home.

The Lodge was incredible. It was built to look like the lodge at Yellowstone National Park and it did.

                                                                What a beautiful lodge.

ANOTHER DAY AT THE FORT AND DISNEY SPRINGS

 It was another fun day at The Fort. We sat outside with Nicholas and he really enjoyed sitting out watching the birds and trees, just being in nature

                                       He's such a sweet, calm boy. Nothing seems to both him

While we were sitting outside a horse drawn carriage road thru our loop. Now, you don't see that everyday.

In the afternoon we drove over to Disney Springs for lunch. Lots of nice restaurants, shopping and fun things to do.

                                                     They had car/boats that you could take out on the lake.

                                                      A balloon ride that carried a  lot of people.

                                                    And a new M &M store that just opened,

                   We had fish and chips for lunch at Cookes if Ireland. It was a nice lunch with too much                                                                    food, but perfectly cooked.

                                          Later in the afternoon we put Bentley in Finnegan's bag and took him for a                                        ride in the gold cart around The Fort. He really enjoyed it. The wind in his hair                                        and all those trees, bushes, people, birds, squirrels and puppies to look at. What a                                      good boy.

                                                       Fun looping in the golf cart. 

                                                     Many fun decorated campsites. 

                                                      On the way home at dusk we saw 3 brown bunnies.

                                                More fun tomorrow when the Meyers get here.

MORE TIME AT THE FORT

 It has been great weather here. Although is was predicted to rain we haven't seen a drop. Nice days and cool nights. 

On Wednesday we went over to the Tri Circle R Ranch or horse barn inside Ft. Wilderness. It is a gorgeous new facility that was being built when we were here last March. It was built to replace the old barn near the entrance. That area is still there for horseback rides, but the new barn is located behind the settlement near the lake. 

                                                   It's a beautiful new barn. 

                                                    

 

This is the 1907 Dragon Calliope that Walt Disney purchased for Disneyland in the 1950s.

             This is Phil, one of the Clydesdales here at the barn. Phil is a very friendly guy and loves attention. He kept leaning over his stall trying to get someone to pet him. Unfortunately, you can't do that unless one of the ranch hands gives you the OK. This place is kept so clean and the stall all had fresh beds. The horses are bathed and brushed and are well taken care of.

                                                   There were 2 new babies recently born at the barn. Lady, a Cinderella                                                       Horse had baby Obi about a month ago. This is Obi and Mama Lady.

                                                  Fancy which is  a Shetland had Patches about a week ago. We asked                                                        where Patches she was and the ranch hand told us they only let her come                                                 up front to the viewing stalls about 1.5 hrs. per day because she is so                                                         young and still getting used to everything.

                                                      This is Rookie, another Clydesdale. He also like the attention.

                                                      These are a couple of the ponies available for pony rides.

                                                    We went over to the meadows area to check out the pool, fishing area                                                        and the spot where they show the movies at night. Because of covid                                                          they aren't doing the  campfires or the Chip & Dale show.

                                                    

                                                               Stir fry on the griddle last night.

                                                      We woke up this morning to wild turkeys at our campsite.