A Christmas Ship Comes Sailing In (A Cam and Luke TR) Completed 2/16 - Page 7 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I knew this day would be busy, but never dreamed I wouldn’t have any time whatsoever to get on the boards. I spent the morning getting things ready for the trip, including packing as much as I could in each suitcase minus what we’d need to get ready on Thursday. I volunteer on Wednesday from 1:00 to 4:00 at Care Net, a pregnancy resource center. This afternoon was very busy, so much so that I didn’t check out until 4:30. Afterwards, we went out to eat as I had made sure there wasn’t much left in the way of food before the trip. Before heading home, we filled up the Edge with gas at Sam’s Club for $2.58 a gallon. It was around 8:00 when we got back home, and we still had a wee bit of packing to do. By the time that was all done, it was time for bed. Thus no update at the time. I’m also sure that specific details have slipped from my memory since that was two weeks ago.
Day 1 – Thursday, December 4, 2014
My alarm sounded at 7:50 waking me from a sound sleep. I’d awaken in the wee hours due to my hand hurting, so by 7:50 I was in another deep sleep. When I got up, I discovered it was rainy so that explained the pain in my hand. As I got ready, I packed the last odds and ends. By 9:30 I was out the door, headed to my nail appointment. My appointment ran a little late because of three factors: the prior client arrived a bit past her time, I asked for a Christmasy art nail on each ring finger, and then a friend I hadn’t seen in a month was after me and wouldn’t quit telling me stories. I finally pulled myself away and made it home around 11:40.
Luke was very ready to leave by then as he had set the timers, unplugged everything that should be, taken out the trash, and then waited an extra half hour for me to get home. Together we packed the suitcases in the car fairly quickly. My turn at driving was first, so I’d have mainly familiar roads. But I was hungry, so before we could leave town. We headed to our usual beginning of the a trip spot, McDonald’s. I got a grilled chicken snack wrap ranch, which I get so often that we’ve labeled it “my usual.” Luke was budge friendly, getting a Buffalo McChicken sandwich for a mere dollar. We shared a large fry, and we both drank Cokes.
Our path took us on William H. Natcher Parkway to Bowling Green where we moved on to I-65 for Nashville. Once at Nashville, we joined I-24 to Chattanooga. My driving goal was to make between 2 ½ to 3 hours, bailing before Monteagle and Chattanooga. I was successful, not stopping until the 3 hour mark at a Stuckey’s seven miles from Monteagle. We made a bio break at Monteagle, got another drink for Luke (Diet Dr. Pepper), and purchased 2 small bags of chocolate covered peanuts for snacking. I those! The temperature when we left home was 36 degrees. By Stuckey’s the temperature was a balmy 68 degrees; 22 degrees warmer. Cool! By the way, I wasn’t really stiff or uncomfortable when I climbed out of the Edge. WooHoo!
Luke took over the pilot’s job. We made a good team as I prefer driving the boring sections while he enjoys all the interesting, and at least to me, scary parts. Very congested in and around Chattanooga. This city and especially the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hilton were part of our honeymoon. At one point Luke told me to check out the license plate of the car in front of us. It began with CAM.
Around 6:20 EST we stopped at the Kennesaw exit to refuel both us and the Edge. We like to try places we don’t have at home. Tonight we found Tilted Kilt, which I can best described as a Scotch Irish Hooters. Luke had the Inferno Burger with fries and I had the Old-Fashioned Irish Stew with garlic bread. Both were quite delicious. We stopped at the BP down the road on the way back to I-75, paying $2.63 per gallon. We were heading south again by 7:19.
These were taken with my iPhone, which never look as good as my DSLR.
With 7 lanes to facilitate traffic flow, Atlanta, especially after dark, is simply a messy chaotic nightmare. But Luke handled it very well. Finally, at 9:00 EST we had arrived at our resting place for the night – Best Western Riverside Inn, room 231. The room was clean and spacious. We drove around to park near our room, taking in 2 small duffels, my Vera Bradley Weekender, and VB backpack.
While Luke tried to find Thursday night football, which never happened, I got out our clothes for tomorrow and set the cell phone alarm for 6:45. My motion sickness patches were supposed to be in one of these bags, but after searching each one thoroughly multiple times, I could not find them. Hopefully, I had accidentally put them in one of the other bags. If not, we’ll have to stop somewhere tomorrow to get some Bonine. I read until 10:50 and then it was dream time.
Christmas CD Challenge: 10 complete CDs finished + 7 tracks on CD #11
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You guys sound like us when we drive. We like to stop at places that we don't have at home - thus my Zaxbys and Chik Fil A addiction. And taking turns driving makes it better for everyone. Sounds like a great start!
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Great start! I totally laughed at your description of Tilted Kilt, because that is pretty much what it is!! I am glad you made it through Atlanta. I did warn you that it would be a total mess. At least you did not have protesters on the interstate for you drive through. The downtown connector is why we leave for Disney at the crack of dawn because it is about the only time that traffic is any semblance of calm and easy going through there. Where did you stop for the night?
I know what you mean about not finding the time for things....I haven't been on the boards for several days what with all the holiday doings. Sounds good so far.
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It was around 8:00 when we got back home, and we still had a wee bit of packing to do. By the time that was all done, it was time for bed. Thus no update at the time. I’m also sure that specific details have slipped from my memory since that was two weeks ago. 
I finally pulled myself away and made it home around 11:40. 
those! The temperature when we left home was 36 degrees. By Stuckey’s the temperature was a balmy 68 degrees; 22 degrees warmer. Cool! By the way, I wasn’t really stiff or uncomfortable when I climbed out of the Edge. WooHoo! 
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I am glad you made it through Atlanta. I did warn you that it would be a total mess. At least you did not have protesters on the interstate for you drive through. The downtown connector is why we leave for Disney at the crack of dawn because it is about the only time that traffic is any semblance of calm and easy going through there. Where did you stop for the night?
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We watched the episode of Undercover Boss featuring them 
Waiting for our next adventure after enjoying our Alaska cruise. 
Jenn
Mary - not enough trips!
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