Make your choice Adventurous Stranger...A Goin Solo PTR - Page 18 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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.
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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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So far sounds uneventful - but not liking the sound of the next update - oh no!
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeL
Have to agree with Mommapants next install doesn't sound good
sorry, couldn't comment until I posted the next update - couldn't give anything away!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
I kept thinking of how awful it was for you to be moving the weekend the heat was so awful! Glad it's over now!
Jennie #1 & Joe kept joking about how I picked the worst weekend ever to move! I felt so guilty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scrappyjae
Uh-oh, hate when something isn't going to fit...maybe some smashing was involved????
Luckily, I had Jennie #1 or else Joe and I would have smashed it all! I have no patience whatsoever and add heat and little sleep to that - it's a bad situation all the way around!
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Originally Posted by dsteiny23
It's so funny to read a TR about places I drive past every single day there and back from work.
True. But everyday on NJ roadways is an adventure worth a mini TR isn't it??
Quote:
Originally Posted by ilovedisney247
Uh oh . . . sounds like you need more space than that trailer is going to provide . . . Whoops!
Honestly, I thought we were going to have to go to the dump (a GREAT place to visit on a 100+ degree day) or I was going to have to rent another unit and have to make ANOTHER trip to Jersey.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ttnmama
I sure hope you didn't have to disassemble anything to make it fit ?!?!
Now that I've posted the update, you can see you were right! Truth be told, we were on such a mission to get out of the heat, we busted down the furniture so fast. It took three times as long to reassemble!
Oh, we did make a joke while suffering in the heat. Satan called, he wants his weather back! It may not seem funny now, but it sure was a knee slapper at the time!
You guys are amazing! You got everything unloaded, rearranged, repacked and even got in a swim before noon! Glad everything fit, and that you found your keys BEFORE leaving Jersey!
We were quite stunned ourselves. I should have taken a picture of that storage unit when we opened the door. Despair was what we felt. There were times we wished for (and should have taken) a break but with the temps rising so fast we just pushed on and got it done.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WeRDisneyFanatics
Oh my goodness - what a day! So glad they had your keys!
And I always say the same thing when we get up early - "the only good reason to be up this early is to leave on vacation"!
It's amazing how much energy you have on vacation, as if your body has no need for sleep. Not gonna lie, once I laid down to nap, I slept for four hours - a HARD four hours. My body shut down completely. guess working three jobs, the stress leading up to the move and the physical move itself was just too much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Yikes! So glad you realized you didn't have your keys while you were still in NJ!
That's all we kept repeating. In reality, I'm sure I could have gotten in touch with someone to let me in and had the keys mailed to me but that would have been the proverbial straw and I would have needed some heavy duty meds at that point.
I just found this TR as I sit here waiting for midnight to hit so I can jump online to book some things for my upcoming Disney cruise..........AND i have read this journey from start to finish!!!!
LOVE your TR of going solo! I had to spend a few days in Orlando for a job once and we had got out early one afternoon, so I asked if anyone wanted to go to Epcot? CRICKETS.......really, no takers. So I said screw it and went by myself. It was awesome. Did what I wanted, rode rides, ate, drank..........it was a great day!
I live in Jersey ( Wayyy south...) and I feel horrible you had to do that trip in that annoying heat we just had. But glad it's done right?
I am so looking forward to reading more of your adventures before your really BIG adventure starts.
OK, it's 11:50pm now...........must get in spaz planning mode now
But everyday on NJ roadways is an adventure worth a mini TR isn't it??
LOL So very true!!
Glad that you got it all unpacked. I'm so curious - where was the storage unit? I wonder if it's the same one we used while we were still living in our one bedroom apartment in Edison. (Two people moving in together, each living in a one bedroom, equals too much stuff!!)
So gald you found your keys - that could have been a really kick in the pants.
I'm with you - only like getting up early when going on vacation. But you had good reason this morning and sounds like you made wonderful time in the uloading and reloading.
Glad that you got it all unpacked. I'm so curious - where was the storage unit? I wonder if it's the same one we used while we were still living in our one bedroom apartment in Edison. (Two people moving in together, each living in a one bedroom, equals too much stuff!!)
I used Edison Lock Up. They were not only the most reasonable but they are the nicest people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mommapants
So gald you found your keys - that could have been a really kick in the pants.
I'm with you - only like getting up early when going on vacation. But you had good reason this morning and sounds like you made wonderful time in the uloading and reloading.
The only thing that got me out of bed that morning was Jennie #1 forcing me to and the thought of melting in the heat if I waited any longer.
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Originally Posted by OhToodles!
If I ever have to move I'm going to hire you!
Funny, I always have people telling me I should be either a wedding planner (I've been single for 11 years but my wedding still gets talked about) a Disney TA (world doesn't need another one) or a professional organizer.
after floating in and out of sleep all afternoon, we finally got up and went to dinner. I had purchased two Restaurant.com coupons before we left SC for use in NJ. We hadn't had dinner Friday night (unless you count an appetizer and beer dinner) so we had to make a choice of which restaurant to choose. We went with Pasquale's Italian. I know that I have said in previous posts that due to my employment at two Italian restaurants that I refrain from going to any Italian places in Disney. Jersey is an exception. Yell all you want, but NY and NJ have some of the BEST Italian food on the East Coast. Can't say much for the rest of the country since I've never been further west that Ohio!
We dragged the trailer up some steep hills to the restaurant which was located in a strip mall of small shops and an abandoned grocery store. There were cute tables outside (if there wasn't a chance of bursting into flames, we would have sat there and enjoyed the view of the parking lot). Inside was a totally different story. Stone accents, faux finishes, funky lighting, tables not on top of one another. There was only one other table present - the joys of dining early. We were greated by Sasha - the owner's daughter we later found out who was very pleasant without being a chatty Cathy. We started off with a bottle of Santa Cristina Sangiovese, Joe and I were trying to get Jennie #1 to drink red wine and I figured that's a perfect red to begin with. She loved it! We'll have her sipping Malbec & Super Tuscans in no time!
We chose the bruschette trio (wild mushrooms w/ truffle oil, artichoke & romas w/ mozz) I could live on tomatoes & fresh milk mozz (I have it for breakfast twice a week). It was delish with a balsamic glaze. I'm glad I tried the mushrooms first because the artichoke totally overpowered the fungi. We all declared the artichoke the best of the three. We were also presented with a pewter pot of olive oil infused with herbs and huge cloves of garlic. In the bread basket? Lovely little bread knots and mini bread sticks which had bits of hot peppers that gradually crept up on you and hit you with some serious heat!
After the app, we were given some focaccia bread topped with sundried tomato pesto. Dreamy.
Entrees took a while to decide on. So many great choices. Any time we go out to eat, we all share, everyone orders something different and we just go family style. Our three choices? Chicken Sorrentina (thin chicken breast with eggplant, proscuitto, melted cheese with a wine sauce), Penne Vodka sauce w/ peas and chicken and Stuffed Chicken with Cognac Sauce. Now, I can't tell you what the chicken was stuffed with - it could have been dust bunnies for all I know because that Cognac sauce had it going on! I love vodka sauce, i haven't had vodka sauce in years, most people in my area of SC have never heard of vodka sauce. This was the end all, be all of vodka sauces. I do believe I had an out of body experience from that dish. The Sorrentina was heavenly, another of my favorite dishes. I also asked for a side dish of cavatelli puttanesca since i haven't had either one since I don't know when. i didn't let on that it contained anchovy or capers because I thought they wouldn't try it. Hee hee hee....
It never dawned on me until now that we all ordered chicken dishes!! Maybe it was the heat that kept it light, I really don't know! All I know is it was amazing. Jennie #1 had never heard of vodka sauce but I caught her googling recipes the other day.
Did the meal end there? Of course not! There was dessert to be had! Although we all looked and felt like beached whales, we soldiered on knowing the reward would be sweet. Bring on the cappuccinos (yes, there were biscotti) and ricotta cheesecake with strawberry puree, tiramisu that floated an inch above the martini glass it was served in (I don't care for tiramisu but that was the bomb) and chocolate/vanilla gelato (somehow a big spoonful of vanilla ended up in Joe's capp??)
Then we were done. done as done could be. We couldn't walk yet so we started talking with Sasha about NJ, SC, her recent trip to Italy, her family. That's when we learned her dad was owner/chef and she went running into the kitchen to get him. He was as warm as his daughter and we shot the breeze for quite some time. needless to say, I gave Pasquale's a glowing review on the restaurant.com survey.
We all agreed, this was the best meal we had since our feast at Cali Grill last Februrary. The also agreed that the Italian is far superior up north.
We rolled back to the truck and made the 10 minute trek back to the hotel for the last time. Same as the night before, none of us had any trouble falling asleep. It was barely 8pm!! Alarm set for wait for it, wait for it.......... 2:30 AM!!!!!
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