Happy New Year everyone! I guess it’s about time I write an update about what we have been up to lately. Since my last post about our month at Fort Wilderness in September, we have been spending lots of time with friends and family in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, as well as more time at Disney.
We spent most of the month of October near my sister in GA at 2 different Army Corps of Engineers (COE) parks. COE parks are some of the nicest in the country and there are plenty of them near Woodstock, GA.
First we stayed at Victoria Campground then moved over to McKinney Campground. Both parks are amazing with gorgeous views of Lake Allatoona and beautiful sunsets. At McKinney we had a really incredible campsite on a peninsula.
Sunset at Victoria Campground
Peninsula site at McKinney Campground
While at Victoria Campground my parents came down to visit. We went up to the town of Helen, a cute Bavarian-styled mountain town where we took some family pictures and played mini golf.
Next we went back to Disney for Halloween. Fort Wilderness Campground is our favorite place for trick-or-treating, and we love to rent a golf cart and ride around looking at all the decorated campsites.
My sister came down to visit after Halloween and we had a blast visiting the Disney parks with her.
After Disney we headed up to our hometown of Fernandina Beach and stayed at Fort Clinch State Park. Unfortunately it was rainy, windy and cold the entire week we were there except for the first day. At least we were able to play on the beach and get some pretty pictures the first day.
Chris and the boys playing football on the beach
The only sunset we saw in Fernandina Beach that week
We were also blessed with a beautiful moonrise that night
Since moving away from Fernandina Beach almost 5 years ago, our good friends the Norstrems try to meet up with us somewhere on the road. They did not get a chance to do that this year, but instead they added an RV spot to their new home. What a blessing to be able to go and park our house in their yard for a week!
We absolutely love this family, and it was so much fun to spend the week hanging out with them, playing games and riding horses. We miss them when we’re traveling, but always look forward to seeing them again when we head back to Florida.
Chris and Ken back to their cribbage games
I loved riding horses with Kelli and Emma
Jake and Jesse enjoyed riding the horses as well
After a quick trip to Charlotte for Thanksgiving with the family, we headed back to Disney. Halloween lights at Fort Wilderness are great, but to me there is nothing quite like the campsites decorated with Christmas lights. We rented another golf cart and I loved riding around the camping loops to see all the beautifully decorated campsites.
While we were there the new ride in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened. In all of our years visiting Disney, we have never seen anything like the opening of this new ride, Rise of the Resistance.
I have to admit, it is pretty amazing. The ride experience is close to 20 minutes long, and consists of multiple immersive ride systems. Getting on the ride is no easy task either! You can’t just show up at the park and get in line to ride, you have to join a boarding group at the crack of dawn.
We got to Hollywood Studios around 6:30am. The park was already open because there were massive crowds showing up before the park even opens to be able to experience this new ride. As soon as you go through the ticket gate and everyone in your party is in the park, you can open the My Disney Experience app on your phone and join a boarding group to ride Rise of the Resistance.
Once you’re in a boarding group, you can see updates in the app to let you know which boarding groups are currently loading. You’ll also get a notification when your boarding group is able to get in line.
The week we were there the boarding groups were all gone for the day between 7:30 and 8:30 each morning. That’s why we had to get there at the crack of dawn just to get in a boarding group. The trouble was worth it! We even went back and did it again the next day.
We also got to visit with some friends from our Nassau County Homeschool group for a field trip to Sea World. My friend Holly and her kids stayed with us at Fort Wilderness for a few days, but unfortunately we never took any pictures. One evening we had a nice visit with Kirsten and family, and thankfully Kirsten remembered to take a picture. 🙂
After a couple of weeks playing at Disney and enjoying the Christmas lights, it was time to head back to Charlotte for lots of family fun and games, and celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior.
I hope everyone had a blessed holiday season! Until next time, I’ll leave you with this random picture of Fat Cat. The expression on her face is so funny to me. It’s her typical “leave me alone, I have no use for you” expression. 😉
4 Radical Roadschoolers and a Fat Cat 