THE GREAT PIG CHASE

Or how to nearly get heat exhaustion on a hot summer’s day.

As all such tales begin “I had a plan…”  I wasn’t feeling well last night so I went to bed without showering, telling myself “I’ll get up at 6 in the morning and then I’ll plant those two new heirloom plants in the garden before it gets too hot tomorrow,  Once they are planted and I’ve fed the animals then I’ll shower.” This turned out to be a mistake.  What had been a simple plan ended up being a very smelly, sweaty me.

You know what they say about the best laid plans…first I didn’t get up until 8, I simply overslept.  Generally I’m up early but for some reason I snoozed two hours longer than I should have.  As soon as I realized how late it was I threw on the previous day’s clothes and grabbed the tomato and pepper plants I had purchased with my “will be reimbursed, mandatory purchase” mystery shopping money along with the Epsom Salts and calcium pill for the tomato plant and headed to the garden.

The plan being I’d stick the two plants in the ground, pour some water on them, feed the animals and scoot back into the house immediately because it was already in the mid 80’s and the temperature was climbing quickly. Today’s high is expected to be 106.

While planting the tomato plant I happened to glance up at the nearby grapevines to check to see if the grapes were ripe yet.  NO, in fact they were starting to resemble raisins! 

What the?  Ds had watered them the night before, but the ground was stone dry.  “Okay, so I’ll put a soaker on them.” I thought.  Only the hose for that was not connected to the house.  Great, that one is behind the air conditioner in Sid Snake’s territory.   Sid is a large rat snake that hangs out near the air conditioner to catch rodents and frogs every summer.  He’s harmless and he helps keep the mice down so we leave Sid be.  Only he has a habit of startling me and I don’t like that.

Gingerly I peeked all around the unit and satisfied myself that Sid was not home at the moment and worked with the various hoses and splitters in the area until I found the right one for the hose I needed.  15 minutes later I was back in the weed infested garden area trying to figure out why the soaker wasn’t getting water.  I finally got that hose going and decided while there I’d go ahead and set the sprinkler up for the main garden.  This is where I ran into troubles and an hour later ds called wanting to know where I was.  I was surprised when he called because he works nights and at that early hour has usually just gotten to bed and is unconscious to the daylight world.  The day before had been his day off and he’d gone to bed early so he could get up early and help me with chores.

He immediately came out to help me and scold me for being out in the heat for so long.  I’ve gone down for the count twice in the last 20 years due to heat, so I have to be VERY cautious with heat.  When he came out he brought me a large glass of ice water and sent me to the shade while he argued with the sprinkler system.  The temperature was climbing steadily.  Finally he gave up and set the sprinkler hose near the newly planted plants to dribble into the ground around them and moved the soaking hose to the next grape plant.  Then he escorted me “firmly” indoors.

As we sat cooling down we discussed various things and just as ds mentioned he’d got a text from C the other day wondering how we were he received another one from her.  It read “Are you home? W let the pig out and the babysitter can’t catch it. I’m in Tulsa”

C is a good neighbor who is always there every time we need her, so we couldn’t say no.

Grabbing my son’s dew rag, which at our house is a large muslin tea towel that has been twisted into a roll and then is tied around the forehead, we took off for the mile or so drive to C’s. 

The teenage babysitter was woefully sitting on C’s front porch holding a handful of bread and looking very upset.  She said the pig, a young pot belly pig, had gone into the woods past the pig pens when W had let both pigs out.  The larger of the two had ran back into the pen, but they couldn’t catch the little one and weren’t even sure where it was at that point. 

I told her to keep the four dogs there and we’d drive up the road to see if we could spot it.  I then asked 8 year old W and his 6 year old sister, G, if they had a bucket of feed that the pig really liked I could take with me.  The babysitter gave me the handful of soft bread she was clutching stating “C said that it loves bread.”  I then asked the two kids “when you feed your piggy do you call it in a special way?”  Both shook their head then the girl said “Daddy claps his hands when he feeds them.”  That was what we needed to know.  I reminded them to keep the dogs there and if the pig showed back up to not run at it or scream.

Then riding in the truck with the air conditioning vent blowing on my still much overheated body ds and I cruised the country road at a slow speed looking for any sign of the little black and white pig in the heavy woods.  We drove the two miles to the highway to make sure it wasn’t there and then doubled back. 

No pig, great the temperatures outside the air conditioned truck was now in the 90’s and climbing. We spotted a place in the barbed wire fence that was down in the area I was betting we’d find the terrified piglet.  My son told me to stay in the truck until he spotted the pig and he’d go through the fence and walk the woods just past the easement clearing. 

Grabbing his dew rag he plopped it over his tightly curled red pony tail and ducked through the broken barbed wire fence.  Moments later he disappeared into the woods.

Within a minute he called to say the baby sitter was hollering something at him and asked me to drive down to see what she was saying. 

When I arrived she was very excited.  G was running around like a wild child and hollering. So much for the don’t run or scream edict. W was no where to be seen.  I found out later he’d been sent to the house for a time out because he had first let the pig out, then second would NOT listen to the baby sitter when she told him to not run toward the pig. 

W is a very intelligent little boy, but he has self control issues so the baby sitter had been entirely proper in removing him from the situation.  I reminded G to not holler telling her the baby pig was scared and just like when she was scared and her Mommy talked to her in a soft voice she needed to talk to the baby pig in a soft voice.  G settled down immediately and asked how she could get her little pig.  I told her to get some more bread because the pig would like some and then if she saw the pig again to throw a small piece to it and lead it back to pen and to clap her hands softly like her Daddy did.  She immediately grabbed bread from the sitter and ran into the weeds headed for the woods where she’d seen her pig.  I grimaced as she did because she was dressed in a swim suit and I could see the weeds scratching her little legs.  The baby sitter immediately ran after her youngest charge.

The dogs raced after her.  Because we feed their dogs when C’s family  travels they all know me and my come here whistle.  So I whistled and all came running.  I locked them in the front yard and then trudged down the road to see if I could get in front of the pig and help herd it back toward the house.  At that point no one had eyes on the piglet.

Meanwhile in the heavy woods my son, looking like a very warm redheaded warrior of days gone by, was slowly making his way back toward the house searching the area that G had said she had seen the pig in.  He was watching closely for snakes and other problems because this is a wildlife area, but still very nearly stepped on a hen turkey who suddenly sprang up and took flight in front of him.  She startled him, but then he watched her in awe as she would fly up, then fall down like she was injured, then try to fly again.  He’d seen this tactic by mother birds before so he checked the ground where she’d originally taken flight from.  Sure enough, there was a ground nest of brown speckled turkey eggs not far from his feet.

As he gazed at the nest he heard a rustling in the woods next to him.  Praying it was the piglet and not our friendly neighborhood cougar he slowly turned and looked toward the sound.  For the longest time he saw nothing, then “what was that?” “There it is again.” Focusing his eyes in the deep shade he finally realized it was a pig tail. 

There laying in the shade panting was the terrified piglet.  He threw bread scraps toward it and it eagerly gulped them down.  He slowly edged toward the little guy thinking if he could get close enough to it he might be able to grab it.   Fighting off images of the pig feeding scene in “Hannibal” he forced himself to think “Babe” and remember the last time he’d chased a pig at his great Uncle’s as a teenager.  That pig had been much bigger and all the cousins had worked together to get it into the truck, but still the pig never tried to bite anyone, so it was a good thought. He definitely did not want bit.

Just as he made his grab the pig suddenly scooted past him running toward the clearing where the baby sitter and I were wading waist high weeds in our shorts and wishing we had jeans on. By that time I had stick tights where no one wants them.  OUCH!

G, who had been sent to get a bowl of water and a banana for the pig, had just got back to where we were and I told her to stay outside to the fence to keep the pig from getting out and across the road to woods we would most definitely lose him in.  She obeyed for a long time.  I asked her the pigs name.  She said she didn’t know, that it was new.

My son texted C and asked her.  We were both thinking if we could call it by name it might calm down.  By now the pig was frantic and was having nothing to do with any of us.  He’d catch glimpses of us and then run another direction. 

We spread out in a search grid pattern and slowly worked our way back toward it’s pen.  No one could see the pig anywhere.  Where did it go?  C texted back “Rudy.” 

My son who  can calm any animal down, he’s like a whisper in that way, started softly call “Rudy, here baby, Rudy.”  No response.

G climbed a tree to see if she could spot her “baby”, somehow the dogs had got out of the yard and were back to “help”.  I spent most of my time whistling to the dogs and praising them when they came.  As I stood petting the pit bull I caught a glimpse of something running down the side of the pig pen.

At first I thought it was the first pig, that had been returned to the pen immediately, but then I realized it was the one we were looking for.  It rounded the corner and was sprinting down the driveway headed for the road. I turned to tell G to run fast back to the driveway to keep the pig out of the road, or and to not let  cross it to the woods on the other side. 

That’s when I discovered G had crawled through the fence and was no longer where I had told her to be.  She scrambled to try to get her pig, with the baby sitter fast on her heels. 

The black and white piglet was in full out run, it was in the clear and headed for FREEDOM and there was no way they were going to get there in time.  We were all fast on the move, but it looked like we were about to lose the piglet for certain.

Suddenly out of nowhere appeared a much larger black and white critter easily loping along.  Lassie, the untrained border collie was letting her instincts kick in.  You would have thought she had been professionally trained.  She circled the piglet and gently cut it off from its run for freedom.  Then working it as, if she’d been herding the sheep she was bred for all her life, she slowly worked the pig back to the gate to the pen where G was waiting to let it in.  I couldn’t see G at that point, but my son could and he told me the little girl had suddenly realized the dog KNEW exactly what to do and had gone to open the gate for the stressed piglet  when Lassie got it to that point.

The dog we’d all worked to keep away from the piglet so hard saved the day.  It took her less than 10 seconds to stop the escape of the pig and to put it where it belonged.  Then proudly set down by the gate to accept praise from everyone. 

We all gave Lassie all the loving and praise she so richly deserved.  It was now 100 degrees.

Inside the pen the older pig was busily scolding the truant piglet, who was trying to hide under the older sow.  I am certain it was saying “those mean people tried to TOUCH me!”

As soon as we were certain the piglet was where it should be the babysitter said “W is in SOOOOO much trouble!  I’ve got stickers everywhere and I’m way too hot!”

I told her that once everyone calmed down someone needed to explain to W that he couldn’t be letting the piglet out because it was so dangerous for not only the piglet, but for everyone concerned due to the poisonous snakes in the area and the heat. 

We stayed long enough for G to show us how she could swim and do handstands in the above the ground pool then we drove quickly home.

Back at the house I moved the soaking hose while my son fixed us lemonade. 

Inside I took the lemonade with thanks.  My son said “Mom I love you, but you REEK!  Go take a shower!.”

He didn’t have to tell me twice.  I started the shower warm, and then steadily turned the temperature down to cool my body down without shocking it.  I was exhausted and hungry.  Not only had I not had breakfast, and it was now nearly noon, but we hadn’t fed the animals yet.  Cheez!

  Feeling slightly better I wandered to the kitchen looking for nutrition.  There I remembered quickly what a good son I have.  He had more lemonade and toasted cheese sandwiches waiting on me.  He’d also already feed the animals.  I am so blessed!

So as we set enjoying a good lunch of sandwiches and lemonade and cooling down we sang the praises of how important a good farm dog is.  God bless Lassie or we would have still been out in 100 degree heat. 

We also agreed we’d learned a lesson.  Never underestimate the instincts of a herding dog.

Jan who owns three GOOD farm dogs, but was still surprised by Lassie’s skill in OK

SAVING MONEY WHILE ON THE TRIP—Souvenirs and other things

 

April 17, 2012

I cannot think of a trip we’ve made to WDW that it hasn’t rained at least one day, so I always purchase several disposable rain ponchos at the local $1 Tree before leaving home.  As I said before they never fit back into the original bag, so I always pack Ziplocs for the ones we think we can re-use in the future.

Rain ponchos are not just for rain, they are great for water type rides and for when you suddenly discover that the temperature is dropping.  Even the lightest of poncho will help keep body heat in and keep you far warmer than doing without. At $1 tree you can get these for 2/$1 FAR cheaper than purchasing a poncho at WDW, although they are lighter weight and don’t have the Mickey icon on them of course.

I also pick up other things while I’m at $1 Tree for the trip.  Often they have cookies or other snacks in Disney shapes.   I also pick up small folding umbrellas, mending kits and glow in the dark necklaces and other glow in the dark goodies.  The need for the umbrellas, mending kits and snacks is obvious. 

The reason for the glow in the dark items are for treats for children either your own or, as we do.  Toward dark in the parks we start watching for very well behaved children.  Once we spot the children we approach their parents and ask if we may give them the items because we want to thank them for being so well behaved.  We never speak to the children without the parents’ permission.   Once we get it we tell the child that we want to thank them for being so good and give them the treat.  Since my husband looks like Santa Claus and we are generally at the park during the holiday season this makes the child feel extra special.

Many a time we’ve seen the children on the next day still wearing their prize and beaming from ear to ear.  It’s a little thing, but those smiles are worth millions to us.

If you are at $1 Tree alone and are traveling with children keep your eye open for special “souvenirs” for the kids.  I know several families that will secretly pack coloring books, stuffed animals, t-shirts and small toys with the Disney Characters that they have purchased at home on sale or from $1 tree.  Then Tinkerbell or some other favorite Disney Character (actually a spouse or older child while the other parent keeps the younger ones entertained) will mysteriously leave the gifts on beds or elsewhere for the kids to discover later.  I personally pick up adult size t-shirts and jackets on sale at home to wear in the parks rather than pay amusement park prices for such items at the park.

Also purchase your bandaids, aspirin/Tylenol, cold medicines, vitamins, Immodium, sunblock, anti itch medication and other similar over the counter meds and first aid kit items.  While you can purchase these at the parks and various resorts if needed while there they are FAR cheaper to get at home, preferably on sale with a coupon.  Plus we’ve found that if we remember to pack them there is less likelihood we will need them.  Kind of like the old saying about it only rains when you don’t take an umbrella.

When you venture to your local Wal-Mart, especially during the spring and summer look for hand held mister bottles with a battery powered fan on those.  Often these are under $5 at the local Wally World.  At Disney World the price will make you gasp and if you are down there in the hot part of the year, well that mist and fan certainly feel good.

Of course you will want to purchase some souvenirs while at the parks, but even that can be kept under control.  Many families I know purchase Disney Dollars ahead of time and designate a certain amount for each person to spend for souvenirs by giving them their amount in the Disney Dollars.  These can only be used there.  It’s a lot easier for a child to see they only have so many of those dollars to purchase things with and when they are all gone, they are gone.

Others I know limit souvenir purchasing to one certain day, that is where we fall.  We generally do our souvenir shopping on the day we got to Downtown Disney and then do all our shopping at the World of Disney store, because the annual pass gets us a discount there.  Some items, however, are park exclusive so if we see something we really like that is a park exclusive we will make an exception to that rule.  Into this category falls passholder exclusives as well. But we do stick tightly to our budget for souvenirs because if we don’t it would be VERY easy to spend way too much on all the delightful merchandise that is available everywhere.

Any items that you purchase in the park can be sent to your room for free from the store you purchase them at on any day but your departure day.  This is an absolutely wonderful service and truly a major perk of staying on site.  In the past we have even sent back to our room our backpack after we emptied it by including it in a sack with something we purchased.  The items have to be purchased by a certain time to be back to your room the same day, but that is generally not a problem.

On the backpack day we would not be needing the backpack the next day, so even though it was late in the day it didn’t matter that it might be the next afternoon before we got the pack back.

A word to the wise here.  Hands free is wonderful.  While fanny packs and back packs aren’t a true fashion accessory I’d wear either one on any day before I’d carry a purse of any sort.  Purses get lost, and yes even at the happiest place on earth things get stolen.  So keep your traveling throughout the park easy.  If you plan on eating all your meals in park, as on the dining plan, then a fanny pack for bandaids, aspirin and sunblock, nothing else to mess with.  Even the fanny pack can be a bother on certain rides when you must fasten a seat belt.  Keep traveling easy and you will enjoy your trip more.

Do you notice I keep mentioning sunblock?  You will be walking all day on asphalt, which reflects the sunshine and the sun at WDW seems to be more intense.  So slather the stuff on daily, refresh as needed.  If you are wearing shorts and/or sandals be sure and do you legs and feet.  Many a person ends up with a heat rash or sunburn on their ankles and calves when they don’t do this.

The heat rash is very itchy and uncomfortable, so try to avoid it at all costs.

Now for a very important reminder.  Camera, spare chips/sticks for storing the hundreds of photos you want to take, and BATTERIES.  Get these at home on sale and pack them with you.  Put spare batteries and memory chip in your camera case, a hip pocket or wherever  you can easily carry them no matter how good you think the batteries are in your camera.  There are so many things to take photos of the batteries will run out a lot faster than you expect  and batteries are EXPENSIVE at the World.  They sell/rent all sorts of camera equipment at the parks, but bringing it all from home is so much cheaper.

So there you have it, a lot of info on how to save money while traveling to Walt Disney World or any other vacation destination.  I’m certain I’ve probably missed a lot of helpful hints so hopefully some of you will add helpful hints to share with others while reading these posts in the comment sections.

Jan who says she hopes you have a Magical Disney trip in OK

SAVING MONEY WHILE ON THE TRIP—At the parks!—Food, Glorious Food

SAVING MONEY WHILE  ON THE TRIP—At the parks!—Food, Glorious Food

April 17, 2012
There are literally hundreds of ways to save money once you get to WDW. There is no way I could ever post them all here, but I will post the main ones my family uses. 

Food and beverage are the two biggest ways we save money.  So let’s go with these first.

If you are going down in a camper or a tent then by all means eat at least part of your meals every day at the campsite.  We generally eat at the camper for breakfast, and then pack snacks or a sandwich and drinks in a back pack to help cut down the desire to purchase foods in the park.

You can easily pack these foods and keep them cold with the help of a blue ice pack and either some newspaper or a towel.  I put our sandwiches and chips in Ziploc containers to help prevent crushing.  These along with a beverage we have at least partially frozen in our camper freezer and a blue ice are wrapped in a towel or newspaper and placed in the camera back pack. 

Be prepared to have your back pack viewed when entering the park so I generally do not wrap the top of the bundle, but lay a separate small towel or wash cloth over the top that can easily be removed so the inspector can see into the clear containers to see what’s in the pack.  We have never had an issue with taking food in this way.

One note I’d like to make here.  Keep it simple.  Keep the pack be it back or fanny light and easy to handle.  If you don’t want to pack food, then consider fanny packs, if that, only.  You want to keep it as simple as possible.  You are there to have fun, not die of exhaustion.  We pack a very light lunch, and sometimes send the pack back to the camper/room at some point after the food is consumed.

If you are traveling with a child that will fit in a stroller, by all means take your stroller.  Even consider purchasing a small cheap umbrella type stroller just for the trip.  A tired child is a cranky child, a cranky child makes for a cranky adult and then no one in your family, or in line with you is happy. 

This is considered the “happiest place on earth”, but it doesn’t mean it is immune from theft.  So NEVER leave anything of value hanging on your stroller while you go into a show or ride.  It just might not be there when you get back.  Security is great at WDW, lost and found is also REALLY good, but they see MILLIONS of guests a year and they can’t be everywhere at all times.  So be responsible for you and yours.

If you are flying down you can do something similar.  We generally fly Southwest Airlines and make one of our free  checked suitcases be one of those soft sided rolling ice chests.  On the trip to and from WDW the ice chest is packed with soft clothing such as socks or underwear inside clean plastic bags.  Once at the resort we unpack the ice chest and fill it with ice from the free ice machine and foods purchased at the gift shop.  Even though the foods at the gift shops can be a bit high, they are still cheaper than a meal in the park. 

One of our carryon bags for the flight down is generally a snack bag filled with goodies that will pass inspection by TSA that we’ve purchased ahead of time on sale.  No liquids of course, but things like raisins, candies (no chocolate as it melts so easily), cookies, snack crackers etc. 

This allows us to have a snack on the plane or while waiting for a layover on the flight each way if there is a delay as well as for the parks. 

We also pack a large assortment of Ziploc bags in all the sizes.  These come in handy for a huge variety of reasons that I’ll go into later.

Whether we stay in our camper or a resort we always pack Britta self-filtering water bottles for each person in our party.  Trust me this is something you really want to do.  While Walt Disney World is a wonderful place their water is HORRIBLE! The cost of a bottle of water, generally Dasani, is also quite high.  However, they will give you FREE ice water at all the concessions.  This we put in the water bottles and all is fine. 

You can also take packets of water flavorings with you for a variety of drinks.  Simply put the free water in your bottle, then filter it back into the cup and add the flavorings.  DON’T put the flavorings in your Britta.

We clearly label whose bottle is whose because if someone gets a cold or flu you don’t want to share the germs.  I also pack extra filters in case this happens so we don’t re-introduce then germs to ourselves once we are feeling better.

Carrying a water bottle can be made easier by planning ahead.  We have various bottle carriers we use.  My favorite is one that is on a swivel and slides either over a belt or into a pocket to hang from the pocket/belt.  It is basically a flat stick with a swivel clip on it.

Others we have are Epcot ones we purchased for our “souvenir” on one trip that adjust to any water bottle, narrow strapped ones that have a simple ring on it that only fit certain sizes and carbineer ones.  The only one we have been disappointed with was the carbineer one.  It seems to be that it is only for larger necked bottles.  Ones like Ozarka fall right out of it.  But it works fine for our Britta.

It’s only natural to want to try foods while in the park.  PB&J isn’t near as appetizing when you smell burgers frying. So scheduling your actual in park meals can become a real money saver.  We generally eat at least one meal a day in the parks or at a resort.

Lunches are cheaper than dinners and often they are the same foods.  So eating a late lunch might hold you until you get back to your camper or room to eat, especially if you have snacks in a back pack or fanny pack.  We eat our main in park sit down meal at the end of the lunch period.  That way a burger, hot dog, or salad, that stays the same in price throughout the day will do well for dinner much later in the day if we decide to eat two meals in the park that day.

Staying on site is great for going back to the room to rest, something I recommend if you are traveling with people of all ages who are use to a daily nap. If you do this you can actually schedule all your meals at your camper/room.  However, you will lose time due to the travel to and from the parks  so if you are very limited on time then you need to personally weigh the pros and cons of both.  Many a child has had a nap in a stroller in the parks.  If you are a nursing mother there are nursing stations, baby care locations and family restrooms throughout the parks.  I personally have sneaked in many a short nap in Carousel of Progress (hey, it’s a long slow dark ride in a comfortable seat  in the cool and it does not change from year to year.

Meals other than the buffets can be shared easily.  My husband and I split most of our meals, sometimes purchasing an extra side or a dessert or appetizer, but generally we simply split the meal. 

When considering a burger for lunch or dinner check out the burger places that have a relish bar to go with the burgers, chicken sandwiches and such.  Cosmic Rays is one such place, they have sautéed mushrooms, onions, pickles, lettuce and all the other fixings you can think of.  When sharing a burger meal you can easily cut the burger in half and build it the way you want on each half.  I for one put just about everything on a burger, so a half burger fully dressed is plenty of food to fill me up.  My husband just puts basics on his, but he eats fries and I don’t.  So splitting the meal works very well for us.

If eating at the buffets, which you cannot split,  consider going in at the end of the lunch time period, then you will end up being there as they are putting out the dinner foods and pay at the lunch price. 

Getting free water and filtering it through your Britta will save you considerably on the meal over getting a soda pop or tea, both contain ice made with their local water, which can really change the taste of a beverage.

If you really don’t want to pay the price for a meal at a restaurant, but really want to see the inside of the restaurant then consider going in for a shared appetizer or dessert.  There is no set rule that you have to get a full meal to go into the restaurant.  Trust me some of the restaurants are well worth making the reservations just to soak up the ambiance.

You can make your ADRs (advanced dining reservations) as much as something like 145 days prior to your visit.  Be aware that some restaurants will require a “charge card” number to make these reservations.  I have used a debit card for this on more than one occasion.  This is because they often have no shows, so you could be charged a small fee if you don’t show for your reservation.  If you call and cancel the reservation—free phones around for you to make/cancel reservations—scattered around, or you can do it from your cell. 

We seldom make dining reservations far in advance when it is just two or three of us.  Generally there are enough cancellations we can get any reservation we want a day or so ahead of time.  HOWEVER, if you are traveling with a large group, a single traveler OR MUST eat in a certain restaurant then I recommend making the reservations early. 

A tip to single travelers.  All the restaurants have a LIMITED number of tables for single diners.  If you call to get a reservation and can’t get one.  Hang up and call back and ask for a table for two, often you can get a table then.  They will not charge you for the “no show” of the second diner.   They will only charge you if you simply don’t show at all.,

Another way to save money is to purchase children’s meals at the fast food/counter locations.  Often the portion is plenty large enough for an adult.  There are also numerous snack food vendors all around the parks, a quick turkey leg or a churro will often be enough to take the edge off your hunger.  By all means try the Mickey Bars. A personal favorite.

There are other ways to get discounts on the meals as well.  One is the annual pass I previously mentioned.  Only one ADULT in your party needs to have the annual pass to get the discount for up to 10 people.  The annual pass discount percentage and the restaurants it is good at are all listed on the All Ears website I listed in a previous post.

They also have a dining card called “Tables in Wonderland”  This gets you a larger discount than the annual pass does and at more restaurants, during different time periods, however it has an automatic 15% gratuity added to it for every restaurant meal, I do not believe it charges it for the counter service meals.  This comes with a fee to purchase it, I believe the current purchase requires and annual pass and $75, but I could be very wrong about that. Again the complete info for this card is listed on All Ears. For two of us eating the way we do this card is a break even for us.  When there are three of us and/or we are traveling more than once in the year that it is good for then it can be a money saver.  For large parties it could be a good money saver, depending on where you eat and when.  You will need to do the math and look at your dining plans to see if it is a cost saver for you.

If you plan on eating at Rain Forest Café, Yak and Yetti table service and T-Rex then you might want to consider getting a Landry’s Select restaurant card, previously titled the “Safari Club”. The card comes with perks like immediate seating when you arrive at the restaurant and points to apply to future meals as well discounts in their gift shops. 

I do not know the current cost of the card as I have had mine for numerous years, even though we have no Landry’s restaurant near where I live we always use it when visiting WDW and now when we go to Branson, MO.  There are Landry’s all over the US and the card is good at all of them.

If you are staying in a resort other than Ft. Wilderness they all have a food court of some sort.  At these food courts you can purchase a refillable mug good for that trip and that resort only.  If you drink a lot of soda pop, coffee or cocoa it is well worth the price to purchase one for each family member. 

It’s been a few years since we’ve been to WDW, but when we were last there the Animal Kingdom had a refillable one day only glass as well.  Travel note: in the past there have been no straws at the Animal Kingdom for the safety of the animals.

Remember those Ziplocs I mentioned packing.  Well one of the many uses for them is for the excess food you will find you have during the day, not from the buffets of course.  Remember I said the portions are large at Walt Disney World.  We often find we have something left over.  Carrot sticks, raisins, a roll, chips, something.  Into a Ziploc they go and we munch on them later in the day.

While on the subject of Ziplocs now might be a good time to mention some of the other uses we take them for.

1.       To corral small souvenirs together to help prevent loss.

2.       Large ones work well to put cameras in to protect them (and other electronics) from rain or moisture on the water rides.  We’ve shot many a photo/movie through Ziplocs in our various trips to the World.

3.       Carrying first dry, then wet socks for the days it rains or you get wet on a water ride.  The fastest way to get blisters is to wear wet socks, avoid blisters at all costs. They can really put a bummer in your trip.

4.       For carrying spare clothing for small children.

5.       To pack snacks in a back pack or fanny pack.

6.       For a small first aid kit for the packs.

7.       To repackage a rain poncho after you use it—they NEVER fit back in the original package.

8.       To pack dirty clothing in for the trip home.

9.       To pack detergent in if you choose to do laundry while there, be prepared to have your detergent powder inspected at the airport if you take it with you.  Far cheaper than purchasing it from the vending machines at the laundry (available at all resorts and the campground). I always pack ours in an outside pocket that I’ve put a zip tie (we use a zip tie on all zippers on all luggage when flying—don’t forget to pack extras for the trip home AND to have some method to cut them open in one unsealed pocket on a checked bag) on that the TSA could easily remove to inspect the “white powder” in my checked luggage.

10.   We pack all liquids that travel in our checked luggage in double Ziplocs to prevent leakage in luggage.

11.   For placing foods in the ice chest in a hotel room.

12.   Food storage for things like donuts purchased in the gift shop.

13.   Homemade wet wipes for sticky fingers and faces throughout the day.  A damp paper towel or wash cloth in a Ziploc is very handy to have for those little oops in life.

These are just a few of the ideas we use them for, but you get the general idea.  Ziplocs are essential when traveling on any trip, and especially WDW.

Remember when planning your trip to do a price comparison from purchasing your meals a la carte and the complete dining packages, sometimes the complete package is far cheaper.

Remember, no one says you have to eat at a certain time while on vacation.  Make your meal times flexible and avoid long lines at the eating establishments. 

So now you are fed.  On to my next savings suggestions.

Jan who loves to try at least one new restaurant each trip to Walt Disney World in OK

SAVING MONEY WHILE ON THE TRIP, GETTING THERE

April 17, 2012

Sorry for the long delay in getting this post up life has been just that life. 

We generally drive to Walt Disney World from Oklahoma because we prefer our camper and staying in Ft. Wilderness.  We have found that the cost of driving, for two of us, is almost identical to the cost of flying two of down.  However, when my son travels with us it is definitely cheaper to drive, because of the way we do it.

There is a type of camping called “boondocking”  I’ve wrote about it in my travel blogs previously, but for those of you who haven’t read those blogs a brief description is you sleep in your camper in a Wal-Mart, Cracker Barrel or other compatible parking lots for free.  These lots are generally well lit and have a security patrol.  Not to mention they are generally right at the exits from major highways and therefore give you easy on easy off access.

The companies benefit from your staying so it is the proverbial win-win for all involved.  How do the companies benefit?  You stop and sleep in a Wal-Mart parking lot are you not going to go into the store to at least use the restroom, are you going to look around and maybe buy something?  You buy something they benefit. I often wait to purchase things like bread and other perishables for the trip until we stop at a Wal-Mart to boondock.  That way I’m not paying “extra” but they are benefitting from my sleeping in their parking lot. It is my way of saying thank you for the use of a safe place to sleep.

The main thing to do is check ahead of time if the store allows it.  Most 24 hour Wal-Marts do, but not all.  Some states prohibit it and of course stores near large amusement centers forbid it.  One Wal-Mart we generally stop at on our way to WDW does not allow overnight  camping in their parking lot, HOWEVER, the Sam’s Club next door does.  It all has to do parking space availability. There are lists on Wal-Mart RVing, boondocking and such on yahoogroups.  Many camping groups discuss this periodically too.  They will often have lists of where you can and can’t stay in their files.  If in doubt call the store ahead of time.  We’ve even stayed in lots that we’ve been previously been told weren’t available simply because I called and the manager agrees to let us do so that one night.  Helpful hint: if you purchase your Rand McNally large road atlas from Wal-Mart or Sam’s club they have a chart in them that show where the Wal-Mart’s and Sam’s are.  This chart has if they have fuel and if so what types, if they are open 24 hours and of course where they are located.  EXTREMELY helpful  when boondocking.

Please remember to not abuse this privilege.  This is strictly a pull in and sleep situation, not a camping location.  Don’t pull out the charcoal grill, set up the lawn chairs and run out the awnings.  It is for sleeping one night only. 

Also do not block any drives or delivery areas.  Note where the semis will be coming in to make their deliveries and do not cause them any problems.

We generally pull in just before dark and park on the outer rim of the lot.  Normally we don’t even run the slides out because we are just there to sleep.  But if there is a reason that we need to run the slides out we park where our slides are out over the grass at the edge of the lot, not into the lot.  Such times would be, someone forgot to plan their wardrobe for the trip down where they would not have to get into the drawers that are blocked when the slides are in  and suddenly find themselves in urgent need of clean underwear or socks.  Once the items are retrieved from the drawers we run the slides back in.  We want to cause as little chaos as possible for the stores that are so generous about letting us sleep there for free. We also seldom disconnect unless there is a reason we truly NEED the truck to be free and clear of the fifth wheel.

You can also sometimes pay a small fee to sleep in hospital parking lots.  One trip we slept at a fair grounds for next to nothing.  We’ve also slept at truck stops (very noisy with the semis there), rest areas on the highway (not recommended, but if you are very drowsy far better than having a wreck) and many other spots.  Safety is your first consideration, so we generally go with the Wal-Marts that we know have night time security patrol.

If you feel the need to camp in a real campground instead of boondocking then look into the National Parks Pass to stay for half price in the National Parks and Corp of Engineer parks.  If someone in your party is over 62 this pass will cost you $10 for a lifetime.  If you are under 62 the price is much higher and an annual cost.  I’ve written more about the America the Beautiful Park Pass in previous posts. 

If the National Parks pass won’t work for you then look into acquiring a KOA or Good Sam’s (not Sam’s club) card for discounts at their campgrounds.  Both give discounts and/or free nights camping. 

Whether it is the Parks pass or the campground discount cards you need to weigh the price of the card against the savings you will reap for the trip both to and from the World.  Sometimes it will not pay for itself.

Camping not your cuppa?  Many hotels have discount/loyalty cards as well. Check those out.  Also many charge cards have discounts for certain hotels, as does AAA, AARP, and insurance cards.

Also check into discount websites like Expedia or Travelocity for discounts on hotels as well.

Flying?  If you can’t get someone to take you the airport, then check the yellow pages, your insurance company and all the organizations like AAA you belong to for discounted airport parking. 

When we are driving down we also travel with X amount of cash with us, because there are many fuel stations that have gas as much as $.12 a gallon cheaper if you pay cash.  Since we do not use charge cards any longer it’s not a problem for us.  Some stations will consider a debit card cash, others consider them a credit card.  Most places, in the past, considered travelers checks cash, but now many places will not even accept them.  So cash in hand is the best option for us.  We divide the cash up to avoid a major loss/theft in various places.  We use the debit card on the special travel checking account we have when we can and still get the cash discount, but otherwise we pay with cash.

By a special account I mean that is all we use this account for.  We put the vacation money in that account prior to leaving and that’s all that ever goes into this account.  It is at an entirely different bank than our household budget account, so if some evil person steals that card, or hacks into the account they will not be able to access ALL our money.

As we travel we eat a lot of cold meals at the camper in parking lots and rest areas.  We will generally, however, have one hot meal a day at a fast food place that has a very large parking lot nearby that we can park the fifth wheel  in and walk to the food establishment.  This has been included in our trip food budget.  I’ve also been know in the past to heat foods in the sun on the dashboard in a food saver vacuum sealed bag, or wrapped in foil placed on the hot truck engine.  Whether we dine out or heat in this manner we have at least one hot meal a day while traveling.  It just boosts the morale.

Remember the mypoints I mentioned in the last post on this subject?  Those gift cards you get from mypoints can be used to pay for your fuel or for that hot meal each day.  That’s free money for your trip.

If you are traveling with children another thing to consider is the “are we there yet?” syndrome.  Kids get bored quickly.  Download audiobooks from the library for free for them to listen to, if you have a travel dvd player record movies for it long before leaving, also free from the library—I recommend Disney movies to set the mood.

Various travel games, a road map they can write on and follow the route on that is all their own is good as well. You can get free maps from AAA if you belong to them.

My son recently told me one of his favorite things while traveling on the long trips as a kid was “the rest area box”.  This was a box that contained things like jump ropes, Frisbies, balls, sidewalk chalk for hop scotch and such.  It only came out of the trunk when we stopped at rest areas.  The kids were REQUIRED to choose an activity from the box and do it. Like jump rope all the way around the picnic area, play a game of hop scotch or something similar while I laid out the lunch stuff.  Afterwards Mom and Dad would play catch or throw the Frisbie with them for awhile.  While this adds a bit of time to the length of the trip, it adds a LOT of quiet to the car/truck as you get back on the road.  Quiet is PRICELESS!

We also schedule stops along the way both to and from the resorts, especially on the way home.  It helps to ease the let down of the trip of a lifetime being over. Of course we watch for discounts for these stops as well. 

One of our constant travel companions is the AAA Tourbooks for the areas we are traveling through.  Often there are free or nearly free sites listed in the books that can be truly interesting.  On our Mt. Rushmore trip we found many interesting FREE sites.  I was always a “Little House on the Prairie” books/tv show fan so discovering I could visit reconstructed locations where the books took place was fun for me.  Large sculptures along the roadside were another favorite, as was Walls Drug.  If you do not belong to AAA, which I highly recommend you do if you travel any at all, then perhaps you have a friend or family member that could pick these up for you for free.

On the Disney trips we stop at the beach where Jaws was filmed, Civil War battle fields and graveyards to research the family genealogy.  These are generally free or we find discounts (like the National Parks Pass) for the places we stop.  Even driving out over the ocean on a very long bridge just to see what we could see is fun.  If the budget allows we might stop in Gulfport, MS and go on a submarine tour.  Whatever we do, we always include these stops to help break the travel up.

I am certain there are more ways to save on the travel part.  I’m definitely open for suggestions from all you kind folks.  Thanks for your continued reading.

Jan who can’t wait to be back on the road to Walt Disney World from OK.

MENUS WEEK #3 VISITING WITH OLD FRIENDS, COOKBOOKS

February 1, 2012

Last night I went with a friend to a free herb growing seminar. The evening was pleasant and I learned a few new things. When she brought me home we sat and talked awhile about menu planning and Master Mixes. I drug out my stack of make it from scratch cookbooks that I start many of my recipes from. I of course tweak all the recipes to meet my family needs and personal tastes.

That is the great thing about making all your own mixes. It allows you to adjust for allergies and intolerances, special medical needs, taste preferences and much more.

Going through the cookbooks as we talked I saw many delicious and useful recipes I had forgotten all about due to being in a rut of cooking the same few meals over and over.

That is one of the great things about long term menu planning. You can climb out of the rut because with long term planning you can see very quickly what rut you are falling into.

Take cookies, those of us who bake cookies tend to make the same one or two over and over. Chocolate chip, sugar, Snickerdoodles, repeat. But my family loves all sorts of wonderful cookies. It’s just so easy to stick with the same three or so and repeat making them. But with menu planning and striving to stay out of the rut each week is different. In fact I’m trying to see how long I can go without repeating too much. Already in the first weeks Coconut Macaroons have reappeared. My husband dearly loves macaroons, but I very seldom make them. They aren’t hard, it’s just they aren’t part of my basic rut. In the weeks to come expect to see gingersnaps, refrigerator nut cookies and many, many more.

While I do tend repeat the sides of meals often I’m even going to try and switch those up. Instead of plain corn watch for corn relish, corn fritters, Mexicorn, corn on the cob, fried corn, corn nuggets, corn chowder and much more. I will also be working at breaking from the norm on what sides go with what meals.

My mother in law once went on a trip to Walt Disney World with us, during the trip I made meatloaf. She became upset because the vegetable of the night was green beans instead of peas. She said she could not eat the meat loaf without peas. I didn’t have a single can of peas in the camper so she had to muddle through. It’s not that she was being difficult it was she was so set in her rut that meatloaf required peas that she simply couldn’t be satisfied with the meal. I refuse to be in that rut. That’s where long term menu planning can be a tremendous help to get out of the rut and stay out of it.

So here’s the menu plan and recipes for week #3.

WEEK #3: BREAKFAST OPPORTUNITES

Waffles: leftover from the double batch cooking on Sunday

Serve with syrup, molasses, honey, butter etc.

Spread with peanut butter, chop a banana and add cinnamon sugar

Spread with other nut butters

Top with fruit in simple syrup

Hot Cereal:

Rice, reheat leftover rice from the previous dinner menus

Farina

Multigrain packets

Cold Cereal:

Corn Pops (store brand, but a guilty pleasure of mine)

Corn flakes

Fruit:

Kiwi

Dried fruits, bulk purchased or home dried—great in the cereals

Beverages:

Apple juice, from frozen concentrate

Milk

Hot tea

Hot cocoa, from homemade mix

LUNCH OPPORTUNITIES: WEEK #3

Sandwiches:

Egg salad, made from our farm fresh eggs

Toasted raisin bread with cream cheese

Deli ham

Salad ingredients:

Spring salad mix: bulk purchased

Feta cheese

Bacon bits, homemade or freeze dried

Shredded carrots

Red onion

Salad dressing:

Pecan vinegrette, homemade

French, homemade

Soups:

Navy bean, from making the Navy bean master mix

Gumbo

Pasta Fagoli

Fruits:

Kiwi

Assorted dried fruits

WEEK 3 DINNER MENUS—GROUND BEEF WEEK

Monday 1/23/2012

Bacon Cheeseburgers—on homemade buns

French fries , frozen—bought on sale

Sweet Potato Fries, frozen—bought on sale

Chocolate Pudding—made from Master Mix recipe

Pepsi—bought on sale

Tuesday 1/24/2012

Pioneer Woman Chili—use leftovers later in the week

Tortilla chips or Crackers—either homemade crackers, or on sale chips

Cheddar cheese—grate from the bulk purchase block

Onions—from the root cellar

Lime wedges—from the root cellar (bulk purchase)

Milk—bought at Sam’s to save $.50 per gallon

Coconut macaroons--homemade

Wednesday 1/25/2012

Hot dogs—wieners bulk purchased on sale and frozen, homemade buns

Baked beans—homemade from dried beans

Corn on the cob—frozen bought with coupon on sale

Pepsi—bought on sale

Leftover desserts

Thursday 1/26/2012

Sausage Rolls with Marinara—homemade, bulk purchase sausage and homemade marinara

Garlic noodles—homemade noodles from bulk cooking last week.

Green beans—home canned

Iced tea

Apple Crisp—homemade from food storage

Friday 1/27/2012

Indian tacos—use Pioneer Woman leftover chili and sopapilla Master Mix to make shells

Mexicorn—bought on sale

Green Beans--leftover

Flan—food storage from the gift given us by a friend

Tea

Saturday 1/28/2012

Italian Sausage Pizza—more bulk purchase sausage from previous menus, homemade crust and sauce, grated mozzarella from bulk purchase

Jarred Salad—vacuum sealed homemade salad mix to preserve freshness, and homemade dressing

Cheese bread sticks—made with some of the pizza crust dough and bulk purchase cheeses.

Pepsi

Leftover desserts

Sunday 1/29/2012

Pasta Fagioli Soup

French bread, homemade

Snickerdoodles

tea

SNACKING OPPORTUNITIES: WEEK #3

Salty:

Popcorn

Soft baked pretzels

Sweet:

Chocolate pudding

Coconut Macaroons after Tuesday

Apple Crisp after Thursday

Fruit:

Kiwis

Dried fruits

Veggies:

Celery with peanut butter or other nut butters

Carrot sticks

So now the menus are up let’s see what recipes I can share today. The hamburger/hot dog bun recipe can be viewed elsewhere in my blog at:

http://cjpattersonontheranch.blogspot.com/2011/05/playing-catch-up-on-garden-and-house.html

I use the same dough, for the sausage rolls, cheese bread sticks and pizza crust as well. It’s truly a versatile Master Mix.

When I speak of the Pioneer Woman Recipes these are recipes from Ree Drummond’s tv show or website. The chili recipe and those in the future can be viewed on her website at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-pioneer-woman/index.html

Last week and this both I used the Sopapilla Master Mix. Recipe can be viewed at:

http://cjpattersonontheranch.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-12-years-later.html

So on to the Navy Bean Soup for lunches, Molasses Baked Beans and Pasta Fagoili Soup. All are made using the

Navy Bean Soup Master Mix.

Yield: 12 cups

2 pounds dried navy beans, or other small white beans

10 cups water

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons butter, optional

1 tablespoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Wash and sort beans. Place in a large pot and cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.



2. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 1 hour.



3. Drain and discard water. Rinse beans and return pot. Add 10 c water and remaining ingredients.



4. Bring to a boil.



5. Simmer for 2 hours.



6. Freeze or can leftovers in 3 to 4 cup containers label and store appropriately.

Once the beans are tender you can eat this as Navy Bean Soup.

Molasses Baked Beans

Servings: 8

1/2 pound bacon, diced

1 cup onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

4 cups Navy Bean Mix

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1. Pre-heat oven to 300 F.



2. In large skillet fry bacon until almost crips. Drain and discard all but 1 tbl of drippings. Put bacon in a lidded 2 qt cassrole dish



3. Saute onions and celery in bacon drippings Add to casserole dish.



4. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.



5. Bake for 2 hours until all moisture is absorbed.

Pasta Fagoili Soup

Servings: 8

1 large onion, chopped

4 stalks celery, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, Minced OR 1 tsp garlic powder

73 ounces chicken broth

3 cups Navy Bean Soup Mix

14 ounces tomatoes, canned, dieced and peeled, undrained

8 ounces tomato sauce

1 teaspoon oregano leaves, dried

1 teaspoon basil leaves, dried

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 whole bay leaves

1 tablespoon parsley flakes

1 cup shell pasta

salt, to taste

Parmesan cheese, fresh, optional

1. Spray large pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook about 4 or 5 minutes until partially tender, stirring occasionally.



2. Add Broth, Mix, tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, pepper, bay leaves, parsley flakes and salt. Bring to a boil.



3. Add macaroni. Reduce to medium heat and cook 15 minutes until macaroni and vegetables are tender.



4. Remove bay leaves. Sprinkle with cheese.

Food Storage add ons for this week is the remainder of the 10#’s was used to brown with celery, onion, garlic and seasonings for future casseroles and soup add ins. Then canned.

The additional Navy Bean Master Mix can either be canned or frozen for future meals.

On a side note: You can make all your Hot Roll mix items up at once and then after the first rise freeze the doughs to use later in the week. I have in the past also held it in the refrigerator for a few days. It did develop a slight sourdough taste, which is not a bad thing.

Jan who is all about doing bulk cooking to save time and money in OK