Much to the dismay of Adventurers everywhere, the always delightful Gabby has taken a leave of absence from her maid duties -- but in the grand tradition of the Club, she turned in her frilly skirt and feather duster to travel abroad, teaching tap dancing in underprivileged countries.  That's the spirit, dear girl!  We'll definitely miss your --

-- agility!  Er, rather, your dedication and diligence in your housekeeping and tap dancing expertise will be impossible to replace.   Gabby never failed to stay flexible in her working hours, always going that extra step -- even working split shifts -- to dust every nook and cranny, keeping the Adventurers Club in shipshape shape! Usually the Colonel gets a bird's-eye view of everyone's heads, but this night he witnessed the cleaning of his life.  I guarantee he wasn't sleeping with his eyes open at this point, folks.

In a special presentation concluding the evening's festivities, Pamelia, Hathaway and Otis T. Wren present Gabby with a farewell bouquet of flowers as a token of their unending love and best wishes in her travels. There wasn't a dry seat in the house. But seriously, I was quite fortunate to be in attendance on Gabby's last night.  While it's always a bit tricky to tell where the show ends and 'real life' begins, this was a genuinely touching moment, infused with a great deal of good cheer as well. A worthy tribute to a good woman and talented performer -- Gabby, you will be missed by friends and visiting Adventurers near and far!

Nothing speaks of love and respect more than a shiny new monkey head.

I haven't quite worked out the astrophysics of it all yet, but rumor has it that Adventurers can travel across the street from the Club -- and about 64 years into the future from 1937 -- and you will find a new cast member who bears a striking resemblance to Gabby, creating improv mayhem at the Comedy Warehouse.  I'll bet she knows a dance step or two as well!

Gabby, best of luck in your new endeavors and keep on tappin'!

And so ends my photographic safari of the Adventurers Club for 2001.  As always, the cast couldn't have been kinder or more friendly to me, nor more entertaining. While their duties as Club Officers are more fun than work, they never fail to impress me with their effort to make the experience fresh and involving night after night -- by no means an easy task!  As I told them, visiting the Club again was very high on my list of reasons to return to Walt Disney World this year, and every night I attended was worth the trip.

Considered by many AC fans to the be one of the best Samantha Sterlings, this delightfully talented CM really puts her all into the show -- and is very amiable to fans and newcomers alike.  She was most helpful filling me in on Club info and history, and an inspirational muse in the creation of these pages.  "Sam", you're the tops! It's been an ongoing, unfortunate shortcoming of my site that I had no good pictures of her. Thankfully I can finally correct this fault by borrowing a photo from Kat at TheAdventurersClub.net -- thanks, Kat! I must do a better job of profiling the characters and CMs on my next trip, but for now, this will do along with my thanks to... well, you know who you are.

Adventurers, you're the best!  Continued success in your exciting travels, and I look forward to landing my puddlejumper in Lake Buena Vista again very soon to exchange tall tales and long laughs with you all.  

And if you'd like to learn the beginnings of my fascination with adventure, dust off this expedition journal from 1968 to read the tale.

A few last minute photos have been added to the 2001 collection, so let's meet Sammy along the hallways near the main salon as she vogues for us as only Sam can!

© 2001-2002 scott weitz