Canadian Buffoon's Disney With a Teen Vacation - 08/13 - The Wrap

[pkondz]

But why why.

I just assumed it was a DIS glitch.
You post and nothing happens...
so you post again.
And it's the same post twice.

LOL! Hey, heads up. I"m going to launch a Pt II in the next couple of days. For various reasons. May need some help on how to do links in my sig.... (may I PM you?)

But of course.
How could I say no to you?

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Where did the next chapter go?

 

[pkondz]

Where did the next chapter go?

Coming right up!

 

[pkondz]

Dullsville


WARNING!! WARNING!!
EXTREME DULLNESS AHEAD!!!
WARNING!!


All right. You've been warned.
Trust me,
(as you always should.)
you're going to want to skip this one.

Boooooring!



But for the sake of completeness,
I'm going to tell you about this day anyway.

Actually, it makes writing the rest of the TR easy.
If everyone stops reading,
then I can stop writing, right?


Right.


There's tons to see and do in Montreal.
There are markets, parks, sights, activities,...
And I'm choosing to do none of them.
Well... almost.
I chose to do one today.
But I'll get to that in due course.


No, today I decided... to drive around
and pick up poker chips at Harley dealerships.


Why? Why not?


Well, the obvious reason is that I collect them.
It's something to do, so... there ya go.

Plus, I think I already mentioned that I wasn't really
feeling this trip.
Every time I'd Google "Things to do..."
I'd either already done it, or didn't want to do it.

But when I Googled "Harley stores near Montreal"...
A whole schwack of them turned up.

Now, granted, I wasn't going to drive four hours
out of the city to get to one, but I was willing
to do some driving.


But first... we need a car.

The National Car rental place was
a mere 5 minute walk from the hotel.
Convenient.
It was located on Stanley street.
I remember thinking "What an odd name for a street."

Yeah. Okay. I'm an idiot.
(Would you please stop nodding in agreement!!)
Stanley street runs pretty much right up to
the Bell Centre.
Where the Montreal Canadians play.
Hockey, that is.
And they play for... the Stanley Cup.
Just one of the oldest trophies in the world.





Anyway.
On my walk to the rental place,
I snapped this picture of a train station.
Just for you.

Imposing, no?
I dunno. I just kinda liked it.

And that's gotta hold you.
It's going to be a while before you see another
"tourist" picture.

Oh, and while we're on the subject.
This update's going to be verrrrry light
on pictures.
It is what it is.

But I promise, if anyone's still reading,
that there'll be lots for the next day.


Within the promised 5 minutes,
I arrived at the car rental place.

And I was too early.
I think I got there about thirty minutes
prior to my rental time.

They didn't have a car ready apparently.

Is it just me? Or does that seem odd?
"Okay. We've got a customer coming
to pick up a car at 10:30.
Don't wash it before 10:25!"


Eventually, my car showed up
and we did the walk around thing.
You know, the one where they make a point
of ignoring any dings?

I didn't sweat it anyway.
1. There actually didn't seem to be any dings.
2. I've never had a problem anyway.

I suppose if I did have an accident,
it would be a different story.

(And no, that's not foreshadowing.
I didn't have an accident and everything was fine... sorta...)


I got the keys and set about setting Betty up
and making sure she was comfortable.


For those who've been following along
since my first TR...
(And for Gawd's sake... why?)
Then you know who Betty is.
For the rest of you, (lucky you!)
Betty... (Her full name is... uh... 'Itching Betty.
except her name is a tautogram.
And now you have something to Google.)
Betty is our GPS.
I had made a point of lugging her
and her 483LB base with me
all the way from Winnipeg.

Good thing, too!
Since the car came equipped with GPS.

Swell.


I made a game of it.
Sometimes Betty would tell me to go one way,
and Floyd (it was shiny and new... pink cheek like)
would tell me to go another.
Sometimes I'd pick one, sometimes the other.
I still got to where I wanted to go, so it all worked out.

Still. One would pout when I'd use the other.
They're touchy that way.


Now I've already mentioned that I wasn't going
to drive four hours out of my way for a poker chip.
And gosh darn it, if that wasn't what I almost did.

The first Harley store I was going to hit
was 48KM (30 miles) away.
I figured, I should get there in half an hour or so.

I may have been a tad over confident.
It took an hour.
So... a two hour round trip for a poker chip.

Oh, well. We're here now.
Might as well get one.

I looked around a bit, but there wasn't a ton to see.
This was a smaller shop, not many bikes.
I grabbed a poker chip and
"$3.75 s'il vous plait."

$3.75? These things are usually about a buck.
I guess prices are higher in Quebec.
Well, when in Rome... (or Quebec, apparently.)


Next stop, Prémont Harley Davidson in Laval,
a suburb of Montreal.
I arrived about 45 minutes later.

Popped in, looked around.
Grabbed a poker chip.
"$2.75 s'il vous plait."
Umm... okay. Cheaper than the last place.

Next!
Montreal Harley Davidson.

I was hoping to grab a shirt here
in addition to a poker chip,
but alas, none appealed.
Just the poker chip, thanks.
"$1.75 s'il vous plait."
Hmmm... cheapest so far.

NEXT!!
(I warned you... I warned you!
Have your eyes glazed over yet?)


Just a hop, skip and a jump
across the river,
(not an easy thing to do in a car, BTW.)
was my next stop.
Leo Harley Davidson.

Pop in.
Grab a poker chip...
"$2.25 s'il vous plait."
These prices are all over the map.
Which is fitting, since so am I today.


I walked out of my fourth consecutive
Harley Davidson store...

Annnndddd.... I'm hungry a bit.
But I didn't want to eat too much.
I knew what we were doing for dinner.
(Later. Later! Sheesh.)

But more than being hungry,
I was thirsty.
I wanted something cold,
and a little sumptin-sumptin
to gnaw on.

And I knew just the place.
Heck every Canadian knows just the place.
And by now, you probably do too.

I punched "Tim Hortons" into the GPS
(I don't remember which one.)
and there was one just a couple of blocks away.

Of course there was.

I ordered an iced lemonade
(aaaahhhhhh.... hits the spot)
and decided to try something new.
They had a good selection at this Timmies.
That's not always the case.

Hmmm... "Boston a lérable"
or Maple Boston.
Well, I am in Quebec.
Known Canada wide as the place
for maple syrup...

Maple Boston it is.
Which is weird for me.
'Cause I'm not a big maple syrup fan.
Pancakes? I'll have jam on mine, thanks.
Waffles? Honey, whipped cream and fruit.

However... oh boy... was it good!
Wanna try?

There's a reflection hiding it a bit,
but if you look closely you'll see them.
Just lick your screen there.

Good huh?

OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU LICKED YOUR SCREEN!!!!
What is wrong with you????
And please.... please get a towel and wipe off your screen.

ew.



Wow, now I've totally lost track of where I was.
Oh, right. Timmies. In Montreal.


Ya know what?
You're sick of Harley stores, aren't you.
That's not a question.
I know you're sick of them.

Okay. Okay.
Let's do something "touristy".

Sheesh.
The things I do for you people.
You're lucky I love you.


On one of my last visits to Montreal,
I had visited a Japanese garden.
It's a part of the larger
Montreal Botanical Garden.

The Montreal Garden is one of the largest in the world
and the Chinese Garden specifically
is the largest Chinese garden outside of Asia.

Sound good?
Of course it does.
Let's go.


After fighting some traffic and construction,
I finally arrived mid-afternoon.
I parked the car and marched over
to the parking ticket dispenser.
It was getting hot, so I was glad for my
iced lemonade.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take it into
the garden however.
I examined the machine and determined
three things.
1. It takes credit cards.
2. Parking was twelve bucks.

Twelve bucks!

Maybe not bad if you're here for the day,
but I had maybe an hour or two tops.
Oh, well.
3. It takes credit cards... At $12 a pop, it better!


Hmmm... let's see....
Press here for English and ici pour le Français.
English'll be fine, thanks.
Insert card... <grumble... $12... highway robbery... grumble>
Confirm amount <grumble.... fine... push>
Confirm amount <I did that already... push>
Confirm amount <Stupid machine... push>
Confirm amount...
Oh for the love of Pete!
There are two machines and I have to pick the broken one!

<more grumbling... perhaps some mild cursing...>


<probably some mild cursing>

Press here for English and ici pour le Français.
English.
Insert card... <$12... grumble>
Confirm amount <push>
Confirm amount <not again!... push>
Confirm amount...

I stopped what I was doing
and looked... really looked at the machine.


oh


It wasn't obvious,
but for that one question,
you were supposed to push somewhere else.
I don't remember details,
but I do know that it was really odd.
Whatever.
YES! Confirm the ridiculously gouging $12!
The machine spat out a ticket.
Wonderful.

I marched back to the car.
On the way there, I took this picture.

That's the Olympic Stadium in the background.
Well... part of it.
Actually, what you can see,
is the tallest inclined tower in the world.

Cool, huh?

Built for the 1976 Olympics,
the stadium is still the largest seating
capacity stadium in Canada.
It's nicknamed the "Big O"
Partly for its name and partly for its shape.
(Like a doughnut.)
Or the "Big Owe" for what it cost.


And speaking of the "Big Owe",
considering what it cost just to park,
I was dreading the price to enter the Garden.

As I approached the ticket booth,
my eye fell upon this sign.
I picked it up, put it back in its socket
and then read the sign.
(English translation at the bottom.)

Are. You. Frickin'. Kidding. Me?????

I turned around.
Walked back to the car.
And drove off.

It cost me $12 to park my car for 5 minutes.
As I drove off in disgust, I sadly shook my head.
Guess you know what that means, don't you?

I told you. Don't read this update, I said.
But did you listen?

Noooooooo!

Well, too bad! We're off to another Harley store!


And about half way there,
I stopped being really annoyed
and became only mildly annoyed.
Until I reached for my iced lemonade.
The one that I'd had maybe a quarter of.
The one that I left on top of the #$&^#* ticket machine!!!





About 15 minutes later,
Vision Harley Davidson hove into view.

"$2.45 s'il vous plait."

I totally give up on trying to make sense
of their pricing policies.
I'm going home.


I set the GPS's for the hotel and headed back.
And wouldn't you know it...
I passed the Botanical Garden again.
You know. Just to rub salt in the wound.


Up until now, I'd been under the mistaken belief
that Montreal drivers were bad drivers.
I'd heard this tidbit of info a few times over the years.
And yet... I didn't have a single problem.

Until now.

Rush hour.

Apparently, in Montreal, rush hour means
every man (or woman... or uber... or Tesla...)
for himself (or herself.)

Maybe it's because I'm from a relatively small city.
Maybe it's like this everywhere.
But at least three times, the same thing happened.
I'm driving in my lane...
The car beside me is either in a lane that ends,
or just wants to be in my lane.
Well, it's simple in Montreal.
You just... go.
It's a lateral game of chicken.
The other car that wants your lane just moves into it.
And if you happen to be in the way,
you can do one of two things.
Brake and give way,
or crash.

I really didn't want to go through
the paperwork involved with a damaged rental.

I gave way.


Still.... interesting tactic.
And effective, too.


Eventually I got back (in one piece!)
to the rental place and dropped off the car.
Five or ten minutes later, I was back in our room.
My timing was pretty good.
Less than five minutes after I arrived,
Ruby walked through the door.


Once we were both freshened up,
we headed out to dinner.
We knew our favourite restaurant
was just a block away.
We walked over to The Keg.

I don't remember exactly what we had.
I know that Ruby ordered another Sangria.
No... Actually I don't know it... but I'm pretty sure.
I think I ordered a drink... but don't remember what.
Ruby ordered the escargot as an appy,
while I had the French onion soup.
The Keg's escargot is to die for...
but I just had a craving that day for French onion soup.
I have zero recollection what we ordered
for our main course.
I remember being surprised at Ruby's choice,
since she almost always orders the chicken.
So she didn't order the chicken.
But what she did order? Dunno.
I think I had the prime rib.
Always delish.


After a nice relaxing dinner,
we re-visited the stores we'd been to
the previous day,
and Ruby bought herself some shoes
and some clothes for herself and for the DDs.

Purchases in hand, we headed back to the hotel.
She was tired (it had been a full day for her...
heck, me too.) so we decided to try another movie.

I don't remember what we rented,
only that we couldn't watch it.
The TV had so much static,
that it rendered the movie un-watchable.

Oh, well.
(I had the charge reversed the next day.)

And that was it for our second day in Montreal.






Still reading?

I told you it was going to be boring!
I didn't lie, did I.


I swear. Tomorrow's more interesting.
Honest.




***************************


Okay, before I sign off this chapter
(which I'm sure can't come soon enough.
Sorry! I did warn you it would be boring! I did!)
a couple of developments to mention.


First. Luna.

Thanks again (and again! and again!)
for all your kind words about her.
It really is appreciated.


I already mentioned that we had to get her a bigger cone.
Here she is in Kay's bed (with Kay... who took the selfie.)
She gets that giant cone on her head and she's pretty much
restricted from doing anything.
What's a pup to do?
Sleep of course.
Don't worry about the human you're using as a pillow.

In the bottom right, you can see her pink,
bandaged leg.
The one that has the fentanyl patch on it.
The one that necessitated the giant cone.

Well...

Last night, Ruby takes her out to do her "business".
"Do you want any help?" I ask.
"No, I'm good." She replies.

Moments later, Ruby's back at the door.
Screaming.

"SHE GOT OUT OF HER LEASH!! CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME!!

Oh crap!!!!!

I go outside and Luna's running around the yard.
And we can't catch her.
She's too fast.
That surgeon did too good a job on her leg!
After several eternities
(probably only a minute)
we corner her and I grab her.

No idea if she damaged her leg any more with all the running.
Our thoughts:
1. Did the fentanyl patch numb the pain so much that she
was able to run, even though she was hurting herself?
2. She is supposed to be able to put weight on it.
The only restrictions were "No jumping off furniture, no stairs."

Maybe we'll be lucky and she'll be okay.
Today, she seems fine. No limping.
I'm hoping that if she'd damaged something,
regardless of whether she feels pain or not,
if she damaged anything... then it wouldn't work, right?


I sure hope so.


This morning, Kay and I took her back to the vet
to get the fentanyl patch off.
I also switched back to the smaller cone.
Sure she can fit her foot in it if she wants.
But it doesn't matter since the stitches are much
higher up on her leg.

I had an idea a few days ago, to simplify things a bit.
Instead of using the strip of gauze to keep the cone on,
I ran her collar through the loops and used that.
Easier to put on and off.
Worked too.
(When she got loose the previous evening,
it was the leash that came off... not the collar.)

But since the vet-tech put her collar on,
it was attached with the strip of gauze.
Which was fine for now.
When it came time to take off the cone,
we'd switch it.


This is the way it works.
When anyone but Kay is watching Luna,
we leave the cone off and make sure to keep
a close eye on her so she doesn't get at her stitches.
But Kay's worried that she'll get at them,
so when she watches her, Luna wears the cone.

We get back from the vet and Kay puts Luna
in her cage.
(We were both going to have some lunch.)
I had just sat down with a sandwich,
while Kay was boiling up some noodles,
when she decided to check on Luna.

More screaming.
"SHE'S GOT HER CONE OFF!!! CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!"

<sigh> This is getting repetitive.

"I'll hold her. You have your lunch."
I settled in with her on the couch.
"Are her stitches okay?" Asks a worried Kay.
I check. They seem fine.
Even if she'd been licking them,
it couldn't have been for very long.

But... dang...
What is with this dog and cones/collars/leashes?



On to other stuff.


Thanks to everyone for the kind words
not only in reference to Luna,
but to the cancelled trip as well.

I was really, really looking forward to this one.
Several reasons.
In no particular order.
1. It's not every day that Ruby agrees to go to Disney!
2. A cruise! We've always wanted to try it.
3. I was meeting some very special people.

I seriously can't tell you which one disappointed me the most.
That I wasn't going to be able to meet
some "friends-I've-never-met".
That I couldn't do F&W with Ruby.
That we wouldn't be going on a cruise.

I think that last one was the toughest.
But the others were up there too.

Well.... maybe we can try next year on the cruise.
Gives me more time to research it, anyway.
And... <puts on flame suit> maybe a Disney cruise
isn't the best option for us.
Maybe it is... maybe it isn't.

That's what the research is for.

As far as F&W goes...
Well, I'm okay with it.
I don't eat that much anymore.

(I fear that's evolution telling me it's done with me.)

So maybe it wouldn't have been as great as I think it would be.
Who knows.


But the one thing that really, really bugged me?

Not meeting some wonderful DISers.

I mean... There are plenty of you out there
that I'd be thrilled to meet.
But I was pretty stoked to meet the ones
I was going to meet.

Dang.
Depressing.

Le sigh.


Ruby tried to cheer me up.
"Well, maybe we can do something around here?" She said.
"Maybe Banff?"

Hmmm... Yeah.... She did want to do that.
More so than a Disney trip, that's for sure.
(But not more so than a cruise.... crap.)
Well a Banff trip was do-able.
We can do that on the cheap.
It's within either a very long drive,
or two days with a cheap stop in between.

Yeah. That'd work!

Haven't looked into details yet,
but it looks like that's what we'll do in Disney's stead.
Ruby even said "To be honest, I'd rather do that than Disney."
And she's not kidding.
So I'm glad we're still doing something she wants.
And I'll enjoy it too.
Get to spend some time together.
That's always good.

So while Disney + cruise is toast,
we still will be doing at least something.



Still... wish I could meet (or re-meet)
the people I was supposed to be seeing in September.


I mean... if I just zipped down for a couple or three days...
on my own....
wouldn't cost that much.
I have a pin code for the resort....
Got a discount code and WestJet dollars for the flight...

I hesitated...
I could go before the Banff trip..........



Nahhh.... Who am I kidding.
It'd never work.


Ruby said do it.
"You've been working so much. You need this."


It was like the skies parted
and the hand of God reached out.

So......


I fly out on September 14th, arriving that afternoon.
Spend a few days in Disney.
Fly home on the 18th.
It's all booked.

Which means...
So, @TheLittleKatie, @BibbitybobityLu and @PrincessCaitlin....
still wanna meet up?

Old School​

 

[Steppesister]

Neighbors over for dinner; wines a'flowin. Yay! Post strawberry shortcake reading!!

 

[DonnaBeeGood]

.

 

[pkondz]

Neighbors over for dinner; wines a'flowin. Yay! Post strawberry shortcake reading!!

Don't get too excited....
Wait til you read it.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

Ponzi, I still read faithfully!
I twisted my foot walking in wedge shoes on the grass and tore a ligament.

 

[pkondz]

That woman is an ANGEL! You are a lucky fellow!

Yes and.... yes!

How nice to have a ray of sunshine land on you like that...

Don't know what possessed her to settle
for a schlep like me.

Glad Luna is feeling better too!

I'm hoping!
We'll see how she feels tomorrow
(or however it takes for the fentanyl to wear off.)

 

[pkondz]

Ponzi, I still read faithfully!

So glad to hear that!
You're one of my originals... back to Nebo's TRs.

I twisted my foot walking in wedge shoes on the grass and tore a ligament.

Oh! Ouch! Sorry to hear that!

 

[cindianne320]

Yay! So happy you still get to spend a few days in Disney, Luna is healing well so far, and you get a get-a-way with Ruby, too!

 

[Steppesister]

So, Harley poker chips. Riveting.


JKJK. It was a fun chapter of your going from store to store and wasting 2 or 3 Dole Whips money on parking. For 5 minutes. Go you. LOL!


Glad you get to go afterall. Sad, of course, October wasn't your month of choice. But a trip's a trip.

 

[Mac Brew]

Briliant three days in the park are better than none

 

[irene_dsc]

Yay! You get to go to Banff!

Plus, yay, you get to go to Disney! And Dismeet!

(I have to admit, I might be with Ruby here. I loved Banff the one time I was there, back when I was about 11...)

 

[Mac Brew]

Its happening here as well plastic is taken over. But good old Fife is still a bit behind the cosmopolitan areas we can still pay to park with cash. Lots of Harley stores there we've only got one in Scotland and that's in Edinburgh

 

[orangecats2]

You ding dong lucky so-in-so dog you! Can't even talk right! I can't believe you get to go to Disney after all that! See, I said I'd rather be you!

Pretty boring day in Montreal. If I ever get back I want to see St. Joseph's Basillica. I went when I was 11. It's the only thing I remember seeing in that city. My grandparents took me and they were Catholic and wanted to see the twelve stops of the cruciifxion. I was raised United Methodist so I didn't even know what that was at the time. But the sheer size of it were awesome! I mean there's escalators in a church!

Luna sounds like she's doing pretty good. Do you have more pain killers to give her if she seems to need them?

Now i have to go get a donut! Darn you!

 

[Mrs T 2009]

The pricing for the poker chips was driving me bananas! hahaha I don't understand the "all over the place" prices.. odd

That sucks about paying for 5 minutes of parking. You'd think they'd have signs going into parking saying the gardens was closed.

Luna is a little rascal!! haha a little luna-tic! hahaha

AWW YAY!!!! Glad to hear you still get a Disney trip in!!!! I want to solo sometime, but never have been able to yet. My family loves Disney just as much if not more than me, so... no solo trips allotted yet..

My friend and I had thought about a quick 3 day trip in November, but money became a factor on her end, then on my end, so that's a tabled idea for now.. we both love Disney and want a girls trip anyways... someday.

 

[franandaj]

Whenever we drive distances, Fran and I stop at whatever Harley stores are along the way, but we don't collect the poker chips. That must be sort of new as we only heard of them for the first time two years ago on our Midwestern road trip.

Luna sounds like a crazy dog! She doesn't know what's good for her. I hope she doesn't reinjure herself!

Nice that you get a solo trip to Disney. Looking forward to hearing all about it!

As far as the cruise goes, you may possibly be better off with another company besides Disney. It would certainly be cheaper. And with Ruby not being a fan, she might like not having the characters and kids to deal with.
However this was an interesting fact from our Alaskan cruise. One of the excursion hosts was talking about the various cruise lines that come through his town. When he was asked by friends which line he would recommend, he said "Disney, hands down". He said that they are the most organized when it comes to shore excursions. The passengers are always happy and smiling. And from what he can tell, the Disney ships have more "child free" areas than the other ships, as the other ships just assume there won't really be many kids, so they don't bother to cater to the adult only market.

And you would appreciate this. Fran found a Voyager trike on Craigslist. She has to go try it out and see if she can swing her leg over it. I've told her she can't buy any more motorcycles unless she can get on them.

 

[pkondz]

Yay! So happy you still get to spend a few days in Disney, Luna is healing well so far, and you get a get-a-way with Ruby, too!

Thanks!

So, Harley poker chips. Riveting.

I told you! I told you!!!

Seriously, I thought of just skipping that entire day.

Update! Montreal day 2!
Nothing happened.
Stay tuned for day 3!

JKJK. It was a fun chapter of your going from store to store and wasting 2 or 3 Dole Whips money on parking. For 5 minutes. Go you. LOL!

I know. Money well spent..... not!

Glad you get to go afterall. Sad, of course, October wasn't your month of choice. But a trip's a trip.

But now I can see about that "N" drink for you.
That's the only reason I'm going, ya know.

Briliant three days in the park are better than none

And it's more like three and a half,
since I arrive at MCO at 1:20pm.

Yay! You get to go to Banff!

Plus, yay, you get to go to Disney! And Dismeet!

(I have to admit, I might be with Ruby here. I loved Banff the one time I was there, back when I was about 11...)

We were there with the DDs about.... five? six? years ago.
It was beautiful and we've wanted to go back
and spend more time there ever since.

Its happening here as well plastic is taken over. But good old Fife is still a bit behind the cosmopolitan areas we can still pay to park with cash.

I'm not sure if there wasn't an option to pay cash.
I wouldn't have anyway.
Save the cash for.... dunno... something else?

Lots of Harley stores there we've only got one in Scotland and that's in Edinburgh

Interesting. Now I know what to do if I ever visit Scotland.

 

[pkondz]

You ding dong lucky so-in-so dog you! Can't even talk right!

Sorry!

But not sorry!

I can't believe you get to go to Disney after all that! See, I said I'd rather be you!

Okay. In this particular instance...
I'd rather be me, too.

Pretty boring day in Montreal.

Very. You were warned.
The next day is better.

If I ever get back I want to see St. Joseph's Basillica. I went when I was 11. It's the only thing I remember seeing in that city.

Okay, now I feel like an idiot.
I had no idea until just now
(thanks Google!)
that it was the largest church in Canada.

Crap.
If I'd known, I would've gone to see it.
Odd that it didn't show up on any
"must see" lists.
At least, not that I noticed.

Hang on... going to double check.

Ah. I see what happened.
It's listed after Notre Dame.
I think I assumed that it was a minor church
since Wiki calls it a " minor basilica".

Next time.

My grandparents took me and they were Catholic and wanted to see the twelve stops of the cruciifxion. I was raised United Methodist so I didn't even know what that was at the time. But the sheer size of it were awesome!

Huh. Interesting.
Did they hope you'd convert?

I mean there's escalators in a church!

What??!?!? No way!
I've never seen that in a church!

Luna sounds like she's doing pretty good. Do you have more pain killers to give her if she seems to need them?

She seems okay.
She's still on a low dose
of some vet pain med for a bit.
But she's not complaining at all.

Now i have to go get a donut! Darn you!

Sorry about that!

(You licked the screen, didn't you.)