Canadian Buffoon's DISmeet vacation - 09/14 - Bowled Over

[pkondz]

I'm sorry. I'm just pissed that in all the NCIS series we are waiting to find out which main characters live and die until next season.

Think of it this way..

Until the fall season,
they're all still alive.
Living in limbo...
but alive.


There! Does that help?







no?

I mean, it's tiring enough to drive three hours each way to go to a wine party after being gone for 8 days eating BBQ. I can't imagine what it would be like if I had an actual job.

Not trying to beliddle you, I really don't know how you folks at my age with real jobs do it. I can barely get up in the morning on time for my doctor appts. Between that and my tenant obligations I barely can get out of bed!

Honestly Alison,
it is defefinitely getting
harder and harder
the older I get.
I remember my first
few years working the
night shift.
I thought it was great!
Just like going to an all-nighter
and getting paid for it!

I don't feel that way anymore,
let me tell ya.
Not when it takes me
2-3 days to recover.

 

[pkondz]

Sorry for the delay in
the next update.
Been... well...
stupid busy.

Been typing when I can,
so I've got a chunk done.
May post what I have soon,
or wait to make one larger update.

We'll (meaning you) see.

 

[rdkeim]

I'm mostly a lurker but want to say I'm really enjoying reading about your road trip! I love a good road trip. Also, your wine glass Splash ride photo makes me laugh every time I see it

 

[pkondz]

I'm mostly a lurker but want to say I'm really enjoying reading about your road trip! I love a good road trip.

to the TR!
Glad you're enjoying it!

And... if you like 'em,
perhaps I should write
about the two I'll be doing
this year?

Also, your wine glass Splash ride photo makes me laugh every time I see it

Thanks! I had fun doing it.

 

[krnelson65]

And... if you like 'em,
perhaps I should write
about the two I'll be doing
this year?

Yes.
Kim

 

[pkondz]

Yes.
Kim

Well, both of them should
have DISmeets, so... they count.

 

[mustinjourney]

Thanks! I had fun doing it.

 

[krnelson65]

Well, both of them should
have DISmeets, so... they count.

Hey, even if they didn't....I love reading your trip reports.

Kim

 

[pkondz]

Hey, at least I wasn't alone.
Oh, wait... I was.

 

[pkondz]

Hey, even if they didn't....I love reading your trip reports.

Kim

Well.... thanks!

 

[vamassey1]

Yes! That's exactly it!

I would love to see this IRL.

You assume that I haven't
lost that puppy years ago????

A wife and 2 daughters, I'm sure you did.

320 feet longer.
But I've never toured
a battleship.
And I would like to.

I want to tour an aircraft carrier. I've done 2 subs from WWII, one is with the USS Alabama and one is her in Baton Rouge. The USS Kidd was just used to film a Tom Hanks movie.

Nah. I'm Canadian.
What's the worst that
could happen???

This is true.

Sorry.... Had to.

When I went back and read it, I knew I would regret typing that.

She was done.
But... oddly enough,
revived when I got
back to Winnipeg.

She doesn't like California.

Nah.
Just ready to take over
the planet.

Oh so he was landing not taking off.

 

[krnelson65]

Well.... thanks!

Single...no money for vacations....I live vicariously through trip reports. HAHAHA. It's sad really.

Kim

 

[MeghanEmily]

No, the bike's not mine.
I flew into LA.
It's a rental.

Huh. I've rented cars plenty. I'd never really even thought about being able to rent a bike. Huh. Cool!

But when I went to pick up the bike,
I was told I needed to put down
a $3,000 deposit.
I had room on my credit card,
but still... many people wouldn't
necessarily have that.
Especially when travelling
and putting food and hotels on it.

Wow! That's a hefty deposit! That could definitely keep some folks from being able to rent.

So of course the very first thing I did...
Was turn left into a residential cul-de-sac.

D'oh!
Not even two minutes
into the drive and I'm
already lost!

Hah! I laughed out loud at this because it's so incredibly me. I always look up directions and think I know exactly where I'm going, and then I'm lost and checking out my GPS within a couple of turns.

And on this beautiful California sunny day,
the journey definitely was the destination.

Wow! Some really beautiful views!

California is the only State
in which lane splitting...
Well, it's not exactly legal...
but it's not illegal too.
They'd defined it...
just haven't said what to do with it.

So... let's just say that it's
kinda allowed.


Clear as mud?

It gets over one million visitors every year
and as of a few years ago,
was the most popular warship museum in the US.

Oh my goodness. How cool!

One of the cool things about the ship/museum
is that the guides all served aboard her at one time.
More on that in a bit.

Also cool! I feel like this would make the information so much more engaging (and obviously more authentic!) You're getting it from real experts who've really experienced it.

Just sayin'...

I ain't no Angel,
but I would've been upset.

He was really interesting.
He discussed the mechanics
of landing a plane on a carrier.
And he would know...
since he's done it himself,
on this very carrier.
How cool is that???

Wow!!

She asked where I was from.
I'm always a bit hesitant
when asked that.
Not everyone in the US
knows where Winnipeg is.
Or have even heard of it.

So my go to answer is:
"Canada".
Then if the next question I get is:
"Where abouts?" then I'll say "Winnipeg".

And then I often get:
"Where is that?"

"Straight north of North Dakota."

And one time, I actually got
"Is that near Minnesota?"
Dude... it's your country.
You don't know where North Dakota is???

Oh...this is SO real. 99% of the time, since I don't like in Toronto or Vancouver, it's pretty useless to bother telling anyone where we're from. I always do: "Canada." And if that's not enough to satisfy...it's even worse when you're from the teeny tiny east coast! My next step is usually: "The east coast, a little bit above Maine." That's usually where they stop asking. Sometimes the ask the province (or the "state," if they're really not familiar,) and when I say "Nova Scotia," I'm shocked if they've actually heard of it.

The other day at the con in Orlando, somebody who wanted to buy paintings from us but didn't want to fly home with them came to me and said they'd overheard we were from Canada, and which part? When I told them....they were like, "Okay, so how close is that to Detroit?" Um....I told them: "Far." And then: "Not quite as far as it is from here in Orlando, but far. Like, two days of driving." They were shocked.

Oh boy... here we go... fingers crossed.
"Winnipeg." I said.
"I'm from Calgary. (Alberta)" She responded.

No way!

A couple weeks ago I met someone who even asked us where in Nova Scotia we lived, because they had family in Halifax. Mind = blown.

And Betty was dead.
She didn't even turn on.
(I am so used to that.)

Oh dear!

Sorry for the delay in
the next update.
Been... well...
stupid busy.

Been typing when I can,
so I've got a chunk done.
May post what I have soon,
or wait to make one larger update.

We'll (meaning you) see.

I love reading your reports, but I don't mind if you take your time. I know how you feel. I'm pretty swamped these days, myself! (Hence why I'm replying to a post from May 20th over two weeks late.) Best of luck—hope things settle down for you soon!

 

[pkondz]

Off To The Races

We last left off with me
dropping the bike off at the rental place.

I got back to the hotel and they
were all set for the weekend race.

There were a couple of McLaren’s
in the lobby and a Lambo out front.

So.... which one do you pick?


I didn't have much time to ogle
as I had to get ready for dinner.

I just got up to the room
and finished freshening up
when I got a text from
@Steppesister that she was
in the lobby.

I scooted down and gave her
a big hug.


She hit me with her purse.


Note to self. Handshakes are okay.


We retrieved my car and set out
for @franandaj 's place.

We had fun finding our way there.
I had printed off Alison's directions
and had Liesa act as navigator
and co-pilot.

"Okay, it says go to the roundabout
with the flowers and turn right."

Wait... This one? Or the next one?

"The next one. This one has the
wrong street name."

"Turn left here."

I can't! It's a one way!

"No, not here. There!" <points>


It may sound a bit stressful,
but actually, we were having fun.
There was a lot of laughing.


We eventually arrived at
Fran and Alison's place.
Fran was off picking up Karilynn ( @Malia78 )
so Alison greeted us at the door.
She gave us the penny tour of the house
and then we headed outside.
We were soon joined by Jenny
( @rentayenta ) and her husband Mike.
And not long after that,
Kari showed up too.
Unfortunately, Fran wasn't feeling
very well and went to lie down.
I wouldn't see her until the next day.

It was a really nice time just sitting
by the pool chatting.
Alison had worked hard getting
the backyard and pool ready for us,
so when she suggested we take a dip,
we all agreed.

Next thing I knew, Alison had stepped
out of her clothes and dove in the water!
I must admit, I know Californians can be
a bit more demonstrative and liberal
than what I'm used to,
but skinny dipping took me by surprise.
Jenny looked at Mike, they both shrugged
and quickly stripped and dove in too!
Liesa and Karilynn weren't far behind,
clothes flying everywhere.

I hesitated and started to nervously
finger the button on my shirt,
but Alison waved her finger at me.
"Oh, no. Not you. You have to make us drinks!"


Spared by the call of bar tending duties.


I quickly mixed up some drinks,
stuck a couple of celery stalks
in each glass and served everyone.



All right...

I'm kidding.
The above did not happen.
I made it up, just for some fun.





The truth is...

I only put one
celery stick in each glass.









Okay! Okay!

There was no skinny dipping either.
Sheesh. Taking all the fun out
of my complete lies.


What was true, was that we did have
a nice time chatting, and I did
get pressed into bar tending duties.


I had mentioned in a previous TR
that I had had a Caesar (to drink)
and Alison (among others) had no idea
what I was talking about.
Further research showed that
while it is very well known drink in Canada,
it's hardly known at all in the States.

So last year, when I visited,
I made her a little gift of Caesar fixins'.

And she was too scared to try it!


So I agreed to make them when I visited this time.


And for those of you who don't know
what a Caesar (or Bloody Caesar) is:
It's a variation of the Bloody Mary using
clamato juice instead of tomato.
If you've never had clamato,
you might be inclined to think that it
tastes.... fishy.
It doesn't.

Here's the recipe:

Bloody Caesar
1 1/2 ounces vodka
4 ounces clamato juice
2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
Dash Tabasco Sauce
Lime wedge
Pepper to taste
Celery salt*
Garnish: Celery stalk

Rim a highball glass with the juice from the lime wedge and the celery salt*.
Add the vodka and Clamato juice.
Season with pepper, Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces to taste.
Stir well.
Garnish with a celery stick.

*I prefer Caesar rimming salt to celery salt.

I think for the most part, people enjoyed it.
For those of you that I tagged earlier,
weigh in and let us know what you thought.

For me? I will always chose a Caesar
over a Bloody Mary.
There's just no comparison.


I don't remember whose idea it was,
but we decided to pose for a selfie.
I shamelessly stole this photo
from Liesa's TR.

And if you haven't been reading hers,
why haven't you? She's a much better
writer than I am!
You can find her TR here:
The ABCs of Another Steppe Into Adventure!

Once our drinks were drunk,
and we drank our drinks,
Jenny and Mike had to leave.


Jenny? It was really nice
meeting you and Mike.
Wish we could've had a bit more time.
Maybe on a future visit?


The rest of us were going
to head out for dinner.

Hello?
Did someone say food???

I'd been waiting for this for a looooong time.
As a matter of fact,
when I was here the previous year,
I'd given it as an option to my daughter.
And she said "No"!!


Kids these days.
They don't know what's what.


(You can read all about that trip, here:
Canadian Buffoon's Sweet 16 Celebration)


Pretty sure that Alison had posted
about this place a couple years ago.
And I knew I had to go.
It's called the Crap Pot.

We started off with some bread.
You know... pretty standard
restaurant offering.

We all politely nibbled at the bread,
passing the butter as needed.
All quite civilized and proper.

Then the waitress came
with our food.
As she walked towards us,
she must've stumbled or something
because the next thing I knew...

...all of our food had been dumped
in the middle of the table!
Terrible mess, actually.
I'm sure she was quite mortified.

We told her not to worry about it
and that we'd simply deduct it from her tip.
She seemed pretty happy about it
as she walked away with tears
of what I can only assume were joy.

We all stared at the food piled
in the middle of the table.
Who was going to get the choice tidbits?
Kari reached for a crab leg...
Oh, no! That was mine!
I grabbed a mallet and
smartly wrapped her knuckles.
She yelped, picked up her mallet
and swung wildly at my head.
I ducked and she squarely connected
with Alison's nose.
Alison in turn grabbed her mallet
and thwocked Kari on the cheek.
Liesa could see what was developing
so she snagged her mallet and quickly
smacked me on the knee.
I reflexively kicked and connected
with Alison's shin.
She bopped me on the head.
Guess she didn't like my attitude.

We glared at each other for a while
until the server came back.
She quickly defused the situation
by grabbing my phone and asking
us to say 'cheese' for a photo.

Don't we all look deceptively
calm and peaceful?
I'm quite convinced that if you
put two warring leaders together
and asked them to pose for a photo,
wars could be prevented... or stopped.

It's a theory.

It worked for us.
We all started to laugh
and we put our mallets down.

We all had a good chuckle
at our silliness.
Smiling, Kari reached for
a crab leg, confident in the
thought that the fighting was
behind us now.


I hit her with my mallet.


Food and mallets flew once again.

Eventually, bruised and battered,
we finished fighting and
began eating.

If photos don't stop wars,
exhaustion and hunger might.


And it was gooooooood.
Yum!
I'd do that again in a heartbeat.
(Minus the bruising.)

As a peace offering,
Alison suggested we order
the "famous" strawberry rhubarb cake.
So we did.
And it was good.
And we behaved.

I think because we were getting full.

Eventually, the evening came to a close
and we left for our respective domiciles.



The next day, I walked over
to check out the goings on across
the street from the hotel.

This was one of the reasons
why I was in Long Beach.
And the reason I was there
on that particular weekend.

Running continuously since 1975,
The Long Beach Grand Prix is
North America's longest running
major street race.
It's been sponsored by Toyota
since its inception which is
possibly the longest continuously
running sports sponsorship in the US.

There's usually a series of races
leading up to the marquis event.
But I'm not normally interested
in those.
I might glance at them,
but that's about it.

However, there's lots to see
and do over the weekend.
This Friday I took a few hours
to wander around just soaking in
the atmosphere.

It was my first visit to this venue,
so I didn't really take too many
photos at this time.

I did take a couple of the
food service area,
just to give you an idea.

I may or may not have eaten at some
of those spots over the course of
the three days I was there.

I can say that I didn't eat too much
on Friday as I had another dinner
date that evening.
I'll come back to the race venue
in a bit.

That afternoon, I headed out
to another restaurant rendezvous.
Yesterday's dinner extravaganza
had been mostly my choice.
Tonight we were heading to
Liesa's requested restaurant,
the Melting Pot;
specializing in fondue.

I arrived a few minutes early
and found Liesa in the bar.
She was working on one drink
and by the time the others arrived
had started on her second.
I assumed that later that night
she would be buying clothes
as that's what she's known for,
getting tipsy and buying clothes.
Then I remembered we weren't
at Disney, so all bets were off.

Fran and Alison, with Karilynn in tow,
arrived shortly after.
We gathered ourselves up
and were led through a maze
of tables and short passageways.
We dodged blow darts and
a giant rolling boulder,
but eventually arrived intact
at our table.


We do fondue at home occasionally,
but always meats in a broth.
I've also done chocolate a couple times,
but never had cheese.
So I was looking forward to that
most of all.

And that's what we started with.
There were two burners on our table
so we ordered two different types
of cheese fondue.
Fran and Alison would pick one
and Kari, Liesa and I would pick
the other.
This seems patently unfair.
I think it should have been
Fran, Alison, Liesa and Kari
pick one and I pick the other.


Oh well.
It seemed to work out okay.


I was fascinated by the delivery method.
The pots would arrive at
the table covered,
and the waiter would unscrew a clamp
to release the lids and reveal the
contents contained therein.
The process was reversed when
they were removed.
We presumed it was for safety
to prevent spillage during transportation
to and from the kitchen.

Not long after ordering,
the two cheese courses arrived.

(We ordered all six courses at once.
Yes, six. Two each of cheese,
broth and chocolate.)

The cheese courses came with
breads and vegetables.
The latter took me by surprise.
I hadn't considered anything but
breads for a cheese fondue.

And.... oh, man.
I really had to be careful here.
It was sooooo good!
I knew that I easily could've
filled up on this all by itself.
With two more courses to go!


Things started out peacefully enough,
we all began dipping and eating.
Until, that is, I decided to try the
pot closest to Fran.
I reached over and...

Fran stabbed me with her skewer
when I tried to sample "their" fondue.
Alison jabbed Fran in order to teach her
not to stab her tablemates.
Liesa laughed at my yelp of pain,
so I poked her in the hand.
I was gratified to receive a yelp in kind.
Karilynn pricked Alison,
just so she wouldn't be left out.

Bloodied, but chastened,
we settled in for the next course.


Maybe we shouldn't eat all
at the same table.
It's just... dangerous.
And painful.


The broth course came with
more veggies and a selection
of five differently spiced meats.
Everything was delicious
and everyone kept their heads down
and their hands close.
When you reached for your skewer
(or placed one in the pot)
you did so hastily and warily.

At the end of the meal,
we had our chocolate fondues'
to look forward to.
I don't recall exactly what
Fran and Alison ordered
as they created their own (I believe)
but the three of us decided on
a S'mores fondue.

The server brought our fondues
and suddenly...

Oh, no! Fire!!!
Luckily, I figured this might
be a possibility at a fondue
restaurant and had already
scoped out the locations of
the fire extinguishers.
I grabbed the nearest one,
pulled the pin, and doused the flames.

It was right around then that I was
informed that a S'mores fondue
was supposed to evoke a campfire
motif and there was supposed
to be a fire.


My bad. Sorry. Just wipe off
the fruit and everything will
be just fine.


I can't talk about the Melting Pot
and not talk about the bus boy.
I have never seen anyone clear
a table with as much alacrity
as this gentleman did!
As soon as we were done a course
(or even if we weren't)
this guy would zoom in,
slam to a stop at our table,
grab dishes, food, glasses,
wallets, utensils, napkins,
jewelry, plates,
and anything else that wasn't
bolted down.
Left-over food would fly
everywhere, mostly landing
on the carpet.
I guess it was a pick up now,
clean the carpet later philosophy.
Someone would put a fork down,
or push a plate away and....

That dude was intense!

By the time dinner was done,
we all may have felt
slightly (and when I say slightly,
I mean extremely) full.



Saturday was a beautiful day.
Just right for racing!

I sashayed over to the track
to take in the qualifying
and other activities going on there.

Qualifying isn't racing,
but it's still fun to watch.
Well.... for me.
I'm sure for you, it's the
equivalent of watching
paint drying.

A relative new-comer,
Alexander Rossi won
the pole (1st) position.
I was a bit disappointed
with where my favourite
drivers were going to start
tomorrow's race.
(4th and 11th)
And the two Canadian drivers
didn't fare much better.
(8th and 10th)
I suppose not too bad,
considering there were
twenty four cars racing.

As qualifying ran down,
I zipped down to the
paddock area to watch
the cars come in from the track.

If you ever want to see
an Indy race, the purchase
of a paddock pass is a fun
(if moderately pricey) investment.
You can get up close to
the cars and sometimes
the drivers as well.
You can watch mechanics
working on the cars
if you're so inclined.
It's just a different
aspect to the sport.

My second favourite driver's car.
(Scott Dixon)
I was too late to see my
favourite's come back.
More on him in a bit.

This one belongs to another
favourite driver.
(James Hinchcliffe)
But he's more my favourite
because he's Canadian.
Although, he is a fan favourite.
He's very personable.

The view of the cockpit.
Not a lot of room in there.


A nice thing happened while
I was snapping photos.
A dad and his young son
(maybe 8 years old?)
were standing nearby and watching.
Maybe the boy asked his dad something,
or maybe the dad was telling
him something.
A crew member removed the
steering wheel (they detach)
and handed it to the boy.

The look of awe on his face
was priceless.
After a bit, the crewman
took the wheel back and went
to replace it.
I asked him how much it was worth.
I thought I remembered that it was
$10,000.

Crazy right? Can you imagine paying
$10,000 for a steering wheel????

Anyways. I was wrong.
It's $25,000.

What was cool was the crewman
then went and explained what
every single button and knob
did on the wheel.
I'll admit....
it was really cool!
Highlight for me.

I wandered over to the
inspection site.
There they ensure all the cars
meet stringent height, weight,
angle and other criteria.
It was really quite fascinating
to watch.
(Yeah, yeah... paint drying. I know.)
It was fascinating for me.

This is Josef Newgarden's car.
Easy to tell that he is the
reigning Indy car champion.
How?
The champion always gets
to have the number one on the car.

I wandered around some more,
just taking in all the sights
and sounds of the paddock area.
I did spot my favourite driver.
(Who unfortunately, due to age
I believe, isn't doing as well now
on a less well-funded team
(i.e. less competitive.))

All in all, a pretty good day.



The next day, Sunday,
was race day.
I arrived early and watched
the driver introductions.
I'd never done that before
and it was something new.
And was almost the last thing
I did that day.

I had joined several others
seated on the grass and was
quite content to watch as the
Firestone Tire mascot fired
T-shirts into the crowd.
I had no interest and probably
wouldn't wear it, even if it fit.
A shirt would be fired,
and there would be a mad scramble
to retrieve the prize.
A lot of good natured jostling ensued.

There went a couple of shirts
to the left.
A few more to the right.
And then...
He fired one almost straight up...
And it descended right towards me.
I thought "Well, if it's gonna fall
in my lap, I might as well catch it."
I'd probably hand it to some kid
as a souvenir or something.
Except, I wasn't the only one there.
And they weren't sitting.
I'm still not quite sure what happened.
I think that in their enthusiasm to
grab the shirt, a couple of guys
jumped up... someone pushed
another and... he...
Landed on me.

All I know is that a great weight
(Maybe a couple hundred pounds?)
suddenly crashed down on top of me,
bending me double and forcing my neck
to bend my head into my chest.
I might have blacked out for a second.
I certainly saw stars, was very dizzy
and felt like I was going to vomit
for a while.
I felt better after a few minutes
and was (mostly) back to normal
after about half an hour.

Feeling better, it was time for the race.
(I do appreciate them waiting
until I was feeling better.)

Okay!
I will now provide you with a lap by lap
(85 laps in all!)
and a turn by turn (11 turns!)
rundown of the entire race!
Ready?










Just out of curiosity?
How many of you just
actually shuddered?

I won't bore you
(well, not bore you more)
with race details.
If you want the results
or highlights,
you can find those online
easily enough.

I will however, show you
where my seat was.
Or at least the view from it.

Just (mostly) out of frame
on the right side,
you can see a Ferris wheel.
To the left is what appears
to be a roller coaster.
And that's what I thought it was.
Only later, did I find out
it's a bridge, designed to look like
the roller coaster that once
stood there.


The race was a blast to watch.
The seat I'd picked was great.
I got to see some good racing
with at least one crash
right in front of me
and one of the most spectacular
passes I've ever seen.

All in all, a pretty good day.

Afterwards I went back
to my room, and just
took it easy.
It was a nice evening
that I actually enjoyed
very much.
Sometimes it's nice
to just relax.


And that was my
weekend at the races.



In case you missed it:

Marvin gets around, no?
And if you missed it...

How did you miss it????


Coming up:
A walk in the park.



And... did you see it?

Sashay Is Better Than Saunter​

 

[pkondz]

I would love to see this IRL.

You should!

A wife and 2 daughters, I'm sure you did.

I want to tour an aircraft carrier. I've done 2 subs from WWII, one is with the USS Alabama and one is her in Baton Rouge. The USS Kidd was just used to film a Tom Hanks movie.

I've done one, too.
Really enjoyed it!
Was that Captain Phillips?
I seem to recall a sub
in that movie.

This is true.

See???

When I went back and read it, I knew I would regret typing that.

I'm glad I didn't disappoint.


I usually do.

She doesn't like California.

I think it's more she
doesn't like me!

Oh so he was landing not taking off.

Well, actually, I'm not sure.
I went to ask him
and he pointed his ray gun
at me.

I just backed away slowly.

 

[pkondz]

Single...no money for vacations....I live vicariously through trip reports. HAHAHA. It's sad really.

Kim

Awwww....

Well, I'm glad I can help
you pass some time.

 

[krnelson65]

And I saw him again!!

Kim

 

[pkondz]

Huh. I've rented cars plenty. I'd never really even thought about being able to rent a bike. Huh. Cool!

Wow! That's a hefty deposit! That could definitely keep some folks from being able to rent.

Right?
That's what I thought.
Say you have a card with,
oh, I dunno, $5,0000 limit.
You've got $1,000 worth on
it already from hotels/meals/etc.
Now you've only got $1,000 left.

And you still have a week's vacation...

Hah! I laughed out loud at this because it's so incredibly me. I always look up directions and think I know exactly where I'm going, and then I'm lost and checking out my GPS within a couple of turns.

Wow! Some really beautiful views!

They were! It was a wonderful ride.

Oh my goodness. How cool!

It was!

Also cool! I feel like this would make the information so much more engaging (and obviously more authentic!) You're getting it from real experts who've really experienced it.

Absolutely!
Instead of:
"Excuse me? What if..."
And you get a blank stare,
or an "I dunno."

You get:
"Well, that happened to me and..."

Wow!!

Definitely!

Oh...this is SO real. 99% of the time, since I don't like in Toronto or Vancouver, it's pretty useless to bother telling anyone where we're from. I always do: "Canada." And if that's not enough to satisfy...it's even worse when you're from the teeny tiny east coast! My next step is usually: "The east coast, a little bit above Maine." That's usually where they stop asking. Sometimes the ask the province (or the "state," if they're really not familiar,) and when I say "Nova Scotia," I'm shocked if they've actually heard of it.

Yup.
I never say Manitoba.
I just... don't.

The other day at the con in Orlando, somebody who wanted to buy paintings from us but didn't want to fly home with them came to me and said they'd overheard we were from Canada, and which part? When I told them....they were like, "Okay, so how close is that to Detroit?" Um....I told them: "Far." And then: "Not quite as far as it is from here in Orlando, but far. Like, two days of driving." They were shocked.

I get that.

We had friends fly in to Halifax
from Germany.
They wanted to know if my Dad
could pick them up at the airport.

Just a 4-5 day drive...

A couple weeks ago I met someone who even asked us where in Nova Scotia we lived, because they had family in Halifax. Mind = blown.

It's a small world isn't it?


oh, crap.
Now that's stuck in my head!

I love reading your reports, but I don't mind if you take your time. I know how you feel. I'm pretty swamped these days, myself! (Hence why I'm replying to a post from May 20th over two weeks late.) Best of luck—hope things settle down for you soon!

Let's see... working today,
then Kay's last band concert,
then straight to work for a night shift.
How's that?

 

[MeghanEmily]

What was true, was that we did have
a nice time chatting, and I did
get pressed into bar tending duties.

A little less scandalous than your initial telling of this story, but still good!

I had mentioned in a previous TR
that I had had a Caesar (to drink)
and Alison (among others) had no idea
what I was talking about.
Further research showed that
while it is very well known drink in Canada,
it's hardly known at all in the States.

I was surprised to find this out, too! Canadian things, man. (Our chocolate is also much better, I have to say! I read something a while ago about why, scientifically, it's creamier, but now I have no idea what the reason was. But...like, it is. Just much better. I'm biased.)

I don't remember whose idea it was,
but we decided to pose for a selfie.
I shamelessly stole this photo
from Liesa's TR.

Love this! What a good-looking group!

...all of our food had been dumped
in the middle of the table!
Terrible mess, actually.
I'm sure she was quite mortified.

We told her not to worry about it
and that we'd simply deduct it from her tip.
She seemed pretty happy about it
as she walked away with tears
of what I can only assume were joy.

I'm quite convinced that if you
put two warring leaders together
and asked them to pose for a photo,
wars could be prevented... or stopped.

It's a theory.

This made me laugh, but also take pause. Interesting thought here...

Bloodied, but chastened,
we settled in for the next course.


Maybe we shouldn't eat all
at the same table.
It's just... dangerous.
And painful.

When you folks eat together it gets dangerous!

Sounds like a typical meal with Nathan's entire immediate family. *shudder*

A crew member removed the
steering wheel (they detach)
and handed it to the boy.

The look of awe on his face
was priceless.

So cool!!

Crazy right? Can you imagine paying
$10,000 for a steering wheel????

Anyways. I was wrong.
It's $25,000.

Just out of curiosity?
How many of you just
actually shuddered?

I have no judgement because I take great interest in some things that would be an absolute snooze to most people I know. But I never could get excited about racing. My step father was into NASCAR and rarely missed a televised race. Nathan's got friends of the family who are mechanics and build their own cars and race in local events as a hobby. But I never quite got the appeal.

Just (mostly) out of frame
on the right side,
you can see a Ferris wheel.
To the left is what appears
to be a roller coaster.
And that's what I thought it was.
Only later, did I find out
it's a bridge, designed to look like
the roller coaster that once
stood there.

COOL! And what a neat view to watch a race. The track with the palm trees and buildings in the background...it almost looks like a work of art!

Right?
That's what I thought.
Say you have a card with,
oh, I dunno, $5,0000 limit.
You've got $1,000 worth on
it already from hotels/meals/etc.
Now you've only got $1,000 left.

And you still have a week's vacation...

Exactly!! I put almost everything on my credit card because I get pretty good cashback incentives, and I'm usually good about keeping it all paid off in a timely manner. But I can imagine on vacation how things could pile up quickly, and you suddenly wouldn't have that kind of wiggle room to just eliminate $3000 credit from your limit.

We had friends fly in to Halifax
from Germany.
They wanted to know if my Dad
could pick them up at the airport.

Just a 4-5 day drive...

Wow. Yeah, Nathan's done that drive a few times now. It's quite a long haul!! As much as I'd like to see the prairies—west of Ontario, the only place I've ever visited was Edmonton, and that was a quick trip—I don't think I'd want to do that drive...like, ever. Maybe with lots of stopping to smell the roses along the way.

It's a small world isn't it?


oh, crap.
Now that's stuck in my head!

Gee, thanks for that. Now it's in my head, too.

Let's see... working today,
then Kay's last band concert,
then straight to work for a night shift.
How's that?

Holy smokes! Good luck! I'll never envy my mom for how she managed to balance her own stuff, and still get to all my big performances and events when I was in school.

 

[pkondz]

And I saw him again!!

Kim

Not too difficult this time round.