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

[pkondz]

Hey, everybody's got their thing.

And that's one of mine.

You found lingerie in a Japanese garden? Weird.

I knew it.

When I originally wrote that,
I thought maybe I should write
"BRAAAAP" or "BLAAAAT"
because it looked like "Bra".
Then I thought "Nahh.
No one's gonna go there.
Well, Mark probably will."

Yep.

Well. I guess occasionally arriving somewhere early backfires.

Note to self.
Do not rope drop
Japanese gardens.

That could have turned out so much worse.

Oh? How so?

This, I'm sure, is exactly what you expected to find when you entered a Japanese garden.

Almost exactly.
Except I thought the fish
would be carp (or Koi.)

WHAT did he call you??

You heard him!

Thanks for this chapter. I really feel relaxed and totally at peace now.

Pretty much how I felt.
Next update will be a bit
of a coaster ride.

Someone should arrest that menace for defacing public property.

Must be his upbringing.

 

[MeghanEmily]

So sorry for your loss, friend.

 

[pkondz]

So sorry for your loss, friend.

Thanks Meghan.
Kind of you to comment
when you're on the road, busy.

 

[pkondz]

We all scream for...


Busy day ahead,
so settle in
and sit tight.


I didn't have a very
long drive this morning,
that would come later.
For now, I hopped in
my car and drove
thirty minutes to
the first Harley shop of the day.
A quick stop, poker chip,
another thirty minute drive
and I was at my second
Harley store.
Another poker chip.
One more thirty minute
commute and I had
bagged my third
poker chip of the day.
Quick and easy.

A short fifteen minute drive
later and I arrived here:

The JC Raulston Arboretum.
According to their website:

The JC Raulston Arboretum is a nationally acclaimed garden
with one of the largest and most diverse collections
of landscape plants adapted for landscape use in the Southeast.

The Arboretum houses several
garden types, including...

A Japanese garden.

I mean, come on.
Why else would I be here?
Are you not paying attention????


I followed the pathway
towards my target.

I paused for a moment
to capture some of the
guests enjoying the flowers.

After a bit, I continued down
the path towards my goal.

Starting to look promising...

I eventually arrived
at the entrance
to the Japanese garden.
I certainly didn't mind
the nice relaxing sashay
I took to get there.

I am interested in how
varied the different
Japanese gardens are.
There are similar elements
common among them,
but the presentation differs.

Loved the massive stone benches.

Until very recently...
five minutes before I wrote this, in fact...
I had been told that
Japanese tradition holds
that spirits can only travel
in straight lines, which is
why Japanese bridges
or pathways zig-zag.

Apparently... this is not the case.
The reason the bridges
and pathways zig-zag...
is because it looks nice.

Seems like a valid reason.

Every Japanese garden I've
visited has a version
of the raked gravel garden.
This one was no exception.

The sand (or gravel)
is raked to represent
ripples or waves.
The carefully placed
elements within the sand
or gravel are meant to
be seen as islands.

After admiring the gravel garden
for a while, I moved on.

Love this massive,
yet narrow bodied bell.
Yes, I did ring it.
You are invited to ring
the bells in the gardens.
They can symbolize
many things, depending
on the ringer's perception.
Some feel they welcome
other guests, others
simply listen to the tone
and take a moment for
self-contemplation.

Bells are found in Budhist
temples throughout Japan.
They are used to call the monks
and to demarcate time.
Interestingly, they normaly
do not have clappers and are
instead meant to be rung
when struck from the outside.

The garden, while enjoyable,
was not overly large.
I navigated it in its entirety
in a fairly short period of time.

I wandered around some of
the other areas for just a little bit
as I had an appointment
coming up, but not quite yet.

Eventually, it was time to
head out.
I had a DISmeet coming up!


Originally, when I had planned
this road trip, it was from
Winnipeg to Milwaukee.
A round trip distance of 1,600 miles.
I have friends near Chicago,
and that would only add
another 100 miles, so...
Chicago got added on.

And then...
A nice young lady asked
if I would swing by
and pay her and her hubby
a visit.

It was a bit out of the way.

And then she played dirty.
She told me that there
was a really good ice cream
shop there, too.


So...
I had to go, don't you think?
It added a couple miles, sure.
But... DISmeet, coupled
with ice cream???

I went from 1,600 miles
to 1,700 miles....
to 3,400 miles.


I like ice cream.


And as you'll find out
in a minute,
the 1,700 mile detour
was absolutely worth it.
And not just because
of the ice cream.
(Although that didn't hurt.)

Annie ( @SoccerDogWithEars )
had suggested we meet at
Bad Daddy's Burger Bar.
With a name like that,
I wasn't going to say no!

I arrived about ten minutes early.
I parked and went inside.

At the time, I didn't have
a phone that worked
in the US.
But once inside, I connnected
to wifi and was able
to contact Annie via email.


It turned out that they
were running behind
and would be about
twenty five minutes late.

I drove almost 2,000 miles
and was ten minutes early.
But... to be fair,
they did have to come from
across town.
So... pretty far.



While I waited,
I glanced over the menu.

Okay... I think I'm in love.


Annie and Joe arrived and...
I'm not entirely sure how they feel,
but.... I know I greatly enjoyed
their company.

They sat down and
we just started yakking
like we'd all known each
other for years.

We were hungry
(well... I was.
I can't speak for them.)
so we placed our orders.
I ordered a "create your own"
burger with a side of cole slaw.

That may have been
one of the best burgers
I've ever had.
Holy crap was it good.

I also ordered my very
first "sweet tea".
I wasn't sure what
to expect.
It wasn't quite as sweet
as I thought it would be.


Needed sugar.


As we chatted,
Annie and Joe intimated
that they wanted to take
me somewhere as a surprise.
I had a niggling suspicion
and asked if it might be
the local Harley store.

I hope I didn't disappoint
them too much when I
informed them that I'd
already been.

Yes, I'm an awful person.
But then, you already knew this.


After we finished eating
our delicious meals,
we piled into our
respective vehicles.
I was told to follow them.

We drove for what seemed
like a fairly long time.
After about thirty minutes.
I decided that either
I was going to be beaten,
robbed and left for dead
in the wilds of North Carolina;
or there was something
truly magical at the end
of the road.

Thankfully, it was the latter.
(Please keep your disappointment
that it wasn't the former to yourselves.)

Sunni Sky's is just a little place,
with only a small
handful of spots to sit inside
and eat amazingly good ice cream.

Named after the owner's
daughter Sunni and son Skylar,
Sunni Sky's boasts over
a hundred and twenty flavours
of ice cream.

I was warned about
(and slightly dared to try)
the "Cold Sweat" ice cream.
The ingredients therein include
tai chilies and habaneros
which, (as if that wasn't enough)
are marinated in "Mega Death" hot sauce.
And then, to cap it off,
the ice cream is seasoned with
ghost chili sauce.

You actually have to sign
a waiver before they'll
serve it to you.

I demurred and chose
a much more pedestrian
double scoop of
Apple Pie and Peach Cobbler.
They also let you sample
to your heart's content
as Joe can be seen doing
in the previous photo.

I must admit to wondering....
What would they do if you tasted
all 120+ flavours....
and then declared you were too full
for ice cream when they asked
you to finally order?


Force feed you Cold Sweat ice cream?


Eventually, we all placed
and received our treats
and sat down to enjoy.

Hmmm....
Someone looks pretty happy.

Too happy.

I cannot confirm or deny
that I didn't shove
Annie's ice cream on her nose.

Normally, a DISmeet for me
lasts anywhere from 5 minutes
(just a quick hello/goodbye)
to an hour or so.
(If there's a meal involved.)

I wound up spending four
hours with these wonderful people.

Annie? Joe? Thank you for
such a wonderful visit.
You really made the 1,700
mile detour worth it.

Now you have to come up here
so I can take you to the BDI
for a Saltzburg, Sleeping Beauty
or maybe a Goog Special.



I still had a six hour drive
ahead of me,
so I reluctantly left
ice cream nirvana,
said my goodbyes,
and headed out on the road.

My four hour visit meant that
I wouldn't be able
to hit a few more Harley
shops between Raleigh
and Knoxville, TN...
And I didn't mind one little bit.
Good friends are much more
valuable than poker chips.




Betty guided me on my way,
and 20 minutes later
I was once again rolling
down the highway.


About half an hour later,
I was being lulled as
the drone of tires on concrete
sang counterpoint to the music
bleating from the speakers.

I glanced over at Betty
and saw that I had
about five more hours
of driving ahead of me.

I settled in with the car
on cruise control.
Nothing like a nice drive
on a nice day after a nice meal
and even nicer company.

I slipped behind an SUV and
began to pass a semi-trailer.


And then the SUV began to slow down.

"Oh, come on dude.
If you're going to pass...
don't slow down."

I shook my head in wry amusement.
I was stuck, behind the SUV and
beside the rear tires of the semi.

Out of the corner of my eye
I noticed the semi's left
turn signal start to blink.

I began to divide my attention
between the SUV in front of me,
who still wasn't passing
quickly enough and the semi-trailer
on my right, who may or may not
be deciding to change lanes
and force me off the road.

I quickly checked my rear-view mirror
and the shoulder to my left
to make sure I had some escape options.

The SUV in front of me suddenly swerved
wildly off onto the shoulder.


I had no time to react.

Directly in front of me,
sitting dead center in my lane
was a medium sized
dog crate similar to this:

As I smashed into the crate
at seventy miles an hour,
the resulting explosion
turned my idyllic drive
into anything but.
Plastic shards flew everywhere.

After the stunning explosion,
I quickly gauged how
the car was performing.
Nothing seemed to be
drastically amiss.
I flicked on the turn signal
and gradually made my way
over to the right hand shoulder.

After coming to a stop,
I exited the car and checked
for any damage.
There were shards of plastic
wedged under the hood,
and a small area on the bumper
that was now devoid of paint,
but other than that,
there appeared to be no damage.
And best of all.... no blood or fur.
I have to admit that in the split
second before I struck, I had
thought that the crate was empty.
Now I was fairly certain.

I let out a sigh of relief and pulled
the plastic bits out from under
the hood and off the engine.

After a few minutes,
I slowly re-entered the highway
and got back up to speed.
No shimmy, no shudder.

Good.

I continued on my way,
thankful that the worst
was behind me.

Who knew that smashing
into a dog crate wouldn't
be the worst thing
that happened that evening?


The haul for today:

Today's map:

Yes, I know I haven't completed
that map yet. But it is
the terminus of the day's drive.

And in case you didn't see it...

Darn those graffiti kids!

Did you see it in this chapter?

Coming up: Drive from hell and one last DISmeet.



And now, a brief announcement...

I've pumped the last few chapters out
in a bit of a hurry so I could get to this.
For that, I apologize.
I do know that most of you like
a bit more time in between updates.
But time is kinda running short
and I need input.

This fall, I am going to be heading
over to Toronto to visit my sister
and see a concert.
I've decided that I'm going to drive
instead of fly.

I've alluded to this a couple of times
here and there.
The result is I've had a couple
of people asking me to drop by.
Some I simply cannot do,
since some people will be away
at the time I'm doing this.
Others I can.

Originally, my drive was going
to look something like this:

But as plans changed
and others chimed in,
it morphed to something like this:

And finally, to this:

But even that isn't a sure thing.
I might go through Delaware
(time permitting) instead.
The road could move farther
East or farther West.
The whole thing is just in the
process of being planned out.
One thing I'm sure of is my dates.
I have to be in certain spots
at certain times.



So... I guess what I'm saying is...
As has been demonstrated
in the above written chapter,
I am willing to drive a fair distance
out of my way for quick hello
(or even a longer one).
I will be on a tight time budget.
I may be able to visit for several hours,
or maybe only a few minutes.
It all depends on the timing.

If you're interested in me popping by
and saying hello, let me know.

But... fair warning...
Do not be offended if you ask
and the answer is "No".
Some things I just can't do.

But please ask, if you wish.
Maybe the answer will be "Yes".

Chapter 6. A Grand Ole Time​

 

[LeiaIsAPrincess2]

Wow, glad that crate was empty and you didn't damage your car! Hope the same can be said of your pants after a scare like that

 

[chunkymonkey]

BRAAAAAAA!!!!! BRAAAAAA!!!!! BRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

And with that, BRAAAAAAAAA!!!
I made BRAAAAAAAAAAA!!! my way
back BRAAAAAAAAAAA!!! to the
BRAAA!!! BRAAAAAAA!!! car and
BRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!


oh for Pete's sake.
BRAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Hang on...
BRAAA!! BRAAAA! BRAAA!!!!!
I'll keep writing...
BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
when I get out of the garden.

You know, I really wanted to read this update, but I couldn't hear a thing!!
Nice pictures though!

As some of you may have noticed,
I'm a member of the DISdads.
We suddenly lost a very active
and loved member recently,
which I found out about last night.

I'm sorry for your loss.

I didn't have a very
long drive this morning,
that would come later.
For now, I hopped in
my car and drove
thirty minutes to
the first Harley shop of the day.
A quick stop, poker chip,
another thirty minute drive
and I was at my second
Harley store.
Another poker chip.
One more thirty minute
commute and I had
bagged my third
poker chip of the day.
Quick and easy.

So how many chips do you have in total?

The Arboretum houses several
garden types, including...

A Japanese garden.

How did I know? It's not like you do this a lot...

And then she played dirty.
She told me that there
was a really good ice cream
shop there, too.


So...
I had to go, don't you think?
It added a couple miles, sure.
But... DISmeet, coupled
with ice cream???

Well, there's good ice cream by me too...

As I smashed into the crate
at seventy miles an hour,
the resulting explosion
turned my idyllic drive
into anything but.
Plastic shards flew everywhere.

EEEEEK that would have scared me to death.

After the stunning explosion,
I quickly gauged how
the car was performing.
Nothing seemed to be
drastically amiss.
I flicked on the turn signal
and gradually made my way
over to the right hand shoulder.

You are ok, that is good.

And best of all.... no blood or fur.

WHEW.

So... I guess what I'm saying is...
As has been demonstrated
in the above written chapter,
I am willing to drive a fair distance
out of my way for quick hello
(or even a longer one).
I will be on a tight time budget.
I may be able to visit for several hours,
or maybe only a few minutes.
It all depends on the timing.

Well, I wouldn't want you to extend your already 62 hours of driving...but Corning is only about 4 hours away from me...when did you say you were visiting Tracy again? I would love to try and swing upstate

 

[pkondz]

Wow, glad that crate was empty and you didn't damage your car!

First off... to the TR!

It happened so fast I didn't
have time to think of any of that.
Even before I'd pulled over,
I was almost positive the crate
had been empty.
Once I pulled over, I was more
concerned with the car at that point.
But when I got out of the car,
the first thing I looked for
was blood/fur.
I was relieved not to see any,
but not too surprised.

I don't know what I would
have done if there'd been
a pet in there...

Felt sick, I guess...

Hope the same can be said of your pants after a scare like that

It was so fast,
bodily fluids didn't
have a chance to move!

But might've woofed
my cookies if there'd
been.... grilled pet.

 

[pkondz]

You know, I really wanted to read this update, but I couldn't hear a thing!!
Nice pictures though!

Sorry. Next time
I'LL SHOUT!!

I'm sorry for your loss.

Thanks, he was very well liked.
We are all concerned for his daughter.

So how many chips do you have in total?

Ninety seven

How did I know? It's not like you do this a lot...

EEEEEK that would have scared me to death.

It wasn't the best feeling.

You are ok, that is good.

Yes. Any accident
that doesn't injure you
is not that bad.

WHEW.

Exactly how I felt.

Well, there's good ice cream by me too...

Well, I wouldn't want you to extend your already 62 hours of driving...but Corning is only about 4 hours away from me...when did you say you were visiting Tracy again? I would love to try and swing upstate

Good ice cream you say?
It all depends on how far into Jersey
you are, I think.

I'll send you a PM
with a couple of details, okay?

 

[chunkymonkey]

Good ice cream you say?
It all depends on how far into Jersey
you are, I think.

I'll send you a PM
with a couple of details, okay?

OK!

 

[pkondz]

OK!

Done!

 

[CyndiLouWho]

Since you like Japanese gardens, next time through Chicago, check this out if you haven’t already.
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/gardens/japanese

 

[pkondz]

Since you like Japanese gardens, next time through Chicago, check this out if you haven’t already.
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/gardens/japanese

Thanks for that link.
It looks really nice.

Not sure if I'll be able
to swing it this trip, though.
But... there are always others!

 

[pooh'smate]

This was a really interesting read. Since you just posted an update about space I thought you might like this article I read earlier tonight. Now I am going back to catch up on your updates.

What it’s like to fly a billion-dollar satellite on the US Air Force’s largest plane
https://qz.com/1346279/big-plane/


ETA: I have actually been on a C5 Galaxy. They have made an appearance at the Air Show here at Offut AFB. (This is the base where President Bush flew to on 9/11.)

 

[pooh'smate]

All caught up now and enjoyed the walk through the Japanese gardens. I have been to the Japanese Gardens in Montreal at the Botanical Gardens and we have a small one here at our local botanical garden (they are not doe with it yet so it is still small). I am glad that there was no fur or blood to be found after your accident and that your car was ok.

 

[Steppesister]

While I AM caught up reading, I haven't had much time to comment lately. Long work hours and a visit from my grandbaby and DIL have taken up (for good reason) a lot of my time. Don't be mistaken, I am still enjoying yours, and everyone else's TRs, a lot, but I'm having a hard time keeping my head above water here. However, having said that, I did put up my PTR/TR tonight and hope you'll join in. Now that Baby and DIL are off to Guam, I should have a little bit more time to play.

Hope you are well!

 

[natebenma]

Have any examples?

He is looking at one of the tours through Beyond Band of Brothers

http://www.beyondbandofbrothers.com/tours2019

Most likely one of the 11 day tours that takes you through France, Belgium and Germany.

Wow! Holy crap.
I mean... Holy. Crap.

Yeah. My dad served as the escort for one of the families of a lost sailor at the annual memorial for the Thresher.

 

[natebenma]

As some of you may have noticed,
I'm a member of the DISdads.
We suddenly lost a very active
and loved member recently,
which I found out about last night.

I am so very, very sorry for the loss of your friend. I'm sure your group will be supporting each other through this sad time.

 

[natebenma]

Loved your pictures from the Japanese garden. Finally, a peaceful visit. It happens every now and zen.

What a wonderful meet you had with Annie and Joe. The burger place really does look fantastic and fun. Ice cream is a great way to follow-up on that meal. Glad you got to spend so much time with your friends.

That is such a scary encounter with the (thankfully) empty dog crate. So glad to hear you, and your car, did not incur any damage.

Not the worst thing to happen that day?



Saw it! First time around, too!

 

[Tracy161]

My goodness, I'd gotten behind. Gosh darn this summer semester of mine... thankfully it's over on Saturday! And I have exactly four days before my fall semester starts

I'll let you know when
I hit 30K.

That should be next week.

Nevertheless, using
fine detective reasoning
and logic, I was able
to track down the location
of the mysterious submersible.

I think you'll do just fine at my museum with your previous training

Ooooh, finally one I got on the first try

Can you imagine sleeping with
a flippin' bomb by your head??

NO! But holy moly was that boat amazing - I honestly can't even fathom being on board for months at a time - or heck, minutes at a time!

More likely that I specifically
searched for Indy restaurants
that had been on DDD.
(Diners, Drive-ins and Dives)

Yes!!! I love that show!

So... since I hadn't spent enough
time in the car already,
might as well eat in it too.

What a cool experience! We have an A&W about an hour or so from me and I love having the opportunity for some time travel, 1950s style

Who knew that smashing
into a dog crate wouldn't
be the worst thing
that happened that evening?

Uh oh...

Is it me or is this path in the shape of a heart (if you use a little imagination and )? Yeah, I thought so

I am honored and overjoyed that you'll be making a stop in Corning. I've waited for this day for a LONG time and it's nearly here!!!

 

[SoccerDogWithEars]

First, I want to extend all my sympathies to you and the rest of the DisDads on the loss of your friend. You're all in my thoughts and prayers.

The JC Raulston Arboretum.

This is where our engagement shoot was!

The Arboretum houses several
garden types, including...

A Japanese garden.

Next time you're in the area, if there's time, you should check out the Sarah P. Duke gardens. They also have a nice little Japanese garden, complete with a little hut you can explore. With your shoes off, of course.

It was a bit out of the way.

Heh, understatement of the year.

And then she played dirty.
She told me that there
was a really good ice cream
shop there, too.

I meannnn......in my defense I did try to originally work out meeting you halfway. But when I couldn't, I had to sweeten the pot. Quite literally.

At the time, I didn't have
a phone that worked
in the US.
But once inside, I connnected
to wifi and was able
to contact Annie via email.


It turned out that they
were running behind
and would be about
twenty five minutes late.

Ok, so here's the thing. I am obsessively early places. I go into almost a panic if I'm running late. So imagine that coupled with "I have no idea how to get in touch with him because normally I would text and I don't even know his number plus can you even text from a US phone to a Canadian phone????" You can ask Joe, I was fairly worked up. Glad that the e-mailing worked.

But... to be fair,
they did have to come from
across town.
So... pretty far.

Lunchtime traffic is legendary in my town. You scoff, but it's intense.

They sat down and
we just started yakking
like we'd all known each
other for years.

You mean we haven't?

That may have been
one of the best burgers
I've ever had.
Holy crap was it good.

Bad Daddy's is amaaaaaaaaaazing. We love them. It's on my list of places to take @Captain_Oblivious if he ever makes it to the area.

It wasn't quite as sweet
as I thought it would be.

Said no southerner ever.

I hope I didn't disappoint
them too much when I
informed them that I'd
already been.

Only a little bit.

Fun fact though. It no longer exists in that form. Ray Price died, his family sold the shop, and when the new owners asked if they could keep the name. His wife didn't want them to, so now it's Tobacco Road Harley Davidson.

After about thirty minutes.
I decided that either
I was going to be beaten,
robbed and left for dead
in the wilds of North Carolina;

There may have been some discussion of that in the car.
No no no, not actually DOING that.
But that you might have been thinking that.

They also let you sample
to your heart's content
as Joe can be seen doing
in the previous photo.

We try to sample at least one new flavor every time. Unless they're packed (which is more often than not)

What would they do if you tasted
all 120+ flavours....
and then declared you were too full
for ice cream when they asked
you to finally order?


Force feed you Cold Sweat ice cream?

Nah, they're all too nice there. They'd just move to the next person and ask if they can help.

I cannot confirm or deny
that I didn't shove
Annie's ice cream on her nose.

I can definitely confirm.

Annie? Joe? Thank you for
such a wonderful visit.
You really made the 1,700
mile detour worth it.

Awww It meant so much to us that you took the time to come see us. Even Joe has said we need to come visit you.

Now you have to come up here
so I can take you to the BDI
for a Saltzburg, Sleeping Beauty
or maybe a Goog Special.

Uhhh......
Oh! And I can get more Coffee Crisp!

Good friends are much more
valuable than poker chips.

High praise indeed.

As I smashed into the crate
at seventy miles an hour,
the resulting explosion
turned my idyllic drive
into anything but.
Plastic shards flew everywhere.

OH MY GOODNESS
I probably would have screamed.

We had a similar experience on the way down to Disney for our honeymoon. It was about 9pm, and I was telling Joe about the book I was reading when suddenly.
KATHWACK. Gudunggudungungug.

On my old phone I have a photo of Joe sitting on the side of 95 looking under the front bumper. We don't know exactly what we hit, but we're thinking it was probably a piece of semi-truck tire. It did a number on the front bumper and we ended up having to pull off some of the underskirt that was dragging. We made it to the next gas station and fixed the rest with zip ties and duct tape.

And best of all.... no blood or fur.

I may have frantically skimmed to make sure. I don't even want to think about if it hadn't been empty.

Who knew that smashing
into a dog crate wouldn't
be the worst thing
that happened that evening?

Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

But please ask, if you wish.
Maybe the answer will be "Yes".

I meannnnnnnnn........you ARE coming through NC it looks like. It would depend on what dates you're looking at. We might actually be able to drive to you this time. Just let me know.