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

[pkondz]

Doing a quick drive by to say hello!

Well, hi there, Ariana!
to the TR!

I've been reading along but never seem to be completely caught up to comment.

Oh, believe me.
I know just how that is!

Had a very busy spring with a lot of house renovations. Our finished basement flooded in January because a pipe in the garage broke. My husband swears he turned the water off but apparently not!

Oh, geez.
Sorry to hear that.
We had the exact same
thing happen to us,
but luckily, we were home
when the pipe broke.

"What's that noise?"
"Dunno...."

Once we started with renovations we decided to keep going with additional stuff the insurance wasn't covering. In the end we replaced all the flooring in the basement and painted down there. Then we continued on the main floor (we have a split level house) with new flooring and painting and also had the popcorn ceiling removed.

Wow! Lots of work!
Ruby (DW) did the popcorn ceilings
in our old house.
Big, messy job.

The only thing we didn't touch was the bedrooms and bathrooms.

Lazy.





I'm kidding! Kidding!!!

The renovations finished up at the beginning of May but I'm still trying to put everything back together that we had pack away!

I can see that taking a while.
Good luck!

I did enjoy your posts from LA because we did a lot of the stuff when we were there in 2017. It was interesting to read the differences in your Warner Brothers tour as compared to the one we did.

What were the differences?

 

[pkondz]

hmm, I am not so bug eyed but close.

Knew it!

I always pick, with her in mind of course.

Now Midterms are also done so I am finally writing!!! WOOO update today.

IT HAS BEGUN MUAHAHA...here is my TR link if you are so inclined:

I am so inclined.
Might be a little bit
before I can get to it, though.
Fair warning.

 

[pkondz]

I'm so glad you reading it. I can't believe you have time but still glad.

And I'm enjoying it!
I don't really have much time,
so I'm only about 1/2 way through it.

But I'm really enjoying it.

 

[pkondz]

Montreal.

Ah...
Land of smoked meat and poutine.
Some of my favourite things.

 

[pooh'smate]

Ah...
Land of smoked meat and poutine.
Some of my favourite things.

Mine too

 

[pkondz]

Mine too

 

[Kiotzu]

Knew it!

I have glasses now though so they distract from the bug eyes.

what is the saying again. Happy wife, happy life.

I am so inclined.
Might be a little bit
before I can get to it, though.
Fair warning.

It's not going anywhere, as fair as I can tell.

 

[natebenma]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. My youngest son was obsessed with dinosaurs, mammoths, meglodons - all manners of preshistoric creatures, and I know he would love a visit here. I don't know anyone else who has ever been, so it was great getting a peek at the park!

My own obsession is with food, and your trip to the marketplace did not disappoint. Well, your failure to get something from the kebab place disappointed a bit, but wow! There were so many great choices! I can understand why you were intrigued by the empanadas. They look really good.

A trip to Downtown Disney is a great way to end a day, even if it isn't documented to death by photos.

This is a gorgeous shot of beautiful palm trees!

 

[Pluto0809]

Big, messy job.

Tell me about it! I swear I'm still cleaning that white crap off of everything!

Lazy.

Believe me, I wish we would have done the bedrooms also. The old carpet and dinged up walls just look so sad now. But even if the cost wasn't prohibitive, we just didn't have the space to move all that stuff too. We moved 2/3 of our house into the two guest bedrooms and garage in order to do what we did. I still can't get into one of the guest bedrooms but we don't use it so it's been put off till last. Getting our cars back in the garage was our first priority.

What were the differences?

It seemed like we went to more outdoor areas to look at sets. There were some new Harry Potter props displays that weren't there when we went. HP is a favorite so I spent all of my time in that area and skipped the stuff downstairs. Also, it seems like you either took a different route through the props warehouse or they've just moved a lot around in the year between mine and yours.

 

[natebenma]

Your road trip along Route 101 was awesome!

Carlsbad looked cute and the shots from the sea shore were stunning.

Kudos to the surfer dude who gave you killer directions!

I was going to go on a boat.

I was hoping this was the boat you were touring so I could regale you with the trivia that a boat like this has 40 plus miles of rope, which is what I tell students when I teach a class on Colonial rope making. Or at least get confirmation that the info I tell them is correct.

But the Midway is very impressive! Again, my son Ben would love the itinerary of your trip- the jets, and the guides who actually served on the ship. Incredible!

Great story of your Canadian chip connection.

 

[natebenma]

Thanks for the SKINNY on your epic DIP meet.

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"!!

It's called the Crap Pot.

In her defense, the name does not sell it!

* see next post

Tonight we were heading to
Liesa's requested restaurant,
the Melting Pot;

You really went to pot in California.

But I think it is legal there, so all good!


I'm so glad you were able to experience the landmark races.

 

[natebenma]

* When we were in Washington DC with our boys- we tried this peel & eat place:

Before the trip, I had researched some restaurants on Trip Advisor and this one sounded interesting.

HotNJuicyCrawfish Restaurant



It is a Cajun-themed restaurant with a lot of down-and-dirty, peel and eat options. We have never had crawfish before and this sounded like fun.


I asked my friend Missy, who works in DC for the Washington Post if she knows anything about the restaurant and she sent me this review.


At Hot N Juicy, you get crawfish with a side order of sexual innuendo


How could we NOT go there???

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

Well, maybe because we were with two impressionable teen boys.

It was great but SPICY

The choices were

Baby Spice, Mild, Medium, Spicy and Extra Spicy

Holy Inferno, Batman! We got the mild and it was too much for us.

The table next to us got Baby Spice and they found it overwhelming.




​

 

[franandaj]

McLaren I'm not overly surprised.
In the race world it's a very well
known name.
But surprised a bit that you haven't
heard of Lamborghini.

But you didn't say Lamborghini, you called it a Lambo, which made me wonder if it was a variation on Rambo.

Yep. The scenic route.
I ignored the GPS
and had Liesa read off
your email

Did you enjoy the scenic route?

pfffttt....
It's California.
What's the coldest it gets?
85?

Come up here.
You could skate on mine.

Hey, it was only 63° when I woke up this morning.

I know.
The photos don't lie.


er... I mean...

Really! I had no idea!

Then you'll know that it's been a while since I've been in the pool.

Actually... weren't there extras?
Seem to recall there were.

I think there were 3-4 extra stalks. I meant to eat them with peanut butter, but they ended up wilting and going in the trash since we were gone that weekend and the following Monday.

It does, in retrospect.
But it certainly doesn't
taste that way.

And so it wasn't you...
But I do recall a few people
wondering if I'd had a salad.

No, that certainly wasn't me, and it must have been from people I don't know at all because I didn't even know that someone thought that. As I mentioned, I just don't have the time to read all the chatter and so I tend to skip over comments from folks I don't really know.

Yes you did.
And yes I did.

While I liked it, that may be the only one that I have.

Bit of both actually.
I did type it that way
by accident (typo).
But then I liked it
and decided to leave it.

I can see that. But it certainly changes the nature of the restaurant.

Yes we did.
It's in the photo.

Considering most of my reading and responding is still from my phone, it's hard to see.

And I didn't have any.
Still haven't...
Maybe I should, soon.

Yes you should. I'm going to have a pool party next month and I plan to make one for that, as well as something similar to pulled pork, along with things for my vegetarian friends to eat.

Yum!
Is that a fondue mix?
Or just get your own cheeses?

This is not necessarily the one I get, but something similar. I've also made my own.

Interesting.
I love dipping veggies...
but with cheese fondue,
I immediately think "bread".

My favorite now is apple chunks.

Ah.
I knew there was an alcohol,
but that's it.

We always get some kind of alcohol in the chocolate.

It adds a certain
je-ne-sais-quoi.

I like the way you say that....

I considered it,
but couldn't figure out
if it should go in the broth
or in the cheese.
(certainly not the chocolate

Definitely broth. Its meat.

Yup! I remember that.
And you also were surprised that
I even knew about it and thought
it was just a local thing.

Well I knew it was more than a local thing, but I didn't realize it was International.

So was I!
The thought of my back going out
crossed my mind.

That would not have been good!

You did? How?

You told me, silly.

 

[pkondz]

I have glasses now though so they distract from the bug eyes.

Smooth move.

what is the saying again. Happy wife, happy life.

Unhappy wife, holy crap are you in trouble.

It's not going anywhere, as fair as I can tell.

I've got one more TR to do
before yours (and one after),
but soon.

 

[pkondz]

Thanks so much for sharing your trip to the La Brea Tar Pits. My youngest son was obsessed with dinosaurs, mammoths, meglodons - all manners of preshistoric creatures, and I know he would love a visit here. I don't know anyone else who has ever been, so it was great getting a peek at the park!

You're welcome!
I really enjoyed visiting it.
Especially after knowing about it
and wanting to see it for over
40 years.

My own obsession is with food, and your trip to the marketplace did not disappoint.

That place was great!
I'd love to go back.
Try more stuff.
(And another bowl
of clam chowder...)

Well, your failure to get something from the kebab place disappointed a bit, but wow!

Too many choices!
And I wasn't quite
starving enough
to eat all the food.

There were so many great choices! I can understand why you were intrigued by the empanadas. They look really good.

They certainly did.
I wouldn't mind trying
a few more different kinds.

A trip to Downtown Disney is a great way to end a day, even if it isn't documented to death by photos.

Well..
I certainly didn't have too many.

This is a gorgeous shot of beautiful palm trees!

Thanks!

 

[pkondz]

Tell me about it! I swear I'm still cleaning that white crap off of everything!

I believe you!

Believe me, I wish we would have done the bedrooms also. The old carpet and dinged up walls just look so sad now. But even if the cost wasn't prohibitive, we just didn't have the space to move all that stuff too. We moved 2/3 of our house into the two guest bedrooms and garage in order to do what we did. I still can't get into one of the guest bedrooms but we don't use it so it's been put off till last. Getting our cars back in the garage was our first priority.

I can see that.
You need a second house to put
the stuff from the first house in
while you paint it.

Look into that.
This is brilliant.

It seemed like we went to more outdoor areas to look at sets.

We did quite a bit of that, but...
I'd look at all of my photos and...

"What is this photo of?"
No clue.

I had tons of outdoor set photos.
And didn't recognize any of them.

There were some new Harry Potter props displays that weren't there when we went. HP is a favorite so I spent all of my time in that area and skipped the stuff downstairs. Also, it seems like you either took a different route through the props warehouse or they've just moved a lot around in the year between mine and yours.

I didn't take tons of photos in the props warehouse,
but I also got the impression that there was more than one.

 

[pkondz]

Your road trip along Route 101 was awesome!

It was! I really enjoyed it!
And not just because I
was on a bike.
(Which made it even better.)

Carlsbad looked cute and the shots from the sea shore were stunning.

Carlsbad was really nice!
I wish I could've explored
a bit more.

Kudos to the surfer dude who gave you killer directions!

I was only slightly disappointed
that he didn't finish with:
"Hang ten, dude."

I was hoping this was the boat you were touring so I could regale you with the trivia that a boat like this has 40 plus miles of rope, which is what I tell students when I teach a class on Colonial rope making.

It's too bad you can't tell me about that.
Now I'll never know.

Or at least get confirmation that the info I tell them is correct.

Now we'll never know!
The ignominy!!!

But the Midway is very impressive! Again, my son Ben would love the itinerary of your trip- the jets, and the guides who actually served on the ship. Incredible!

I really was impressed with it!
And it had been on the bucket list
for decades.
Before there were bucket lists!

Great story of your Canadian chip connection.

I had to go to southern California
to meet a Canadian!

 

[pkondz]

Thanks for the SKINNY on your epic DIP meet.

You're welcome!

In her defense, the name does not sell it!

Not many people caught that.

You really went to pot in California.

But I think it is legal there, so all good!

I'm so glad you were able to experience the landmark races.

That's the reason I was there
at that particular time.
Had fun!
Just might have to do it again.

Then again... there are other races
I'd like to go to...

So who knows!

 

[pkondz]

* When we were in Washington DC with our boys- we tried this peel & eat place:

Before the trip, I had researched some restaurants on Trip Advisor and this one sounded interesting.​

Sounds good!

How could we NOT go there???

Pretty much sells itself.
I'd be all over that.
If I didn't have much time,
it might have to be a quick
in and out....
but I'm sure I'd be satisfied.

Well, maybe because we were with two impressionable teen boys.

All the more reason.
They'd be very quiet
during the meal.

You can't put a price on that.

It was great but SPICY

Oh? I was under the impression
from the article that it was an option?

The choices were

Baby Spice, Mild, Medium, Spicy and Extra Spicy

Holy Inferno, Batman! We got the mild and it was too much for us.

The table next to us got Baby Spice and they found it overwhelming.

Holy crap!
How about "No spice"... at all.

 

[pkondz]

But you didn't say Lamborghini, you called it a Lambo, which made me wonder if it was a variation on Rambo.

The car comes complete with
knives and assault rifles.

Did you enjoy the scenic route?

Yes!
We both did!

Hey, it was only 63° when I woke up this morning.

"Only"


snort...

Then you'll know that it's been a while since I've been in the pool.

Yes, I did know that...


Er......


Um....


I have no way of knowing that.






crap. busted.

I think there were 3-4 extra stalks. I meant to eat them with peanut butter, but they ended up wilting and going in the trash since we were gone that weekend and the following Monday.

Oh, no!
A tragic celery stalk tossing.

No, that certainly wasn't me, and it must have been from people I don't know at all because I didn't even know that someone thought that. As I mentioned, I just don't have the time to read all the chatter and so I tend to skip over comments from folks I don't really know.

I think it was 2... possibly 3,
who didn't know what that was.

While I liked it, that may be the only one that I have.

No worries.

I can see that. But it certainly changes the nature of the restaurant.

Considering most of my reading and responding is still from my phone, it's hard to see.

You don't have to see.
You were there!

Yes you should. I'm going to have a pool party next month and I plan to make one for that, as well as something similar to pulled pork, along with things for my vegetarian friends to eat.

I'm going to have to try it.
The ones at the butcher
come pre-seasoned.
(Although they can also
cut me one without.)

Care to share your recipe?

This is not necessarily the one I get, but something similar. I've also made my own.

Oh! Pretty sure I've seen similar.

My favorite now is apple chunks.

Really!
I can see how that would
go well, actually.

We always get some kind of alcohol in the chocolate.

I like the way you say that....

And I can say it correctly too.

Well I knew it was more than a local thing, but I didn't realize it was International.

Hmmm.... Barely.
It's popular in Canada among some racing fans.
The Toronto Indy gets really great crowds.
Australia probably follows it.
Japan too.

But it's a niche market, I presume.

That would not have been good!

No. It would not.

You told me, silly.

Well, that would explain it!!