Operation Big Thunder: the Dole Whip Conspiracy COMPLETE

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ok, I had to do some work to re-do the standings. Basically, I went back and determined who had correctly spotted the lies in the previous chapters and changed those scores to count for 10 points instead of 1, since the degree of difficulty is much higher.

With the hints I gave for the most recent chapter, most of you had it narrowed down that the lie was either Julie's choice of a dinner entree or whether the ride back from Charleston was more eventful (or if David actually made us stop).

And the lie was...

Julie's menu choice. Not only do we not like seafood, we're also not big on spicy foods (yup, we're that boring). So jalapenos are a no-go. Not only that, but we both think Pimento cheese is a strictly southern thing.

She ordered the much-more-nutritious Carolina Swamp Fox burger, which was stuffed with chili, bacon, and cheddar cheese. And she says it was delicious. I wonder if deep-frying it would make it healthier?

Anyway, congratulations Rob and Cynthia for spotting the lie!

Up-to-date standings...

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 68
glennbo123 40
FreezinRafiki 22
eandesmom 11
MEK 10
afwdwfan 8
FauntleroyFAN07 4
Wherem I Now 2
vdub322 1
JESSketeer 1
shan23877 1
Poolrat 1
Cinderella's Fella 1

 

[Wherem I Now]

Up-to-date standings...

GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes 68
glennbo123 40
FreezinRafiki 22
eandesmom 11
MEK 10
afwdwfan 8
FauntleroyFAN07 4
Wherem I Now 2
vdub322 1
JESSketeer 1
shan23877 1
Poolrat 1
Cinderella's Fella 1

On the Board. Sweet!

No chance of catching up to Rob and Glenn. It seems those two have ESP about when you post the updates. But at least I can say I have left my mark on Mark's TR. That was the goal anyway.

Now I can sit back, relax, and just read along.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

On the Board. Sweet!

No chance of catching up to Rob and Glenn. It seems those two have ESP about when you post the updates. But at least I can say I have left my mark on Mark's TR. That was the goal anyway.

Now who's going to clean up that mess?

 

[Wherem I Now]

Now who's going to clean up that mess?

Umm... Barry did it?

 

[KatMark]

Umm... Barry did it?

That sounds about right.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

And the lie was...

Julie's menu choice. Not only do we not like seafood, we're also not big on spicy foods (yup, we're that boring). So jalapenos are a no-go. Not only that, but we both think Pimento cheese is a strictly southern thing.

She ordered the much-more-nutritious Carolina Swamp Fox burger, which was stuffed with chili, bacon, and cheddar cheese. And she says it was delicious. I wonder if deep-frying it would make it healthier?

Pimento cheese… strictly a southern thing?
Oh wait… that’s actually kind’a true. The recipe varies from family to family and will cause near as much disharmony as a discussion on barbeque.

The general rules are, The best version actually comes out of my MIL’s kitchen (true story), any homemade is always better then any store-bought, and the store-bought stuff sold by a company called “Ruth’s” is inedible (so if that’s what you tried, you ought to give it another chance).

If you’ve never had it on a hamburger, you really ought to give that a try as well
(just have them leave off the jalapenos... they’re not actually “South’rn” anyway).

As for not liking spicy food… ain’t chili kind’a known for having a bit of a bite about it?
Either way, I’m sure that the burger was good and I now need to get down there and try that spot out.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Well, I'm back and I've caught up on the last two updates - excellent work as usual, Mark.

I see that I have fallen hopelessly behind in the quote/lie contest, but that's OK. I just got back from 11 days in Florida. If that's my consolation prize, I'll take it any time.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Well, I'm back and I've caught up on the last two updates - excellent work as usual, Mark.

I see that I have fallen hopelessly behind in the quote/lie contest, but that's OK. I just got back from 11 days in Florida. If that's my consolation prize, I'll take it any time.

Quite the prize!

I ain’t been back in better then a year…
probably won’t get there for another two or more.



“I… am… deee-pressed…”

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Umm... Barry did it?

That sounds about right.

When in doubt, blame Barry.

Pimento cheese… strictly a southern thing?
Oh wait… that’s actually kind’a true. The recipe varies from family to family and will cause near as much disharmony as a discussion on barbeque.

I'll take the bbq.

The general rules are, The best version actually comes out of my MIL’s kitchen (true story), any homemade is always better then any store-bought, and the store-bought stuff sold by a company called “Ruth’s” is inedible (so if that’s what you tried, you ought to give it another chance).

If you’ve never had it on a hamburger, you really ought to give that a try as well
(just have them leave off the jalapenos... they’re not actually “South’rn” anyway).

I can't get past the pimentos. I don't generally care for peppers in cheese. Like I said, I'm extremely boring.

As for not liking spicy food… ain’t chili kind’a known for having a bit of a bite about it?
Either way, I’m sure that the burger was good and I now need to get down there and try that spot out.

Well, a little bit of kick is ok. And chili can come in all sorts of degrees of spiciness. It's the dishes that really set your mouth on fire that we don't care for.

Well, I'm back and I've caught up on the last two updates - excellent work as usual, Mark.

Thanks! Are you sure you read the right TR?

I see that I have fallen hopelessly behind in the quote/lie contest, but that's OK. I just got back from 11 days in Florida. If that's my consolation prize, I'll take it any time.

And that, my friend, is a far better prize than anything I will be awarding. Oops, did I say that out loud?

Quite the prize!

I ain’t been back in better then a year…
probably won’t get there for another two or more.

“I… am… deee-pressed…”

 

[eandesmom]

wow! I jumped up in the standings!



It truly was more a matter of I though that combo sounded horrible...and I wouldn't eat it...so it had to be a lie. Like her "real" choice MUCH better.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

My friend Greg, a native South Carolinian who spent the week with us, describes himself as a “beach snob” regarding Pawleys Island. After spending the week there, I understood why. Of course, it helps when your family owns a home there. If you’re a peasant like me, it gets a little tougher to be a snob about anything. I’m still a million bucks shy of being a millionaire. I guess we could try and be fast-food snobs or big-box wholesale store snobs, but that just seems like a self-defeating enterprise.

Our week at Pawleys Island was a much-needed respite from the real world. No angry property owners calling me to complain, no legislators making unreasonable demands, no bosses ignoring successes and focusing on failures, demanding a cover sheet on our TPS reports…just long stretches of sand and warm ocean water, and the pleasant conversation and company of good friends who know our quirks and shortcomings and stick with us anyway.

We spent the end of our week much like it began. We fought the enormous crowds to find a little square of sand to call our own.

(crappy grainy pictures taken with our waterproof video camera)

We braved the depths of the ocean again. They say it has no memory. Scotty got a new (bigger) boogie board and tried it out. He found it works better if you lie down on it.

These have got to be the worst pirates I’ve ever seen.

Christmas card?

The girls, my resident artists, unveiled their latest masterpiece to rave reviews.

And my 2 yutes, not to be outdone, constructed a working replica of the Suez Canal. I think.

All drains lead to the ocean, kids.

Remember the Civil War soldiers Scotty bought at the Patriots Point gift shop? He immediately went to work when we got back to the house and accurately re-staged the battle for Burnside’s Bridge at Antietam. 6 years old and already hopelessly nerdy, just like mom and dad.

You’ll never believe this, but we stopped at another burger joint late in the week, after we’d run out of pre-prepared dinners at the house. This one was called the River City Café. There are a few of them around the Myrtle Beach area, and we went to one in the town of Murrells Inlet. It was a total dive decorated in exactly the same way I would have chosen to decorate my house if I’d never met Julie (albeit with fewer Philadelphia sports posters): wall-to-wall license plates. And yes, we did find a Delaware plate.

It was the kind of place that encouraged guests to sign their names on the walls, furniture…basically anywhere there was free space. I tried to sign Scotty’s forehead, but he wouldn’t sit still for me. They also had free peanuts for customers to grab and munch on, casually tossing the shells to the floor. As opposed to formally tossing the shells to the floor, I guess.

For curtains, they went with butcher paper, which made our redneck window shades look classy.

Now before you go calling the South Carolina Health Commission, I must point out that this was my favorite burger of the whole trip. The Texas BBQ Burger: bacon, bourbon bbq sauce, cheddar and fried onion straws. Have I mentioned how much I love dives?

On our final night at the beach, we decided to take an evening hike. There was another storm building just to the west, and like before, it somehow never materialized over the coast. But it did make for some interesting skies. Julie paused to take a few pictures along the way.

(Note: since Julie's in the next one, obviously she didn't take that picture. That's not the lie.)

Christmas card?

Julie tried to get a cute one of me, Sarah and David holding hands, but Sarah decided to be silly and swing her arms like crazy while Julie tried to take the picture. Can you believe someone in my family would refuse to be serious for a moment? Sheesh.

Sarah took this one of me and Julie together. She did a great job, don’t you think? I mean, I almost look like I belong with this beauty next to me.

We returned to the beach house and stayed up late, almost to midnight, enjoying our time with our friends. Julie and I talked about how we hoped we could pull off the Disney surprise. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. Even though we had an early morning and an 8-hour drive to Disney looming the next day, it was hard to push ourselves to go to bed. If only we were occasionally allowed a pause button for life. Come to think of it, a fast-forward button would be helpful occasionally too.

Coming Up Next: Operation Big Thunder is a go!

 

[chloe770]

All drains lead to the ocean, kids.

Nemo?! I'm so not a movie watcher, but I love a challenge.

 

[chloe770]

Christmas card?

[IMG]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9D-PkKqlKQo/UBWG2D7-0fI/AAAAAAAADrU/rfT8T9BpBy0/s720/IMG_5073.jpg

What a beautiful beach. I wish we had beaches like that here.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

demanding a cover sheet on our TPS reports

a refference to "Office Space"

 

[shan23877]

I'm not sure if these will count since they're not full quotes, but since I got here early, I gotta try!

demanding a cover sheet on our TPS reports…


Office Space

We spent the end of our week much like it began. We fought the enormous crowds to find a little square of sand to call our own.

I'm guessing that you're counting this as sarcasm, not a lie.


We braved the depths of the ocean again. They say it has no memory.

Shawshank Redemption




Christmas card?



The girls, my resident artists, unveiled their latest masterpiece to rave reviews.

Cool!

And my 2 yutes,

My Cousin Vinny



All drains lead to the ocean, kids.

Finding Nemo?


Christmas card?

I vote for this one!

Sarah took this one of me and Julie together. She did a great job, don’t you think? I mean, I almost look like I belong with this beauty next to me.

Great photo!



We returned to the beach house and stayed up late, almost to midnight, enjoying our time with our friends. Julie and I talked about how we hoped we could pull off the Disney surprise. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

Shawshank again! Excellent movie.

Even though we had an early morning and an 8-hour drive to Disney looming the next day, it was hard to push ourselves to go to bed. If only we were occasionally allowed a pause button for life. Come to think of it, a fast-forward button would be helpful occasionally too.

This was getting into Ferris Bueller territory, but I don't think you quite went there.

Sounds like a wonderful time at the beach! I can't wait to hear about the surprise!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

“We braved the depths of the ocean again. They say it has no memory”

A reference to “Shawshank Redemption”
(but it was originally talking about the Pacific).

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

“the worst pirates I’ve ever seen.”

A reference to “POTC – “Black Pearl”

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

“And my 2 yutes”

A reference to “My Cousin Vinny”

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

More "Shawshank Redemption"


[edit]
But it appears that I wasn't quick enough this time around.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

Don't think this one got picked up yet...

"I’m still a million bucks shy of being a millionaire"

Planes, Trains and Automobiles