I was a little caught off-guard by my latest Twitter follower, that is, until I saw my next one…
Maybe he’s just really hardcore when it comes to preaching the gospel?
You know what? Nevermind – I prefer not knowing.
Christmas at the Magic Kingdom
So Sara and I spent a few hours at the Magic Kingdom last night to try to take in whatever Disney Christmas Magic that we could because she’s simply working too much overtime for us to get over there any other time between now and when our passes are blocked out before Christmas. It ended up just being a nice, casual evening – we first stopped at the Polynesian and had a great dinner at Kona Cafe, then went over to watch Wishes, took a quick spin around Buzz, and caught the Main St. Electrical Parade on our way out.
Definitely making a New Years Resolution to spend more time over there next year, but for now, it was fun and we certainly can’t make any complaints about all of the other amazing things that we did this year that prevented us from going more.
Anywho, here are just a couple of my favorite photos – this really is the best time to visit the Magic Kingdom!
This isn’t just ANY holiday yule log video … is it?
I’m as big of a Disney fan as the next guy, but what else is there really left to add to the whole digital yule log experience???
Amazing 2010 Summer Roadtrip Review – Death by Chocolate Photos
Don’t these just look like fun guys to be around?!
If it wasn’t for the $40 price tag, I probably would’ve bought this…
If you listen closely, you can hear angels singing in between bites of peanut butter cups…
Sara got a little excited, but I told her that we actually have to get pregnant first.
The correct phrase that you’re looking for is “Yum!!!”
It’s not every day that a guy gets to meet his idol!
(and my sunburn almost matches his wrapper…)
Amazing 2010 Summer Roadtrip Review – Chocolate, Chocolate, Everywhere!!!
Hershey’s Chocolate World
An entire world filled with chocolate – can the human mind even comprehend such a wonderful place?!
I have nearly non-existant memories of coming here as a kid – I was probably about six years old, so I basically remember whatever scenes the postcard souvenirs that I held onto depicted for me … there was a lot of chocolate, some singing animals were involved, and that’s about the extent of it. Still, just the mere concept of this place sounds incredible, so I knew that we had to go there! Apparently there’s also a nearby amusement park which features lots of crazy rides for me to get sick on, which didn’t end up mattering anyways because of travel times, but at least we got to the important one…
A Factory Tour with Singing Cows
Despite being one of those attractions that’s supposed to captivate the entire audience with its fun story about how Hersheys makes bajillions of pounds of chocolate every year, I think my reaction to this ride was probably pretty much the same as it was over twenty years ago … “Where’s the candy? When do we get to see the candy?! I want candy!!!”
I mean, not that these cows weren’t plenty informative, but when the gift shop next door boasts chocolate as far as the eye can see, you’ve basically got yourself a fool’s errand actually trying to “educate” anyone with that kind of pressure looming. Sorry, ladies…
THE GIFT SHOP!!!
Frankly, I had such a blast here that I think I’m going to have to do a separate post explicitly of the fun and yummy stuff that we were tempted to buy while perusing the multiple gift shops inside the bigger gift shop! Needless to say, more was purchased than just the wonderful candy-themed fudge that you see below.
Make Your Own Candy Bar
Our last stop before returning back to the open road was a quick tour that offered what seemed like a pretty neat opportunity for us to have a stab at designing our very own candy bars, from flavors of chocolate to fillings to even the outside packaging. And this more or less was pretty sweet, except for three or four short exceptions that followed us pretty much through the entire process…
You see, Hersheys is very direct with their instructions that only people who buy tickets may go through the tour, which makes sense, seeing as said ticket pays for the candy bar that you’re making and the whole point of the tour is to make money. They don’t make any money off of people who just want to walk through without actually buying a bar for themselves – fair enough.
Well, fair for them; not fair for people like us who have to tolerate unsupervised kids who are screwing around the entire time because their parents sent them in by themselves so that they wouldn’t have to pay an extra $14 for themselves. I hate to say it, but it really took away from our own experience because he had kids knocking into us, cutting ahead of people, pushing buttons that they shouldn’t, and generally just doing things that the whole concept of parental supervision is intended to address! Worse yet, the employees themselves didn’t really know how to react, so they pretty much just let them do whatever in hopes that they’d move along to the next station and become the next person’s problem soon…
Anyways, the tour was fun and we did our best to tune out the little hellraisers in front of us, but by the time we had our personalized candy bars in hand, we were certainly happy to be out the door and back on the road! Our next stop was Sara’s brother’s house, and with a huge bag full of candy to get his kids all hopped up on sugar, we knew that he’d be looking forward to our arrival with bells on!
Things you don’t want to learn at three in the morning…
So I just had an interesting experience!
I spent the better (?) part of this evening skinning a pumpkin and the time had come to dispose of the waste products of said agonizing process. Just in case you’re curious, while carving pumpkins is all in good fun, to actually remove the outer skin from them without cutting funny shapes for the eyes and nose is ridiculously more difficult, and if I could’ve done this recipe just with the canned stuff from the store, I totally would’ve … but I couldn’t, so I didn’t.
Anyways, naturally I had been doing all of this in the kitchen sink, so when done I just washed everything down the drain and figured, with the flick of a switch, the garbage disposal would whisk away all of my problems much as it has with many other types of food waste stuffs in the past! But this time it didn’t, and insult turned to injury as eventually the incessant grinding noises were accompanied by what I can only elegantly describe as a pea soup mixture that began backing up in the sink. Bits of pumpkin were mixed in, along with the odors of no doubt years worth of food garbages gone passed, and it was around that time that I had the distinct feeling that I was absolutely fucked.
Figuring that I’d leave it to settle its way out for a few minutes (and also because I thought I smelled a burning odor coming from the disposal), I stepped away and retreated to the Internet to verify my findings. The first article that I found wasn’t very promising…
“The slimy pumpkin pulp gums up disposals, sticks to the pipes then hardens like glue to choke your drains.”
Awesome. My drain was now choking on pumpkin remains.
Officially now in a panic, I turned to this article for pretty much any hare-brained idea that I could do myself at 3:00am to somehow miraculously prevent an embarassing call to the plumber on a Sunday morning. I tried using the toilet plunger, I tried dumping boiling water and salt down the drain, and surprising enough, what finally ended up working was me actually getting down there and tearing out the pipes themselves to fish the pumpkin gook out with my fingers! Take my word for it – it was unbelievably disgusting, and I’m not sure which was worse – the stench, the mess just before I got a bucket put in place, or wondering whether I’d actually be able to put Humpty Dumpty back together again when I was done!
As far as I can tell, it worked, and I can now run water through the drain without it clogging up. On the downside, the kitchen now smells like all of the nasty crap that had been lodged in the disposal over the years, just about every towel in the house is wet with pumpkin water, and I’m really tired.
Moral of the Story: time to buy a more manly garbage disposal
Amazing 2010 Summer Road Trip Review – A Day on a Boat
Floating Down the Hudson
This was something that I was onboard with 110% when Sara’s Dad first suggested it – he’s always excited to take people out on the boat that he and his son bought together, and it sounded like it could be just a really relaxing day … and it was. No driving, no wondering if we were going to get someplace before they actually closed – just an afternoon to kick back, relax, and basically just let my mind wander as I took in the scenery around us…
The Big City
Of course, another cool perk of this trip, at least for me, is that the plan was to go down the Hudson River all the way to Lower Manhattan, see the Statue of Liberty, then loop back up. This sounded very cool to me because I love checking out all of the tall buildings and whatnot, but I have no desire to actually drive around New York City myself and would probably just end up getting us killed and/or mugged in the process. I’ve only been to the city once, a couple of years back when I first met Sara’s parents, so even though we were going to have to pass on the brand-new Pop-Tarts World that just opened in Times Square, this was still pretty rad.
Just left of center is the Chrysler building in this photo.
another view of skyscrapers beyond our wake
Some random bridge – not sure if this was the George Washington Bridge or not because there are a lot of bridges that cross this river!
A freaking aircraft carrier in dock, alongside a Carnival Cruise Ship!
A Close-Up with Lady Liberty
Well, closer, anyways!
The last time we were here the best we could manage to see the Statue was a foggy view from Battery Park (I think?), so to be able to actually float right up within a few hundred feet was pretty cool. Granted, the water got a little choppy out there which made me somewhat nervous because the boat wasn’t that big, but I’m still glad that we made the trip.
Oops…
Of course, when we finally got back to the marina that we had left earlier that morning, we found all good things coming to an end as apparently some really important part of the boat trailer had mysteriously broken. This resulted in us waiting around with the boat still in the water for an hour or two while Sara’s Dad and brother went hunting for replacement parts. Fortunately, Sara’s brother is an engineering genius and we were finally able to get the boat back out of the water so that we could go home.
Below, you can see in this final picture, me “helping” to load the boat back on the trailer…
Amazing 2010 Summer Road Trip Review – A New England State of Mind
(believe it or not, there’s still almost half of this trip left to write about – time to get a’moving if we want to be done before Christmas!)
Take Me Home, Country Roads
So back on the road with sweet cream in our rearview mirror, we made our way down through New England towards Sara’s parents’ house in New York. Thankfully, the country roads proved to be much more friendly to traverse during the daylight hours … plus, we found the freeway and basically just took that the entire way … so we finally got the opportunity to just sit back, take in the mountain scenery that we’re severely lacking down south, and get completely engulfed in the odd book that Sara had picked out for us to listen to during the drive…
Funny Road Signs, Part Deux
Of course, once we got into some of the more populated areas, it became clear that the phenomenon of goofy road signs is most certainly not limited to the I-75 North-South corridor…
Home is Where There’s Cake Waiting for You
With traveling taking up the remainder of our day after our magical ice cream tour, we didn’t end up pulling into our destination until that evening, but as one might expect when they live far away to only see family once or twice a year, Sara’s parents (and her brother) seemed pretty excited to see us nonetheless.
I, on the other hand, was pretty excited to see this…
If I had known that traveling around the country could score me multiple birthday cakes for my big day, I’d have hit the road a long time ago!
In no way, shape, or form “eager” to fly right now.
I’m gonna be honest – there’s been a lot of crap from the TSA in the press lately that’s really starting to creep me out.
I mean, this whole thing about the x-ray/backscatter machines is getting kind of crazy. Reports of people turning them down and then receiving an “enhanced patdown” in “retaliation” that involves a TSA agent touching your privates through clothing … all the while, every response from their part is either “that’s not how it happened” or “people need to accept this to help prevent terrorism.”
Here are the ones that stood out to me:
John Tyner Tells an Agent, “Don’t Touch My Junk!”
Guy opts out of the backscatter machine and after the agent finishes describing the patdown alternative, he replies, “If you touch my junk, I’ll have you arrested.” Agent gets a supervisor … lots of arguing entails … guys ends up not flying … ends with TSA threatening a civil suit and $11k in fines because apparently you can’t just opt-out and go home – there’s some federal law that states you must finish the security check once you enter.Woman Traveling with Her Baby is Sexually Assaulted
And don’t get me wrong – I don’t throw that term around lightly, but the woman accounts being touched in her private areas without being told – including her labia. The woman was traumatized, and if it happened anyplace else outside of a TSA security area, somebody would already be in jail for sexual assault.Captain Overhears an Agent Anticipating His 18 Year-Old Daughter Going Through the X-Ray Machine
As the Captain’s daughter approaches, he hears an agent say into his headset, “Heads up – got a cutie for you.” Captain confronts agent and states that neither is going through the scanner.TSA Agent Aggressively Gives 3-Year Old Pat Down
Young child starts crying through security because her teddy bear has to go through the metal detector, then gets more upset when TSA agent tries to pat her down. At one point, the 3-year-old screams, “Stop touching me!” We teach about “good touches” and “bad touches” in school, and to trust people in uniforms … so what about when the bad touches are coming from a person in uniform???Radio Host Handcuffed in Chair and Detained by TSA for Asking Questions
This one is where it started getting dirty(er) because after the girl went on the radio and started sharing her story, the TSA released security cam footage on YouTube that they claim proves that she’s a liar. She did a second segment today discussing why they’re full of it because the cameras don’t show the entire area and apparently a lot of her concerns took place off camera. Also, the footage doesn’t actually contain timestamps of the event, which is all bad, except dwarfed in my mind of just how creepy it is that the TSA is posting security footage online in the first place.
The whole thing has gone beyond childish on their part – if you read through the TSA Blog, every recent post is them trying to backpeddle and explain why all of these claims are nonsense … it’s all in the name of security … they’re all trained professionals. Bullshit. I remember at one point early on, I actually thought that their blog was a neat idea to help calm people’s thoughts about security, but watching how they behave under scrunity just over the last two days, I don’t see how anyone could trust a word on the site. Comments are clearly moderated – plenty of negative, but none with any supporting evidence, and they seem to cut off abruptly like they just stopped approving them, even though they still appear to be open.
The last couple of posts are even written in a told you so point of view – “You’ve heard TSA say how most passengers support the use of our Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). Well, this time you don’t have to hear it from us.” or “You can listen to her radio interview, and then you can view our airport CCTV footage. We’ll let you decide what really happened.” Sure, it sounds all noble until you actually get into the detail and see that they’re all full of shit. The security footage … has gaps. That 80% acceptance poll from CBS … completely opposite because there’s a viewer’s poll on the same site that reflects directly the opposite. But they’re banking on the sheeple not reading into depth, just seeing all of these refuted claims, and taking their side as the proud purveyors of freedom through security.
How in the world do we trust these people?! How can anyone be expected to travel under these ridiculous kinds of conditions? Why in the world should I believe that the machines are safe or that they can’t store our naked images?! We’re past “just following orders” and “the peons can’t change the system.” There’s stuff happening out there right now that’s really, really wrong, and this department of the government just wants to sweep it under the rug ceremoniously in the name of terror. Not freedom, but terror, because we’re all supposed to be afraid that it might happen again. Take off your shoes – just in case of terrorism; throw out your water bottle – just in case of terrorism; let some stranger fondle your testicles – just in case of terrorism. We joke about what happens when someone smuggles a bomb up their ass onto an airplane, but the current measures don’t detect those … what if fondling your testicles still isn’t enough?
You know … because of terrorism.
Guess what? They’re the terrorists now. Look at the real definition of that word and tell me that isn’t the essence of the TSA where we stand today.
As much as I really hate reading all of this, I sincerely hope that the hysteria continues and doesn’t get swept under the rug because this can’t continue. Somehow it has to be made clear that this kind of blatant disrespect for civil liberties cannot stand, whether it’s through passengers refusing to fly, a pilots strike, or an executive order from the President. There are talks of a National Opt-Out Day on the busiest travel day of the year next week and pilots unions left and right are instructing their members to opt-out of the screening as well. I don’t know how much louder this needs to get, but I hope that it gets as loud as it takes…
A Real Class Act in the Face of Peril … at Sea!
If you want to read a riveting story, go check out John Heald’s blog for his account of what happened to the Carnival Splendor last week.
Apparently John was onboard as the Cruise Director during this voyage that abruptly ended only a day in after a fire broke out in the engine room and killed power to the entire ship. I know of John’s name simply because he was the Cruise Director for our trip on the Carnival Legend last fall and he was entertaining enough that I remembered to track down his blog later and still keep up with it from time to time. The man has a sense of humour (spelled incorrectly because he’s British) that’s just the right amount of foul for an audience of all ages, and I remember several evenings where his introductions had me rolling more than the actual comedians…
Anyways, Friday afternoon he began posting his own recollections of the chaotic events that took place that day – getting woken up with the definitely not a drill call, trying to keep passengers calm, “borrowing” a candy bar from someone on the bridge to prevent himself from falling into a diabetic coma. The entire story is up to 5 parts at this point and it’s just cool to read a candid perspective from a high-ranking employee on what took place during what had to be a really fucking scary time for a lot of the people on board!