Don't know what we're doing today. There's no water on the window, so maybe it'll start to dry-up. Carol's getting into the shower and is going downstairs to hit the tables.
]]>Well, after some napping, we went next door to Mandalay Bay and had a quick dinner at Red White and Blue. Didn't feel like anything extravagant.
Haven't gambled yet. Well, throwing money into a Wheel of Fortune machine on the way back doesn't really count - I never sat down.
Looks like it's raining like hell outside - I can tell by the amount of water flowing down the pyramid windows.
]]>We flew out on Ted and I would highly recommend flying them. Yes, they're cheap, yes, you don't get a lot of amenities (hell, on our flight today we had no food even tough we were supposed to be able to purchase snacks). We left pretty much on time around 7am and immediately climbed into a cloud deck. The clouds were with us almost all the way across the country. We had some pretty good headwinds and even a bit of turbulence over the mountains. We landed about 10-15 minutes late.
But we're back in Las Vegas. We grabbed the Hertz shuttle and got a car from the #1 Gold members pavilion. When we landed, the sun was out. By the time we walked to the car, it was drizzling. We drove to Bellagio and carol treated me to the Champagne brunch buffet, which is one of our favorites in town (though I didn't enjoy the champagne this time around).
After brunch we walked through the casino and the shops and went outside to walk to Caesars across the street. The drizzle was getting a bit heavier. We went to Caesars for two things 1) see the expansion to the Forum Shops (and WOW! very impressive as well as all of the new restaurants! and who would believe circular escalators!) and 2) pickup our tickets for a show Thursday night.
Yes we're going to see a show, one that is actually pretty critically acclaimed.
We got 9th row Center tickets for Celine Dion. Say what you will about her (we're not fans of hers), but the production of the show itself is supposed to be OUT OF THIS WORLD.
By the time we were ready to get back to the car (still parked at Bellagio), the rain was really starting to come down. The travel down Las Vegas Boulevard in the car was tricky - the right-hand lane was flooded most of the way.
Carol went through registration at Luxor and got us a room on the 18th floor. As we were walking to our assigned "inclinator", we were greeted by the fire alarm going off (for no reason). We get upstairs to find out that our room was LEAKING from all of the rain outside, so we had to change rooms - down one floor.
We're both exhausted - Carol has been napping on the bed making all kinds or snoring noises. I'm watching the air traffic at McCarran Airport - right across the street. We need to rest and find some place simple for dinner.
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We love going to this thing. I would rather go to the Illinois State Fair, but Milwaukee is much closer than Springfield. Our family has been going up there for years. The draw for us has been the animals, the absolutely crappy merchandise being sold in the pavilions and the food food FOOD!!!
The weather isn't the best - cloudy, breezy and temps in the high 60's.
We try to go on a day when the rabbits are being judged so we can see all the breeds. It's always a highlight for us.
We started walking around to get an idea of food choices. Every year there's more and more and more food stands, which of course make the choice even harder. I thought I read somewhere that there are 172 stands here. We got a few ideas and then it was post time for the pig races. Carol hadn't seem them before, and this year they added a swimming pool. Yes, the last race was also a water race as the pigs swam the length of the pool. No, seriously!
So, after the races, we picked-up some Reuben Rolls (like eggrolls, but filled with corned beef, sauerkraut... everything to make a reuben sandwich), potato pancakes, brats, and pierogi's.
Well, we needed to walk that off, so we walked all the way down to the exhibit halls to look at the real bad merchandise for sale. Now, yes, there are a few good products, but how many juicers, mops and pieces of fudge do you really need?
The Milwaukee Admirals had the AHL Calder Cup at their booth. Boy, is it in bad shape!
Well, we got what we were looking for - a pet carrier - and started heading back across the park, stopping for a World Famous creme puff along the way.
Creme puff.... augggllllll.....
Anyway, it was getting darker out and it was getting later into the afternoon, so it was time to go pick-up our purchase and take him home.
What? What am I talking about?
Well, yes, I sort of didn't tell you about what took up most of our day.
Well, when we went to go see the rabbits, there was this little house with a pen just outside the entrance. There was at least 50 baby bunnies hopping around and there was a girl that was allowing people to hold the bunnies. These were all rabbits from breeders at the fair. The bunnies were not "show quality", but still cute as all hell.
So we stopped by, and got a baby bunny to hold. Carol had him first and he was really sweet, allowing her to hold him with no problem (not like our Indy who doesn't like being held AT ALL). The Carol gave him to me to hold and he was just really sweet. He didn't struggle at all. He had a number 53 written inside his ear.
That's when we found out that they were selling them for $25. I looked at Carol and she just looked at me and loudly said "Oh, no we're NOT!" I didn't say anything and just held him and petted him some more. We must have been out there for half an hour.
We must have been back 3 more times to find out how to get him home. Carol actually paid for him. We thought we would have to take him home on Sunday, but found out it could be today, and that's when I thought we'd be able to find a pet carrier in the exhibit hall.
So we picked-up our little boy at the end of the day. He was in the carrier on Carol's lap all the way home. He was awake the whole time, but flopped on his side and relaxed as much as possible. When we got home, Carol went to the pet store and got a small temporary cage for him and we put him up right next to Indy.
Indy went from inquisitive to agitated. She went nose to nose with him and bit him. You could tell by the way he was rubbing his nose and upper lip that she really hurt him.
Indy is pissed. It's going to be a lot of work to get these two to live together in harmony.
But the new guy is sooooo cute and sweet.
This will be interesting bunny times in the house...
This morning, Carol & I picked-up our friends Barry & Buffy to enjoy a quick (read "cheap") getaway for the week - staying at my sister's house. The drive was totally uneventful. As soon as we got up here and unloaded the car, we went to Joe Jackson's Fruit Stand in New Buffalo to get some particular things we needed for the week. Then it was off to Martin's to do the major grocery shopping, and then finally to Falatic's for all the meat shopping. It was back to Diane's and then out to lunch at the Red Arrow Road House. On the way back to the house, we stopped at at a jewelry store that, well, we were told we had to see. It was Abigail Heche. This was some seriously gorgeous jewelry in this place. Yes, pricey, but damn the quality is there... (Oh, and yes, that's Ann's sister... we met Abigail and her mom and she was showing us a gorgeous necklace...). It was back to the house and we're all zombies.
Diane & Melinda must have left sometime after 4 I think. I just grilled some hotdogs and hour ago, just so we could eat something tonight.
We really have no schedule to meet, no times to keep. We're away from the city and just enjoying the time.
Of course, there's a ton of mosquitoes buzzing around me right now as the sun sets. I have a Black & Decker Halo™ Mosquito Inhibitor System sitting next to me and not being very effective.
It would be a perfect evening other than that... oh, yes, and the "hooligans" (as we call them) that are next store. They're just outside and being noisy. Hopefully that won't be S.O.P. for the week.
Just nice being out here... Have I mentioned that yet?
]]>Well, here it s the fourth and we've got nothing really going on. The girls go out shopping while I stay home trying to sleep/recuperate. I feel like crap. I sleep on the couch while watching Ground Force America. Diane & Melinda spin-up another great meal and the day just passes on.
There's no "local amateur" fireworks in the neighborhood. The night is quiet...
]]>There was NO traffic all the way to Diane's house. It only took us about 1:45 to get there.
Our first stop of the day was to go to a craft fair in Lakeside, just down the road. It actually was a small but nice fair. I had a hell of a time there, though. Walking in the gravel, dirt, and uneven grass I was just all over the place. Every step was unsteady, hard to keep my balance. This sucked. After shopping it was off for burgers at Redamaks.
The afternoon was hanging around the house, playing in the pool. I brought with one of our DirecTV receivers. I wanted to plug into Diane's dish and see if her house in southwest Michigan is still within the spot-beam of the Chicago local stations, and it is. Carol & I are bring B&B up here to spend the week in about two weeks, so this is perfect - we'll be able to get all of our movie channels, sports, and local channels.
Diane & Melinda worked-up a pork roast (actually multiple with different marinades) for dinner. The food up there just tastes better. Go figure.
The fireworks were in Three Oaks tonight at 11pm local time (10pm Chicago time - up here you have to say Michigan Time for everything because a lot of the people are actually from Chicago, so they stay on Chicago time, like we do). Well, the Blues Fest was going on and it started to rain. People started to leave because the show just wasn't starting (also, because Blues Fest was still going and not stopping). Eventually, we had 20 minutes of good fireworks. Let's just say we were all taken aback by the display. I mean, we've seen it before, but this was different as they set up hundreds of feet closer to us than in the past, so we really felt that we were in the fireworks.
]]>When to the butcher and bought tons of meat (that Carol vacusealed immediately). We just sort of hung around the house, took naps, and basically just got ourselves ready for the long drivve home. The Sunday traffic wasn't too bad, but it still took us about 3 hours.
I just love being up there...
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It's cloudy, cool, and a little "rainy". We pulled into town and I realized that this was pretty big judging by the people trying to park in an empty lot.
The first thing we did is head for 8th Street because all up and down the street - for a few blocks - were Klompen Dancers that danced for about 15-20 minutes. We were all waiting for some major medical emergency due to flying wooden shoes. Alas, no shoes flew. (Here's a quick 30 sec video of the start of the dancing.)
We noticed as we walked up and down 8th Street that everyone had come by much earlier and "staked-out" spots along the sidewalks and curbs with chairs and blankets.
We decided to grab some lunch at the New Holland Brewing Company. I wanted to take some pictures of the outside of the place and when I went outside, I realized I heard marching bands. Well, I guess, they were having the major festival parade in a bit and they were showcasing a few of the bands.
Well, I guess that explains why people were staking-out their territory. The grand finale of the festival, the Muziekparade, features nearly 50 marching bands from across the state as well as floats, giant helium balloons, horses, more Klompen Dancers and other typical small-town parade stuff.
Quite honestly, the parade was a blast. We saw just under half of it - we need to do this again and camp-out to actually get a good seat. It was actually fun.
We got back in the car and drove just a little but further north to the Veldheer Tulip Farm. Holy crap - seven acres of tulips. They have hundreds of different bulbs here on display, and you can actually order any one you want. Hell, I never knew there were that many available.
We found something very odd when we were there - us. We were actually in the minority of whites that were there - the vast majority of people there were Indian. I have no idea why - heavy population in the area or something with a tie to tulips. Everyone were taking extensive time trying to take pictures of themselves with the tulips. I don't get it. Anyway, took pictures, too - just to fit in.
After a quick stop at the garden shops and gift shops, it was a bit of a drive home and another great dinner cooked-up by Diane and Melinda.
]]>It snowed.
OK, it snows there every once in a while. Not a big deal. It rarely accumulates.
This time it was 1 to 3 inches of snow. It was supposed to rain instead, but the temperature was just right. But, alas, it didn't last. I mean, this is the desert. Still... it makes you wonder what the hell is going on with the weather...
]]>Airport Security wasn't bad at all. Not as good as O'Hare, but there's hardly anybody in line, so it's a cake walk. I'm through the line at 5:45am for my 7am flight (United 102). That's a long time to kill. I decide to try and find a bottle of Coke for the trip. Nobody that's open are selling soda. Just water. And it's not cold either. Water is better than nothing. Eventually, after a lot of people watching, it's time to go.
My seat is 31B. Great, a center seat... except no one takes the window! Whoo Hoo! Sweet. It's foggy outside again. Hard to see anything while taxiing. We take off from 25R and we can't see a thing. We pop out on top of the fog/clouds and I never see Los Angeles again. As we head west, the clouds dissipate. We fly right over Las Vegas and you can see and identify everything. We get served a egg-ham-cheese croissant and get The Italian Job as a film (edited, of course). I'm am so friggin' exhausted, but I can't sleep a wink. I instead listen to the movie and Air Traffic Control on Audio Channel 9. We take the Bradford 3 into Chicago and land on 22R at 12:48pm, flying right over the Allstate Arena. Carol was waiting for me in baggage claim, even though I didn't check any bags. (Hey, we needed a place to meet.) Well, I'm back home again. I am happy to be home, but happy to have made the trip. I'm happy to see old family ties and I'm happy to have been able to take a few hours for myself.
I'd do this again in a heartbeat.
]]>I went to bed around 1am. I just got up at 4:45am...
Well, at least the sleep was solid and deep. It's still black outside. Time to get dressed, checkout, and turn in the car at the airport...
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I get off the Hollywood Freeway and pass the Hollywood Bowl. There's a show tonight, and it looks like it getting out. A sign says James Brown and Macy Gray, but it's hard to tell by the people leaving. The area doesn't look the same as it was the last time I saw it about 16 years ago. I come up toward Hollywood Boulevard and see the entrance to the new parking garage. My family and Carol & I have stayed at the hotel here, but that was decades ago. The whole corner is just so different now. In fact, I'm lost in a maze of stores and restaurants and levels and plazas. I finally got outside and went across the street to take some pictures of the facility. The area on a Friday night is still not the greatest place to be. I was hoping that it would have gotten, um, "cleaned up" a bit. Still, the amount of people walking down Highland from the Bowl and the amount of people outside make the place hopping.
I grab my pictures and get back in the car. I zig-zag down Highland, Santa Monica and La Cienega to I-10 to get to the Airport. The clubs in West Hollywood look like they were jumpin'.
Anyway, I get to the parking garage at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at the airport at 12:12 in the morning. The room is really quite nice and again, I'd stay here again. They have high speed internet access through an RJ-45 cable... but it's been too long of a day and I'm really exhausted.
I really pushed it today. I wish I had at least another day. But, I'm not out here for a vacation - I'm out here for my family... I just happened to have taken a few hours here and there for me. I'm finally eating my honey baked ham sandwhich. Yum. It hits the spot...
I've got to get to sleep... I'm going home in a few hours...
]]>I left Montclair/Chino and tried my damnedest to get to Burbank by 5:30. But that's over 25 miles away, and it's a Friday rush hour in Los Angeles. The traffic is horrendous and I decided to override "Wendy" (That's what I called my Hertz Neverlost GPS Navigation system) and found a route that had no traffic. I programmed the wrong end point, though. I'm heading to Universal Studios, but I didn't want the main gate. I needed to go in the back way, and enter at Barnham Blvd. and Lakeside Plaza Drive.
I made it at 6pm and park in a special lot after I clear the security at the gate. I have to walk through a metal detector in the middle of the parking lot. I'm at a studio again, and again I can't take any photos. I hate that. I get to stand around and wait. I don't mind. Really. It's a gorgeous evening. The sun is setting, there's a slight breeze and it feels good just to stand around. I'm still in my suit from the funeral today. I had hoped I had enough time to check into the hotel and change before I came here, but there was no way in hell that was going to work out that way. The girls in front of me in line are eating dinner from In-n-Out Burger. That's when I realize that I didn't eat my honey baked ham sandwich during the drive.
There's a bunch of yellow signs everywhere that say "Paramount" and "Enterprise". I wonder if there's something shooting here today?
Two white shuttle buses pull up that have the Paramount Pictures logos on them. We board the buses and head over to Stage 42 at Universal.
I'm here to be in the audience for NBC's new show Coupling. It's a direct rip-off of the BBC version of Coupling (that's shown here on BBC America), which is actually a rip-off of Friends.
Tonight's episode is called "A Foreign Affair" (but the BBC version was called "The Girl with Two Breasts"... I wonder if they're using the same scripts???)
Allan Murray is the warm-up, and for the first time in my life, I actually get picked on a few times, interviewed by Allan, get a t-shirt, get tickets to the Laugh Factory (where he's performing tomorrow night) and I even get some quiet kudos for doing a good job laughing and reacting. Cool.
We get to watch the pilot episode of the show, since it was just on last night and we may not have seen it (I was eating Jack in the Box watching CSI - sorry). The cast is introduced and we start shooting.
Now, this is were it starts to get difficult.
Each scene is shot. The audience is good, the actors are OK, and the script just feels like it needs work. There's a large huddle that happens in front of me after each scene is shot, where there is hardly any major changes made. The scene is then reshot. Almost every scene that we see during the course of the evening is shot three times. It's really difficult as an audience to even try to laugh naturally after seeing the same thing three times in a row. I feel bad for the cast. It almost feels like the life is being sucked-out of the show. The cast is really pretty good. The show is getting scathing reviews, but it's more about the reheated "translated" scripts that seem to almost not work on American television. The original BBC series is a scream and somehow doesn't "translate" well to American prime-time audiences.
The curtain calls come at around 10:15pm and I'm back at my car by 10:25. It's time to get some sleep. It's been a long day.
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