those hollywood nights, those big disney thrills

(As part of the #31DaysofWriting Challenge, we are challenged to write every single day.  Today, I'm going to cheat... well, sort of cheating... I took something that I wrote in 2011, and rewrote it, all about the trip that The Lovely Steph Leann & I took to Disneyland--not World, but Land.  I thought it was still good material, having been a draft post since June of 2011... so with the re-write, it totally counts for the daily challenge!) 


So back in May of 2011, The Lovely Steph Leann and I took a somewhat whirlwind trip (said me to her when we got back:  "that was a whirlwind trip... but then again, they all are, aren't they?") to Anaheim, California, to Disneyland--now, this is before Campbell Isaiah came along, though he was actually in The Lovely Steph Leann's tummy (or uterus, if we want to be exact).

We had a few free passes (thanks to our friends The Halperts & the Clarks) to work with, passes that would expire on May 28th of 2011 if they were not used.  We had a couple of Southwest flights to use, or they would expire, and we ended up using some Marriott points that The Lovely Steph Leann had accrued and saved over the years.  So, we flew for free, stayed for free and went for free, which makes for a nice weekend... I'd love to tell you we saved loads of money, but we just turned around and spent that money on important things like blankets, pins, a Boo plush and way too expensive corn dogs and lobster.  (but not together cause... well, eww).

We flew into LAX from Birmingham on a flight that left at 710 in the morning--Big Daddy Ron and Mama Ruthless picked us up at 545 and took us to The Birmingham International Airport & Package Store, and we were boarding within an hour of arrival.  The flight landed in Phoenix, though we kept the same flight.  (text from Hurricane Rhett, after I left a FB status that said "We are in Phoenix":  "What, did you lose a bet"?) We did end up dashing off the plane, though, to grab some lunch at the Airport Wendys and then back on the plane were we discovered the joys of the two seats by the emergency exit.

If you are willing to take the burden of the lives of 200 people on your shoulders in the .04% that plane goes down, sit by the emergency exit.  On our flight there (and the place back as well), there were two seats with extra leg room, instead of the cramped three seat row the rest of the plane dealt with.  I understood the risk and the lives (or loss thereof) of the passengers on the plane was an acceptable risk for us to have a little breathing room.

We arrived at LAX around 1130 in the morning, but due to the time change in flying west, the whole trip took about five hours or so... we came off the plane and into the terminal, I looked around in wonder as I was now in Los Angeles, the City of Angels, LA, LaLaLand, Hollyweird... and it looked... it looked... well, like an airport terminal.  Not an especially impressive one, at that.

After getting our luggage, we headed outside to catch a cab, which was a predetermined decision.  We didn't really look at shuttles because we were told by numerous people that shuttles and cabs would be about the same price, and a shuttle would stop at several different locations while a cab would take us straight there--we were headed to the Marriott Towne Place Suites in Anaheim, about a half mile from the stadium were the Anaheim Angels play, and about two miles from Disneyland itself. 

In not researching effectively like we should, we learned quickly two things when it comes to traveling via cab... first, its better to fly into a closer airport.  LAX is about 35 miles from our hotel, while John Wayne Airport is only about 20 or so.  Second, a shuttle is better.  You pay one price, set, per person.   This lesson was grounded into our brains as we watched the little fare meter tick up 30 cents at a time, every 1/9th of a mile.  One-ninth of a mile.  Thats about 3 bucks per mile.  For 35 miles.

To make sure we weren't being hornswoggled, I pulled up the GPS on my iPhone and punched in the address and map from LAX to Towne Place... Valerty Kozhevnikov (I didn't make that name up, and had to look at it about nine times when I typed it into a comment on Facebook) followed pretty much the same route as listed on my GPS, and my man was flying through some of it.  But nonentheless, the bill at the end, plus tip, topped out around $115.  Valerty didn't smile one bit the entire ride, nor really even speak to us besides, "What izz you travel to?" at the beginning... until he was unloading our luggage.  "You vacation?"  Yes, going to Disneyland.  "Yes, good place.  You have much fun."  Thank you sir.  Here is your fare.  "Thank you so much."  Big smile, and he was gone.

It was kind of a neat ride though... not for the cab itself, but to pass by all these signs representing streets and neighborhoods I hear about in pop culture... Compton and Long Beach, together?  Man, you know you in trouble.

Anyway, we checked in, it was a nice little room with a small living space (that we never sat in), a small kitchen (that we only used to keep a half full bottle of stale Coke and a partly sipped-out-of bottle of water cold), a bathroom that was functional and a bedroom that had a bed that was decently comfy enough for sleeping after walking a theme park...

...you have to understand something, though... if any of you were to call us from Disney World in Orlando, and say, "Hey, I'm standing facing Stitch's Great Escape, and I need to get to the Splash Mountain bathrooms... can you help me?" either me or The Lovely Steph Leann would quickly start in with, "Okay, so go left across the bridge and..."  But at Disneyland?  We have no clue.   At Disney World, we can easily navigate from pretty much any of the resorts, choosing to either drive (which we do to most parks except for Magic Kingdom) or take a boat (which we would if we were staying at Wilderness Lodge) or a bus (which we do sometimes if we are going to Magic Kingdom) or a monorail (perfect for getting to the Grand Flo, the Temp or the Poly)...

But Anaheim is a whole different animal.  Its a big ol' town nestled in a bigger ol' city, and unlike WDW, we were staying off-property, which means we were on our own when it came to getting around.  We discoverd the ART, the Anaheim Resort Transit system and for $16 bucks each, we bought five day passes that would allow us rides to the park at :20 after the hour and from the park at :40 after the hour.   Of course, this again is not what we are used to, because when we want to leave Hollywood Studios we... well, we leave.  We catch the boat to Epcot, or the bus to our resort, or we just hop in the car.  But suddenly we were on a time schedule to make sure we were in time to catch the bus to the park, or risk waiting another hour (or, heaven forbid, a cab ride), and we had to be back at the bus stop soon enough to catch the bus to the hotel, or risk being caught for another hour (or, heaven forbid, miss the last bus of the night and face a cab ride).

So, we get our luggage down, we get changed and take a little nap, and around 3pm (this is Pacific, ie, Cali time) we were up and getting ready for Disneyland.  We were at the bus stop at 320, and the bus pulled up about ten minutes later, which would prove to be a habit for these ART rides. 

Luckily, the bus stop is a mere three minute walk from the front gates of the park...

...but before I dive into our vacation, let me give you a little background on Disneyland, just so you'll know. 

I'm a nut for Disney history, and much of this info comes from Neal Gabler's excellent Walt Disney bio called simply, "Walt Disney", and some of it comes from just reading various blogs and listening to Disney podcasts and the like. (ps... this is before I became a Disney Travel Specialist... want me to plan your trip?  Gimme a call...)

Disneyland was a creation of Walt Disney, and legend has it that he was with his daughters one day in a park, and began to wonder why there wasn't a place for the whole family to go and have fun together.  Though passed off as fact, even in Wikipedia, this has never been substantiated, and Neal Gabler writes in the aforementioned bio that a number of his fellow animators and employees would say that Walt all told them his idea in a different way, and few of their re-tellings has Walt saying nothing about his family at the park.

What started out as a small idea for a "Mickey Mouse Park" soon evolved into a much larger plan for a "Walt Disney Land", soon shortened to "Disney Land" and then "Disneyland", and construction started in 1954.  The park opened for a "Press preview day" that invited the press and media, as well as celebrities from around the area and their families.  What was supposed to be a stellar day was a nightmare for Disney.  They were expecting around 10 to 12K people, but over 28,000 people showed up that day.  The asphalt was still so new that ladies high heels were sinking into the ground, the plumber's strike in the area barely got the restrooms working and left them without working water fountains.  The press saw this as a greedy attempt to sell more soda and reported it as such.

Since it was in July, it was hot, but the summer of 55 saw the temperature top 101 degrees, with vendors running out of food, attractions breaking down for part or all of the day, and even though only a certain number of tickets were given out, there were people with ladders propped up on the side of the wall offering anyone and everyone a chance to climb the ladder and get in for a few bucks.   The celebrities that were scheduled to show up actually had a schedule, where their arrival times were staggered all day... and yet, they showed up pretty much all at once.  July 17th, 1955 was called "Black Sunday" years later by Walt Disney and the company.

July 18th, however, could not have been smoother.  Things were working, the water was on, the food was there and over 50,000 people came in on the official "Opening Day".

Disneyland opened with five lands:  Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Fantasyland, Frontierland and Main Street USA, then added three more lands in the coming years, that being New Orleans Square (1966),  Bear Country, which then became Critter Country (1972) and Mickey's Toontown (1993).  There was a "Holidayland" that opened in 1957, but it closed in 1961, and is considered the "lost land" in Disney lore.

Disneyland is tucked in the heart of Anaheim with a nearby park, California Adventure (and I do mean "nearby", as I counted 207 of my footsteps from one gate to the other), and when you pull up, you can see immediately some differences.  Mostly that there is non-Disney businesses--hotels, restaurants, banks, touristy shops--tightly surrounding the parks.   Walt would later lament the fact that he wasn't able to buy a lot of land in the area, which led to the flurry of places opening up and trying to capitalize on the Disneyland patrons.  He felt that, if you can be on Dumbo's Flying Circus and look out and see a hotel sign, the fantasy, the illusion of imagination was ruined. 

It was this thinking that led him to a Disneyland East, eventually called "The Florida Project"... buying enough land in Central Florida so once you entered the Walt Disney World, you could completely immerse yourself in the experience without outside distractions. 

In 1991, an idea was floated around concerning a second park in California, notably "WestCOT", a California version of Epcot, but by 1995, those plans were all but abandoned.  A new park was in the works, though, and in 1998, the parking lot for Disneyland was pulled up and turned into Disney's California Adventure, which opened in 2001.

DCA was one of Michael Eisner's last big accomplishments before his ouster in the early 2000s, though it had a rocky beginning.  For one thing, many people felt the attractions and rides weren't up to normal Disney standards in both entertainment value and quality, with some critics calling the park "mediocre".  Over time, however, Disney removed some failing attractions and added in new ones, like The Tower of Terror, and of course The World of Color, that has revived the park and peoples interest in it.  Though coming in last in all of Disney's theme parks in the world rankings in 2009, it still finished as the 11th most visited park in the world.

In 2007, Disney announced a billion dollar renovation of the park which will included a new gateway, a transformation of part of the park to the 1930s style Hollywood, instillation of vintage red trolley cars, retheming Paradise Pier into a Victorian style turn of the century boardwalk park, and of course, the addition of Cars Land, starring McQueen, Mater and the gang.

So, there is your update. 


(And this is where it ends, which is good, because I don't remember the day to day of the trip, just that we had a blast... thanks for reading)

some you tubery randomness

Just some random things runnin' through my head in the last few days...

In the same vein of things I've shared in recent days, I thought this was worth a look-see... sorta, kinda eye opening...

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Doing the deposit at our store, and came across this little gem in the stack of 1 dollar bills...

Thought it was quite a surprising find, but also a neat little reminder.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Have you seen this?   Please... take the time to watch this, especially if you have a child or two.  Or three.  Or none. Its awesome.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

In September, I'm headed back to Disney World!  As a part of the Adult Educational Program, I'm going for a week to do some Disney training.  Typically, the agents stay at a deluxe resort, and I was truly hoping for a Polynesian or Contemporary stay... we'll be at The Wilderness Lodge, which I've already stayed in... but I'm not complaining. At. All.

We'll be touring the resorts, possibly be doing a ship tour, possibly touring some other sites on property, and I'm pretty doggone stoked.  I'm actually staying an extra day and a half because I'm hitting the water park as soon as I am clear of the conference... The Lovely Steph Leann does not do water parks for anything, so this is my chance to go!

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

This is absolutely precious... well, if it wasn't so wrong in 15 different ways.  The serious delivery on this makes me cry from laughing so hard...




Hope you had some laughs with all of this...

take a day

As part of my association, and training, with Distinctive Journeys in becoming a Disney Vacation Planner (disneyonadollar@gmail.com!), I have also been asked to contribute to a Disney Blog, made up of guys and gals who... well, who love Disney and want to talk about it.  This is the first article I submitted...

The Lovely Steph Leann and I have been to The Most Magical Place on Earth many, many times, and have even made it out to The Happiest Place on Earth once last year.  Our vacations usually last any number of days, but more often than not, we spend at least five nights there.  Our longest has been a nine night, ten day excursion in which we were able to do so, so much, including tours and shows and other fun things. 

Between the two of us, we have a wealth of Disney knowledge, and even more things that we think we know... but one thing is completely and totally assured--you will be exhausted.  We've often joked that "we need a vacation from our vacation" because when we return home, we unload, collapse into bed and go to work the next morning, though the nature of my job allows me sometimes to take the next day off to recover.  She, however, remains wiped out for days to follow.

Every trip we've taken thus far has been without kids of our own, and we are prepared to take our new family member, our son Campbell, on his first visit this November, when he'll be 11 months old.  We swore we'd wait a little while longer, at least until age 3 or 4, so he could remember it, but we are we kidding?  We probably would have delivered him at the Magic Kingdom were it an option. Perhaps in line at Splash Mountain--after delivery, we could do the parental ride-swap.

Anyway, as I help other people on their own vacations, I offer one piece of advise about traveling to the parks:  Take a day. 

Its so tempting for all of us to hit the World, get unloaded, toss on your pin lanyard and grab your tickets at head to the bus stop, or get the car pulled around and try to get there in time to get fast passes for Soarin', or to hop on Peter Pan before the wait time is an hour, or maybe to grab a safari ride before all the animals conk out in the mid-afternoon heat... and The Lovely Steph Leann and I are no different. 

Like most, we have our days planned out weeks in advance, taking into consideration magic hours, dinner reservations, possible delays and constructions, and even when we want to meet Mickey and the Fab Five or the Pooh Gang or "If we do the Cinderella breakfast, we are likely to get Snow White, Cindy, Aurora, Belle and probably Jasmine, so maybe we can get Poppins and Alice at the Supercali, and try to see Rapunzel in between Small World before we get to Tomorrowland and..." 

But we've learned in our planning to find one day somewhere in the middle of trip, perhaps the halfway point, or a day before or after, as our "rest day".  When I say "rest", its not necessarily a "catch up on sleep, never leave the room" day... to the contrary, its a "sleep in past our 6am wakeup time, maybe to 730 or 8, get showers at our own pace, go to a late breakfast, walk slowly everywhere, and do NOT, I repeat do NOT, go to the parks" day. 

This is our day to take it easy.  By this time, we have already hit all the parks at least once, probably stayed til midnight at Epcot or past it at the Magic Kingdom, or gotten into Animal Kingdom or Hollywood right before 8am, we've had several early morning breakfasts and late night dinners and we've done lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of walking.   And we walked alot too.

We found that day in the middle to be vitally important to our survival, a day when we can do brunch at Kouzzina (at Boardwalk, you have to sacrifice half a park day to do this anyway), maybe go down to Downtown Disney to scope out some things we want for our visit later that week, and, in the instance of our last vacation, we were able to nap in the afternoon before taking in La Nouba--instead of dashing off of Toy Story Mania, racing across Hollywood, catching the ferry or the bus, or running to our cars, getting to the hotel a few minutes later than we wanted, dashing around like crazy people looking for the outfits we were going to wear, "did you get your ticket?" "I thought you had it!" "Do we need our reservation number?!" "My camera is full, I need to delete pictures!" "I bought you a memory card"  "I forgot it in the room!" "I still can't find my ticket!" kind of afternoon (let's be honest--we've all had one of those afternoons, right?  Right.)

Take that day.  And with your kids, its even more important... let them spend as much time at the pool as they want, or maybe head to DisneyQuest, or just resort-hop and spend some time in other kids areas they haven't seen.  Plan for an evening show like La Nouba or Hoop de do Revue or a resort dinner at the California or O'Hana, so you'll have plenty of time to get ready. 

And the next day, after you've had a day of rest, your feet, your body, your mind and your family will thank you.

disney for a dollar

Anyone who knows me, maybe anyone who has ever met me... nay, anyone who has heard of me probably knows I'm a Disney fan.  I love the movies... I love the parks... I love traveling to the World... I love Disney history... and just about anything else that has to do with The Mouse.

When The Happiest Place in the Mall closed in 2010, it was heartbreaking, as my connection to The World was gone.  However, two years later, I have a chance to make that connection again.

I'm going to begin working towards becoming a Disney Vacation Planner.

What does that mean?  That means... I will help YOU plan your Disney Vacation, help YOU lay out the Magic, work with YOU to make your Disney Dreams as fulfilled as possible, be it your first time to The Walt Disney World Resort or your 100th time. 

Headed to Disneyland instead?  I got that.  What about those Disney Cruises?  Yep, I'll get you there too. 

This is where YOU, the faithful coffee drinker, comes in.  I need your help.  In order for me to take these first steps towards this goal, I need your vacations! 

If you and your family and/or friends are planning a Disney trip, I want to help you plan it.  It will cost you nothing to allow me to assist you with your reservations, help you answer questions about where to stay, where to eat, how to attack the parks and find all those hidden secrets to make your vacation even more memorable... but it will be a huge assist to my vision and goal!

Think you are already an expert and don't need any help?  I am certain I can assist you in things that you've never done or in experiences you have never had... I myself have spent over 100 nights at Disney in most of the almost 30 resorts on property, have taken many of the tours and trips, have eaten at the majority of major restaurants and counter services (including most character meals), and would consider myself a pretty decent Disney history buff. 

OR... if you know of anyone who is planning a trip, send them my way!  Already signed up with another travel agency?  Unless you have made the final payment, you can easily transfer over to Distinctive Journeys, the agency I will be affliated with. 

Email me for details and more at DisneyOnADollar@gmail.com... I hope to hear from any and/or all of you... I can't do it without YOU!

(ps... before you ask, let me clarify... I am NOT leaving my current job... I love what I do, and am blessed beyond measure to have a job I love... this opportunity will be done as a side venture)

The Journey to Magic... Post #700

So, I felt dorky about doing my 700th post with Idol as the subject.  Yes, I do a ton of Idol, because I'm a fan and it comes on twice per week... but for number 700, I thought I'd do something a little better... Walt Disney World.  We had a long vacation, so I wanted to talk a little bit about it.  Hopefully, too much time won't go by that I just forget about the rest of it, cause I got so much to talk about.  Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

The hardest part about any vacation is the return.  I don't necessarily mean the return trip, per se, but the actual "return", like, when you are standing in front of an espresso machine, making drinks, thinking to yourself  "24 hours ago I was on The Haunted Mansion..." and you text The Lovely Steph Leann things like "Hey, did we just go away for 11 days and we are already back, or do we leave this Thursday for 11 days?"

Cause it goes by so doggone fast... we had been planning on leaving for our yearly week long Disney World trip on Thursday, February 3rd, maybe around 3 or 4p, after The Lovely Steph Leann got off of work.  This would put us getting there around 130, maybe 2am Orlando time, if we did leave at 3, and stopped minimally.  Our vacation was for Thursday night, the 3rd, through the following Sunday, the 13th, staying at Port Orleans French Quarter the entire time.  

We love French Quarter because of two main reasons--one, its small.  Seven buildings to be exact, meaning no matter which building they put you in, you are close to the main hall, to the ferry dock that takes you to Downtown Disney, to the bus stops and so on.  Two, double sinks.  Never realized this was such a big deal until we stayed at other resorts, like Pop Century (my other favorite resort, btw), but when The Lovely Steph Leann opens up her bag and she's got fourteen bottles for her hair alone, then you know you need two sinks. 

Riverside is also nice, which is the other part of Port Orleans, but its huge.  There are two or three bus stops alone that go with it, and its just too far to walk from place to place.  So, French Quarter it is. 

At the beginning of vacation week, The Lovely Steph Leann informed me that she would, in fact, be off on Thursday, so we could leave Thursday morning, early, maybe 3 or 4 in the morning, putting us there mid-afternoon or so.  We could relax in the room, maybe get dinner somewhere, then either go out to a park or turn in early, getting sleep and rest to be able to hit Animal Kingdom the next day.   Then, I had the bright idea of... why don't we just leave around 10p Wednesay night?  Drive all night, get there around 7 or 8 in the morning, check in--we've arrived early in the day on several vacations, and our room is always ready, so no big whoop, right?  Right.  Anyway, then we could sleep as long as we wanted, and we'd be there!

At this point, we were both frozen solid,
and I think we both caught asthma from
the insulation.

My only issue is, Starbucks has myself, Melanie and others involved in a community service project, in Ensley, doing Habitat for Humanity.  At the time, I had no idea what we would exactly be doing, so therefore, I had no idea how tired I would exactly be.  The Lovely Steph Leann and I went back and forth on when we should leave, and she finally just leaves it up to me.

Wednesday rolls around, and its time to leave for Ensley, an ethnic, poor, somewhat dangerous part of the Birmingham area, so Melanie, myself and two others drive out there to meet everyone.  Of the several jobs that are offered, she and I take on putting up insulation in one of the framed bedrooms.  Lest I forget to mention, its cold. I mean, really, really cold.  Like in the mid, maybe lower 30s cold, all day.  I'm freezing, she's freezing, we both through working caution to the wind and stand very close to keep warm.  Its butt cold.

Melanie is hilarious because, as tough a manager as she can be sometimes, she's... well, she's a princess sometimes.  Love her dearly, but putting up insulation is not what God had in store for her life plan.  The day wears on, we continue to freeze, we all end up having a meeting later, and finally, the day is over.  And now, even though I've packed most of my clothes, even though most of our stuff is gathered, even though over half of my "do we have ____?  Check!" list is checked off, I still have a ton of errands to run.  You know, those errands that somehow get put off until the last minute, even though you have been planning this trip since, what, October of the previous year?  Yep.

The plan was for me to run such errands, The Lovely Steph Leann to run her own errands, and I'd be starting a nap by, say, 8, maybe 830, I'd get up around 10, maybe 11, and we would be on our way.  As it turns out, I lay down around 945.  Red Robin is packed, all loose ends are tied up, errands are all accomplished, and when I get up, then we just get in the car and go.  Only problem is, when The Lovely Steph Leann wakes me up at 11, I'm like, "Whaaa.... uhhhh... I... uhh..."

She smiles and quietly says, "Hey... if you want to get up, we can.  If you want to sleep, we can do that too.  We can leave whenever you want, its okay."  I groggily nod, and somehow set my alarm for 1am, then pass back out.  The alarm goes off a few hours later, and after a few "snoozes", we finally get up around 120.  Twenty minutes later, with every thing we need stuffed into Red Robin, I reach up and hit the garage door opener.  The rumble begins, and the darkened garage gets slightly brighter as the outside light from the drive comes in.  The door opens, I move the gearshift into D, slightly press the gas and we begin to move.

We are on vacation.

The Journey Is Half the Fun, right?  Right!  Well, I guess it was fun.  It was a 9 and a half hour drive.  We have found that if you travel down Highway 280, pass through Auburn, cut across the corner of Georgia through Columbus, Albany, Ty Ty and others, getting on I-75 in Tifton, then take 75 down to the Florida Turnpike, cut across the 40 miles or so, then take the exit to World Drive... its faster.  I've been through Atlanta (too much construction), and I've taken 231 to I-10 (too far out of the way), and though I didn't believe 280 until we did it a few years back, I believe now.  Take 280.  Easier.

We listened to Inside the Magic podcast's "Ear In Review", a five hour 2010 recap show, most of the way down, pausing it for The Lovely Steph Leann to snooze a bit here and there.  Red Robin drove like a dream, and Sirius Satellite Radio is the most awesome way to listen to the radio, like, ever.  Ever ever. 

The sign everyone wants to see.

We stop in Tifton around 7am (Eastern time) to eat breakfast at Chick-fila, and she snoozes again.  I listen to Stephen King's "Cujo" on audiobook as I drive down 75, and a few hours later, we get on the turnpike.   We make a bathroom stop along the way, then finish the last leg of the journey.  Anyone who has made this trip enough to be familiar with the landmarks can't help but get excited when they make that turn that says "TAMPA", and then they turn off another exit a few miles down the road, take that left and a few minutes later are greeted with a big arch over the road that says "WALT DISNEY WORLD".

**DAVE'S DISNEY TIP**

If you are driving, and especially if you are going to be on the Turnpike, plan ahead.  We had a little bag in Red Robin's console with about 10 one dollar bills and 5 bucks in quarters ready to go, so when we got to the toll booths, there was none of that "looking around for change... honey, you got a buck... we need two more quarters... dang, I guess we will have to give her nickels... make sure you go to the 'gives change' line..."   Have your money ready. 

The Lovely Steph Leann and I are almost beside ourselves... first, we ARE AT DISNEY WORLD!!  Secondly, we are both tired, and I'm exhausted.  I'm sooooo looking forward to laying down on the bed, closing my eyes, snoozing, and waking up... well, whenever.  The Lovely Steph Leann is also tired and will take a nap, but since she hasn't showered in now over 24 hours, she's looking forward to a hot shower where she can wash her hair and put on some fresh clothes.

We follow the familiar road signs through the familiar roads, and come upon Port Orleans French Quarter. I stop at the gate, look at the old man security guard and say, "Checking in!"  The old man at the gate asks for my name, I show him my ID again, and he says, "Don't got know record of your name here checking in."  I stare at him for a second, then said, "Uh... yeah, we are checking in.  I have a reservation number.  We are paid in full."  He looked again and said, "Ah yeah, looks like you already checked in at 10a..."  I smiled and said, "Yeah, we did online check in, and were going to be here by 10...  but we are a little late."  It was 1145a.  The Lovely Steph Leann is getting impatient.  Finally, the old man security guard waves me through, and we drive up to guest parking.

After long last, we arrive, and will be
getting showers and naps and... wait,
what?

"Can you just go in without me?" she says.
"No, what if they want your ID?  Come on.  We are on vacation.  Let's go," I reply.  She sighs, puts on her shoes and opens the door.  I grab the folder with all of our paperwork, we have our pins around our neck, and we walk to the main hall.  Once inside, we are both giddy... we are here!  And I'm going to get to sleep in like, 30 minutes, and she'll get a shower in about 30 minutes and its all good and...

"Your room isn't ready yet," the cast member at the desk tells us.
"Seriously?" I ask
"Yep.  Bad weather kept people here a few days extra.  Its not guaranteed until 3, anyway."
"We know," The Lovely Steph Leann says, and I can tell all the excitement in her voice is gone.  "We usually are able to get right in this time of year."
"I'll give you a call when the room is ready," the cast member says as she hands us our room packet and our new Keys to the World.

We stumble back to Red Robin and get in.  I must tell you that 30 minutes away lives Jason Young, The Lovely Steph Leann's childhood bestie, and lifelong friend.  He is married to The White Jada, and they have two kids present, one on the way.   Every time we come to the area, we have intentions of getting together, and somehow, we aren't able to do so.  Along the trip, The White Jada posts on Facebook telling me that we all need to get together, so The Lovely Steph Leann pipes up, "Maybe we call The White Jada, and see if we can come visit.  And get a shower."

Calls to The White Jada were fruitless, however.  I finally said, "Well, why don't you get a bag, put in some fresh clothes, and some makeup and whatever else it is that you chicks use to 'freshen up', and go to the bathroom and do just that--freshen up.  Take your time.  I'll wait in the lobby.  You'll feel better, and afterwards, we can eat, or go to the parks or whatever."  She agrees, and we spend the next few minutes in the back, me moving suitcases around for her to get into them and get what she needs.

She heads to the restroom to freshen up, and I hang in the lobby, hitting the little gift shop and trade some pins.  We've already dropped our luggage off to the bag services guys, and I parked Red Robin by Building 2, which is where our room is supposed to be, and I'm back in the lobby checking on our rooms.  She comes out, looking fresh and refreshed, and we walk around a bit, go to the Sassagoula Food Court and have some overpriced burgers, and she asks me to check on the rooms, while she relaxes on a bench outside.  "Get us a renovated room!" she asks in her "I'm asking but I'm actually telling you nicely" tone. 

Where we were spending the next
ten nights, on vacation!

French Quarter is being renovated building by building, and out of the seven buildings, only Buildings 4, 6 and 7 are finished (I believe they are working Building 5 at the time I'm writing this)  When I get to the front desk and inquire about our rooms, they tell us that the rooms are ready.  I then ask about a renovated room, and the cast member quickly looks and finds us one in Building 7--we just have to return our room keys so they can give us new ones.  And our keys are in Red Robin, which is parked by Building 2... so I tell her to hold that thought, and hustle out, past The Lovely Steph Leann sitting on the bench, chatting away on the phone with her sister, and off to Red Robin.  I grab the keys, and race back, and get new ones... and off to room 7235 we go! 

The renovated rooms are great.  We have two double beds, and the double sinks are now surrounded by lots of counter space, new tiles, new borders around the walls, fresh paint... it just looks great.  Bell services shows up a few minutes later, our bags are unloaded, the guy is tipped and leaves, and the door is closed.

I ask The Lovely Steph Leann if she's going to take a shower, but before I get most of the question out, she's already sprawled out on the bed, buried in her pillow.  I unpack some things, do a few things around the room, and finally, I lay down next to her and both of us are dozing away.

Ah... we are on vacation.

Next: Animal Kingdom Days and Hollywood Nights

Mundane Mobile Meanderings and Dixon Dinners

Highlights of Day Two of the quick trip to the Gulf with the wife... you can read Day One here and get the answer to the question "What does The Lovely Steph Leann actually do?"...

So today, we were scheduled to leave the Marriott around 8:30.  Get up around 7:30, get showered and packed up, get that truck loaded up with our junk and be best up on our way.  Cue 8:30 and we are dragging ourselves out of bed...

On the way to the plant, we did stop and have breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  Usually, that's a hit or miss kind of place, but today, they were on it... probably some of the best Cracker Barrel food I've eaten in a long, long time.  The waitress was great, the food was hot, the pancakes were fluffy--perhaps its because we came early.

The plan is to go to one of the plants and unload about twenty boxes of materials, hence the reason we came in a Dodge Dakota truck (its a rental)... which is what we did.  Pulled up next to a modular, unloaded the boxes, then drove around the area a bit to another warehouse, where we were given, via forklift, this massive pallet of about 30 large boxes, each containing materials vital to the continuance, nay! the mere survival of our nation, our world our...

...I actually think it was just paperwork and such.  But it rose above the outer edges of the trucks bed by about four or five feet.  We drove around the plant area again, slowly, parked and went inside to get The Lovely Steph Leann's other stuff done, namely working on blueprints, organizing, consolidating and on and on... boring work, really.

We did this for hours and hours and hours... I kept muttering to myself how this was my vacation day, and she kept telling me to essentially hush.  Anyway, I won't bore you with the mundane details of our day at work, but when we came out, we had to deal with this issue of the truck we were driving, loaded up with a pile of boxes, each weighing a good 20 or 30 pounds each, sitting on a wooden pallet, all wrapped in plasticy saran wrappy wrap. 

We had the brilliant idea of taking off the top layer of boxes, moving them to the truck's backseat, then shift and moving and such.  We did it, it worked, and off we went.

Now, onto dinner... before, I had contacted my friend Dixon by virtue of everyone's favorite way of talking to people that normally they'd never talk to again:  Facebook.  I told her that I and The Lovely Steph Leann were coming to the area this week, and for she and her man and her kids to come on along and meet up with us for dinner.  Apparently, her man is in Magic Land in Orlando Florida, work related supposedly, but she and her childrens Emma and Cooper met us at Peg Leg Petes.  Dixon said she was excited not only to see me, but to meet the famous The Lovely Steph Leann... then again, who doesn't want to meet The Lovely Steph Leann?

First, the restaurant.  Peg Leg Pete's is an oyster house and seafood bar located across the road from the ocean in Pensacola Beach.  It offered a wide selection of shrimps, scallops, crab legs and claws, fish and other such pleasantries.  I got the seafood combo, which included fried shrimp (average), fried oysters (I remembered I wasn't a fan of oysters), fried grouper (pretty good), and though it was supposed to have crab claws, they were out, thus substituting stuffed crab instead, which was fairly decent.

The Lovely Steph Leann wasn't thrilled, because she had her heart set on Peg Leg Pete's crab claws--neither of us had ever been here before, so she was curious to try them... yes, yes, she had crab claws last night, but they are some of her favorite foods, so she was eager to have them again... then our waiter told us they were out, so she ended up with the snow crab legs.  They were a might bit better than the ones I had last night, but overall, to me the food was average.

For dessert, I got key lime pie, and it doesn't even come in the same ballpark of being nearly as good as the chocolate peanut butter pie I had last night at The Original Oyster House.  Peg Leg Pete's was, however, fairly affordable, and The Lovely Steph Leann thought her meal was pretty good, and thought her dessert, the bread pudding, was exceptional. 

Next, the company.  Perfect.  Dixon and I have known each other since 1993, and were friends all through college, and during dinner, I'm sure we bored the stew out of The Lovely Steph Leann with our "Oh, I remember when you..." and "Do you know that..." and "When you did that, I..." tales.  She was quick to include The Lovely Steph Leann though, frequently turning to her and saying, "Oh my gosh, did d$ ever tell you about the time he and..." to which my wife would say, "No, tell me!" and there goes the story.



Dixon and d$, circa 1998, when we were young and
fabulous.  Now?  We're not as young but just as
fabulous.

 The kids were cute as could be, as I talked with both Emma and Cooper during dinner, and laughing because, like their mama, neither was shy.  I told The Lovely Steph Leann and Dixon both that I thought they would hit it off well... I said that Dixon didn't take any guff from me in college, and The Lovely Steph Leann doesn't take any now. 

Dinner lasted about an hour or so, then the three adults went down to the playground and let the kids play, while we camped out on barstools in the sand.  We tried to talk about the old days, there wasn't much we could recall, I guess the Lord knows what He's doing aaaaafter aaaaallll.....  it was a great time, and Dixon even gave The Lovely Steph Leann the invite to call her when she's back again, even if I'm not there. 

By the way, is there a rule that every restaurant on the beach has to have a gift shop?  Like, The Original Oyster House has a gift shop.  Last time we went to Hemingway's Grill... gift shop.  And tonight at Peg Leg Pete's... gift shop.  The Tom Thumb store next to Peg Leg Pete's has a gift shop.  As we passed by the police station, I glanced in, and there's a gift shop.  Most of the items were made by criminals, license plates and such, but still.  I went into the gift shop here at the Hilton, and there is a gift shop inside the gift shop.  The shot glasses say "Pensacola Beach Gift Shop's Gift Shop". 

And so here I am, at the Hilton on Pensacola Beach, in the business center.  The Lovely Steph Leann is next to me, on her own laptop working on Creative Memories stuff, while I'm blogging a bit.  But that's all I got tonight... this is kinda one of those blogs that isn't really interesting to anyone but me, but it will give me a reference point and jog my memory when I want to come back and reread...

On Facebook?  Search for Clouds in My Coffee and "Like"!  I would "like" if you "Liked"!  Shameless self promotion over...

My Problem With Crab Legs (and other thoughts from Mobile Alabama)

First and foremost, before I begin... I wanted to say a prayer for my Farmhouse brother Tony Griffies who lost his wife this morning.  Tony, a Christ Follower, wrote this today on his Facebook page:  "Words cannot express how I feel knowing that you care and love the way you do. I will never forget these prayers and the warriors who have lifted them to our Father. I do not understand any of this, and do not know what to do, but I lean on you all, and my eyes are fixed on You, oh God"

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog that, when put in perspective, means not much of anything, really.

People ask me what The Lovely Steph Leann does for a living, or what her title is.  My answer varies, usually involving a combination of the words "analyst", "data", "records" and "organizer".  Sometimes I use all of those words, sometimes just a few, but the real answer is, I'm not exactly sure what she does.  Its like I'm married to Chandler Bing.  Only cuter.

Anyway, she works for Southern Company and helps keep their millions and millions of data files and blueprints and records in order.  She's good at it.  And once a month, she travels down to a plant in Pensacola to do a day's worth of work there.  And every now and again, I get to join her.. like today.

Normally, she/we would leave on early Thursday morning, get to Pensacola by midday, spend the next several hours working (I would help get it done quicker) and then adjourn to the hotel we reside in--usually its the Marriott--and head out to a nice seafood dinner.

This trip, though, she has to do a little extra work (hence, pulling me into a two day trip the Gulf Coast... for shame!) so we left on Wednesday, after I got off at S'bux.  We drove down in a big truck with a bed full of boxes, each full of documents and papers and such that all have to be filed away at Mobile plant.  Then its off to the Pensacola plant to do the regular work, off to a good meal at a local seafood dive (possibly with my college friend Dixon, whom I haven't seen since about 1997) and then resting and relaxing at the hotel.

The trip was uneventful, most of the laughs coming from the radio tuning... she is a fan of soft rock, so when got a hold of Mix 103.3 Soft Rock traveling to and through Montgomery, she locked in.  "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" by Elton John and Kiki Dee, "If I Could Turn Back Time" by Cher, "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett, "You Belong to Me" by Taylor Swift... the list goes on and on.  And she--and I--knew all the words.  Even "Hold the Line" by Toto was sung loudly. 

She drove, I played Angry Birds.  All the way down.  I vaguely remember the trip at all, but man I busted some pigs.  If you haven't purchased Angry Birds for your iPhone, you are missing one of the true pleasures of life.  Its the best 99 cents you'll spend. 

Anyway, she wanted to eat at The Original Oyster House, which is where we stopped for dinner.  She was immediately drawn to the crab claws--that woman loves her some crab claws--and ended up with a plate of the fried green tomatoes.

For an appetizer, I tried the Bourbon Wrapped Shrimp, which was fried shrimp wrapped in a roll-up, smothered with a Jack Daniels Bourbon Glaze and seasoned.  It was a bit spicy for my taste, but still good.  My entree was a plate of flounder, which was great, grilled shrimp, which was fantastic, and a few snow crab legs.  Let me say quickly, the cheese grits were the best cheese grits I've ever had.  Ever.  They were awesome.  But back to the crab legs...

Here's my thing with crab legs... I like them.  I do.  The meat is good, and when they are piping hot and you've got that melted butter, its number one baby, number one.

But, there are two things that keep me from enjoying crab legs the way I feel like I should enjoy them... first, I'm not all that great at getting them open.  My father in law, Big Daddy Ron, can snap at the top, do a little flick of the wrist and pull out this nine inch piece of crab meat that is perfectly shaped for dipping in the butter sauce.

Me?  I break them into a few pieces, I use that cracking tool and it does crack them all up and down, I've got that midget fork digging into the legs, pulling out shards and shreds of crab meat.  I would pay an extra ten bucks to have that crab meat come out in a big pile, with Juarez the cook already pulling all the stuff out so I wouldn't have to.  They can serve you BBQ pulled from the bone, why not crab meat pulled from the leg?

That brings me to my second thing, which is, crab legs are too much darn work.  Seriously.  Like, when I got to a Dairy Queen and get the overprice Mini Blizzard Meal, I tell them exactly what I want on that burger.  Mayo, mustard, ketchup, maybe a few pickles.  And cheese.  Done.  I pay a few bucks and they give it to me like I want.

But, when I go to a Ruby Tuesdays or a TGIFridays or wherever (though I must add in here, I never ever go to Ruby Tuesdays or TGIFridays unless I can help it) and order a burger... I pay twice as much for the burger, and then have to do the work myself.  They bring me the little cups (ramekins?) of mayo and mustard, and I have to use the ketchup on the table to make my burger like I want it. 

Why am I paying twice as much for a burger I have to work twice as hard to prepare to eat like I want?  Same with crab legs.  Too much work.  If I'm paying you $25 for a plate of crab legs, why do I need to spend half my dinner time working to eat my food?  

Is it just me?

Anyway, dessert was a piece of chocolate peanut butter pie.  And a few hours later, it is all still sitting right where I left it.  Now THAT is going to make for a good bathroom visit tomorrow

So here I am, sitting in the Courtyard by Marriott hotel room, third floor, next to an air conditioner that is freezing my head.  Watching the television in regular definition after spending a month deep in HD is like... well, its like eating those shrimp at the Oyster House then going back to Dairy Queen and getting a dish of those popcorn shrimp.  Just not the same somehow.

Behind me is a queen sized bed, where The Lovely Steph Leann is snoozing like an angel, on the television right now is "The Bridges of Madison County" (I wish I were kidding) and since we have a long day tomorrow, I'll say adeiu. 

Back online tomorrow night with more Mobile and Pensacola adventures, and hopefully details from a visit with Dixon from Troy.

The Top Five Coolest Things of 2009

Here we are!  Finally!

Okay, okay, I know its mid-May.  I know I'm just now finishing up a recap of a year that finished almost five full months ago.  I've been busy, sue me.

Seriously, I hate that its taken this long to finish this list--my true objective is to have the entire 100 list finished by the end of that following January, and only once have I actually accomplished it.  But, as LOST would say, "What happened, happened."

Let's recap this year's list first...

#100 thru 91... Pixar's wish... "Fireflies"... a real high school musical... "The Hammer"... Steak Tartare... "Gran Torino"... "Empire State of Mind"... Tracy Jones... "Blue Harvest"... Slapchop Rap

#90 thru 81... Dairy Queen Real Deals... Stuff you missed in history class... Toy Story double feature... Alissa & Joey... Smiley Face... Joe Wilson... Paepcke gets told... "Men of a Certain Age"... "Paul Blart: Mall Cop"... The Amazing Race
#80 thru 71... Kate Winslet gets an Oscar... Pickles!... Jon Thompson... Hank Azaria's Pharoah... The Muppets and Queen... "Hey"... "High School Musical"... "Hoedown Throwdown"... "30 for 30"... Shankapotomus
#70 thru 61... Pastor Calvin... "My Life in Ruins"... Chipotle... "Tropic Thunder"... "Breakthrough"... ESPN College Football... Christian Brothers Auto... "Native Tongue"... "I Love You Man"... Kris Allen's "Heartless"
#60 thru 51... Ellijay Thanksgiving... "The Proposal"... "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince" Mindy DA & KT Baby... Swamp Lunch... Baha Burger... "State of Play"... "Fearless"... "Julie and Julia"... Lenning on Idol... The DFC X
#50 thru 41... "Right Round"... "Mother Lover"... "The Rise & Fall of the WCW"... Lunch With... "The Princess & the Frog"... JT Wins Survivor... "Party in the USA" (oh shut up)... "The Blind Side"... Walt Disney World July... New kicks
#40 thru 31... "Sweet Thing"... "Taken"... "John Adams"... "Fallin' for You"... Debating Brad Latta... That great picture... "Star Trek"... Pardon the Interruption... "Avatar"... Ruminations
#30 thru 21...  Tyler's wake up... "The Hangover"... "The Hurt Locker"... Rebecca Jourdan Samuelson... "My Life Would Suck Without U"... Dave and Amanda Tuck... Disney with Family... Justin Fisher... "It"... Go Gators...
#20 thru 11... Where We Eatin'?... "Sunshine Cleaning"... Adam Carolla... "Relator"... "The Book of Basketball"... "Rather Unimpressive Illegitimate Children"... MZ Gets a Starbucks... Inside the Magic... Disney With The Lovely Steph Leann... Bad Movies with Mikey
#10 thru 5...  "B.O.B."... "Up"... Class reunion... The Rays... Disney with the Rays...

Alrighty, now that we are all caught up, let's get on with the five coolest things of all of 2009...

The Fifth Coolest Thing of 2009... "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift
What can I say.... I dig this song.  Its off her latest CD, "Fearless", the 54th coolest thing of 2009, and its everything you want in a teenage country pop song... teen angst, puppy love, jealousy, a "cheer captain, I'm on the bleachers" rivalry...

But what does it for me?  The video.  My favorite video of the entire year matches the favorite song of the entire year... call me a wuss (Wookiee likes to), call me a softie, I'm a sucker for a well played love story, which is why "Notting Hill" is in my top 20 movies all time, and its why this video makes me happy...



My favorite part?  From memory... "Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night, I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry, I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams, I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me..."

Thank you.  Here all week.

The Fourth Coolest Thing of 2009... "Up in the Air"
Sometimes you just know that you're going to enjoy a movie.  That's how it was with "Up in the Air"... I almost couldn't fathom not liking this movie... but the end of the year was approaching quickly, and since I knew this film would find its way on the 100 Coolest of 2009 list (wasn't sure how high... here we are), I had to see it before the year was out.

Smashcut to New Year's Eve, 10pm, The Lovely Steph Leann and I sitting in the Lee Branch movie theater with NBC's Andrea Lindenberg.  Finally wrote my review of the film, and our experience with Andrea, in a post titled "So, Vera Farmiga" on February 20th... said this:

I loved this film, every single minute of it, and though its rare for me to feel this way, I would have been happy with a few more minutes.

It tells the story of Ryan Bingham, played by also-nominated George Clooney, who's job is to travel all over the country and be the mediator when a company wants to lay people off. Natalie (Anna Kendrick) is a new recruit who's developed a system of eliminating the travel--firing via satellite. Bingham convinces their boss (a great Jason Bateman) that Natalie needs to learn how its really done, so she's sent with him across the country to teach her how to do it face-to-face.


Along the way, Ryan keeps running into Alex (Vermiga), who is another frequent flier, and they develop a relationship in hotel rooms and where ever they can find a place... but of course, there might be real feelings there after a while. Jason Reitman, director of "Juno", wrote and directed this flick.

[The movie] does have language, and one scene where you see a nude woman's back, but that's it... and yeah, I loved it. I am eager to see it again when it hopefully comes to the Ghetto Theater here in town. Not only did it have airplanes and airports, which I strangely am fascinated with, it had George Clooney, who like Brad Pitt, I contend if given the right material is a phenomenal actor, it had the cutie-patootie Anna Kendrick, who was the only thing that kept me alive during the movie "Twilight", it had great writing, it had likable, if not sympathetic characters, it featured appearances from the cool voiced Sam Elliott, the comedic Danny McBride, the always awesome JK Simmons, "The Hangover"'s Zach Galifianakis and the I-am-strangely-enthralled-with Melanie Lynskey, and... it had Vera Farmiga.

Just a note... I still have my own list of The Dave100, my choices for my favorite 100 movies of all time.  One of my rules has always been that a movie cannot make this list unless it is at least three years old--I think its silly to declare a favorite "anything" when it comes to movies or music because of something that is so fresh and new.  Having said that, a short list of movies that I think might be on the 2015 edition of The Dave100 include "Up", "Iron Man", "Sunshine Cleaning", "The Dark Knight" and yes, "Up in the Air".

The Third Coolest Thing of 2009... Toy Story Mania
On June 23rd, I did Part I of "Top Ten Disney Must-Dos", and a day later, I did Part II... and not to spoil it for you, but the top spot?  The top Disney Must-Do?  A little ride in Hollywood Studios called Toy Story Mania".  Here's what I wrote about it...

You will have more fun on this ride than possibly any other ride in the park. The Rockin' Roller Coaster is faster. The Tower of Terror will kick you in the stomach harder. Small World is more classic. Everest is bigger. But Toy Story Midway Mania appeals to anyone who's ever had fun throwing rings or tossing balls or trying to win at skee ball or trying to get those stupid little red tickets in an arcade... because "arcade" barely covers it.

You get in your little car, behind a goofy gun with a pull string. You put on the 3-D glasses, and then are whirled around to a screen where Jessie & Woody greet you, asking you to practice. You pull the string and... a little paintball appears on the screen, splattering a plate Woody is holding with red paint.

You are whisked away to five areas, breaking plates, popping balloons, tossing rings and more... your score is kept via your little digital readout, and the entire time, you are eager to beat the person next to you, and laughing all the way. Its awesome. The Lovely Steph Leann and I did it five times last February, and though we could only do it once, this is a ride that is on a short list of "we have to ride this every time we go. Every. Time." kind of attractions

The Second Coolest Thing of 2009... My New iPod
Here's what I wrote on the 30th of December in a post called "Its 3am, I Must Be Lonely"...

The Lovely Steph Leann did well this year.... she usually does, but this year especially. I got some great stuff, like some books, my "Mountain Soul II" CD by Patty Loveless that I was hoping for, a cute little Mickey Mouse tie, Super Mario for the Wii, and in my stocking, I pulled out some candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the best, aren't they?), some weird little "put them in water and they grow!" animals that The Lovely Steph Leann got a big kick out of and at the bottom... an iPod Touch.

I held it, I looked at her, looked back at it, then looked back at her smiling face. "You... you got me... got me... an iPod Touch?" I stuttered. Very little leaves me stammering, but this did the trick. She smiled, and told me that she won it at work in some sort of contest... she was quick to point out that, "Had I not won this, you wouldn't have gotten it. Just so you know."

I had kinda been wanting an iPhone, but my issue with that was the phone bill per month would be higher... not necessarily the actual phone plan, but the cost of all the bells and whistles that went with it. An iPod Touch is basically the same thing, just without that pesky phone part. I can connect to the interweb, download applications, load contact info and so on... in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm capable of with it. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to launch a cupcake business and tap into the space shuttle interface.

Its been a learning curve, using both iPods on the same iTunes... yeah, yeah, I know, poor me, pity me and so on. I'm just telling you how it is. The Touch is great, though... the screen is really wide, so I've enjoyed watching music videos and TV shows on it... on a weekend trip to Tullahoma, TN, last weekend, I managed to take in Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" and the first episode of "Mad Men", a show I have a feeling I'm about to plunge headfirst into.

(I plunged headfirst into "Blue Harvest", and it ended up being the 92nd coolest thing of 2009... and I've dug into half of the first season of "Mad Men", and its awesome)

The Coolest Thing of 2009... Disney World with the Guys
So, at some point in late July, I had just gotten back from a quick three day venture to The Happiest Place on Earth with Rev'rn Ty, Amy Mc and Tommy Mc. I was sitting with Tyler, The Lovely Steph Leann's younger brother and by law, my brother-in-law, and we were discussing said trip to Orlando, and he mentioned something about Fall Break at The University of Alabama.

Trey, enjoying an apple the first morning.  We had arrived about three hours prior to this, we were all dead tired, and when Trey stands up here, he trips backwards over his chair.

I, out of the blue, half joking, kinda serious, said, "You want to go to Disney on Fall Break?" He stared at me, and said, "Are you serious?" I replied, "Sure. I mean, I'll have to ask The Lovely Steph Leann what she thinks about it, but yeah, why not. Bring the roomdudes."

Tyler texted his roommates (Trey's response?  "Balls yes"), and within a few days, it all came together. On Wednesday, we would leave out around 8 or 830pm, drive all night, arrive at All Star Movies (where five of us would stay in a four person room) and hit the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom for three full days, and some on Sunday before heading back.

Tyler and Jonathan trying on new hats in Tomorrowland

I had two conditions... 1) I didn't drive a vehicle that is parked at The Cabana. This is not to say I wouldn't drive at all, but Toni Rocki Honda wasn't built for five--its barely built for three--and I knew darn tootin' well that The Lovely Steph Leann was not about to let me take her car to Orlando. 2) I got a bed. I figured I'd sleep next to one of the guys, and I did, but I wasn't doing the floor. I'm too old to do such things. Other than that, let the magic reign.  (from October 15th, 2009)

And the magic did reign.  This was just about the perfect trip.  Five guys who get along well, one of them (me), knowing exactly how to attack Walt Disney World for maximum fun, how to work the crowds and when to (and when not to) ride rides, see shows and eat at certain places.  It was as if all the other trips I had been on up until this time was God preparing me for this very trip... and I was ready.

Jon and Jonathan on the teacups in Fantasyland.  Trey sat out because he just can't handle the spin.

In early October, it was myself, Tyler Campbell, who had been a couple of times in years past, Trey Cartledge, who had also been some years ago, Jonathan Lenning (who was the focus of the 52nd coolest thing of 2009), who had also been way back, and Jon Thompson (the 78th coolest thing of 2009), who had never, ever been.

We ate a Biergarten in Germany, we ate at The T-Rex cafe, one guy was the focal point of what I like to call The Smoky Bus Affair, we saw Fantasmic, we saw Finding Nemo: The Musical, we enjoyed funnel cake while watching Wishes, we rode everything from Soarin' to Peter Pan's Flight, we napped on the train, we enjoyed Dole Whip in Adventureland, we saw one of the guys on the Idol Experience stage, the four guys got to participate in the Backlot Movie Tour, we searched for Hidden Mickeys, we met Princesses,

Jonathan, myself, Trey and Jon, buckling up for a flight across California, via Soarin'

The Lovely Steph Leann had a hard time with this trip being number one.  She wondered why our anniversary trip didn't make the top spot, and my main reason?  She got sick.  Talked about that when it our trip was declared the 12th Coolest Thing of 2009 earlier.  And it almost ended up number two, as getting that iPod Touch was a strong contender for the top spot... and had this list been completed in January, it might have been a Disney with the Guys at #2, iPod Touch #1 finish, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this was just about the perfect trip.  The weather was perfect, the cost was minimal, the food was awesome, the company was fantastic--seriously, I cannot say enough about how amazing, Spirit filled and "good clean fun" natured these guys are--and The Most Magical Place on the Earth was ours for the four days we were there.

Thanks guys for making this trip the absolute coolest thing of 2009.

Around the World

So, here I am, typing from a small table, in front of a mirror in room 2030, second floor of Disney's Wilderness Lodge.  Earlier today, we said goodbye to our former digs at Pop Century, as well as our traveling companions Little Sister Ashley and McQ (they started the drive home around 2pm CST)... The Lovely Steph Leann and I moved resorts to here, and are winding up Day Five of our ten day vacation.

Anyway, she's hollerin' at me to brush my teeth, turn off the computer and go to sleep, so I guess I will.  Lots to discuss.

Kicks Just Keep Getting Harder to Find

"And your kicks just keep gettin' harder to find, and all your kicks ain't bringing you peace of mind..." Paul Revere & the Raiders

"Give me two pair, cause I need two pair, so I can get to stomping in my air force ones..." Nelly

There's nothing... I mean nothing... like a good pair of shoes.  Even with The Lovely Steph Leann, who spends much of her working day sitting at a desk (she does much more than that, but she does spend time at a desk...) shoes are essential, as she deals with plantar fasciitis.  I, who not only spends at least 8 hours a day on my feet at The Happiest Place in the Mall, then at least 10 hours a week standing in front of an espresso bar at The Most Caffienated Place in Greystone, have to have good shoes.  A must.

My problem with shoes is two-fold... first, my feet are very wide.  Like, short and stubby, but wide.  I only wear a 9.5, sometimes I can wear a 9, every now and again a 10.  Secondly, I never grew up with a whole lot of money to buy the right kind of shoes... so after a decade of wearing & tolerating ill-fitting shoes, its only been recently that I would splurge the money to make my feet comfy.

When I was a kid, it was a huge deal to, every September, travel to nearby Geneva with my dad.  We'd go to Moore's Clothing in the little shopping center right past where they build the Wal-Mart (though it wasn't around in those days), and Dad would drop about $70 on a pair or Nikes, or Reeboks, or (one year and one year only) a pair of L.A. Gear shoes.  Paging 1988, come in 1988....

For my family, $70 was a lot of money, as we bought many of my clothes in cheaper establishments... but those shoes were great.  That was my pair for the whole school year.  In September, they'd be gleaming white with a blue stripe down the side, in May they'd be a muddy grey with a blue/black half-stripe barely hanging on.  But, when you went to a place like Moore's, before Dick's Sporting Goods and before Academy Sports & Outdoors (the right stuff the right price... Academy!) and before Target and before outlets and such, you had places like Moore's, places that would not only sell you a pair of shoes, they would sell you the correct pair of shoes. 

You would have an old guy who had that silver, metal foot bracket, and you'd place your sock feet in it, heel back, and the old guy would move the little brackets to barely touching your toes and the side brackets would slightly squeeze your feet.  The old guy would make a few notes based on those miniscule little notches on the foot bracket and come back with a couple of pairs of shoes from the back, a couple of pairs that would fit your feet perfectly.  And they did. 

I was blissfully unaware that my feet were wide.  I was ignorant of the fact that to shoe my feet, it would take some special searching.  And though you have a few younger folk that will flip out that shoe bracket when you go into a shoe store, I think foot sizing is a lost, lost art, the knowledge driven away by the convenience of walking in, trying a few pairs on, figuring out what fits best in the store, hoping it will still feel okay in two weeks and purchasing.  I'd pay a little extra for the old guy with the bracket.  And I finally did.  But I'll get to that.

I've had a few pairs of shoes purchased on how they fit in the store, or shoes that I thought, "Yeah, its a little tight, but they look cool, so I can deal with it..."  I bought a pair of Timberland slip-ons that were on sale for $20, and thats what I thought... but as The Lovely Steph Leann and I drove home from the beach, I decided to wear them, and I remember stopping somewhere and me getting out for a minute.  By the time I got back in the car, I was limping.  The shoes were tight across the top of my foot, left a bruise and I walked a little funny for three days.  Some years later, I sold those shoes to a Mexican guy for $3 at a yard sale that we had with Mikey Nipp.

Skechers are the worst.  I've owned several pairs in my life, and I have two that were decent, only one that was good.  Bought my first pair in college, through a mail order catalog, a pair of white-toed black shoes that I still have.  Usually, when The Lovely Steph Leann & I hit Panama City for Thanksgiving, we spend time at the Silver Sands Outlets in Sandestin, and a few years back, I fell into the, "Buy 2 pair, get 1 Free!" trap, and bought three pairs of shoes I didn't need... a pair of sneakers that were awesome--until they prematurely fell apart--the rubber started tearing lose of the sole within six months... a pair of brown loafers that, within the first few months, had a split in the sole... and a pair of black shoes that buckle in the front and still look great--of course, I only wear them once per month or two.  I've sworn that I'll never buy another pair of Skechers again.

There's a couple of pairs of shoes that I would toss into the d$ Shoe Hall of Fame, including a pair of Timberland sandals that were one size too big and that I wore on every beach trip I'd taken since 1999, a pair that The Lovely Steph Leann finally threw out not too long ago... a pair of American Eagle... well, my friend Allysong called them "clods", but they were like loafers, and are approaching their 12th year in my care and unfortunately are drawing near to the end of their life... and a pair of Lugz shoes I bought at Sears for $12, and have been fantastic tennis shoes.  (I once wore the Lugz shirt, my favorte FUBU shirt and my "W: The President" hat out to dinner, and someone remarked 'that outfit is a contradiction in terms'")

By the way, if you look close, you can see the wear and tear on the inside heel of these  "clods".  Everyone has a pair of shoes that just feels so good, and you want to keep them as long as you possibly can, because "just feels good" shoes are hard to come by.

Almost 7 years at Starbucks has caused me to go through 8 pairs of shoes... I've had tennis shoes, mostly, but I've done the lace-less slip on shoes as well, but they've always been a $20 or less pair that I knew I was going to destroy.  When I took the job at The Happiest Place in the Mall, I was told that part of costume was black shoes, so I had to go out a buy some.  I bought some new brown Starbucks shoes at the same time, and in July 2008, I put my brown GXS flats and my black Reebok runners in motion. 

During our trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth in June, my feet were getting blistered.  The Lovely Steph Leann chalked it up to my Lugz that, while comfortable, were just not made for the walking, standing, running and walking more that we were doing for 14 hours per day, four days in a row--the Skecher tennis shoes weren't doing any better.  After watching her to go New Balance and spend over a $110 on a pair of shoes (which, all these years in marriage later is almost still unfathomable), I decided it was finally time to get myself a good pair of sneakers.  We discussed it, and, still coming to grips about the fact that I might have to spend that much to fit my wide feet into some comfy shoes, I went to a local shop called The Trak Shak. 

The guy there wasn't old... but he knew how to size a foot.  I told him what I was looking for--a pair of tennis shoes that could be used for three things--running, walking and if needed, playing tennis, if I ever decided to get my chunky tail up and do something.  I told him that my problem was my feet were wide, and it was hard to find a good pair of shoes that I liked.  He listened, he asked me to walk around and he told me that he could tell from my walk that I tended to walk inward, probably due to lack of good footwear.  Long story short (too late?) I came out with a pair of Nikes that fit... perfectly.  What size?  9 1/2.  I call them my Trailer Shoes.  Why?  Cause they are "Double wide".

So, a few weeks ago when The Lovely Steph Leann and I were in Pensacola/Destin, we stopped off at the Sandestin Silver Sands outlet, and I went into the Reebok store.  It was time to find a good pair of shoes for The Happiest Place at the Mall.  Reebok and Rockport were side by side, and had a deal... a "Buy 2, Get 1 Free!" deal.  Skechers had got me on this some years back, so I told The Lovely Steph Leann I wouldn't buy 2 pairs just to buy 2 pairs... but I did need some Magic Shoes and I did need some good sandals (remember, as she tossed my Timberlands when I wasn't looking). 

With a little shopping, I managed to find a pair of great Rockport sandals, a great pair of brown loafers (since my "clods" aren't permissable by The Lovely Steph Leann many times, and my Skechers have a gash in them) and finally, a solid pair of Reebok Walk Ultra III DMX, size 2E--that's Double Wide.  Total cost?  $102.  Thought I'd got a deal.

At The Happiest Place in the Mall, I feel like I'm walking on one of those spring shoes, as the shoes feel great.  They feel wonderful.  I've got my Nikes, which feel awesome when I'm lounging, walking or running, and I've got my Black 'boks, which feel awesome when I'm making Magic. 

But...

(There's always a big but...)

Yesterday was a full day for me.  I had to be at The Happiest Place in the Mall all day, then at Starbucks last night.  I usually carry my khaki shorts and my black polo, a pair of white socks and my heavily syruped, heavily grounded Starbucks shoes in my backseat, so when I leave The Magic, I can grab something to eat, then head to The Beans.  Well, I forgot my socks and shoes.  No matter... I've got on black socks, which will make me a look dorky, but the shoes are black, and they are springy, and heck, I need springy at Starbucks.  I'm considering buying a pair of these Walk Ultra III DMX, size 2E, for the coffee shop.

Its raining, quite hard actually, and I run the garbage out.  Toss on my blue hoodie, throw on the hood, roll the garbage can out and to the dumpster.  Come back, take off the blue hoodie, throw it on the rack and go do the dishes.  As I'm standing in front of the sink, rinsing off an empty tray of cranberry bliss bars, I hear a squeaky sound.  Almost like a whistling, almost like that "wheeeeeeee" sound you hear when a firework goes up, right before it explodes.  A whirring, if you will. 

No... it can't be... no, its not... it cannot be... not... its the mat.  Its the mat I'm standing on.  Its the mat, the rubber mat, because there is water under it... there's... no way that...

I walk off the mat, to the front.  As I walk, I can hear it.  Whir whish whish whish whirrrr whish whish.  I stand still, and lean a little, putting a little more weight on my left foot.  The whirring is a little louder.  I do the same on my right.  Whisssshhh. 

Somehow, someway, a slight hole has developed in the sole of my Black Reebok Walk Ultra III DMX, Size 2E, and as I walk, air--moist air--is being pushed out.  As I lift my foot, it re-inflates, and as I put my foot down, it pushed out more air.  This is a problem that cannot be fixed.  This is an issue that cannot be resolved.  When I told The Lovely Steph Leann, she just shrugged and said, "Eh, it'll go away."  I shook my head silently, knowing it never would.  And as I walked onstage at The Happiest Place in the Mall, I heard the slight sound of a whirring whish. 

I think I'm going to write a strongly worded letter. 

Kicks... good kicks... just keep getting harder to find.  Alas.