Vacation A Go-Go-Go!

Since my wife and I are busy packing for a long extended trip, I thought I would write today about the failing economic crisis facing our nation.

Ha ha. Just kidding.

When preparing for a trip, especially one that involves one leaving from one's house, it goes without one saying that using the word "one" repeatedly can make one seem onely pretentious, wouldn't one say? But to prepare for an upcoming trip takes a lot of time and effort. My wife and I have completely differing opinions when it comes to preparing for this trip. At this moment, as I am writing this article, she is quite busy picking out clothes, washing clothes that have been sitting for a while, packing hair care, makeup, deciding what outfit she's going to wear on what day, etc etc. I am preparing for this trip in this manner:

1. Picking out what snacks I would like to enjoy on this trip.

2. Deciding on my travel playlists for my mp3 player.

3. Finding out where the rest areas are along the road, so I can load up on more snacks.

4. Tracking down my mp3 player, and discovering it is now under a dresser thanks to one of several cats.

5. Remembering to include shirts and underwear in my packing.

6. Tracking down an actual suitcase to use instead of the duffle bag I'd like to use.

7. Looking up the actual correct spelling of "duffle". I tried both "duffle" and "duffel" and both came up incorrect on spellcheck. Amazingly, so did the word "spellcheck".

8. Remembering that my wife would probably like to have some snacks too.

etc, etc.

One of the most important things that had to be done to prepare for this trip is to make sure that our vehicle was in good working order. To do this we had to take our car to an auto mechanic, who was very nice and friendly as he explained things to me using such words as "grommet" and "pinch valve" and "engine", while he pointed at things and I nodded and frowned thoughtfully. Then I signed over my paycheck to him. The same thing happened at the tire shop, only using different words, but with the same result. I've gotten very good and nodding and frowning thoughtfully.

In closing I would like to point out that vacations are a lot of work, and even during the trip it can get quite stressful, which leads me to conclude that I should definitely bring more snacks.

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58

See The USA In Your ... Mitsubishi?

Whew! That's quite a load off my mind - and I'm a lot less cranky than I was a couple of days ago. Studying for college finals is nervewracking to say the least - and definitely no picnic when you're 40! But I made it to the end of another semester, and only 7 more to go! Yay me!!

So, luckily, my wife and I have this time off to go to her best friend's wedding next week in Chicago. I've only been there once before, and I really enjoyed it. Mainly because I love eating - and Chicago has some of the tastiest food around. I'm not about to start any food wars here - that's not the point. I'm just acknowledging that Chicago has very tasty food. Let it go.

The original plan was to take the time after the wedding and go to visit some theme parks. My wife and I LOVE theme parks, so it's a good thing we live in Orlando, otherwise there'd be nothing to do.

We had planned to go to Kings Island in Mason, Ohio on Tuesday, and from there go to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and visit Dollywood.

Unfortunately, I am very spoiled, having grown up in Southern California and then moving to Orlando. Theme parks have always been open 365 days a year. And I understand the regional parks are only open seasonally - I am fully aware of that. What I wasn't prepared for was that the season ends around the 1st week of August. I fully expected it to be open through the end of the month.

Kings Island is the rarity: it remains open through the 3rd week in August. All of the other parks in the Midwestern and Southern regions all close after the first week in August, including - but certainly not limited to - Six Flags over Georgia in Atlanta; Carowinds in South Carolina; Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Georgia; and of course Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Looks like we'll rarely if ever get to see those parks, since the summer session for college ends the first week in August and gives us the next 3 weeks off - precisely when each of these regional parks shuts down for the season. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

Not to be discouraged, my wife and I switched gears quickly and made the decision to visit Chattanooga instead of Pigeon Forge, electing to stay at a beautiful B&B Click Here For Details and visit some local scenery and here for this info.

We're so very excited to see something new and different. I'll keep you posted on the trip as it goes.

Show Me What You Eat, And I'll Tell You Where I Am...

In 9 days, my beautiful wife and I are taking an extended trip to attend a wedding. The Wedding, with a capital W, is for her best friend of over 30 years, Shirley Yee. These two have known each other almost their entire lifetime, and Shirley is at last getting married - hence the capital W.

Times being what they are, my wife and I have decided to traverse the width of this country from our home in Orlando Florida, to the suburbs of Chicago and back, making several stops along the way obviously. This is actually something I have always wanted to do - travel across the vast bosom of America (thought I'd throw in a little sex there) and experience what the locals call "food" - which is something we don't often have in Orlando Florida. We have an onslaught of fast-food style "food" served up in all manner of theme park eatery, which ranges from "dull and tasteless" down to "hey-I-think-there-was-a-flavor-there".

So, along the way during this sojourn, (from the French word 'sojourn' meaning 'Ask that guy for directions') we will get to sample food from various regions and it is my hope to update this blog regularly with descriptions of the meals that we get to sample.

I am listing a condensed itinerary below, and of course this does not include any pit stops.

Day 1: Orlando to Nashville, TN

Day 2: Nashville to Chicago, IL (suburbs)

Day 3 & 4 - Wedding

Day 5: Still in Chicago visiting Family

Day 6: Chicago to Mason, OH - home of Kings Island Theme Park

Day 7: Kings Island Theme Park, Mason OH

Day 8: Mason to Chattanooga TN - home of the Choo-Choo.

Day 9: Exploring more Chattanooga

Day 10: Back to the Land of Make Believe (aka Orlando)

If anyone has any suggestions on where to eat, where to stop along the way, or where to avoid, please send a self addressed stamped envelope to me, mainly because I always wanted to see what companies actually do with these things. And I could use the stamps. 

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24 Hours of Inspirational Tweets! http://tiny.cc/ead58