Just thought you might like to know

The never-ending pasta bowl is back at the Olive Garden. If you're into that sort of thing.

Also I met somebody this afternoon that shared my last name. In South Carolina. Bizarre.

Did you know....

That Candie's makes a men's cologne? It's true. How do I know this? It was on the clearance shelf at CVS.

For the record, I didn't buy it. But I can still smell it. Even though I took a shower.

Day 4

Didn't get up all that early this morning.  I think we had an 8:00am wake-up call and were out the door by 9:00am.  We were going to go to Schnagel's Bagels for breakfast.  We got there, only to find that they were not open on Sundays.  Their ad in the phonebook said that they were open Sundays, but they weren't.  So we breakfasted at the local Cracker Barrel, where instead of giving me a pint of milk with my oatmeal, they actually gave me three creamers.  That was suprising, but apparently that's what they do now.  I hadn't been at a CB early enough to get the oatmeal in a little while, so I'm assuming this new creamer rule applies to all stores.  Oh well.  Well-fed, we headed back to Vegas, via the Hoover Dam.

 

We made our way through Boulder City and traffic slowed to a crawl as we got closer to the dam.  After clearing a security checkpoint and a few more curves, the dam came into view on our left.  Instead of paying ($7.00) to park on the Nevada side, we crossed the dam and parked on the Arizona side.  We hiked down to the dam and crossed it, taking pictures along the way.  We attempted to access the visitors center, but that required an $11.00 admission fee, which we weren't so motivated to pay.  So after visiting the gift shop, we heade back across the other side of the dam to take some photos from the other side.  Getting back to the car, we headed back to town and to check in at our hotel.

 

It took a few passes, but we found our hotel and checked-in.  Our timing was both good and bad.  Bad in the sense that there was a back-up at the check-in desk, but good in that the majority of the back-up consisted of Virgin Atlantic flight attendants.  We apparently chose a crew hotel used by international flight crews (I would see a crew from Korean Air later that night).  After checkin-in, we headed out to snag some dinner.  There's a kazillion places to eat in Vegas, so in my research, I tried to pick out something unique and different.  As a matter of habit, I don't dine at chain restaurants while vacationing unless necessary.  One of the things that Vegas is known for is their lavish buffets.  But I was looking for something different.  And I found it at Le Village Buffet at the Paris Las Vegas Casino.  Le Village is a french buffet featuring food from the five different provinces of France (Burgundy, Normandy, Savoie, Provence, and Brittany).  And it's themed-out to resemble a cobblestone street in a french village.  I got to try some new foods, as well as foods that I often don't get to eat (like grilled lamb and roast duck).  And desert was the piece de resistance.  They had a crepe station where a chef would make a crepe just for you.  I had a crepe with nutella and bananas inside and some real whipped creme on top.  It was tres magnifique!  We then went out and about in an effort to get some exercise in after our substantial dinner.

 

We headed across the street to the Bellagio to catch the water show.  We found the spot where the Ocean's 11 gang hung out in the first movie and watched the performance from there.  It was only water, but I thought it was pretty cool the way they synched the water to the music.  We then headed over to Caesar's Palace to check out the Forum Shoppes.  Getting to the shoppes once inside the casino proved to be difficult.  We wound our way through the casino floor, pass the line for Celine Dion's show and past Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill.  We finally reached the "mall" entrance.  The stores were way more expensive than I had expected.  And I'm talking Dolce & Gabana expensive.  So we didn't last there long at all.  We headed back into the neon-lit night and back to the hotel.

 

And that was day four.

 

Addendum:  The next day we went home, arriving back at around 11:30pm.

We interrupt this trip narrative...

Just a heads-up to let you know that you can download the new Robbie Seay Band album for free here. You have to subscribe to two newsletters, but you can always unsubscribe to them.

But act quick-like. It'll be gone soon.

Day 3

We were headed to the Grand Canyon today, so that necessitated a 5:00AM wake-up call, with a 6:00AM departure.  We headed out in the grey of early morning, backtracking a bit from our travels to Zion.  We hit route 59 in Hurricane and that's where the road really opened up.  We cruised through little towns like Colorado City and Fredonia and soon enough found ourselves in the Kaibab National Forest.  Now, this place wasn't really as forresty as you might expect, but there was lots of open space and the views from the overlook were nice.  After some quick pics and an attempted bathroom break, we were back on the road.  We stopped at a gas station/inn in Jacob Lake for the loo and some cookies and coffee.  Jacob Lake was the last town before the North Rim, so we knew we were getting close.

 

Imagine our suprise when the road opened up to these big green pastures, surrounded by pine trees.  We saw wild cows (?) and wild turkeys as we continued to the park entrance.  After paying our entry fee, we continued on to the North Rim Visitor Center.  There didn't appear to be too many cars in the parking lot which was an encouraging sign.  It turned out that the crowds were negligible at best.  After buying a patch at the gift shop, we headed out to the only trail hike of the day.  Bright Angel Point Trail runs for about a quarter of a mile beyond the lodge.  As we rounded the corner of the lodge, we got our first glimpse of the canyon.  It was spectacular.  We found a porch behind the lodge where people were sitting and soaking in the magnificent view.   We also found a couple of look-out points right below the lodge which we investigated before continuing to the trail.

 

The trail was a paved trail that ran out along a ridge into the canyon.  Here's where we encountered the most foot traffic.  There were a good many folks coming and going.  The trail takes you out to another overlook which offers a clear view of the Canyon to your left and to your right.  After a few snaps there, we headed back to the lodge and after a few more purchases, we headed to the parking lot.  Our next stop was Imperial Point, which was approx. 11 miles east of lodge.  We pulled into the parking lot and had another breaktaking view of the canyon.  After taking a few snaps, we packed up and headed back to St. George.

 

But not before stopping at the Jacob Lake Inn.  We decided to stop for gas (they offered full service!) and also for some cookies.  This was the same place that we stopped at earlier in the day on the way in.  One of the cookies we had picked up was a six-grain cookie which turned out to be quite tasty.  So we wanted to get some more to take back with us.  And then we just decided to eat lunch there at the lunch counter.  My grilled cheese wasn't that great, but the fries were some of the best I've ever had.  And then we were gone.

 

We headed back to the condo and after resting for a bit, I headed out to do a bit of exploring.  We were headed to Famous Dave's BBQ for dinner and I didn't know exactly where it was.  After I found it's location, I drove back to the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor.  They had phosphates on the menu and I had to try one of those.  I had cherry and it was good.  And a relative bargain at $1.00.  I headed back to the condo to pick up the rest of my party and then we went to Famous Dave's.  I had the pulled chicken bbq sandwich with some firecracker green beans.  The food was pretty decent and they had sweet tea.  After some souvenir stops, we headed back to the condo.  And that was day three.

Day 2

Friday began with a 6:00am wakeup call. On the agenda today was a visit to Zion National Park. Wanted to get up and out early to get a jump on visitor traffic and the heat of the day (the forecast for the day was sunny and 103 degrees). We took 15 North (no not that 15) to SR 9 and took that into Springdale. Because of heavy visitor traffic in the summer, Zion doesn't actually allow vehicle traffice on the primary park road from April to September. But they do offer a a free shuttle both in the park, and in the town of Springdale. We parked at the Bumbleberry Inn (home of the Bumbleberry Pie) and waited at the bus stop for the shuttle bus. The buses outside the park run every 15 minutes or so. Soon enough the bus appeared and we hopped on and headed to the park. The bus dropped us off about 50 yards from the pedestrian entrance to the park. We paid our entry fee and headed to the visitor center. After a quick check on patches in the store and some directional assistance from a park ranger, we headed out.

The first (and really last trail) that we hit that morning was the Watchman Trail. We walked it for the first quarter mile or so, before the other members of my party decided to head back to the visitor center. I continued on. Winding my way up a relatively short trail ( 2.7 miles RT), I made it to what I figured to be the top of the trail. Took some great pictures on the way up, and had a pretty clear shot at Watchman once I made it up. I also saw a lizard. I'm glad we got there early. I passed only two people going up, but I passed about eight people coming back. By the time I got back to the visitor center, there was a steady flow of people arriving.

We waited for a bus and headed into hear of the park. Our first stop was going to be the Court of the Patriarchs. These are three peaks named for patriarchs in the Old Testament. They were named Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Many years ago, a Methodist minister named these peaks and many more and most of the names have stuck permanently. After taking enough photos here, we moved deeper into the park, getting off at the Big Bend stop. We took a few snaps and then headed back south. On the way back down to the visitor center, we stopped off at Canyon Junction where I took a few more snaps.

After a stop for some pie, we headed back home. I hit the pool, and then we hit JB's for dinner and Blue Bunny for desert. We also stopped off at the local Mormon temple and Kohls. And that was Day two.

Pictures coming soon...

Day 1

Thursday morning arrived bright and too early and we headed out to the airport.  We caught our flight to PHL with no problems.  This was good because I was looking forward to some Chick-fil-A.  We hung around for a few hours waiting for our flight to LAS.  I knew beforehand that this flight was overbooked and that we probably would not get on, and so I had prepared a back-up plan.  Well, we did not get on, so I hustled over to Special Services and had them update our flights.  I had to hustle because the next flight left in 20 minutes from the C Terminal (we were currently in the middle of the B Terminal).

 

So we made it over to the gate and there were concerns that we wouldn't make it on to the plane because of weight restrictions. (Weight restrictions are often present when flying in the summer because more fuel is required.  Because planes have to carry more fuel, they have to sacrifice seats).  However, God worked it out and we were able to get on our plane.  Our next stop would be DFW.  But before we left the gate, it became apparent that my bag would not fit in the overhead compartment.  So I had to gate-check it and pick it up in LAS.

 

We made it to DFW, but we were late, which caused us to miss our connection to LAS.  Once I had assurances that we would get on the next flight, we relaxed and had some lunch/dinner.  I called my ex-roommate living in big D to let him know I was in the area (and that I may need some help if we got stranded there).  They had an iPod vending machine at the airport, which was pretty neat.  You could buy all sorts of iPods and accessories with just a swipe of your credit card.

We boarded the flight on-time and landed in LAS at around 6:00pm PST. But I would not start a paragraph with a sentence like that unless there was more to the story.  And there was.  My bag that I gate-checked in PHL did not make it to LAS.  This is why I normally never check bags when I fly.  But this time, it was a smaller jet and I really didn't have much of a choice.  So I got in line and filed a claim.  There were two more flights from DFW coming in that evening, so they expected it to arrive later that evening.  We thought about hanging around and waiting for the next flight, but it's a good thing we didn't.  I would not see my bag again until we arrived back in Harrisburg.

We took the shuttle over to the rental car facility and picked up our wheels, a white Jeep Liberty and took off north towards St. George.  Three hours and a Walmart stop later, we arrived at our condo rental and crashed at about 11:00pm PMT.

And that was the first day.

The Four Part Trilogy

Coming in the next few days is my exciting trip report from my exciting vacation.  Here's a little photograph to wet your appetite to the exciting excitement ahead.

August 21

And it's 61 degrees outside.  I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it! (to be spoken like that character Molly Shannon played on SNL)

 

I should have taken today off.

Scripture of the day

Consider these familiar words that Paul wrote to the Philippians and think about how you'll go through the week with this knowledge.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

-Phil. 4.4-7

Favorites: Dining Establishments

These are in no particular order...

 

1.  Red Robin.  Love the "Big Robin."  It's my kind of food.  By that, burgers.  I always enjoy the Whiskey River BBQ Burger (pink please!) on the wheat bun with some extra BBQ sauce on the side for some fry-dippin.  If you're a potato-lover, the bottomless fries are a nice benefit (just don't let them get cold).  And it's a nice atmosphere.  While it's a family place, like Friendly's, it's different.  Because of the dining room setup at RR, you don't hear the kids on the other side of the room like you would at Friendly's.

 

2.  The Pizza Grille.  They have two locations, one in Lemoyne and one in Camp Hill.  I've been to both and they're about the same food-wise, but the service is a bit better at the Lemoyne location.  They rate high in my book for two reasons.  One, they offer a whole wheat crust, and two, I can get a personal cheese pizza for $3.90 which is easily the best pizza deal in town.

 

3.  Moe's Southwest Grill.  Moe's is relatively new to the area, but they also have two locations in Harrisburg.  I describe them as a "tex-mex Subway."  By that, I mean that you pick what you want (burrito, taco, quesedilla, salad, fajitas) and then you can go down the line and pick and choose what ingredients you want in your burrito (or whatever item you've chosen).  I like being able to do that.  And the burritos are pretty filling. They also offer tortilla chips and a little salsa bar.  And the chips are basically all-you-can-eat.  And while they do have sweet tea, it's fairly inconsistent on the taste side of things, so you never know how it's going to taste.

 

4.  Damon's.  Damon's often gets a bad rap, but I like it.  They do a pretty good chicken caesar salad.  And I play their NFL game so I get half-price appetizer coupons which I like to use on their wings.  Which are good.  They also show sports in the "clubhouse" on big-screen tv's.  They also do a pretty good burger.

Suggestions

Hi.

 

I think I'm starting to repeat myself on the blog.  Nay, I KNOW I'm repeating myself on the blog.  So I thought I might open up the floor to suggestions on what to write about.  I had a lot more material when I was writing about celebrities and other distractions.  I think I may start a series on my favorite things.  If you have suggestions on what you might like to see me write on, leave a comment.

 

Bis spater!

I like watching people sing

This morning I saw one of my favorite sights.  As I was sitting at stop light on Eisenhower, I looked in my rearview mirror and smiled as I observed the lady in the car behind me singing her heart out.  Normally in my morning commute, nobody's singing.  But she was a welcome change from the norm this morning.  If I have enough time at the light, I like to search the radio stations to find the song that the person is singing.  And then if I know the song, I'll sing along too.  I did not have enough time to do that this morning, so I just watched her.  And that made for a good start to my day.

Bruster's IS goodness.

A mint chocolate chip Blast with plain m&m's.  

In the words of my girl Rachel Ray, YUMM-O!

Movie Review - The Bourne Ultimatum

I can't speak for anyone else, but I really enjoyed the first two Bourne movies.  Jason Bourne is the working-man's 007 and I appreciated that.  So it was with great anticipation that I was looking forward to the third movie.  And it didn't disappoint.

Spoilers ahead
The story picks up pretty much where Supremacy leaves off, with some government-type folks talking about Treadstone.  And it's right about that time that we discover that Treadstone isn't the only program out there.  And that Treadstone was just the tip of the iceberg.  As you can imagine lots of hand-to-hand combat and car chases ensue.  The director (who also directed Supremacy) goes for more of the "shakey-cam" look that you might be familiar with from the second movie.  It can be a bit of a distraction, but if you sit far enough away from the screen, you should be good.  Damon is excellent.  Julia Stiles is back as well, and I was excited to see that she got more screen time.  Not much more dialogue (if any), but more screen time.  But I couldn't care less if she spoke or not.  She got screen time.  Okay, moving on.  Joan Allen is back reprising her role as Pamela Landy.  If you suspected some sympathy from her towards the end of Supremacy, you may or may not be right.  There's another government-type baddie whose name escapes me and he does a decent job.

Great locations, great action and a story good enough to support it all is what leads me to give this movie a "10."  If you liked any of the first two movies, you'll love this one.  And you might want to watch Supremacy again before you go see Ultimatum.

sYtYcD

Just the top three this time (since there are only six left):

Neal
Danny
Pascha

Would you take a picture? Cause I won't remember.

If you know me, you know I like to take pictures. "Uh oh.  He brought his camera" is a paraphrase of the response I often get.   I take my camera to weekend getaways, parties, sporting events and other places.  And sometimes I will just go out and take pictures just for fun.  I don't have a fancy camera, but I do think I have a pretty good eye for photographic opportunities.

 

I'm talking photos today because I'm preparing to move.  And as part of the moving proces, I'm going through my stuff and I'm pitching stuff I don't need/use.  I'm tired of moving boxes that never get opened between moves, so I'm reducing the number of boxes.  Last night I found some photo envelopes that I had forgotten about.  I didn't know what they were photos of, but I was intrigued enough to sit down with the 10 or so envelopes of photos and go through them.  It was fascinating to look through those photos and remember where I've been.  Whether it was Chicago, Capistrano Beach, Orlando, Greensboro or Harrisburg.  Remembering the little stories and the details surrounding those photos.  Like getting stuck in traffic out in LA and missing a taping of "Frasier."  Or driving from Grantham to Orlando straight-through (only stopping to eat, use the bathroom and visit South of the Border).  We left around nine in the evening on a Saturday night and got into Orlando around noon on Sunday.  These were good times and I was blessed to experience them with good (or mostly-good) people.

 

And then I stop to think about how I've grown since those moments in time were captured.  Looking at these photos, I think of how my priorities have changed.  I knew I didn't brought my Bible along on these adventures.  Now, I don't travel without the scriptures.  If I don't bring my Bible, I will bring some index cards that I've written verses on.  I think of how concerned I was with what other people thought of me and how me-centered I was.  And I'm so thankful for the growth that I've experienced since then.  Photos are not only good for reminding you where you've been geographically, but they're also good at reminding you where you've been spiritually and mentally.   And that helps show me how much I've grown.

Can Anything Good Come out of Etown?

All good Falcon fans know the answer to this question.  However, consider this question:  Can anything good come TO etown?  The answer is yes.  The Fractured Prune has come to etown.

 

For those not in the know, the Prune is a donut chain that started in Ocean City, Maryland and has gradually spread inland and northwards.  But these are not just any donuts.  These are full-flavored fun donuts.  Check out the menu for an idea of what I'm talking about.  When I was at the beach in June, I had a French Toast donut.  Imagine if you will, a fresh donut that has been removed from the fryer in just the past five minutes.  The still very-warm donut then gets dunked in a maple topping and then is rubbed in cinnamon-sugar.  The result is a donut that literally melts in your mouth.

 

You can't eat these bad boys every day, but they do make for a nice splurge every once in a while. 

 

John Piper..

On Wednesday's bridge collapse in Minneapolis.

The song I was singing on my way home tonight....

We're also singing it on Sunday morning.  Feel free to sing along..

You are my strength when I am weak,
You are the treasure that I seek,
You are my All in All
Seeking you as a precious jewel,
Lord to give up I'd be a fool,
You are my All in All

Jesus, Lamb of God,
Worthy is Your Name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your Name.

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame,
Rising again I bless Your name,
You are my All in All.
When I fall down You pick me up,
When I am dry You fill my cup,
You are my All in All.

How does your name rank?

This is a fun page I found in my internet travels.  Find out how popular your name is*.  When I was born, my name was the 34th most popular name for males.  Last year, it had dropped to 165th.  It also appears that the heyday for my name was around 1950-1951.  It broke into the top 20 those two years.

 

*The site only keeps track of the top 1000 names (sorry Gwyneth).