Fun and Games Dept

It’s a beautiful sunny day here outside of Philadelphia. The temperature is in the mid 50s. I’m not wearing a coat. It certainly doesn’t feel like Christmas Eve, but we’re still full of the spirit.

Earl and I decided to do some last minute shopping this afternoon, picking up some house warming gifts for some relatives to give at the party tonight. After struggling in a way to find the spirit for the past month, it seems to have both hit us like a ton of bricks. There’s no complaints from either of us.

We stopped at the new Philadelphia Park Casino where they have slot machines. I walked out with slightly more money than I went in with after only 10 minutes of spinning wheels. I like it when that happens. And to think we were only there to pick up a gift certificate.

Tonight we’ll be arriving home around midnight or so. I’m looking forward to the drive and I’m looking forward to the festivities that lie ahead.

Merry Christmas to all!

Earl and I are on our way to suburban Philly to spend some quality holiday time with his family. I always find it quite interesting to be amongst the traveling public, especially around the holidays, because there are a number of people that reserve their adventures for exclusively this time of year and don’t otherwise leave their little world. I find watching these folks fascinating. They get breathless over the fact that there is a Sbarros at selected Thruway service areas. (I hate to see what happens when the Outback Steakhouses open at service areas in the mid part of next year. They’ll pee their pants with excitement.) They adhere to the posted speed limit like glue. Their hands are at the 10 and 2 positions on the steering wheel.

Earl is driving this morning as a holiday treat to me. Surprisingly I’m not clinging to the roof of the car in terror as I occasionally do when he drives. I claim to be the world’s best driver because quite frankly I am and I think that in turn makes me one of the world’s worst passengers. But over the years I’ve learned to calm down and keep my mouth shut. And that is why I’m blogging while he’s driving.

Tomorrow night we’ll leave the family party around 8 or 9 p.m., getting us home close to 2 a.m. It’ll be pitch black as we drive through the Poconos and there will be little to see. Buzzed on sugar and Christmas goodies from the party, I’ll probably stop at Hickory Run for a quick McJolt and I’ll get to see how surly people get when they have to drive on Christmas Eve. Maybe I’ll invite Santa Claus to go drag racing through Scranton. Also kidding aside, I actually love the annual Christmas Eve trek very much.

Wonder Blogger Powers Activate!

Originally uploaded by DJSuperCub.

Earl and I are back in the hotel after a great afternoon in Boston with fellow blogger and now our friends Karl and Randy. There really was no need to be nervous, as we had a wonderful time.

Since we’re staying on the edge of Chinatown, we decided to have lunch in Chinatown. Despite the fact that we had to ask for our drinks several times, despite Karl who had this intriguing concoction called “bubble tea”, lunch was delicious and we had great conversation. I’ve had this nagging hunch in the back of my head since we got here that something had decidedly changed since I lived here back in the day, and Karl reminded me of it: the “combat zone” is pretty much gone.

After lunch we went for a walk to the south end, where we did some wine tasting and picked up some wine for Thanksgiving dinner and then did a little shopping at a gift shop. I overheard Randy and Earl talking about how Karl and I were chatting up a storm as we were walking along Washington Street. The afternoon was wonderful and we look forward to meeting up with Karl and Randy again. They’re great guys.

We took the obligatory pictures before saying our good-byes.


Tonight Earl and I going to enjoy some dinner, do some sight-seeing and then probably go out for a couple of drinks at The Alley.

Earl and I are off to Boston tonight after work. We’re hoping to get a headstart on some Christmas shopping and to just get away one more time before the holidays are here in full swing. We have no specific plans, aside from meeting up with Karl and Randy tomorrow for lunch in Chintatown. I have to admit that I’m a little nervous about meeting Karl and Randy but I’m sure it’s going to be fun. I guess I’m kind of shy when meeting new people.

My lack of sleep from last night’s Aunt Clara routine is making me feel a little wonky at work today but I’ll get through it. I’ll take a nap on the way to Boston while Earl sleeps in the passenger seat.

Oh, and one other thing. When I was in radio I despised doing “shout outs” from Joanie to Chachi and other such nonsense but I have to say happy birthday to UG and a belated happy birthday to AK.

Trip Now Complete.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

Earl and I are back home from our night in Buffalo. The Eagles just trounced all over Washington, so Earl is in good spirits. I’m working on my school projects. Tom is content that his daddies are home.

On our way home we made our traditional stop at a Tom Wahl’s, this time in the Village of Avon. The restaurant is quite large and we were lucky to be two steps ahead of the crowd, as there was quite a crowd when we left.

While Earl drove the next 100 miles or so, I napped in carb-inspired bliss.

Halloween.

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

Since all the really chic parties were this past weekend, I didn’t get to show off my costume except for this well timed photo shoot. I considered going to supper in this outfit but then realized that except for the spandex, I was naked.

Perhaps it would have been an interesting evening after all.

No trick or treaters were to be found on our doorstep this year. Of course, the porch light was off, the garage lights were off and the blinds were drawn as we sat silently in the living room. Nah, I’m just kidding. We live about a half of a mile from a housing development and when we drove by I noticed a ton of cars with trick or treaters spilling out everywhere. The little beggers. Apparently the little ghouls and goblins prefer the close proximity of the stepford houses over our house with the long driveway. You’d think our address was 1313 Mockingbird Lane or something.

I made the comment today at work that I didn’t think kids did the whole trick or treat thing like they used to, what with the hysteria of candy from strangers and the paranoia of today’s generation of parents. Back in my day we marched up and down both sides of the street, usually in the snow, and engaged in once a year conversation with some of our neighbors, even the weird ones that had a horse living in a second story bedroom. Then we’d pile into my aunt’s Datsun and make the rounds to the great aunts and grandparents before eating ourselves into a diabetic coma and then threatening to blow up our stomachs by eating Pop Rocks with a Coca-Cola chaser.

Ah, the good ol’ days.

To properly celebrate Halloween this year, Earl and I watched the third season Halloween episode of “Bewitched”. The year was 1966 and Endora decides to have her annual party at Darrin and Samantha’s house. The guests include Boris and his girlfriend, a cat named Ava, baseball legend Willie Mays and the always campy Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur.

Now Endora knew how to properly have a Halloween party: with champagne and caviar.

Ready?

Originally uploaded by bluemarvel.

It’s Halloween. There’s a magic floating in the air. Kids are anxiously awaiting the end of the school day so that they can hit the streets tonight dressed as another, ready for some treats from the neighbors.

Earl and I have had one trick-or-treater come to our door in the ten years that we’ve been together. One. And he was shipped in from another town by one of Earl’s co-workers.

Perhaps we’re too spooky for words. Happy Halloween!

Well I’m settled in for the night just north of Baltimore in a town called Edgewood, Md. I love Hampton Inn. No matter where you go, there they are. I’ve checked in with Earl several times, who is en route to the Eagles game in Tampa with his brother. I have to admit that it is very odd (and in a way, somewhat depressing) for us to be having sort of separate vacations. This is one of the rare times that I can say that I’m glad I have a cell phone, because it allows my fingers to do the walking right to my partner, where I can hear his voice, anytime, anywhere and I don’t feel so quite alone.

I just went to the shopping plaza down the street, where they have a Wal*Mart and a Target Greatland in the same plaza. I found this to be quite odd. I walked around both.

Now I’m catching up on my blogs, fooling around with the digital camera a little bit and getting ready to call it a night. I’m still messing around with my route for tomorrow and Sunday; I guess only time will tell where I end up. I know that I’ll be home late Sunday afternoon so that I’m ready for work on Monday.

Only the fates know what lies on the path in the meantime.

After taking some back roads through the Hudson Valley, I decided around mid afternoon that if I was going to get anywhere, I would have to jump on the Thruway and head south (since the rain was heading north and east, sorry Karl.)

So I jumped on the New York State Thruway and headed for the Big Apple.

The traffic and rain were both heavy as I made my way south, so I opted to head for blue sky and jumped onto I-287 and headed into New Jersey.

Have I ever mentioned that I’m not a huge fan of New Jersey?

As I made my way down the interstate, the skies let loose with buckets of rain and lots of wind, leaving me to ask “What happened to the blue sky?” Leaves were blowing everywhere, sort of like a last minute attempt at autumn. But I kept heading south, with the plans of hitting Interstate 95 and trying to get to at least Washington, D.C. tonight.

The New Jersey Turnpike thought better.

The radio report on ‘New Jersey 101.5’ advised that there was a 15 mile backup southbound on the turnpike between exits 8A and 7A. Apparently that report was wrong, because the backup actually went all the way up to Exit 10 and was spilling onto I-287. So I jumped off and started the trek down the back roads.

Have I ever mentioned that I’m not a fan of driving in New Jersey? I’ve driven in 42 states. New Jersey is my least favorite of them. The problem is that any attempts at transportation progress has been nipped by “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) organizations. That’s why I-95 follows the NJ Turnpike, it was originally suppose to be its own road. So I joined the other couple of thousand drivers that took to the back roads as well and waited at traffic light after light after light after light after light after light.

I was getting extremely tense as I was making my way down backroads through Jersey. I was not enjoying the drive at all when I came upon a little town called Barnsboro. It was getting close to six and I was needing to relax. Having twirled my beard the entire trip so far (it’s a bad habit I have), I decided that I would relax by settling into a barber chair and getting my beard shaved off. I know that sounds a little odd, but for those that have had such an experience, you know that women relax by going to the spa or nail salon and the closest thing a guy can get to that is a professional shave by a barber. Not wanting to explain to the barber why I was getting the shave, I told him I was in town to get together with family. I hated lying to the guy but I didn’t feel it would complicate things any.

So I was the last customer in this little barbershop and came out with a little stubble mustache and cheeks as smooth as a baby’s bottom. It’s a look I like and will probably compliment with a stubble goatee for a while. The most important thing was that I was relaxed after the experience (and great conversation with the young barber) and ready to continue my journey with a clear mind. So I pressed onward.

Saugerties, N.Y.

Originally uploaded by macwarriorny.

Today I began my three-day road trip by heading down through the Hudson Valley. A famous person once said that with the interstate system you could travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific and not see a thing in between.

I find that to be very true.

So I took back roads where I could today, with my first stop being in the charming village of Saugerties, N.Y.

Earl and I have passed through Saugerties a couple of times. It’s about 50 or so miles south of Albany along US 9W, on the western bank of the Hudson River. It gets it’s own Thruway exit.

Saugerties is a cool little village in that they have never succumbed to the “urban renewal” plans, often seen in Upstate N.Y. Instead of abandoning their little downtown area and favoring big box stores out by the freeway, Saugerties is home to a charming village area with coffee shops, locally owned restaurants and eateries, artsy type places and antique shops. Lots of antique shops.

I had lunch at a locally owned lunch counter called “Dallas Hot Weiners.” It’s a very busy place, even after 1:00 p.m. The lunch counter overlooks the grills and fryers, there’s a few booths scattered about. I had the “Dallas Cheeseburger Special with fries”, which meant my cheeseburger came with lettuce and tomato on the side and had a dollop of their special sauce which looked a little bit like Cincinnati chili but tasted much better.

The whole meal, including a can of pop, came to $5.60.

Sitting at this lunch counter and walking around this little retail district reminded me of what my hometown used to be like, before everyone decided the plaza out by the interstate would be a better location. Saugerties sets a fine example of what an Upstate New York village can be like, all it takes is a little bit of TLC. I look forward to going back soon, and bringing Earl along with me the next time.