Road Trip 2007 – Part 2

It's the Tuesday after Labor Day, and I am heading into terra incognita.  I had been to Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama before, but Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas were all places I had not been.

It's about 350 miles between Birmingham and New Orleans.  I decided that while I had never been in Mississippi before, I certainly hadn't missed much based on the from my windshield.  Pine forest.  Pine forest.  More pine forest.  But as I got further south toward the gulf, I started to see more sections of the forest that damaged by Katrina.  This was effectively the 2 year anniversary of the storm.

Crossing into Louisiana, I stopped at the visitor's center and browsed the rack of fliers looking for a place to stay.  While I wanted a chain, I didn't want a big chain.  The Ambassador Hotel seemed to fit the bill nicely with a mid-week special and free valet parking.  Now I had a plan.

As mentioned earlier, I'm not the biggest fan of bridges, so I-10 over Lake Pontchartrain was not my favorite, but things got worse.

As I drove into town, the devastation of 2 years previous was everywhere.  You drove in past the empty amusement park that used to be a Six Flags, and now looked straight out of Scoobie Doo.  You looked left and right, and all you saw was abandoned buildings as far as the eye can see.

But every couple of miles, you would see a big banner on a apartment building or strip mall shouting that they were open.I turned down Canal St. and pass the entirely joyless Joy Theater.  But things did get better as you reached the river.  The Ambassador is converted old warehouses with beautiful hardwood floors and sections of exposed brick, just a couple blocks from the French Quarter. It was a Tuesday afternoon outside of the normal tourist season, and things were pretty dead.  I struck out on my own, to walk down Bourbon St., have some dinner, and see the sights.  As I was walking around, it felt like about 40% of the things were open, 20% were being worked on, and 40% were just sitting abandoned.  These two buildings were side-by-side:

And passing this joint didn't fill me with a whole lot of "good mojo", either.  But I don't want to focus so much on what was wrong.  This was my first trip to New Orleans, so I don't know what it was like before.  Walking down Bourbon Street at 5:00 on a Tuesday was a bit like seeing an aging southern belle under fluorescent lights: there was no hiding the flaws.

I stopped for a nice big plate of jambalaya at the Gumbo Shop.  For dessert, I thought I would try the brownie and the ice cream.  With a big ol' glass of milk (I didn't think the Captain and Cokes I had been drinking would work as well.)  Man, was that a HELL of a meal.

After dinner, the light was fading fast, so it was rush time to get out and get some pictures around the St. Louis Cathedral and Jackson Square, before heading back to my room.  No, I didn't hit the casinos or anything.  I was tired, and knew I had another 375 miles to drive in the morning.

  I actually want to get back there soon, and see how it's doing.

Road Trip 2007 – Part 1

With Labor Day rapidly disappearing in the review mirror, I think it's time to start off on a tale that involves both Labor Day and rear view mirrors.

Labor Day Weekend 2007, I set out on a little road trip.  Or not so little.  It turned out to be about 2,700 miles over the 10 days.  In the car, alone*.

The plan for the trip was to first drive from Chicago to Birmingham, AL to visit MFF and her daughter for the weekend, then on to New Orleans for a day, then on to visit my old roommate and his wife in Houston before cutting diagonally across the midsection of America back home.  All without GPS or Google maps on the Blackberry or anything.  Just me, Rand McNally, and some printed maps.

I took that Friday off, and was wheels turning on my way to Birmingham at 5:00 am to beat the traffic thru Chicago and thru northern Indiana.  It's actually a pretty straight shot down there on Interstate 65 thru Indy, Louisville, and Nashville.  But it is an 11 hour drive.  Good thing I loaded up on CDs before taking off.

Just out of "the region" of northwest Indiana, I passed one of those little Geo/Chevy Tracker deals that was top down with a bike in the back that had a plastic grocery bag wrapped around the seat.

I blasted around Indian-No-Place in no time, white knuckled a little on the high bridge over the Ohio River that was filled with construction, and made it to Nashville for a late lunch, and called MFF.  She was at work, and wouldn't get home until about 5:30, so she told me to stall a little.

When I entered Alabama, the first rest stop had rockets.  (NASA is just over in Huntsville)  I stopped, stretched my legs, and took a few shots.

After burning off some time there and in Nashville, I got to the north side of Birmingham at 4:30, just as all the traffic of people heading down to the gulf coast hit the road.  That's when I looked over and saw it.

There was that Geo/Chevy Tracker with the bike in the back, about 9 hours after I first saw it.

I had a great time visiting MFF and here daughter Sydney ("the Beans") that weekend.  We went to the local water park / amusement park, Alabama Adventure on Labor Day, and that evening, the Beans lost her first tooth, so I got to help play tooth fairy.

And here are some pictures, because the kids is so dang cute.

But time ticks on, and Tuesday, they headed off to school and I headed off to New Orleans.  (To be continued)

  Showing the gap.

MFF would kill me for posting this picture if she read my blog.  We had been at the water park all day, so she is covered with sunscreen and has been drenched all day.

The special tooth box.

* Probably 200 miles of it I had someone in the car with me. 

Feeling Artsy Fartsy – Art Attack II

Ya'll might remember the post I did a while back about my stint in the industrial arts class where I made the lamp?  Well, my junior year, I signed up for Industrial Arts II, hated the teacher, and along with Kyle Wallace, dropped the class and took regular Art I instead.

The class was fun.  We got to go outside a lot, and the teacher, Lee Henneberry, was a pretty lax grader.  So that was good, too.

Now, I've always been a doodler, and this class REALLY helped out my doodling.  But, senior year, I had too many college prep classes to take to burn a period on art, so Mr. Henneberry and I parted ways.  Too make up for it, I dated his daughter Maria, so he wouldn't feel like I was shunning him or anything.

While going through a box when I moved a year ago, I ran across some of the old artwork from that class.  For a kid who had never held a paint brush, I think some of them turned out pretty good.

Like back HERE, when I gave you the original "Art Attack" and challenged you to show me what was on your walls, now I'm challenging you to show me what you made in high school.  (And yes, Cowguy, shop class is art as much as sculpting is.)

(Confession – Some of these pictures have not done so well in storage, so there have been a few digital restorations done to get them looking right.)

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The purpose of this exercise was to practice blending.  We did sunsets.  That's supposed to be an old corn crib we had out at the farm where I grew up.  The building is long gone now, and I realize now, too, that the sky at the top should be blending in some darker hues with a little purple dropped in there, but what's a guy to do?

Originally, this was longer, but I cropped it a little and moved the signature up.  Ah, Photoshop.

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This one is Cora's favorite.  I brought them out when she was here.  I like it myself, too.  Again, the sunset study.  Don't know why I chose to silhouette the people instead of putting in a windmill or something, but I'm sure glad I did. 

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Artistically, this is my second favorite.  It's the parking lot behind the high school.  Like I said, we got to go outside in the nice weather, and the class was an after noon class, so I remember this a beautiful spring day under the blue Central Illinois sky.

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Here's one for Cowguy.  Did you have that deck of card growing up?  (For the city slickers, Furadan was a very popular pesticide in the 80's, but is effectively banned in the US, now, nematodes aren't toads, they are round worms, and 'yes' it appears that the corn stalk is growing fire dildos.)

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This is my favorite.  It is actually 4 bits that when assembled form three sides and a top.  Go figure I would like the technical one the most.

Here is what it looks like put all together.

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Now, I've shown you mine.

You show me yours.

Outlined Against A Blue-Gray September Sky…

Okay, maybe the game wasn't THAT legendary.

Okay, maybe it was just Nevada.

Okay, maybe next week's trip to Ann Arbor will really tell the tale.

But on one nearly perfect day in September, the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were nearly perfect, and recorded their first shutout under head coach Charlie Weis.  As seen from my vantage point (Section 105, Row 26, Seat 8), with my back pressed firmly against the wall, this was a team that was tired of having it's own back to the wall, and wanted to make a statement.

And the first half, wow did it make that statement.  The offense moved up the field with ease.  And the defense, while giving up a troubling long first drive to Nevada that resulted in a missed field goal, really tightened up.

After Notre Dame score their second touchdown right after the start of the second quarter, I headed down to get of some pop (I went to the game with T-Bone, Mrs. Ivy, his sister, and 2 nephews).  While standing in a line that seemed to move in retrograde motion, I heard a load roar from the crowd as Michael Floyd caught a pass on the sidelines and raced 72 yards for a score.  "Tell me you saw that?!?!" was T-Bone's only question when I returned a few minutes later with the buckets of pop.

The second half of the game was mostly turned over to making sure that no one got hurt and running out the clock.  I will tell you, I like that.  Some college's won't settle for an opening victory with under 50 points.  That's like a school house on Thanksgiving… No Class.

The "D" provided the excitement (mostly) for the second half with an excellent goal line stand (fumble recovery) and an interception to ice the remaining Nevada hopes.

And since only mjenks is still reading this, here's some sights and sounds of the day in Notre Dame, Indiana.

The band marches to the stadium before the game…

  The Dome really is GOLDEN

Scope in front of "Touchdown Jesus".  No, back there on the library, not Lech Wałęsa over there.

  Let the games begin!

And as a wrap up, here's the band again.

Now, on to Michigan.

Scope on "Dropping the Soap" (or "Bar Soap")

I went down to southern Indiana to for a wedding (see the famous photo HERE).  Saturday morning, I was in the downstairs shower, and while there were 8 or 10 bottles of stuff in the shower, there was one thing missing:  A bar of soap.

Ladies, when did you all get together and decide to banish bar soap from the bathroom? Was there some kind of symposium that was held?  Was it an internet vote?  Or was it just some viral fad that spread across the country?

And, "No, the fancy sea shell ones" aren't to ever be used, so they don't count.

I have "body wash", it's a bar of anti-bacterial DIAL ('cuz the gold looks nice in my bathrooms.  Green Zest would totally clash.).  And that's it.  There's liquid hand soap dispensers by all the sinks, but I don't know if they even still work, because there is also a God fearing bar of soap sitting there too.

If I were to need something with a little GRIT for the tougher jobs, I guess I would use Lava, not not some bottle of pustules and slime that looks like the physical manifestation of Vogon poetry.

I normally have a bar of soap in my travel kit, but left it at home this trip, so I just used extra shampoo to get clean.  On the plus side, all on my different hairy bits were conditioned and dandruff free.  After the shower, I picked a towel up from the basket that was pointed out to me.

You guessed it, it was a hand towel.

So You Say You Want A Revolution? #9 #9 #9

A little number Revolution 9 on 09/09/09.

I really hate this "song" and always skip it when this CD is in.

Totally Blowing Shit Up Tuesday – W/Cora

Everyone's favorite mad scientist mjenks does a wonderful little thing for us on Tuesdays, where he explains to us why things explode and then provides us a video of an explosion.

When Cora was last here, one morning we were lounging around, and I flipped on some MythBusters.  Cora had heard of it, but had never really watched it.  Earlier, we had wondered if my water heater (not "hot water heater", you don't need to heat hot water) would hold up to the three of us showering in the morning.

MythBusters and water heaters made me think of my favorite episodes of all time.

Note, while they did tamper with the safeties on the water heater, those safeties are only there because somewhere, sometime, they weren't.

So, sleep easy, thinking that something like this is in your house.

(And technically, mjenks isn't a "mad scientist".  He can't be after Notre Dame's thrashing of Nevada on Saturday.)

Eric's First Comment

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Eric said...

Gwen;

Forgive me if my STL geography is a tad off, but as I understand it, isn't your neighborhood the only place to really LIVE in STL? Everyplace else, folks is just EXISTING. But your 'hood is for LIVING.
And you'll totally recognize her from that one time at Schnucks...

September 4, 2008 8:21 PM

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Exactly 1 year ago, I stuck my big toe into blog world be leaving my first comment EVER on a blog post.  The comment above was posted HERE, on the Gwen's wonderful blog, Everything I Like Causes Cancer.

It would be a little while before I dusted off the 'Scope' moniker and about 2 months before I started up 'Scope-Tech'.  But with both Cora and Candy hitting blogiversaries recently, I thought I would honor the moment that I started down a path that would change me life forever.

I want to thank every single person who has read even a single post of mine, let alone commented or followed.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

- Eric

Japanese McDonald's Commercials

I cannot help but think that Mr. Matthew Jenks had something to do with this commercial:

And that God (aka 'Poobomber') had his fingers in this one (commercial, not model):

A little Fifth Element going on there?

And today is a big day in blogging history for me.  Check back later. Around 8:21 pm Central time.

My Friend Sass

[Editor's Note:  This post will make a lot more sense if you read Sass's (wow, that's a lot of S's together) POST first.  Thanks.]

We met over "The Shocker" and she inspired me to create the emoticon for it that is sweeping the internet:  ||_|

We bonded over the now former governor of the state and the media's excessive use of the word 'TAINT'.

We bonded over beers and horseshoe sandwiches when I stopped by her house one day.

Along the way, among the blogging, FaceBooking, and email, something wonderful happened.  My "blog friend" became my "friend."

So I will miss her blog, "http://thelifeofsass.blogspot.com/" I will NOT miss out on "the LIFE of Sass" as it continues to unfold.

And that is why I am happy for my friend, as she strides out on new adventures: because I'm tagging along for the ride.

The Ring's The Thing

As you all know, I can be a bit of an idiot when it comes to certain things. I am such a "process and procedure" engineering type, and I want the to know how others have tackled a specific problem, so I can gather the info, analyze it, and make my plans and contingency plans.

So, that's why I'm going to ask you for your advice on a purely HYPOTHETICAL situation:

How do you buy an engagement ring?

Ladies:

1. Did he have a ring when he proposed?
2. Did you have any input on the rings (engagement / wedding)?
3. If not, do you wish you had?
4. If so, did you go with him when he actually made the purchase?
5. Did you just give him guidelines on styles?  Cut? Gold vs. sliver vs. platinum?  I really like "Carol's ring", etc.?
6. Off the shelf? Custom designed? Vintage (but not pawn shop)?
7. Set or separates?

Guys:

1. Did you have a ring when you proposed?
2. Did you involve your lady in picking out the ring?
3. If no, did you take a trusted female (sister, cousin, etc.)?
4. Did you ask her friends?
5. Did you take her browsing, but then you made the final purchase?
6. Did you just roll the dice?
7. Does your wedding ring match hers?
8. Did you follow the "2 month rule"?

See?  HYPOTHETICALLY, I'll be buying Cora something that she will be wearing on her hand for the rest of her life.  It seems a bit presumptuous of me to make that kind of decision without her input.

I know what you may be thinking, "Dude, she reads your blog!"  Yes, she does.  And while I may be an idiot, I'm not THAT big of an idiot.

I used the word "HYPOTHETICALLY" to TOTALLY throw her off the scent.  Gee-whiz.

One more question:  When you reach that stage where you are openly talking about shopping for engagement rings while absentmindedly rubbing the spot on her hand where said ring would go, but you haven't TECHNICALLY proposed yet, is there a name for that stage?  Would that be "pre-engaged"?

Just some random thoughts I've been having.

So, what's been on your mind recently?

I Adore-a Cora – Part 2

So, as you read HERE, the first half of Cora & and her daughter Gwen's visit could have gone any better.  But then, something happened.

Most of the second half DID go better that the first half.

MONDAY

"Wake me, shake me, Monday, Monday!"  Hey!  Hey!  It's Monday, and my house is still filled with females. After our busy day downtown on Sunday, Monday started off a bit low key.  But did it ever pick up steam.

After lounging around all morning and watching Red Dwarf DVD's (Gwen's idea), we returned to Quake where she spent a small fortune (not really) on collectables, and her heart was filled with joy.

From there, we went and had some flaming cheese.

Mmmmm… Fire + Cheese = GOOD!

After that excitement, we returned home and laid down for a little rest.  It was right about 5:00, so I texted the beautiful blond blogger, Ms. Sassy Britches. She was in Chicago and we were planning to meet up that afternoon for dinner before Cora, Gwen, and I went to see a play. I told her in the text to text me back when she got close.  Instantly, I got a replay that she was about to 100 yards away (91.44 meters for my foreign readers).  She was soon at my doorstep, and I had the pleasure of watching two old friends meet for the first time as she and Cora got together.

We talked for a while, then hit my corner "Irish Pub" (it is Chicago after all) for dinner and more conversation.  Three more charming dinner companions a man could not ask for.

Unfortunately, time kept ticking along and we went our separate ways.  Sassy B. headed off to do the work that she'd been ignoring all day and the three of us headed off to see a sketch comedy performed in a rickety theater above a funeral home.

I'm not sure Cora or Gwen stopped laughing the whole show.  People, seriously, if you are ever in Chicago on a Monday night, I strongly urge you to see Barrel of Monkeys.  And it helps the children.  I know what you're thinking: No, not communist children.  It is a magical place, and you will want to stay there forever. (Note: Yes, only Cora will get those jokes.  What's your point?)

TUESDAY

Tuesday, we headed off to another museum, the Field Museum of Natural History (at least Macy's didn't rename THAT, fargin ice holes!) to see dinosaurs and pirates.

And we was a dinosaur ("Sue" the most intact T-Rex fossil ever)

And the girls even made a little time with a pirate.

And there is even a pretty fair view of the skyline from the front of the building.

Wednesday

This was the day that I think none of us were looking forward to.  My gals were leaving me.  And Chicago even started to cry, as the rains returned to town.  We had brunch at a greasy spoon diner just up the street called Jeri's Grill.  But it too, too soon was time to drive them to the airport.  In route, we swung by Walt Disney's old house on the west side.  It was around this point that Cora and I pretty much stopped caring if Gwen caught us smooching.  Oh, she'd walked in on us a few times thru the week, but when days become hour become minutes, we made the most of them.  At the airport I watched them walk down the long security aisle until I was certain I could see them no longer, and then drove to the cell phone parking lot, and watched my Blackberry until their flight status said, "Departed", and I drove back to my far to quiet, far to lonely condo.

More than one tear was shed.

Thursday

I woke up to find an email telling me about the unfortunate incident that occurred when they got home.  But that's not my story to tell.  Watch for it over at Cora's.  (Yes, I'm a brat.)

But, I can honestly say, by seeing the looks on Cora & Gwen's faces that week, that it was the best birthday present I could have given Cora.  Special memories with her daughter.

I Adore-a Cora – Part 1

So much to tell.

So little time.

Cora and her daughter, Gwen, visited me for a week.  It was a great time.  I know, normally, I take my time and stretch out the Cora posts, but I will be going out of town over the weekend, and I don't think most of this can wait until next week, so here are some highlights:

Thursday

Bad Omen: I'm late picking the gals up at the airport.  I had a 4:00 meeting, and their plane landed at 5:00.  They were gracious, and weren't waiting long, but still…

Bad Omen: I pick a place to have dinner when we get home, and the food is a little spicier than Gwen likes.

Good Sign: I recover by walking us home via McDonald's.  Amazing what an order of chicken McNuggets and a couple chocolate chip cookies will do for a mood.  Cora reassured me that solving the problem earned me more points than causing the problem caused.

Friday

Off to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Harry Potter Exhibit.  That was a hit with both the ladies.  They had a great time at the museum.  We also got to see some hikers getting mauled by bears,and saw Harland Sanders try to entice a young girl with EXTREMELY fresh chicken. The night ended with pizza and more chicken fingers.

Saturday

After a lazy start to the morning, it was off to Lincoln Ave and Quake.  Quake sells collectables.  Cora describes it as "walking into eBay." If you are looking for an action figure, movie promotional item, etc. this little store is the place to go.  Gwen, a huge fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride, found a few things for her collection, and a new favorite store.  Afterwards, we drove out to the suburbs for a quick tour of "Scope's Old Stomping Grounds" and to have dinner with some of my friends out in the 'burbs.  And they have a daughter exactly Gwen's age who also loves to read.  They hit it off like peas in a pod, and my friends, of course, loved Cora.

Sunday

Sunday was our "downtown" day.  We took the L downtown to see the sights, and boy, did we.

After climbing up (and sliding down) the Picasso statue, and doing a little Ferris Bueller at the Flamingo, and even making our own art at Miller's Pub, it was time for the gals to cool off in Crown Fountain in Millennium Park.

 
We will continue this little story later with a blogger meet-up, a barrel of monkeys, pirates, and dinosaurs.

Stay tuned.