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01-18-2013, 12:44 AM
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#31 | ||||||||||||||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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 Dave!!! Good to hear from you. Insight and knowledge!  You sure you’re readin’ this in the same language that I’m typin’ it in? Might want to check you setting there. But if you’re bound and determined to stay, by all means, welcome aboard. Quote:
My nemesis is the only one with enough smarts to actually listen to me. I may have to reevaluate my opinion of your intellect. Quote:
You quickly descended to the murky depths of my expectations for you and then kept right on digging. Drama queen eh…. As God is my witness, I shall never go without annual Disney trips again! Besides, didn’t you just go twice in a year, and get someone else to pay for a big chunk of one of ‘em? As for the fact that you we missed the Magic for near a decade… that just reafirmes my current reevaluation of you intellect. Quote:
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And don’t call me Shirley. ‘less you want I should start callin’ you Laverne. Quote:
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You fouled up... you trusted us! Hey, make the best of it! Quote:
Whoa… a rational exchange. What’s the world coming to? Quote:
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Ooooo, this could be fun; where ‘we headed? Tell ya’ what. You pick the first off-topic. Then everyone else can blame you for it. Quote:
I did explain it but since y’all are going to make an issue out of this… You’re now going to have to suffer the consequences. Bwwwwwwwwhhhhaaahhhaaahhhaaaa! Quote:
 :And while we’re there I’ve got a special tour planed just for you. It’s just down the hall here… You go on, I’ll catch up in a little bit… honest! Quote:
Momentarily, you’ll both be payin’ for that transgression. I assure you. 
__________________
 Rob  .. Tamara  .. DS18-Max  I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11   |
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01-18-2013, 12:51 AM
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#32 | |||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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What other TR comes equipped with its own jester?  Quote:
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Y’all consider two days a long time between updates? Mind if I were to hold y’all to the same standard? Well since y’all have settled in for a nice long wait… I might as well kick back and take a break for a week or two before posting the next update. Here… I think I’ll have me some of that beer that Andy brought 
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-18-2013, 12:54 AM
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#33 | |||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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Are y’all telling me that it’s going to be Barry that will be the voice of reason!!!! I don’t have to take y’all to see Hanger-18… We’re already here!  OK… I calm now. Howdy Barry… As a matter of fact, I was waiting on you to get here. Now that you have … I may just post the next part of this disaster. Quote:
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-18-2013, 01:10 AM
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#34 |
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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Chapter 2: With Arms Wide Open  Part-0: The Introduction you foolishly asked for… Well, as Kat pointed out a little bit ago (and Andy then piled on being as he lacked anything original to complain about), traditionally, a TR introduction will “introduce” the players and generally set up the parameters of the trip to follow. She (and my feckless nemesis) also noted that mine really only muddied the waters and never actually introduced anyone. Time to rectify that situation… Now to re-explain what I thought I’d already explained…And also to point out that if you keep demanding that I write even more useless crap… then you’re just going to have to read more useless crap. Seems to me that y’all are just purposely giving me reason to abuse you farther for no real gain on your own part. Just something to think about. This TR will be about several different trips (with one chapter of varying lengths devoted to each). From here on, I’ll start each new chapter with a proper introduction for the particular excursion to come. A little like the various “Navis and Mags” chapters that litter and mar my prior TR on the “art” of Cruising DCL. And so… It is with deepest pleasure and greatest pride that I welcome you tonight. And now, we invite you to relax. Let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents... your dinn… Errrrrrr… ummmm… I mean… the first gratuitous introduction. And there was much rejoicing!  = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Gem in the Crown Welcome to the Official Introduction for April, 2012’s unexpected road trip. This one is school related (being as it was a school function that facilitated our taking it in the first place). It could easily have been something that only Max would have undertaken, but it was scheduled for late in the month when I could actually get away from work. Given that bit of good fortune, mom and dad decided that it might make for a good excursion (and most certainly a unique one). Meet: mom and dad…  The pretty one there on the left would be Tamara. A proper southern bell, undeniable saint and the main reason I’ve survived the riggers of life thus far (having settled for me… her judgment might be questionable, but that don’t infringe on her sainthood). The galoot on the right there... that would be me (this would be a good time to overt your eyes). Now, as I was sayin’ a moment ago… this trip offered us an excellent chance to not only add to our own enjoyment and life experiences, but also to support our young’en in something that was very important to him. The young’en in question would be this fellow right here…  Max A high school junior at the time of the trip but now finishing up his last year in the public schools and currently making plans to head off to college. Actually he’s been accepted to a couple of ‘em, but I ain’t so sure my wallet will survive that next phase of his life’s trajectory. College traumas aside, here’s the specific trip we’ll be discussing this time around (map wise that is)…  Back in April or 2012 we were headed to western Ohio and specifically to Dayton. The “Gem City”… home of the Wright Brothers (we’ll get to those side trips a little later on) The reasons behind that “Gem City” nickname are a might obscure. The most common one being that since Cincinnati is “The Queen City” (which is really confusing to us, being as Charlotte is also called that and is actually named for a queen), then it follows that Dayton (just to the north) is the “Jewel in the Crown”. Myself… I rather like the story that the “Gem” part of it comes from the name of a successful racehorse in the city’s more dubious past. Feel free to make up you own back story (that’s more fun anyway) Like most cities of any size (and a few that might seem to be no more then bumps in the road), There are actually a number of interesting things to occupy ones attention in this burgh. The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force America's Packard Museum - The Citizens Motorcar Co. and Carillon Historical Park among other sites. There are also a couple of universities (Write State and Dayton U), and we were going to be spending a good bit of time in one of those fine institution’s arena enjoying displays of artistic interpretation combined with some fairly fierce competition. Well, the grown ups will be enjoying, ‘cause we have no work that has to be done (on this trip at least). The boy on the other hand has a lot of work to do on this joy ride… quite a lot. He’s still going to enjoy it, and even create indelible memories that he can treasure for the rest of his days, but he’s going to have to work for the privilege. Fair warning!!! The next part of this chapter includes arcane bits of information that will not interest most non-geeks, and will therefore be short on touristy type fair. Given that you now have to read through that kind of tripe and combine it with your previous irrational demands that I add additional chapters like this one… I have to stop and ask you: “Just what where you thinking in the first place?” I will make up for this insult (somewhat) in the parts to follow, but I figured you should be warned. You now have the option of skipping Part-1 and waiting for the less geeky stuff. Well now, about the only other detail that could use some explaining at this point would be just why this chapter is named: “With Arms Wide Open” Sorry Charlie, can’t give you that one yet, you’ve got to endure Part-1 of the chapter to get to that (geeky) little tidbit. Yep that would be the part coming up that I just told you to skip… quite the dilemma ehh? OK, enough of this foolish introduction nonsense (and I hope you’re satisfied with the suffering and havoc that you created for yourselves). Let’s head on out to: Beautiful Downtown Dayton!  Actually, that is kind’a purr-ty, now ain’t it?
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 Last edited by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes; 01-18-2013 at 01:59 PM. |
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01-18-2013, 01:27 AM
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#35 |
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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Chapter 2: With Arms Wide Open  Part 1: W. G. I. A lot of folks… possibly even most folks… have kids that are into sports of one form or another. Which means that as parents, they have a common frame of reference when it comes to the amount of time spent traveling from one venue to another either to get the kids to the next big game or just to even have an opportunity to see said competition for ourselves.  Those whose kids get to be rather good at their sport of choice also know about those even longer trips for regional tournaments and multi-state championships. These trips can be quite an adventure, and also have a habit of coming up unexpectedly. I mean, you can’t really predict just exactly how well a team will do in any given season; sometimes things come together just right and everyone gets to firing on the same cylinders and the next thing you know, you’re off on a long distance adventure to see just how good your young’ens are compared to any number of other worthy groups from around the country.  But did you know that the same thing can still occur even if you kids are geeky musicians as opposed to being athletically inclined? Well I’m here to tell you that my boy has absolutely no interest in pretty much any sport what so ever. No favorite ball player, or favorite team, no posters on the walls or even a stack of trading cards of any kind. Nope… his heroes are composers and the teams that he follows, roots for, has absolute opinions on and spends time searching for on Youtube are Drum and Bugle corps. Really! So it would be easy to assume that I don’t have any real understanding of the trials and tribulations that befall the weary parents of those talented athletes I was discussing. That since my family is obviously not normal (from a stereotypical “Red Blooded American” prospective that is); the vivid descriptions were simply a ploy to ingratiate myself with the majority of potential readers (all three or four of them). Nope… not so. Geeks do the same kind of long distance traveling for regional competitions that normal folks do… just for “geeky’ reasons. And that’s why in mid April of 2012; we were heading to Dayton Ohio. . = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The First Right Turn of the Year So as to get this already excessively verbose TR on the move, I’m going to dive (or is that drive) right into the actual roadway part of the journey and then explain the reasons as I go. 18 April, 2012. There was a good bit of asphalt to traverse in our future, but we chose to sleep in a bit and let all the commuter traffic clear out (no sense in fighting that battle if I didn’t have to). After a leisurely breakfast the road beckoned. Upon reaching the critical junction at the corner of SC-160 and I-77, we made a right turn (headed away from Disney) that took us north toward what once was called The Northwest Territory. That’s one… I’ve discussed this several times in the past, but it seems that I can’t drive a distance of more then about three hundred miles without getting rained on. Today was no different.  The first half of the drive would look a lot like that. We were headed to Ohio by way of West Virginia and that route would take us through the capitol. I was actually born in Charleston, WV (the reason I say that I’m a hillbilly by birth) and I had the intention of stopping in at the capitol building for a little look around at the grounds, monuments and museums before getting back on the road. But… The abysmal weather just convinced me otherwise. This is as close as we got  …a sighting of the gilded Capitol dome in the distance obscured by precipitation and the constant rhythmic motion of the wiper blades. We’ll just keep pushing on, I do believe. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Sizzles, Zings, Flips, Bell-Taps and Hinge Chokes Ok, while we’re making our way out of the Kanawha river valley and starting on a more westerly trajectory, I’m going to digress a little bit. There are things that need ‘splainin’ so I’ll toss them out in smaller doses while we’re in the midst of the drive here. As I alluded at the beginning of this chapter, Max is not an athlete per say, he’s a musician (but believe it or not, that requires a good bit of athleticism and a whole lot of stamina).  Music is the one thing that really gets his passion up and he intends to study music performances and music education in collage (once I can figure out how to pay for it). His weapons of choice are trombones and baritones and he quite good at them. To that point, he just finished in the second spot in our ten county regional honors band auditions and has been called back to compete for a spot in the all state bands. Given this abilities on brass horns, imagine our surprise when he informed us early in the year that we was joining the schools competition “Indoor Percussion Unit”… playing cymbals!  Whoa… what? Actuality, this ain’t as odd as it sounds. Indoor Percussion is a lot like full marching band (which he loves), but on a smaller scale, performed indoors (well duh) and with no horns. The directors at Nation Ford High School needed twenty-five people to fill all the spots for this years competition show. Problem is, they just didn’t have that many kids in the percussion section alone. No problem, the instructors looked for folks from the horn line to fill out the compliment. Specifically they needed people to learn and play the cymbals, some of the base drums and auxiliary percussion. The skills needed: high rhythm abilities, excellent marching skills and upper body strength. Needles to say, most of the young’ens taped for these spots came out of the low brass section as they were quite used to wielding a good deal of extra weight while also playing complex rhythms on the move. There are only a few rudiments that need to be learned on a set of cymbals (like those listed in the name of this subsection) but their purpose is at times more visual and the bulk of the work (and I mean weeks worth of it) was spent after school in the gym learning the marching drill for their competition show.  Even though it is a percussion unit, there are also folks playing marimbas, xylophones, vibraphones, and even keyboards, so there is melody to the performance as well as rhythm. The main piece of music chosen this season was “Amazing Grace” (yes, I’m serious… that’s the main theme) That was combined with a more obscure modern praise tune titled: “With Arms Wide Open” (not the “Creed” song… this is a very different tune) it was this second tune that gave the show its title (so as not to give away too much to anyone who had never seen the performance before). Don’t believe it’s possible to combine a marching drum line with “Amazing Grace”… go click on that YouTube link at the top of this post. Anyway, the kids started work in January and entered their first competition in March. Unlike the work Max had always done with the full marching band, where I was part of the road crew and pretty much knew every aspect of the show, this was all done on his time. The first performance I really saw was at their first competition as a spectator (something new for me as I was usually down on the field hauling gear). When all was said and done that day, they had came in forth overall. Not knowing what to expect, and our school having never competed is this particular type of performance venue before, we were floored. The next contest, they won their division (more shock and awe). The one after that was an invitation to perform in the W G I Grand Nationals (that acronym there stands for: “Winter Guard International”)… Which are held annually in and around… you guess it… Dayton, Ohio. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Terra Incognita Meanwhile back in the Appalachians… Things finally started clearing up weather wise as we got onto US-35 and approached the Ohio River.  Moments later, we were entering uncharted territory (for us at least)…  This eastern part of Ohio is very similar to the majority of West Virginia; low mountains and expansive valleys.  But soon enough it flattened out into almost prairie like farm lands and presented a fairly consistent view of “not much” for the next couple hundred miles. On the up side, US-35 through southern Ohio is a fairly well maintained limited access divided highway with very manageable traffic. The drive may have lacked grand sites, but it also lacked any major frustrations. Somewhere in the early evening we got back into civilization and found ourselves entering the outskirts of Dayton, Ohio.  Tamara and I checked into a good hotel room in the north side of town (in an area known as Hubber Heights), got some dinner at a very nice local Italian restaurant within walking distance and then settled in for the evening. Tomorrow had the potential of being a very long day. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Camaraderie You’ll notice that a moment ago when I said that we had checked into a hotel, I failed to mention that that our son was part of the group. That would be because he wasn’t there. With us that is. He had made the journey up to Dayton via bus the day before. Well via “coach” actually but it’s a similar idea that my regular readers are now quite familiar with. To cut down on the cost burden on each family, they split the travel expenses by sharing the trip with a percussion unit from one of the other schools in the area where we live. Since each school’s scheduled initial performance times were several hours apart, they also took turns helping each other haul gear and stage-set once inside the arena. As an additional method of conserving funds, they also skipped the hotels and camped out at a youth center in the Dayton area. Since this space included a regulation gymnasium, it was also a good spot to rehearse prior to performance day. Some kids from the adjacent elementary school even took a short field trip to walk over and watch them work. Needless to say, this was an activity that most of them had not encountered before.  There was a Q&A session afterward and several of the younger kids were impressed enough to say that they were now considering music once they got into middle school. It’s a good day when you can inspire someone to try something new. Being as this road trip was going on while school was still in session, there were also regular (and mandatory) homework-a-thons.  Oh, when I said earlier that they “camped out” at this youth center, I meant it; sleeping bags and all. I tried to convince Max to take an air mattress as well but he figured that no one else would and vetoed the idea on the grounds of not wanting to stand out. I argued that rather then standing out, those without would be dope-slapping themselves wishing that they’d thought to bring such, but (being smarter the me) he begged to differ. Once everyone started settling in for the first evening though, it turned out that most of the others had come to a similar conclusion as I had. Being wrong is bad enough, but the boy also had to sleep directly on the hard floor for his trouble. Needless to say, my bed was a lot comfier then his. Lesson learned? Don’t know. We’ll see the next time a similar situation arises. He was certainly mad at himself afterward, so just maybe he’ll listen a little more seriously the next time I offer up a bit of advice. A teenager… listen… to a parent! What kind of dream world you livin’ in boy? = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Round One The next morning was bright and clear. Not a drop of rain in the forecast (‘bout time too). Now since we’d be indoors all day, that didn’t really matter much, but it still beat the conditions of the day before. Tamara and I headed to the Dayton University Arena (Home of the Flyers), found ourselves good seats in the lower level and settled in. We’d be here a while. There are several classes of competition, but the largest was made up of musicians affiliated with specific high schools from around the country. Sixty-four of them to be more precise; divided up into four rounds of 16 units each. We intended to stay and see every one of them perform (yep we’re that nutty). Oh, and if the kids made it into the next round, we’d be stayin’ for that as well. At about this same time our kids were outside in the parking lot warming up and getting in some last minute practice.  They were scheduled to perform second to last in the first group. You’d think that would give one plenty of time to prepare, but their call time rolled around far quicker that it seemed like it should have. While waiting on deck some watched the folks ahead of them on the overhead monitors, others were trying to stay focuses on the performance to come.  At 12:05 they were given control of the floor. The kids from the other school were on hand and helped spread the floor tarp…  Every group uses one of these to define the size of the stage and as a thematic visual for their performance. Watching each group unfold their tarp is like getting to open a present. Some are very creative. They give you a clue about what their going to do and along with the title of the show, offer some insight into the nature of the performance to come and what pieces of music they may be interpreting. …and a minute later they were all set for the only guaranteed performance they’d get.  Three quarters of the schools that would be performing that day would get only one shot and then they’d be headed home. If we were going to make it into the semifinals, the kids would have to finish in the top three of their round. If that didn’t happen then it would be a fight against twenty-six other groups from the first half of the day for only three remaining wildcard spots. Since the Nation Ford percussion unit had never competed on a national level before, we didn’t know what to expect. We had no real frame of reference. All they could do was take the court and put on the best performance they had in them. The end result of this run…  Looks like we’re going to be here for a while yet. Next up: Is that Lake Erie? And low and behold… we’ll be doing a bit of actual sightseeing Really!
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-18-2013, 09:56 AM
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#36 | |
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I know I left that "post" button around here somewhere?
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 3,667
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 And if your talking about those big buildings where we pay ridiculous amounts of money to get rid of our kids for 4 years, that is a COLLEGE, not a collage. A collage is basically an bunch of pictures thrown together for ones enjoyment.   You said I could do it.
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(Jim)  (W)  (DS12)  (DD10)DD# 714 |
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01-18-2013, 10:37 AM
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DIS Dad #257
Don't underestimate your audience. I'm sure there's a fart joke in here somewhere 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Delaware
Posts: 6,107
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 Shameless plug on page 2!  Quote:
No, it doesn't make sense and the plot holes become more apparent the longer you think about them, but it sounds cool. Quote:
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 This is known in parenting circles as allowing your kids to "fail forward". You only need to learn that lesson once. Well, most people, anyway.Quote:
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Me (Mark)
 DW (Mrs. Knowitall)  DD11  DS9  DS7   DIS Dads Club Member #257  Operation Big Thunder: The Dole Whip Conspiracy Rust Belt Road Trip 2011 A Vacation From My Problems (A Sept. 2010 Trip Report) COMPLETED 12/14 Non-Disney Southern Road Trip Report COMPLETE at the DIS Dads webpage COMPLETED TRIP REPORT: Voyage of the Delawareans: November 8-12 4-Night Cruise |
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01-18-2013, 12:15 PM
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DIS Dad #460
You should always make room for a loophole when you need it 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 8,092
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Andy
 DW DS(3) DD DIS Dad's Club Member #460 Test Track Dummies - 2012 Disdads Fantasy Football Dole Whip Cup Champion They Should Really Put a Bar in Here - Dec 2012 TR That was fun! Let's do it again! - Update 11/15 Let's turn around. Magic Kingdom is open till 1AM! - My first ever trip report - Complete I will never go to Disney World pushing a stroller! - My effort at a first time PTR.Complete |
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01-19-2013, 11:27 PM
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#39 | |||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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you can get there as fast as it suits you.  Quote:
‘Must be where my mind was subconsciously heading. By the way… I think you misused a word up there in that last assault on my character. :Quote:
But I didn’t say there wouldn’t be consciences. You will now be playing the part of the English teacher. We’ll now be referring to you as: “Mrs. Jackson”…  …the individual who taught me to despise English teachers beyond even the bullies that beat me regularly. It literally took over thirty years before I even attempted to write so much as a paragraph for my own enjoyment (much less something like a TR) do to that particular educator’s singular efforts. You will now serve as her stand in for the rest of this literary failure. As you’ve already caught me misspelling one word, the entire paper will receive an automatic “F”, so any other mistakes identified will simply be noted by additional minus signs added to the failing grade (and yes, she did stuff like that)? Oh, and at least I did go back and correct the mistake (the lesson learned: “Auto-correct” does you no favors).
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 Last edited by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes; 01-23-2013 at 10:49 PM. |
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01-19-2013, 11:34 PM
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#40 | ||||||||||||||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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She wisely declined the offer. Quote:
you’ll liekly see more. Quote:
If I have any more place nicknames that need explaining, I may have to ask for alternative stories from the peanut gallery. Worthless points may be offered up to the best “explanations”. There… A plausible (if unlikely) TR game in the making. Right now, you’re in the lead. +1 Quote:
You’ve proven that you qualify ten times over in past TRs. Now I should have clarified that the last update was going to be more suited to “Band Geeks”, but… All geeks are really kindred spirits. Quote:
Who’d a thunk. Quote:
Remember I live near Charlotte and am also a long time Dolphins fan. I dwell in your cave. Quote:
That’s just about exactly what the vast majority of my neighbors believe. Fervently. And I’m not kidding. Quote:
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But it was still a good trip. Quote:
We saw some really amazing stuff up there. Quote:
This bunch here will do it again in my October/November chapter later on in this rambling shambles of a story. Quote:
(I can repost the whole rule list later for that’s that missed them if y’all are interested.) Quote:
They ain’t perfect, but very often, they’re very good at what they do. Makes ya’ proud. Makes ya’ consider going into eternal debt for college so that they can keep it up. The thought of which makes you cry, but you still consider it.
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-19-2013, 11:50 PM
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#41 | ||||||||||||||||
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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It has that goin’ for it. Quote:
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We don’t “need” to retire anyway. What would we do with the time… go to Disney? Quote:
you mean this fellow? We didn’t head south toward Cinci so we missed that landmark. We also missed the lightning strike that did this to him… But I understand that they’ve replaced him with even more butter…  Less artistic to be sure, but the name “Touchdown Jesus” doesn’t suit this one as well, so I’m pretty sure the congregation there is pleased with the change. Quote:
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Pure coincidence I assure you. Quote:
We’ll miss that stop on the way home too, but for different reasons. Quote:
The more related experiences he has the better. Quote:
Just seems too much like a ready-made punch line, don’t it? But oddly enough, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois are actually very strong areas for music and performance amongst high school kids. Long traditions of it around there (including, as you well know, the fact that Perdue University is one of the progenitors of modern college marching bands). The concept for this particular type of competition arose in the Dayton area (as a way to keep things going through the winter months… back when we had winter) and so it just grew up around there. Other then the sixty-four schools competing in our classification, there were about forty independent groups (with kids of similar age but not affiliated with a single school), a large number of scholastic and independent groups completing in a more advanced class (larger groups, more complex presentations, more advanced playing abilities), and another group of scholastic and independent units that included folks up through the college level that did some really amazing things. The hotels through out the city were booked to capacity. Quote:
As the economic engines of the Midwest, they are quite “much”. As something that catches the eye of the highway traveler… They’re more of a blur. Forgive us… we lack the expertise needed to notice the subtle differences. Care to add a Bonus feature on the subject? (and I’m actually serious about that one.) Quote:
These kids, however, attend the “other” school in the next town down from us. Not being from the institution of learning that actually got named for the town, they’re as use to insults and upturned noses as we are, so both groups share a common background as outsiders and actually get along fairly well. Their first performance was in the late afternoon. They did well, but were among the three-quarters of units that just didn’t get more then one shot at it this time around. Quote:
Both have much to learn.  Quote:
that’s a tall order. We’ll have to see how that goes. Quote:
I won’t be pickin’ on him
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 Last edited by GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes; 01-23-2013 at 10:55 PM. |
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01-24-2013, 01:59 PM
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#42 |
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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No other commentary???
Y’all are letting me off way too easy ya’ know. Are any of you even listening?  Bueller?... Bueller?... Bueller? Um, he's sick. My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious. Thank you, Simone. No problem whatsoever. Still nothing? OK… you asked for it… :
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-24-2013, 02:19 PM
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#43 |
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DDC 469
Never mind the Kool-Aid, don’t drink the Beverly! If it’s still here tomorrow… I may ignore it again
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Along the Nation Ford, SC
Posts: 4,817
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Chapter 2: With Arms Wide Open  Part 2: Long Strange Trip Some times you just get it into you head that you’re gonn’a do something. No particular reason is required for such, it just happens. And once that decision has wormed its way into the dead center of your pea-brain, there just ain’t any way of getting it out shy of acting on it. This is what happened on that Friday. I’d gotten some notion stuck in my head and it literally caused me to drive out of my way, just to make someone smile (oh, and I enjoyed the diversion as well, but that’s completely secondary to the point). = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Has it really been twenty-one years? On this trip our agenda was entirely driven by how things went for the kids. The better they did, the longer we’d be staying in Dayton. If, however, they didn’t make Semifinals, then we’d probably have gotten into to something else that Thursday evening. Friday would certainly have been wide open in that case as well. As it turned out (and as y’all are already aware), the kids did make it into the second round so we spent that day entirely within the lovely confines of the Dayton University Arena. Not a bad thing mind you, I mean… that’s the reason we were hear in the first place. But it still left open to possibility just what the agenda might be for the next day. Would our young’ens make finals? If not, would we want to head to some other exotic location? If they did get to battle on, when would they perform again? Would there be time for anything else in between now and then? Nothing was certain except that we were going to be getting to bed fairly late Thursday. When Friday did show up we took a quick glance at the calendar and realized that there really was one other thing that was certain. It just happened to be our wedding anniversary; the twenty first one of those bad-boys to be exact. Since it was such a special occasion for us, I got it into my head that I ought to do something extraordinary for my lovely bride. I ought to take her somewhere she had always wanted to go, but probably might not normally get the opportunity. I wanted to take her here…  The only problem with that was that this little attraction is located here…  That’s Cleveland, and we were in Dayton… but then again, while it’s true that Cleveland was better then 500 miles from our home (and somewhere we weren’t likely to travel to purposely), it was only about 200 miles from where I was currently standing. All at once the venture seemed doable to me.  If I do’d it, I get a whippin'… OK so it was doable, but was it smart? Hummmmmm…, Ya’ know… that don’t really matter. It would make my baby girl smile (and I’d enjoy the heck out of it as well). I do’d it.  = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Cleveland Rocks… So a good bit of coffee, a couple of granola bars, a tank of gas and three-ish hours later, we were in Cleveland!  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is located smack on Cleveland’s Lake Erie waterfront right near where you’ll find Lakefront Stadium…  Actually I’m showing my age here. They tore that old facility down back in 96 (after the team skedaddled down to Baltimore) and replaced it with this one here; soon to be known as “FirstEnergy Stadium” (as the naming right were just recently sold). We stowed the car in a parking garage shared between the stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center…  Then made the short walk to the next odd looking building along the way…  The “Jetsons” looking bit of it there on the left is that actual “Hall of Fame” part of the facility (I’ll explain that better in just a bit). Most of the rest of it…  Is the great Entrance Hall. There are about six levels but being pyramid shaped the higher up you go the smaller the spaces are. The largest chunk of it is actually under ground in the lower level. As you can see from the banner there, they were featuring a retrospective on the “Grateful Dead” in one of their seasonal galleries at the time…  Admission to the whole thing is $22.00 bucks a person. I’ll tell you right now, that if it were much more then than, I ain’t so sure it’d be worth it. If it were just you hearts desire to see the thing, then maybe, but not for the casual visitor. But as it was… 44 Georgies wasn’t that bad for a proper anniversary present. Once inside this was the first site to great us…  This little flock of old East German Trabants (hummmmmm…) are part of the array of stage props form U2’s 1993 “Zooropa” and “Zoo TV” tours. Much of what’s located in the main entrance hall is “arena tour” related and there was various props scattered throughout the open space…   Here’s the explanation of that last one, and the next one for that matter…   = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The Nickel Tour Now let me tell y’all one other thing about the RRHoF that caught us a might by surprise. The only place where you’re allowed to take photographs or video of any kind is in the entrance hall. Once you head on into the museum areas or any of the rotating galleries and theaters… cameras are strictly verboten. Really? Yep… really, really. Being as I was disallowed form taking any farther pictures to illustrate the journey, I went ahead and perused the official online site for the place and put together a few images and descriptions based on what they would allow me to share with you. So here are just a hand full of the thousands of bits and pieces that we encountered…    As you might suspect, there were a lot of guitars  Good for me (being a semi-professional guitar player), but there was also a great deal of the more ephemeral artifacts from clothing to surprisingly interesting bits of paper…  Actually, some of those “bit’s of paper” made for very interesting viewing. Things like: The recording logs form Sun Studios in the early 50’s, Orrrrrr… a hastily scrawled set list used by the Beatles during the 1965 Shea Stadium performance (that had just been abandoned on stage and was retrieved from the rubbish by a security guard for the young girl that happened to ask for it) Orrrrrr… a letter from Elvis Presley to Richard Nixon volunteering his services to aid the FBI or any other type of law enforcement activities he could assist with (one of my favs for the sheer oddity of it). There were entire sections devoted to stylistic genera and time periods, specific performers and groups, producers and promoters, engineers, innovators, inventers; you name it. Being a guitar player, one of the more interesting galleries to me was devote to a gent named Les Paul. A ground breaking player and designer; he devised the concepts of multi-track recording, electronic echo effects and pioneered much of the mechanics and design behind electric guitars. Here’s an early example of his ability to “Frankenstein” something that we only thought we already knew about…  But in all of this discussion of things and stuff, we really haven’t discussed the people that much. The folks that have thus far been inductees are enshrined in a different part of the building.  That entrance over there leads into the actual Hall of Fame. Inside you’ll encounter a spiraling walkway that leads around a couple of theaters showing inductee retrospective films and previous induction ceremonies. There are also several display cases with bric-à-brac representing those most recently add to the roster. But the actual “Hall” is just that… a hall. That spiral walkway I was talking about is covered in glass tiles that are etched with the signatures of each individual member or group of members (depending on the reason for induction).  Given the somewhat fluid nature of how individuals are brought into the group, some folks show up on that wall a couple of times (say, once as a solo artist and once as part of a group). But of all the folks currently included, only one of ‘em can be found on the wall three times (and it happens to be one on the names from that last image). That would be the guy on the left here…  Oh yah, the fell’a on the right… He’s in there too. Ought to be listed ten times over, but the rules just don’t make that likely. Not a problem… We all know better. Next up: I’ll be missing another one of those lefts… But I’m ok with that.
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Rob .. Tamara .. DS18-Max I should’a taken that left in Albuquerque (a TR that won’t make it to Disney) Updated 5/18/13 Pg10 Compleated Trip Reports: Thanksgiving Odyssey (Bands, Buses, and Big Bad Balloons) Completed 11/23/12 Experiment-627 (A Caribbean Double with a Wilderness Chaser) Completed 6/14/12 You’re writing a TR? Really? (Christmas at POR, 2010) Completed 7/17/11 |
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01-24-2013, 02:40 PM
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#44 |
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DIS Dad #460
You should always make room for a loophole when you need it
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 8,092
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They're going to cut our internet out sometime in the next hour and I don't want to get started on a reply only to get booted before I post it... just remind me to get back over here to take some jabs at you.
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Andy
DW DS(3) DD DIS Dad's Club Member #460 Test Track Dummies - 2012 Disdads Fantasy Football Dole Whip Cup Champion They Should Really Put a Bar in Here - Dec 2012 TR That was fun! Let's do it again! - Update 11/15 Let's turn around. Magic Kingdom is open till 1AM! - My first ever trip report - Complete I will never go to Disney World pushing a stroller! - My effort at a first time PTR.Complete |
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01-24-2013, 03:32 PM
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#45 | ||||||||||||
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DIS Dad #460
You should always make room for a loophole when you need it
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 8,092
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Should I talk about yellow corn, white corn, sweet corn, waxy corn and pop corn? Non-GMO corn, BT corn, Round up ready corn and RiB corn? Maybe all the products it goes into... corn chips, corn dogs, popcorn, corn flakes, tortillas, corn syrup and just about any sugary drink in a can, the ethanol blended into your gas, the feed that put that steak, bacon and chicken on the table, and of course corn on the cob. Eh... maybe one of these days if I've got nothing better to do... Quote:
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No, we don't have Disney on the brain... Quote:
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Once again... Disney on the brain...
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Andy
DW DS(3) DD DIS Dad's Club Member #460 Test Track Dummies - 2012 Disdads Fantasy Football Dole Whip Cup Champion They Should Really Put a Bar in Here - Dec 2012 TR That was fun! Let's do it again! - Update 11/15 Let's turn around. Magic Kingdom is open till 1AM! - My first ever trip report - Complete I will never go to Disney World pushing a stroller! - My effort at a first time PTR.Complete |
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Nope, throwing caution to the wind and joining in for this one. I always get great insight and knowledge in reading your trip reports. Trudge on my friend...you had me at the BB reference.
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