After my previous post, and asking a few other people, namely my Father who had been to a Super Bowl before, I decided to go. I figured I would be happier at the end of the year (10 years, 20 years, etc.) that I went to the game rather than save the money. Now I can cross one thing off my "bucket" list.
All in all, it was a great day, and really an experience I won't forget. I left my house at 8:30 am to drive to Eric's house which is about an hour away. I got there at about 9:30 and we went to breakfast, then picked up some stuff at Publix. At around 11:15 we decided to leave his house and head over to the stadium since the parking lots opened at 11:00. Being that we both went to the Pro Bowl the week before, we knew there was really nothing of interest in the "Fan Experience." As we got closer to the stadium, there was absolutely no traffic to speak of. We got to the parking lot, and just hung out for quite a while. The rules from the NFL were originally no tailgating, then they changed to limited tailgating with no tents and no grills. We watched as the parking lot filled up more, and many people started arriving around 1:00. I think there were two ticket-holder lanyard vendors for every person in the parking lot. We did purchase those and the program in the parking lot. The lanyards were just as good as the ones inside, plus they included a pin. The programs, I came to find out, and a different cover than the ones inside. The picture was the same, the ones inside had some metallic printing. Oh well, everything else I have proves I was at the game.
As we headed inside at around 3:00, we went through the four layers of security, this time with an added metal detector (which did not pick up the batteries Eric had in his pocket). They were giving away free Pepsi Max inside the fan experience. We hung out for a bit, watched the back of Daughtry, and then went to the store, where I got an overpriced embroidered t-shirt. We then walked around the 100 and 400 levels of the stadium, while taking pictures, including pictures of the CBS broadcast, and enjoying the crowd. We got to our seats and there was a Bridgestone bag with a towel inside attached to every seat. More and more of the crowd made their way to the seats and of course, every seat was filled. We noticed how the stadium was almost divided between Saints and Colts fans, each on their respective sides, however once everyone was seated, the Saints fans really seemed to way outnumber the Colts fans. We were sitting in a Saints section.
Once Queen Latifah came out to sing "America the Beautiful," everyone stood up, I don't think anyone sat down again until about half-time, after that everyone stood up again. The stadium was louder than I had ever heard it before. After one of the touchdowns, the stands were shaking. I told Eric the only time I had felt that before was when the Dolphins won their one game of the 1-15 season. The crowd was definitely into the game, and that made for a much better experience than the Pro Bowl where pretty much nobody cared (even the players).
The half-time show was very cool, and it was neat watching how they construct and de-construct the stage. We were also wondering how much they must have spent on that stage for it to probably never be used again.
The Saints were very unimpressive during the first half, but they came to play in the second half, which made the crowd even louder. The whole day was truly an experience. Although we didn't hang around to see the trophy get awarded, everything else about the day is something I'll remember for a long time to come. I'm going to try to post pictures (and a video of the fly-over) tonight. The only other thing I can say is that I don't think I need to hear "Who Dat" anymore in my lifetime.
You can read about Eric's take on the day here and here
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Bucket List
I got a call yesterday from a really good friend. This friend gave me what I feel is a unique opportunity. I have been going back and forth for the last 18-24 hours debating on whether or not I should take said opportunity. I'll go into more detail in a few minutes. However, with this, I have also started thinking about what might be on my "bucket list," what I have done on that list, and what I still have yet to do. I will start by saying that this friend has also given me opportunities in the past that I would not have been on the "bucket list" only because I would think there is absolutely no way I would ever be able to do those things. Two of those items were going on the team plane with the Florida Panthers to watch them play a game in Atlanta, and going to Las Vegas to see the first ever showing of "We Will Rock You" with Brian May and Roger Taylor sitting one section away from us. First, let me get to what my first thoughts of my "bucket list" items are, even some that are completed, and not in any particular order.
1. See a Space Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center (done, 2 times)
2. See a Super Bowl live
3. See a Stanley Cup game live
3a. See the Panthers win a Stanley Cup (this may never happen, but I can't control it)
4. Go to the Winter Classic NHL game
5. See Mount Everest (possibly even go to "base camp")
6. Go to New Zealand
7. Stay in a castle
8. Have an overseas vacation
8a. Go to England
8b. Go to Ireland (Brenda's bucket list item)
9. Graduate college (done, M.B.A. in 2007)
10. Get Married (done, and can happily say I would only do it again with the same person)
11. Own property/house in Colorado
12. Motorcycle riding in the Rockies (done, but really want to go again)
13. Go to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
14. See "We Will Rock You" in London (done)
15. Drive a Lamborghini
Those are the items that I can think of right now. The reason this is coming up is because my friend I was speaking of earlier has two tickets to the Super Bowl, which is being played in Miami this coming Sunday. He called me yesterday and told me he would sell me one for face value which is $800. I immediately called Brenda, and she said to go for it (She really is a great wife and I couldn't ask for anyone better). I started thinking that it should be a "no-brainer" because this is something I really would like to experience once, and if the Dolphins or Texans were in the game it definitely would be a "no-brainer." However, I can't say that I care who wins, and am only rooting for the Saints because it's their first time there. Then I started thinking about what else I could do with that money, such as take a weekend in Vegas with Brenda, or get Disney season passes for the four of us, or keep it aside to try to take my son to the Winter Classic this year. Now I'm wondering for the 4 or 5 of you that may actually read this, what would you do?
1. See a Space Shuttle launch from Kennedy Space Center (done, 2 times)
2. See a Super Bowl live
3. See a Stanley Cup game live
3a. See the Panthers win a Stanley Cup (this may never happen, but I can't control it)
4. Go to the Winter Classic NHL game
5. See Mount Everest (possibly even go to "base camp")
6. Go to New Zealand
7. Stay in a castle
8. Have an overseas vacation
8a. Go to England
8b. Go to Ireland (Brenda's bucket list item)
9. Graduate college (done, M.B.A. in 2007)
10. Get Married (done, and can happily say I would only do it again with the same person)
11. Own property/house in Colorado
12. Motorcycle riding in the Rockies (done, but really want to go again)
13. Go to Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio
14. See "We Will Rock You" in London (done)
15. Drive a Lamborghini
Those are the items that I can think of right now. The reason this is coming up is because my friend I was speaking of earlier has two tickets to the Super Bowl, which is being played in Miami this coming Sunday. He called me yesterday and told me he would sell me one for face value which is $800. I immediately called Brenda, and she said to go for it (She really is a great wife and I couldn't ask for anyone better). I started thinking that it should be a "no-brainer" because this is something I really would like to experience once, and if the Dolphins or Texans were in the game it definitely would be a "no-brainer." However, I can't say that I care who wins, and am only rooting for the Saints because it's their first time there. Then I started thinking about what else I could do with that money, such as take a weekend in Vegas with Brenda, or get Disney season passes for the four of us, or keep it aside to try to take my son to the Winter Classic this year. Now I'm wondering for the 4 or 5 of you that may actually read this, what would you do?
Monday, February 1, 2010
N FaiLure
When the NFL announced that the Pro Bowl would be played outside of Hawaii for the first time in years, and would be played in Miami, I thought that it would be a very cool experience. Boy was I mistaken. OK, I can't say it was all bad, actually for the most part we really had a good day and a good time yesterday.
We started out the day in our normal busy manner. First my son had a hockey game at 10:00 and my daughter had a birthday party to go to at 12:15. As I was taking my son to the game, Brenda was making her famous macaroni and cheese, and marinating the burgers and pineapples for our Hawaiian burgers at the tailgate. After the game, I picked up the two girls and dropped them at the birthday party. I got back home and noticed that the tire on the van was almost flat. I rushed my son through his bath that he was taking as I was loading up the van. We then went to Publix to get some onions, swiss cheese, and fix-a-flat. Two out of three I guess ain't bad when you're in a rush, but this Publix didn't carry fix-a-flat, or any automotive stuff for that matter. We then went to CVS, thankfully they had the fix-a-flat. We got back home and used the can, then hopped in the van to go to the gas station to finish filling the tire up with air. The first station we went to had their air out of order. We then had to go to Mobil who charges $0.75 for air (quarters only). I had two quarters and had to go inside to get a third. Of course (since I was already late), the lady could not open the cash register without someone buying something, so I had to wait. The first guy bought a carton of smokes with a debit card so she couldn't open the register. The next lady was getting random items, then the cashier asked me why I needed the quarter, I said for air, she used her remote then told me to go on outside because it was on.
I then picked up the girls, and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew and we were on our way, and only about 20 minutes or so later than we originally planned. We were meeting Eric and Karen at the parking lot, and Eric was calling me freaking out because of the amount of traffic he was already enduring at 1:30, so we all thought the parking lot would be full by the time we got there. It turns out that was the original "surge" and the parking lot didn't actually fill up until close to 4:30 or so.
We "tailgated" for a while. I made the above mentioned Hawaiian burgers, and everyone really enjoyed them. I think it may be something I will try again. We decided to walk in to the stadium around 4:30 so we could spend some time enjoying the atmosphere around the game. As we walked up to the gate, we first went through 4 different layers of "security." The first layer was someone verifying we had tickets for the game. We then went through the "Disney World" maze to get to the next layer of security who verified we didn't have any outside drinks, and directed us to the next layer of security, which was the "pat down," from there we arrived at the fourth layer of security which was the bag check. At the bag check they then informed us that the backpack my son was carrying (the same one we bring to all of the Dolphin games) was not allowed in the stadium. I then had to go backwards through the security, back to the car to put the backpack away, then back through the same four layers of security, bitching at each one of them to let them know they should tell people not to bring backpacks into the stadium. We took some pictures, but didn't really participate in the "activities" because the lines were too long. I'm glad we spent our time tailgating instead of going inside immediately upon arrival. As fun as the atmosphere was, there really wasn't the need to spend hours inside there.
We decided to go into the stadium around 6:30. Once we got in and as we were walking to our seats, we passed the designated driver stands that were handing out free soda coupons for anyone over 21 and putting your name and whatnot on their form. We got the coupon then made our way closer to the seats and saw another one of the designated driver tables, so we filled it out again and got another coupon. Considering sodas were $6.00 each, we just saved $24.00. When we got inside some teeny bopper Jonas Brother wanna be band was playing. They were pretty pathetic, turns out, they were also the ones singing the National Anthem. At least there was a F-18 flyover after the anthem. That was cool as always.
I know the NFL All-Star game is meaningless, and usually a snore fest, and this one lived up to those expectations. Starting off, when the players were announced, instead of running out of the tunnel in the normal fashion, each player strolled casually through the line to their respective benches. The most excitement was when the Dolphins players were announced, then again when the Jets and Patriots players were booed, oh, and the mascots, that was about it for the night. The remainder of the night just seemed to be people on the football field trying not to get hurt or exert any energy whatsoever. The halftime show was a marching band out of Daytona, and I think they brought the most physicality to the field. We left at the end of the third quarter.
I know the pro-bowl will be back in Hawaii next year and I say let them have it. As interesting as it was to be part of the "history" the game itself is quite boring, and the fact that the Super Bowl teams did not participate made it even more so.
On an unrelated matter, the scumbags who stole Brenda's purse last year are back and are trying to change the addresses not only at the old bank, but also at the new back. Somehow they called the new bank, got an ATM card and withdrew money out of our account on Friday. We put even more protections into place, but these assholes are like cockroaches and they will not die. One of the addresses they changed our accounts to is 12124 NE 5th AVE, Miami FL 33161. I would think nobody actually lives there, but if they are going there to pick up the mail, someone should be waiting for them.
We started out the day in our normal busy manner. First my son had a hockey game at 10:00 and my daughter had a birthday party to go to at 12:15. As I was taking my son to the game, Brenda was making her famous macaroni and cheese, and marinating the burgers and pineapples for our Hawaiian burgers at the tailgate. After the game, I picked up the two girls and dropped them at the birthday party. I got back home and noticed that the tire on the van was almost flat. I rushed my son through his bath that he was taking as I was loading up the van. We then went to Publix to get some onions, swiss cheese, and fix-a-flat. Two out of three I guess ain't bad when you're in a rush, but this Publix didn't carry fix-a-flat, or any automotive stuff for that matter. We then went to CVS, thankfully they had the fix-a-flat. We got back home and used the can, then hopped in the van to go to the gas station to finish filling the tire up with air. The first station we went to had their air out of order. We then had to go to Mobil who charges $0.75 for air (quarters only). I had two quarters and had to go inside to get a third. Of course (since I was already late), the lady could not open the cash register without someone buying something, so I had to wait. The first guy bought a carton of smokes with a debit card so she couldn't open the register. The next lady was getting random items, then the cashier asked me why I needed the quarter, I said for air, she used her remote then told me to go on outside because it was on.
I then picked up the girls, and my sister, brother-in-law and nephew and we were on our way, and only about 20 minutes or so later than we originally planned. We were meeting Eric and Karen at the parking lot, and Eric was calling me freaking out because of the amount of traffic he was already enduring at 1:30, so we all thought the parking lot would be full by the time we got there. It turns out that was the original "surge" and the parking lot didn't actually fill up until close to 4:30 or so.
We "tailgated" for a while. I made the above mentioned Hawaiian burgers, and everyone really enjoyed them. I think it may be something I will try again. We decided to walk in to the stadium around 4:30 so we could spend some time enjoying the atmosphere around the game. As we walked up to the gate, we first went through 4 different layers of "security." The first layer was someone verifying we had tickets for the game. We then went through the "Disney World" maze to get to the next layer of security who verified we didn't have any outside drinks, and directed us to the next layer of security, which was the "pat down," from there we arrived at the fourth layer of security which was the bag check. At the bag check they then informed us that the backpack my son was carrying (the same one we bring to all of the Dolphin games) was not allowed in the stadium. I then had to go backwards through the security, back to the car to put the backpack away, then back through the same four layers of security, bitching at each one of them to let them know they should tell people not to bring backpacks into the stadium. We took some pictures, but didn't really participate in the "activities" because the lines were too long. I'm glad we spent our time tailgating instead of going inside immediately upon arrival. As fun as the atmosphere was, there really wasn't the need to spend hours inside there.
We decided to go into the stadium around 6:30. Once we got in and as we were walking to our seats, we passed the designated driver stands that were handing out free soda coupons for anyone over 21 and putting your name and whatnot on their form. We got the coupon then made our way closer to the seats and saw another one of the designated driver tables, so we filled it out again and got another coupon. Considering sodas were $6.00 each, we just saved $24.00. When we got inside some teeny bopper Jonas Brother wanna be band was playing. They were pretty pathetic, turns out, they were also the ones singing the National Anthem. At least there was a F-18 flyover after the anthem. That was cool as always.
I know the NFL All-Star game is meaningless, and usually a snore fest, and this one lived up to those expectations. Starting off, when the players were announced, instead of running out of the tunnel in the normal fashion, each player strolled casually through the line to their respective benches. The most excitement was when the Dolphins players were announced, then again when the Jets and Patriots players were booed, oh, and the mascots, that was about it for the night. The remainder of the night just seemed to be people on the football field trying not to get hurt or exert any energy whatsoever. The halftime show was a marching band out of Daytona, and I think they brought the most physicality to the field. We left at the end of the third quarter.
I know the pro-bowl will be back in Hawaii next year and I say let them have it. As interesting as it was to be part of the "history" the game itself is quite boring, and the fact that the Super Bowl teams did not participate made it even more so.
On an unrelated matter, the scumbags who stole Brenda's purse last year are back and are trying to change the addresses not only at the old bank, but also at the new back. Somehow they called the new bank, got an ATM card and withdrew money out of our account on Friday. We put even more protections into place, but these assholes are like cockroaches and they will not die. One of the addresses they changed our accounts to is 12124 NE 5th AVE, Miami FL 33161. I would think nobody actually lives there, but if they are going there to pick up the mail, someone should be waiting for them.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Mini Olympic Sized State of the Union
I was going to comment on the "new" Mini-Stanley the Panthers introduced a couple of weeks ago. To give a bit of background, Mini-Stanley was originally introduced to help the younger kids feel more comfortable around the mascots. The character was (and still is) played by a little person. The original actress has moved on, and a new person is in the costume. At a game a couple of weeks ago, the Panthers had a video set-up of Mini-Stanley being sucked into the engine of a Zamboni, then needing reconstructive surgery to repair the face. They unveiled the new mask, and it looked like it had zombie eyes and very bad botox. I'm not sure if it was because of the mascot or the comments from friends that we sit next to, but my son had nightmares that night because of the new mask. I e-mailed the Panthers, and got a typical response of how it was not their intention to freak out the kids, and they hoped that my son would come to love the new Mini-Stanley just as much.
Moving on, but staying on a hockey subject. I have been trying to get my son to go skating more for public skating sessions, and he doesn't like doing that. He says it's boring just going around in circles. So, when we get a chance, we do "stick and puck" together. This is basically ice time where fathers and sons can get out on the ice and play hockey, practice different things, or whatever, without figure skaters, or random other people getting in the way. This past weekend, we went to a new rink in West Palm Beach called Palm Beach Ice Works. This rink only has hockey and figure skating with no public sessions. The rink is also Olympic sized which means it is bigger than a typical hockey rink. When we arrived at the rink, the person in charge didn't know they had stick and puck scheduled. As we were paying, one other person showed up with his son, and one of his son's friends came as well. So, after the Zamboni cleaned the ice, we were the only five people out there. After about an hour, nobody else showed up, and the guy and two kids left. Therefore, Shane and I had a full Olympic sized hockey rink all to ourselves. I think that is the most fun I had skating, it is just so cool having a rink to yourself.
I just finished watching the State of the Union speech. My first impression is that I'm glad he basically challenged both parties to get things done, especially the Republicans. I'll have to let it sink in a bit more to give more of an opinion, and wait for Fact Check to say what's true and false. I'm also glad he made a point to call out the Supreme Court for the decision last week to overturn centuries old laws and essentially stating the corporations have the same rights as people. That's all for now.
Moving on, but staying on a hockey subject. I have been trying to get my son to go skating more for public skating sessions, and he doesn't like doing that. He says it's boring just going around in circles. So, when we get a chance, we do "stick and puck" together. This is basically ice time where fathers and sons can get out on the ice and play hockey, practice different things, or whatever, without figure skaters, or random other people getting in the way. This past weekend, we went to a new rink in West Palm Beach called Palm Beach Ice Works. This rink only has hockey and figure skating with no public sessions. The rink is also Olympic sized which means it is bigger than a typical hockey rink. When we arrived at the rink, the person in charge didn't know they had stick and puck scheduled. As we were paying, one other person showed up with his son, and one of his son's friends came as well. So, after the Zamboni cleaned the ice, we were the only five people out there. After about an hour, nobody else showed up, and the guy and two kids left. Therefore, Shane and I had a full Olympic sized hockey rink all to ourselves. I think that is the most fun I had skating, it is just so cool having a rink to yourself.
I just finished watching the State of the Union speech. My first impression is that I'm glad he basically challenged both parties to get things done, especially the Republicans. I'll have to let it sink in a bit more to give more of an opinion, and wait for Fact Check to say what's true and false. I'm also glad he made a point to call out the Supreme Court for the decision last week to overturn centuries old laws and essentially stating the corporations have the same rights as people. That's all for now.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Phantom (again)
Last Monday, our CFO received a call from our bank offering two tickets to see Phantom of the Opera on Saturday (1/9/10). She knew Brenda was a huge fan, so she asked me if I wanted the tickets. I called Brenda, and even though we had just taken the kids to see it, she said she would of course see it again. Stupid me for even asking.
We had dinner at the Himmarshee Bar & Grille prior to seeing the show. The dinner was very good, and a good pre-theatre dinner replacement for the River House which is closed. I started with the soup of the day which was "5-alarm" chili. The chili could probably be considered 2 alarms, it had spice, but wasn't uncomfortably spicy. It was also nice considering it was very cold outside. Brenda started with the crab cake, which also came with a nice salad. Four our main dishes I had the buffalo short ribs which came with a gouda mac 'n cheese with spinach and ham mixed in, the entire dish was very good. Brenda had a skirt steak which she also enjoyed. Brenda likes having dessert when we go out to a nice dinner, so the waitress talked us into a piece of carrot cake made by "We Take the Cake." The cake was good, but nothing really spectacular, and I was so stuffed after the dinner it was hard to really enjoy it.
After the relaxing dinner we trudged in the ~40 degree rainy weather (I swear the wind chill was in the low 30's) to the theatre. We arrived there between 7:30 and 7:45, so just enough time to get a drink, use the restroom and get to our seats. I thought this performance was better than the one we saw last week. I don't know if it was the excellent (free) seats we had, the lack of kids, or the evening vs. matinee performance, but it was nicer.
The kids spent the night with my Mother, and she brought them home this morning. Aside from playing Wii, and watching football, I have done absolutely nothing today. Sometimes that is a nice thing to do.
We had dinner at the Himmarshee Bar & Grille prior to seeing the show. The dinner was very good, and a good pre-theatre dinner replacement for the River House which is closed. I started with the soup of the day which was "5-alarm" chili. The chili could probably be considered 2 alarms, it had spice, but wasn't uncomfortably spicy. It was also nice considering it was very cold outside. Brenda started with the crab cake, which also came with a nice salad. Four our main dishes I had the buffalo short ribs which came with a gouda mac 'n cheese with spinach and ham mixed in, the entire dish was very good. Brenda had a skirt steak which she also enjoyed. Brenda likes having dessert when we go out to a nice dinner, so the waitress talked us into a piece of carrot cake made by "We Take the Cake." The cake was good, but nothing really spectacular, and I was so stuffed after the dinner it was hard to really enjoy it.
After the relaxing dinner we trudged in the ~40 degree rainy weather (I swear the wind chill was in the low 30's) to the theatre. We arrived there between 7:30 and 7:45, so just enough time to get a drink, use the restroom and get to our seats. I thought this performance was better than the one we saw last week. I don't know if it was the excellent (free) seats we had, the lack of kids, or the evening vs. matinee performance, but it was nicer.
The kids spent the night with my Mother, and she brought them home this morning. Aside from playing Wii, and watching football, I have done absolutely nothing today. Sometimes that is a nice thing to do.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Silly Slovakians, Explosives are meant for Terrorists
I heard a story on Morning Edition this morning (Jan. 7, 2010) about the Slovakian police and their training practices. You can read and listen to the story here. I don't know why, this comedy of errors just amused me this morning.
I have really enjoyed the last couple of days of cool weather, it's nice to get a break from the 80+ degree weather once in a while. I also find it amusing that when the temperature dips into the 40's and 30's here, it is the top news story for days and they take up at least 10 minutes of the 30 minute news cast on just that. I have lived here in Florida for a while, but still in my travels, I have experienced weather much colder than this, hell, standing in the new hockey rink for my son's game is colder than this. Additionally, there are many people from up North that live here, I'm sure they have experienced weather colder than this. Unless it starts snowing (which apparently it did one time back in the 70's), just report what the temperature is and move on. There is absolutely no reason to show some reporter bundled up to explain that it's cold outside. Just enjoy it while it lasts because 80+ degree temperatures will be back before you know it.
As a follow up to my last post. I think I have come to the conclusion that New Zealand may be too far of a trek to try and go for a week. I think that's a trip that will stay on my "bucket list," but won't be happening this year. I also think I would need to go for more than a week. I'm back to two choices, and focusing more in on one rather than the other. My mother told me Paris, and other parts of France are nice. By the same token, one of my friends was sort of turned off by the touristy parts of Paris. I'm tending to believe someone around my own age this time. The trip I'm really sort of focusing on right now is England. I think we could go to London for a couple of days, see a show or two (or three). I want to see Billy Elliot, I'm sure Brenda would love to see "Love Never Dies," and I'm always up for going to see "We Will Rock You." Additionally, I was looking at side trips out of London to go to Stratford upon Avon, maybe spend a night in a castle, and go back to Rules to have another great meal. I think this is something more reasonable that I can still get a sense of history, and Brenda and I can enjoy ourselves. This way, we save Ireland for a couple of years down the road and take the kids. We just have to discuss it more and work out some things. We'll see.
Hockey starts again tonight. I may look into joining a novice league after this session.
I have really enjoyed the last couple of days of cool weather, it's nice to get a break from the 80+ degree weather once in a while. I also find it amusing that when the temperature dips into the 40's and 30's here, it is the top news story for days and they take up at least 10 minutes of the 30 minute news cast on just that. I have lived here in Florida for a while, but still in my travels, I have experienced weather much colder than this, hell, standing in the new hockey rink for my son's game is colder than this. Additionally, there are many people from up North that live here, I'm sure they have experienced weather colder than this. Unless it starts snowing (which apparently it did one time back in the 70's), just report what the temperature is and move on. There is absolutely no reason to show some reporter bundled up to explain that it's cold outside. Just enjoy it while it lasts because 80+ degree temperatures will be back before you know it.
As a follow up to my last post. I think I have come to the conclusion that New Zealand may be too far of a trek to try and go for a week. I think that's a trip that will stay on my "bucket list," but won't be happening this year. I also think I would need to go for more than a week. I'm back to two choices, and focusing more in on one rather than the other. My mother told me Paris, and other parts of France are nice. By the same token, one of my friends was sort of turned off by the touristy parts of Paris. I'm tending to believe someone around my own age this time. The trip I'm really sort of focusing on right now is England. I think we could go to London for a couple of days, see a show or two (or three). I want to see Billy Elliot, I'm sure Brenda would love to see "Love Never Dies," and I'm always up for going to see "We Will Rock You." Additionally, I was looking at side trips out of London to go to Stratford upon Avon, maybe spend a night in a castle, and go back to Rules to have another great meal. I think this is something more reasonable that I can still get a sense of history, and Brenda and I can enjoy ourselves. This way, we save Ireland for a couple of years down the road and take the kids. We just have to discuss it more and work out some things. We'll see.
Hockey starts again tonight. I may look into joining a novice league after this session.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Where to go, what to do?
I think this is a record, two posts in one day. I just had more to say that I thought would go better in a new post rather than continue with the previous post.
While I was at my mother's house for New Years Day, after Brenda had left and the football game was on, my mother, sister and I were talking. Sometime in the conversation, my sister started talking about overseas trips, and in the conversation I just piped in with a joking comment about how I wanted to go. My mother then stated that my sister set a precedent for her 40th birthday by having my parents pay for a trip for her to go to Italy, and I would be afforded the same opportunity to go where I wanted.
I was speaking with Brenda last night over dinner. I'll admit, I would love to take my kids with me, but I think at this age, wherever we would go outside of the U.S. may be too much for them. Additionally, I don't think they would be able to sit through the type of meals that people are used to in other countries. I haven't traveled that much, but I do know that for occasions like going out to dinner, one is expected to sit back, relax and enjoy their meal. Essentially, once a person reserves a table, it is theirs for the night. At this age, the kids are lucky to make it through a meal that lasts longer than 30 minutes. Knowing that, and just trying to have them appreciate any culture, I think it may be a couple of more years before we even think about taking them overseas.
Sorry, bit of digression there. As I was saying, I was speaking with Brenda, and I think there are two places I would really love to go. The first place is taking a true vacation to the British Isles. I would think at least a week in London, then heading to Ireland, maybe Scotland, and possibly even go into Paris depending on how the logistics could be worked out. The problem with this trip is that I know Brenda wants to take the kids to Ireland, and we are saving up all of our coins, etc. in a 5-gallon water bottle to try to pay for at least part of this trip. The more I think about it, the more I think this trip may wait until the kids are a bit older and we can actually take them there.
The second trip I would love to take is to go to New Zealand. I know this sounds really geeky, but when we were watching "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, I was just fascinated by the scenery in which the movies were filmed. Yes, I know there was CGI involved in certain spots, and don't expect to see Mt. Doom, but it just seems like it would be a cool trip. I think it could be enhanced by getting a Lord of the Rings tour to see where many of the scenes were filmed.
Aside from those two, I guess it's just a matter of watching the Travel Channel. I mean there is always Berlin, Venice, or trying to stay at the Burj Al Arab in the UAE. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.
While I was at my mother's house for New Years Day, after Brenda had left and the football game was on, my mother, sister and I were talking. Sometime in the conversation, my sister started talking about overseas trips, and in the conversation I just piped in with a joking comment about how I wanted to go. My mother then stated that my sister set a precedent for her 40th birthday by having my parents pay for a trip for her to go to Italy, and I would be afforded the same opportunity to go where I wanted.
I was speaking with Brenda last night over dinner. I'll admit, I would love to take my kids with me, but I think at this age, wherever we would go outside of the U.S. may be too much for them. Additionally, I don't think they would be able to sit through the type of meals that people are used to in other countries. I haven't traveled that much, but I do know that for occasions like going out to dinner, one is expected to sit back, relax and enjoy their meal. Essentially, once a person reserves a table, it is theirs for the night. At this age, the kids are lucky to make it through a meal that lasts longer than 30 minutes. Knowing that, and just trying to have them appreciate any culture, I think it may be a couple of more years before we even think about taking them overseas.
Sorry, bit of digression there. As I was saying, I was speaking with Brenda, and I think there are two places I would really love to go. The first place is taking a true vacation to the British Isles. I would think at least a week in London, then heading to Ireland, maybe Scotland, and possibly even go into Paris depending on how the logistics could be worked out. The problem with this trip is that I know Brenda wants to take the kids to Ireland, and we are saving up all of our coins, etc. in a 5-gallon water bottle to try to pay for at least part of this trip. The more I think about it, the more I think this trip may wait until the kids are a bit older and we can actually take them there.
The second trip I would love to take is to go to New Zealand. I know this sounds really geeky, but when we were watching "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, I was just fascinated by the scenery in which the movies were filmed. Yes, I know there was CGI involved in certain spots, and don't expect to see Mt. Doom, but it just seems like it would be a cool trip. I think it could be enhanced by getting a Lord of the Rings tour to see where many of the scenes were filmed.
Aside from those two, I guess it's just a matter of watching the Travel Channel. I mean there is always Berlin, Venice, or trying to stay at the Burj Al Arab in the UAE. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments.
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