Archive through August 24, 2003
TV ClubHouse: Archive: Road Trips (ARCHIVES):
Archive through August 24, 2003
Jmm | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 07:35 pm     I will second Tess' thoughts on Gracie. Anyone getting the chance must meet Gracie and her family, they are the most wonderful folks. |
Theowl | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 08:11 pm     Tom and I will third that!! Her and Vern are a really great couple!! Never a dull moment with those 2!! I just wish I could have gone. It's not too far from my mom and sisters, but circumstances didn't allow it. I wish I could have met TeaTime and the Units, too! Best wishes to them on their 25th Anniversary!! WOW!! 25 years with the same guy!! I'm impressed!!  |
Teatime | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 08:38 pm     You all are right, Gracie and her hubby are the best! Today they had MANY family members gathered for their 25th anniversary celebration and were gracious enough to let in the TVCH gang also. Halfunit and I were meeting Gracie and each other for the first time. It's like we've heard here before, you just somehow walk up to each other and grab hold and start laughing and talking because you already know each other. Amazing fun! It was fun for me to see Grace and hubby surrounded by all these family members and friends of theirs, and yet she still managed to slip in next to us several times and continue the TVCH merriment! Gracie's family threw a heck of a party, and I feel so lucky to have been included. Half and Unit, what can I say? You two are a blast! MrTea and Unit didn't have any trouble at all finding things to talk about, as MrTea was fresh in from an air museum and snapping a hundred shots of military aircraft, and Unit's got a definite military interest. Here's a snippet of conversation: Half: You're not having any trouble finding stuff to talk about. Unit: He walked up, I said "Do you eat red meat?" MrTea: "Arrrgh! Arrrgh! Arrrgh!" (spoken in his best Tim the Tooltime Taylor) Unit: That's all there was. MrTea: It's a guy thing. *shrug* *snort* Half, I loved your energy and am so very glad you were a part of my first TVCH meeting! You're a doll! |
Bob2112 | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:08 pm     Tuesday 8/19 A used ... pink bathrobe A rare ... mint snowglobe A Smurf ... TV tray I bought on eBay Ack! That’s Weird Al’s eBay song and I can’t get it out of my head! Today we started from Maine and drove all the way across Nebraska, um…,er… New Brunswick and finally ended up on Prince Edward Island. I can’t tell you how many times I heard it, but I think it has become more addicting than that Small World song! Finally, we reached the Confederation Bridge from NB to PEI and here’s our attempt to capture how long this bridge actually is. I think we did a better job capturing the bug guts splattered on our windshield!
My house ... is filled with this crap Shows up in bubble wrap Most every day What I bought on eBay We made it to our Bed & Breakfast as it was getting dark and we were greeted by Milo, the allusive Irish Wolfhound.
Milo kept an eye on us the two days we were there, but only ever got close enough for a quick sniff before running a safe distance away. Spongette made it her mission to hug and/or pet Milo before we left, but she was not successful. Juju even tried some special moves to get his attention, but he would not cave. Tell me why (I need another pet rock) Tell me why (I got that Alf alarm clock) Tell me why (I bid on Shatner's old toupee) They had it on eBay Wednesday 8/20 Today started off with the best breakfast we have had to date on the trip. That was followed up with some coffee in the backyard while watching the ocean from the top of the cliff.
While we were watching, the local dolphin and a pod of seals decided to put on a show for us right up by the cliff. I proceeded to capture many shots of the ocean anywhere from 1-2 seconds after any action occurred! Here you can almost see what we saw seconds earlier:
The red arrows show where something really cool had just happened. Ironically, I was able to capture this picture of Nessie coming to visit her Irish friend Milo all the way from the Loch in Ireland.
I'll buy ... your knick-knack Just check ... my feedback "A++!" they all say They love me on eBay Thursday 8/21 Today we packed up and headed out after breakfast to catch the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia. Mrs. Sponge caught Dawg, Angel and myself sneaking in one more view off the cliff before getting on the road.
Gonna buy (a slightly-damaged golf bag) Gonna buy (some Beanie Babies, new with tag) (From some guy) I've never met in Norway Found him on eBay Milo was sure to watch to make sure we were really leaving!
The ferry ride was quick and then we were off to find LLkoolaid at work. As you may have read already, LL just took a job at Wal-Mart in an attempt to avoid meeting us! After a false start, we were able to locate the store and quickly tracked LL down on just her 3rd day of work. Based on what she has said and posted, I’m thinking she won’t be working there by the time we get home on the 31st. Mrs. Sponge took what we thought was a great picture of LL and me, but it turns out that silly smileyface guy (the one who rolls back the prices) dashed in the way just as the picture was being taken and here is the result:
Contrary to popular belief, LLkoolaid does not look like this:
Regardless, we had a great, albeit, short 20 minute meeting and I must say that LL is the same in person and she is on the board (and that’s a good thing!) I am the type who is liable to snipe you With two seconds left to go, whoa Got Paypal or Visa, what ever'll please As long as I've got the dough LL was also a great help working as a middle person in passing messages between me and Neko while I did not have internet access. It was LL that came up with the perfect meeting location. We finished some shopping we needed to do, gave LL a hug goodbye and set out on the road to the Cape Breton Highlands of Nova Scotia. The Cabot Trail is awesome and certainly tested both the van and the hikers. Brakes held up, which is slightly better than we did with all the walking. There is no way to capture the beauty of this area, but here’s a picture just to give you a taste.:
We finished the main part of the loop in daylight, but it took us until after 10:00 PM to get back to our hotel room for the night. We then decided we needed a trip to A&W to reward ourselves with burgers and root bear for surviving a long day. I'll buy ... your tchotchkes Sell me ... your watch, please I'll buy (I'll buy, I'll buy, I'll buy ...) I'm highest bidder now Friday 8/22 Today is Neko day! Yay! After days of no internet and passing messages through LL, we finally come to the conclusion to meet at one of the most noticeable landmarks in Halifax, the Town Clock and the Citadel. Duh! Everybody made it to the meeting place on time and we immediately recognized each other by the cat ears and square butt! We spent the next 2 hours walking up and down the harbor area talking about everything and nothing. Neko is as cool and cute a cat as you would expect and she did a great job leading us around. She is quite mature for 17, but would occasionally slip into kid mode with my daughter and climb up on the planter ledge or put together something like this:
Angel and Dawg had a great time meeting Neko too!
Neko, thanks for making the effort to meet the Sponge family. Everyone had a great time meeting you and your city and you made our day that much better! (Junk keeps arriving in the mail) (From that worldwide garage sale) (Dukes Of Hazzard ashtray) (Hey! A Dukes Of Hazzard ashtray) Oh yeah ... (I bought it on eBay) The two hours flew by and it was time to say good bye. I gave Neko a goodbye hug and she went off to catch her bus home, while we got back on the road had headed south of Halifax to Peggy’s Cove and the fog. We got a better view of the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove than the following picture shows, but the fog began getting thicker and we ended up heading to the room for the night.
Wanna buy (a PacMan Fever lunchbox) Wanna buy (a case on vintage tube socks) Wanna buy (a Kleenex used by Dr. Dre, Dr. Dre) (Found it on eBay) That’s it for now. If you are still reading, I think you now need some time away from the computer! Maybe tomorrow I will pick up with our last day in Canada and the ferry ride back to Maine. Thanks for reading! Wanna buy (that Farrah Fawcett poster) (Pez dispensers and a toaster) (Don't know why ... the kind of stuff you'd throw away) (I'll buy on eBay) Here’s one last Milo pic:
What I bought on eBay-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y |
Hippyt | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:09 pm     Well,dang Bob! |
Schoolmarm | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:23 pm     Awesome, BOB! That was one great post! |
Halfunit | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:32 pm     Halfunit and Unit reporting that they are home, and would have been home over an hour sooner, if not for those darned peach shakes at Steak 'n Shake. Story and pictures to come after sleep. 588 miles - I'm tired!! But, it was worth it!!! |
Sia | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:42 pm     Bob, GORGEOUS photos!!! What a wonderful trip. I'm so happy you've had such a great time and that you've met so many nice TVCH-ers!!  |
Tess | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 09:54 pm     You bought Milo on Ebay???? ack!!!!! Love your write-ups and photos, Bob. It sounds like a wonderful trip so far. Thanks for taking Juju and me to meet Neko! I've never been to Canada before and Neko's such a nice Kittykat! Drive carefully! |
Tess | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 10:03 pm     Welcome home Half and Unit! Marm I read somewhere that you'll be in town next spring. We'll be here!! |
Juju2bigdog | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 10:41 pm     Milo is SO-o-o-o-o-o-o-o cool!!! Marvelous travelogue, Spongie. |
Egbok | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 11:20 pm     Congrats to Gracie and dh on #25! How nice that the Tea's and the Unit's got to attend the celebration! Bob, you are a talented writer and I absolutely enjoy reading each and every word about your trip. The pictures are wonderful too! |
Lancecrossfire | Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 11:28 pm     Congrats to Gracie and hubby!!! It's great that TVCH folks could help celebrate! Bob, wonderful post about your trip. Not only very informative but extremely entertaining. Thanks for taking the time out to fill us in on your adventures! |
Theowl | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 07:16 am     Bob, what is the tune to the song? It sounds really interesting. Thanks for the road reports!! I almost feel like I'm right there "hooting" it up with you!!  |
Mware | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 08:46 am     Way to go, Bob! Those are some great pictures - you've seen some beautiful views on this trip. |
Halfunit | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 09:04 am     Bob, I am loving your trip!! |
Halfunit | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 09:07 am     It would be safe to say that I had learned my lesson from the Bloomington trip and judging drive time. Saturday, Unit and I left home with a 2 hour cushion, on our way to Michigan! Less than 60 miles into the trip, my co-pilot was MIA.
The first 200 miles were uneventful, until we approached the result of an accident on I80. (This is the part where I'm glad we left early!) The view from the front:
And an artistic view of the side mirror:
Once we arrived in our destination city, we found he site of Urgrace and Sirgrace's 25th Anniversary party. We were over an hour early, so we decided to explore the quaint little city of Constantine. There was a little downtown area, and here are some pictures of the river, a building by the river, and a body of water that resembles a lake.
Just across the road from this area, Unit saw something that grabbed his attention.
When our lollygagging was over, it was time to head back over to the celebration. We were one of the first to arrive, and that gave us time to get to know members of Gracie's family as they arrived. Parents, children, grandchildren, aunts, uncles and cousins everywhere! This is a big family! I absolutely adore DaughterGrace, who was running the show. She made a point to make Unit and I feel right at home. Unit and I were sitting at a table soaking up family conversation, when a couple approached. It was Teatime and MrTea!! A darling couple, they walked right up to us and we immediately began talking. You would never have known it was Teatime's first TVCH Road Trip. I knew right away what a sweetheart she is, and we had fun talking about a variety of things. After a while, Gracie showed up. ( I should note here that SirGrace had been at the party for a while. He is adorable. While I didn't get a chance to talk to him much - that darned family kept him busy - I could see why Gracie has kept him around for so long!!) I knew it was Grace right away. The personality. The laugh. She said some hello's to family, made up a plate of food, and then sat with the Teas and the Units. We all had so much fun just gabbing and gabbing. I think MrTea and Unit were speechless at this time, just listening to the three women discussing things as if we were speaking another language . They wised up real quick, and began talking about things that interested them - like Teatime mentioned earlier: red meat, the military, and boats. I feel lucky to have been able to be a part of Teatime's first meeting, and simply honored to be a part of Urgrace's family celebration. Teatime and Urgrace are absolutely wonderful!!!
PS - Juju, this is for you!
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Egbok | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:08 am     Half, what a wonderful report!! The last pic for Juju made me LOL and Egbob immediately asked "should I come see?"...by golly, I think he's finally getting the hang of why I'm always checking in with the TVCH!! LOL!! |
Spygirl | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:10 am     Half, did you, Reiki, Bob, and Tess all go to some photography school to learn how to take great pictures like that??? I am a horrible picture-taker and I think I need a new camera. Thanks for sharing all of your stories, guys! What an experience to get to celebrate Gracie's anniversary with her. She and her family are truly terrific people.  |
Teatime | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:33 am     LOL, Half! I didn't realize you had taken the full tour before settling in to the party. Unit, no wonder you looked so refreshed when I met you. Love the shirt. What a sport! I met the dog but he wasn't smoking a blue stogey when I was talking to him. Half, remember when Babyruth pulled up in her new wheels? We thought she wasn't going to make it because she told us she had to go car shopping that day. Well I guess she didn't waste any time at the dealership, because she came roaring up as a surprise and she'd even had time to hit both coasts to pick up the ever-travelling duo. Here we are, admiring BR's purchase:
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Spygirl | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:48 am     LOL - that's priceless!! |
Hippyt | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:51 am     You guys are really amazing! What fun you are all having! Thanks so much for the great pics! I think I'm in love with Milo! What a dawg! |
Neko | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 11:20 am     I wonder how many "frequent TVCH miles" Juju and Bob have now?? Seeing they both are taken on every trip any takes.. LOL Mature?? Me?? I'll have to try harder next time not to be |
Weinermr | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 11:48 am     Our Solvang trip and TVCH meeting was two weeks ago, from 8/6 – 8/8. I originally posted the evening of 8/6 to report our dinner with Tess and family, but I haven’t yet posted about our trip in its entirety. I don’t have the fancy pictures to post because I left the picture taking duties to everyone else. But here’s my side of the story. Our story begins for me the evening before Wednesday the 6th. I routinely park my car on the street, right adjacent to our house. That evening, my usual parking space was occupied (grrrr), and I had to park on the other side of the street, directly opposite our driveway. Much later that evening, as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard noises from the front of our house. I went downstairs and tried to figure out what was going on. I saw there was a car in our driveway (we share our driveway with the house next door) and I heard some women’s voices. I figured our neighbor had some visitors, and they were being their kind, typical, considerate selves, making plenty of noise. I went back to bed. The next morning I woke up with great anticipation for our travels. After stumbling downstairs, I happened to glance out the front door, across our driveway to our car. I was quite surprised and shocked to discover that the driver’s side front door of the car had been smashed in. I quickly got dressed, and ran outside to the car. I found a note that had been left on the windshield, written in ink on a brown paper napkin, that said, “IM SORRY I HIT YOUR CAR BACKING UP”, and a woman’s name and phone number. It turns out a friend of our neighbor had backed her car into ours and caved in the driver’s side door. Without going into the gory details of the difficulties of trying to pry information about the car smasher’s car, insurance, and registration information out of her husband or boyfriend, or whatever he was, I happily report that I was able to file a claim with my insurance company. It turned out that the smasher’s reluctance to provide information didn’t matter, because her car insurer is the same as mine. After renting a car, I gathered up our cat and her belongings, and whisked her off to the vet to be boarded while we were gone. We made sure she had her food, food and water bowls, familiar towels, medication, etc. with her during her time away from home. She was placed in her comfy cat motel room. I went to say goodbye to her, and she rewarded me for abandoning her by letting out the loudest and most ear piercing cat shriek you have ever heard. I love her too. I said goodbye, and returned home to finish packing and setting off on our travels. We had planned to leave for Solvang in the late morning, but due to our morning adventures, we didn’t leave home until 2PM. Being the careful driver that I am, we made the 2 ½ hour trip in just over 2 hours, including the time we took to drive through In and Out Burger for lunch. We found our motel, checked in, and made our way to our room. The first night, Weinermrs and I had dinner with Tess, Charlie, and Sarah, which I have already described. Tess is a sweetheart, which is no surprise to anyone here. While Tess and I were doing plenty of talking and visiting, Sarah was playing with her dad and coloring. Weinermrs and Sarah also spent quite a bit of time together, mostly with Sarah’s coloring book, and a little game they played to see how long Sarah could stay quiet without bursting out laughing. After dinner, Charlie and Sarah went back to their motel room, Weinermrs went to bed, and Tess and I talked for about another hour before we called it a night. The next morning, Thursday, about 9AM I got a phone call from Buttercup, and we agreed to meet, with Tess, for breakfast. I waited with anticipation for them to drive into town. Just like her board persona, Buttercup is bright, funny, quick-witted, and fun to be around. We had about a 2 hour breakfast, eating and chatting, and enjoying the morning at our outdoor table at a wonderful Solvang restaurant called Paula’s Pancake House. At the end of breakfast, Tess got a phone call, and learned that Egbok and Mr. Egbok (who we call Egbob) had arrived in town. Tess and Buttercup went back to their motel, and I went back to mine. (FYI, Weinermrs and I were staying in a motel right in the heart of Solvang, and everyone else had chosen a motel about 3 miles outside of Solvang in the town of Buellton). After an hour or so, the rest of the gang drove into town, and Weinermrs and I got to join everyone else and meet Egbok and Egbob. Again, no surprise, they were both about the nicest people you would ever want to meet. Egbok is kind, and thoughtful, and has the sweetest smile, which is always on display. Egbob is a touch on the quiet side, but open, honest, and friendly. We also learned that there was a high school connection between Egbob and Weinermrs’ family. So we started our stroll through the streets of Solvang, seeing the sights, window shopping, and making occasional purchases. We shopped, and walked, and talked, and joked for a couple hours, until we all decided it was time for lunch. We had lunch in a nice little restaurant, and several of us tried various Danish specialties. There was a minor little incident over the waitress confusing part of the order, and then she way overcompensated by providing us with free dessert to share, a Danish dessert called Abelskiver. It was yummy, and we were all glad that she had felt so bad about such a minor mishap. After lunch we did more strolling and shopping. Weinermrs found a bracelet and some earrings she wanted, and some kind soul found her a purse she liked enough to buy in one of the stores. By that time she was ready for a rest, said her goodbyes and returned to our motel room. I rejoined the gang, and we spent the afternoon doing even more strolling and shopping. We came upon this absolutely marvelous bookstore. Downstairs was a regular bookstore, not a chain, but a regular ordinary bookstore. Upstairs were the treasures. First of all, there was a Hans Christian Andersen museum, full of HCA books, written at various times, and in various languages. There was a whole display case full of HCA first editions, again, from different countries in different languages. There were also photographs, posters, and newspaper articles on display, all having to do with HCA. The other section upstairs was filled with all kinds of used books on various topics. Many of the books were written in English, but there were also books written in German, and in several Scandinavian languages. Several people found books they absolutely couldn’t live without. Buttercup found a Norwegian edition of the EXACT SAME book she had brought as a present for Sarah in English – with the exact same cover art and illustrations. It was great! I have to say that as we walked, and talked, and shopped, there was also much creative picture taking, laughing, joking, and punning going on. Everyone was in the spirit. Late afternoon, we temporarily called it quits, and the gang drove back to their motel with me in tow. We all congregated in Buttercup’s motel room. Egbok had purchased a cake for a special Sarah celebration, and Charlie and Sarah joined us. Egbok cut a piece of cake for Sarah while Sarah gleefully opened some presents. The rest of us would have our cake later, after dinner. Charlie and Sarah decided they were going to get some pizza and play video games while the rest of us would drive back to Solvang and have dinner. We headed into town as it was getting dark. We drove around for awhile, checking out various restaurant choices, and eventually decided on a restaurant with a Danish enough sounding name to suit us. More talking, joking, and silliness ensued. A lot of the menu items had Danish sounding names, none of which any of us (except Buttercup) could pronounce. We decided we wanted some wine, and eventually figured out we would share a bottle. When Weinermrs and I had visited Solvang in the early to mid 1980’s, we had discovered the Firestone vineyard, which is not too far away from Solvang in Santa Ynez. We have had Firestone wines many times over the years. In order to preserve the reality show connection of our group and our trip, we all decided that we should get a bottle of Firestone wine. Unfortunately, the restaurant was out of that particular choice, but agreed to give us a bottle of similar type and vintage, that cost more, but at the same price as the Firestone would have been. Yea restaurant!! And the bottle we got was from a vineyard near Santa Barbara, so it was still pretty much a local product. We ate dinner, more joking and talking. I have to admit that the wine contributed to my own goofiness, and I insisted upon sharing several more bad puns, some real groaners. Wine or otherwise, this group pretty much kept up with me though in the bad pun department. It was great fun, and I have a reputation to uphold! The restaurant was pretty much closing by then, but they were nice enough not to kick us out. We even got the waitress to take several pictures of us, one of which Egbok has already posted. We were a hardy group, and not finished having fun, so we jumped in the car and headed back to the motel. We drove back, and again congregated in Buttercup’s room. We made ourselves comfy, and Egbok cut some pieces of cake for our dessert. Being a bit tired (I was anyway), and being affected by the general good-natured hilarity of the situation, we all started talking, and laughing some more, and cracking up at the silliest things. There were no deep conversations going on at this particular time. Charlie and Sarah joined us again while we munched on cake and watched Sarah play with some of her presents and eat candy. After much playtime, Charlie took Sarah off to bed. About this time, two buses arrived at the motel and disembarked. All of a sudden, people were swarming all over the courtyard of the motel and looking lost. Egbob and Tess went outside to see what all the fuss and craziness was all about. The swarming people were talking amongst themselves, and Egbok or Egbob or both realized that they were speaking Italian. Egbob started talking with his hands and gesturing, trying to get them to understand anything he was saying to them. Tess tried to be helpful, because it turned out they were all trying to find their rooms. She had a map of the premises, and tried to explain to the Italian swarm where they were and how to find their rooms, until she ultimately discovered that she had been holding the map upside down. We noticed that many of the Italians were carrying musical instrument cases, and we decided that they were an Italian band, visiting Solvang the Danish town for some unknown gig. Right adjacent to the motel were two establishments, one called the “Windmill Room”, and the other called the “Clubhouse” (yes it was really called the Clubhouse, and don’t think we didn’t have about a million ideas about THAT). We were cracking each other up, making jokes about the Italian band, the Windmill Room, the Clubhouse, and so on. It was hilarious, and yes, you had to be there. No offense meant to any Italians, bands, windmills, or clubhouses. Eventually the commotion died down, and the band members all found their rooms. We never did find out exactly where they were headed or what their gig was. But it was fun while it lasted. Finally, it was well after midnight, and we decided there had been enough fun for one day. We agreed to all meet again for breakfast in the morning. Friday morning I shook off the cobwebs and met everyone for breakfast back at our favorite Solvang breakfast spot, Paula’s Pancake House. We were all a little quiet, but soon a little coffee (or Diet Coke in my case) helped to wake us all up. Sarah and Buttercup played some drawing games, while we ordered and ate breakfast, and talked some more, and I helped Tess map out her route to her next destination. After breakfast, it was time to think about leaving. Our checkout time was 11AM, and the checkout time at the other motel was 12PM. We finished packing and checked out. There was one more purchase we wanted to make before leaving town, so we ran our errand and drove to the other motel. We met the gang in the lobby of their motel as they were checking out. People insisted on taking pictures, most of which I probably squinted my eyes on, or blinked at the wrong time, as I have a way of doing. We finished with picture taking, including the now famous hand shot that was previously posted. Then we all had to say goodbye. It was nice, and it was sad, and it was happy. We said our goodbyes, and all parted ways. We had an absolutely wonderful time. |
Juju2bigdog | Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 11:51 am     Halfunit, thanks for the pic of Blue-Eye. Very distinguished looking fellow. Teatime, I know I can speak for Spongie as well when I say what a lovely time we had tea-ing up with you and mr.T and Babyruth at the monster wheel rally. Hahahahaha!!! Neko, don't worry about Bob hurling around epithets like "mature." I am juvenile enough for both of us.
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