There were about a handful of Hot Wheels inspired cars at the show this year. This green Camero with the custom paint job caught my attention.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
2011 LA Auto Show
There were about a handful of Hot Wheels inspired cars at the show this year. This green Camero with the custom paint job caught my attention.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Vacation day 14, October 21st
It's Friday and I'm going to have a full day at DisneyWorld today. I'm getting better situated with what attractions are where finally by using this map:
At 7AM, I was toying with the idea of going off site for breakfast, but I really don't want to hop into my car until it's time to go tomorrow morning.
I ended up skipping breakfast and buying a lunch of fried shrimp with fries and a large light lemonade. Then I made my way over to the other side of Epcot.
On the schedule today, The Orchestra ( http://www.theorchestra.net/ ) starring former members of ELO (Parthenon Huxley [in a black "former member" tee-shirt on guitar and Mik Kaminski on violin) were performing as a part of the "Eat to the Beat" series at the American... They played for exactly 30 minutes.
Set List:
Don't bring me down
Can't get it out of my head
Tightrope
Hold on tight
Telephone Line
Do Ya
Seeing that performance pretty much was the 'cherry on top' to my entire trip.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Vacation day 13, October 20th
Yeah, I'm on my way to Disneyworld today. Now my real vacation begins.
Stewart International Airport doesn't seem very international at all and it's actually very quiet at 7AM in the morning. I had no idea what the traffic would be like or how busy the airport would be. I just got up and got ready, packed up my things and got on the road as quick as I could. Stewart Airport is 17 miles from where I was staying in Fishkill. Of course, it was raining almost all the way there. I'm done with the NY rain.
O.K., the drop off for the Hertz rental I've had for he past 13 days is weird at the airport. The way this is set-up is one of the reasons why it feels like it's not an actual international airport but more of a regional one. It's on your honor. Shocking, huh. I know I was. You find a marked space to park your car and then get your stuff out and mark the envelope with the date and time you brought it back and the mileage and the gas tank reading, too. Then you lock the car taking the keys and your rental paperwork with you and walk into the terminal with your stuff to the Hertz counter where there is no one manning the thing at 7AM. All that they have there is an early drop-off box that tells you to put your paper work and your keys in the box. Done.
Since I was able to print out my tickets last night and check in online, I didn't have to do that at the counter. So now I had to go find the TSA line. And typically, I'm looking for this long line of bleary eyed people and grumbly TSA folk barking orders to get you though as fast as possible. But again, at 7AM, no line. I went through by myself with no one before me or after me. I was thinking that maybe I'm in some Twilight Zone or the wrong airport, but nope. I found my gate and sat there until it was time to board.
Seat 12F was a much better choice than 9A which was designed not to recline. So everyone got onto the plane and we waited. And we waited. And then the captain announced that his maps were expired and he was waiting for the new ones and I guess there was a printer problem on top of it. We waited on the tarmac for an hour and a half. So our 3 hour flight which was supposed to land at 11-something AM went to 1-something.
Orlando Airport is huge. On the level where you leave the gate area but before you get on the tram, it looks like a freakin' mall. There was even an ad that said they hold church serves there. Thrifty rent-a-car held my car reservation for me knowing my flight was delayed. That was nice. They do not have cars with GPS. That was not so nice. And the map that they give you is crap.
So I used the navigation on my cellphone to get to the Dolphin Resort.
This place is huge. They give you a map at the front desk when you check in order to navigate the place. All I know is after I got to my room and settled in a little, my stomach was growling. I had toast this morning for breakfast, and water and some blue terra chips on the plane.
I went down to the first floor and found a small buffet/store called Picabu which has a lot of bird chirps and elephant sounds on a loop to greet you as you walk in.
I ate the chicken dinner, rice and greens. It was about the only thing on their menu that didn't have dairy in it.
I still have 2 and a half hours before the park closes and that's right before the Illusions Fireworks show.
*****************************
O.K., so I was able to pick up my prepaid two day park hopper ticket using my voucher, walk around a bit, find the nearest women's restroom from my entrance gate with a line, and then I walked to the center of the park where the sphere is to go on a ride called "Spaceship Earth". How do I explain this attraction... It's states that through time, communication through the written word and then on computers has been the driving force that is propelling us towards our future. It's depicted through stages, some with animetronics and some not so much. At the end, it inserts a photo of your disembodied head into a future based cartoon based upon a brief questionnaire of your likes and dislikes. And then after the ride was over, I wondered to the pin station and bought an officially licensed Epcot pin.
People start to sit down an hour before the fireworks. Yep, that's DisneyWorld for ya. It occurrs at the California park, too.
I'm falling asleep here at the keyboard. It's time for me to sleep. The park opens at 9AM tomorrow. Woohoo!
Stewart International Airport doesn't seem very international at all and it's actually very quiet at 7AM in the morning. I had no idea what the traffic would be like or how busy the airport would be. I just got up and got ready, packed up my things and got on the road as quick as I could. Stewart Airport is 17 miles from where I was staying in Fishkill. Of course, it was raining almost all the way there. I'm done with the NY rain.
O.K., the drop off for the Hertz rental I've had for he past 13 days is weird at the airport. The way this is set-up is one of the reasons why it feels like it's not an actual international airport but more of a regional one. It's on your honor. Shocking, huh. I know I was. You find a marked space to park your car and then get your stuff out and mark the envelope with the date and time you brought it back and the mileage and the gas tank reading, too. Then you lock the car taking the keys and your rental paperwork with you and walk into the terminal with your stuff to the Hertz counter where there is no one manning the thing at 7AM. All that they have there is an early drop-off box that tells you to put your paper work and your keys in the box. Done.
Since I was able to print out my tickets last night and check in online, I didn't have to do that at the counter. So now I had to go find the TSA line. And typically, I'm looking for this long line of bleary eyed people and grumbly TSA folk barking orders to get you though as fast as possible. But again, at 7AM, no line. I went through by myself with no one before me or after me. I was thinking that maybe I'm in some Twilight Zone or the wrong airport, but nope. I found my gate and sat there until it was time to board.
Seat 12F was a much better choice than 9A which was designed not to recline. So everyone got onto the plane and we waited. And we waited. And then the captain announced that his maps were expired and he was waiting for the new ones and I guess there was a printer problem on top of it. We waited on the tarmac for an hour and a half. So our 3 hour flight which was supposed to land at 11-something AM went to 1-something.
Orlando Airport is huge. On the level where you leave the gate area but before you get on the tram, it looks like a freakin' mall. There was even an ad that said they hold church serves there. Thrifty rent-a-car held my car reservation for me knowing my flight was delayed. That was nice. They do not have cars with GPS. That was not so nice. And the map that they give you is crap.
So I used the navigation on my cellphone to get to the Dolphin Resort.
I went down to the first floor and found a small buffet/store called Picabu which has a lot of bird chirps and elephant sounds on a loop to greet you as you walk in.
I ate the chicken dinner, rice and greens. It was about the only thing on their menu that didn't have dairy in it.
I still have 2 and a half hours before the park closes and that's right before the Illusions Fireworks show.
*****************************
O.K., so I was able to pick up my prepaid two day park hopper ticket using my voucher, walk around a bit, find the nearest women's restroom from my entrance gate with a line, and then I walked to the center of the park where the sphere is to go on a ride called "Spaceship Earth". How do I explain this attraction... It's states that through time, communication through the written word and then on computers has been the driving force that is propelling us towards our future. It's depicted through stages, some with animetronics and some not so much. At the end, it inserts a photo of your disembodied head into a future based cartoon based upon a brief questionnaire of your likes and dislikes. And then after the ride was over, I wondered to the pin station and bought an officially licensed Epcot pin.
People start to sit down an hour before the fireworks. Yep, that's DisneyWorld for ya. It occurrs at the California park, too.
I'm falling asleep here at the keyboard. It's time for me to sleep. The park opens at 9AM tomorrow. Woohoo!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Vacation day 12, October 19th
Wednesday, October 19th at 11AM was the designate day of the memorial.
In attendance:
Aunt Jane Metrando
Aunt Tressa Spoor
Uncle Frank Spoor
Aunt Grace Staub
Cousin Barbara McCann
Cousin Cate Schmidt
Catherine Hall
I planned it months ahead of time, but just hours before I was working on the final draft of the eulogy.
It was another rainy day in the Hudson River Valley. The company in charge of the burial said that if it was raining, they would erect a tent for us, no charge. For the money that I've had to spend on this whole damn thing, that was the least they could do. I paid for out of my pocket the headstone, the urn vault, the urn, the service and the cremation back last December in El Cajon. The remains stayed in the original package on my shelf since I brought them home, but I had to pay for the shipping on those, too. Why you ask I didn't take them with my as carry-on when I flew? Here's why. My friend at work told me about how a mutual friend of ours took the cremated remains of his dear relative with him on a plane and said TSA did an extra special screening picked through the ashes by hand. I didn't want to go through the indignity, so I shipped them with a copy of the cremation certificate.
In attendance:
Aunt Jane Metrando
Aunt Tressa Spoor
Uncle Frank Spoor
Aunt Grace Staub
Cousin Barbara McCann
Cousin Cate Schmidt
Catherine Hall
I planned it months ahead of time, but just hours before I was working on the final draft of the eulogy.
It was another rainy day in the Hudson River Valley. The company in charge of the burial said that if it was raining, they would erect a tent for us, no charge. For the money that I've had to spend on this whole damn thing, that was the least they could do. I paid for out of my pocket the headstone, the urn vault, the urn, the service and the cremation back last December in El Cajon. The remains stayed in the original package on my shelf since I brought them home, but I had to pay for the shipping on those, too. Why you ask I didn't take them with my as carry-on when I flew? Here's why. My friend at work told me about how a mutual friend of ours took the cremated remains of his dear relative with him on a plane and said TSA did an extra special screening picked through the ashes by hand. I didn't want to go through the indignity, so I shipped them with a copy of the cremation certificate.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Vacation day 9, October 16th
On Sunday, October 16th, I was invited to dinner at my cousin Chrissy's house in Pine Island, NY. Actually, I was invited over Facebook chat on Saturday night for Sunday dinner. So I wouldn't feel like a total freeloader, I offered to bring an apple pie. I remembered reading that they baked them fresh at the Overlook Farm and that was on the way. Actually, I went early and bought the pie and some Honeycrisp apples for myself. The lady at the counter was great - friendly and chatty.
On the map, the drive didn't seem all that far, but once I went past the airport, it seemed like it would never end. In actuality, they live quite close to the New Jersey border.
The farm land around them was filled with onions in the gutters left over from the high water hurricane damage that occurred in that area.
I got my meet my cousin Don as an adult for the first time and his wife Alice, who is a self proclaimed Disney nut. I also got to meet Chrissy's husband Brian and their kids Samantha, Ben, and Cora. They made meatloaf, corn, and mash potatoes. The meatloaf was good. Below is a photo of me and my cousin Don. I think he looks a lot like brother Kris.
On the map, the drive didn't seem all that far, but once I went past the airport, it seemed like it would never end. In actuality, they live quite close to the New Jersey border.
The farm land around them was filled with onions in the gutters left over from the high water hurricane damage that occurred in that area.
I got my meet my cousin Don as an adult for the first time and his wife Alice, who is a self proclaimed Disney nut. I also got to meet Chrissy's husband Brian and their kids Samantha, Ben, and Cora. They made meatloaf, corn, and mash potatoes. The meatloaf was good. Below is a photo of me and my cousin Don. I think he looks a lot like brother Kris.
I think it's kind of weird that they all work for the school district in one capacity or another.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Vacation day 8, October 15th
I drove to Watertown, CT, for some unfruitful genealogy work. It, again, was raining on and off all day. I took my umbrella with me. I found the Old Watertown Cemetery and the entrance is at the back of the lot. All of the streets that surround the cemetery was painted red, so parking was difficult. There is one spot for guest parking at the apartments next door and I took that up and then went for a walk into and around the grounds.
My thinking was that if this was the oldest cemetery in Watertown and it was written that Gershom Fulford passed in Watertown, then I might be able to find his headstone so that's why I went. The list of names is not available at the cemetery anymore. I wondered about in the rain searching for the oldest stones, but to no avail.
My thinking was that if this was the oldest cemetery in Watertown and it was written that Gershom Fulford passed in Watertown, then I might be able to find his headstone so that's why I went. The list of names is not available at the cemetery anymore. I wondered about in the rain searching for the oldest stones, but to no avail.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Vacation day 7, October 14th
Friday, October 14th, I had an appointment at 3PM to meet with Bill from Kol-Rocklea at his shop to examine the urn vault and the urn I had purchased online from a company in Colorado and had shipped to him in Red Hook. I also had to pay for the service. To spare myself the pain of having to deal with TSA and having then perform a physical examination of my mother's remains before I could board the plane, I shipped those to Bill, too, the night before I left for Seattle.
It was a rainy day on and off all day just as forecasted. I left my hotel in Fishkill early to do something touristy before my somber appointment.
On the way, traveling north on Interstate 9E, in Hyde Park, there is the FDR Presidential Museum, Library and his former residence/family compound. You can only view the interiors of the home if you participate in a decent lead tour which costs $14. The grounds are beautiful. Full of trees, vast areas of open space and decent parking. In the large green space in front of the reception area of the park, there were Canadian Geese doing what birds do. It was a change for me to see them instead of seagulls, pigeons, mallards or the random crane like in California. Anyway, there is some major renovations going on and so... I didn't think I got my money's worth out of the visit.
To the right is a photo of the sign on the path that takes you to the Presidential Library. Note the construction. The contents of entire library was moved to the Bush Presidential Library in Texas while the renovation is taking place. Nothing much to see here today. Moving on...
This photo is of three busts on the grounds between the visitor's center and the residence. If you like photography, you might find this angle somewhat odd, but that was because I wanted a natural setting in the background instead of more the signs of construction - heavy equipment, roll away refuse containers, etc.
As it was 11:30AM when I arrived, I was the last to join the tour group. I was dressed nice for my appointment with my leather jacket to try and stay dry and out of the rain. The humidity was up and it finally did me in after standing around inside listening to the decent in the FDR residence. It has no air circulating inside because of it's preservation efforts. I was hyperventilating and had to excuse myself from the tour.
And then, while sitting upon a park bench trying to catch my breathe, I took this photo in between the sprinkling rain and other tourists roaming around on the grounds. I think it's gorgeous. I would love to visit again when all of the renovations are complete.
On the way, traveling north on Interstate 9E, in Hyde Park, there is the FDR Presidential Museum, Library and his former residence/family compound. You can only view the interiors of the home if you participate in a decent lead tour which costs $14. The grounds are beautiful. Full of trees, vast areas of open space and decent parking. In the large green space in front of the reception area of the park, there were Canadian Geese doing what birds do. It was a change for me to see them instead of seagulls, pigeons, mallards or the random crane like in California. Anyway, there is some major renovations going on and so... I didn't think I got my money's worth out of the visit.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Vacation day 6, October 13th
It's Thursday, October 13th and I decided it would be remiss if I didn't do something foodie today. After all, I'm in Hudson Valley. I decided to drive to Red Hook to see how long it would take from the hotel and see if I could find the Feller grounds.
The drive into Red Hook is on the 9 East (side of the Hudson River and not a toll road ) going North through Wappinger Falls, Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park,
Rhinebeck, and then finally Red Hook. I located the memorial company that's been helping me with arrangements first, not that far away from the church yard where the cemetery is located. I tried to find the Fulford headstone, but the place is huge with rolling hills. The drive takes about an hour one way.
Further north outside of the town, I found Kerley's Corners, but after traveling all the way to Trivoli on one end and horse ranches on the other, I gave up. I'm going to need a local historian's help on this.
I went to Gigi's Market and bought some fancy chicken sausage with rosemary and sundried tomatoes. I made the entire package of 4 for dinner but only ended up eating 2. They were good. The farm's website where they came from said that the flavor I picked was it's most popular.
Vacation day 5, October 12th
It's Wednesday and I decided it's laundry day. I found the laundry room on the first floor of the Homestead Suites where I'm staying, but with the drier fee of $2 alone, I think I'll take my chances washing elsewhere.
As I was getting ready to leave, I opened up the yellow pages I found in the top drawer of my kitchen and located a few in my area. The closest one travel wench couldn't find on Commonwealth. But I remembered from reading, that there were three in Newburgh, so I traveled over the Hudson not exactly knowing where I was going but with the goal of finding a laundrymat. I somehow made my way to Broadway. I found Snow White Laundrymat, but it was rusty, old, and had no vending machines for soap and dryer sheets. After my quick audit, I hopped back into my car and went to the next one. I found Newburgh Laundry World off of he corner of Fullerton and Broadway. *ting* tha will do. It was huge and had everything I needed complete with a Spanish speaking attendant. It was $2.50 to wash in the small commercial front loading machine. They had no top loaders. To dry, it was .25 cents for 8 minutes. I put in 4 quarters and waited.
Once all of the folding was done, I decided to drive to the end of Broadway straight into the Hudson. Not really, but as I went towards the river, I found another historic marker and this one was about General George Washington. My son is related to him. Fancy. I have to check that out, but first I have to get back to the hotel for lunch. And then I never sent back. Yet. Here's the link to what I found on my excursion: http://www.nysparks.com/historic-sites/17/details.aspx
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Vacation day 4, October 11th
Tuesday, October 11th. This was a lazy travel day as I had two more hours to get to my destination in Fishkill, NY I checked out of the Marriott in Waterbury and on my way out of town I tried to get lost, but Travel Wench would not allow me to do so. I drove toward the bell, but I think my hearing was off because instead I found a large gothic looking church.I crossed a river and then was on my way again. I realized I did not pack my transfer cable for my camera by this time after taking pictures of and around city hall.
There was a traffic jam due to road work in Connecticut on my way into New York. I had to laugh. It was Tuesday afternoon. Is this someone's way of telling me I still have work to do? I don't know. I decided on contacting the city historian to get the details on the headstones in the park. I wasn't expecting a reply with all of the budget cuts, but I got one and she even gave me a clue as to where to look further.
After passing the large green "Welcome to New York" sign along Interstate 84W, it was smooth sailing down the road. I pulled over at the first rest stop I could find for a drink and I found this sign:
After I checked into my hotel room a rested for awhile and decided I needed provisions for my stay. I drove myself to the 24/7 Super Walmart on the other side of the highway. I ended up spending about $100. So a little over $10 a day on 2-3 meals a day.
Shopping list: English breakfast tea (because the hotel only serves coffee) ginger ale, 2 liter orange juice, half gallon silk soy milk, vanilla flavored half gallon lenders bagels rye bread turkey lunch meat frozen chicken strips 4 bell peppers one red onion 4 bananas 6 roma tomatos tub of Best Life spread morton salt & pepper tiny bottle of musard a dozen eggs two boxes of Oscar Meyer cooked bacon a steam bag of peas a steam bag of broccoli sugar free jello six pack kettle pop corn bag pringles original transfer cable
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