Philrad71

Good to know about EF...really need to make it out there. Also, a pre-welcome to Western New York! Buffalo gets a bad rap for weather and crime, but it's really coming along nicely. Lot's of good food and beer out here!

You need to go back there for the Bierfest in Germany...OMG! I think I did a report on it last year, but I would have to do some digging to find it.

Thanks again for posting this report...I think that the Lazy River looked like one of the better ones out there. Reminiscent of the "newer" one at Soak City, but with more greenery and foliage. I like the sounds of foam on the speed slides! Not to get off subject, but I have never been to the water park at Enchanted Forest (or Enchanted Forest for that matter), but have driven by it in the past. I have a friend of mine that lives in Old Forge, so hopefully I might be able to visit within the next few years...the water park looks pretty sweet!

I know that if the Rams make that fake punt for a first down, Fisher and the coaching staff probably come out smelling like roses (if they win) - ala Oakland in New Orleans. But wow...that just seemed like a really bone-headed play call with the game still on the line as you could tell from the formation that it was a fake all along - it really didn't fool anybody. I could see if they were at the 50 or Buffalo 40, but taking that big of a risk & botching it in your own end basically sealed an easy win for Buffalo. I know that if the Bills coaching staff called that play and lost that the Buffalo media would be calling for Rex Ryan's head in the press the following morning. Good to see Shady looking more like his old self...but still not sold on Tyrod Taylor yet. Great legs and ability to escape pass rushers, but his throws just always seem to be slightly off or way off target. He's got to get better if they expect to be a contender this season as he still has to duel Dalton, Brady, Carr, Wilson and Big Ben yet....yikes!

Thanks for posting this...any report that starts with beer (I actually didn't realize that they still made Honey Brown - lol) is a-okay in my book. Looking forward to the rest. PS - Beer kickball sounds like a ton of fun!

We'll keep the Burn The Witch thing going...albeit the one from Queens of the Stone Age. Great tune for this time of the year.

^ I was thinking Marilyn Manson when I saw that too! And what is with being touched by seafood? Does that mean someone might graze you with a fried clam strip, or tease your taste buds by dangling huge pieces of lobster meat or king crab legs in front of you with drizzled butter falling just short of your lips? Damn, now that I think about it, that WOULD be tortuous!

I definitely need to get back to Knoebels soon, but unfortunately it isn't going to be this year. Hoping to see some PTR's of the festival on here...and of course some photos showing all of the great food!

At least there is something going on here...unlike it's red-headed step child down there in Virginia.

Come on. That's not really a thing. You're just screwing with us. They wouldn't really have named it that. Right? Lol Anyway Wawa really is awesome and it's a bit of a religion in the Mid Atlantic. The food is solid but when combined with the fact that they're 24 hours with a full menu and ridiculously convenient they're pretty much unbeatable. Somebody will show up soon and say something asinine about Sheetz being better but ignore them. They're sh*theads. I saw one of these on a road trip once and laughed at the name too. Yeah, it's not spelled right, but still.... We used to also have a couple of Casey's General Stores in rural central NY along I-86, but on our last trip to Boston it looked like they had been bought out by another chain (can't remember the name though). A quick peek at their website now shows the closest ones in Ohio, so I guess they're gone for good. I remember stopping in one and thinking that it wasn't too bad. And I agree about Wawa - awesome. While I normally don't order food there, I like the (usually) clean bathrooms, free ATM, the fresh fruit options as well as normally friendly and speedy check out. While Sheetz is like 99.9% better than any other gas station/convenience stores that you'll find in Western PA, Wawa is definitely superior in variety and in particular, bathroom cleanliness. The last couple of Sheetz we have stopped in just for gas and a pee break, the bathrooms were nasty (paper towels on floor, dirty sinks, overflowing garbage, etc). And yes, most Six Flags food still sucks. lol

Glad to hear no real damage in the Orlando area from Matthew. I haven't really watched any news so not sure how bad New Smyrna got it. It's sad that my friends (married couple) from work just bought a place about a mile from the beaches there less than one month ago. This is (or was) going to be their retirement retreat in the winter once they leave the company in five years. I'm hoping that they tell me Monday that there wasn't any damage to the house, but I was worried when they said that it was one of the areas that took a pretty good wallop. On another note, your food with the orangecello and limoncello cocktails - oh my. Luckily when I was reading this latest update, I was in the midst of eating a ham, swiss, onion, jalapeno omelette with a couple strips of bacon and toast for brunch so I wasn't "too" jealous. I think that I actually might have the ingredients to make both of those Italian cocktails so I might have to try them some night!

That could be fun! Still trying to get Michael better, but hoping by that time next year that he will be.

^ If I am in Florida or any other tropical place I will try it again...in a bottle with lime...on the beach...just as it should be. And after that we'll move on to the Margarita's...just because that's what you do when on said beach!

And the chicken turned out great, by the way! Bill - I certainly wouldn't discourage you from trying Pink's because I know that you will be doing a trip report with FOOD photos and will tell us how it was...please restore my hope!

The first time I tried Landshark in a bottle, I thought that it tasted just like Corona (which I like with lime when it's really hot). The 2nd time I had it at the swim-up bar at CP (on draft), it wasn't very good. Not that it tasted sour like when they don't clean the tap lines out...it just honestly tasted more like Budweiser with a lime. Not sure what that was all about, so I haven't really had it since. But then again, I tend to steer myself towards hoppier, higher ABV beers these days, unless I am golfing and then it's usually Canadian lager. Back on subject...Michael likes Buffet so this resort gets our stamp of approval.

We rode in the front seat of Grizzly this spring and it wasn't too bad...couple pops of air, but not awfully rough. Nothing to write home about although I wouldn't mind riding at night in the front seat after several body-numbing beers. Depending on where you ride those woodies though...they can get you when you least expect it. A similar thing happened to me on Son Of Beast during Haunt the last year it was open. I swore that I either broke a rib or punctured a lung on that POS. It was very painful and one of those feelings where you thought to yourself: "Sh%t that really hurt - that was definitely NOT good". Luckily I had enough beers to kill any residual pain after that and was feeling fine for the rest of the evening as well as the next day. Looking forward to the rest of the report!

^ I agree about the fair. Same rides, food, shows, hot tub salesman...pretty much the same thing every year. Once you've been once, you've seen it all. The only reason we went last year was because of the food trucks and that was even a bit of a disappointment as there were only like four or five of them there and they were way at the back where the carnies were living.

My friend from work is there with his wife today and he texted me to say that LR was down all day and that they shut Wild Eagle down for wasps. In other words, another typical day at Dollywood! However, I did turn them on to the cinnamon bread there - two more addicts to add to the list!

^ I will resist, however...mainly because I already have chicken thighs marinading for the grill - been in the fridge for two days "brining" now!

^ I see what you mean...I just made the mistake of looking at their Hollywood menu and now I am majorly craving a hot dog with all kinds of crazy stuff on it!

^ Yeah...very possible that we just hit Pink's both times at a bad time as that can happen just about anywhere. But after two different times, I am a bit reluctant to go back now. Although if I were in CA, I would definitely want to try the original Pink's because I do like the funky topping combos that they have! To be honest, our last meal at TGIFriday's in the Breakers and our tri-tip and burnt ends at Famous Dave's weren't the greatest either...but still better than most food in the park (except the fries).

^ Given the fact that you probably have a majority of people in Florida from the East Coast over there due to Hurricane Matthew, coupled with the fact that the weather doesn't look too bad for Saturday & Sunday, I would say to expect heavy crowds (obviously expect the worst on Saturday). A friend of mine down that way said that it was damn near impossible to get a hotel in the Tampa area because of all the East Coast evacuees moving over to that side of the state in order to wait out the storm. Maybe you might get lucky and most will head home on Saturday/Sunday - if the weather clears.

To all of my friends down there in Florida....be safe! I hope it isn't as bad as what the media says (they can usually blow stuff way out of proportion), but damn that is one big-ass menacing looking storm!

^^ & ^^^ Thanks guys....good to know that! ^ Yeah, I agree that the ECF pay one price wristband is crazy expensive for what they have. I'd rather go to Fantasy Island for less than $20 any day just to not have to fight the crowds you see at the fair.

Can't say that I ever actually wanted to eat at Midway Market because I'm just not a fan of buffet style food...let alone dare one in a theme park. And I don't believe that they sell beer, so I say the same - f&$k Midway Market. We either eat at Famous Dave's, TGIFriday's, or we eat Chickie & Pete's fries (although their service was horrible) or the fries and cheese back near Gemini. Pinks was meh, but as others have mentioned, the dogs were cold, the cheese on top was also cold and not melted and the "bacon" tasted like what I imagine my dogs Beggin' Strips would taste like - definitely not as good as it could be. Most of the time however, we just eat a big breakfast outside of the park so we only need fries and beer during the day and then go somewhere after we leave...or we bring our own food and BBQ at the campground if we stay there. Hopefully Melt won't bomb there like Pink's has. Edit - I should clarify this before fans of Pink's get all pissy with me...I will say that we have tried it twice and have tasted two different dogs on those occasions. While two were simply awful, the other two weren't really too bad. It just seemed like in addition to the lousy service (like they have at C&P's), the food was consistently cold both times. I know that they could do a lot better if they would simply try a little harder and actually serve hot and fresh hot dogs versus ones that tasted like they just came out of a pot of stale water that has been sitting cold on the stove for a while.