printersdevil78

Yep, all it needed was a paddlewheeler at the bottom.

Day 3: Canada's Wonderland, Toronto, Canada. Behemoth Bash, baby! This day was great! I got to meet 50 or so TPR members who WEREN'T on the bus and spend Canadian money instead of those boring old U.S. dollars! (Seriously, a two-dollar coin? What will they think of next?) If there was any downside at all, it was that the day wore on a little long. Robbie at the end of the trip: "We spent half a day at Seabreeze, half a day at Darien Lake and Martin's, seven years at Canada's Wonderland...." Anyway, on to the photos! As we rode next door, a maintenance worker on the Mighty Canadian Minebuster diligently walked the track to make sure it was in just the right state of "OMFG" roughness for that evening's ERT. Does anyone else see what I think I see, Rorschach-style, in that peeling paint? The graffiti next to it made it even better! (I blotted out the phone number with my mad Photoshop skills.) This is where I spent the majority of my ERT. The effects weren't turned on until the last 15 minutes or so before the park opened, so when the cars stopped at the "stunt" portion of the ride, they just sat there. Nothing happened for about 10 seconds (Neil called this the "moment of silence"). Then the car rapidly accelerated. Neat! Yay, Psyclone! Due to the Time Warp delay, they also gave us ERT on Psyclone. We were supposed to have ERT on Time Warp, too... and we did for about 10 minutes once they got the mechanical bugs worked out. I rode it. Once. Moving on.... Happy, smiling faces. And a big "MOTH." MUCH better! Um, Robb, when you said we had an ERT coaster, this wasn't exactly what we had in mind.... Elissa: "Canada's Wonderland is different than any other Paramount park you've been to. Instead of the Eiffel Tower, they have the best fake-looking mountain ever." Um, excuse me... you've got a little TPR on your shoe.... The weird thing is, we didn't even coordinate the shirts in advance.... But who cares about that? It's time for Behemoth Bash at Canada's Wonderland! For a Canadian hotel, the decorations in the breakfast room were very European! ...and Spinovator. ...and The Bat. I, on the other hand, spent some time on the flat rides, like Klockwerks (seen in the foreground)... ...Dragon Fire... ...SkyRider and Vortex... Others spent their mornings on Flight Deck... Next up: Thunder Run. Which is a powered coaster. Which Robb says isn't a coaster. Except it is. Credit, please! A sprinkling of cinnamon, powdered sugar, cocoa powder or cinnamon-apple sugar (I chose cinnamon) and voila! Tiny Tom doughnuts. The doughnut artist scoops the doughnuts from the conveyor belt into a little paper bag. Then each fully fried doughnut drops out of this chute onto a conveyor belt. First the doughnuts drop out of the hopper and spiral around in oil for about a minute. This was our doughnut artist. Well, if you insist.... After standing around to see the crappy diving show, I decided it was time for some Tiny Tom doughnuts, a Canadian tradition since 1960. "Since the dawn of civilization, there HAVE. BEEN. DIVERS!" That's how the show started, and it just built up from there, complete with inspirational symphony music and a self-serious spiel that put Spaceship Earth to shame. Then three people jumped off the waterfall. And the show was over. Fifteen minutes of fanfare. Thirty seconds of diving. Another World's Fair remnant, though I don't remember which year this was from. Fish burger! "World Dryer Canada--Made in USA" Much to our chagrin, they don't have bathrooms in Canada! But we found the washroom, which was very similar. Theming! And it was awesome! Through these gates awaited our second breakfast of the day. Is that Shaggy I see in the foreground? So while everyone else was getting in their last rides on Behemoth, I chatted briefly with some of the CW PR staff. My theory is, if I can prove I did enough professional networking, I can write the whole trip off as a business expense! Marineland is next! I spent most of the ERT on Minebuster. We allegedly had ERT on that, Vortex and Behemoth until 10:15. However, at 10 p.m., I was informed Minebuster would be shutting down early. Oh well. This ride was awesome! Even Jahan said so.... Er... THIS Vortex! Finally it was time for ERT on Vortex! I had been waiting the whole trip for this! This is a Canadian delicacy called poutine. Natalie told me about it months before the trip, and I'm not sure I entirely believed her until I saw it for myself: French fries, cheese curds and gravy, together at last! It's the "Three's Company" of heart-attack-inducing junk food! Does anyone really buy the on-ride photos anymore? From the arcade, I ran into Adam, Matt and Matt, and we made our way over to The Fly. I found this great shooting gallery game in the arcade. After firing a light-beam gun at several moving and non-moving targets, you get to shoot the coffee mug in the middle... and it actually blows up! Trampolines are always entertaining! And then there was this. I apologize for the slight blurriness, but it has to be seen to be believed. That would be Yogi Bear. And those would be ice skating s'mores. Yeah. By that time of the day, it started to get a little hot, and I had been walking for awhile, so I decided to cool down at the "Endless Summer" ice skating show. It seemed like a normal community college-level production-- until Scooby Doo came on stage doing the Arsenio Hall fist pump.... Nerds! The CW PR folks took us back in small groups. At one point, a park employee called out to us and asked what we were doing in a restricted area (I guess he thought dozens of us decided to dress alike and go look for a missing hat or something). I told him the PR office was giving us a photo tour, and he apologized for the misunderstanding. The power of TPR! And then came the photo walk-back of Behemoth. This was just... awesome. There's really no other word to describe it. Next up: TPR trivia! That's where we learned that if Behemoth was a teenage subculture, it would be emo. Remember that lunchtime Q&A I mentioned a few photos ago? This would be it! They totally dodged the question, "How do you come up with the names for your rides" (which was the polite way of saying, "Flight Deck? Really? Come on, what were you smoking?"). Their answer: "Market research. And then we called the roller coaster 'Behemoth' because it's big. And 'behemoth' means 'big.'" Did I mention we all got these really cool T-shirts? And those of us on the bus trip got TWO! Moose burger! Another TPR pavilion sign credit! But enough jocularity. Lunch awaited! However, Riptide did have its share of insane TPR riders. And as soon as they got off the Riptide, soaking wet... they ran over and gave Dan a great big hug! Thanks to the black shirt, you can't really see the unacceptable amount of wetness... but trust me, it's there! Elissa warned us early that Riptide was the most insane topspin ever. She was right! People got wetter on this thing than they did at the water park! I'm glad I abstained. I tried to ride this thing three times throughout the day, and the line NEVER MOVED! I stood there for about 20 minutes in the morning when I had to leave to make the TPR lunch on time. Then I tried again in the afternoon and it broke down. Then I tried again in the early evening and the line was up to 90 minutes. I finally got on just before the park closed... and ALMOST set the high score for the day! Yeah, yeah, we know. Scooby Everything. Hi, Rich! Because dead birds on the kiddie coaster sign are ALWAYS fun! When I saw them on the map, I was really hoping Jokey's Jalopies were some random flat ride named after Jokey Smurf, what with the H-B theming. Unfortunately, they were just antique-themed cars. According to the CW officials at the lunchtime Q&A (but I'm getting ahead of myself), this is the most difficult attraction in the park to operate because each car runs independently, and kids have a tendency to like bumping. ...and these very, very odd helicopter things. This place had some nice pedal-powered attractions, including the swan boats... Not to be confused with Redd Rocket's Pizza Port. Snagglepuss credit! With Kings Dominion having de-Hanna-Barbara-ized most of its park (with the exception of Scooby Everything and a few flats), it was nice to see all was still right with the world at Canada's Wonderland. Of course, I did take a flat ride break for Scooby's Gasping Ghoster Coaster.

So THAT'S why you rode the log flume!

Day Two: Darien Lake Amusement Resort, Darien Center, NY, and Martin's Fantasy Island, Grand Island, NY. Day Two began at Darien Lake, which has a reputation for being photo-unfriendly. Only today it wasn't. Finally, back at the hotel, Neil needed to soak his foot for medical reasons. Which is why he has his foot in the trash can. I think. Stay tuned for images from Behemoth Bash tomorrow! The ride op and PR guy really got into it, high-fiving each trainful of TPRers as they went through. I spoke briefly with the PR guy afterward about his job with the park. I've worked in PR for five years, and I've never gotten to high-five anyone. As you can see, we were all very excited to be there! The one thing I can't figure out is why it's called the "Silver" Comet. The track and supports are brown wood. The cars are purple. Does brown + purple = silver on the Fantasy Island color wheel? Some gratuitous track shots for those who like that sort of thing (which I imagine is most of you). And then there was the one, the only Silver Comet. Which was my favorite coaster of the trip. For two days. Of course, coasters were really the reason we were here. I braved this spinning mouse and liked it a lot better than the spinning coaster the day before. I heard a lot of people say it didn't spin that much for them. We must have worn it out because, using Natalie's patented "three people on the left" technique, we had our little pink mouse whirling like so many dervishes. The park's currency exchange booth doubled as a beer stand! Some of us enjoyed the star flyer more than others.... Eventually I decided to catch a ride on the star flyer. The views were spectacular, and we could just about make out Niagara Falls. The best part, however, was when the kid in the seat in front of me kicked off his shoe at 100 feet. I have no clue where it landed, but I didn't see anyone walking around with a backwards "Nike" logo on their forehead, so maybe like the Viper incident years before, this ended happily. We all had fun with the balloons Fantasy Island's PR guy gave us at dinner... well, at least most of us did. According to Rich the next morning at breakfast, Jahan emotionally killed the PR guy by leaving his free balloons, postcard and purple Silver Comet fact sheet behind in the pavilion like common garbage. For the record, Jahan didn't seem all that concerned... and maybe even a little proud. Carrot sticks and celery on the buffet? This is one park that clearly knows the difference between TPR and ACE! (Full disclosure: I'm not entirely convinced any of the TPR crew actually touched the carrot sticks or celery, either.) TPR wristband + Darien Lake wristband + Martin's Fantasy Island dinner wristband + Martin's Fantasy Island hand stamp + Darien Lake exit stamp on the other hand = my personal one-day record for wrist-and-hand paraphernalia. Did I mention I never got tired of seeing our name on the picnic pavilions? Having already tried fried dough at Darien Lake, I passed this time in favor of a well-rounded Italian sausage dinner. Personally, I would have gone for the cheese grater. ...a cleaning set! You laugh, but this really came in handy as the funk on the bus started to grow. Eventually, we did a TPR takeover and won... You can see for yourself just how high-tech it really is. "I Got It" is 100 percent ghetto Fascination. Instead of rolling big rubber balls down a board into holes, you throw little rubber balls into a grid that looks something like an empty Christmas ornament box. The first one with five balls in a row yells, "I Got It!" Because "Bingo" apparently is too difficult to remember. Right after the petting zoo, I stumbled onto the "I Got It" building. It was pretty empty when I played my first games. This park apparently has a fetish for sleeping giants. Pinocchio lives in here. As much as a puppet can live without becoming a real boy, that is. I mean, really, what would a TPR trip be without a donkey? For a place called "Fantasy Island," there certainly wasn't much fairy tale theming... or many little people in white tuxes making a big deal about airplanes. The closest to both was Humpty Dumpty, who stood guard in front of the petting zoo. ...some canoeists... and not much else. ...a sleeping giant... First ride I caught was the kiddie train, which led us past... Fantasy Island almost made it seem like we were back in Philly.... After lunch, we found out that in an effort to make up for our late ERT on Ride of Steel, the park would give each TPR participant an exit pass for one more ride. Several people nearly missed the bus getting theirs in! On the short bus ride to Martin's Fantasy Island (seen here), Robb had another surprise announcement: in an effort to further make up for lost ERT, Darien Lake had given us multiple copies of all the on-ride photos taken during ERT! It truly was a generous gesture and one surpassed on this trip only by the amazing treatment we later received at Idlewild Park. You know, anyone can get their "Elissa Skins a Hot Dog" square marked off on Elissa Photo Bingo--but I was the only one artistic (read "slow") enough to capture the moment from behind! I never got tired of seeing TPR's name on pavilions. This one was probably the most ornate. Any park with themed manhole covers is OK in my book! I didn't do too bad at it, either! During the special game, I got two extra tickets just for crowing like a rooster when I won (it wasn't by choice, really--the game host made me do it as a condition for receiving my tickets). Next up: Fascination! I've been intrigued (fascinated, if you will) by this game ever since I saw it in the Midwest Trip reports last year. Intrigued by the fried dough I had seen at Seabreeze the night before, I decided to try some at Darien Lake. It was everything you'd expect fried dough to be: fried and doughy. And the Silver Bullet. As was this slightly different Paratrooper (I think they called it the Haymaker). This park had some really great flat rides. The Lasso was awesome! And speaking of water, here's a nice photo of the water slide. Because I like it. And it's my TR. Any more questions? Good. The flume was fairly well themed. 1964 carousel. Check! This is the observation wheel from the 1959 World's Fair. How cool is that? If you're a World's Fair buff like me, very! OK, story time. My first editor worked at Darien Lake in high school, and one of his favorite stories was about the day he was working at Lost and Found, and received a call from the maintenance department that if anyone brought in a wheel, tell them it came from a stroller. He later found out that Viper had actually thrown a wheel in mid-run, and no one could find it. Park administrators were just praying it hadn't knocked someone unconscious. They found it later that evening in some landscaping, and all was right with the world again. Boomerang. Next. The rear restraints that come up and whack you in the back can be kind of uncomfortable if you're not expecting them. "Cute" was the universal adjective used to describe MotoCoaster. Not really bad, not really good, not really... anything. Had it been about three times larger, it could have been a really great ride. Of course, this is what we all really came to see.... Most people didn't think Predator was running that rough, but I did! So did the ride ops, apparently. When I came back later in the hour to ride with a group, the op checking restraints paused at my car and said, "Oh, you're riding AGAIN!?" I wasn't quite brave enough to try Ride of Steel, so I opted for ERT on Predator... REALLY ERT! I was the only one on the train during its first lap of the day. That's its name... don't wear it out. It was the not-so-little coaster that could! Eventually the mechanics got everything running, which was just, um... Super. The morning allegedly began with ERT on Ride of Steel, but someone must have brought along some Kryptonite because we ended up with some EWT (Extra Wait Time) due to mechanical difficulties before ERT actually began. Thanks for the reminder!

So here it is, the 15th or so Behemoth/Flyer Mini-Trip report to be posted this week. But hopefully there will be a few things in here that aren't in the others--and vice versa. I'm not being anywhere near hyperbolic when I say this trip represented the five and a half absolute best days (and nights and early, early mornings) of my life. For the past two years, TPR has been a lifeline for me. The forums, the TRs... they're what get me through the day. To actually meet a good majority of these people who have been staring back at me so long through the monitor--Jahan, Dan, All About Brian, and of course Robb, Elissa and KidTums--well, I can now imagine how a 3-year-old meeting Big Bird would feel. The whole thing didn't become "real" for me (if it ever became "real" for me) until I happened to glimpse a TPR wristband on the first day's bus ride... and realized it was on MY wrist! I've spent the four days since it ended tugging at imaginary wristbands and laughing spontaneously when I remember a particularly great moment or quote from the trip (and drawing some fairly odd stares in the process, I must say). And for the record, ERT has spoiled me for life. By our last night at the hotel, several of us were seriously discussing personal possessions we could sell to bankroll a full trip in 2009. Anybody need a kidney? And we close with a random Alfred E. Neuman credit! Thanks, Seabreeze! As are the Flyers and kiddie train. And it's still there today. Apparently the log flume has a long history at Seabreeze. ...as well as an actual piece of Seabreeze's old natatorium (AKA saltwater pool), which closed in 1931. The museum also included vintage park tickets and brochures... The museum and carousel were housed in this fantastic-looking carousel building. And for those who want to watch while the kiddies ride... rocking chairs! The centerpiece of the museum was Seabreeze's hand-carved carousel, built in the 1990s but designed to look much, much older. Like the Jack Rabbit, the Bobselds are enshrined in the park's museum. After my first ride, I called the Bobselds, "The Matterhorn if Six Flags had built it instead of Disney." Turns out I wasn't far off. And what bobsled-themed ride would be complete without representation from the mighty Jamaican bobsled team? OK, maybe it's a nerd shot, but on how many coasters are you going to find a brake like this? The car stopped at the end of the conveyor belt, which then carried the vehicle back to the load station for disembarking. A few track images so those who have never been can get an idea of the random layout. Now, the Bobselds (that's the official TPR spelling, according to the checklist we received) were more like it! I loved this unique little ride and rode it eight times throughout the day--six during ERT. Fortunately, I rode Jack Rabbit before Whirlwind or else I still may be forming finger crosses, anti-vampire-style, at the sight of narrow-gauge tracks! This thing was like a Tilt-a-Whirl with random drops. It was one of the only two spinning coasters I tried on the trip. And why wouldn't they? After all, Jack Rabbit has been around long enough to have been photographed in black and white, as this image from the park museum attests. I love that they still used the wooden levers to start and stop most of the old woodies on this trip. OK, confession time. Until this trip, I was assuredly not a coaster enthusiast. Amusement parks, yes. Rickety wood-and-steel death traps plummeting hundreds of feet in mere seconds, no. Had you asked me on the bus ride to Seabreeze if I had any intention of riding a single coaster during this trip, I would have told you, you were crazy. But the Jack Rabbit is... old. And I love old amusement park rides (Caterpillar, anyone?). So after about an hour of internal conflict, I decided to give it a try. And it was awesome! By the time it was all over, I nearly tripled my lifetime coaster count on this trip. First stop: Jack Rabbit! After our six-hour drive, we finally arrived at Seabreeze. After pie and a near miss at getting my "Elissa Eats at McDonald's" square marked off for Elissa Bingo, I ducked into an "Everything's $1.00" store, where I was handsomely rewarded for my adventurousness with this bobble-head Jesus! What didn't make the photo TR was the cardboard display with the sign, "Assorted Medications Half-Price"--in other words, 50 cents for Gas-X. (Photo stolen from Robb--who actually made me look pretty good with his magic camera). Was there anyone who didn't get a picture of one of the "Rob's Meat Sale" signs at the strip mall? Most everyone else went to McDonald's, which had a sign saluting its soon-to-be employees. To be fair, a smattering also drifted over to Subway, Dunkin' Donuts and the Strip Mall Italian Restaurant of Death. Absolutely no one went to Arby's. ...for blueberry pie! On the way from Philly to Rochester, we stopped for sustenance with plenty of options to choose from. Still full from my 10 a.m. cheesesteak breakfast, I risked my life running across the street to this place... Robbie, upon passing another bus on the highway: "Oh, look, they're on a bus, too. What kind of food does their bus have on it? They don't have any food? They suck. We got grapes!" Plus Rocky stood there. How can you not order your cheesesteak where Rocky stood? I mean, Pat's actually has directions on how to order! And even more impressive, they found someone with the unlikely name of "I.M. Hungry" to write them! As if that was a hard decision to make! ...or Geno's? Of course, a morning in Philly just isn't complete without a traditional Philadelphia cheesesteak breakfast. The only question: Pat's... We commenced the goodie exchange at the bar. For my money, the best stuff there (besides the Tim Tams) was this tray of multi-flavored pecans provided by Roxanne. We tried to dine at this Denny's next door the night before. Unfortunately, a power outage left us Moons Over My-Hammy-less. After trying a sandwich shop down the street only to watch its power go out too as the waitress took the second or third drink order, we settled for the hotel bar. They hadn't even bothered to change the parking passes over yet. Day One: Philadelphia to Seabreeze Amusement Park, Rochester, NY. Our hotel in Philly was a Quality Inn, but apparently it hadn't been one for long....

Dang it, Big Mike! The weekend you finally come to Ocean City, Maryland, 30 minutes from my front door, is the weekend I'll be away for a wedding! And since I'm actually in the wedding, they'll most likely notice if I don't show up.... Oh well. I was looking for an excuse to hit Hard Rock Park in September. Now, if the funds and schedule hold out, it looks like I have one!

Leap the Dips. My *ahem* backside still hurts!

I won one of his mix CDs in Elissa Bingo. I'm still on my own "extended" trip (writing from a hotel lobby computer), but once I get home on Sunday and listen to it, I'll let you know. He said they were all "local" bands. I'll just say I used to live near Baltimore, and I've never heard any of the ones he had listed on the sleeve....

Nickname of the "Full House" street is Postcard Row. Not sure what the "real" name of the street is (e.g. Elm Street, etc.). What I do know is that we visited San Francisco when I was 12, and I was much more excited to see those houses from the opening of "Full House" than I was to see the Golden Gate Bridge!

That's pretty cool! I used to race RC cars, but the closest thing I've come to RC boats were the coin-operated ones at Walt Disney World.

Are Big Mike Points kind of like Schrute Bucks on "The Office"?

I found 143 duckies in this TR. Do I win?

I've seen a few posts here and there about coaster parts and other theme/amusement park items on eBay, but I searched and didn't come up with a thread on people who have actually purchased these items. So what's your best theme/amusement park-related eBay "get"? Mine has to be an original Disneyland Band drumhead used in the mid-'80s. My dad was actually the "purchaser," and he gave it to me for Christmas several years ago. It's allowed only so many seconds of direct light per year! Anyone else?

The whole rookie card phenomenon is the epitome of why I got out of baseball card collecting for the most part. When I started collecting in the late '80s/early '90s, cards were 50 cents a pack at most. Now they're, what, $5 or more? That's a higher rate of inflation than gasoline and corn combined! My dad has some great cards from his youth--original Mantles and Ted Williams-es in mint and near-mint condition. His mother was a neat freak of the highest caliber (maybe even OCD) and forced him to keep everything 100 percent spotless. As a result every comic book, baseball card and toy he ever had growing up is predominately still in mint condition--and in the case of toys, almost all in their original boxes. They'll all be mine someday (bwa-ha-ha-ha!). In the meantime, I managed to pull together some really nifty cards of my own, some from my "generation," but mostly from long before my time. My most prized pieces are a Leaf Jackie Robinson rookie in fair condition and an original Topps Satchel Paige in near-mint to mint. Still working on that Piedmont Honus Wagner.... I've managed to get some great autographed baseballs over the years, as well--Hank Aaron, Frank Robinson, Brooks Robinson and Duke Snider, to name just a few of the pros, along with a number of Negro League players.

Wow, this is awesome! London is definitely on my list of places to visit in the next five years (assuming I still have a job and the U.S. dollar levels off at some point). Any cost-saving tips?

^Hey, I never thought of having speed dating in my house! That would speed things up quite considerably.... Thanks, Meteornotes! ^^I never saw "Jade," so I don't get it. But can I assume it ends badly?

Yep. Al Gore invented TPR before he discovered global warming.

Good luck, Xmeister! If you make it to Hollywood, be sure to get the Mummy credit.

So here's a question I never thought I'd post on a roller coaster enthusiast message board.... As those who have read my other posts on the "Random" board may know, I'm president of my local Jaycees chapter this year. For those who don't know what Jaycees is, it's more or less a community service/social organization. Think Rotary, Lions Club, etc., only with a younger slant (ages 21-40). Ever since gas hit $4 a gallon, membership has been abysmal. We began 2006 with 99 members. We now have about 40, and we're still dropping. In an effort to try to get our name out to the demographic we're trying to reach, my board of directors and I have been discussing various membership recruitment event possibilities. The one we keep coming back to is a speed dating night. We've proposed an event in September, but since none of us have ever attended a speed dating session before, we're kind of iffy on the rules. Flash forward to this evening when, lo and behold, an e-mail appears in my inbox from a national dating service, advertising a local speed dating event in August. Figuring a.) at least one of us should attend a real speed dating event before ours is scheduled to make sure we're doing it right, b.) I've got nothing better to do on a Tuesday night, and c.) I currently have absolutely no prospects whatsoever on the horizon with regard to the opposite gender (ladies on the Behemoth/Ravine Flyer trip, take note!), I signed up. So now the question is, what have I gotten myself into? Has anyone on here ever been to one of these things before? I've been on some really, really, tremendously bad dates before (mostly through online dating; it's the subject of my next book, in fact), so hopefully this won't be too bad. But the whole process will be new this time around. I live in a fairly rural area (when I was a kid we had to drive an hour for groceries; now I live in the town where that grocery store is), so I really have no idea what to expect as far as turnout, especially since this is a ticketed event ($35 per person). Then again, I've always said the average lifespan of a single woman is approximately four minutes, and these "dates" are only six minutes each, so I guess that works out pretty well mathematically. I fully expect everyone else there to have at least three kids (around here if you don't have your first kid by the time you're 18, you're considered an old maid). I'm also a little uneasy because I just had a birthday last week, pushing me ever so slightly over the edge into the 27-39-year-old event instead of the 21-29-year-old event I would rather have attended. I'm really hoping I'm not stuck in a room with a dozen or more 39.9999-year-olds who have completely given up on love and instead are just praying they might find a baby daddy. I'm not entirely sure how many real, live relationships have ever actually begun with speed dating in the first place. But meeting people around here is absolutely brutal (the population is predominately a mixture of college students and retirees, and the big "hangout" is Wal-Mart--we have two, in fact), so hopefully this will at least open a door or two in that respect. At any rate, any feedback, suggestions or humorous observations anyone may have on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

Yeah, they were so busy staring at your stylish mullet that they didn't even NOTICE Goofy, Tigger or Pluto!

I had to look twice before I got the garbage can joke. The Big Mike Road Show never disappoints!

^I just say "No" to oysters! My grandfather spent his lifetime shucking them, and I was forced to eat more than enough as a kid to last the rest of mine. Give me some more crawfish any day, however! The closest thing I get to them is when Popeye's has a special every couple years.

This looks like a really neat place. Thanks for posting it!

It seems like the Hilton is trying to get out of the space business. Last time I was there, they were remodeling and had gotten rid of the slot machines patrons could operate by passing their hands through a beam of light. I guess once Star Trek is gone, all that will be left from the "futuristic" theme is the recording in the men's room that analyzes your urine and tells you you'll have good luck in their casino!

^^^My proudest achievement was not getting a single molecule of powdered sugar on me the first time I ate there. No such luck the second time... I couldn't even see the beignets under all the white stuff that time! ^^Are you kidding? I hear they've modeled entire countries after some sections of Epcot! ^So am I!