Nrthwnd

No! And that was David's "Very First Coaster" ride in Japan, when we toured with TPR in 2013! He looks so determined, with his hands in the air, there. Gotta love that in a guy. Pardon this sidebar. Now back to your regular Universal Studios Japan programming....

Tommy Kirk ~ A Disney Icon, who starred in the now classic "Old Yeller" and the Disney original Hardy Boys series, played during the iconic original Mickey Mouse Club tv show (1950s). And the "Swiss Family Robinson," "Babes In Toyland," "The Shaggy Dog," "Son of Flubber" films, etc. Great Obit here - https://ca.yahoo.com/news/entertainment/tommy-kirk-dies-child-star-202715619.html With his "Old Yeller" co-star.

Been a long, long time coming. And yes, I still enjoy the thrill of holding a Cast CD Recording in my hands, etc. ..... so .... Now available on CD! https://www.ghostlightrecords.com/little-shop-of-horrors-new-off-broadway-cast-album.html Now the other one I want to get on a CD (and not digitally) is Ride The Cyclone which I saw a production of here in Vancouver in ...... 2013? Anyway, those of us who still enjoy cast recordings in CD format, will enjoy this one. Got rave reviews, I remember. Now available on CD! EDIT TO ADD: Now if they finally put "Ride The Cyclone" on a cd, AND put together (somehow) the original Revival cast of "On A Clear Day, You Can See Forever" (which got everybody to notice Jesse Mueller and a TONY nom for her part), I would be genuinely supremely happy! I mean, c'mon guys. I've seen musicals that lasted less than one week on Broadway, get cast albums done! ("High Fidelity" is one to name a few...) "Clear Day" ran for at least six months! Just get the leads together, and get a chorus rounded up. P-p-p-p-puhlease?

Same here, about 1) checking it out in a few years (maybe a 2024 visit?) and 2) Patina Group = Quality to me.

Patio Lanterns ~ Kim Mitchell

So.... What - the heck - is this crap??? It all looks .... dare I say it .... healthy? Great TR of your VIP Tour there.

Playland is going to again offer up it's version of Halloween Nights. But like last year, with no haunt houses to go through... ...and Coaster will still be closed, for ongoing maintenance, etc. etc. etc. https://www.pne.ca/hallowed-eves/ EDIT TO ADD: I don't plan on going, this year. With Coaster in Major Maintenance mode for the rest of the year, and no Haunt Houses to walk through ..... to me, it's not worth it paying the price of going on rides (that will be open) I have ridden already in this past "season." If they threw in a carnival dark ride, I might re-consider. But for now .... nope.

I made two more loaves of Jalapeno-Cheese Bread yesterday. One loaf for us, and the other for our great neighbours next door, Liz and Terry. They loved it more than the 5 Seeds loaf I gave them before! And ours turned out great, too. Except I forgot to add the grated parmesan into it. So I decided to try something out, and sprinkled the cheese on top of the loaf, before baking it. Turns out, parmesan cheese BURNS. Period. Thankfully, the stuff didn't burst into flames and cause a kitchen fire, lol. The first loaf with burned parmesan on top. The second loaf is behind, going through it's first rise. Second loaf. Much better with the parmesan inside the bread. Side by side. Now which loaf would you pick to have? Our loaf, cut to show the cheese and pieces of jalapeno in there. Great bread, even with burned parmesan on top.

Between Phantasialand and Europa Park, I would be so happy to get to these two parks and enjoy all their attractions. If I had limited time for a Europe trip.

It's that day of the year, mateys! And so be it, with a mighty "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR."

I made a couple more loaves these past few weeks. I repeated a "5 Seeds" Bread, but upped the amount (1tablespoon vs. 1 teaspoon) of the three smaller seeds (flax, sesame, chia) in it. Made it for our nice neighbour next door, who's always giving us BBQ meats and such. The first loaf shown here, was what I called my "Greek Loaf." It had green and red peppers in it, a "Greek Seasoning" shake or three, and small cubes of feta cheese. The feta did not work out that well, with the bread. The cubes stayed as they were and actually became chewy in the bread. Didn't like that, so in the future, I will try to figure out a better cheese to use .... but still keeping it "Greek" of course. My Greek Bread, fresh out of the dutch oven. Looked great, but the feta didn't work out, taste wise. Will try a similar cheese, next time I make this. The "5 Seeds Loaf" with lots more seeds inside. For Liz and Terry, next door.

Hmmm. "And then there was the last pizza I had....." This one had four cheeses, and I paid extra for adding leaves of Basil . Well, to be honest, I wasn't taken with this one. The fact that it was basically the flatest pizza I had seen from this pizza place... I think I am still missing tomatoes on any part of a pizza, be it the base, or as a topping. But I am still going to continue weekly with a few more olive-based pizzas to go. I want to try all they have in this place. And compare what I've had, etc. http://viateverepizzeria.com/ And it was a touch windy and cool outside, so I sat inside for the first time, in a long while. They put me in the corner of the place. To my left, part of the Victoria-William St. 'intersection'. Looking out in front of me. Not much to be able to see, compared to being outside. The Four Cheese pizza. With Basil added, a$ extra. I could count the basil leaves on this. I just thought there'd be more of them. The white blobs were the Riicotta. It tasted alright. Nearly finished, with a last slice to take to David. Total with tip = $33.53 Cdn.

"Our Very Few Hours at The PNE" We left the house, to take the bus to the (modified) PNE, around 1 pm. We ended up arriving back home just before 5. Most of the "front" (west end) of the PNE grounds weren't being used, which included the majority of buildings on site. This included both the Coliseum (where the Super Dogs would perform) and the Agrodome, where a lot of farming and horse competitions took place. The only building being used was The Barns, the livestock and farming stuff was on display (and bunnies and chicks, and bees makin' honey, etc.), and though they used just half of it for actual farming displays, the other half was given over to (what's known as) The Marketplace, usually in the Forum bldg. at the 'front' there. Performance stages were set up... a) Super Dogs show went outdoors to where the Music Festival shows happened; b) the usual stage was set up again in what was called the Revel District. Small bands... and the beloved "For The Love of Drag" shows happened. And yes the PNE has imported a "live" drag show during the Fair for several years, now. Good for them! and c) a tiny stage with two climbing poles was set up at the western end of this site, for a Logging Show going on a few times ever day. There was no access to the huge park within the Fair's grounds. Which meant people could still visit it w/o having to visit the PNE, at all. There was no intention to buy a ride pass since we knew Coaster wasn't going to be open, and why get into long, crowded queues for these rides? Rides which I already rode during the few visits Playland was open this summer. Add to that, they didn't bring Western Amusements to Playland, which added about 7-10 more rides. So, it was the same # of rides that Playland ran with. So we skipped Playland. David was for two things to see and do there: check out the Marketplace, and find our beloved RIBS that we've enjoyed every PNE. With the Marketplace, it was a literal walk-thru for us, and he said there was nothing really of interest for him, this visit. We found two BBQ setups available, right beside each other in Revel District.... Gator BBQ, and Prairies Smoke & Spice. Henry's Chicken was also beside them which had mouth watering chicken quarters and halves sizzling away. We skipped Henry's, went with both BBQs and I got us a couple of nice draught beers, available right there. And then we got down to (eating) it... Of the two, we liked Gator's the best. As we have in past years, lol. Prairies was still good, but Gator had an extra juiciness to the meat. BTW, we both got beef ribs, and corn bread, coleslaw, and beans split between our orders. It was too much food for us to finish there. So one rib each made it's way back home for enjoying later as a "snack." And after we ate and drank ..... we left. The Super Dogs show was happening, but it was totally crowded up to the top rows we could see. Actually, with the Fair size down-sized, it really felt just too crowded to stay in for a whole day. Which is honestly why we made it only a few hours' visit, instead of longer. Here's photos I took, randomly... Anywhere noted in colour was PNE grounds. The main park and grey bldgs. were "not this year." And Playland stayed the same size as it always does, without the extra rides brought in. <sighs> First and only corn dog at The Fair. Had to save myself for The Ribs. Nice to see them PR the Rideside Bar. We drank elsewhere, though. I took David through the "Happyland" walk-thru. You can sit on this burger's lettuce! Stickers used to be handed out. But they ran out of them. Go figure. I am worrying that I may catch this sticker craze. But I didn't. Yet. I still liked this area, which looks even better at night. Back and forth two-toned glitter? Was open, but everything pre-bagged. No fun not seeing the fudge on their usual trays. Where Super Dogs Show will take place in a couple of hours. PNE Night Music Festival shows usually here. In Revel District, "The Paper Boys" were playing. A lot of Cajun. Irish and good feeling music from them. Inside The Barns, was a part of the old Challenger Map. I posted this bigger, for ease to read all that stuff. Another Map portion on display. Not sure why this was also there, But you could get closer to it, walk around it, etc. The Marketplace, in The Barns. Didn't feel the same way as it's usual spot (Forum Bldg). So, we skipped thru it. Wouldn't it be nice for ALL Stroller Areas to be this ....um...... minimal? Just sayin'. Noted. And shouldn't all ponies have a bit of glitz on their behinds? A nice person took my camera, and took this of us. Thanks whoever you were! Heading back to where the Ribs are, passing the Logging Show stage and it's poles. I bought from this one. Beef ribs with corn bread and beans. Under $30 Cdn. David at the cashier (blue shirt) ordering his Ribs. With colseslaw and cornbread. Also roughly under $30 Cdn. This was the remaining ribs, one from each BBQ place. Took 'em home with extra beans and slaw. Finished everything up that evening. One more listen to "the Paper Boys" .... and then we headed home. Fini.

I do not kiss ass. I suck face.

"A Pizza Epiphany" I went back for my usual Wednesday pizza meal. Came out of it, with a great respect for Olive Oil-Based pizzas! It's the truth, I have never had a pizza without a tomato sauce base on it. Till Wednesday. And it was awesome! Of course, all the toppings made it extra special, too. Certainly worth repeating, eventually. For now, I have four more of these styles of pizza to enjoy. With a good Pilsner or lager beer, too. Not every day you see a fire truck, lights blazing, in front of your house. Couldn't see much activity, until I walked past it, up to the pizza place. Turns out "something was happening" across from us. No ambulance showing up, tho. Then, the truck took off. Fini. Hmmm. Which side to choose, this visit? I went with the table on the right. This week's choice was the Filetto. And next week's pizza is below it. "Four Cheeses." Future yum. A nice draught Pilsner beer, with a "sidecar" of water. View of our house. Check. View of Victoria Drive, looking south. Check. Oops! Nearly forgot to get a shot of this great pizza! I realize that this one still has tomato on it. Just not as it's base. All finished! And looking forward to more of this kind of pizza in the coming weeks.

Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) here in Vancouver just announced their two shows, scheduled for next summer. Hopefully, everything will "sort of" turn back to normal. It's two musicals I know of, but am wondering how the general public will take to them... "Something Rotten" and "We Will Rock You", that latter of which has music by Queen. Should be a very interesting summer, next year.

We did the annual PNE thing on Thursday, Sept.02nd. It turned out to be only a few hours, there. We ended up leaving near 5 pm. Photos will be posted eventually. We were not that impressed. But hey - we got our ribs fix, with corn bread!

I'm dizzy from seeing all those 'go-rounds' lol. Awesome report on all the parks you visited, thanks!

Interesting to see, that for one attraction only, Lumberjack Lifts for the kids, has a maximum heat allowance, heh. I am wondering though, what happens to it, after 95' ? Causing it to be shut down, etc. ? Just curious of me.

Geez, can't wait to see how brand name theme parks' annual passes are gonna cost ya, after ten years or so from now.

^ and ^^ I'm pretty sure they're making sure Coaster is in top notch operating order when the 2022 Season begins.... I'm hoping,

^ "Ohhh, Mr Grant!"

Pizza and a beer, yesterday (with tip) = $35 Cdn. And it was sooooooo gooooood.

I forgot about this one, too! Such a crappy day there. Half of everything was closed, food was so-so, and their main wooden coaster (Anaconda) was totally CRAP-TACULAR! My Humble Opinion of Walygator Park. TPR 2008 Europe Tour.

Yesterday, I had what is simply the most expensive pizza on the menu .... $22 Cdn. Which is what? Twelve bucks in U.S. money? But it had artichokes, black olives, salami, mushrooms and a couple of other things to make it a really loaded pizza, lol! And I enjoyed it so much, I decided to finally save a piece for David, since he kept bugging me to do so. Been over a year since I cut the middle out of the rhododendrons, finally exposing our front porch. What they wrap the utensils and napkin in. The Capricciosa. And "fior di latte" is Italian for "milky fresh mozzarella." And ecco qui! So beautiful, I hate to cut it up. But this is what $22 Cdn. gets you. Down to the last slice.... Which is saved for David. And he loved it, of course. Next visit: An olive oil-based pizza!