Travel | Peaches Prattlings

{May 25, 2024} Indian Motorcycle, New York New York, Yum, Freemont Street, and the Strip!

Was that enough? Well…there is one thing I left out, but I will tell you about that in another post, promise! Let’s start with Saturday morning first thing.

We got up, no alarm, thank you very much! Headed downstairs to grab some food, ran into Uncle A, Auntie L was still asleep, he had already had breakfast, but stayed and sat with us while we had breakfast. We chatted, caught up, it was a lot quieter this morning than it was last night at Nacho Daddy, and of course we couldn’t talk during the show! Well, some of us had nodded off, so that would pose a problem for chatting!

PSM and I were heading to the place we always look for on our travels…an Indian Motorcycle Dealership, of course! We invited Uncle A, Auntie L, and dad, they were all in. I checked with SDL and J&S, they were all going to chill at the hotel and maybe go to the pool. Sounds good. So…we called an Uber, met in the lobby, went to pick up dad at the Paris Hotel & Casino and off we went to Sin City Indian Motorcycle, a very nice dealership and showroom. We hung out for a bit, looked at bikes, bought some t-shirts and we were good to go.

Order Uber. Back to the strip. On to the next adventure! Dropped off dad at Paris, he was going to see how friendly the tables were. PSM and I got off at the same hotel, Uncle A and Auntie L went on to the Mob Museum, National Museum of Organized Crime & Law Enforcement. It’s a great museum, in an old retired courthouse. You can rent it for weddings and other events, there is a distillery, and a speakeasy! I went years ago and really enjoyed it!

After we said goodbye to everyone, PSM and I hopped in a taxi and headed to the New York New York Hotel & Casino. I may have mentioned how much I love this hotel…I’m not that interested in the casino aspect, of any of the hotels really, not my thing, but the hotel itself, how they design it, how they style it, now that…I love. The Paris Hotel & Casino have a giant Eiffel Tower growing right up through the middle of it, you can to to the top, you can have dinner way up, the casino looks like Paris of the 20s, the restaurants are themed, it’s great!

New York New York holds a special place in my heart, being from there and all! But I just love the hotel, the casino is just fine, you’ve got different aspects of NYC, a nod to the Chrysler Building, there are man hole covers, shop fronts, the skyline, what more could you want?!

New York style eateries, that’s what you could want! When you head to the eateries, you’re right there in the alleys and back streets of NYC! You are transported, I promise, the street names, the lights, the wires, the lamp posts, the store fronts, all of it!

We went to one of my favorite places I discovered years ago, Greenberg’s NY Deli, part of the NY Eateries. It’s your average good, NYC, Jewish deli. The sandwiches are huge, the prices are ok, but the food is really good, and all sandwiches come with a pickle! PSM got corned beef and I got an egg salad sandwich, it was sooo good! Oh, we also had Dr Brown’s Sodas. As the slogan says, Drink One, You’ll Understand. PSM will have different flavors, I am a Black Cherry only kind of gal, and I’m ok with it! Soda is on my no-no list, so when I treat myself, I treat myself and it’s hard for me to pass up a Dr Brown’s soda! There was also a black & white cookie, some people call them half-moons, but they will always be black & white cookies to me! I prefer the more cookie version versus the cakey version, but it’s all up to the individual. We couldn’t finish it, so we got it to go! It was nice to share this experience with PSM.

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for something…not telling at the moment, but… after the something, PSM, SDL, Miss A, S&J, and I all walked down the street from the restaurant to Freemont Street, in the evenings, it turns into the Freemont Street Experience, a giant party, great for people watching!

Freemont Street itself, is where Las Vegas began, it’s considered Old Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Strip is New Las Vegas, as it were. A little history: The street was first established in 1905 as the center of the fledgling city where business and pleasure came together. Fremont Street was a busy travel route, with Las Vegas’ first train station just a few steps away, so it catered to travelers looking for a place to relax and unwind.

It’s wonderful to see it during the day, less people, and you get get a sense of it, at night, with, well, it seems like everyone not on the Strip, is at Freemont Street! But.. at night, aside from the people watching, you have the signs, the bright, lit up neon signs for the hotels, the businesses, and everything! I recommend it highly, but if you don’t like people, not a great fit! Just be prepared! Oh, and hang on to your wallets, I was told there were not so nice people who might decide they need your wallet more than you!

We started to walk through and take in all the sights, Miss A was loving on the music. We walked as close together as possible, just so we didn’t lose each other! Then we found out there was a free concert tonight! Seether was going to be playing. If you’re not familiar with Seether, they are a rock band from South Africa, Fake It is a song you may know. I like Seether, they are not everyone’s cup o’ tea, as it were.

We listened to one song, then headed out towards a less crowded area so we could get an Uber back to the hotel. Along the way, we saw a Bonafede fight, this guy was hitting on this gal, the other guy didn’t like that and threw the first punch, then they were on the ground punching the crud out of each other, fun! By the time we started to look for a cop, they were already on it. Yup, exciting!

Back in an Uber, back to Planet Hollywood, drop off and say goodbye to J, they were leaving in the morning, PSM, his brother S, SDL, Miss A and I went across the street to watch the Bellagio Fountains nighttime show. Same great show, choreographed to music, but this time, set to lights. Ahhh

Gotta love some MJ!

After watching twice, S went back to him room, we said goodbye, then PSM grabbed a taxi or Uber back to the hotel and SDL, Miss A, and I went off exploring!

We walked down one end of The Strip, people watching, listening to music, walked into a few hotels, the goal on this side of the street was The Venetian Hotel. What a spectacular hotel! There are gondola rides down the grand canal, this is something I’ve always wanted to do in Las Vegas, but haven’t gotten to yet.

We saw some awesome stuff… like this electric harpist!

A first for us too!

We crossed the street and went by the Mirage, which was the home to Siegfried & Roy and their tiger show for 14 years. We walked to Caesar’s Palace, which is a city in itself! We were too late by the time we got there to go in, not to the casino, but to the shopping area, which is the fun part, I know, I know, the casino, but the shopping area, mostly because they have a circular escalator!

So… after we saw Caesar’s, we’ll go back, we found the first spot we could get an Uber and headed back to the hotel. By now…it’s about 1230am, I’m done! Miss A was done! SDL was done! What grand adventure does tomorrow hold!?

Join me tomorrow and find out!

{May 25, 2024} And the reason we’re in Las Vegas…Dum dum da dum…

May 25, 2024 is our 5th wedding anniversary, and we decided a while back that we wanted to renew our vows every five years, and here it is! And it’s on a Saturday, just like the first time! So…when we decided we would renew our vows, our first thought was…Las Vegas…Elvis, what more could you want!

So…we sent out the word to everyone who was there the first time, and added some new friends we’ve made along the way and if anyone was available to join us, great! Anyone that couldn’t, no worries at all, you would be there in spirit!

We even wore the same outfits, ignore the wrinkles, I took the pics right after we hung up our stuff! We had Chuck Taylor, Converse Allstars, that I had painted Boston…New York…and the date on both pairs. PSM wore the same formal Hawai’ian Shirt, I wore the same rockabilly dress with tulle under it, same flowers in my hair and we were good to go!

After a great morning, spending some of the time with family and some time just the two of us, it was perfect! We got dressed, met up with SDL and Miss A, Uncle A and Auntie L, in the lobby of the Planet Hollywood Hotel, everyone was looking spiffy and we went up to S&J’s uber huge room and met them and my dad. We were meeting a very good family friend CL at the event later, so excited she lives just outside of Las Vegas and could come and celebrate with us! It would not have been the same if she wasn’t there!

After cocktails, which was very similar to the first time, we headed over to Las Vegas Immersive Weddings. This was truly an interesting, inventive, and exciting experience! I found them online through Get Your Guide, a site to purchase experiences, like Viator, and TripAdvisor, and more. The first thing I really liked about this company, aside from the different and interesting concept, was that the price for the experience was the price for the experience! All the others had a starting price and it only went up from there, not cool.

What was included was the location, that was interesting, it’s in a strip mall, there was a red carpet with velvet ropes on either side leading up to the front door, a waiting area/lobby that set the mood as soon as you walk in…pink padded chairs/sofa, a wall made of pink roses, a claw foot tub with a mannequin bathing in glass bubbles, a bottle of vodka behind glass ‘in case of emergencies’, props, and a juke box. That’s the way to make an entrance!

Susan, the lovely woman who organizes everything was there to greet us when we came in and she called Elvis in, there he was in all his glory, white rhinestone outfit with a huge belt, and giant Elvis sunglasses, oh, we can’t forget the cape! They sent everyone in to the back room where the ceremony was going to take place and then they went through how it was all going to work.

We each chose a lei, then Elvis took everyone, including PSM into the back room, Susan guided dad, who was in his Captain’s t-shirt, that he had gotten on our trip to New Orleans, he looked fabulous! The music started and we danced our way into the room, where Elvis was singing and directing us to where we needed to be.

The room one wall with champagne glasses and some bells, the rest of the room was floor to ceiling video screens and white sofas for everyone to sit on. We stood in the middle and the videos began to play, I don’t remember every image, but Las Vegas was certainly in the background. When it was time to go, Elvis was singing and telling us where to stand and how things were going to go.

The background moved and changed with the mood and what Elvis was doing and what we were doing. It was fabulous, Elvis said the vows, we repeated them, he threw in some very and funny stuff for us to repeat, some stuff was just for us, PSM and Elvis apparently had a little bit of a pow wow before I walked in!

There was laughter, love, excitement, frivolity, hilarity, music, laughter, I know I said that already, and love. So much love was in this room, not just from us, but from everyone surrounding us. And like the first time, there were moments, and i know I’m being cheesy, but who cares, there were moments, I didn’t realize anyone else was in the room but us, and I’m pretty sure my husband/groom felt the same way.

After the vows, and thank goodness it was recorded because I don’t remember most of what was said! There was a countdown for us to kiss, and it was right there on the big screen! We smooched, we hugged, we kissed, we danced. Everyone then got up and danced with us, Elvis sand, as Elvis does, and we just had a grand old time!

After a bit, everyone went back into the lobby, we had a private photo session with Elvis, then we went back out and had another photo session with everyone, and Elvis, of course! The time booked was 30/45 minutes, but we were there closer to an hour and we are so thankful for that time and the experience! We also walked away with a renewal certificate signed/witnessed by everyone, including King Elvis Presley himself!

This truly was a unique experience and if you have the inclination to get married or renew your vows and you want to do it in Las Vegas and not go to the same places as everyone else, Las Vegas Immersive Weddings really is the place to go to. You won’t experience anything else like it, promise!

I told you we’re going to do this every 5 years, I’ll let you know where we go in 2029, but for now, I will say to you…Love me Tender and good night.

{May 24, 2024} It’s early! First work, then play! Then eat…then puppets!

You heard right, it’s an early start to the day! 430a to be exact! Ugh!

As you know, I’ve been teaching this week and today is my last class of the week. Class starts at 830a EST, so…that means I am going to start teaching at 530a PST! Ugh! The alarm went off at 430a, I turned it off quickly, hoping not to wake PSM, I hopped into the shower, got dressed, and was online by 5a, opened the call by 515a and welcomed everyone at 530a.

Class went well, and…surprisingly…I didn’t wake PSM! He got up on his own about 730a local time, whew! Very glad I didn’t wake him, and like you might be thinking, how? JJ, you are not a quite person, and I didn’t change my volume for the class, so very happy he slept, he needed it!

He was very sweet, quietly, he got dressed, then went downstairs for some coffee and breakfast, and to give me the room. A while later he was very sweet and brought me some food, which I was starving by that time! It was cold when I finally was able to take a break, but luckily we’re in a room with a full kitchen, so microwave and toaster it was! By the time they took lunch, about 12p EST, it was only 9a PST for me, so perfect! Lunch for them, breakfast for me!

I will say this…it’s hard looking at the clock knowing it’s 12p there and 9a here, and I’m starving, but one advantage, and this reminds me of working from home in Hawai’i…They are done at 445p, I was done about 145p! Win-win for me!

After he brought me food, PSM got dressed and headed out to explore Las Vegas and I would meet up with him later. The Las Vegas Strip to be exact!

So…after I finished teaching, I got dressed and headed to pick up SDL and Miss A and we were going to meet everyone else at Planet Hollywood. It was so good to see them, I haven’t seen them since I got back from London, I was going through withdrawals! We loaded up into an Uber and headed over to meet everyone at Planet Hollywood, ok, almost everyone, dad had just arrived and was getting settled into his hotel, we would see him at dinner.

From Planet Hollywood, PSM’s brother and sister-in-law, SM and JM, and his aunt and uncle, Auntie L and Uncle A, SDL, Miss A, PSM and I all headed out, into the surface of the sun! and across the street to the Bellagio. One of my favorite places and a must see every time I am in Las Vegas is the Bellagio, first the ceiling in the lobby, it’s all Chihuly, well, Chihuly flowers, Dale Chihuly to be exact. If you are not familiar with his work, he is an amazing glass artist, you may have seen his work and not realized it. Maybe you’ve seen his work in the botanical gardens near you, or in Atlantis, or on the streets of Tacoma, WA, just amazing installations!

Walk into the lobby of the Bellagio and just look up! After walking through the lobby, you go into the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and just…wow! Every season there is a new installation and it is all made from flowers. I’ve gotten to see it a few times and each time is wonderful, and spectacular, and brilliant, and amazing! There are actually a lot of things to do in Las Vegas that do not include gambling, and this is at the very top of my list. Here is a post with pics from 2017, just to give you an idea of some more fabulous!

Next…some people decided to head back to the room to relax before dinner and a show, so SDL, Miss A, PSM, and I went to watch the water show at the Bellagio Fountains, another must do in Las Vegas! I will admit, very cool, but cooler at night with the lights on! It is perfectly choreographed, set to music, and delights the senses! Ooh, I like that!

We walked along the strip, went into some of the casinos, got some drinks, cooled off, then headed to dinner at Nacho Daddy’s. I knew it sounded familiar! I had been there a few years ago when I was in Las Vegas for work, and the reason I liked them…Mexican and vegan options, go me! I knew it was a safe place for everyone! Aside from being a little loud, it was great!

After dinner, SDL and Miss A went to go see MJ Live at the Sahara Casino and the rest of us went to Planet Hollywood, which we happened to be on the outside of, so a very short walk to the Bakkt Theater to see Jeff Dunham, a great comedian/ventriloquist. He has some great puppets that he works with and I’ve been lucky enough to see him a few times. He brought out Walter, Bubba J, Peanut, Ahmed, and Jalapeno on a Stick. He did some classics, and some new material for a special he’s making for Netflix. If a joke does well, it’s in, if it flops, it’s not in. As he said, we were getting some new stuff for free!

The best part…because everyone had either gotten in very late last night, or in this afternoon, everyone was tired and I know I’m guilty of closing my eyes and nodding off a few times. But overall, it was a fun night, but I’m ready for bed!

We said good night to everyone, and Auntie L, Uncle A, PSM, and I grabbed an Uber back to the hotel. Don’t you just love The Strip at night? The colors, the lights, the neon signs, amazing! I really need to do a ‘My recommendations for Las Vegas, if you’re not a gambler’. Ok, but not tonight! I’m done!

No alarm tomorrow! We have lots to do, but no alarm! And…tomorrow I get to tell you the real reason we’re in Las Vegas! And it involves Elvis! G’night!

{May 24, 2024} Another great adventure begins!

So… I spent the night at CWB’s house last night because she’s closer to the Philadelphia airport than we are, That part would have been amazing!

I got up early, before the alarm, go figure, but no dogs to walk, I could have at least slept until the alarm, sigh…so…I got up, got dressed, and set up to teach my Day 1 of my class. I’m teaching two 2-day classes very week, for a few weeks, except when I’m on vacation. I do love what I do!

I got my setup going, it’s always a little challenging to be in a different space when you’re working. Now, I know you know that I was traveling for work for years, that’s not what I’m talking about. Being remote, I have my desk set up just the way I like it, and I’m comfortable, two monitors along with my laptop, and a keyboard. Today, I have my laptop and my portable monitor, and when you’re teaching, or at least when I’m teaching, it’s definitely easier to have mutlipe screens, set this up on this monitor, set this on that monitor, and so on. I made it work!

Once I was settled, I made myself some breakfast and a cup of hot tea, yum. I opened the call about 8a, 830a, people started joining. I got people settled, we started the class, I told bad dad jokes and it was on!

Oh, I also had some fur baby company, you can’t beat it!

PSM had been in Harrisburg at a food bank, a volunteer event for work, then came to CWB’s house, got there before I finished. it was fun, I could hear the two of them in the other room chatting, occassionally talking about me.

I finally finished class at 445p, got up, took a break, said hello to both of them, packed up my stuff, and we were off. 5pm…heading into Philly? really? Wasn’t thinking clearly of course…rush hour? Our first flight of our journey was leaving at 655p, boarding at 615p, great… Normaly, as I mentioned, CWB is closer to the Philadelphia airport, on a normal day…30 minutes…today…not so much! ugh!

Let’s just say…several accidents, slow drivers, lookie-loos, general rush hour, 50 minutes, eek! We got to the airport, about 608p…nail biting! Then when we made it to the parking deck, the entrance was closed, what?! We drove around, return to the airport, found the other way to get into the parking deck, whew.

Run! We made it through security, thank gawd for TSA pre-check! Made it threw security, ran to the gate, they were boarding! Hadn’t quite gotten to our zone, but…with my limited status, they let us on the plane a wee bit earlier than it would have been. No complaints! We boarded the plane at 635p!!! They noramlly close the doors 15 minutes before departure, we still made it, who cares!

Now, some of you know, I have cut it close on flights, but this… this was ridiculous! I never want to cut it that close again!

So…here we are on our flight from Philadelphia to Salt Lake City, first leg. Hmmm…do I tell you about the second leg, nope, not yet!

Oh! I completely forgot…dad is joining us, along with some other family and friends, which I’ll tell you about later, but… his flight was canceled! Nooo! But…he’s on the same flight tomorrw. He’s going to get there, of that I have no doubt!

Ok, that’s it for today, more tomorrow! Whew!

{May 23, 2024} Hello Sin City!

Yup, you heard right, we’re in Sin City, Las Vegas, or as some lovingly, ha ha, refer to it as Lost Wages!

First leg of the trip, as promised! We made it by the skin of our teeth, yes, I already told you not my jam to be that early, but we made it. SO glad we weren’t checking our bags, very rare for us to do that. Although…when we go on week long trips or even several weeks, we don’t have a lot of luggage, happily, but we will check our bags coming back. We’re more concerned that our bags don’t make it to our destination, rather than going home.

So…bags on, sit down, strap in, and breath…ahhh… the flight attendant I spoke to getting on the flight was very nice, I even told him a bad dad joke! He liked it! Later, it turns out he was one of the flight attendants in our section, and W, as I saw on his name tag, was super nice! When it came time for beverages, I told him I would like to buy my husband a drink, he was sitting across the aisle from me, we both like aisle seats, and that’s what I try to book us whenever we’re flying together, so it mean we either sit in front/behind one anothe or across the asile, also makes it easier to poke and bug the other person!

I used to love and only sit in a window seat if I could, but over the years, especially flying for work, I realized I preferred the aisle, it’s not as cold as the window, since I don’t sleep very much on flights, I don’t have to try to find a comfortable position, and…best of all, I don’t have to ask anyone to move if I have to get up to use the facilities! Negative side… I have to get up if someone needs to get out and there is more of an opportunity to get hit by the drink/food cart, or people putting their bags in the overhead, but a small price to pay for being able to stretch out a wee bit more! ok, enough about that!

When W asked what PSM would like, he ordered a Woodford Reserve bourbon, make that a double, with one ice cub, that’s a whole other thing! Woodford Reserve is one of his favorite whiskies. Well… W didn’t take my drink ticket, and didn’t take my drink ticket… he came by and said I was so nice he wasn’t going to charge me! A really nice guy! He came by a few more times, I was ready with some more bad dad jokes for him, he even gave me some! can’t share them here!

We made friends with the guy sitting next to PSM, they had fun chatting about Grenada, whiskey, weddings, travel, veterinary medicine, what else could they talk about? the list is endless. Even W came back and chatted with us for a while, I told you, a good guy!

Flight one down….off the plane, on to the next flight, guess what…delayed…go figure. Ok, at least that gives us a little time for a bite to eat. We never had time to get something to eat before our first leg, so…I actually had a decent taco salad, unfortunately for PSM, not so much! You could have possibly broken a window with the stale bread of his sandwiche!

I will say, I was impressed with SLC airport, they had a lot of restaurants, bars, and food options open at 11pm on Thursday! I can tell you, not many airports have that, including Las Vegas, where we landed!

We finally boarded the flight and PSM was asleep within minutes, before we even took off, happily, I joined him after we took off! Since traveling to and from Hawai’i for a few years, possibly even before that, I stopped sleeping on the longer legs of my flights, even the 8 hour flights, but…on the 2nd legs, usually 2 hours or less, I’m out like a light, love that. Let me tell you, best naps ever!

We both woke up as the plane was landing. I asked PSM how he was doing…’I’m a little hung over!’ ha ha ha! Now…that’s the way to start a trip! Especially to Las Vegas! We deboarded the plane, it was a little after midnight, and headed towards baggage claim/ground transportation. I have to tell you, when we found it, I’m not sure where we were, I haven’t been to that part of the airport, so were just kind of wandering until we found a sign, whew.

We headed out to where the Ride Share pickup is and joined the crowd. We had been looking for the taxi stand, but couldn’t find it, we saw it when we we were up and out, the line was pretty long, especially after midnight!

They have the ride share system pretty down pat, you order your car, hang out in one section, then when your driver is coming in, you are notified, go across the road to the pick up section, and there are people monitoring the area, making sure it’s safe to cross and answering questions. When the driver is in a spot, they text you the spot number, you find them, load up, and away you go!

I love seeing Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Strip, or just The Strip, as it’s known, at night. There is something magical about the lights, the old neon signs, the outlines of the hotels, the skyline, sort of. One of my favorites to see is New York New York, it really does look like a mini version of the New York skyline, always makes me a little homesick, in a good way.

There were still people out and about on The Strip, and why not, this is Las Vegas! We made our way to the hotel, we were staying off the strip, about a half mile, I do enjoy being on the strip, maybe next time!

We made it to the hotel, checked in, up to our room, unpacked, and fell into bed. It was now sometime just before 1am, very glad I set the alarm for Friday before we left, I had to be up at 430a! Gotta work tomorrow!

Ok, need to pass out now! Welcome to Las Vegas!

{April 28, 2024} A Faerie Festival, Baby Goats, and a Movie

And what did you do on Sunday?

We decided to be leisurely this morning and why not, it’s Sunday. After the Beer and Pretzel Fest yesterday, how do you top that? Well.. with a Faerie Festival of course! This was the Forged Fantasy Faerie Festival, say that five times fast! sponsored by the Drunken Smithy. The Drunken Smithy is a place that opened about a year ago at the Lebanon Valley Mall, I think I told you about it, because they offer axe throwing, which PSM and did a few months ago, we love it! We’ve done it in a few places, great fun and a great release!

The Drunken Smithy also offers forging classes, something, when we take, I will definitely share with you! Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. Sounds fierce! It is! Looking forward to making something! PSM did buy me a hammered metal flower, actually it’s a dragon disguised as a flower and I so forgot to take a pic, I’ll do that, promise!

We were actually going to the movies and stumbled about the fabulousness of the Forged Fantasy Faerie Festival! It was like the Renaissance Festival in a mall, I loved it! There were people in costume, at least, some of them were in costume, I know some people live the life and this is how they dress every day. Faerie freedom! The best is when you see someone in full faerie regalia in an unlikely place, like loading something into their car in the parking lot. That was great!

There were so many vendors, some things repeated themselves, but all of it was wonderful and so many hand crafted items! There was music, minstrels, live Dungeons-and-Dragons role playing, face painting, libations, magicians, crystals, artists, and so much more, what else could you want?

Well…baby goats, that’s what! I was talking to a vendor and PSM came over and said “I don’t mean to interrupt…but there are baby goats”! What?! I have no idea, but I la la la love baby goats! And PSM knows it, I turn into mush! So…we rushed over, well, rushed while still being safe and not running into anyone and there they were! $5 for 5 minutes. My beau got me $10 minutes in with the baby goats! Some of them were only a few weeks old!!! I got in the pen, sat down and started loving on the baby goats! I was in heaven!!! Squeeeee!

Time with the baby goats was up…again, I was denied a baby goat or two…you really have to have more than one, they are pack animals. I think it would be so much fun to have a baby goat on the bike! In a side car?! Can’t you just see it?! Goggles and all! Yes!

We walked around some more, then it was time for the movies, luckily, in the same building. We headed over to the theater, got our water and popcorn, you have to have popcorn! Funnily…at home, I might put a little salt on my popcorn, but never butter, in the movie theater, must have butter! Don’t ask me why, that’s just the way it is.

We went to see The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. It was SOOOO good! The tagline: The British military recruits a small group of highly skilled soldiers to strike against German forces behind enemy lines during World War II. It was based on Damien Lewis‘ 2014 book Churchill’s Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperadoes of WWII.

And this will give you the true backstory of how this came about: Churchill’s Notorious WWII Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare Finally Gets a Movie, supposedly the beginning of the modern black ops!

It was directed by Guy Ritchie, you can imagine the cinematography and style. It was very clever and funny, the dialog was brilliant, the cast…amazing! Henry Cavill, you know…Superman! as the lead, Gus March-Phillips, Alan Ritchson, Jack Reacher!! as Andres Lasson, what he could do with a knife or bow and arrow?!, Alex Pettyfer as Geoffrey Appleyard, master planner, Cary Elwes, The Princess Bride!! as Brigadier Gubbins ‘M’, the one who initiates the operation, Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians!!! as Freddy Alvarez, a master at explosives, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, new to me, as Henry Hayes, a great navigator, Rory Kinnear, he’s been in a lot of action movies, but I know him as a funny man, he was a fabulous Winston Churchill.

Freddy Fox played Ian Fleming, the author himself! Eliza Gonzales, as Marjorie Stewart, and Babs Olusanmokun, as Heron, both new to me, but I look forward to seeing them in future films! And lastly, Til Schweiger, I’ve seen him before, he plays a very good bad, and I mean bad guy!!!

There was action, a lot of it, adventure, great dialog, I mean funny and witty, violence, yeah, a lot of violence, it was WWII, fighting the Nazi’s, there’s going to be violence, but interestingly…not a lot of blood, in one or two scenes, there was blood, but overall… not much! Oh, and there were explosions, and fire, lots of those, and very clever tactics and ploys to do what they needed to.

Overall, I recommend this movie, I want to see it again, yeah, two thumbs up!

And on that note… Gute Nacht (gooteh nakt) [Good night in German]

{April 23, 2024} Second Seder and Homeward Bound

First night with my family was fabulous, as always. Second night is always with PSM’s family, a fun time that!

It’s Tuesday, so it’s still a work day, that means, more cooking, just to fill in some of the gaps from what we ate last night at the first seder. We made two more kugels, another matzoh brittle, more gefilte fish, and more broccoli pancakes, oh yeah, more hard boiled eggs.

In between cooking, there was work to be done, for my job that is! I actually got a lot done, had a few calls, GES and dad went to the grocery store for some supplies, I did go out and treat myself to a chai at Starbucks, ended up talking to a nice guy about bikes, he commented on my Sturgis sweatshirt, how could I not talk about how much we love to ride?!

About 5p, I started to pack up my stuff and about 530p, I hugged and kissed everyone goodbye and headed to PSM’s family’s for seder. There were a lot more people at the second night seder, GES was having about 20, we had 11 last night, sound about right!

I walked in with my goodies, the fabulous veggie matzoh ball soup for me and the peach matzoh kugel for all. Let’s just say, I know it was good, but…there was absolutely nothing left for me to take back to PA and PSM! Happily disappointed!

We sat down about 630pm, I ended up at the kids side of the table. Kids being the youngest was about 16 or 17 and the oldest in their 20s, these are bigger kids. They still do the Four Questions, well, they’re still the youngest! Of course, I was also seated across from some of the older trouble makers, myself included, not complaining, there was a lot of laughter and love!

As all families, they have their own traditions, we sing Take Me Out to the Seder, sung to…you guessed it, Take Me Out to the Ball Game! They use different Haggadah’s, as most families do, but like most families, everyone takes a turn reading, participating in the service and the telling of our story.

I stayed until the seder was over and we started clearing the table, and some folks were heading out, it was about 930p and I had a very long drive home! Not looking forward to that…I got on the road, had the top down for part of it, of course! I decided to go through Connecticut, how much traffic could there be at 12-1am?! Well…not hours of traffic, but there was traffic! Seriously? I cannot stand driving through that state! I may have already said it, I enjoy the state, just not driving through it! ugh!

After about 3 hours, I probably stopped every hour, to get gas, walk around, keep myself awake and ready to go. It was a very, very, very long drive. I find that during the day, I can drive for what seems like forever! I remember driving from St Louis to Denver, CO, it’s about a 12 hour drive, I did it in one fell swoop, isn’t that a great expression! But once the sun goes down, I’m not good for the full drive without stopping.

I made it home safely, finished a podcast, started a new one, that kept me going for hours, I wasn’t sure when it was going to end, but good for my drive! I made it home about 330am and I was done! I emailed dad and my sister to let them know I was home, went into the house and was greeted with running, snuggles, and kisses from the fur babies, someone had fallen asleep and left them out.

I proceeded to love on them, get them in the crate, and it was all I could do to walk upstairs, put on my jammies, and fall into bed, the alarm was still coming at 6a, really?

All in all, a good trip, too short, but a good one. Family, friends, food, and fun, what more could you want? Notin’ I tell ya! Nothin’! G’Night!

{April 21, 2024} It’s Sunday…let’s go!

Yesterday, after the Biker and Bike Blessing, I loaded up the convertible, kissed PSM and the dogs buh bye, jumped into said convertible, dropped the top and away we went! We being me and the cah! [I said cah because I was heading to Bahston!]

PSM gave me a way to avoid the traffic in Connecticut, that Connecticut is so famous for and makes people not want to go or drive through Connecticut. Ok, so maybe people want to go, I spent a great weekend there with CWB two years ago, but driving through it to get to Boston, not my favorite, or my husband, or my dad, or anyone else who has to do it. That being said, PSM gave me a route that would add about 100 miles to my trip, which meant about an extra hour, but I would avoid Connecticut, and it worked!

I arrived at my sister’s about 830p, eyes were slits, but I made it! After visiting for a bit, I was done! Down to the sofa in the basement, set up the blankets, jammies on, and I started talking to you and couldn’t sleep, really?!

I did not set an alarm for this morning, but lucky me…I woke up about 530a, fun! I lay there not thinking or doing anything, I just snuggled deeper into the covers, it was cold in the basement, but I was toasty under a few layers, works for me! Eventually I got up and wandered upstairs and my sister was in the kitchen with EJS, she was heading off with ACS, to do a father-daughter college tour and soccer ID clinic. Can you believe it…college tours! O M G!

MGS came down eventually, she had a soccer game in the afternoon, she was going to chill until then. GES and I started to cook some of the dishes we would need for the Passover seder tomorrow and Tuesday. She hosts first and second night. I’m always at first night and when I started dating PSM, we go to second night with his family. Their first night seder is usually held in a hall with a lot, when I say, a lot, I mean a lot of people! They’ve had up to 100 in the past! That would be something to see!

We have to strategize what we’re going to cook because there’s only so many good size burners and only so much oven space! We started with a matzoh brittle, y u m! This is one cup of brown sugar, one cup of butter, melted, then you put it on a tray of matzoh, which goes into the oven for 5 minutes at 350. When it’s cooled, you break it into pieces. Some people make it with chocolate chips and nuts, I’m a purist. You’re welcome, you’ll thank me later!

I started on the veggie matzoh ball soup, y u m! Then we made I lost count of how many hard boiled eggs, then the potatoes, we had gefilte fish to make too. This is where the musical burners comes in because there are only two large ones and we use large stock pots for everything!

We had thumbprint cookies to make, coconut macaroons, matzoh apple and peach apple kugel, charoset for just the two of us, since we can’t eat apples. I think that’s everything. You know…I really need to give you our recipes for these dishes, they are sooo good! Other people would be bringing items tomorrow, so we don’t have to cook everything like we used to when we were kids.

About 1030am, we went over to a friend’s house to help them with the crafts for her son’s bar mitzvah, it’s a baseball theme and she needed a little extra zhuzhing it up [you just have to say the word out loud]. That was a lot of fun, there were glue guns, batteries, lights, baseballs, the whole nine yards! And she had a Cricut, so I had someone to chat Cricut, you know I was in heaven!

After the craft party, we headed back home to cook some more. When we got there, dad had arrived! The family is together! We chatted and caught up while we made a few kugels, then everyone left for the soccer field, I stayed behind a few minutes to get the kugels out of the oven, the off to the game I went.

Great to see MGS on the field, it was a lot of fun, she’s really getting so much better! This was her first game with this team, definitely a new experience! I’m so very proud of her! I hope she knows that!

Let’s just say, I had my top down on the way to Boston, today…I couldn’t warm up fast enough when I was back in the car after the game. I could not feel my feet or fingers, thank goodness it all came back to me! Back at the house, a little more cooking and then it was time for dinner. They brought in pizza and salads, I had a nice big salad, I had to go to the grocery store earlier and got some of my favorite vegan cheese, Chao Cheese, the brand is Field Roast, I actually never noticed the brand name before! I was always focused on the flavor. It is a full, rich, cheese, and melts nicely!

Dinner is always fun at my sister’s house, lot’s of chatter, banter, silliness, and laughter, what more could you want?! After dinner we did the last of the cooking we needed to, cleaned up the kitchen, everyone else went up to bed and GES and I sat on the sofa and relaxed! What a day?!

I know I nodded off a few times while we were sitting there scrolling through our phones and watching something on tv, I know this because I kept waking myself up! ha ha. After a bit, I went downstairs and here I am telling you about my day.

I’m going to say Bonne nuit (bon nwee), that’s french for good night.

{April 20, 2024} A Bike and Biker Blessing

Say that 10 times fast! Today was a great experience, I told you last night I would tell you all about it today and here it is!

A biker and biker blessing is a truly moving event, we participated in our first one in Hawai’i. It was held at a church, it felt like every bike on the island was there! We met, there was a blessing, in Hawai’ian and we went on our way, knowing we were, well, blessed!

Today, we were with the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club [LVMC], there was also the biker/bike blessing with our Indian Motorcycle Riders Group [IMRG], it wasn’t an easy decision, but we went with the LVMC because we haven’t ridden with them yet and last weekend we had our first IMRG group ride of the season. I also needed to be closer to home, after the blessing and lunch, I high tailed it to Boston for a few days!

We got to the clubhouse at 1030a and there were already about 30 bikes and people there, by the time we left, I think we were somewhere between 50-60, maybe, I couldn’t tell, but there were a lot of us! It was fun meeting some new people in the group and seeing what everyone rides, that’s always the best part.

We were very organized, not us personally, the group. There were several people who would be blocking traffic, that means that they block traffic at lights and stops so we can all ride together as one big group. The idea, which I liked the analogy when we rode in Hawai’i was we should function like a tractor trailer, everyone stays together.

We left in one big group, I know someone was taking photos, I can’t wait to see them! I have to tell you, it is such a site to see all the bikes riding in one long procession, it sounds wonderful and it looks beautiful! We rode to the Lebanon VA Medical Center, what an honor! There were some residents who were outside watching, some in the lobby, and many from their rooms. We did a tour around the perimeter, came to park in front and we all got off our bikes and walked towards the chapel.

Father Paul was waiting for us, he was wearing a long white robe, full regalia, with sunglasses, a baseball cap, and sneakers! LOVE IT! We all gathered around and Father Paul read from his prayer book, a few prayers I recognized, what I loved was he added motorcycles in there! He talked about being able to ride was freedom, reminding us of what we can do, and to keep each other safe. It was a lovely ceremony.

We all received badges/pins, oh yeah, before we left the clubhouse, we all received an American Flag with the Biker Blessing on it to attach to our bikes! After we received our pins, we got back on our bikes and rode past Father Paul, who then blessed us each with holy water! SO cool!

After we were blessed, we made our way back to the clubhouse for a fine feast of picnic and comfort foods and good conversation. We met some new folks and really just enjoyed ourselves. I know we would have had fun with the IMRG folks, this was fun getting to know the LVMC folks!

After lunch we headed back home, played with the dogs a little, I loaded up my car and headed out and here I sit at my sister’s house writing to you. I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow! I need sleep! After getting up about 6am, then the biker blessing, then a 7 hour drive to Boston, I’m beat!

Vroom Vroom…God natt (goo nat) [Good night in Norwegian]!

{April 19, 2024} A new place and a meeting

Today was your average work day, it seemed to go on forever, was yours like that? I looked up, it was 12p, then I looked up and I thought it was 3p, nope, it was 1p, then 2p, what happened?! I was very busy, so that should mean the day flew by and I didn’t have enough time to get what I needed to done. Nope, it was weird. I didn’t quite make my deadline, but I got a lot done, go figure!

After work, take the pups for a walk, they got in their smells, found some potato-chippy worms to munch on, munched on some grass, I listened to a podcast, and that’s how it usually goes for us. Oh, we did meet some of the dogs in the neighborhood, we said hello to Charlie, the teeny poodle who definitely tries to defend and protect his property and his humans, Calvin, the black and white great dane, what a sweet and gentle doll baby, having a moment on the other dogs names, but they all did the doggie meet-n-greet, let’s sniff there, oh my!

Then PSM got home from work and we tried a new place on our Lebanon Valley Libations Trail, The Union Beer House. It is in a random place, nestled in between some car dealerships and other businesses, you almost drive by you. When you walk in, it’s very cool, they have beer coolers on the left, a lot of coolers, basically, a wall of coolers, these hold bottles by the six-pack for sale. Then on the right, there are shelves of wine, and a cooler with beer cans, I didn’t get over there to look if the cans were for sale in six packs as well. The last cooler had single bottles of beer, again, didn’t get over there to see if they were for sale individually.

At the counter you can order food and drink, on the left were all the taps and a proper bar. When I say proper bar, I just mean that you can sit or stand at the bar and gather, chat, congregate, which is the same as gather, right? In the middle, wide open space, they had tables and chairs for eating, they had a high top long bar along the window. Then as you wander, they have a video gambling room, that was different.

The food was ok, I’ll be honest, the only thing on the menu I could eat was veggie fried rice and an order of 5 mini spring rolls, I asked about a veggie burger, I was told they have a black bean burger, but it was spicy. Fried rice and spring rolls it is. PSM had fish and chips. The chips were good, we both liked them.

The place was crowded with friends, families, single folks, groups, couples. It had a good atmosphere of people enjoying themselves on a Friday night. Kitchen closes at 8p, brewery closes at 10p, welcome to Central PA!

We went because it’s on the Libations Trail, but it wasn’t a place I would go back to. I could see going if PSM wanted a beer or some friends wanted to go have a beer and hang out, but overall, not my first choice. I enjoyed the experience and I’m glad we tried something new, but it wasn’t for us. We really like to sit at the bar and talk to people. Oh well…

Now, the plus…we were only a 2 minute drive from the Lebanon Valley Motorcycle Club! Score! We got there a little before everyone was going up to the meeting, we just missed the home made carrot cake, bummer! D is a great baker! I really like everything I’ve tried!

Tonight the place was packed, not quite standing room only, but a lot of people! I think because the weather is getting nicer and rides are about to start happening, people were there to get more information. Tomorrow, I’m excited, we’re going to a bike blessing, not telling you much more because I want to tell you about it tomorrow!

I’m glad I ran into R when I was at White’s Harley Davidson and he told me about the club, and I’m glad we finally went to a meeting and joined. Everyone is very friendly and has welcomed us warmly and we’ve really enjoyed getting to know everyone. And…excited to go on our first ride with them and see what everyone rides!

And on that note, I’m going to wish you a शुभ रात्रि (shub raatree) [good night in hindi].

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