Fall 2010 Our Way

Prepare for Pumpkin Death!! 

 October and November oh what fun we try to have!  Along with our usual Happy Hours and dinners together we managed to get out of town a couple times.

We had tons of fun gutting the stinky pumpkin and roasting pumpkin seeds with some Cajun flare.



Now thats some guts!!



The Results -TIKIumpkin!!















 





Stephen also celebrated another Birthday in this world on the 29th.  We had a combo weekend trip for Halloween and the big BDay to head to New Mexico but the job canned that plan.  Never fear we simply made another plan! 

Off to Arbuckle Wilderness and a Turner Falls camping trip!  To our surprise we amazed by the beauty of the falls and beautiful nature surrounding us.  Of course in our way we had a ton of laughs.  We headed to big OK state in the morning with sandwichs and sodas for snacks along with our camp gear for a weekend. Sandwich maker was a little bread happy as our stacked delights had double bread in the center.. mmmm good anyways.   

As we arrived to the Turner Falls park we were pleased to see not so many people :)  We drove around to find our perfect spot to set up camp. We saw several areas right on the water but then we spotted the perfect little nook across the water. Ah Ha! Thats where we want to camp, hmmmm looks like we must walk thru a little water to do so! Pull off our shoes and socks and walk across the little fall to find exactly what we wanted. Seclusion! Brrrr the water was cold and clear!!



Thats our camp over there! SO Peaceful!



Crystal Clear but Brr Cold!!



Our little home for the weekend!



After camp was set up we decided to head for a bite to eat and the Arbuckle Wilderness park.  Not much around the area so we fell into the billboard restaurant guide. A&W Root Beer burgers!! Sounded so good so we take the exit as instructed to find our eatery is part of  a gas station with booths, gas, and beer! Ordered our burgers and root beer and scrafed them down.  Yummy.  Now it is time to go to the park!   Once again we arrive at a park with few others in site.     This is a safari type park where you drive thru to see the animals. We quickly found out the animals chase you for attention!! 

Arbuckle Wilderness Park - Oklahoma

See the chasing Begins yikessss!

As we begin our drive into the park we are greeted by Muppet type animals!! Found ourselves a little freaked out by how domesticated the furry and feathered creatures were. 

Yep thats for real 4 legged furry creature

Dude I must sniff as I cannot see

Here comes our camel, big and trotting towards us.  I wanted to crawl in the back of the truck badly to get closer to the animals but was asked not to nicely -plus didnt want to get us kicked out of the park!  The camel was much bigger up close and personal.  The camel persuaded us to let the window down. My o my suddenly Stephen has a huge camel head in his lap, he is enormous, snorting and hunting.  AH HA he finds a root beer amongst our nervous giggles. He graps the drink and starts nodding his way out of truck as we try to help keep the cup upright, we quickly discovered the camel didnt want any help!  Camel has the drink, we look back and he is gulping that root beer down. :)

Trotting Camel Coming



Scary Bird!!



WTH? Dino Feet

Yak-yakity yak yak

Too Cute



Finally touched a Zebra!!



Stephens Buffalo

Was this guy on the Lion King?   



Hungry Hungry Hippo!!!



We saw tons of animals, some up close, some not so cute, some very scary, after & during encounters.  Ostrichs with their big 3 toe feet freak us out, our blonde highlights yak was fun, never forget the buffalo. What a beautiful buffalo specimen!!



What ?? I surrender Promise!

We recommend this getaway for a weekend with a few cautionary statements. 

Beware of where you park at Turner Falls- They have big ditches which little red mazda trucks dont like!  Remember the racoons even come visit when there is no food.  

Arbuckle be sure to ether have a snack for the big guys or no food at all. I say no food at all.  

Halloween night camping is certainly recommended if you are need of some "Quality Time" set away from the coporate grind. 

Two Thumbs Up !!!

Will the real monkey please stand up??

Dynamic Camping Duo

Turner Falls in Oklahoma What a view!

Catch Up

Chastephen Jingle Bell Run 2010

We started this blog to share our lives together sorta like a modern current diary.  What we forgot was how busy we both are and have tons of things going on and not able to update how we want.  Since the Stephen part of us is the writer I always nominate him to do the post but now I am going to take the reins and do true short blogs.  I love our lives together and think for the first time we are enjoying life in its best fashion.  Stay tuned as I catch us up.....

You wanted the best, you got the best (of the worst)

Taken at the last Walmart
stockholder's meeting

A few months ago, Chas sent me a text asking if I would be interested in seeing KISS.  I had never seen the band before and I'm not that big of a fan of their music (I find it very simplistic and lyrically unimaginative).  Nonetheless, who am I to turn down a good spectacle?  I resonded "sure."  That was the last I heard about this for a few weeks, until one day Chas says "I got the KISS tickets, mark your calendar for the 18th..."  Well, ok then.  I promptly did as I was instructed; while marking my calendar, I thought to myself what an awesome girlfriend I had making all these plans while all I have to do is keep my schedule clear.

I was a little worried in the days leading up to the concert since I had heard/seen little advertising for the show dubbed "The Hottest Show on Earth Tour."  This was an omen.

The Highway to Hell is a Paved Toll Road.

First, the show was in Frisco, TX.  On a map, it doesn't look that far away from Fort Worth.  Unfortunately, anytime you live somewhere alongside 7 million other people (in the Dallas metropolitan area), you really have to add in some time for the "people-are-in-my-way" factor.  One thing nether one of us planned for was the toll roads.  I'm from West Tennessee and we don't really have toll roads there.  Here is what we learned regarding toll roads:  1) it costs to make a wrong turn; 2) the automated toll booths don't always work (so don't keep pouring in your change); and 3) no matter how fast you think you are in paying your toll, the people behind you think it is not fast enough.

Next delivery...  Folsom City

Doin' time at Pizza Hut Penitentiary.

The show was promoted locally as "Rockin' in the Park" even though it's primary focus was KISS.  The event was hosted at "Pizza Hut Park."  In typical care-free-and-without-predjudice Chastephen style, we noted all of the bands that were playing but didn't care when we could find little information about parking or "house rules" when we looked up Pizza Hut Park on line.  We kind of thought we would be tail gating with members of the KISS Army, but we were sadly mistaken.  We chose to park in the $10 grass and dirt field next to the park.  It was about 100 degrees, so the beer we brought cooled us down a little, but there was no shade.  We walked through the $20 parking lot on the park premisis and found two tailgating groups with tents and grills.  Too late to move spots, we watched as people lined up to get in. 

This is what $8 looks like at Pizza
Hut Park.  Yummy!

We arrived at about 1pm.  This was my fault as the first band was scheduled to go on at 1:30pm and I wanted to see them.  Before they started letting us in the park, they posted sandwich boards that stated "No Readmission."  That meant once we got in there, we were trapped.  This sucked because apparently, shade is illegal in Frisco. We had a cooler of beer that was off limits once we went inside...  sad face. 

While the park was a good size, we felt increasingly claustrophobic as we looked at the $11 beers and $7 pizzas.  We were on a budget and the headlining act was not even going on stage for another 8 hours.  With the sun blaring overhead, we did hard time in this prison of capitalism without remorse.  I made the mistake of using simple math and got depressed:  $6 sodas x 1 per hour x 8 hours x 2 people = $96 minimum.  Ouch!

These newbies were the
2nd best band of the day.

Rockin' Like Dokken?

The first band was Revengence, the Guitar Center sponsored group.  They actually were one of the best of the night.  The next band was called The Envy from Toronto.  They were boring and unoriginal; ironically, unenviable.  (Maybe that should have been their band's name.)  Despite my criticism, I liked their logo.  The Acadamy Is followed them.  I really wanted to like them, but by the time they got on stage, Chas and I collectively sweated off about 12 pounds of water weight and I was wondering if I was going to survive another 5 hours in the big house (aka, Pizza Hut Park).  They are a good band and are from one of my favorite cities (Chicago).  I definitely recommend them to anyone not sitting in a gigantic crock pot (aka Pizza Hut Park).

We're excited we didn't have to pay for
 those seats.  The true owners never
showed up.

After The Acadamy Is was finished, Chas and I wandered to the more expensive "west-side" seats and found (of all things) an air conditioned bar.  I thought I was hallucinating...  but not because of the presence of the bar, but rather the prices.  We cooled off for a bit then walked down to the $170 seats (ours were $50 and were at the back of the easy bake oven (aka Pizza Hut Park).  We figured we'd get kicked out, but at least we could have some shade for a few.

Coolest band picture.  Ever.

Drowning Pool was the next band.  They kicked some major whoo-ha.  "Angry, angry expletive!"  Isn't that one of their songs?  No?  Well, as angry as their music may have seemed, the lead singer smiled alot and they definitely owned the audience.  I had never seen them, but would definitely again, as long as I wasn't in the human wok (aka Pizza Hut Park).  Chas loved them, by the way - wok or not.  She's seen them several times in more intimate (and cooler) venues.  She can attest to their rock-ositude.

You remind me of a bloody
turtle with asthma, Chris.

I'm not sure how Pat Green got on the bill, but he played next.  He was as funny and rowdy as any good 'ole boy in country music.  He cussed, made vaguely veiled references to drugs, made fun of the crowd and himself and basically, had a good time.  Oh yeah, then he sang that "Wave on Wave" song.

Chris Daughtry came out next and thoroughly embarrased himself.  Simon was right.



You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best You Should Have Seen Us in 1978.

At 9pm, the venue was still only at about half capacity.  We watched as the Pizza Hut Park "seat-Nazis" monitoring the general admission area wouldn't let people who paid $170 for their seats go down to the half-full genreal admission area (those folks paid $30 for standing only).  Unbelievable.  Chas and I were still in our "reclaimed" premium seats.  While these were better than the original seats we paid for, they still provided a piss poor view of the action.  Definitely not worth the $170-$200 that those around us paid.  In retrospect, we should have just gotten the $30 General Admission seats.  Then we could have gone anywhere we wanted...

One of the many Gene Simmons'
spottings that day.



People watching is always fun and this was the one area where the KISS show did not disappoint.  Two noteworthy examples included "dead guy" and Jon Lovitz the Demon." 

That's the ticket!

"Dead guy" had passed out in the back of the general admission area.  I thought he had died, but eventually the police poked him into consciousness and got him to stand up.  Another guy pushing 50 was sitting to the left of us and looked just like Jon Lovitz, except with Gene Simmons face paint on.  For whatever reason, his group would send him to make the beer runs.  This guy was very obviously drunk, yet left every 30-45 minutes to return with half-spilled beers (that's $50 to you and me).  Once the people in the row front of him saw him coming, they would immediately bolt upright.  Finally, one guy offered to hold his beers while he got back to his seat and then pass them back.  Jon Lovitz the Demon did not like this and almost got belligerent.  Everyone calmed down after a few, but Jon Lovitz the Demon continued to give the good beer samaritan the evil eye for the rest of the night.



While there was plenty of "general standing room,"
you couldn't go there unless you paid for the cheap seats. 
Also, it's blurry, but you can see Jon Lovitz the Demon
(he's circled!).



KISS finally made it to the stage and kicked things off with lots of fire, explosions and video montages.  Unfortunately, Paul Stanley sounded like Betty Boop going through puberty.  He was fairly ok while singing, but in between songs, his voice wavered in and out of clarity.  That, coupled with the fact he has not thought up new things to say to the audience during a show since 1981, made me want to stab myself in the ear with a sharp bit of $8 nachos.  (Yes, I know I said I had not seen KISS live before, and I haven't.  I do, however, have some DVD's of old KISS shows and much of the crowdspeak is the same.) 



Sonic Boom
boom be boom!



The band made it very clear that their new CD, Sonic Boom, was available exclusively at Wallmart.  I thought KISS was the devil band on the cutting edge of mainstream social acceptability.  How lame must that album be if Walmart is endorsing it?  Further, Gene mentioned Dr. Pepper as he introduced the song Dr. Love.  At one point, someone threw the proverbial pair of panties onto the  stage.  Paul looked extremely uncomfortable as he tried to bend over and pick them up.  I don't know what those around me saw, but I witnessed two old men - well past their prime - dressed up like the kids they were 35 years ago, except embracing the mainstream.  It's not a sin, but it certainly doesn't feel right.

I do respect the fact that regardless of how I might criticize, we did pay them $50 each for a ticket.  In the words of President and orator extraordinaire George Bush: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

Paul and Gene:  You got me that time; but I won't be buying another ticket, ever.

While glad she got to see Drowning
Pool, Chas is happy to be leaving the
Pizza Hut Penitentiary!

Dénouement.

After about 5 or 6 songs, I turned to Chas and said "Would you be upset, if I suggested we leave?"  The look of relief on her face was comical.  "I was hoping you felt the same way I did.  This sucks!"  This was an important event in my life:  until that day, I have never walked out of a concert before.  Who would have thought that KISS would have been the show to have sucked beyond all other shows...



This was the total for gas after the
show.  Coincidence...  I think not!



We walked back to the car and went to get gas for the ride home.  We had not left early enough though, as the crafty and stalwart civil employees of the city of Frisco were already out, putting up barricades.  And to top off a most "memorable" day, these barricades blocked access to the only gas station near the venue.  It took some doing, but we navigated our way around the one way streets and road blocks, got fuel, a monster and a moon pie, then headed home.

As bad as some of this might sound, we had a good time - Chas and I always do.  The places we go are just the bits of scenery thatr decorate our experiences.  Nonetheless, the show was horrible.  We rate seeing KISS at the Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, TX only one out of five eighth notes:  ♪

We're gonna party like it's... really Prince up there (and we don't care who sees us!)

If you could "symbol" yourself,
what would you be?

"Brothers and sisters, we're here today
to get through this blog called life..."

This past Friday, Chastephen went to the House of Blues in Dallas to see a tribute band called "1999."  Yes, this is a reference to Prince:  everyone's favorite 5'2" artist (without the heels) who was formerly known as a symbol who was formerly known only as "Prince," formerly born as Prince Rogers Nelson.

I can make fun: I am one...

The opening act was quite cheesy in that they sounded like a current college band playing originals that sounded like 80's b-sides while looking like they were heading to pick up some Mountain Dew for a weekend of D & D or WoW.  We were sitting in the back of the venue and the sound wasn't so good at first, but I think they said they were from Chapel Hill (thus influencing my idea that they were a college band). 

House of Blues doesn't sell draft beer, only 24oz. cans - at $9 each.  That's probably the real reason they call it the House of Blues (nothing to do with music, just the prices).  However, our waitress was quite busty and very nice to boot.  And, as if to make up for the overpriced beverages, she placed the credit card (given to her for the tab) into her cleavage for safe keeping.  My friends and I all found this quite amusing, albeit highly non-hygenic. 

This is Tripping Billies, the Dave Matthews cover band. 

They neither look like Dave Matthews nor Prince and the

Revolution.  I feel cheated.  Twice now

As I nursed my $9 beer, I had plenty of time to wonder just how a college band gets hooked up and tours with a Prince tribute band?  Maybe it was because the singer of the opening group kind of looked like Prince, except that he wore some long dreds.  Towards the middle of their set, Chas and I walked down by the front of the stage.  There were probably about 200 or 300 people there.  Not bad for a tribute band, I thought.  But what do I know; I've been out of music for a few years.  The last tribute band I saw was (ashamedly) a Dave Matthews cover band - and they had a ton of people come out for that show.  I can't stand Dave Matthews and remember thinking "how in the world does a cover band for Dave Matthews draw such a big crowd?"  I suppose if you close your eyes...  At the time, I just wrote off my state of flabbergastonomy (yes, I made that up.  Feel free to quote me, but if you make money at it, I better get some)  as petty, semi-professional jealousy.  Anyway, I am still contributing to the economy of cover songs.  I testify however, that I am not a lemming because I no longer care.  That's a benefit of age, kids...  Alas, I digress.

Chas' weren't
purple, though.

The people-watching was fantastic.  The population of concert attendees included several generations and ran the gambit on race, sexual orientation and clothing styles.  Speaking of clothes, I do admit that I was surprised that I neither saw someone dressed up in a purple matador suit nor a day-glo bustier.  I do admit that I saw more than my share of teased hair and animal prints.  For the occasion, Chas even sported her Bon Jovi boots.

So the sound in the general admission "pit" in front of the stage was very loud, but much higher quality.  The mix was good and the bass and kick drum hit you right in the chest.  Interwoven with the backbeat, the singer/guitarist's riffs cut through quite proficiently and soulfully.  The improved sound definitely did the band justice and improved my enjoyment of their show. 

Simple Minds kicks ass;
ergo, so does Kesha.

One of their closing songs was a cover of "Tik Tok" by Kesha.  An overwhelming majority of the girls in the house erupted with applause and proceeded to gyrate their booties while singing "Whoa, whoa oho,"  with each chorus.  As if it were coreographed and rehearsed before they all came out tonight, when the participating ladies (and some of the guys) sang the line:  "Boys try to touch my junk," they all pointed to their booties, raised an eyebrow and repeated "Junk."  While predictable, it was still amusing and impressive having seen it in real life.

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You can get fake sleeves at
tinsleytransfers.com.

With the departure of the opening band, we regrouped with our friends and decided to claim a spot near the front of the stage for the headliner.  The words "General Admission" usually makes me cringe (I know, I'm getting older), but the crowd was as cool as it was eclectic.  Right on the stage in front of us was a mom and dad with their small son. Just behind them were two 50-somethings decked out in their party clothes and big hair.  Next to us, one large guy liked my shirt (a black T, with the name "McLovin" in white letters) and apparantly helped us bond on some level.  Throughout the night, he would randomly point to my chest and blurt out "McLovin!"  Since the frequency of his exclamations increased in direct proportion to the amount of beer this guy consumed, I could have found this annoying by the end of the night.  Instead, I decided it was best to smile real big and point back, sometimes saying "yeahhh!" or "heyyyy!"  The fact that the guy had sleeves (tatts) that looked homemade AND that he could have bench pressed my truck probably influenced my patience level...  Still, no harm was meant and we all had fun.

Rosanne Rosannadanna

Jeff Lynne

Peter Wolf

The tribute band finally come out, opening with a dead-on rendition of "Let's Go Crazy."  While not a mirror image of the Revolution, the band did a good job of not dressing like they are in the 21st century.  The backup singer was in spandex and had big, curly Roseanne Rosannadanna hair.  The drummer looked like Jeff Lynne of ELO and the bass player wore a shirt borrowed from Peter Wolf (sans the J. Geils Band).  I'm not sure what look the rhythm guitarist was going for, but hands down, he won the award for 70's porn star of the night.  Despite the rest of the band refusing to wear their rasberry berets, Not-the-Prince was in good purple form and the keyboard player wore scrubbs and a stethoscope.

70's porn star - get the look!

It only took about 10 seconds to figure out that the opening act was actually a few of the members of 1999 without their cover band clothes.  I thought this was a great strategy.  If you are in the crowd, you feel like you are getting two bands for your entertainment dollars.  If you are the band, you get to warm up and sound check all at once in front of a live audience.  On a side note, while Chastephen found it very obvious that the "two bands" were really the same, it didn't dawn on the 50-something's in front of us until about half way through the show.  One of them turned around after about 45 minutes and said "Hey, I think those are the same guys that played before!"  (It was funny, but having just reread this, I think you would have just had to be there.  See, this was the same woman who - all night long - would alternate between turning around and waving at her husband in the balcony section and then try to molest the poor 20-something kid that was next to her with his girlfriend.  Ouch.)

This is the press photo for 1999.  Not pictured:  70's porn star guitar player. 
Hey, is that Jack Black on the far right?

I think they played over an hour and a half and hit all 6 of the Prince songs I know.  Regardless on your opinions of Prince and his music, 1999 are excellent musicians and performers.  I haven't seen Prince perform live, but Chas says the real guy is outstanding.  She can comment on the performance herself if she wants, but I am sure she'll agree that even though they weren't the real thing, they were definitely worth the $15 a ticket we paid. Here are some shots from my blackberry:

We were both pretty pooped and the ride home was quiet.  It was a short week (with the Labor Day holiday and all), but for Chastephen, it seemed like it lasted 10 days instead of 4.  This show was a good way to unwind after the tough week and helped set a positive tone for the weekend.

The "real" Prince w/ band. 
Say what you will, but this just looks like it was a fun time...

This was a light-hearted outing that skirted the nostalgic.  The tickets were only $10 each with a $5 service charge.  Adding the cost of parking and the beverages, our cost for this outing is just under $100.  For $100: we heard a fairly good band; spent a fun evening with friends; and took in some good people watching.  We rate seeing 1999 at the House of Blues in Dallas three out of five paisley spades:  ♠♠♠