That’s the subplot of the story. Jon was there, but it really made no difference to me. I was there to celebrate the magic of Stan and Babe once again. This was my sixth convention, and it ranks right near the top in my book. Joining Jon and me were my Dad and my sister Denise. We all stayed in the same room and there was a bit of contention on whether to split the room bill three ways or four, but other then that, we all got along swellishly.

The event began on Sunday, July 12, 1992 at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino – where I would spend my first time ever in fabulous Las Vegas. We flew out that morning and arrived in Las Vegas that afternoon. Registration was conducted in a central meeting area just up a set of escalators that I would re-visit in 2009. Whilst waiting to make my presence known, I was tapped on the shoulder and turned around to see my pal Bob Satterfield, looking decidedly thinner and with longer hair – which he later attributed to his mid-life crisis. Visiting Bob back in his room, he presented me with a somewhat late graduation present, which was well worth the wait: an amazing photo album full of autographed photos with graduation wishes from about 25 L&H and Our Gang co-stars. Someday, I’ll post the album in its entirety.

That evening we had a fun cocktail reception (where Bob received a Stan Laurel check endorsed by Stanley “Tiny” Sandford, which I carried around with me and showed off). Then we had a “Salute to Hal Roach Dinner”. Mostly what I remember about this was that Dick Bann had accompanied Hal Roach himself to the event. At this point, Hal Roach was 100 years old. This ended up being the third and final time that I saw Mr. Roach in person. Following the dinner, The Parade of Tents was presented via video presentation. The evening culminated with the opening of the cinema and the Dealers Room. I made a couple of significant purchases at some point during the week – framed and matted autographed photos of Oliver Hardy and Edgar Kennedy. I was up exceptionally late reading my new copies of The Laurel and Hardy Magazine in the bathroom in our room while everyone else slept.

Having Tommy “Butch” Bond, now sporting red hair, sign a photo for me at the cocktail mixer

I think Jon and I tried our hand at the slot machines that night. Not being a big gambler, I’d be surprised if I spent more than $20 in quarters throughout the week. I remember that night watching Sherry Han, the host of the convention and Grand Sheik of the Jitterbugs tent, playing slots with silver dollars and quickly going through 100 bucks. How I cringed!

Monday, July 13, saw a lot of standard Sons fare: the Grand Council meeting, the Dealer’s Room and Cinema, a seminar on How to Start and Maintain a Sons Tent (which interested me greatly at the time), the Trivia Contest and Tournament of Champions Trivia Contest (of which I didn’t participate), the Hal Roach All-Stars Look-a-Like & Sound-a-Like Contest, and the Pee-Wee Contest. I can’t recall if I participated in the latter – but it was something I would typcially do. All of this provided plent of time for Jon to sit back in the room.

I also brought along a ridiculous amount of copies of my new tent newsletter (for the tent that didn’t quite yet exist) Dante’s Info. I was proud of that darn thing and periodically laid numerous copies around the convention and watched people pick them up, hoping that they would gawk and think it was a literary masterpiece.

That night saw a great event at a local waterpark Wet ‘N Wild, called the Honolulu Baby Luau. A lot of folks – and I’m not honestly sure if I was one of them – participated in the waterslides, with special focus going to Bob Satterfield and Tracy Tolzmann, both of whose girth made for some very impressive splashes as they went down the speed slides.

After swimming, we had a great dinner with background music provided by Ronnie Hazelhurst and his Orchestra, playing the tunes of the Hal Roach Studios. I recall standing in line for food with Bob and celebrity guest Vera Ralston and her husband. Dwain Smith noted that Larry Semon’s cousin was also present at the event and could be recognized by the stain on his pants. It was a fine, warm evening in the 100-plus degree weather, which was almost bearable with the low humidity.

 Tuesday the 14th saw the Celebrity Panel & Autograph session at 10am that morning. This convention had more celebrity guests than any other convention other than Hollywood ’80. Participating in the Q&A were Tommy “Butch” Bond, Lois Laurel Hawes, Jerry Tucker, Jacquie Lyn, Anthony Caruso, Jay R. Smith, Trudy Marshall, Eugene “Pineapple” Jackson, and Dorothy deBorba. Other celebs that were not present at the Q&A were Diosa Costello, Vera Ralston, and Della Lind. Two guests had been slated to attend but did not end up coming: Felix Knight and Vivian Blaine. Postings regarding encounters with some of the celebrities begin here.

Jay R. Smith, Jacquie Lyn, and Dorothy deBorba during the Q&A session

Jerry Tucker, Pineapple Jackson, and Tommy Bond

Trudy Marshall and Lois Laurel

There was a Laurel and Hardy Olympics in Toyland event that afternoon, but I don’t think I participated. This might have been when Jon and I spent a very brief time at the slots. There was also a screening of going on, and although I didn’t watch it, I was able to meet celebrity Diosa Costello my one and only time after the screening. I never saw her again at the convention or any other time.

We went directly from the theatre area to the banquet room, where there was some bizarre Murder Case Crime Scene, where one was to guess who the killer of ‘Bozo’ was. I really had no idea what was going on, but it was fun to see various Sons, Tony Hawes in particular, play characters who were suspects of the ‘murder’. I think Bob, also not knowing what was going on, took part in this also.

Bob in costume with Kathy Luhman, following the Crime Scene event. Randy Skretvedt and I are in the background.

The banquet that night was hosted by Bill Cassera’s The Midnight Patrol tent had a cops and robbers theme and everyone came dressed accordingly – but not me as per usual. After the banquet, Bob drove my Dad, Denise, Jon, Jimmy, and me into Vegas and we visited a couple of the casinos. It was a nice chance to look around although none of us gambled. Jon kept his ideas peeled for legal prostitutes. As we weaved our way through the blaring neon, my Dad jokingly asked Bob, “Yeah, but where do people go to gamble?”

With the display of one million dollars at the Binion’s Horseshoe Casino

Thank goodness we had at least one group shot: Dad, me, Jon, Denise, and Jimmy with the million bucks

Bob working his way though the lights of Vegas

Denise participates in some late night antics with paper cups

The final full day of the convention came on Wednesday, July 15. The first activity I can recall was the screening of Pack Up Your Troubles, which included a talk from Jacquie Lyn and featured a print that included footage that I had never seen before. This was about the only Laurel and Hardy film I actually watched during this convention. There was an auction that afternoon, and I purchased an original lobby card from The Dancing Masters and had Trudy Marshall sign in that evening at the Jitterbugs banquet, which featured live big band music.

In between the auction and the banquet was the final Grand Council meeting where we voted for the next convention. I declared my soveriegty by voting on behalf of my own tent instead of the Towed in a Hole Tent. Although I actually voted for Harlem, Georgia, the convention bid for 1994 was won by Tarrytown, New York and the Founding Tent.

The standard Farewell Brunch and Passing of the Pineapple was held on Thursday morning. My Dad, Denise, and Jon departed for the airport and took along the long piece of artwork that I had brought to exhibit in the Al Kilgore art gallery. I, however, didn’t leave from Vegas. I was continuing my vacation by participating in some of the post-trips and celebrations in California. So I loaded up my loot in Bob’s car and we began our drive back to his place in San Bernardino.

Jimmy and Denise at the Farewell Brunch, with standard foliage head garb. My pal David Rodriguez is behind Jimmy.

Denise gets around with her plant heads. Here is John Duff sprouting something besides hair on his head.

With my artwork contribution and the world’s worst mullet

It had been a fabulous convention and I so wish that I had captured more photos. I had also recently begun a journal, which was mostly so that I could journal my experiences on this trip – but alas, that invaluable book no longer exists.

The 1992 trip will continue in California…

Follow the trail of celebrities from this convention here…

I left work about 30 minutes early on Friday, September 30, 2011 and headed home to get the car loaded up before Jamie arrived. I was very proud of her that she was able to get out of school and get there by 6:15. We headed out immediately and drove for about three hours and 15 minutes before arriving at the Triple XXX, the restaurant that had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives where Jason and I had eaten during our Chicago trip. This didn’t count as a new restaurant for me, but it was for Jamie. This time I went with the Barney Burger and enjoyed another Triple XXX Root Beer.

Sucking down some XXX

It felt like I was just here, only not with someone this pretty

After dinner, we drove another hour or so and made it to our lodging at the Red Roof Inn in Merrillville, Indiana at around 11pm local time, having gained an hour. Again, this was the same spot where Jason and I had stayed.

The next morning, we got up early and headed on into Chicago. The Hollywood Celebrities & Memorabilia Show being held at the Hilton Rosemont / Chicago O’Hare Hotel was to be the last one under the ownership of Ray Courts. The line-up didn’t start out all that impressive, so my impetus for the Chicago trip was less about the show and more about seeing some of the other sites and eating at the DD&Ds, but I figued that as long as we were in the area, we might as well stop by.

Names that were dropped from the original line-up included Jan-Michael Vincent, Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, Hugh O’Brien, Joe Turkel, and Margaret Kerry. Celebrities present whom I had already met included Henry Winkler,  Barry Bostwick, Leslie Easterbrook, Tracey Gold, Richard Kiel, Pat Priest, Tracy Roberts, Dawn Wells, Cindy Williams, and Dominique Swain. I saw all of these celebrities except for Leslie Easterbrook, and had interaction with a few of them.

Henry Winkler was the most exciting for Jamie to meet. He was very kind and friendly, actually working the crowd as we waited in line. When we got up to him, he gave Jamie a kiss on the cheek, so she can effectively say that she has been kissed by Fonzie. I told him that I had gotten a group shot with him and the Happy Days cast a year before Tom Bosley passed away. He said, “so are you just here to say hi?,” and I told him that I was waiting to see the others at the table, but I asked if he was charging for photos with him, hoping maybe to get Jamie in a shot with him. He said, “yes”. As nice and friendly as he is, I always see those dollar signs in the eyes of the Fonz.

Jamie finally gets a picture of Eddie Mekka with his eyes open (see here)

I also had a nice chat with Barry Bostwick, reminding him that we had discussed my favorite TV movie Murder By Natural Causes with him in the past. He said, “so this must be the second time I’ve ever talked about that film.” He did seem very interested in obtaining a copy, so I directed him to ioffer.com. I also greeted Tracey Gold (striking up a conversation about her sister Missy so that Jamie could shake her hand), Richard Kiel (who was desperately trying to sell us photos), and Dominque Swain (just because she’s Dominique Swain).

We had gotten to the show at about 10:15am and were out of there by noon. Just a few miles up the road from Rosemont was a restaurant known as the Paradise Pup, located in Des Plaines. This little joint was featured on the episode Family Owned on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. It was an incredibly small place, best described as a ‘burger stand’ and there was a significant line waiting outside. Fearful of the cold, Jamie and I had brought plenty of warm clothes and were nice and bundled up. After about 30 minutes in the line, we finally got in. I ordered a Charburger with Swiss and grilled onions on Bavarian Rye, and a bonus Italian Sausage to boot. True to its reputation, it was an incredibly tasty burger. Despite the size of the place and the constant crowds, Jamie and I somehow found a seat at the bar to sit and eat. We met a nice lady who was fascinated by our DD&D quest and was happy to take our picture.

Chowing down on our burgers at the Paradise Pup

The succulent Char Burger

DD&D #25: Paradise Pup in Des Plaines, Illinois

They were proud of their place in history…and I was proud of them

I had a slight amount of dread about working our way downtown and to the Navy Pier, but it all ended up working out just fine (even with the outrageous $24 parking fee). We got there, parked, and made our way onto the pier a little before 4pm. One of the things I wanted to do here was take Jamie on the giant Ferris Wheel. But there were plenty of other distractions here which started off with us eating some fried dough – Dough ala Mode to be specific. The gelato of choice was pistachio. There was also some sort of boat racing going on at the end of the pier called the Chicago Match Cup. Tried as we did, we couldn’t exactly figure out what the boats’ objectives were. We were also lured in to watching some wheel gymnastics. I regret not getting strapped into the wheel and rolled around the pier.

Bundled up and ready for dessert: fried dough. This sounds kind of fattening.

Trying to make heads or tails of the Chicago Match Cup

Jamie gets an idea as to why Chicago is called the Windy City

Pontificating Chicago

This mirror provided a further distraction. They always do.

After walking the Pier for about an hour, we finally got onto the Ferris Wheel. It moves slow, lasts seven minutes, and only goes around once, but at150 feet tall, it gives you a great look of Chicago, Lake Michigan, and the Navy Pier below.

The big, beautiful Ferris Wheel of the Navy Pier

Happy to be back on this ride

Jamie and the city

Me and that same city, my kind of town

Chicago fondness

Once we finished the Ferris Wheel, we began walking on foot into downtown Chicago. We briefly stopped by the Bob Newhart statue that I had gone to great lengths to locate during my last visit to the Navy Pier in 2009. I had checked out a map beforehand, but it seemed longer than I expected until we got to Michigan Avenue, otherwise known as the Magnificent Mile. The goal here was to see the Forever Marilyn statue that has been placed not far from the river in July of this year. It is only scheduled to be here until Spring of 2012, so I wanted to get a picture of it while the getting was good.

Back on Bob Newhart’s couch for further counseling

Jamie and buildings tall as we approach the Magnificent Mile

Whilst posing with the statue, amidst a wide variety of infantile tourist who loved to pose in vulgur fashion, leering up her skirt or straddling her leg, we also ran into no less than three wedding parties, all of whom were being escorted by the wedding photographer as they roamed through Chicago. It was quite the scene. When we had had enough of that, Jamie and I went over to the Chicago river to check it out and get a couple of pictures there.

Marilyn was everything she was cracked up to be

Jamie and me and the seven-month itch

Brides aplenty under Marilyn

Jamie and the Chicago River

Sunny, beautiful days in Chicago make me happy

Chicago waters and Ohio kids

Although it took us about a half an hour to walk back to the Navy Pier and it was about 6:30 by the time we got there, we still weren’t hungry after our burger and sausage lunch and a giant bowl of fried dough and gelato. So we just found a bench and sat and watched the river and the activity of birds who wanted free food. I also convinced Jamie to touch a giant power box because she was scared of it. After that, we were hungry.

Back at the Navy Pier, almost ready for departure

Passing the time, gaining hunger, taking pictures of a bird

480-volt exposure on Lake Michigan

So our last stop of the night was in a rather dingy part of Chicago at a little eatery known as Big & Littles. We were momentarily confused when we saw two restaurants of the same name, until we found out that one of them was where the old one would be moving to soon. This joint had already received their visit from Guy Fieri and will be featured in an upcoming Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.

DD&D #26: Big & Little’s Restaurant in Chicago, Illinois

I ordered a shrimp taco, a pork belly po’boy, and truffle fries for Jamie and I to share. She added some sweet potato fries as well – which was a good thing because she hated the truffle fries. I liked all of the food quite well, although I thought the pork itself was a little dry and hard. But the pair who own the place have gone to great lengths to invent some very stunningly good recipes, the truffle fries among them (despite what Jamie says).

Pork belly po’boy and truffle fries. This worked for me.

Jamie shies away from my fries, but still got her fill of food

We headed out at around 8pm and made our way to our lodgings for the night in Elk Grove Village at the Super 8 O’Hare. There would be more fun to be had the next day, which would be the actual date of my stupid 40th birthday.

Follow the trail of celebrities from the Fall Chicago Hollywood Celebrities Show here…

My birthday weekend in Chicago will continue…

Weekdays had been a bit of a mad rush since I was spending so much time out of town. I had gotten new tires on my car on that Tuesday and Wednesday, managed to finish Benson finally and move on to The Beverly Hillbillies on DVD. And I continued exploring new music from The Weakerthans, James, Fitz and the Tantrums, Future Clouds and Radar, and The Head and the Heart. Other than that, it was the weekends where most of the excitement was generated.

The weekend in Findlay – while not exhibiting the type of excitement to be found of the roller-coasters of Cedar Point – was quite fun in its own right, despite the fact that I fogot to bring along my gym shoes. I headed up on Friday the 16th after work. Eating at Jack and Jin’s was becoming a Findlay tradition, so we enjoyed the delights of the Pad Thai once again. After we ate, we went back to Jamie’s apartment and Jamie got her initiation to Blazing Saddles.

The joys of Jack and Jin’s

Saturday the 17th was just one of those days that was great just to hang out together. We had a typical slow start that morning, but finally got out to have lunch at Jim’s Hot Dogs – a spot that we had tried to frequent in the past. We purchased four hot dogs (the Rubio Columbian, the Reuben, the BBC, and the Fiesta) and then split them. From this experience I have determined that hot dogs are indeed good. We stopped over at Jamie’s office for a bit so that she could look at some grading and have an argument with her floor lamp. We walked over to the George House and then went to the bookstore in the Findlay Mall, where it was just fun to browse.

Presenting Jim’s Hot Dogs!

Our array of flavorful hotdogs

Tackling grading and the lamp at Jamie’s office

Bookstore entertainment and enlightenment

Then it was back to the college to play some ping pong. Jamie was playing outstanding and beat me one out of three. In the midst of our fourth game, she somehow accidentally stepped on and crushed the ping pong ball. We then went back to the apartment and had our leftover Pad Thai and watched the original The Bad News Bears.

Not sure how this ball ended up crushed?

On Sunday morning, we met Jamie’s friends Cory and Becka at Parkview Church (yet another one!), where the lesson was out of 1 Timothy about checklists and qualifiers to be leaders. It was a nice church, but for my typical complaint: too much music. After church we stopped at Biggby’s for treats and went back to the apartment. Jamie napped for a while and I half-heartedly watched the Steelers oust the Seahawks. I left at about 5:30 for home. Ashleigh and Silas stopped by for a visit that night.

Visiting with the little balloon boy

The face of an angel

The cheek must be kissed

A Crunchie Bar interlude, which arrived from my friend David on September 22 and made a fine dessert

We were back on the travel horse once again the following weekend. I had had a busy week of appointments including the doctor on Wednesday and the dentist on Thursday. I’d had lunch with Mom on Tuesday and then met Jamie’s Mom for a meeting that evening. But once Saturday the 24th rolled around it was all fun and games again.

I left around 9:30 that morning and arrived at Diana and Tom’s cabin at Indian Lake at about 11. Jamie’s was coming from her place and her GPS took her the wrong way (specifically to the wrong Maple Lane), so it was a bit later when she got there. I waited patiently over a sandwich. When she arrived, we all (except for Grandpa, who stayed back to watch movies) headed out to Indian Lake State Park for the Harvest Festival. Normally this isn’t really my thing, but I had fun checking out the arts and crafts with Jamie. We split up from Mom & Bob and Diana & Tom for part of our walk and then re-joined them. There was plenty of good food there to make me regret my sandwich, but I still managed to get down a hot dog, soft pretzel, and funnel cake.

The hot dogs at the Harvest Festival drew me in like a magnet. I’m only wearing this ridiculous sweatshirt of Mom’s because I forgot my own.

Bob and Mom on the bridge to nowhere in particular

We also found Funnel Cake

Bob and the Funnel Cake disaster

When we got back to the cabin, Jamie and I did what she was most looking forward to: riding the bikes around the neighborhood. After we had worked off our cakes, hot dogs, and other assorted snacks, we went back and had a great steak dinner. It just so happened that this day was Tom’s 70th birthday so we also had a nice cake for him. That evening we played Sequence again – and would you believe it took us four games to finally beat Mom and Diana? Insane.

Relaxing back at the lake

Jamie and Diana pitch in to hand-shuck the corn

Grandpa looks on as Bob begins playing with the fire

 Jamie in her element as we bike around the lake community

Tom grills up the steaks

Mom’s post-knee surgery entitles her to relax and read

Jamie curls up with the iPod

It takes two to get this pseudo-wine bottle open

A fabulous steak dinner at Indian Lake

Mom contemplates her next move while Bob concentrates on the corn

Tom and his 70th birthday cake

Tom blows out his candles while Bob offers an extra supportive blow

We had a great bonfire that night, over which we made s’mores and lively discussions about experiences with poop. As the night wound down, we watched a bit of Storage Wars on TV and Jamie and I fell asleep in the living room.

The Bob and Tom Show Late Night Fishing Extravaganza

The creation of s’mores

S’more mishap

Further s’more mishap

On Sunday morning, Diana made a nice breakfast and we tinkered around until noon before finally deciding to venture back out on the bikes. This time we rode a couple of miles out to Highway 117 and I got a picture of the Long Island arrow that I had always thought about stopping to get. We also had an encounter with a live snake on the way. Jamie fled while I enjoyed watching it slither off of the road.

Early morning feeding of the sea otters

It was a long way from Long Island

When we got back, the games continued. I fared a little bit better than normal in cornhole although Mom and Jamie beat Bob and me the first game. Bob was playing terrible. Mom’s knee started to hurt following her surgery, so Diana stepped in for her. Bob and I claimed victory in the next two games.

Bob makes his best cornhole pitch

Squaring off against Jamie. Putting us on separate teams was the only way to insure that at least one of us would win.

Tom took Mom, Jamie, and me out in the boat for a ride. Some crazy green foliage had moved in on the still portion of the lake and it looked like it was covered with a green scum (you can see it best in the photo at the top of the posting). We started out, had to return to get our life jackets, and then went back out taking the opposite route around the lake. It’s always fun to have Tom as our captain.

Tom and Mom with the need for speed

Jamie and me on the open seas

When we got back the captain doubled as the afternoon’s chef as he cooked up some crappie and blue gill for our fish fry. We started a game of Farkle, but put it on hold when it was time to eat. I took this to be a forfeit by Mom, so even though technically no one won, Mom lost. That much I know for sure. The spread of leftovers along with new cheesy potatoes and green bean casserole was enough to feed a small army. But I mostly concentrated on the seafood. Tom sure knows how to prepare it so that even Jamie, who doesn’t normally like it, enjoyed the fish. It was around 4:30 when we all headed out. Jamie and I said our goodbyes until our fifth and final weekend rolled around as we took September right up to its edge.

As a postscript to the month, my friend Bob was traveling in the Kentucky and Tennessee area with his friend Jacob and made his way up to Cincinnati to add one more in the series of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives that he had now begun. Therefore we had dinner at Terry’s Turf Club on the evening of Tuesday, September 27. I had the Red Roasted Pepper and Goat Cheese Sauce, topped with swiss cheese. This naturally was supplemented with the amazing Filet Mignon Chili. Heck yeah. Great chow and it was very nice to see Bob on my turf as well as Terry’s.

Back to Terry’s Turf Club with my pal Bob

Fine dining wiht Bob and his friend Jacob

2011 will continue with the last of our five consecutive joint weekend adventures…

We left the show at 6:30pm and the game had been scheduled to start at 6:10pm. As well, you might be surprised to learn that there is traffic in Chicago. So we slowly crawled our way across the city to get to the ball park. Thinking that the game might be almost over by the time we got there, we did luck out with a premium (and almost free) parking spot on the street. It was 7:30 as we entered the gates.

Outside U.S. Cellular Field – my 14th Major League ballpark visit

Taking a rest before entering the ballpark, until I was attacked by a man with a bat

Jason and I grabbed our hot dogs on the way in, worked our way to the nosebleed seats, and plopped down, hungry and disheveled. I took a cursory glance at the scoreboard and noted that the game was only in the top of FIRST inning. The game had been delayed due to the rain. The hot dog tasted even better after finding this out.

A swell hotdog – grilled onions and mustard aplenty

Diamonds are a boy’s best friend

Jason made quick friends with the high school girls seated next to us, and they relished the opportunity to be part of our pictures. But on the other side of the spectrum, some dipbag dad that was seated behind us delighted in explaining everything under the sun to his two annoying children Alaister and Eleanor to point that I almost threw them all over the deck railing. Eventually they took off.

 The high schoolers invade our photo…

…which serves as Jason’s inspiration for this photo

Alaister attacks the most annoying father in the world

Jason’s camera provides a panoramic overview of the park and my face

The game itself was quite good, but since it was running so late, it was putting us in danger of missing our restaurant plans for the evening, so we left after the seventh inning stretch. At that time, the White Sox were losing 4-3, despite home runs from Paul Konerko and Tyler Flowers. However, as we were walking out, we could hear the cheer of the crowds, which was a result of the Sox scoring two more runs. They ended up winning 5-4.  As we made our way back to our car (and prime spot), we saw a great real-life Chicago police chase. The fact that they were chasing a man who had socked a lady at the game and who was on foot, didn’t diminish the excitement.

Home run!

But I must say that it was worth missing the winning runs to enjoy the pizza from Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria. Naturally, this place had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives in the episode Something from Everywhere. The big surprise was that this place didn’t specialize in the typical deep dish Chicago pizza, but in thin crust pizza with various unusual toppings. Jason and I got a round of garlic bread that melted in our mouths, and then split the Italian Beef Pizza, which was superb. The pizza joint wasn’t too far from our lodging for the night at the Chicago Midway Airport Hotel.

DD&D #18: Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria in Chicago, Illinois

The Italian Beef Pizza

I loved the ambiance of the establishment, which reminded me of a 1970′s Eagles club

Ready to eat, drink, and be merry

I had a new item to add to our agenda for the day on Sunday, August 14. But first we had more food on our minds. Our morning wasn’t too terribly rushed before we headed out to breakfast at Chuck’s Southern Comforts Cafe. I didn’t have much information about this BBQ joint beforehand other than that it was a DD&D spot featured on the episode Global Comfort, so we just went with what looked good for breakfast. And I wasn’t disappointed in any way. I had a Huevos al Frontera, which is Mexican Eggs Benedict served with sopes filled with refried black beans, poached eggs, poblano cram sauce, crumbled chorizo, and diced tomatoes. As if we needed dessert, we ordered the cheese crepes.

DD&D #19: Chuck’s Southern Comforts Cafe in Burbank, Illinois

Huevos al Frontera – which means “green but good” or something

Breakfast of champions. But we ate it anyway.

So the original plan was to eat breakfast, then either go back to the room or find something to do until we were ready for another round of DD&D for lunch. But lunch was not in the cards that day for several reasons. First of all, I had found something else to do. Secondly, Jason was hoping to visit one of his friends. And third and most importantly, we were both too stuffed to consume even a wafer thin mint.

The thing I had found to do was attend the Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention being held at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare . Unbeknownst to me until some of the fans at the Comic Con told me, this event was going on right across the street from the Comic Con. There weren’t anywhere near the number of celebrities, but there were a half-dozen that I wanted to see. Also, in contrast to the intense crowds and harrowing stress of the Comic Con, this one was very calm and subdued. Check out the trail of celebs from this show here.

We arrived right when they opened at 11am, so I was able to zip through five of the six celebrities there in no time flat. The only celebrity present whom I had met in the past was Sid Haig. We also enjoyed checking out the dealers, displays, and some of the interesting attendees. The sixth celebrity proved to be problematic. I think one of the reasons the main room was so calm was because a tremendous line had formed to meet Robert England of Nightmare on Elm Street Freddy Krueger fame. By the time I meandered over there, they had cut off the line and told us to return at 1:30. Then the time changed to 2:30. Since I already had autographs of Robert England, and the opportunity for a photo-op was iffy at best, I decided not to wait. Jason ran into one of his old friends from Dayton named Joel Robinson, who was now a successful artists that frequented shows of this nature (and in fact had been a guest at the last Chiller I attended). They had fun catching up for a bit before we left.

Booth at the Horror Convention for Troma Entertainment, the name Troma having become synonymous for low-budget schlock. I’m sure this DVD of “Buttcrack” is an exception though.

In case you’re wondering what they sell at Horror conventions…

Creature Productions was grabbing convention attendees to put their picture on their Facebook. I snatched mine from there.

In honor of the Walking Dead guests, the convention created this great photo op

We took off and headed to visit with Jason’s friend Matt and his two twin baby daughters Addison and Julia. After an hour or so, we began our trek home. Jason volunteered to drive and I had absolutely no qualms about handing the wheel over to him. Especially when we got into a ridiculous traffic jam which put me in mind of – but wasn’t quite as bad as – the one that Denise and I had gotten into last Fall.

Matt and the ultra shy twins

Jason’s unusual departing pose

The jam did almost ruin our chances to eat at the last DD&D spot of the day. As we arrived at the Steer-In in Indianapolis, it was obvious that they were getting ready to close. Putting the other chairs on top of the tables wasn’t subtle either. But still Jason and I persevered and had what may have been the best Italian Meatball sub sandwich of all time. This was one of the signature items that had gotten it featured on the episode Soup and Sandwiches.

DD&D #20: Steer-In in Indianapolis, Indiana

Italian Meatball Sub and fries. Good stuff.

Our final meal of the road trip. Jason would begin his weight loss regimen upon return.

We finished our trek home and got back to my place around 10pm. Jason came in for a bit, while I uploaded the pictures that he had taken, some of which I desperately needed since my camera battery had died Saturday night. Yeah, shut up…I forgot my charger once again. It had been a really lucrative and fun trip and Jason proved to be a great travel partner.

2011 will continue…

Follow the trail of celebs from the Flashback Weekend show here…

Even with the scorching weather, I still didn’t spend all that much time in front of the TV, but I did finally finish the final season of All in the Family on DVD. My iPod ran almost constantly in my car, belting out the tunes of Mumford & Sons, Belle & Sebastian, Silverchair, Young the Giant, The Beatles, and I continued with Hard-Fi and the number one hits of Billboard. As I listened at home, I worked on adding even more and more to my impressive collection.

The fun…and the food….comes in just a couple days after our return and from the Nashville/Memphis/Little Rock road trip (and the weekend at Indian Lake). On that Wednesday, July 13, 2011, I went over to Jamie’s folks’ house for the evening, where her Mom prepared a dinner of ham, green beans, scalloped potatoes, and biscuits, and we put on a lengthy computer slideshow of our road trip. One of her parents’ friends named Peter brought over his large puppy Golden Retriever Molly, which added a pleasant diversion. The next day I met Mom for lunch at Chik-fil-A.

Molly-coddling

The heat subsided for long enough on Friday the 15th that employees at my office were able to enjoy a ‘Beach party’ outdoors in our courtyard. I actually won the water balloon toss with my friend Shelly, but unfortunately we lost in a game of cornhole. The prizes: a black necktie and dental floss. Very appropriate and practical. All was well until that Julie Wasserman attacked me violently with more water balloons. I ended up with my works clothes soaked and nearly fell in the courtyard fountain. It was quite a productive day.

Shelly and I were victors in the water balloon toss

I dried off and changed after work over at Jamie’s and we went on a spectacular date night, visiting our tenth restaurant in the Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives series. This was the second of two in Cincinnati, and this one was nearly to die for. Located in the middle of nowhere, Terry’s Turf Club was serving up gourmet hamburgers and filet mignon chili like nobody’s business. In fact, the name of the show that their segment was on was called Grilled, Smoked, and Sauced. Jamie and I shard a Hamburger with swiss and mushroom and burgundy sauce and also a bowl of the chili, which might in fact be the best thing I’ve eaten to date. In fact, I returned there for lunch by myself on Thursday the 20th to have some more chili and try the a burger with goat cheese and peanut garlic sauce. 

DD&D #10: Terry’s Turf Club in Cincinnati, Ohio

Jamie digs into the amazing filet mignon chili

With the burger and fries that we shared amidst the neon

After we had filled up on Terry’s, Jamie and I went to the Kenwood Theatre to catch the movie Horrible Bosses and have popcorn doused in white cheddar seasoning. It was a great movie with great popcorn and a great gal. I went back to Mom’s house to sleep that night, so I could go back over to Jamie’s the next day.

On Saturday the 16th, I headed back over around noon and kept Jamie company while she went through paperwork and I struggled with crossword puzzles. We went back to our first DD&D location, Blue Ash Chili, for lunch. This time we ordered the items that were recommended on the show: the six way (spaghetti, chili, beans, onions, cheddar cheese, and the kicker, fried jalapeno caps) and Chili Philly – which is just what it sounds like, and incredibly delicious. Jamie’s folks surprised us and joined us for our late lunch.

Are you hungry yet? This is the Chili Philly.

This time we tried the Six-Way and Chili Philly

Two familiar faces (plus mine) at Blue Ash Chili

That evening I helped Jamie get a photo scanner up and running, her Mom played board games with us, and we practiced our card tricks on her. Jamie has the market cornered on Egyptian Rat Screw and won both games. We played four games of Sequence with each of us winning, Jamie twice. And finally we played a game called The Last Word and I was the clear victor. All of this while eating ice cream, our stale leftover popcorn, and watching bits and pieces of My Strange Addiction.  

On Sunday the 17th, I finally got a day to decompress after the trip, tinkering around the house, uploading CDs, laying out, napping, and working on this here website. But by Tuesday the 19th, I was ready for more food as Jamie, her Mom, and I had dinner together at La Rosa’s and then moved on to a meeting. The next day, I met Mom for lunch again. I’ll let you guess where.

A Silas interlude: Belly struggling on Monday, July 18

It’s less of a struggle when he’s on my belly instead of his own

On Friday, July 22, there was more pizza to be had as Jamie and headed down to the heights of Kentucky to visit the home of Jamie’s long-time friend Alison and her husband Kris. They had a beautiful home and we spent a good amount of time touring and enjoying the country-style decor. Her other close friend Melissa and her boyfriend Cody also joined us.  Jamie showed off some of the pictures from our trip and then we all played a rousing game of Buzzword: boys versus girls. Boys ruled…girls drooled.

Cody and Melissa – not long after the falling ice and dog biscuit incidents

Alison and Kris – and their soon-to-be new addition

Phlegmatic souls that we are, Jamie and I were proud and pleased to pose with one of the soft household pillows at Alison’s house

The next night was the going-away party at my Mom’s house for my step-brother Bryan. He and his wife Erine were going to be heading to Germany at the end of the week, where Erine would be stationed with her job for a few years. Although still sweltering outside, there was a great turnout that included Grandpa Murphy, Tom & Diana, Denise & Aaron and the kids, and Ashleigh and Silas from my family. Plus there were scads of members of Bryan’s Mom Pat’s family, Erine’s family, and friends of the two.

We had a great time with tons and tons of food including chicken wings, hotdogs, burgers, desserts, and a ridiculous amount of sides and appetizers. We played cornhole (yes, Jamie and I were once again defeated by Mom and her minion Denise), pool (Jamie was the victor on an 8-ball scratch), hid billiard balls for Erine’s little sisters, and took turns holding little Silas. A splendid time was guaranteed for all.

Bryan and Aaron are clearly pleased with the amount of food on display

Matt and Dede Moran visit the proceedings. In the small world department, Matt is my Dad’s first cousin once-removed and Bob’s childhood friend. I also worked with Dede at the Spinning Road Kroger before I knew any of this.

Silas makes a pit stop on Denise’s lap

More futile cornhole throws

The game is momentarily halted when an uncivilized Megan-child scales the cornhole board

Back at it, Jamie hurls a bean bag at me

Adam, as tradition typically dictates, contemplates opening a can of worms

Silas’ next stop: his Mommy’s lap

Nice photo of Silas and me, taken by Bryan’s Mom Pat

Farewell to Bryan and Erine…or is it?

On Sunday the 24th, we had one more pizza dinner with another pair of Jamie’s close friends. As we began to wind down the Summer months, Jamie was quite aware of the time constraints that would soon be imposed with work-life and wanted to get in all of the friend visits possible while staying in the Cincinnati area. These awfully-kind folk living in Goshen were named David and Emily. They had two cute kids named Evan and Emma. We had a nice dinner, chatted, and craved ice cream. Eventually a passing ice cream truck remedied these cravings as Emily treated all of us to the frozen treat of our desires. I made sure that mine remained in the vanilla and peanut butter families. See photo at the top of the posting to see just how Jamie and I feel about ice cream.

Jamie pushes aside everyone, including the children, to get at the ice cream

David and Emily and the kids are most thankful for this unscheduled stop on the ice cream circuit

Even though I only had a few days to pull it all together for our upcoming vacation, I still went ahead and attended the final, final visit with Bryan and Erine…making our aforementioned party rather anti-climactic. I picked up Jamie and all of her packed-up, vacuum-sealed vacation clothes after work on Thursday, July 28. We went straight to Osaka Japanese Steakhouse near the Fairfield mall for dinner with Bryan and Erine, Mom and Bob, Erine’s family, and Bryan’s Mom and Stepfather. I can’t say that I minded this one final visit, especially when it included a Spicy Salmon, Dynamite, and Philadelphia Roll as well as Jamie’s Hibachi Chicken. We told the chef that we were sharing, and I’m fairly certain that he gave us enough food for two meals. We had plenty to take home.

Another Silas interlude: sleeping Mommy and baby on Wednesday, July 27

The teppanyaki chef clearly liked Jamie, hence the extra food for us

Erine’s sisters Adriana and Abigail takes lots of pictures to commemorate the event. Most of them were of Abigail dancing.

Jamie and me: always thinkin’ about food

Abigail, Bob, and Adriana - three pineapples in a pod

Bryan and Erine: this time it’s goodbye for real

We started the month with great food, ate it throughout, and ended at the hibachi. And sure enough, we’d begin the road trip the next morning with a quest to visit even more of the famous Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Are you ravenous yet?

July will continue with the final week-long vacation of the year…