The Terrible Catsafterme

We were starting to close in on nightfall on the evening of Sunday, June 14, 2009, as Bob and I crossed over the Delaware border during our week long road trip. This was my first time in our nation’s very first state (and second smallest) in the union. There were no Presidents from here, no Hard Rock Cafes, no ballparks, and no old long-lost friends for me to meet up with…but there was a State Capitol and that was where we were headed. However we made a couple of quick stops that night before we arrived at our final destination in Dover. Read the rest of this entry »

After driving all morning toward our destination on Sunday, July 12, 2009, the first thing that Bob and I did was obvious when we arrived in Las Vegas around noon: find an all-you-can eat sushi bar. We chose The Sushi Factory, the same spot we had previously enjoyed during our 2007 visit to Las Vegas. It was just as good as I remembered as we scarfed down the various delicacies. I mostly stuck to the expensive specialty rolls – which made up for the reasonable $21.95 lunch fee. Amidst the volcano, caterpillar, 310, the dynamite, and the myriad of deep fried, eel sauce doused raw fish, I was one happy camper. Still I didn’t quite stuff myself the way had during my previous visit. Read the rest of this entry »

From the hours of 9pm – 11pm on the evening of Monday, July 13, 2009, all was right with the world. I was sitting alone next to two strangers in the front row of the balcony at the Rio in Las Vegas enjoying my third show in this very room. I hadn’t intended on seeing Penn & Teller during my most recent Las Vegas trip. After all I had already seen them four times – in Columbus in 1994, in Dayton in 1995, and twice at the Rio in Vegas in 2005 and 2007. The last time I saw them, I felt like their routines were getting a little old. Read the rest of this entry »

It was around 12:30 on Sunday, June 14, 2009, as my friend Bob and I departed Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in search of more famous and thrilling sites in this fine state. We had already dramatically altered our itinerary by spending quite a bit of time in Gettysburg. In fact by this point just two days into our travels, the itinerary basically went out the window because we decided to zip on over to Harrisburg and get the state capitol tour completed – an activity which hadn’t been scheduled until Friday. Obviously, our original route was a bit questionable. Read the rest of this entry »

Chris and I were up, ready, and on the move again come 8am, Friday morning, May 15, 2009. We walked from the Florence apartment to the train station to purchase our tickets and depart for the destination of the day: Venice, Italy. It departed around 9am and took about two and a half hours to get to this famous city located in the northern section of the country. The city itself needs very little introduction. Famous for its canals that flow through 118 islands connected by about 400 bridges, Venice is one of the most unique cities in the world. Read the rest of this entry »