Ziggy's Pizza, Christmas Vacation, Mountain Dew Thrashed Apple, Chick N Max & Booster Shots

As 2021 is about to close and I am saddened like everyone else that Betty White has passed away a few weeks before turning 100, here is the last one of these until sometime in January. There's only two things I'll go in-depth on: receiving a booster shot on Wednesday & spending almost a week in Kansas w/ my sister and her three young sons. 2021 wasn't as bad for me as 2020 was (it'd be difficult to be worse than '20 considering that it included my mom passing away) although it still was not spectacular. At least Christmas was spent with family members and that went well.

It was great to see one of my two sisters, her beau, and three of my nephews. As stated before, they are young boys who are full of energy so I don't know how she does it-heck knows I could never be a parent. There was some “grown ups only” time and that included visiting such local establishments as Ziggy's Pizza, Chick N Max, Barn'rds, a local brewery in Wichita that outside in the back had “igloos” (actually, clear plastic over a frame; there are chairs and even a Bluetooth speaker where you can stream your own tunes), a screening of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation at a science museum on one of their domed screens* and some other places. Then again it was also fine bringing the kids out to Texas Roadhouse and Fuzzy's Tacos; in addition I bought a Mountain Dew Thrashed Apple as those are only in Kroger stores and there's no physical stores in Florida although they have a grocery delivery service in the state; yeah it does taste fine.

In addition, I went to a Duluth Trading Store for the first time and while most of the prices aren't cheap, I found a warm plaid shirt that wasn't too much. For the times in Florida that are actually on the chilly side, it will be nice to have. For the first time I saw episodes of American Horror Story—it was the season in Roanoke and it was amusing to me that part of it was found footage horror... I've seen some BAD movies in that style so while what I saw of the season was a mixed bag, I can't say it was awful. How graphically violent it was, a surprise... but again I've seen much gorier. Anyhow, the most heartwarming moment was that for a few days, a toddler thought of me as his best friend. He sat by me or wanted to sit by me, showed me things in a book he had, and was fascinated by such things as the “scary faces” on the bottle of Mountain Dew Thrashed Apple. I even did such “parent” things as wiping off his feet and pants when they got wet. I'm sure he misses me... the feeling is mutual. If nothing else, it was nice to do something really different from the norm in the dying days of this year.

Two days ago I received a booster shot. Yeah, it was after I flew to Kansas and back via Allegiant Airlines. Considering that hardly anyone wore masks out there in the heartland of America-no kidding, more people in FLORIDA had on masks in places like grocery stores-it was luck that I didn't get sick. This time the shot was in the car at the town's local health clinic. I can't even complain that it was not as efficient as it was when the first two shots were received at a dead mall... after all, they also have to constantly test people for COVID and it has to be a job that will give you gray hair. Afterwards, the experience was just like the second shot: I started to feel bad the night of and the next day was feeling icky & exhausted. At least last night I got a great night's sleep and right now is a 180 from the previous day.

While the virus flaring up again is definitely cause for concern, I still hope that 2022 will feel more like “real life” than the past two years have. I am not doing a thing New Years Eve or New Years Day, which is how I want it to be. A few things are on the docket for January so I'll have things to write for next time.

* The picture was only on part of the screen... and obviously was a Blu-ray projection. That is OK as that was my first theatrical experience w/ the film and it was clear why Exploration Place played the movie a few times: the screening I was at was sold out. Many people did cosplay (not us, though) and alcohol was served. Of course it was fun times.

USF Football, Reese's Pieces Pancakes, Sickies Garage, King of the Coup & CHEETOS Mac & Cheese

As promised yesterday, here is me catching up on the highlights of what I've done the past three months. Honestly, there isn't too much to write about: sure I went to Walt Disney World twice-where my plan to FINALLY go on the Star Wars ride Ride of the Resistance went awry as it broke down-as it typically does-and Universal Studios CityWalk once but otherwise I haven't been on too many adventures. The most interesting journey was on November 6, where I went to Tampa to see the USF Bulls against the Houston Cougars. It was only the second time I was ever in Raymond James Stadium, which is primarily the home of the Tampa Bay Bucs. It was a fun time; while Houston was much better than USF, it was a shootout so the final score was the Cougars 54, Bulls 42. The seat was in the corner of the end zone only a few rows up, for a nice price. On the drive to Tampa, I stopped in Wesley Chapel at a restaurant I had just heard of hours beforehand: King of the Coup. They do serve some tasty chicken.

Besides mentioning a few restaurants I've gone to, here is one surprising food admission when it comes to what I make at home: the one macaroni & cheese meal that always turns out right each time and is tasty: CHEETOS Mac & Cheese; I am as surprised as you are. BTW, the Applebees Cheetos boneless wings were not as tasty, although I was more impressed with their exclusive Mountain Dew flavor Dark Berry Bash. In September at IHOP I had their limited edition Reese's Pieces Pancakes and those were pretty good. Now, onto the restaurants I've gone to which are worth mentioning:

In Davenport one night I and some other people went to the Hungry Crab; it was a standard seafood place and while the service wasn't great, at least the food was decent... although it wasn't the best shrimp I've ever had. Then again, I did not love the shrimp either at a much fancier restaurant: the Columbia Harbor House in Celebration. At least I enjoyed the vibe in that place so one day I'll have to return there. One place I dug that just opened in Kissimmee: Sickies Garage. Wacky name, but that car-themed place is a small chain that started in the Dakotas, of all places. Both the food and atmosphere were pretty good so I'll definitely return in the future. I just wish it was closer to me and it was not a hassle to get there as it requires to be the perpetually busy Highway 192.

If there's anything important I forgot to mention, I'll bring it up next time, which for certain will be on December 31 where primarily I'll talk about the different experiences I will have the latter half of December. I should have a Happy Holidays, in other words.

Space 220, Candyman, Malignant, No Time to Die, Last Night in Soho, Dune & Halloween Kills

I realize, this has been a LONG, LONG time coming. I haven't felt like doing one of these in months for a variety of reasons. It is nothing major or anything to be concerned about; it's more apathy than anything else, yet I am doing fine overall despite some ups & downs and not everything going as expected. Just note that I've overall been fine as of late, there is a reason why I am doing this now (and will post again tomorrow where I'll reveal more highlights of the fall season) and for certain I'll return on the last day of 2021 to talk about something which I won't reveal until then. For now, a special restaurant I visited then some of the movies I've seen as of late.

Space 220 is a new restaurant at Epcot and it is heavy on a theme-in this case, on a simulated elevator ride you are having (an expensive) dinner at a space station. As I've been interested in the topic since a little kid, I had the urge... so much so, I went there on opening day. There was a long wait but to me it was literally worth the wait. It is a one time only thing for me-it is an place that offers three course meals where I had such food as “burrata di mozzarella”, artichoke hearts, romesco, “haricot vert”, and “potato leek croquette”, which is way outside my usual wheelhouse. As I never eat at fancy restaurants, it was worth doing it once, although otherwise I am fine eating at sports bars and whatnot. The atmosphere there IS great.

Now, onto the movies I've seen theatrically...

Somehow I did not mention that I saw the Candyman remake/sequel back on the 1^st of September. It wasn't as good as I had heard. While it had some moments, it had major issues and the apparent message of “all white people are bad” was controversial...

Malignant: No surprise that many in the general public were baffled by this. It was made for a specific niche audience—one I happen to be a part of so I knew the influences and was able to guffaw at how bonkers it got in the final act.

Halloween Kills: Meh. I had major problems with the story, ones where the graphic violence on display couldn't help mask.

Last Night in Soho: While parts of the plot I could carp about, overall it was pretty good. Great lead performances, stylish atmosphere and a groovy soundtrack definitely help.

Dune: It was great. I've never read the book but this was quite the journey. The David Lynch original movie was compromised yet isn't as bad as you may have heard.

No Time to Die: Another “Meh”. It was way too long and a bad final act culminated in a decision I don't understand or agree with.

House of Gucci: It was fine, although talk about tone issues. Some performances are more nuanced while some (especially Jared Leto) are way over the top.

 

Oh, and I saw Gremlins theatrically last Friday night. It wasn't my first time as an adult; the movie s still an 80's classic.

Like I said, another one of these will go up tomorrow afternoon where I'll share the rest of the story.

Boise State, Candyman, Nathan's Hot Dogs & KN-95 Masks

Now I am finally caught up with whatever interesting events have happened to me as of late. I do have to note that I can't believe either the pandemic has gone on for 18 months; it's still being taken seriously by myself as just recently someone I know (not a family member) tested positive for the virus. At least I have enough masks to last for awhile, including a KN-95. Nothing more will be said about the pandemic or masks as some who possibly will read this are anti-mask and courting controversy is just not a good idea for myself.

On a happier note, the 2^nd of this month was the start of the college football season and for the first time I saw a game at UCF's stadium; it's been open since '07 yet the motivation only happened now. It was a big deal game against Boise State; Mom would have been real interested as she loved Boise's team for years—ever since they won a huge game in an upset as underdogs. Parking was a nightmare (the instructions the school gave for that was not entirely correct-always a good thing...) and due to lightning the 7PM kickoff did not happen until 9:45 but I was there the entire time and in an exciting bout, UCF won 36-31. Always nice was that I sat by random people who were not obnoxious idiots. As it took a long while to walk back to the car and the school's campus is on the East side of the Orlando metroplex area, it was not until almost 3 AM that I returned home! That said, it was a fun time and later in the year I plan on viewing at least one smaller-level football game in person sometime in the fall.

Movie-wise, I've seen a few. On Netflix I did see He's All That, which was a poor version of She's All That... but was not as awful as you may heard; it has nothing to do with the small role from Rachael Leigh Cook, I swear! On the big screen, The Protege was not a must-see yet was still a fun action film. Candyman, that was disappointing. For the original's flaws, at least it was a solid and interesting story which had nice scares. The new one had various story issues-especially in the final act-and possibly was anti-white... certainly it was anti-cop. Lord, it's also incredibly unsubtle. Restaurant-wise, I went or got food from some familiars-one that was new was in Kissimmee's Old Town: Nathan's Hot Dogs. As long as you go there during a non-busy time and parking is not an issue, Old Town is still pretty cool. Instead of a hot dog I had my “almost always” of a burger and fries—it was fine.

I will have more to discuss when the next one of these is done-which will be in a few weeks' time.

Jungle Cruise, Hyundai Santa Cruz, & The Delta Variant Blues

First off, apologies for not doing one of these much sooner; there just hasn't been enough motivation until now. However, I for sure will return a week from today-or perhaps in six days, on the 13th-as I will need another one of these to cover what I've done the last time I posted here. Presumably no one will fault for me for feeling blah in the latter half of the summer season... besides COVID still being a big deal down here & the Delta variant being a thing (nothing else will be said about that, for risk of getting someone upset in some way), July of last year was when Mom passed away and early August was when she was buried in the northern part of Illinois. I don't believe either that it's been a year since all of it happened; things not having changed too much since the beginning of 2020-at times 2021 seems like 2020 Part 2-does cloud one's sense of time. Thus, I'll try to be positive here; I won't talk about the snafu that resulted in me swearing off the restaurant chain Hurricane Grill & Wings forever-I used to like them...-or how Florida traffic hasn't improved, or how no matter the line of work in Florida, it is seemingly impossible for someone to return your phone call or e-mail as if they don't want your money...

Instead, there isn't too much to say in Part 1. At least the Olympics happened; while they weren't quite the same, it was still a nice diversion. The marquee sports were cool, although it was also nice to see niche events that otherwise are unable to be seen by me: archery, water polo, handball, field hockey, diving, etc. Movie-wise, I've seen some theatrically. That G.I. Joe Snake Eyes film was a total meh... just like all the other G.I. Joe live-action films. Jungle Cruise turned ludicrous and was rather blatantly patterned after the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, yet the charm of The Rock & Emily Blunt was a big asset so it wasn't something I hated. 

For restaurants, many were revisits and some I went with other people; at more than one it had loud obnoxious people and I've grown more tired of that... otherwise can't complain about revisiting Gator Joe's or exposing the people I was with to the tasty local seafood joint 145 Degree Seafood Boil. It was funny that one day there was discussion w/ me and someone else about the brand new Hyundai Santa Cruz, a slightly-raised crossover vehicle w/ a pickup bed that is the new El Camino. It was a shock to see a Santa Cruz in a parking lot just a few hours after that conversation. The only new place I visited was one I stumbled upon online one day: Kiwi's Pub & Grill in Altamonte Springs. While the New Zealand theming wasn't as strong as it could have been, otherwise it was a fine sports bar which had decent food & nothing to really carp about.

When I return in six or seven days time, I will have more to discuss: college & pro football, more movies, and perhaps another new restaurant to give quick thoughts on.

A Quiet Place, Ford Mustang Mach-E, Nick Filet & Escape Room: Tournament of Champions

I do apologize for getting this out late in the month when I had the idea to have it done early in July. Part of me was putting it off and part was waiting to update until after Tropical Storm/Hurricane Elsa... turns out, that did not pass anywhere close to where I live. Honestly, there's only a few things to mention as the rest is probably too mundane.

Late last month I saw both A Quiet Place and its sequel back to back theatrically in a 2 for 1 screening they had one night across the country. Believe it or not it was the first time seeing both; December of '18 someone I know asked if I had seen it yet and I had to tell them “no”. Even if they don't read this, eventually this person will be informed that I enjoyed both movies, and in a rare example the second was a little better than the first.

Let me mention the other two movies I saw between then and now: Summer of Soul, a great documentary about a series of concerts held in Harlem back in '69 that featured an amazing lineup of talent (Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, B.B. King, Sly and the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Gladys Knight and the Pips, etc.) and the footage shot was never seen until now. The second was Escape Room: Tournament of Champions. The first one was silly yet fine. This sequel was quite a bit dumber and had an even worse ending than the original.

To mention a few other quick notes before closing this out:

Late June I returned to Walt Disney World, Epcot in particular. While a rainy day, it was still fun and believe me, it was different being there alone compared to escorting my sister and two typical young boys around.

I've seen a few different examples of the brand new Ford Mustang Mach-E; it's not an electric version of the traditional sporty coupe... rather, it's an electric crossover SUV! No one understands the name either unless it was to get attention... which has worked. At least it looks real nice.

The last two times I've had a haircut were April and yesterday. Indeed, both were much-needed.

The one interesting restaurant I've been to is one I discovered online. In Dr. Phillips is a quick service place known as Nick Filet. I can't explain that name either or its logo of a random bearded dude, but it's a chain from Pennsylvania which has the gimmick of offering pieces of filet mignon as burgers. It's not the cheapest place but at least it was good.

I'll return sometime in August... who knows when exactly.

The Baltimore Orioles, Graffiti Junktion, Yeoman's Cask & Lion, & Walt Disney World Adventures

I'll start this off chronologically, which is also starting off with the most interesting event in the preceding month: for the Memorial Day weekend and a few days after, one of my sisters and two of my nephews were down here for the purpose of the boys' visiting Walt Disney World for the first time ever. I escorted them around all four parks and they loved some of the rides. For me, I went on some rides for the first time in ages or for the first time ever (the Tomorrowland Speedway, the Astro Orbiter, Slinky Dog Dash) and that was nice, although of course the best aspect was spending time with them when otherwise I only get to see them a few days each year. It was still bittersweet in a way as if mom was still around, she would have taken them to WDW instead and I know she would have loved the experience. That said, I was happy to escort them around instead.

What I wasn't happy about: Memorial Day, the gang plus dad went to a restaurant in town for dinner. My sister asked how Graffiti Junktion was... this local chain was only visited by me once a few years ago and I recalled that it was fine. It wasn't fine this time. Besides not having enough wait staff for everyone there, our waitress was just bad at her job; even worse was that some in our party had fine food but others-including me-had a bad-tasting meal. So yeah I will never go there again and I recommend that others follow my lead. At least I went to a restaurant new to me I liked: Yeoman's Cask & Lion... yes, a joint with a British theme, located at the Margaritaville resort in Kissimmee. That is a place worth visiting if you're able to.

On the 11^th of this month, I went to my first baseball game since August of '19; it was the Tampa Bay Rays hosting the Baltimore Orioles. The crowd was less than usual due to restrictions (insert your own Rays attendance issues jokes if you have any) but I was still happy to return and discover that for better or for worse, Tropicana Field was the same as it was during my last visit. Baltimore-a rebuilding team which may be fine in a few years but has the misfortune of being in a very tough division-had a 2-0 lead before the Rays came back and won 4-2. Until the last week, Tampa was one of the best teams in baseball. It's just a shame that Major League Baseball decided it was a wise idea to have a midseason change and eliminate “foreign substances” from being used as pitchers when they've unofficially been used for decades... and as I saw in person, they also need to fix their instant replay system as even with that too many calls are not ruled right. Typical MLB...

I should be back sometime around the 4^th of July as I know there will be a thing or two to discuss between now and then.

Fazoli's, Pepsi Blue, White Castle & Other Bits of Nostalgia

I am pushing this out right before Memorial Day weekend as I actually have plans for the extended weekend (and a few days after) which I'll explain sometime in June when I return. As typical in the past year or so, things have been not exciting aside from events that I mostly won't share here. At least I feel better than I did the last time one of these were typed up... at least this time there was no random person that completely acted rude to me when I needed them to fix something-long story. There have been ups and downs; at least things are more normal now than this time in April. I once again visited restaurants I had been to before-such Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux-although that was fine because I really dig their food; I also returned to Blaze's Pizza at Disney Springs. A new (to me) place was visited... for years I drove by Fiddlers Green Irish Pub & Eatery in Winter Park and finally one night it was time to try it out. It had fine food and was a nice cozy place.

The rest of this short entry will concern nostalgia; recently I was at the Magic Kingdom and for the first time in years I went on the Jungle Cruise ride; it was as cheesy and corny as ever. A few weeks ago I saw Top Gun theatrically-yes, really. Speaking of cheesy and corny... finally, a few times I was reminded of being a young adult in Illinois before I moved down here to Florida. To my surprise, in a Walmart cooler I saw that Pepsi Blue has made a return for this summer season. It tastes exactly like how I remembered... many will think that's a bad thing but to me it was more odd than bad. It will be drank a few times in the upcoming months. Not that long ago, Fazoli's returned to Florida after being gone for years; those in the Midwest will be surprised to hear that; as one of the few locations is in my town, that will be visited more than once in a blue moon.

Finally, the restaurant just opened in Orlando that has had hours long waits ever since the door first opened is... White Castle. I know people in Illinois will HOWL with laughter when they hear that WHITE CASTLE has been so popular, every day for a few weeks now people have had to wait hours at the drive-in and in the restaurant. I have no idea why Floridians are so insane for burgers that I don't even eat (way too many onions) and the rest of the food is acceptable at best and many-including me-only ate there late at night after a drunken night out or in my case, the times I was around Chicago attending a wrestling show and needing a quick bite before going back home. Needless to say, it will be a long while before I can discover if their chicken rings combo is as OK as I remembered.

When I return sometime in June, I'll have some pretty exciting things to share; stay tuned...

Second Vaccines, Wawa Pasta, Internet Issues, Weeb Establishments & Mortal Kombat

The reason why I did not post this late last month was that I've had Internet issues which I don't even want to get into as I wish for this to be positive instead of negative. Just note that these issues have finally been fixed just earlier today. Things haven't been great since I received the second vaccine on the 19^th but that has nothing to do with the vaccine itself aside from it making me feel puny (to borrow a term I heard elsewhere) for about a day-when the first shot did not have that effect on me. Of course I am glad to now be fully vaccinated; that is one less thing to worry about. Despite what's happened to me as of late, I can't complain; a sobering reason why: something terrible happened recently to two people I know... I feel horrible for them both.

I will mention a few positives that have happened for me. I've been forced to go to Starbucks a few times as of late (long story) and at least they have some tasty drinks that aren't coffee-which has way too much caffeine for me, to be honest. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to try any restaurants new to me but at least recently I returned to a Miller's Ale House, which has tasty food; hopefully that will change this month. At least I discovered that at some (but not all) Wawa convenience stores they now offer pasta. It was not an A+ meal but it did taste fine, especially for the price. One night last month I had to pick up someone late from Orlando International; to kill time I visited a place I heard about from someone I know. Ready Game Begin is a joint which has computers for people to game that way, along with the modern consoles to play various videogames, an anime store, anime playing on a TV (when I was there, it was One Piece), and even a small cafe which offers a few food & drink items. I posted about it on Facebook and the person who I figured would love to visit the place... I was correct. It was nice to pay a flat fee and spend some time playing fighting games, such as the latest Mortal Kombat. Speaking of that...

Recently I saw the new Mortal Kombat movie on the big screen; in the 90's I played the first few games at the arcade and as an adult, some of the games were played on console. Yet I am not a superfan of the property, so that does affect my opinion. While I do get why some were disappointed or didn't even like it at all, my opinion was that it was a goofy movie which at least was entertaining nonsense and had the gory moments you'd expect from a game that got a LOT of heat in the 90's for having those graphic kills. Another movie I saw theatrically was one of those pretentious horror movies-which have become popular in the past decade even though most of the ones I saw were overrated to me-called In the Earth. It's set in the woods and only has a few characters; while having some interesting ideas, overall it was not that enjoyable to me so my opinion was “meh”.

Barring any new issues/complications, I will be back late this month with hopefully a surplus of positive, interesting tales to tell.

Vaccines, Amazon Lockers, A&W, Nobody & Godzilla vs. Kong

Last night I typed this up as it was time for me to finally catch up on what I've done as of late that is worth making public. To begin with the most important news, a week and a half ago I received the first of two shots of the vaccine (Pfizer, to be exact) in Leesburg at a mall that is mostly dead. I'll give all the workers there credit for running an operation that ran without any issue, the lines constantly moving and the whole ordeal-not just the shot itself-a painless afternoon. I'll be getting the second shot later in the month.

In addition, something I should have mentioned last time around: for the first time in ages I was at Old Town in Kissimmee one late afternoon. It's a quaint area of shops, restaurants and attractions which I stopped going to because (in part) they started charging for parking unless you were lucky enough to find a free spot. I found that to be dumb so I stopped going. Finally, I returned and the majority of it was the same as before; that was comforting. I ate at the A&W since I had been there before and never had a problem. Well, this time the food was not too good so I'd recommend not going there; next time I'll try something new. At least another place I returned to recently-the sports bar/restaurant known as Friendly Confines-still has good food and atmosphere. In addition, as of late I have used the Amazon Locker service. It is handy to have items delivered to lockers that are located (in this case) outside the convenience store of a gas station; I can pick them up while driving back from somewhere.

In the past week and a half, things haven't been too exciting-including Easter-except that I went to a pair of movies. The first was Nobody, which was similar to John Wick because it was from one of the people that wrote the first film. While absurd at times it was still a good time for action fans. Godzilla vs. Kong I could have watched at home via HBO Max but an action extravaganza like that needed to be seen on a huge screen, which is exactly what I did. Now, some of those Godzilla movies in the past are pretty strange; I mean, his entry vs. Biollante had many bizarre elements including ESP, genetic terrorists and a villain that's a combination of Godzilla cells, a human spirit and a rosebush! Godzilla vs. Kong was even stranger than that, for reasons I won't spoil here. While bonkers, the movie was still a great old time for me as it more than delivered on the premise of giant kaiju monsters doing battle with each other. Plus, there's plenty of neon lights and unexpected musical cues-the film worked for me.

I will return late this month; while not much is on the agenda as of now, at least there will be talk of me getting the second and last shot of the vaccine.

Buc-ee's, 145 Degree Seafood Boil, Sprouts Farmers Market & My 40th Birthday

I realized the last time I did one of these, it was proclaimed by myself that the next one would be out by the end of February. Honestly, I have not felt like doing one of these until now. Next week will be another one of these; that is because there will be a few things to discuss. Among other things, yesterday I received the first of two vaccines (Pfizer, to be exact). That went fine but more details will be provided next time.

To go in chronological order, I'll mention that last month my mom's best friend visited for a little more than a week. It was nice for me, dad and her to visit various restaurants. Not all of them enforced a mask policy and one had NO employees wearing masks, but as I know not everyone will agree with me and my opinion on such things... I'll just say that there's hardly been any issue with me wearing a mask for all these months. Thankfully the decision I made to visit Universal Studios CityWalk on Fat Tuesday did not turn out to be a disaster (even if Moe's was the restaurant chosen as most of the other places were booked solid) as everyone liked the food and liked seeing what that area looks like now.

On the 22^nd of February I turned 40; it's amazing to me too. For the day, my main activity was visiting Disney Springs and checking out two locations that had just opened: an M&M's store and an Everglazed Donuts & Cold Brew. Purchases were made at both and the latter makes rather tasty donuts. After that there's been plenty of dull moments, although that wasn't a big deal to me. At least I can recommend a local restaurant that recently opened: 145 Degree Seafood Boil. I've ordered shrimp from there more than once as One time I was at the Animal Kingdom and that was neat but other than that, the last week or so was when some interesting things happened. For the first time I went to a Sprouts Farmers Market, an obvious competitor to Whole Foods. It also reminded me of Lucky's Market, a place I wish hadn't gone all but defunct.

Last week, a day was spent going on my longest road trip in what had to be about a year and a half: to Daytona Beach as I visited the just-opened Bucee's gas station and massive convenience store. It's a cult favorite in Texas and now has locations in both Daytona and St. Augustine. I've known of it for a few years so I wanted to visit. Finally I was able to and the sheer amount of different products offered was staggering: some sporting goods, various bric a brac home goods (such as those signs that some people hang around the house), clothing, and more than just food & drinks... there are several stations where food is offered: brisket, various sandwiches, fudge, chicken tenders-which I had and they were acceptable-and even various kolaches. Various items were purchased while I was there, including incredibly cheap gasoline. That wasn't the only thing I did in the area but it was definitely the highlight. Like I said, I'll be back soon with some new adventures to share.

New Restaurants, Epcot, The Marksman & the 2021 Doldrums

I figured it was finally the time to stop putting this off and give a recap of what I've done since Christmas Eve. On December 25 a Christmas meal was had at a relative's place and once again that was nice; the first Christmas without mom was sad but I tried to make the best out of it. As always, I stayed in on NYE and the night of January 1 Wonder Woman 1984 was seen... on the big screen. The first one I have seen so I might as well check out the sequel, right? Well, 1984 was really bad and had a laughably juvenile story.

As of late I have gone to a few restaurants new to me, usually to eat at but one was carry-out. Let me mention them:

* Piesano's is a new place in town; their pizza was fine.

* Juicy & Crab: It is a seafood place in Kissimmee. Their grub was pretty good.

* I went to a Fuzzy's Taco Shop. It is a bar/restaurant and the place was WAY too loud. The food wasn't anything special either so no thank you.

* Last weekend I ate twice at Sunset Walk in Kissimmee. Saturday was BENTO, as I've never had a poke bowl before. Mine was white rice with shrimp and teriyaki chicken; personally, the rice tasted off and the chicken had too much fat. While the shrimp was fine, it's not a place I'd go to again. I will try other places that have poke bowls. Sunday was Lizzie's Memphis Style Barbecue; that was more my taste.

2021 so far has had its ups & downs. Some days were rotten due to various small things that happened. One of them was when I went to Mecum in Kissimmee. Way too many people were walking around without a mask on and even if it was an open-air event, everyone was required to wear one so I couldn't tell you why this wasn't enforced. That made me hot for a number of reasons and subsequently that was my least favorite time at that event. I am glad that later in the year there are exciting plans in store; only after they happen will I discuss them but they will be nice breaks from the norm.

The only other event of note was my seeing the movie The Marksman on the big screen one day. It was a typical standard Liam Neeson action drama which at least was competent. I'll close this out by mentioning that a few days ago I went to Epcot to renew my Disney Annual Pass. There's still a lot of construction at the park; once it's all completed there will be much that will look different; I don't know if it'll be “better” but different, that I know will be true. Late this month I shall return; my birthday is around the corner and that is one a few things I know I'll be discussing.