Kandahar, Sisu, Orlando Wetlands Park, The Iron Sheik & Milk: The House of Cereal

Catching up, I first have to mention that it was sad to hear that pro wrestler The Iron Sheik passed away last week; what a fascinating life he had (if quite sad at times) and I actually got to meet him once at a wrestling show like 15 or so years ago... he was one of a few legends present for an autograph signing so somewhere I have an autographed photo of him.

I've only seen two movies theatrically since late April; Sisu was insufferable and was not as fun as you'd expect from the premise of “a Finnish dude kills many Nazi villains in Lapland during World War II” but at least Kandahar was fine... even if it was a movie filmed in Saudi Arabia so I had to figuratively hold my nose while watching it. The rest of the summer, there's a few films I plan on checking out theatrically; that includes the new Indiana Jones, which I am incredibly wary of but I really hope that is not as dreadful as it could be.

One day last month I went on over east of Orlando to the Orlando Wetlands Park; it was a place I discovered in a Facebook ad. It's a pleasant scenic area which not only has a wide variety of animals to see (birds, turtles, and alligators) but there is a new boardwalk which goes over part of the marshland which presents great views of wildlife. It was a neat thing to do once... as was this past Saturday returning to the Dezerland complex in Orlando. Yesterday I got a Groupon for usage later in the summer, and that will be at The Pinball Palace; however, the novelty place I ate at on Saturday was the amusingly named Milk: The House of Cereal. That is one of those cereal bars that have started becoming hip; you pay a few bucks for a bowl of cereal and milk; I had lemon frosted Cheerios. That was a first-time try and those were pretty good.

Otherwise, nothing important to mention about life the past month and a half or so. I'll be back in a few weeks and I know there will be more to discuss.

Bad Restaurant Experiences, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers & the Toronto Blue Jays

My bad for not doing one of these in May; this post and one I'll make tomorrow evening will have me all caught up with what I've done since April 30. It hasn't been too terribly eventful—unfortunately, the main thought in my head is that in 2023, there have been far too many poor restaurant experiences. No specific examples will be given but a long while ago I heard from somewhere the idea that the pandemic decimated the entire restaurant landscape... meaning that many of the best left the field during the time so what we get now is totally lousy at best: keeping the building clean, the quality of the food, the service, and a lack of employees in general.

Whether it be new places or ones I've revisited after a long while, too many have just let me down or at the very worst, angered me. That's why I was relieved that at some places (like local chain Oakwood Smokehouse & Grill or the T-Rex Cafe at Disney Springs) it was a huge relief that those places had no issues to speak of. Heck, me and two people went to a Golden Corral on I-Drive (their idea) and for as busy as they were, there were no complaints to be complained about.

One day I went to St. Petersburg to see the Tampa Bay Rays play against the Toronto Blue Jays; the Rays have done surprisingly great so far this season. In an exciting game that Tampa Bay almost choked away at the end-not the only time that's happened this season-and it was good times. So was visiting a Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers in Clearwater (they have two, believe it or not); it's a chain I first heard about online years ago so it was exciting to visit one around Biloxi, Mississippi back when I was in a vehicle being driven from Florida to Wichita, Kansas. They now have a few locations in Florida-one day they're supposed to debut in Orlando. It would have been preferable if that place didn't blast LOUD music or there had been some sort of snafu with my order... but at least the lady who took my order noticed I hadn't received it yet so she personally handled that and it was appreciated; so was the good quality of said food.

Otherwise, the rest of the highlights in the past 6 or so weeks will be discussed tomorrow; I would be remiss if I didn't mention that another decent restaurant experience was Ford's Garage in Kissimmee—thank heavens that place hasn't fallen.

Mountain Dew Summer Freeze, Return of the Jedi, the Big New Yorker Pizza & Sodough Square

At the end of April, there are several things to mention. One surprise was that this past Monday I was at a Walmart and unexpectedly saw that Mountain Dew had a limited edition flavor which just premiered that day. Summer Freeze has the flavor of those red white and blue pops we all had as kids. Yes, it did make me feel fine...

On another day time was spent in Orlando. Besides visiting the Publix at College Park (which has a retro exterior; the interior is normal... and cramped) there was Sodough Square, a Detroit style pizza joint named for its neighborhood which I heard about on social media. That style of pizza is fine; it was better than experiencing it frozen or from Pizza Hut, which happened in the past. Speaking of Pizza Hut—a few months ago I randomly saw a 1999 ad on YouTube for the Big New Yorker Pizza, something I only barely remembered. Thus, I had to have it when they brought it back for a limited time this year. In fact, I've had it twice I liked it so much. Don't worry, I still like Chicago-style pizza too...

The only other details I'll mention now is that I saw a pair of movies on the big screen. First was The Pope's Exorcist. It helped going in that I already knew how silly and over the top the film was. It definitely was silly and was mostly what you would expect from an exorcism/possessed motion picture. That said, it was a hoot, due to the overarching plot and Russell Crowe as the title character. Even more recent was Return of the Jedi; I couldn't turn that down, even if it was the “special edition” with added nonsense such as CG which only serves as a detriment. Despite that, it was still awesome to see it that way. In the 90's when I was a kid the original trilogy was at home on VHS so all three were watched at least a few times; those are nice memories to think of again. While Star Wars in recent years is something I'm definitely not a fan of, thank heavens that the original trilogy is timeless.

As for May, there are only a few ideas as to what I could be doing.

The Apollo Theatre, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. & The Super Mario Bros. Movie

It wasn't necessarily the idea to do one of these today. However, any plans for this random Sunday went awry; for the past several days, there's been intermittent minor pain in my right heel when I walk. I must be getting old; besides that happening to me, I can't explain how it first happened! This all turned out for the best—this afternoon I had an important phone call which was best taken at home.

I'll start with the sad news first. What shocking news it was that The Apollo Theatre in my old hometown of Belvidere would have its roof collapse during bad storms one night and unfortunately led to injury and even death. As a kid that place was driven by many times although my only time in there (once it was reopened as a venue) was an independent wrestling show in November of 2003, of all things. Seeing the photos of the devastation, it also reminded me of how little has changed downtown since I was a kid. As long as I can remember, Sam's Pizza and Lung Fung's Chinese Restaurant have been institutions so I'm happy to see they both are still in business.

Not too much has happened in the past few weeks; the restaurants I've visited were ones I've gone to before although typically not in a long while. This includes the Celebration Town Tavern, Dave's Hot Chicken and Cracker Barrel; the latter had food which wasn't as good as usual which is a shame as at least the service was quite good. Otherwise, there's been the viewing of various sports on television, whether it be football, NCAA basketball (last month I never could have imaged that one of the teams I saw live-San Diego State-would make it all the way to the finals before losing to Connecticut) or the start of the baseball season where there are some big rule changes and I'm undecided if all of them I approve of... yet.

To close this out-I may be back in a few weeks-I'll mention two recent theatrical experiences. Late last month was 2003's Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. That was a Fathom Event presented nationwide. While not even my favorite Godzilla movie of that era, it was still a good time, especially considering it was a first time watch. The other was The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Speaking of my childhood, those games were definitely played although the last one was in the 90's. There was still enough for me that I knew and while the plot was incredibly safe, that doesn't mean it was bad. In fact, the film was more entertaining and amusing than expected. It's perfect for kids and most adults shouldn't mind.

The One Time I Went to the Magic Kingdom on my 42nd Birthday

Now I am finally caught up on what I've done in almost the past two months. One thing I should have mentioned sometime earlier in the year: one evening I went to Winter Garden Village to try out an eatery from the West Coast which had just recently opened there: THE DOLLY LLAMA. What a name that is. They offer such treats as waffles, waffle cones, ice cream & shakes. While messy, what I had was still good; one day I'll make my return to try something else. Another place new to me was in the Western area of Kissimmee, known as Island Wing Company. The boneless wings I had were tasty, although not enough of them for the price. Note that the place adds in a gratuity automatically which serves as a tip for all the employees; curious, especially because I had to ask about it as they never clarified it beforehand.

February proved to be memorable and different from the norm as several people visited Florida from the Midwest. First was a great friend of Mom who has known my parents since before I was even born. Each year she visits various people in Florida and this includes me & Dad. Various restaurants were visited and while some were new to me (the small British pub known as Clermont Fish House) others were returns, such as Suncreek Brewery in Clermont or a place that me and Mom went to years ago. Randomly, while looking at Google Maps one day (what, don't you do that?) I saw that there was an eatery which sounded interesting, even if it was in a town known as Howey-In-The-Hills. Me and Mom liked JB Boondock's Bar & Grill so I don't know why we didn't return but that joint proved to be a BIG hit... I mean, bigger than I expected. I was glad to support a local establishment, even if at times some of my fellow customers were on the uncouth side. It's located right on a lake so there was great scenery. As always it was nice to see them.

More unique was that soon after they left, my sister who lives in Rockford, Illinois came down here for vacation with her beau and two small children. It was nice to see the nephew after all that time and I finally got to meet my niece. Time was spent at Disney Springs with them which included hot dogs & treats, and other trips included time spent with the aunt in The Villages and Romano's Macaroni Grill. However, the highlight was on my 42^nd birthday on February 22^nd where we went to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World. It was a LONG day as we were out of the house for a little more than 12 hours yet for two very small children they both acted as well as you'd expect for their age on a warm day in a theme park. It was a lot of fun as both familiar rides to me and ones I hadn't been on before were experienced. Heck, for the first time since I was a kid I was on a carousel period, no matter where it was located at.

While not everything went perfectly on that day, it's no big deal and that's more my neuroses than anything major; the important thing is that not only did everyone have a fun vacation, but both those little tykes liked me. I am very happy that all my nephews & niece feel that way. It was great seeing all of those relatives in the past few months as it not only added excitement, it was nice considering how the world has been the past three years & all the chaos that's happened.

I will return sometime in April, the first half of the month. Nothing is on my docket... yet.

Coca-Cola Move, Dr. Pepper Strawberries & Cream, Home State Brewing Co. & Jury Duty

I'll be writing more tomorrow evening when I return to finally catch up on recent activities, but tonight is the time to dispense some odds and ends. One day I got a haircut (yes, it was much-needed) as the next morning was jury duty. Unlike a regular jury trial, it was for a grand jury; Google can tell you the difference if you care but in short, if I had been selected it would have required going in a few mornings over the next six months and going over evidence with my fellow peers to determine if first degree murder charges would be filed in a case.

As fascinating as that process probably would have been, the time plus the huge burden in determining someone's fate like that meant that it wasn't so bad that I was not one of the jurors selected. That said, it was still an interesting first-hand experience at watching the justice system in action and the two prosecutors involved in the process at least explained the whole thing well for all almost 50 people in the juror pool, who definitely were a cross-section of Lake County residents.

The rest of this short entry will be more frivolous. I did have some new soda since early February, although not the PEEPS-flavored Pepsi yet, despite the bottle sitting in the fridge for awhile. I'll provide my opinion in April; that bottle was purchased for the novelty value as of course I am not expecting that to actually taste good! The Dr. Pepper Strawberries & Cream is as good as I figured; as for Coca-Cola Move... even now, there is debate as to its taste. There's everything from rose wine to bubblegum, coconut rum and vanilla to even popcorn (?!); what do I think? Having just had it once—no idea how to describe the taste! From what I remember it wasn't bad, per se-just strange.

As I'll mention tomorrow, various restaurants have been visited in the past almost two months, most of them familiar to me, although some I hadn't been to in a long while. One I will mention now is a place I went to solo one Sunday; it was a backup selection after I couldn't go to my first place due to an ever-typical Florida traffic jam. It was Home State Brewing Co., a brewery in the Winter Park Hamlin area. It was fine, although the service was more “eh” than anything else. I did have something unique: a peanut butter & jelly sandwich pressed on Cuban bread. Sounds wild, yet tasted fine.

Next time will be on the heartwarming side as it involves family & friends visiting Florida.

Furman Paladins, San Diego State Aztecs, Yalaha Bakery, Scream VI & Cocaine Bear

First off, my apologies for not doing one of these in way too long. In fact, by this time next week I expect to do a few more of these so I can properly catch up. Thus, I’ll be dispensing information in no particular order. This time, it will be the big event I did last Thursday, my trip to a local establishment and the two theatrical movies I’ve experienced since the last time.

Last Thursday was the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, a big deal for college hoops fans each year. This year some games would be played in Orlando at the Amway Center; as the tickets for the early games were relatively cheap (two games for barely over 20 bucks), I hadn’t been to the Amway Center in at least 5 years and I had a good time when the 2014 games were in O-Town, that’s what I did on that way. The second game was fun as the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the College of Charleston Cougars 63-57.

However, the first game was unforgettable. The Furman Paladins played against the Virginia Cavaliers. Virginia was heavily favored; among other things, the Paladins (named after the knights that guarded Charlemagne, which is pretty cool) hadn’t been to the tournament since 1980 and hadn’t won a game since Nixon was in office. Thus, many of their fans drove down from South Carolina for the game. Virginia was ahead most of the way yet Furman held on. Finally, it turned around near the end and how Furman won improbably was incredible.

The highlights that can be found on YouTube show what happen far better than my explanation of same. The Paladin fans lost their mind at the conclusion and that was great. They lost by quite a bit to San Diego State on Saturday but alas…I sat in the upper deck and while there wasn’t much legroom, at least the seats were padded so it wasn’t that uncomfortable. I need to visit the Amway a bit more often; at least I had a good time even if there needs to be more men’s rooms and getting out of the parking garage nearby took at least 10 minutes.

To mention another random activity, earlier this week I went to a German bakery that Mom liked & went to a few times yet until that time I had never visited the Yalaha Bakery. Yes, there’s a tiny town 20 miles away named Yalaha. I picked up a few times and had one; it was in fact quite tasty. After that I went to Montverde and for only the second time stopped by a great ice cream shop known as Orange Blossom Candies & Cream. As the main bridge into Montverde was finally fixed recently, my trips to Montverde will be more frequent.

Finally, the two theatrical experiences I had were for Cocaine Bear then Scream VI. CB, I mainly went as for years I’ve known of the real life story of a random bear in Georgia ingesting coke thrown out of an airplane by a drug smuggler. Of course the bear IRL OD’ed after likely a few minutes instead of going on a rampage as shown in the movie. As for the film, there were plenty of unfunny moments yet the wacky moments, actual tolerable child performers and Ray Liotta’s small role made it just fine. Fine is another word to use when talking of Scream VI. Then again, that’s also my opinion of last year’s Scream V, as it’s unofficially known as. VI had some nice moments-along with gruesome ones-although also some dumb ones, especially in the final act.

When I return real soon, I have quite a few interesting moments to discuss. Everything from new beverages and restaurants to visitors and a special trip on my 42^nd birthday.