Cook Out, Sinclair Gas, Mountain Dew Overdrive, Toasted Ravioli & Other Kansas Road Trip Anecdotes

Sometime in September I'll mention the other things I've done as of late (including my explanation of why unlike many, Alien: Romulus was a movie I did not like, and I love both Alien & Aliens) but there's plenty for me to say about how I took my first road trip in fifteen (!) years and drove a vehicle from Florida to Kansas then flew back home several days later. The reasons why aren't important—it's nothing for anyone to be concerned about. The long drive on my own wouldn't be a concern; sure, the only times that I'd been in a car on the way to Kansas as an adult was w/ someone driving but I've driven from Illinois to Florida on several occasions in the past. I had podcasts and music to listen to so that wasn't a concern.

I left on Sunday the 11^th and drove to Tupelo, Mississippi; America's Best Value Inn was just that. It wasn't fancy but at least I slept in a king bed, had a mini fridge/microwave and it was less than 100 bucks. First, food was at at a Cook Out restaurant, a popular Carolinas joint but they had one in Troy, Alabama. Their famed shakes were good but I hope their burgers aren't always burned like they were here. Dinner was at a Jack's... no, not Jack in the Box but an Alabama staple known as Jack's.

The chicken fingers were tasty; the service, rather horrible. It took me a half hour to get my food! They had an issue making food but of course it took me overhearing a conversation to know this instead of anyone informing me of that fact. Never stop at the Jack's in Parrish, Alabama. What I learned on this trip: the theory concerning how workers in certain occupations went to other jobs after COVID so at places like gas stations and restaurants in general, the average worker is not that great at their job, to say the least. I wasn't sure if it was just a Florida thing but it seems to be true nationwide.

Monday the 12^th I drove to the Wichita area of Kansas and oh boy, it left me frazzled. Not only was there busy traffic in Arkansas and Oklahoma, I was stunned by how many bad, erratic drives there were. No details but I was relieved to be at my final destination. It was at least amusing to get gas and then a quick bite to eat at a KUM & GO station (that name will soon be eradicated as they were bought out recently. Might as well, given that the food service & maintenance on their soft drink dispenser was only mediocre. It's always neat to stop at a Sinclair as hey, a dinosaur is their logo and dinos are cool.

Oh, and in Memphis a rest room stop was needed and as I literally drove by the giant pyramid that used to be an arena but now is a giant Bass Pro Shops, that's where I stopped then looked around for a short amount of time. They have a LOT in there, including a pond in the middle, restaurants and a museum. Believe it or not, me and two pals once went on Spring Break in Memphis 21 years ago and we saw the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Chicago Bulls in a game as tickets were only like 9 bucks each. The area looked great but otherwise was rather lousy. They were still building their current arena at the time. It sat abandoned for years until the bizarre idea happened for it to become a huge store. It was nice to visit there again, in other words.

I won't dwell on my time in Kansas, except that of course it was nice to hang out with family, and at one point babysit a toddler for a bit. Thankfully that turned out fine as he was usually preoccupied and otherwise didn't have any meltdowns. Nothing new was visited in Wichita yet that's OK. I did visit a Casey's in Oklahoma for a Monday evening meal the another afternoon in Kansas for a drink. I hadn't visited a Casey's General Store in many years. That's where I had Mountain Dew Overdrive (a punch) and Goji Citrus Strawberry. Both were good, as was me having LiveWire. They haven't sold LiveWire in Florida in years, sadly.

Friday the 16^th, it was time to fly home. Allegiant doesn't have direct flights to Orlando or the Tampa area so instead, it was Southwest for me. I'd never been on Southwest before; heck, I'd never been on a flight w/ a layover before either. The first flight was to St. Louis then a 2 hour wait until the flight to Orlando International. The first flight was bumpy but otherwise fine. In St. Louis it seemed a neat idea to try a local delicacy, which was sold in more than one restaurant. I had the toasted ravioli; interesting yet good.

The flight to Orlando was in the evening so was only 1/6 full. Pretty soon they'll end this practice but they still currently assign you a spot in line, where you then enter the plane and pick your own seat. Both times were aisle seats so it was much more comfortable than the typical Allegiant flight. The service on both legs was rather good; there was free (salty) pretzels and a beverage, my checked suitcase was free—so overall I was happy w/ Southwest. The airline has occasional hiccups due to their ancient computer system but don't worry, there was no issue on either Boeing 737 I was on, even the MAX that was the second leg. What a horrible past few years Boeing has had but that's another topic for another time.

Overall, even with the negatives, it was nice to see that I can still drive 20 some odd hours over the span of two days even as a middle-aged person, experience some new things, and spend time w/ family. Like I said, I'll see you in September.

Twisters, A Quiet Place: Day One, Paris Olympics & July Craziness

As it's a rainy afternoon now & the Olympics are on the TV, it was time for me to do one of these. Now, it's not been too eventful a July. Mainly, I've returned to various places to eat and for entertainment. For example, Mecum had their smaller-scale version of their auto auction in Kissimmee earlier on the month, so I went one day. The same goes for various restaurants; yesterday I ate at a Yard House for the first time since last year. Oh, and one afternoon I got a much-needed haircut; in fact, more needed than usual.Otherwise, I've watched various sports on TV (like the MLB All-Star Game) and marveled at all the wild events in July. This includes the attempted political assassination and general shocking moments in that world along w/ too many celebrity deaths of figures that were popular when I was a kid. You know, like Richard Simmons and Shelley Duvall.

The Olympics probably aren't seen as “cool” by some and I realize the exorbitant cost of hosting one. It's still entertaining to me, whether it be the popular sports or the niche ones like handball, archery and field hockey. I was amused by the opening ceremonies and how they were even more bombastic & weirder than typical—the parade of athletes in boats down the Seine, a Celine Dion musical number on the Eiffel Tower, French heavy metal bands doing a musical number about the French Revolution, a piano lighting on fire, etc. Anyhow, I know Mom would have loved watching this edition of the games; she always did. I still can't believe she passed away on the 25^th of this month 4 years ago already. Sigh...

To close this out, what I've seen theatrically since the 4^th of July:

First I'll mention Kill, a Hindi-language movie from India that not only is more interesting than its generic title, is not the wild 3 hour blend of many genres that includes musical numbers that many people assume all Indian cinema is. Rather, it's more along the lines of John Wick or the Indonesian Raid movies. The lead does battle with many villains on a train and wow does it being graphically violent. It was a blast as there was still the melodrama that you usually find in Indian cinema. It was neat seeing a serious, gruesome bloody martial arts picture from that country, and on the big screen no less.

A Quiet Place: Day One I realize is a film that some didn't like as it was more about a personal story between two characters (and a cat!) rather than an epic blockbuster about how those aliens first invaded Earth. If you're fine with that, you can be like me and enjoy a drama-thriller with many introspective moments alongside the scary alien bits. Thankfully, I've liked all the movies in that franchise so far.

Finally, last weekend was Twisters. The crowd experience wasn't the best but I won't dwell on that. Instead, it was dumb popcorn entertainment that I still had fun with, no matter how scientifically implausible it probably was. The original Twister I don't love yet does have a nice memory attached to it: the entire family saw the movie theatrically during the summer of '96.

Sometime in August I'll return. Nothing is on the agenda... yet.

Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F, Thelma, Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 & 4th of July

As I had the free time to do one of these (nothing is ever done on the 4^th of July... which is not a complaint as it's easier to relax at home & view fireworks on the TV rather than going out among the masses & trying to see some when the weather may not cooperate anyhow.), this was part of my afternoon entertainment. Aside from a haircut that was in fact much-needed, the only thing I've done of note was viewing some films.

The first one I'll mention is the Netflix special I experienced last night. For YEARS there were rumors of a Beverly Hills Cop 4, to the point I never thought there would ever be one. The first two are cool, while the third, rather bad. Finally, it happened, and... while not as terrible as 3, I otherwise wasn't a fan. The story was just lame & obvious, the presence of too much modern humor was a turn-off, Axel Foley wasn't the legacy character done the dirtiest by Axel F, and the character of Axel's daughter I could just never warm up to. When even the action wasn't shot in a thrilling way—disappointing. Still, many others like it more than me so your mileage may vary.

Last week I saw an independent movie theatrically called Thelma. It starred June Squibb, an actress in her 90's who has voiced some Pixar characters and I know her best for the 2014 independent movie Nebraska, starring Bruce Dern. Whether on stage or on screen, this was her first starring role, which is amazing. It's about a senior citizen who is ripped off in a phone scam & she wants her money back. It's a charming movie about the perils of aging which does not become condescending and it is great she teams up with Richard Roundtree-this was his last role before he died last fall.

Finally, several days ago I viewed Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1. I don't love everything he's ever done and have never seen his former show Yellowstone but I do respect how he used millions of dollars of his own money to bring an ambitious passion project to the screen—of course, this decision literally ruined his marriage and the box office performance was as mediocre as I figured for a movie that skewed towards audiences even older than me, but alas... a 12 hour epic saga Western in four different chapters in a theatrical setting is a tough sell. Me, I appreciated how it did NOT feel like a modern movie and instead I greatly enjoyed this 3 hour film (flaws & all) which juggled many different characters in several distinct settings; presumably everyone from all the settings will meet up in Chapter 4 but regardless, I saw enough where I am on board to see Chapter 2 and where they take the film. Thankfully, Chapter 2 is in early August although the rest won't be until next year.

When I return later in July, there will be more to discuss. Hopefully everyone has a nice 4^th.

Mountain Dew Summer Flavors, Run Lola Run, In a Violent Nature & Pinocchio Village Haus

Now I should finally be caught up. One thing I've enjoyed so far this summer is the THREE new Mountain Dew flavors that for me unexpectedly appear at the grocery store; of course I enjoy Liberty Chill (formerly Liberty Brew, which combines FIFTY flavors), the raspberry/strawberry Star Spangled Splash and the peach lemonade Freedom Fusion. Also good are both Pepsi Peach and Pepsi Lime along with the coconut-flavored Dr. Pepper, most of which I mentioned previously. By the way, I just learned that there is yet another new flavor, this one only at Speedway & 7-11 stores: Infinite Swirl, which sounds awfully similar to the old Typhoon flavor as it's also strawberry-pineapple. That will have to be discussed next time.

One activity I did a few days ago: return to Walt Disney World, the Magic Kingdom in particular. Thankfully it wasn't too unbearably hot or too unbearably busy. Tiana's Bayou Adventure-the replacement for Splash Mountain-will open in a few days; looking at the exterior, I noticed that a tree now partially blocked the popular view of people going down the hill... even more peculiar is that as of now, there are only small signs noting this new attraction. Why isn't there a giant sign at the entrance like there was w/ Splash Mountain? Disney has baffled me along with many others in recent years; maybe a sign will go up by the time it opens on Friday. At least for dinner I ate at Pinocchio Village Haus, a restaurant in Fantasyland which has decent food.

Regardless, I'll close this out by mentioning the two films I've watched on the big screen. First was Run Lola Run; yes, the German film from the late 90's that was 4K restored and released mainly at AMC Cinemas due to a lack of new movies. I had never seen it before. In 2024, the late 90's electronic music throughout most of the runtime tickled me pink but its unique plot/format still felt fresh now-I was glad to have finally given it a shot.

My opinion of the horror movie In a Violent Nature is far less glowing. It's a Canadian independent production which is designed to be like an 80's slasher out in the woods where the perspective is from the killer that's a blatant ripoff of undead Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13^th. Unfortunately, this means plenty of walking around doing nothing, a switch in perspective at times that belies the gimmick, insufferable characters all over the place, it was shot in a modern style, and gore so absurdly over the top it's just stupid. I HATED the movie and how the conclusion included a random 5 minute soliloquy from a new character which meant absolutely nothing. Yes, this was pretentious also & tried to “subvert expectations”, which usually really upsets me after experiencing how The Last Jedi followed that exact same formula. Naturally, many “film fans” dig it but Lord did I not.

When I return sometime in July, I should be discussing better films than that.

Oakland Athletics, Hogan’s Hangout, Eaton’s Beach, Red Lobster & TGI Friday’s

As has become customary now, this is Part 1 of what I’ve done in the past month, with Part 2’s posting to occur in around 24 hours. I’ll start with the negatives first. Several people I know (no, not immediate family) have had health issues as of late, which have included major surgery in one case. They are all fine now. However, someone I met a few times years ago—he unexpectedly died earlier in the month. The fact that he was only a few years older than me… in addition, Donald Sutherland passing away bummed me out too.

Now, onto my usual frivolity. Late in May I had the opportunity to visit the St. Petersburg area one afternoon/evening. First, I went to Hogan’s Hangout in Clearwater. Yes, that’s as in Hulk Hogan; long ago he used to have a standard restaurant in Tampa attached to a hotel but that closed. Now, he has a beach dive bar/restaurant which is as grungy as you’d expect but they did have pretty tasty shrimp. No, The Hulkstar wasn’t in attendance. Afterwards was the drive to Tropicana Field to see the Tampa Bay Rays lose to the Oakland Athletics 3-0. Not the most exciting game yet it was still fun; furthermore, due to a flash sale I had good seats for not a lot of cash. Neither team is full of superstars but that is OK.

Otherwise, nothing too extraordinary as of late. Several restaurants old to me were revisited for the first time in awhile; this includes Eaton’s Beach Sandbar & Grill in Weirdsdale w/ family, a Miller’s Ale House, Red Lobster (a shame what happened w/ them), and a TGI Friday’s where there was more staff than customers but the food was decent & the jukebox played 80’s hits… including Gerald McMann’s Cry Little Sister, as famously heard in The Last Boys! I also visited the likes of Citywalk one night and the Florida Mall one afternoon for the first time in months. Finally, a few days ago I went to Walt Disney World… the Magic Kingdom in particular.

I’ll definitely have more to say tomorrow, from movie reviews to new soda flavors.

Slim Chickens, Lotus Electre, Pepsi Peach, Sprite Chill & 76 Gas

It's been over a month so inevitably there will be something I plum neglect to mention but there isn't too much to share anyhow. There was some mundane activities such as going to the IKEA in Orlando to pick up a new pillow (the old one was literally falling apart), returning to EPCOT for the afternoon, visiting a Whole Foods and lunch at the Raising Cane's in Kissimmee; otherwise there weren't too many highs... while thankfully there weren't too many lows either.

There thankfully are some limited edition sodas for the summer. Sprite Chill is simply the soda w/ cherry, meaning it was pretty tasty. The same can be said for both Pepsi Peach & Pepsi Lime. There's also Dr. Pepper Creamy Coconut; it was purchased but hasn't been sampled as of now. To mention something completely different, at ironically a gas station I saw the Lotus Electre for the first time. The name signifies that it's the brand's all-electric SUV. It looked rather sharp, especially in British Racing Green. Speaking of gasoline, recently in Davenport I visited a new 76 gas station. It was the first purpose-built 76 around here in many years. Due to its distance, that place will only barely be visited. I wish places like that and Cumberland Farms was closer; alas, there's still plenty of decent places around the area to stop and if need be, purchase something from the convenience store.

The one new restaurant of note was Slim Chickens, located at the south tip of Celebration, meaning another place I wish was closer. There's one in Wichita but I had never been able to visit it. In fact I was impressed by the food; it's a relief that even if some places are relatively far away, there's enough places to visit for dinner when some places this year have either fallen off and are lousy or closed down.

Nothing is planned for Memorial Day Weekend; that is fine w/ me as that's usually the case. By the time I return next month, there are some plans I have in store for the next several weeks.

Spider-Man, The Mummy, Mars Express, The Blue Angels & Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

So, it's been awhile since I've done one of these. In fact, it will be another two-parter, with the second half coming about 24 hours from now. As it is easier to do, this will be devoted to the theatrical movies I've seen since the middle of April. Before that, in fact I was bummed that a few days ago, Dabney Coleman passed away. I remember him mainly as a jerk boss from the likes of The Muppets Take Manhattan (which I revisited on Sunday night as it happened to be on Turner Classic Movies) and Nine to Five, which I finally saw in full this past Saturday. I also remember him from Cloak & Dagger, a childhood favorite Hitchcock for kids pastiche that still works as an adult and is quite violent for its type.

Sony brought all the Spider-Man movies to the big screen so last month I saw the 2002 movie (which beforehand was only watched like 20 years ago because it featured Macho Man Randy Savage for a few minutes) and the 2004 sequel. Both drew big crowds and they were into the films; I was happy to watch both in such a setting, although it doesn't change my ambivalence towards comic book movies in general. Another blast from the past was 1999's The Mummy. I was happy to have finally seen that theatrically as it's still a hoot, a fun time. After that I revisited The Mummy Returns then The Scorpion King at home; bad CG aside, those are fun also.

One night was a random French animated movie & I took a chance on it. Thank heavens then that Mars Express was a very interesting futuristic sci-fi picture involving AI, robots, and a neo-noir style. It was rather rad. A few days ago, I went to an IMAX screen to check out the new documentary The Blue Angels, about the United States Navy demonstration aerial act where a small group of skilled pilots do death-defying maneuvers 12 to 18 inches from each other and it looks impressive visually. Plenty of time is spent with the pilots on the ground and it was all interesting.

In the past I've viewed all the Planet of the Apes movies; the ones from the 60's and 70's are all interesting & usually had rather dark conclusions. The 2001 film... the less said about that, the better! The new timeline that began w/ Rise in 2011, it was surprisingly great given the state of most blockbusters in the past 20 or so years—most of those I don't even bother with. Yet, that trilogy w/ Caesar as the ape leader is tremendous. I had feelings of trepidation about Kingdom as it was a new director plus new characters. Much to my relief-nitpicks aside-it was a very good movie where it was easy to enjoy Noa's Hero's Journey along with seeing the world 300 years after the previous trilogy's setting. Once again the CG was impressive although it was the bold, interesting stories that made me rate that trilogy highly. It did make me want to see the payoffs to the setup that Kingdom created.

To reiterate, I'll return tomorrow evening w/ the rest of the story.