Scary Stuff

With the rising of the Great Pumpkin just around the corner, I found a little gem last night on Smashwords that's both a trick and a treat.  The book is called Tome Of Terror.  It's an anthology of short horror stories, each one a treat in and of itself.  The trick is, it's totally free!  I've included the link here for you:  Tome Of Terror

Grabbed a case of Sam Adams Octoberfest yesterday.  It is truly worth every penny.  This sweet tasting marzen brew is the perfect autumn treat for any little ghoul, ghost or goblin  (humans too!).

Raven About It

It took me a while to get this one done.  This Archfather Corvis figure from HiTech Miniatures turned out to be pretty decent looking.  The sculpt and pose are alright.  I like the base and the wings.  The talons and jet pack could have been improved.  The talons are brittle and the jet pack just looks odd in my opinion.  I kept our little Raven Lord in basic black with metallic white, blue, and silver accents.  See picture below.

What I'm not raving about is the brush-less car wash at the new Sheetz in Murrysville.  I took my car down there over the weekend.  I did the high-end wash on it.  It looks about the same as when I drove it in.  Maybe they haven't worked out the kinks in the system yet, I don't know.  What I do know is it needs to be improved greatly!

To end on a positive note: I don't usually eat fast food.  But Saturday morning I was in a hurry and just decided to grab some grub at the drive-thru.  I got 2 bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit sandwiches and a large coffee at Mickey Ds. Filling, inexpensive, and tasty.  I gotta say, "I was lovin' it!"

I'll Be Watching You

The Kabuki Dark Knight that I just completed was one of my favorite builds to date.  I really hated how the model was to be positioned on the base, so I made some changes.

As you can see in the picture, the model is kneeling on some debris which is sitting right on top of the base.  I thought that this looked odd.  To me, it looked like our little Lord of Darkness should be perched on high, staring down at his potential prey.  So, here's my interpretation of the creature that haunts our dreams.

The base is from Secret Weapon Miniatures.  The column/wall section is from Scibor Miniatures. The rest is from Kabuki Studios which I modified to sit on top of the wall section.  I added some rubble, additional vines, and a skull to the base.  I think that it looks much more true to the character than what Kabuki had envisioned for it.  I have attached a pic of the finished model.  See what you think.

Talkin' Smack About Mackinac

Time for a road trip.  Destination:  Michigan.  We decided to check out a couple of places that we had always wanted to go: Mackinac Island and Henry Ford's Rouge Factory in Dearborn.  Packed the car. We all got in and away we went.

Mackinac Island 

We arrived in Mackinaw City which is on the lower peninsula end of the Mackinac Bridge  (amazing to see) to catch our ferry ride to the island.  Mackinaw City is a cool little place with an array of interesting little shops to check out.  (It kinda reminded me of Rehoboth.)  We parked our vehicle with Shepler's and boarded the ferry.  The ride to the island was scenic and enjoyable.

Arriving on the island, we got our luggage and made our way across the street to the Bicycle Street Inn.  Our room there was spacious and exceptionally clean.  The beds were a tad hard.  The continental breakfast that they offer in their Winchester Restaurant was DISGUSTING!!!!!!  There were flies on the food.  The food was cold or was stale.  The facility itself was cramped and dirty.  Finding someone  to clean a table for us was a chore in and of itself.  We tried to eat there the first morning of our stay, but thought the better of it.  We ate elsewhere the next few days.  For what they charge to stay at the inn, they should be embarrassed to serve their customers in such a poor manner.

If you like fudge, ice cream, cheesy touristy souvenir traps, and horse poop, then you'll love Main Street.

 Upside on Main Street:  You can rent bikes to ride around the island.  (I highly recommend that you do.  The majority of the island is breathtakingly beautiful. Take a leisurely ride and check it out. Arch Rock is a must see!)  If you want to eat, go to Riley's Grill.  Sit down by the harbor and enjoy the view.  Loved the food there (although they ran out of clam chowder by noon). Our waiter, Steve was fantastic!  Great place for a relaxing meal.  There are fudge places every few steps.  Grab some and and take a stroll up the street.  There are historic spots to see like Fort Mackinac.  If you are a pizza lover, then you MUST go to Doud's Market.  They serve pizza in the back of the store by the slice.  I'm not exaggerating in the least when I say we felt this was the best pizza that we have ever eaten.  We went back several times for it.  It really is that good!

Downside on Main Street.  It smells like horse crap.  The stuff is everywhere.  Seriously, watch your step!  It can get sot of crowded depending upon the time of day.  People on bikes are flying around up and down the street.  The stores become the same things over and over.  Goodfellow's Restaurant is pricey and the food isn't that great.  We had burgers and fries one night.  Not good.  The burger had no flavor and the fries were cold and hard as a rock.  I actually thought that I chipped a tooth on a French fry.  The service was bad as well.  Needless to say, we didn't go back.  We found the that the people that we interacted with there (workers) were either super friendly or super rude, which we found odd.

Not on Main Street.  We loved walking down Market Street.  There are some great shops and historical spots.  By far the friendliest people we met were in the shops on Market Street!  Also, you have to take the "Sip and Sail" twilight cruise.  It was a blast!  You get to see the sunset on the water, a trip to and under the Mackinac Bridge (short history lesson too), and entertainment to boot.  (We had singer, Charlie Reager on the night we went.  He had us all belting out tunes right along with him.  Great time!)

It poured down rain the day that we left.  As efficient as Shepler's was on the way to the island was as inefficient as they were when we left it.  No one gave any direction as to were to put your baggage for transport on the ferry.  When we got back to Mackinaw City, we had to retrieve our luggage in a building that was probably a good eighty yards from the boat (remember it was raining like no tomorrow), then walk to another location to catch a van to get our vehicle.  When we finally got to the car, we were drenched!  The entire thing would have probably been fine on a nice sunny day.  Shepler's really needs to put in place a more accommodating plan for their customers when the weather is inclement!

The Rouge Factory Tour

Roughly four hours later, we were in Dearborn to see Henry Ford's famed manufacturing facility.  My youngest son and I are big car buffs and had long talked about visiting The Rouge.  It was not to disappoint.  The only bump on the road with our visit was making all of us stand in the rain as they checked our tickets to board the bus that took you to the actual facility.

Great tour!!   Cool informative films, self paced visit of the factory (we got to see them making the F-150s), and sky room view of the entire complex.  There are other things to see and check out at the complex, but we ran short on time.  All in all, the tour was worth the time and the money.  If you get the chance, check it out!

While the road trip was fun and relaxing, it's good to be back home.  I've already started thinking about "where to next?"  I'm thinking Texas.  I guess that we'll just have to wait and see, pardner!

Pulled Into The Station

I went with a bunch of friends last night to Cooper Station in Sarver, PA.  It's a little bar/restaurant that has a railroad theme to it.  In fact they have an old caboose in the parking lot.  The place is immaculate.  They have a great selection of food and beverages and the prices are very reasonable.  Our server was quick and efficient especially, considering the size of our party.

My only gripe is that some of the food was overcooked when it came out.  The chicken on my sandwich was extra extra extra crispy and two of my friends who ordered wings found them much the same.  These orders should have never been sent out to the customer.  Many of the other orders were fine. All in all it was great to be able to share a meal and some drinks with friends.

All aboard for Cooper Station???  Maybe.  I'll have to wait and see who my travel companions are going to be

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Cruisin'

I just got back from a cruise.  I hadn't been on one in over 25 years.  The ship that we (me and the family)  sailed on was the Carnival Pride.  While, for the most part, we had fun, there was some items that could have been improved.

I'll start with Carnival itself.  The Pride is older ship  and needs some TLC.  The constant upselling was totally annoying!!!!  You couldn't even enjoy dinner without someone in your face hawking pictures or drinks.  The excursions were pricey.  We did our own thing on the islands for a lot less and had a ball. Our cabin was tiny, but we managed.  The pools were small and crowded.  Get there early if you want to grab a lounge chair.

There was plenty to do on-board: karaoke, gambling, contests, shows, movie nights, and more.  There were some cool shops and bars as well.

We had bad seas on the way down and back.  I can only blame Mother Nature for this.  The waters calmed down while we were at the islands.

The three islands had much to be desired. Turks and Caicos were by far the best and prettiest.  The people were extremely friendly.  We went to Pillory Beach and swam and paddle boarded.  I have traveled globally and have to say that this is one of the prettiest places that I have ever seen.  Truly beautiful!!!!  Half Moon Cay was a bust and Freeport wasn't much better.  Both were kind of junky and touristy.  We did enjoy Margaritaville in Freeport.  The temp was hot and humid as one might expect in the Caribbean.  I thought that it was funny that even the locals were complaining about the heat.

Pillory Beach

The food (which was amazing on my first cruise)  I'd give an overall rating of a B+ on this one.  There is plenty of it and you can literally eat 24-7.  My favorite place to eat on the ship - Guy Fieri's Burger Joint.  I have to say these may be the best burgers in the world!!!  Also, room service was spectacular -  great chocolate cake!!!!

We loved the four comedians we saw on the ship at Punchliners.   Marvin Todd, Vincent Morris, Happy Cole, and Jeff Jena were hysterical.  I don't think that I have ever laughed so much in my entire life.  Kudos to all of them!!!!

I saved the best for last.  The staff was absolutely amazing.  They truly made the trip worthwhile.  Big shout outs to our servers: Glen, Sheldon, Gabriel, Maurice, and Cesar.  You guys were tremendous!!!!  Our cabin attendant, Made, did an outstanding job and met our every need.  Thank you, amigo!!!!

That about sums it up.  It was nice just to get away for a while and enjoy quality family time.  I still want to do an Alaskan cruise, but I think that I'll wait for a bit....I'm still trying to get my land legs back under me!

Frank the Tank

I had lunch today at a place called "The Yard".  The restaurant is located in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh.  My son had talked about the amazing grilled cheese sandwiches there for some time.  When he asked if I would like to go to lunch there with him, I jumped at the chance.

We both ended up ordering Frank the Tank.  Frank is a grilled cheese sandwich with buffalo chicken dip and fried onion rings on it. AWESOME!!!!!  It is served with tomato soup (more like tomato sauce) and homemade potato chips.  I can tell you that it is a ton of food.  It's been nearly five hours since we ate there and I still feel full.

I felt that the food is a tad pricey, but it won't stop me from going there again.  I hope that the next time we go there, we get a waitress with a personality.  All in all, a good experience.  When in the 'Burgh, yinz gotta try da Yard enat!

Hammer Time

Things are heating up again with the search for the lost boys.  I just finished our favorite thunder hammer wielding Salamander.  After considering a bunch of different color schemes, I went with lime colored armor accented with pewter.  The scale covered areas were done in metallic green and then given a reddish-purple wash.  Flames on the armor were highlighted with yellow.  The hammer has a brown wooden shaft accented with pewter metal areas and the hammer head itself was done in two-tone gold. 

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of the pose. It reads,"too superhero".  The base is sort of odd.  It is on the smallish side and is a piece of rock with a dragon (actually, half of a dragon) climbing up it.  Like many of the KOL figures, this “Smith Knight” is rather small.   Anyway, it’s finished and I’m now half way done with the project.  Check out the pic.

Up Next: The nemesis of the Lord of the Forge!

Adios, Amigos!

It's always sad to see players from the sports teams that you love get traded.  To you the fan, these players are a big part of the reason why you enjoy the team and the sport itself.  The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins are no exception.  A bunch of the guys that Pens fans have cheered their hearts out for are gone.  So long guys and thank you for all of your hard work, hustle, leadership, no-quit mentality, and for doing the black and gold proud.

Exiting the Pens:  Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Kunitz, Matt Cullen, Trevor Daley, Nick Bonino, and Oskar Sundqvist.  It appears that recently acquired D-men, Ron Hainsey and Mark Streit won't be back either.  You guys will be missed.  There would be no Stanley Cup in the 'Burgh without all of you.  To the fans here in Pittsburgh, you will always be Penguins!  We will miss you.  Best of luck with your new teams!!!

So next season, Pens fans will see some new faces and have to learn some new names,  That's how it will be.  We will welcome the new guys and welcome back the vets.  Coach Sullivan and company will have the boys in black and gold ready to play.  The puck will drop and a new season will begin.  I can't wait!  Let's Go Pens!

One Can of Watermelon, Please

Tried a great summer beer the other night.  It's called Hell or High Watermelon by 21st Amendment Brewery out of San Francisco, CA.  I found this beer to be mighty tasty!  As I'm catching a few cold ones with friends around the fire, I plan on adding some of these beauties to the mix!

Hard to Believe

If I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes last night, I might not have believed it.  Rumors have circulated in Pittsburgh for some time about whether or not Marc-Andre Fleury would remain a Pen next season.  Seeing him in a Las Vegas Golden Knights jersey brought home the reality that he would not.

Like many Pens fans here in the Burgh, I've had my ups and downs with "Flower".  In the end, there is no denying that without him as the netminder, the Penguins wouldn't have won their last 3 Stanley Cups.

Fleury is a total class act.  He is going to be missed in Pittsburgh both on and off of the ice.  I wish him nothing but success (unless they're playing the Pens) with his new team in Vegas.
Bonne chance, mon amie!