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Post by bulkey on Apr 23, 2023 18:57:22 GMT -5
so all these comments about the wonder of flying are why I have my 6 mpg Winnebago to travel around in. My own bed and bath on board. Fridge with all my snicky-snacks and the company of my puppy dogs. Yes, I am Arrog5nt and Spo11led. and no, haven't fixed the shirt, yet Back in 2008, they were giving a free Jeep away if you bought a Winnebago.
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Post by UConnChapette on Apr 23, 2023 19:05:35 GMT -5
As a child, with a father who worked for Union Pacific Railroad at a time when UP operated passenger trains in the days before Amtrak, I rode the trains a lot to go back and visit my mom's family in Omaha and my dad's in Kansas. I have such fond memories of riding in the sleeper car, falling asleep to the clickety-clack of the wheels on the rails and the gentle rocking of the train, looking out the window watching the countryside slide by. Some really beautiful country through the Rockies. When my kids were young, I took them on a trip by train to Omaha from CT. We got a sleeper cabin just like when I was a child so my boys could see what travel was like for me when I was a kid. They loved it.
After I retire, I want to take a cross country train trip. I truly love riding on trains. Yes, planes get you there much faster. But riding the train is much more relaxing and enjoyable, if you have the luxury of time. Maybe take some side trips along the way to see the country. I have seen a lot of the country from childhood summer trips, but I have not seen a lot of the country as an adult.
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Post by bulkey on Apr 23, 2023 19:29:01 GMT -5
I loved taking a sleeper car as a kid. It was incredibly exciting.
My wife and I still dream of taking the train across Canada.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Apr 25, 2023 10:02:49 GMT -5
A few days ago I mentioned that SST ride from London. This just came back to me about that ride and you might get a chuckle. The SST had its own preboarding lounge. Some were sitting, some standing, some milling around. I noticed a women come into the lounge and sit down. She had enormous hair wrapped in a scarf which also shielded part of her face and sun glasses, those gigantic ones. I thought this attempt at anonimity was an absolute hoot, calling attention to her but not shielding her identity at all. A big Hollywood star at the time, Angie Dickinson. It still makes me chuckle.
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Post by meyers7 on Apr 25, 2023 12:27:39 GMT -5
A few days ago I mentioned that SST ride from London. This just came back to me about that ride and you might get a chuckle. The SST had its own preboarding lounge. Some were sitting, some standing, some milling around. I noticed a women come into the lounge and sit down. She had enormous hair wrapped in a scarf which also shielded part of her face and sun glasses, those gigantic ones. I thought this attempt at anonimity was an absolute hoot, calling attention to her but not shielding her identity at all. A big Hollywood star at the time, Angie Dickinson. It still makes me chuckle. Quite a few years ago sat behind Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher on a flight from CT to Chicago. Didn't recognize them when I got on, but the pilots and stewardesses all came and talked to them, got autographs. I finally figured out who it was. When we landed I helped Meryl get her luggage out of the overhead. We followed them through the airport for a bit, they had on hats and sunglasses....nobody even gave them a second look. And yes it was 1st class. My wife (now ex) was working for AA at the time. Didn't cost much to fly 1st class if it was available.
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Post by bulkey on Apr 25, 2023 12:37:07 GMT -5
A few days ago I mentioned that SST ride from London. This just came back to me about that ride and you might get a chuckle. The SST had its own preboarding lounge. Some were sitting, some standing, some milling around. I noticed a women come into the lounge and sit down. She had enormous hair wrapped in a scarf which also shielded part of her face and sun glasses, those gigantic ones. I thought this attempt at anonimity was an absolute hoot, calling attention to her but not shielding her identity at all. A big Hollywood star at the time, Angie Dickinson. It still makes me chuckle. Quite a few years ago sat behind Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher on a flight from CT to Chicago. Didn't recognize them when I got on, but the pilots and stewardesses all came and talked to them, got autographs. I finally figured out who it was. When we landed I helped Meryl get her luggage out of the overhead. We followed them through the airport for a bit, they had on hats and sunglasses....nobody even gave them a second look. And yes it was 1st class. My wife (now ex) was working for AA at the time. Didn't cost much to fly 1st class if it was available. So very cool! Wonder if they were filming Postcards from the Edge. That movie shows that Streep could do anything. I love her doing this song:
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Post by meyers7 on Apr 25, 2023 13:21:03 GMT -5
Quite a few years ago sat behind Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher on a flight from CT to Chicago. Didn't recognize them when I got on, but the pilots and stewardesses all came and talked to them, got autographs. I finally figured out who it was. When we landed I helped Meryl get her luggage out of the overhead. We followed them through the airport for a bit, they had on hats and sunglasses....nobody even gave them a second look. And yes it was 1st class. My wife (now ex) was working for AA at the time. Didn't cost much to fly 1st class if it was available. So very cool! Wonder if they were filming Postcards from the Edge. That movie shows that Streep could do anything. I love her doing this song: Could of been, it was right around that time 89-90. IIRC (which is a stretch)
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Apr 25, 2023 14:07:05 GMT -5
Quite a few years ago sat behind Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher on a flight from CT to Chicago. Didn't recognize them when I got on, but the pilots and stewardesses all came and talked to them, got autographs. I finally figured out who it was. When we landed I helped Meryl get her luggage out of the overhead. We followed them through the airport for a bit, they had on hats and sunglasses....nobody even gave them a second look. And yes it was 1st class. My wife (now ex) was working for AA at the time. Didn't cost much to fly 1st class if it was available. So very cool! Wonder if they were filming Postcards from the Edge. That movie shows that Streep could do anything. I love her doing this song: A truly great actress. Sadly, the true actresses are dying off. Nothing requiring real acting comes out of Hollywood now.
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Post by knightsbridgeaz on Apr 25, 2023 20:10:18 GMT -5
A few days ago I mentioned that SST ride from London. This just came back to me about that ride and you might get a chuckle. The SST had its own preboarding lounge. Some were sitting, some standing, some milling around. I noticed a women come into the lounge and sit down. She had enormous hair wrapped in a scarf which also shielded part of her face and sun glasses, those gigantic ones. I thought this attempt at anonimity was an absolute hoot, calling attention to her but not shielding her identity at all. A big Hollywood star at the time, Angie Dickinson. It still makes me chuckle. Quite a few years ago sat behind Meryl Streep and Carrie Fisher on a flight from CT to Chicago. Didn't recognize them when I got on, but the pilots and stewardesses all came and talked to them, got autographs. I finally figured out who it was. When we landed I helped Meryl get her luggage out of the overhead. We followed them through the airport for a bit, they had on hats and sunglasses....nobody even gave them a second look. And yes it was 1st class. My wife (now ex) was working for AA at the time. Didn't cost much to fly 1st class if it was available. My wife has been researching first class fares for future year's trips, and all things being equal they are not bad (of course, we are not going out of the USA either). She looked at Alaska, in particular. As I mentioned earlier, I have told her I will fly when it is the best option (after flying only once in over 15 years, Hawai'i). However, she agrees that if we can afford it, 1st class is probably a must.
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Post by bulkey on Apr 25, 2023 20:18:15 GMT -5
So very cool! Wonder if they were filming Postcards from the Edge. That movie shows that Streep could do anything. I love her doing this song: A truly great actress. Sadly, the true actresses are dying off. Nothing requiring real acting comes out of Hollywood now. I think Kate Blanchett is transcendently great. The other Kate--Winslet--has been great, and was absolutely amazing in Mare of Easttown. Lots of others, though maybe not so much in Hollywood as on Netflix, etc. Olivia Coleman, Carey Mulligan, the amazing Claire Foy, and I'll watch anything and everything with Nicola Walker.
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Post by magic on Apr 26, 2023 7:06:03 GMT -5
As a child, with a father who worked for Union Pacific Railroad at a time when UP operated passenger trains in the days before Amtrak, I rode the trains a lot to go back and visit my mom's family in Omaha and my dad's in Kansas. I have such fond memories of riding in the sleeper car, falling asleep to the clickety-clack of the wheels on the rails and the gentle rocking of the train, looking out the window watching the countryside slide by. Some really beautiful country through the Rockies. When my kids were young, I took them on a trip by train to Omaha from CT. We got a sleeper cabin just like when I was a child so my boys could see what travel was like for me when I was a kid. They loved it. After I retire, I want to take a cross country train trip. I truly love riding on trains. Yes, planes get you there much faster. But riding the train is much more relaxing and enjoyable, if you have the luxury of time. Maybe take some side trips along the way to see the country. I have seen a lot of the country from childhood summer trips, but I have not seen a lot of the country as an adult. I traveled all over Europe for three years on trains. Had a car there for 8 months before I realized I could get a cheap bus to the train and literally just go anywhere. The car wasn't worth the expense of gas and insurance. This was late 70's and US still doesn't get.
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Post by huskyharper on Apr 28, 2023 17:08:41 GMT -5
I've never been in Killeen Tx during the spring. Amazing storms. Got caught out today running errands and ended up completely soaked running back to the truck at Home Depot. Got plummeled by pea-sized hail, too. Nothing so funny as a fat lady running through deluge of rain and hail trying to get into a pickup truck... At least I still have my sense of humor.
The other night I lay on my bed in the camper and watched the lightning show for a couple of hours. I only worry about large hail damaging my camper roof. So far, so good.
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Post by pinotbear on Apr 28, 2023 17:24:03 GMT -5
I've never been in Killeen Tx during the spring. Amazing storms. Got caught out today running errands and ended up completely soaked running back to the truck at Home Depot. Got plummeled by pea-sized hail, too. Nothing so funny as a fat lady running through deluge of rain and hail trying to get into a pickup truck... At least I still have my sense of humor. The other night I lay on my bed in the camper and watched the lightning show for a couple of hours. I only worry about large hail damaging my camper roof. So far, so good. Not to make light of your experience, but, I suspect that a fat lady getting hailed upon in the Home Depot parking lot, while running to a pickup truck, in Texas... is a rather ordinary experience! If you go to the local walk-in clinic, they're jes' gonna tell ya to "take two Lone Stars, n', call me in the mornin', honey!"
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Post by rockymtblue2 on Apr 29, 2023 9:38:38 GMT -5
Another celebrity quickie. Late July in Bozeman, MT and hot as blue blazes. I'm attending a seminar at what was then 10-12 years ago I think THE hotel in town , the Hilton International. Layover flight passengers hit this hotel hard and it is that time of day. I get in an elevator and 3 other tall middle aged guys get in too. Suddenly a small women rushes in and faces the door just in front of me. She's wearing bright red high loft sweat pants and top and this equally red big shapeless hat. In one hand she clutches a (?)3 year old and she has a 1 year old on the opposite hip. She says loudly to no one and everyone: "Why is it so damn hot!" All us guys just share a certain look. No one says anything. You knew if anything was said uncontrolable laughter would ensue and that would be so rude.
It was Britney Spears and that was her signature outfit a the time. Kept a smile on my face for quite a while.
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Post by knightsbridgeaz on May 15, 2023 21:51:17 GMT -5
Just a follow-up to spending part of our recent vacation in Kansas and Nebraska:
- The Sedgwick County Zoo (Wichita) and the Stratica Salt Mine (Hutchinson) were the highlights of Kansas. - If you like history, the Eisenhower Museum (at his Library) in Abilene was first rate; if you are a "house" fan, the Seelye Mansion (also in Abilene) and the Frank Lloyd Wright Allen House (in Wichita) were also great.
- The Omaha Zoo in Nebraska is very nice, but we didn't really get to enjoy it, it was so windy and chilly the day we visited. We did do the "Giraffe Experience" which was neat. But my wife had to sleep for 2 hours in the car between the first part of our visit and the time for the Giraffe Experience, as she was just so cold. We were the only ones on the 2 experiences we did, suggesting that the natives knew what the wind felt like. - Scottsbluff is very scenic, brought home the whole "plains" geography, actually.
Oh, and part of the reason we took this particular trip was I wanted KC Barbeque. The place we went was actually in Kansas City, Kansas and was delicious.
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Post by bulkey on May 15, 2023 22:17:50 GMT -5
Just a follow-up to spending part of our recent vacation in Kansas and Nebraska: - The Sedgwick County Zoo (Wichita) and the Stratica Salt Mine (Hutchinson) were the highlights of Kansas. - If you like history, the Eisenhower Museum (at his Library) in Abilene was first rate; if you are a "house" fan, the Seelye Mansion (also in Abilene) and the Frank Lloyd Wright Allen House (in Wichita) were also great. - The Omaha Zoo in Nebraska is very nice, but we didn't really get to enjoy it, it was so windy and chilly the day we visited. We did do the "Giraffe Experience" which was neat. But my wife had to sleep for 2 hours in the car between the first part of our visit and the time for the Giraffe Experience, as she was just so cold. We were the only ones on the 2 experiences we did, suggesting that the natives knew what the wind felt like. - Scottsbluff is very scenic, brought home the whole "plains" geography, actually. Oh, and part of the reason we took this particular trip was I wanted KC Barbeque. The place we went was actually in Kansas City, Kansas and was delicious. I remember reading all those amazing descriptions of KC BBQ by Calvin Trillin in the New Yorker. I asked a KC friend if what Trillin wrote was accurate, and he said "yup!".
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Post by chicagogg on May 16, 2023 7:31:12 GMT -5
Ah, Calvin Trillin. That man could write - about food and many other things. Still have a few of his books buried in my library. Thanks for the walk in memory lane!
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Post by samanthabrown3 on May 17, 2023 19:34:45 GMT -5
Isn't this a fun group?
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Post by rockymtblue2 on May 18, 2023 11:57:13 GMT -5
Yesterday it was a might smokey around here. I dismissed it as seasonal burning (irrigation ditches and the like). Just came back from an errand the sky was smoke filled wherever you looked and the eyes are not liking it. I'm thinking if this is local what does that say about fire season? Turns out there are raging wildfires (is there any othere kind?) in Alberta and this is their smoke. It's still early. My thoughts are with them.
BTW there is quite a bit of chatter up there about secession and seeking to join the USA.
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Post by bulkey on May 18, 2023 12:52:09 GMT -5
Yesterday it was a might smokey around here. I dismissed it as seasonal burning (irrigation ditches and the like). Just came back from an errand the sky was smoke filled wherever you looked and the eyes are not liking it. I'm thinking if this is local what does that say about fire season? Turns out there are raging wildfires (is there any othere kind?) in Alberta and this is their smoke. It's still early. My thoughts are with them. BTW there is quite a bit of chatter up there about secession and seeking to join the USA. I think a lot of folks here are thinking about moving to Canada, depending on the next election. Maybe we need a population exchange? OTOH, didn't work out so well for India and Pakistan....
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Post by meyers7 on May 18, 2023 13:29:41 GMT -5
Yesterday it was a might smokey around here. I dismissed it as seasonal burning (irrigation ditches and the like). Just came back from an errand the sky was smoke filled wherever you looked and the eyes are not liking it. I'm thinking if this is local what does that say about fire season? Turns out there are raging wildfires (is there any othere kind?) in Alberta and this is their smoke. It's still early. My thoughts are with them. BTW there is quite a bit of chatter up there about secession and seeking to join the USA. I think a lot of folks here are thinking about moving to Canada, depending on the next election. Maybe we need a population exchange? OTOH, didn't work out so well for India and Pakistan.... Only thing I like about Canada is their music. Too damn cold up there. And gravy on fries? Yuck!
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Post by bulkey on May 18, 2023 13:31:55 GMT -5
I think a lot of folks here are thinking about moving to Canada, depending on the next election. Maybe we need a population exchange? OTOH, didn't work out so well for India and Pakistan.... Only thing I like about Canada is their music. Too damn cold up there. And gravy on fries? Yuck! We can't leave the U.S. for family reasons, and, realistically, doubt we ever would. But I used to say that Toronto was my favorite city in North America. Now I say Vancouver--if I could possibly afford it.
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Post by meyers7 on May 18, 2023 13:40:19 GMT -5
Only thing I like about Canada is their music. Too damn cold up there. And gravy on fries? Yuck! We can't leave the U.S. for family reasons, and, realistically, doubt we ever would. But I used to say that Toronto was my favorite city in North America. Now I say Vancouver--if I could possibly afford it. My favorite city is somewhere south or southwest. I try to never go north. Especially for vacation. Can't understand people who go to Maine or Vermont on vacation. Nuts. Of all the places I've been, if money were no object, I'd live in Malibu. Haven't been to San Diego yet though.
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Post by bulkey on May 18, 2023 13:41:48 GMT -5
We can't leave the U.S. for family reasons, and, realistically, doubt we ever would. But I used to say that Toronto was my favorite city in North America. Now I say Vancouver--if I could possibly afford it. My favorite city is somewhere south or southwest. I try to never go north. Especially for vacation. Can't understand people who go to Maine or Vermont on vacation. Nuts. Of all the places I've been, if money were no object, I'd live in Malibu. Haven't been to San Diego yet though. San Diego is a lovely city. We had a chance to live there years ago, but ultimately it just didn't sing to us. We need the grit and intensity of the Northeast. We grow where we're planted.
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Post by rockymtblue2 on May 18, 2023 14:07:55 GMT -5
I think a lot of folks here are thinking about moving to Canada, depending on the next election. Maybe we need a population exchange? OTOH, didn't work out so well for India and Pakistan.... Only thing I like about Canada is their music. Too damn cold up there. And gravy on fries? Yuck! Kia missed those fries, but I'm with you.
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