The day started out with Patty driving Bob and me to the Metro North Station in New Haven, CT. (Amtrak and Interurban Bus Lines use this station as well.) The trip went smoothly until we couldn't find the station! Thankfully, we found some construction workers who led us to our destination! An Insurance employee was also helpful in leading us from the parking garage to the Station itself! Miraculously, we made our train to Grand Central Terminal! Once again, we ate sandwiches on the train! Last year, Bob and I walked by the school that Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos' kids attend. This year, while on the train, we saw Cardinal Hayes High School, where Regis Philbin and Martin Scorsese attended. Otherwise, the ride was uneventful.
After we reached Grand Central Terminal, we walked to the Comfort Inn on West 44th St. (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues)! We left our luggage at the hotel. We almost took a bus tour! We then went to look for the Ranch 1 that we didn't see last year because I was careless with our research last year! (I was no better this year, but our phone book in the hotel room this year was better, so we were able to find it.) On the way back, we enjoyed a beverage at Crave/Chicken Bar (The former location of the Ranch 1 which was under renovation when we were last in New York City). We then checked into our room and rested until we went to dinner at the Ranch 1 on West 46th St, (Near Fifth Ave.). I had a chicken sandwich and fries! I also ate Patty's leftover salad! The food was delicious, but the facility needs some minor renovations to make the experience more enjoyable.
After dinner, we walked to Rockefeller Center to research availability for the NBC Studio Tour on Saturday! As it turned out, we ended up on the last tour that night! I had a minor meltdown because our two dollar off coupons were back at the hotel because it had been decided that we were going on
Saturday. Thankfully, it did not put a damper on my enjoyment of the tour! Before the tour, we took a picture with Matt Lauer! He was quite stiff, unlike his on-air persona. (It was a cardboard cutout.) At about 8:15 PM, our tour started. Our tour guides were Ola and Lauren. They were very informative and entertaining. The tour started with a brief video on the History of NBC that featured its many networks, such as Golf Channel and MSNBC. We then went through security! The backpack that Bob insisted on bringing made maneuverability a challenge! We saw Jimmy Fallon's Studio, Saturday Night Live 's set (with Ben Affleck and friends rehearsing in the background), the control room for NBC Nightly News and many other interesting areas! I was disappointed that I didn't see The Today Show set. (They were preparing it for Saturday's program.) The tour ended in the Gift Shop! Most of the merchandise was NBC related, but I was baffled by The Simpsons being represented, since they are affiliated with Fox. (The Mindy Project's merchandise was not a surprise because it is produced by NBC Universal, but it airs on Fox.)
Since I was out of cough drops, we went to Duane Reade (Owned by Walgreen's)! We also bought drinks and cookies for snacking. We also went to the Hershey Store because there was a coupon for a free candy bar with a purchase! As luck would have it, I had a coupon usable on a bag of Bliss candy. It took management approval, but both coupons were usable.
We then headed back to the hotel. We watched local news! One story became very important because it would have a great impact on us returning to New Haven. The next installment will give all the details.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Thursday, May 30, 2013
People Without Facebook Can Be Very Interesting. (The 2013 Vacation (Day 4))
This day starts out with a visit from Amy Gould! Just like on Monday, she was very entertaining! I am grateful for the issues of The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram and Gazette that Amy provided. I read through most of what she provided. The remainder of that material and what I picked up, mostly on my own, will be handed over at Kathleen's Birthday Party on Monday!
After Amy left, Patty, Bob, and I went to Ocean State Job Lot in Leominster! It's a store similar to Big Lots and Ollie's Bargain Outlet! Needless to say, I bought nothing in the store!
We then went to Denny's for Lunch! Amy Gould gave Patty a Gift Card for her birthday in April. I had the Moons over My Hammy (Made with Egg Whites) and Hash Browns! It was up to the usual Denny's Standards!
We then went to the adjacent Market Basket Supermarket! I picked up some Market Basket brand Cough Syrup and Cough Drops (Still 50 drops for a dollar).
After Market Basket, Patty took care of some business at Home Depot and Radio Shack. Bob and I went to the Mall of Whitney Field! I bought some Navy Blue Pants at Sears! Needless to say, they are 100% Polyester! They will be worn when it's 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below! We looked at a few other stores, but it was a brief visit because Patty had picked up butter at Market Basket! it was also Shorts Weather. By the way, The Mall at Whitney Field is similar to Parmatown Mall (Circa 1992)!
We then went home and relaxed! After a few hours, Dan Sr. and company headed over to Dave and Amy's house in Medway, MA for a Pizza Dinner! The Main Intent of this visit was to pick up their dog Caesar because they were leaving Saturday for vacation for about a week! Ironically, it was also their Fourth Anniversary! Patty forgot this fact when planning this dinner! The reason this dinner was on Thursday was that Patty, Bob, and I were going to New York City the next day! The pizza was delicious! It came from Medway Village Pizza. Patty made a big Chocolate Chip cookie! There was also a Chocolate Cake with White Frosting! The desserts were yummy, too!
After dinner, we went to an Irving Gas Station to pick up some regional newspapers and to get gas for Dan's car! (Patty's car received gas earlier in the day from a Hess Express in Leominster, but I didn't go into the station on this trip!) We then headed for home!
When we came home, Patty and Dan's friend John was waiting for us! By the way, I officially met both Amy Gould and John at Amy and Dave Goldberg's wedding! While Patty and Dan visited with John, Bob and I watched most of The Office finale (We caught up on the preceding retrospective and the first five minutes on May 28.). We then relaxed for the rest of the night! John and Caesar made things very interesting for the rest of our stay!
In closing, the title of this post refers to the fact that Patty, Dan Sr., Amy Gould, Dave, and John are not on Facebook, but they should be!
After Amy left, Patty, Bob, and I went to Ocean State Job Lot in Leominster! It's a store similar to Big Lots and Ollie's Bargain Outlet! Needless to say, I bought nothing in the store!
We then went to Denny's for Lunch! Amy Gould gave Patty a Gift Card for her birthday in April. I had the Moons over My Hammy (Made with Egg Whites) and Hash Browns! It was up to the usual Denny's Standards!
We then went to the adjacent Market Basket Supermarket! I picked up some Market Basket brand Cough Syrup and Cough Drops (Still 50 drops for a dollar).
After Market Basket, Patty took care of some business at Home Depot and Radio Shack. Bob and I went to the Mall of Whitney Field! I bought some Navy Blue Pants at Sears! Needless to say, they are 100% Polyester! They will be worn when it's 50 degrees Fahrenheit or below! We looked at a few other stores, but it was a brief visit because Patty had picked up butter at Market Basket! it was also Shorts Weather. By the way, The Mall at Whitney Field is similar to Parmatown Mall (Circa 1992)!
We then went home and relaxed! After a few hours, Dan Sr. and company headed over to Dave and Amy's house in Medway, MA for a Pizza Dinner! The Main Intent of this visit was to pick up their dog Caesar because they were leaving Saturday for vacation for about a week! Ironically, it was also their Fourth Anniversary! Patty forgot this fact when planning this dinner! The reason this dinner was on Thursday was that Patty, Bob, and I were going to New York City the next day! The pizza was delicious! It came from Medway Village Pizza. Patty made a big Chocolate Chip cookie! There was also a Chocolate Cake with White Frosting! The desserts were yummy, too!
After dinner, we went to an Irving Gas Station to pick up some regional newspapers and to get gas for Dan's car! (Patty's car received gas earlier in the day from a Hess Express in Leominster, but I didn't go into the station on this trip!) We then headed for home!
When we came home, Patty and Dan's friend John was waiting for us! By the way, I officially met both Amy Gould and John at Amy and Dave Goldberg's wedding! While Patty and Dan visited with John, Bob and I watched most of The Office finale (We caught up on the preceding retrospective and the first five minutes on May 28.). We then relaxed for the rest of the night! John and Caesar made things very interesting for the rest of our stay!
In closing, the title of this post refers to the fact that Patty, Dan Sr., Amy Gould, Dave, and John are not on Facebook, but they should be!
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
My Degree Should Be in Supermarketing. (2013 Trip (Part 4))
I have a B.B.A in Marketing from Cleveland State University in Cleveland, OH. As far as I am concerned, marketing involves a lot of common sense!! On May 15, I learned that three competitive supermarket chains that do business in Worcester County, MA are too indistinguishable from one another for the most part!
Patty, Bob, and I started off at the Stop and Shop on West Boylston Street in Worcester. My main purchases there were the Megabucks and the Lucky for Life Games operated by the Massachusetts Lottery! I believe that they are losers, but I am going to bring them to Max and Erma's in Middleburg Hts., OH on Monday when we celebrate my sister Kathleen's Birthday. Bob and I then looked around the store at items that we would purchase!! Their prices were high! A gallon of milk cost over $4. We paid $2.29 at the Aldi in Leominster, MA the day before. One area that did impress me was the large Organic and/or Gluten Free Sections! I think that the store needs to lower their prices!!
The next store was Price Chopper on Pullman Street in Worcester! Bob and I bought Amy and Dave's Anniversary Gift Card! We chose Ninety Nine Restaurants for them because we had enjoyed their Fitchburg branch a little over a year ago! O'Charley's owns Ninety Nine Restaurants, but their gift cards are currently separate! Once again, we studied what we like to purchase! Price Chopper really needs to lower their prices immediately!! The store had a nice atmosphere, though!
After we were done, we went to Wild Willy's Burgers on West Boylston Street in Worcester (near Greendale Mall) for lunch! I had done some research in a Restaurant Franchise directory earlier in the year! However, Patty suggested this restaurant without knowing any of this. I had a Bison Burger with mushrooms and Swiss Cheese, French Fries, and a glass of Coke! The bison tasted better than I expected!! We enjoyed our meals!!
After lunch was finished, we went to Big Y World Class Market in Holden, MA! Unlike the other two stores, this store was in a strip with other stores!! Big Y was not much different than the other two stores! I bought a couple of newspapers! The funny thing is that the clerk typed a wrong number making it look like there was a penny tax on the paper! Neither the clerk nor I realized what had happened!
After Big Y, we picked up an Anniversary card for Amy and Dave at the adjacent Dollar Tree because we left the one that we had purchased in the Cleveland area back at our house. The shopping was over for the day! Surprisingly, nobody asked us if we had Store Rewards Cards!! We can't wait for our next trip to some other grocery stores in the region!
We went back to Patty and Dan Sr.'s house! Dinner was Chicken Alfredo with peas and carrots! (The Pasta is a ?!) It was delicious!! We then spent the rest of the evening watching ABC from 8:00 to 10:00 and relaxing. The excitement is starting to build!!
Patty, Bob, and I started off at the Stop and Shop on West Boylston Street in Worcester. My main purchases there were the Megabucks and the Lucky for Life Games operated by the Massachusetts Lottery! I believe that they are losers, but I am going to bring them to Max and Erma's in Middleburg Hts., OH on Monday when we celebrate my sister Kathleen's Birthday. Bob and I then looked around the store at items that we would purchase!! Their prices were high! A gallon of milk cost over $4. We paid $2.29 at the Aldi in Leominster, MA the day before. One area that did impress me was the large Organic and/or Gluten Free Sections! I think that the store needs to lower their prices!!
The next store was Price Chopper on Pullman Street in Worcester! Bob and I bought Amy and Dave's Anniversary Gift Card! We chose Ninety Nine Restaurants for them because we had enjoyed their Fitchburg branch a little over a year ago! O'Charley's owns Ninety Nine Restaurants, but their gift cards are currently separate! Once again, we studied what we like to purchase! Price Chopper really needs to lower their prices immediately!! The store had a nice atmosphere, though!
After we were done, we went to Wild Willy's Burgers on West Boylston Street in Worcester (near Greendale Mall) for lunch! I had done some research in a Restaurant Franchise directory earlier in the year! However, Patty suggested this restaurant without knowing any of this. I had a Bison Burger with mushrooms and Swiss Cheese, French Fries, and a glass of Coke! The bison tasted better than I expected!! We enjoyed our meals!!
After lunch was finished, we went to Big Y World Class Market in Holden, MA! Unlike the other two stores, this store was in a strip with other stores!! Big Y was not much different than the other two stores! I bought a couple of newspapers! The funny thing is that the clerk typed a wrong number making it look like there was a penny tax on the paper! Neither the clerk nor I realized what had happened!
After Big Y, we picked up an Anniversary card for Amy and Dave at the adjacent Dollar Tree because we left the one that we had purchased in the Cleveland area back at our house. The shopping was over for the day! Surprisingly, nobody asked us if we had Store Rewards Cards!! We can't wait for our next trip to some other grocery stores in the region!
We went back to Patty and Dan Sr.'s house! Dinner was Chicken Alfredo with peas and carrots! (The Pasta is a ?!) It was delicious!! We then spent the rest of the evening watching ABC from 8:00 to 10:00 and relaxing. The excitement is starting to build!!
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Another Great Day!! (The 2013 Vacation Part Two)
The highlights of this day were a trip to Greendale Mall in Worcester, MA (Enclosed Strip Mall Atmosphere, just like it was twenty years ago)! Dan Sr. and Patty dropped us off because of a prior commitment! Bob and I ate lunch at Stir Fry 88 in the mall! We do have this chain locally, but this was our first full meal there! Bob and I will make our presence shown at the branch at Great Northern Mall in the future! (The traditional fast food days of that mall's food court ended when the food court was relocated about 18 months ago!)
After browsing in the mall, we went back to Patty and Dan's house!! While Dan went back to work, Patty, Bob, and I went to Aldi in Leominster and bought some groceries and supplies. Patty now has her "Advanced Aldi Degree!" Dinner was Kielbasa and Sauerkraut with Potatoes O'Brien (Instead of the homemade boiled potatoes that I had when we had this meal for dinner when we were growing up! One of these days, I will have to cook kielbasa and sauerkraut (I have microwaved sauerkraut.). It was as good as I remember it!!)
Once again, we relaxed. The fun is about to start!! Wait for Parts 4 and 5!!
After browsing in the mall, we went back to Patty and Dan's house!! While Dan went back to work, Patty, Bob, and I went to Aldi in Leominster and bought some groceries and supplies. Patty now has her "Advanced Aldi Degree!" Dinner was Kielbasa and Sauerkraut with Potatoes O'Brien (Instead of the homemade boiled potatoes that I had when we had this meal for dinner when we were growing up! One of these days, I will have to cook kielbasa and sauerkraut (I have microwaved sauerkraut.). It was as good as I remember it!!)
Once again, we relaxed. The fun is about to start!! Wait for Parts 4 and 5!!
Sometimes, a Risk Is Worth Taking (The 2013 Vacation (Part 1))
On May 13, My brother Bob and I flew from Cleveland, OH to Warwick, RI (Near Providence) to visit our sister Patty and her husband Dan Sr., who live in Lancaster, MA (near Worcester). While waiting for our flight, we shared a footlong chicken sub from Subway in Cleveland's Airport!! It was delicious!! Our flight was rather tranquil! However, despite the seat belt sign being lit the entire flight, at least seven people chose to ignore it!! This was something that we never noticed before! If you think that is exciting, you will be in for a roller coaster of an adventure!!
Upon arriving in Warwick, we were picked up by Patty and Amy Gould, a close friend of Patty and Dan Sr. who lives in Lunenberg, MA currently, but used to live in Lancaster! She was joining us for the trip to Foxwoods Casino (Check the April 2012 archives for the exact location.). I had suggested Mohegan Sun Casino, also in CT or Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, RI, but a return trip to Foxwoods was suggested because it was the best option! We used Amy's GPS that was on her new phone! This allowed us to have a very close look at her personality! She's not boring!!
We arrived at the casino complex. Since Patty and Amy had not eaten lunch yet, (It was about 3:30 PM) we started off at the Festival Buffet within the complex! The variety of food was overwhelming! The layout was arranged by course (Soups, Salad, Entrees, Desserts, Breads, etc.), ethnicity (Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc.), or type (Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Pasta, Beverages, etc.). The food was clearly identified for the most part. Normally, I would have eaten a lot more at a buffet, but I was not that hungry because a 6" Sub can be filling!! I still chose a variety of the options that I have mentioned! Surprisingly, the seafood and salad sections were avoided because they either were not the healthiest (Breaded Seafood was prevalent on the lunch menu.), or they were too tempting (Salad bars tend to have healthy forms of fruits and vegetables, but not so healthy items, such as mousse or hard boiled eggs/egg salad (They do get credit for not loading them in mayonnaise, though.) make a presence sometimes.). I ate most of the food that I had selected, but I left some of my dessert because I was full! I enjoyed my food for the most part! I was able to give a "refresher" course on Pierogis and Hush Puppies for Patty and Amy's benefit! Bob and I know them all too well since we were raised on them! Patty and Amy may have either had no recent experience, or the food had an ethnic cousin that could cause confusion!!
After our meal, we gambled in a number of the many casinos in the complex! No really big winnings happened this time, but we still had fun trying! Last year was attributed to Beginner's luck for me!
When we were done gambling, we went back to Patty and Dan's house! Amy went to her house! We visited and relaxed for the rest of the evening! Day one of the trip was now over!
Upon arriving in Warwick, we were picked up by Patty and Amy Gould, a close friend of Patty and Dan Sr. who lives in Lunenberg, MA currently, but used to live in Lancaster! She was joining us for the trip to Foxwoods Casino (Check the April 2012 archives for the exact location.). I had suggested Mohegan Sun Casino, also in CT or Twin Rivers Casino in Lincoln, RI, but a return trip to Foxwoods was suggested because it was the best option! We used Amy's GPS that was on her new phone! This allowed us to have a very close look at her personality! She's not boring!!
We arrived at the casino complex. Since Patty and Amy had not eaten lunch yet, (It was about 3:30 PM) we started off at the Festival Buffet within the complex! The variety of food was overwhelming! The layout was arranged by course (Soups, Salad, Entrees, Desserts, Breads, etc.), ethnicity (Asian, Italian, Mexican, etc.), or type (Seafood, Meat, Vegetables, Pasta, Beverages, etc.). The food was clearly identified for the most part. Normally, I would have eaten a lot more at a buffet, but I was not that hungry because a 6" Sub can be filling!! I still chose a variety of the options that I have mentioned! Surprisingly, the seafood and salad sections were avoided because they either were not the healthiest (Breaded Seafood was prevalent on the lunch menu.), or they were too tempting (Salad bars tend to have healthy forms of fruits and vegetables, but not so healthy items, such as mousse or hard boiled eggs/egg salad (They do get credit for not loading them in mayonnaise, though.) make a presence sometimes.). I ate most of the food that I had selected, but I left some of my dessert because I was full! I enjoyed my food for the most part! I was able to give a "refresher" course on Pierogis and Hush Puppies for Patty and Amy's benefit! Bob and I know them all too well since we were raised on them! Patty and Amy may have either had no recent experience, or the food had an ethnic cousin that could cause confusion!!
After our meal, we gambled in a number of the many casinos in the complex! No really big winnings happened this time, but we still had fun trying! Last year was attributed to Beginner's luck for me!
When we were done gambling, we went back to Patty and Dan's house! Amy went to her house! We visited and relaxed for the rest of the evening! Day one of the trip was now over!
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