Fun Places

That’s right, folks, it’s that time of the year again. The Bay Area Renaissance Festival opens Saturday, February 23. So now you know where to find me for the next seven weekends…

Back in the 70s there was a coffee house called Tranquilo in Sulphur Springs. Once again, Tranquilo lives! It's now located at 10024 N 30th Street in Tampa, just south of Bougainvillea in a small strip center called Poinsettia Plaza.

They're doing traditional coffee house things. There's a bluegrass/folk/country jam session on Thursday evenings. There's a Christian music night on Saturday. There's a pot luck dinner and open mike on Sunday evenings.

They serve coffee and soft drinks. They have light snacks available. WIFI is also provided for people who need internet access.

I just got home from the bluegrass jam. There was a large turnout. Anyone from beginners to professionals are invited to join in.

I'll be a semi-regular on Thursday nights. Stop by and check it out.

For more information their phone number is: (813) 977-0109

I got back from Tennessee late Tuesday evening. We had a great time. I saw a lot of old friends and made some new friends. The entertainment at the renaissance festival was superb. The festival site is beautiful. The only thing I don't like is walking up and down the hills. I guess I've gotten too used to the flatlands of Florida.

The trip north was uneventful. We got into a lot of smoke in north Florida. I can see now why the Florida Folk Festival in White Springs was cancelled. On the way home the winds had shifted and we got all the smoke in southern Georgia.

We weren't happy with the gas prices. In some locations it was as low as 2.959 per gallon, but some places were closer to 3.50 per gallon. I find it amazing that the gas companies are making record profits, the barrel price of crude has remained steady, but the price to consumers has skyrocketed. Oh, wait, it's not an election year…

I was trying to be very careful about spending money on "stuff" at the festival. I found a nice Italian doublet on clearance at one of the shops. It's very well made. It was originally priced over $200 but they had it marked down to $95 and I got it for $85 with my renny discount. Now I'll need a new ren shirt, breeches, boots, etc. to go with it. My $85 doublet will end up costing me another $800 or so.

Can't wait for the next festival… life is good.

I'm leaving Friday morning for the Tennessee Renaissance Festival near Murfreesboro. It's a great festival nestled in the woods on the side of a valley. Very pretty, but hilly. Lots of good entertainment, food, and vendor's wares. I always spend too much money at this festival, but it's money well spent.

I'll be traveling with a friend and staying at another friend's apartment. We'll spend three days at the festival and head home Tuesday. Then it's back to my usual schedule.

My niece and her family from Pittsburgh have been down for a visit for the last week. They’re staying at my dad’s place. Monday we all went to the Magic Kingdom. I haven’t been there in so many years that I can’t remember the last time I was there. I quit going out of protest when they took out The Enchanted Tiki Hut and Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. They have a new version of the tiki hut, but still no Mr. Toad…

The park was crowded but not so bad that we couldn’t get around. With the Fast Pass system we were able to do all the rides that we had on our list. Some we even did multiple times. The youngest in our group is five. She’s a real trouper. She hung in there all day with very few complaints. She has discovered the joys of roller coasters. We rode Big Thunder Mountain three times. She giggled the entire time. She even put her hands up in the air like Uncle Pete does.

We had a marvelous lunch buffet at The Crystal Palace. The prices were a bit high at $22 per adult, but the quality of the food was outstanding. And besides, Grandpa was paying. I think I’d be willing to eat there again, even if I had to pay for it myself.

The other day my niece mentioned she’d like to take the family to a beach. Clearwater Beach was suggested. I counter-suggested Fort De Soto because it would be a more “natural” experience, it would be a lot less crowded, and ample parking would be available. So this morning we all hopped in the van and drove over to Fort De Soto. Uncle Pete said it would take about an hour, Grandpa said it would take way longer than that. It took one hour and three minutes from the time we left to the time we parked. When’s he going to learn to listen to me?

The weather was about as perfect as it could get. It wasn’t too hot and there was a nice breeze. During the week there are hardly any people there even though it has been voted “Best Beach in America” in 2005.

I took along my binoculars and a bird book and did some birding, something I haven’t done in quite some time. It was nice to be out in nature looking at birds again. The time of day wasn’t optimal for birding, but it was nice nonetheless.

I don’t know what’s on tap for Friday. They’re leaving Saturday. It’s been a very nice visit.

Life’s a beach…

Last night I went with a group of friends to the Pirates Dinner Adventure in Orlando. We had a fabulous time.

The show was great… singing, acrobatics, swashbuckling. And the food was pretty good also. They start out with a light buffet and pre-show show. At the appropriate time we were lead into the main theater by "our" pirate for the evening. Then the show started and the food started coming. The main course consisted of herb baked chicken with mixed vegetables, and a choice of pork tenderloin with red potatoes or garlic shrimp with rice. I chose the pork. The red potatoes were absolutely scrumptious. Dessert was apple pie ala mode.

They encourage patrons to dress in costume. Some of us don't require a lot of encouragement in that area so most of us dressed for the occasion. We ended up being the only patrons in costume. The cast and staff gave our group special attention.

After the show a bunch us us went to Downtown Disney, still in costume, to pillage the shops. Most people didn't know what to make of us. Some thought we worked there. A lot of them stopped us to take our picture. WARNING: Don't go into the pirate store in pirate garb unless you want to be swarmed by other customers.

Here we are… 

Today was the last day of the Bay Area Renaissance Festival. After closing cannon our extended family gathered at the Sofi's Stitches tent for pizza. After filling our guts we all helped Kristen load the merchandise in the truck and then take down and stow the tent. With all the people helping things moved right along. We were done by 9:30.

Next up is the Manatee Renaissance Festival in Palmetto on May 5,6,12, and 13. It's a new festival and they have a pretty impressive line up including my favorite, The Emrys Fleet Rat Extravaganza. Stop in and tell Emrys that Pete sent you.

In late May I'll be spending a couple weekends at The Tennessee Renaissance Festival. I'll be hooking up with some of my extended family again. 

After that, who knows? Now that I'm retired again I can start traveling the circuit again.

So many festivals, so little time… 

It was a great weekend at the ren fest. On Saturday Ricky met me at the gate and we had a great time. I was hoping to meet up with a friend from where I used to work but she never showed up. It didn't really surprise me, but I missed having her there. Maybe next time. Maybe I should take her to dinner first so she can get used to me and then spring the ren fest on her. Another coworker from work did show up, though. She took pictures of me to show the others at work who don't believe that I actually go in costume.

There's a young woman working at one booth that I always enjoy stopping to visit. She was wearing a new leather tunic. Black leather. Down to her knees. It was hot out and she was getting uncomfortable. She said she was hot. I agreed with her… I said she looked very hot… I told her how much I like leather… especially on her… Sunday she was wearing it again. Some people never learn…  ;)

Sunday morning I got an email from some friends who said they'd be at the ren fest. Shortly after the gates opened we ran into each other. I gave them the Grand Tour. We visited some of my favorite vendors and food booths. We saw some shows. I took them to see where to get a wonderful baked sweet potato from the potato vendor. The lady says "Hey, you're the funny guy!" Hmmm… I don't recall doing anything that funny at the potato booth. As we walked away I could hear her say to a coworker, "He's my favorite customer." It's nice to know you can have a positive influence on someone without even trying. But they do have wonderful food and I can highly recommend them. They're back in the southwest corner of the grounds.

It was dry and dusty. In Largo they used to have water trucks run through to help keep the dust down. I wish they'd do that here. I have a nice brown car now. Maybe I'll go out and wash it so it will be white again.

Only three more weekends left. Saturday is St. Patrick's day so if you go be sure to wear green! If you keep your eyes open you may spot me lurking about wearing a green sailor's vest.

I'm still on the road. We'll be heading back to Florida tomorrow morning. I've been having a nice time. We haven't done anything earth shattering, but it's been nice nonetheless.

In staying in the Pinehurst area. It's a hilly area blanketed with pine trees. It looks a lot like Florida except for the hills. There's a huge concentration of golf courses and horse ranches here. I could almost imagine myself living here, except there's no ren fest nearby, and it's too far from Busch Gardens.

Saturday evening we went to a Sweet Adelines concert. There's a large group of barbershoppers in this area and they were staging their first major concert. All went fairly well with only a few minor glitches. Most people probably didn't even notice them, but with a background in entertainment I am particularly sensitive to those little things…

The local groups did a great job. They also had a group called Southern Yankees from Charlotte visiting. This group has won many competitions and have produced two CDs. It was a real treat to see these ladies perform, and even better was getting to meet them after the performance. We all went to a party afterwards and the Southern Yankees did a few special numbers for us. One of them is a former Miss Vermont. She's such a sweetheart and knows how to give a hug.
 ;)

Sunday morning we woke up some chilly weather. The birds that usually take a bath in the birdbath out on the deck had their ice skates on and put on a real show. Axels, leaps, figure eights. No, not really, but the birdbath was frozen solid since it had dropped well below freezing.

Sunday afternoon brought excitement to the forefront with a shopping trip to Belk's and Goody's followed by a brief foray to The Fresh Market. TFM is a wonderful grocery store with a wide variety of specialty items you can't get at most stores. We have a couple TFMs in Tampa, but they're so far across town from me that they might as well be in Outer Mongolia. I wish they'd put one on my side of town. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to make an occasional trip across town to get some of the best chocolate chunk cookies I've ever tasted. Yum!

Sunday evening we went to see Music & Lyrics, a wonderful romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. There's even a Busch Gardens joke in the script.

Monday was a lazy day. I sat at the computer most of the morning. I had a burrito from Moe's Southwest Grill for lunch. It was pretty good, but I prefer Chipotle's. After noon we went shopping again. We stopped at a real estate office to get some information about a ranch for sale. Then we went for a long drive exploring the areas northwest of Pinehurst. It's mostly rural, with hardwood forests replacing the plantation pines. We got back "home" and watched a few DVDs.

Like I said, I'm having a nice time, but I'll be glad to get back home to my normal routines. It's nice to go for a visit and I feel at home here, but it's not the same. There's no place like home…

Life is good.

I've been so busy the last few days. On Thursday and Friday I went to Busch Gardens to see Herman's Hermits in concert. I saw their show six times. On Friday I sat with some Noonatics whose comments gave the show a slightly different perspective. I would have gone back Saturday and Sunday except for the fact that the ren fest is going on.

Ah, yes, the ren fest. It's my favorite time of the year. I usually try to go every day it's open. I have an extended ren fest family that keeps growing each year. Some are vendors and some are patrons. We all spend a lot of time together and have so much fun. A large group of us usually go out for dinner on Saturday nights. And, yes, we do go in costume. It makes for such an interesting time.

Yesterday was my birthday. Kristen, my ren fest "daughter", took me out for dinner and a movie. We went to Chipotle's, one of my favorite places. We spotted a used bookstore nearby and popped in for a lookabout. We found some very interesting books. It's now on my list of places to frequent. After the bookstore we went into the mall and walked around for a while until it was time for the movie. We saw Bridge to Terabithia. It's a children's fantasy movie with a bittersweet ending. We were both deeply touched by this movie. It wasn't at all what we were expecting.

Today I'm just taking it easy. Being retired is so much work… 

Opening day was great! It started out rather cold, but if you stayed in the sunlight it was tolerable. By noon the weather was nice and the crowd started picking up. It never did get very crowded, but that’s not unusual for opening weekend. It takes a couple weeks for things to start getting busy.

It was so nice to see old friends that I haven’t seen in a long time. Our little ren fest “family” grows each year. It started out with just a few people hanging out together, now we’ve grown to about a dozen people.

Over the years you see a lot of entertainers come and go. Some that have gone I don’t really miss. Some that remain I wouldn’t miss if they left. Others quickly become favorites. There was a new group that was at the festival last year. You know, the year I had to miss because of work obligations. My friend Bruce told us we should see them because in his opinion they’re great. Luckily, they’re back again this year. We heard them off in the distance while we were at the jousting match and decided we had to check them out. The group is called E Muzeki, and let me tell you they are great. “Ancient and traditional melodies from Celtic, European and Middle Eastern countries performed with energy and emotion on Greek bouzouki, violin, penny whistle and acoustic guitar.” They also ahve a wonderful drummer with them. You need to see this band. They have three CDs available and I bought them all.

Well, it’s about time to start getting ready to head out to the festival for the day. See you there!

And, um, so do tortoises…

We came out of the Edge of Africa behind the Crown Colony. We heard a strange grunting sound. This is what we saw in the tortoise enclosure.

I spent the day in Orlando at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. I had a great time. As I neared Universal it started raining fairly hard. I thought it might ruin my day but turned out to be a godsend.

I parked my car and started the long trip on the people mover to the park. I went to guest services and got a complimentary pass for both parks. It was still raining a bit as I entered the park.

I took a quick trip to the back lot of New York to find the stage for The Blues Brothers. The whole reason for this trip is because my friend Dan was playing Elwood today. I found the stage and went off to see some attractions.

The first attraction I visited was Revenge of the Mummy. It's a great ride based on the movie of the same name.  I walked right in and got on with no wait. Off went our car. We passed through some Egyptian displays and then the car plunged into the dark, turning into a roller coaster in pitch black. I had no idea what to expect as this was my first time experiencing this attraction.

Then I headed over to see Twister…Ride It Out. Again, I walked in and right into the auditorium for the show. It was interesting, but I'm in no rush to see it again soon.

It was time for the first Blues Brothers show so back to the New York back lot. It started misting, so they delayed the start of the show. They ended up doing a condensed version. Danny was great. It's a role completely different from anything he did at Busch Gardens. Danny told me to be sure to return for the 2:15 show.

I headed off to other parts of the park. I saw Shrek 4-D (excellent), Back to the Future, and Men In Black Alien Attack, all in rapid succession. With the rain there were no lines anywhere in the park.

I grabbed a quick lunch. Hot dog + french fries + small root beer = $9.68. And that was one of the cheapest meals I saw anywhere. The hot dog was a Nathan's. I had it with kraut and dressing, like a reuben.

Then it was back over for another Blues Brothers show. This time they did the full show.

I went back out into the park and saw some more wandering and a bit of shopping. I didn't buy anything but it was fun to shop.

I went back for the 2:15 show and it was even better than the previous two. There was a warm up act and and extended version of the show. I talked to Danny after the show.  I gave him a good bye hug and headed for the exit.

My next stop was Islands of Adventure.

I grabbed a quick ride on the front row of The Hulk followed by a visit to the Spiderman attraction. I circled around the park and explored some areas that were closed the last time I was there. I took a ride on the Fire Dragon and headed for the exit. It was time to head for home.

It turned out to be a great day to be at Universal. The rain was a bit annoying at times. I never got really wet. Just slightly damp for a while. The best part of the rain is that it kept the crowd to an absolute minimum. There were no lines in either park. If there were normal crowds I wouldn't have done nearly as much as I did.

Ten dollars to park, ten dollars to eat, and about ten dollars worth of gas. Two theme parks and a visit with my friend Danny. One of the best days I've had in a long time. 

From time to time Busch Gardens makes repairs to their walkways. There was a small patch required near the Desert Grill. Thinking of safety first, they put up a barricade to protect us from the dangerous situation. The patch itself is about a foot and a half by a foot and a half and is visible within the barricade. The barricade is maybe three feet on each side. Please be careful when in this area. And remember! Do not enter the confined space without a permit!

My niece and her family are in town for a visit. They’re staying over at my dad’s place. Wednesday I had a day off so we all went to Seaworld. My niece hasn’t been there in many years and was very impressed with the park.

I finally got to see the new Shamu show Believe. The show starts with the story of a young man who has dreams. By believing he makes his dreams come true. It was wonderful. The music and images on the huge monitors were awe inspiring. The whales come out and do their behaviors. It’s amazing to watch how the handlers and whales work together. After the smaller whales perform Shamu, the big guy, comes out to perform. Incredible.

I like how there’s very little talk and mostly show. Previous incarnations had a lot of talking about what they were doing which puts the focus on the handlers. Less talk puts the focus on the whales, and that’s what I go to the show to see.

When I go to a theme park I usually try to follow a pattern. Seaworld is laid out in a huge circle. So the pattern would be to go around the circle seeing things roughly in the order they are laid out. My niece had other ideas. She’d look at the show schedule, decide she wants to see something, and off we’d go. Sometimes that meant walking from one side all the way over to the other side. You do tend to get tired of seeing the same areas of the park over and over.

It was a great day. Life is good.

So there was this woman pushing a stroller through the Hospitality House at Busch Gardens the other day. It was one of those double-wide strollers. You know, the kind where you can have two kids sitting side-by-side. The kind you have to dodge all day to keep from having them run into your legs or over your feet.

She entered through one of the double doors. She was trying to leave by the single door towards the restrooms. BAM! The wheels of the stroller hit both sides of the door at the same time. She pulled the stroller back a bit and BAM! Hit both sides again. I guess she thought she could make it through if she pushed harder.

Not to worry! One of the other members of the party got in front of the stroller, bent down, grabbed the front of the stroller and started pulling. BAM! Hmmm… they couldn’t make it through even with someone pulling on the front.

I went over and suggested using the other door. You know, the wide one.

I saw the same group a bit later. Once again she was trying to go through a narrow door. BAM!

Some people never learn.

Friday I was at Busch Gardens and ran into an old friend. He was visiting with his grandsons Damien (8) and L. T. (4).

Damien has ridden Gwazi and likes the way it zooms around the corners, but he has never ridden a coaster that goes upside-down. He decided he’s ready to ride an upside-down coaster and The Scorpion would be his first, but Grandpa didn’t want to go with him. I volunteered.

Off we went to Timbuktu. We got in the queue line. Excitement was mounting. Then came the dreaded announcement that the ride was closing. We decided to wait it out. Most of the people left and we quickly moved to near the head of the line. They re-opened the ride and we were on the first train.

Up the incline… down towards the loop… up through the loop… up-side down… down the other side of the loop… eyes wide with a huge smile, he decided to put his hands up in the air for the rest of the ride. I guess he decided he likes upside-down coasters.

We headed over to the Congo to check out Kumba. Damien decided the wait was too long so we went over and rode The Python. After that Grandpa decided it was time to do something that L. T. could do so off to Pirates 4D. After that it was time for them to head home. Damien was disappointed we couldn’t ride any more coasters. I told him maybe next time…

On Saturday, May 13, Cuban Sandwich Crisis will be playing at Busch Gardens. What, you may be asking, is Cuban Sandwich Crisis? They’re one of my favorite bands in the Tampa Bay Area. They will be at BG as part of the Michelob May MusicFest. They will be playing in the early afternoon in Gwazi Park. The featured band that day will be Kansas, performing at 4:00.

CSC’s music is hard for me to describe. They do a lot of originals and some tunes that everyone is familiar with, but in their own distinctive style. Try to catch them, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be lurking about trying to listen, but other commitments will probably keep me from the festival area. If you get a chance, tell “The Dave” that Barefoot Pete sent you.

People who have been to concerts in Gwazi Park before will notice a lot of changes in the setup. The main stage has been moved and seating for about 2,000 has been set up. Also, a second stage has been added. That’s where you’ll find CSC.

This weekend the Real Music Series at Busch Gardens is featuring Herman’s Hermits. I took my friend Ricky to see the show Friday and we had a great time. Ricky had no idea who they were since they were popular twenty years before he was born. I tried to explain and even sang bits of of few of their songs. Some of it sounded familiar to him, but he had no idea of their historic significance.

Every song the band performed was a number one hit. They saved Henry the Eighth for just before the end. It brought the house down. Peter Noone sang the first two verses. “Second verse, same as the first!” Then he gave the audience a chance to sing it. He deemed our first attempt unacceptable so he gave us a second chance. We all did better and he went on to a finish with a standing ovation.

After the concert Peter was available for autographs or just to shake his hand and have a brief chat with his fans. I was one of the first to the table. I quickly grabbed a CD and a tee shirt. As I approached Peter he extended his hand and greeted me. I told him that the concert was great and that it brought back a lot of forgotten feelings, not memories, but feelings. He liked that.

I’m writing this on Sunday morning. Today is the last day Peter Noone and the Herman’s Hermits will perform at Busch Gardens. I have to work today or I’d probably pop over and see the show again.

Well, so much for retirement…

Thursday afternoon I went to a show with my dad, discovered a job fair, and unexpectedly came home with a job. I’ll be working at a fun place with fun people.

Irish Thunder finally arrived in Tampa early Saturday morning, about 1:00 AM. Sunday afternoon they did two shows at the Desert Grill. They didn’t even have time to do a full dress rehearsal.

The show was great, considering lack of rehearsals. Most of the cast is different than last year’s cast, only a couple familiar faces. They’ll be doing a couple shows a day until they get up to speed and then start a full schedule of performances late in the week.

Shae Laurel did their final performance this afternoon. [sniffle] A bunch of us will be going down to see them at the Florida Renaissance Festival in Deerfield Beach. That festival opens February 11. See ya there!

Everybody’s favorite show at Busch Gardens, The Haunted Lighthouse 4-D, is being replaced. Ok, so it’s not really everybody’s favorite show, but some one must like it. The new show is called Pirates 4-D and will be opening February 17th. Terrific Tuesday participants will get a behind-the-scenes tour of the new show on February 28th.

Also in the works are several major changes in the Congo area of the park…

New habitats will be build for the orangs and tigers.

Most people don’t know that Busch Gardens also has some tomistomas and a new habitat will also be built for them. It’ll be nice to actually see these wonderful animals on display. Tomistomas are an endangered crocodilian species native to Indonesia and Malaysia. They commonly grow to lengths of 16 feet.

The Python rollercoaster will be dismantled since it’s outlived it’s useful purpose.

Nicole was a regular in Moroccan Roll, Dumphrey’s Special Day, the Christmas Show, Howl-O-Scream…

She’s an extremely talented performer with a beautiful smile. She’s a commanding presence on stage.

Yesterday was Nicole’s last day at Busch Gardens. This will leave a lot of regulars feeling empty. I know Billy and Brittany will probably miss her the most.

Goodbye, Nicole. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Shae Laurel will be on the road this week. They will return Friday or Saturday.

Irish Thunder is expected to be ready to open later this week. Shae Laurel will perform on the outside stage if Irish Thunder gets here.

Check the Busch Gardens website. They may have an update.

It’s all so confusing…

At any rate, looks like Sunday, the 22nd, will be their last day. [sniffle]

There has been a last minute change in Shae Laurel’s schedule.

They will be performing their scheduled shows Monday, but will not be performing on Tuesday and Wednesday. They already had nighttime bookings for those days and it’s been decided that a full daytime schedule coupled with travel time, etc. for the nighttime gigs would be difficult if not impossible to accomplish.

It’s amazing what they’ve been able to accomplish in such a little time. They got the call from Busch Entertainment Thursday afternoon. They put together a show, choreography and all, and started performing it Saturday. Less than 48 hours turnaround from phone call to first performance. If you see this show you’ll have to agree that it’s amazing.

Irish Thunder may be delayed a bit longer and Shae Laurel may be returning for next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

I’ll post an update as soon as I know what’s going on.

Monday may be your last chance to see them for a while so get a movin’ and get over there to see them. I’ll be there. Stop by and say “Hi!”

The opening of Irish Thunder has been delayed due to unspecified reasons so Shae Laurel is in the Desert Grill at Busch Gardens today. Their shows are at 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30. Check the Busch Gardens website for future dates.

From the rumor mill: There were problems obtaining entertainment visas for Irish Thunder to enter the country…

I made it through the holidays. I went to BG every day Shae Laurel was there except Tuesday. I really enjoyed their show. I spent way too much time on my feet. I’d get to the park early each day, catch Katonga, then head over to get lunch and see the Shae. They did four sets a day and saw saw them all. By the end of the day that I could hardly stand, but my back muscles hurt so much I could hardly sit down. Well, it’s over, and I’m a stronger person for it.

My friend, Deb, came down for a visit. Yesterday we went over to Pinellas Park to visit friends who have a New Year’s Day pot luck pick in. We had a wonderful time. The food was great, as always. We saw old friends we haven’t seen in a long time. It was nice too reconnect with old friends.

This morning Deb cooked a wonderful meal in my kitchen. I’m still so stuffed that I can hardly move. I didn’t know such good food could come out of my kitchen. There’s so much leftover that I’ll be eating good for a long time.

This afternoon we went to see The Stone Family. Sarah Jessica Parker did an incredible job. I have a new respect for her acting abilities. The story is one of those meet-the-parents type stories, but with a twist. Several twists, actually. I thought it would be a comedy and it started out that way, but in the last half of the movie there were several scenes that were so touching I left with tears in my eyes.

Deb left for home a few minutes ago. The house is once again quiet. Tomorrow I’ll take it easy and just relax. I won’t do anything more strenuous than a bit of laundry.

Shae Laurel is back at Busch Gardens. They’re doing a Christmas show at the Timbuktu Stage through New Year’s Eve. They have all new costumes, all new music, and all new choreography. The costumes seemed a bit much at first, but after a few minutes I hardly noticed them any more. Oh, mom’s got a cool new bass and Kat has a new fiddle.

It seems a bit odd for BG to start a Christmas themed show the day after Christmas, but it’s great to see this group performing their versions of familiar tunes.

Their first show was a bit rocky. There were some sound system problems. But the second and subsequent shows were much smoother and opening jitters seemed to be calmed.

I’ll be there as often as I can this week to see them perform and give them my support. If you’ve seen them perform before then you know how good they are. If you haven’t seen them yet then get over to BG and see them. Tell them Uncle Pete sent you…

I arrived at the security station at the north employee entrance to Busch Gardens at approximately 6:50 AM. I told the guard my name was supposed to be on the list… it was and I was directed to the Kumba parking lot in the backside of the park. There was a woman standing in the parking lot with a clipboard. It was a safe assumption that she was there to gather together the extras for the filming of Kumba.

Slowly a group of people gathered. Soon there were about thirty of us. They briefly explained what we were going to be doing. We signed waivers and releases. Then we were lead down the sidewalk along the access road. We passed through a portal with a sign above it indicating that we were entering a part of the park where we’d be coming in contact with patrons and that we should have a smile on our face and be on our best behavior. We turned up a paved pathway between the two sets of tracks for the train. It’s the first time I approached Congo-Kinshasha station on foot from that direction. We went up the pedestrian ramp towards the bumper cars and then turned towards Kumba. The misters were already misting and there was a dense fog on the bridge.

Once on the loading platform they started sorting us out. Colorful shirts were the order of the day. They picked people for the first two rows making sure to get a good mixture of male/females and shirt colors. Then they started placing the rest of us. I was seated in the third row on the farthest right seat. They gave us a few last minute instructions. We were told to smile a lot and be careful what we said because they’d be recording video AND audio. Apparently someone on the Sheikra shoot yelled “We’re all gonna die” and it messed up one of the runs as a result. We were also told to hold on to the grab bars because the manufacturer recommends it for safety and we were all supposed to be riding by the rules. No hands in the air. DARN!

We did a couple of runs. Then they had us move to different seats. This time I was in the fourth row on the left had side. We made two more runs.

Then they had to swap out trains. The one we had been riding had a camera mounted on the front and they needed a run with a camera mounted on back. By this time a bunch of extras had to leave to punch in for their regular jobs in the park. An emergency foray into the park was made to round up a bunch of extras. They put those of us with the colorful shirts in the last few rows and all the jungle shirted employees in the middle of the train.

When we finished up the last run it was almost 10:00. The front part of the park opened at 9:30 and the rest of the park opened at 10:00. We finished up just in time. They wanted us out of there by the time regular patrons arrived.

We were escorted back to our cars in the Kumba lot. I then drove over to the regular parking lot and re-entered the park for a day of fun and frolic.

I’ve always wanted to be an extra in some kind of film. Now I can check that off on my life list of things I want to do.

Keep your eye open for a National Geographic special involving roller coasters. It should be released in about a year. It was shot in high definition. I’ll be the one with the bright blue shirt with a silly grin on his face…

National Geographic is filming a high-definition documentary about roller coasters. They were at Busch Gardens a couple days ago to film Sheikra. They will be in the park tomorrow morning to film Kumba. A certain someone has been chosen to be an extra in the film…

The extras have to arrive at BG about 7:00 AM. They will enter through the north employees entrance and park in an employee lot close to Kumba. The filming will begin about 7:30 and has to be done before the park opens. Extras will be expected to ride 6 to 10 times during filming. The extras won’t get paid, they only get the fun of riding and the honor of being in a National Geographic film.

Another blogger will be putting up a post about this later in the day, but remember… you heard it here first!

Friday night my friend Jim took me to the Habana Cafe in Gulfport for dinner. Then we went to the Suncoast Theater at the Suncoast Resort in St. Pete. They were doing a fundraiser called Gypsy On Ice for Gypsy Productions. It was a lot of fun. They have some very talented performers there. Their next production will be Sordid Lives and sounds like it should be pretty good. It’s nice to find a nice theatrical company doing interesting plays.

Saturday we went to St. Pete again. This time we were going to Nadine Smith’s birthday party. She’s executive director of Equality Florida. The party was at a new restaurant called Bellabrava. It’s only been open a couple weeks. Service seemed a bit spotty. The food was pretty good except for my main entree. I had some kind of chicken. It looked like they took a large chicken breast, butterflied it, pounded it out, battered it and then fried it. It tasted good but was rather tough. It was so hard for me to cut that my hands started cramping. I probably should have sent it back but it took forever to get and I think I’d still be waiting if I had sent it back.

Sunday I went to Busch Gardens. It was my friend Lemac’s birthday. His mother was there to see him perform in Katonga. It was the first time she’s seen him perform live at BG. He was so proud to have us all meet his mother. It’s easy to see where he got his flair for the dramatic.

On a sad note, Sunday was also Andrew’s last day. He was a cast member in Katonga. He tends to get a bit emotional and during his final song he started to cry, but he continued singing through the tears. At that point I was fighting back the tears also. He was one of the sweetest people there and I will miss him. He’s moving back to Queens, where he was born and raised. He said he may come back to Florida in a couple months to try out for something over at Disney. I wish him the best of luck.

I found this article at instinct.com. Makes me wonder what might happen to the Tampa Bay area after Gay Day at Busch Gardens which is coming up on September 3, 2005. There may actually be something to this. Last year Gay Day at Busch Gardens was cancelled due to a hurricane. It was rescheduled and had to be cancelled again for another hurricane. At that point the promoters gave up. So anyway, here’s the article…

Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, you probably know I’m a regular at Busch Gardens. There are quite a few of us. I’m there several times a week, some are there once or twice a month. Are we special? I mean, should we have preferential treatment? Should our opinions matter more than regular patrons? Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a breakdown of what I did on Sunday:

- Got up puttered around on internet
- Took shower and got dressed
- Talked to Chris (Sharon’s mom is doing very poorly) :cry:
- Went to Busch Gardens
- Talked to Josh’s dad Terry
- Rode Sheikra :shock:
- Rode the skyride
- Rode Montu
- Went to see Katonga
- Talked to Joyce
- Went to see Hospitality House Trio
- Met up with my friend Jim
- Went to eat see American Beat at the Desert Grill
- Went to see Moroccan Roll
- Went home to change clothes
- Went to see Penguin March at the Tampa Theatre with Jim
- Got message from Chris (Sharon’s mom is improving) :-)
- Went home puttered around on internet
- Went to bed

Not all that exciting, huh?

People watching is on of my favorite past-times. When you watch people you see and hear many interesting things. T-shirts are a form of self-expression. I saw one a week or so ago that said “The weather is here, wish you were beautiful”.

So there I was walking along at Busch Gardens today when a guy in a brown t-shirt walked by. It said “Brown is the color of poo”. I was intrigued. Did it really say that? When I got home I decided to find out where it came from. After a few seconds of research on the internet, it turns out it’s a Family Guy saying. Apparently I’ve been missing out on something by not watching Family Guy. Apparently I haven’t been missing much.

Most of my friends know I collect and wear nothing but Chuck Taylor Allstars. Here’s a picture of my latest addition. My collection is now up to 23 pairs. I have a friend named Tron at Busch Gardens that has 35 pairs. He names all his. He decided I should call mine “Bumblebee”.

My friend Christian, from [Shae Laurel](http://shaelaurel.com/), was wearing a pair of high top yellow and black Chucks. I thought they were pretty cool so I ordered a pair. Mine are low tops and I’ve changed out the white laces for black laces. Thanks, Christian, for your inspiration. These are my current favorites.

The Summer Nights program at Busch Gardens ended Sunday night. It was difficult saying good bye to my friends from Abba Celebration and Shae Laurel. I probably won’t see many of the Abba people again. A couple of them may be returning for a Christmas program later this year. Others may return with a new show next summer. After their last show the entire cast came out for meet and greet. I was able to give each one a hug and tell them I hoped they could return some day.

Shae Laurel’s last show was a real tear jerker for me. During the last song Christian, the youngest, almost started crying. I could see tears starting to form in his eyes but he really fought it.

After the last song I gave each one a hug and told them I loved them. Kat, the 13 year old, was deeply touched. I could see her lips starting to tremble and tears starting to well up in her eyes and she threw her arms around me. Then she turned to Bruce and hugged him. She seemed OK for a few moments and then the scene repeated itself. Finally Bruce said she must be used to saying good bye after a gig. Her response was that they’ve never stayed in one place so long and made so many friends.

The trip home from the park was difficult. I had to fight back the tears. Tears of joy for having gotten to know these people, tears of sorrow for having to say good bye.

I’ll never forget the time I spent with this family. I took about 300 pictures of them on closing night. Someday I’ll post some of them on my website. It’s too hard for me to do it right now.

The good news is that Shae Laurel will be returning for a Christmas program. And it looks like they are going to be returning for Summer Nights in 2006.

To Abba Celebration and Shae Laurel… I love you all.

I went to Spring Hill today and came home with a check with lots of zeroes… YIPPEE! My house is finally sold. :-)

It’s Tuesday so I did the usual dinner with dad routine. We went to Lupton’s Buffet on Busch Blvd. I used to eat with friends every Thursday night at Lupton’s years ago when it was a regular bar-b-que restaurant. The restaurant was closed for a few years and reopened as a buffet. It’s some mighty fine bbq. We’ll put it on our list of regular places. It’s kind of fun finding new places to eat. Since we moved here we’ve found quite a few nice places.

Shae Laurel is off for the day so I’m taking a day off too. I’ll be going back to BG tomorrow.

Last night I thanked Shae Laurel’s mom for sharing her kids with me. Her response was to thank me for loving her kids so much. I told her it was one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. They really are great kids and I can’t imagine anyone not loving them.

The closing on my Spring Hill house is now set for this Tuesday, July 26, at 1:00 PM. My buyer called and said the deal on his other house fell through so he went and got a home equity loan on it so he could buy my house.

There are only ten days left of Busch Gardens Summer Nights. I’ve been going almost every night to see my friends Shae Laurel and Abba Celebration. I’ll really miss those shows when they leave. Mom from Shae Laurel thanked me profusely last night for my support. Go to BG and say hi to them, and don’t forget to tell them Uncle Pete sent you.

My car needed a new emissions computer so I went to Ferman Chrysler in Tampa. The service guy said it would take about two hours. I took two hours and five minutes. And that included a trip to the wash rack. I was very impressed with the service.

It looks like my two nieces and theirs families will be down to visit my dad over Thanksgiving. It will sure be crowded around here with four adults and three kids. I told him he should rent a couple rooms at the closest hotel.

Last weekend I spent in Crystal River helping my friend Deb get her barn started. She’s building a pole barn for her horses. There were only three of us working but we managed to get eight of the twelve poles in the ground. These are very heavy 6 x 6s about 16 feet long. They have to go into holes in the ground. I’m still not sure how we managed to get them in. The highlight of the weekend was going to see Charlie and the Chocolate factory. (See separate post.)

My friend Ricky is moving to St. Pete for a few months. He usually meets up with me at BG several times a week. He probably won’t be able to go nearly as often. He has special needs and can’t drive himself. He’s come a long way in the last couple years. I’m proud of him.

I guess that’s about it for now…

So I’ve been off-line for a while. Getting back online at my place has been a high priority. My dad got DSL with a wireless modem. I got an Airport card for my iMac and I’m using his connection. There seem to be a couple other open networks in the neighborhood I could tap into wirelessly. I love this wireless stuff.

We finally closed on our property. I’m now officially retired. I’ve got a buyer for my home in Spring Hill and should close sometime next week.

I’ve really been enjoying my retirement. I’ve been spending a lot of time getting things organized here at my townhouse. It’s still a mess but at least I can see where things will be going and how nice it will be when I’m done.

I go to Busch Gardens almost every day now. It’s only a couple minutes away. The park is staying open until 10:00 PM now during the Summer Nights program. There are two acts that they brought in that I really enjoy. The first is Shae Laurel. It’s a family band from California. They play Celtic, bluegrass, and folk music. It’s a very high energy show that’s very well choreographed. It’s a mom and dad and their four kids ranging in age from 11 to 16. I’ve fallen in love with the entire family and have adopted them into my extended family. If you happen to meet them say HI to them from Uncle Pete.

The other act that I’ve really been enjoying is Abba Celebration. It’s another high energy show featuring music from, you guessed it, Abba. It’s a great stage show featuring four main singers/dancers and a host of dancing girls, and a couple really nice dancing boys.

I suppose one of these days I should start looking for a job with health benefits…

I went to Busch Gardens late yesterday. I got there in time for the 6:45 Moroccan Roll show. I watched the show with Ricky. After the show Ricky had to leave. I decided it was a good time to go over and ride SheiKra.

I got over to SheKra about 7:30. I got in line. The line started halfway up the steps to the loading platform. Hmmm… it wouldn’t be a long wait and maybe I’d be able to ride several times.

I was loaded and ready to roll about 12 minutes after getting in line. I was seated in the front row and we were off. When the train returned to the loading platform I got off and decided to ride again.

By 8:30 I had ridden SheiKra four times. I guess late on a week night is the best time to ride.

I headed back over to Moroccan Roll and got there about halfway through their last show of the day. After the show I talked to the performers and got my hug from Samantha and headed home a very happy guy.

As I was going out through the turnstyles my friend Bryan called. I could devote an entire blog to him, but I won’t subject you to that. He’s an interesting young man. He’s got some problems, but then don’t we all. He needs someone older that he can trust to talk to. Anyone who knows me knows that I can’t turn away a young person in need.

And then theres Josh… He’s eleven years old, a pain in the ass, but he needs help, too. So I’m allowing him to be a part of my life for a while. I’m not sure I can help him, but I’ll try.

On Sunday I woke up early. I showered and hit the road for Busch Gardens. Sheikra offically opened to the public on Saturday but I decided to wait until Sunday to ride.

I arrived at the parking lot entrance a bit after 7:00 AM. There were already quite a few cars there. At 8:30 the parking lot opened and I parked in the preferred lot and headed towards the gates.

I was second behind my young friend Josh in line at one of the turnstyles. Our passes were scanned and we waited for 9:00. At precisely 9:00 they unlocked the turnstyles and waved us through. We headed for Stanleyville as fast as we could. A bunch of people started running but security was tight and made everyone walk. We still managed to get quite a lead on most of the others. We managed to get to Stanleyville with a small group of people well ahead of the others. It was now just a few minutes past 9:00. We were in line for the first train of the day.

Sheikra was scheduled to open at 9:30. As we stood at the head of the line the operators started testing the ride. It was quite exciting to watch the cars traversing the rails. The excitement levels kept rising.

Finally the testing a calibrations were done and they let us enter. We all ran up the steps to the loading platform. The operators loaded us quickly. Josh was in the front row and I was in the second row. In no time at all we were off.

The incline is set at 45 degrees and takes you up 200 feet. Set in a landscape like Tampa that elevation gives you quite a view. You can see Tampa Bay. You can see the Gulf of Mexico. On a clear day you can see the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

When you reach the top of the incline there’s a uturn in the track. After the uturn is where the first 90 degree plunge begins. As the track starts curving downward the train slows. When the train is almost vertical it stops. And waits…

After what seems like an eternity you’re off. It’s a plunge straight down. The earth rushes towards you at an incredible rate. By now the adrenaline is also rushing. Everything becomes a blur.

I really don’t remember much else about the ride. I don’t remember the inversion. I barely remember the second 90 degreew plunge. I don’t remember hitting the water feature. I do remember pulling into the station feeling higher than a kite.

By the time we finished our ride the waiting line was already about three hours so I didn’t ride again. Using past experience as a guide, after a couple more trips on Sheikra I’ll be able to remember every twist and turn.

It’s an awesome ride… at least I think it was…

I went down to the townhouse Friday afternoon. I took a load of junk, as usual. I spent the night so I could go to the ren fest Saturday morning. I couldn’t believe how quiet it was. It’s so much quieter than my place here in Spring Hill. You’d think a townhouse in the city wouldn’t be as quiet as a place out in the country, but the townhouse was so much more quiet. I got a very good night’s sleep.

Saturday morning I picked up my friend Ricky and we went to the ren fest. We had a great time. I got to see many old friends I haven’t seen since the last festival. The weather was wonderful and the crowd was huge. It was much bigger than I expected for opening day. All in all it was a wonderful way to celebrate my natal day.

I was going to go to the festival again on Sunday. It started raining Saturday night and was still raining Sunday morning. I figured I would putz around the house and organize the things I took down. A bit past noon the rain finally quit so I headed over to the ren fest. It looked like a war zone. The rain had flooded the parking lot and apparently the festival grounds, too. The festival didn’t get a chance to open.

I should have headed for home but decided to go to Busch Gardens instead. They were having technical difficulties in the Moroccan Palace Theater so all the Katonga shows were cancelled. Poop! It’s my favorite show and I really missed seeing it. It seems like any time the weather gets nasty there are technical problems in the theater. I did get to see the Moroccan Roll show and the Irish Thunder show.

Today I went to work and put in a full day. When I got home from work I made up a load and headed down to the townhouse. I got the stuff unloaded and decided I’d do some painting in the living room and dining room. I got most of the walls painted, only one wall left to paint and it’s the longest wall. Then I can paint the woodwork. I’ve been thinking I might replace the moldings in the living room and dining room. I know I want to do some kind of crown molding, but I think I may redo the baseboards and door trim also. There is no trim around the windows so maybe I’ll put trim there, too.

Well, it’s getting late and I’m tired so I guess I’ll head to bed.

There is a young man I met a while back. He’s a very talented singer and dancer. He was a featured performer in a show at Busch Gardens. I still can’t put my finger on why, but he somehow reminded me of a person who I was very much in love with for a long time. He doesn’t look like my former lover, doesn’t act like my former lover, doesn’t believe the same things as my former lover. In short, he’s really not much like my former lover at all. But there’s something about him. I guess it’s his overall aura, or maybe it’s because he touches maternal feelings in me. He evokes a sense of needing to be cared for, though he’s been living on his own for a few years. I just don’t know why I was drawn to him.

I’ve grown very fond of this young man in the time I’ve known him. It’s odd, because I don’t really like him all that much. He’s very opinionated and quick to tell you if he doesn’t care for someone. He’s a person is adored by his fans but at the same time detests most of them. To him I was probably just a pain in the ass. I never tried to push myself on him. In the beginning he was friendly towards me, but in the last couple months there were times he would totally ignore me.

As a regular at Busch Gardens I’ve seen a lot of performers come and go over the years. Some I remember fondly, others are forgotten.

Last night I went to see his show. It was the last show of the day. He was acting weird on stage. I turned to a friend and said it was almost as if it was his last night. I knew that he was planning on leaving sometime this spring so I thought I had time to prepare for his departure. As it turns out, last night WAS his last performance. He’s leaving sometime today for a job on the west coast.

After the show I went up to him and told him I’d miss him and I wished him well. He reached out to hug me. We embraced for what seemed like an eternity. I guess maybe he didn’t consider me quite the pain in the ass that I had imagined.

I didn’t know how I’d react to his departure, but today I’m very sad. There are tears in my eyes as I write this.

Good bye Scott. I love you and will miss you more than you’ll ever know. I will never forget you.

So far my New Year’s resolution is sticking… no prospects in sight. I don’t know why it’s so hard to find suitable partners. My friends say I may be too picky. I really hate bars and don’t like churches so those venues for meeting people are out. I don’t smoke and don’t want to spend a lot of time with people who do. Other than that, I’m fairly open to whoever comes along.

I spend most evenings quietly at home. I’ll watch a movie on cable if there’s something good on. I spend a bit of time on the computer.

I usually go to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay one day each weekend. I meet up with a bunch of regulars there. We’ll hang out together most of the day and see shows together. Sometimes I’ll ride the coasters, but after riding them a several hundred times they start to lose their appeal.

My favorite show at Busch Gardens is KaTonga. It’s a broadway style show set in the jungle of Africa. There is a series of storytellers each telling their own story. At the end it’s revealed that each story is but a step in life’s journey and there’s only one truly great tale. There’s a lot of singing and dancing by some very talented people. I’ve gotten to know most of the cast members and love them all dearly. We usually see the show a couple times each weekend and sit front row center.

Another great show was Jammin’. Alas, Jammin’ was cancelled in October, 2004. Some of the castmembers were reassigned to other shows in the park, some left the park. I’ve maintained contact with a couple that have left. You’ll find links to their bands over in the links column. Look for Cuban Sandwich Crisis and Lush Progress.

I’m looking forward to the new roller coaster that’s under construction. It’s called SheiKra. It’s a dive machine, the third one in the world and the first one in the United States. It’s also the first dive machine with an inversion. Click here for more information about SheiKra

ttfn