Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Rest and relaxation (and beer)


At long last, I have chewed through the chains tying me to my desk (Mom said those fluoride treatments would pay off), so it's time for a well-earned (as far as you know) vacation to the Carolinas. Based on my assumption that no one wants to receive a running commentary on how many beers I can drink at the beach (Answer: a lot), the great and mystical Ellipses will be moderating the discussion on this Internet space for the next couple of weeks. I think you'll find him entertaining. I know I do. Help him out by keeping those discussions rolling. I'll have my laptop with me, so I'll probably participate from time to time. As I depart, I'd like to hear from you about your favorite all-time vacation, be it as a child or adult. I think I'd have to go with the first time my parents took me to the beach. We went to Chincoteague to see the annual pony swim. Good times. Take care all. Chat with you soon.

--- Brant

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16 Comments:

Blogger Brant said...

I should also have mentioned that if Ellipses says something you like, we take full credit for it. If he angers you, well, he's not an O-R employee, so how could it be our fault? ;)

Brant

July 2, 2008 at 9:25 AM  
Blogger Greg said...

I was vacationing with my family in New Jersey. I think. I was young and the location really doesn't matter for this story. I was with my mother at a mall when a guy robbed a jewelry store and the robber ran right by us. That was pretty exciting for a youngster. It was the greatest vacation of all time for me but that one part was pretty memorable.

July 2, 2008 at 9:26 AM  
Blogger Greg said...

I meant to say that it wasn't the greatest vacation of all time.

July 2, 2008 at 9:27 AM  
Blogger Ellipses said...

Monique reminded me that anything I put on here is copyrighted by the OR... So it might not be your fault, but you still own it :-)

All I ask is that anyone who reads this blog occasionally... if you would read it regularly while Brant is gone. And tell all your friends about it and them tell their friends. Maybe if you could schedule some Brant Blog reading parties (everyone use a separate computer and ip address, please)... that would be cool. Oh yeah, and don't forget to tell me how awesome I am. I promise, in the "official" blog posts, I will use much better punctuation :-)

Anyway... vacations... hmmmm... I had an experience similar to Greg's... except I wasn't on vacation, I was x-mas shopping at Kohl's and some guy went splitsville with merchandise he had not yet assumed ownership of due to the exchange of currency for said merchandise. So maybe it isn't all that similar to Greg's afterall.

-ellipses

July 2, 2008 at 9:35 AM  
Blogger Brant said...

Oh, the shameless pandering! You couldn't wait until I at least had the luggage in the car??? :)

Brant

July 2, 2008 at 9:53 AM  
Blogger MJ said...

Speaking of more shameless pandering (that doesn't involve a gas tax holiday). My favorite vacation going down to Daytona Beach, Fla., every year for a trip to the Firecracker 400. It's been an off-and-on tradition for the past 15 years with my dad and stepbrother, and I will renew it this weekend. I chronicled the 2006 drunken debacle on my blog (www.jonesinforspeed.blogspot.com) for your reading pleasure.

I'll also be writing daily from the beach/track. Any chance, Brant, that we can get you to post a few tales of your trip while your feet are in the sand?

July 2, 2008 at 10:07 AM  
Blogger Moe said...

Brant,
Awesome picture you added to your post. My mouth is watering! I hope you have a great time and I can't wait to read about your trip. And as always, I will be editing the blogs regularly and I'll keep a watchful eye on "..." I'm afraid he may try to take over the world.

Moe

July 2, 2008 at 10:39 AM  
Blogger Ellipses said...

It's like being a deer in the woods... once you hear the shot, it's too late. Resistance is futile.

-ellipses... all hat, no cattle

July 2, 2008 at 11:19 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

All time favorite vacation would have to be going to London by myself in April 1992.

I had gone three years before with some college friends, but I went in '92 for the sole purpose of getting a free ticket to Australia (my dad was going to be there later that year on a business trip, and Northwest Airlines had a crazy special where if you bought a round trip ticket to London they'd give you a free ticket to Australia, Bermuda or Alaska).

It's hard to explain, but there's nothing quite like being 26, on your own in a vibrant city like London and being your own boss for a week. It was great -- saw Albert Finney in a play, went to movies, ate in honest-to-god pubs where the woman behind the counter would call you "luv," took a train to Liverpool to see the Beatles sites, and did all kinds of book and record store hopping (weighing my bag down considerably for the flight back). I also arrived on election day, and it was kind of a thrill to watch the election returns on the BBC that night.

--Brad Hundt

July 2, 2008 at 1:08 PM  
Blogger Ellipses said...

Brad... please tell me you went to Westminster Abbey and saw poets' corner... or at least Newton's tomb :-)

-ellipses

July 2, 2008 at 1:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes I did. I've been to London four times, and have visited Westminster Abbey each time. An amazing place. I always tell people that when you're there, you're convinced that 1) God lives there and 2) God is British.

I seem to remember on the '92 trip, I was waiting in line to get into the royal chapels, looked down and realized I was standing on Charles Darwin's grave!

--Brad Hundt

July 2, 2008 at 3:09 PM  
Blogger Amanda Gillooly said...

Well, I'd have to say drinking Moon Shine with a character known as "The Mayor" down in Virginia Beach a few years back. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, and that we didn't go blind. Riding the jet ski in the bay was also cool until I got violently thrown from the thing.

July 2, 2008 at 6:18 PM  
Blogger Brant said...

Did that mishap have anything to do with the moonshine? That's why I park myself firmly in a deck chair while becoming comfortably numb. Plus, I can't swim.

July 2, 2008 at 6:42 PM  
Blogger Ellipses said...

Uh-oh... that Mayor character sounds familiar... was he a real mayor up in the richmond area?

-ellipses

July 2, 2008 at 7:52 PM  
Blogger Scott said...

Vacations are always good, as long as you are not traveling with a pain in the ass.
Personally, I like Seattle because it's hip and close to some of the most beautiful landscapes in the United States.
Have fun Brant.

July 2, 2008 at 11:23 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sorry for joining the party late - but Greg's brush with crime on vacation reminded me of the time I was in South Padre Island between Christmas and New Year's Eve in 1983. Went with family, packed shorts, T-shirts, swim trunks, etc. and the island got hit with record cold. A huge main water line that supplied the whole island broke, and we spent the first two days in a pretty nice resort hotel without water. But I digress. We took a day trip to Matamoros, Mexico, and in the midst of shopping for trinkets I witnessed a knife fight in the middle of the street. Two Mexican youths, probably in their late teens, went at it. Messy, very messy. We ate a good lunch, drank good beer, and got the hell out of there.

-Andy

July 8, 2008 at 5:13 PM  

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