Spring Break 2019 - Day 1 continued

Yesterday was uneventful except that Alex and I had a come from behind sudden death win over SueG and Sydney in Madison's version of The Singing Bee. The winning lyric was from Kenny Chesney's She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy. Alex got the lyric correct for the win. We danced around the Wyndham unit.

We did, however, partake in Wyndham's activities last night. We went to Junk Food Bingo, which was quite the crowd, although not a ruckus, yee-haw, full of excitement one. I did my best to pump up everyone upon entering, but it was a tough group. The lady next to me was friendly and cheerful. She seemed to know quite a bit as if she popped in for this Bingo weekly.

Our activity director, the caller of our Bingo game, came in and tried to stir up the crowd as well. He did not introduce himself, but he was in his fifties and apparently known by many in the group. He went around asking people where they were from and giving little trivia facts about each state. I'm always hesitant when asked that question because those of us living in Florida aren't precisely from here, so I told him I was from the Tampa area via Indiana. 

Another group pipped up that they were from Newburgh and Tell City, Indiana. I held up my fist to bump from afar, but they were not sapped up enough to bond with me. Luckily, my next-door seatmate didn't leave me hanging. She fist-bumped me. Then a man at the table in front of us heard me ask if anyone was from Pittsburgh. He asked if I was a Steelers fan, and when I enthusiastically said yes, hoping to discuss the Antonio Brown trading situation, he shot me down.

Him: "The Steelers SUCK."

He was a Cowboys fan, although from New Jersey. Typical violent response from a Dallas fan. Whatever. We have more rings.

SueG won Bingo first from our group. Her excitement upon winning was heartfelt and a notch above anyone who'd won prior. No one shouted, BINGO, when they won. They either muttered things or said, "That's me." 

I was getting kind of bummed that the crowd was so lackluster. The AD tried to be funny with his games. We played regular Bingo, and then he made us stand up to play, sitting if he called your number. Last man standing won. He liked to call that play when the group seemed like they were sleeping. We played it quite a bit.

SueG chose a Reese Peanut Butter Cup for her Junk win because that's what her kids like, and she can't have candy. My card sucked, and so after about a half an hour, I stood up and traded for another one.

AD: "Hey, she's trading out her card for a new one!"

Me: "That wasn't a no-no in the rules you never read."

AD: "Fine with me, if you get another card."

Me: "You're all going to be truly sorry when I win. Anyone want to trade while I'm up?"

No one took me up on the offer, and no one attacked me for doing so. I did not win that round, but I did kill it next on the postage stamp bingo round.--four squares on the card, free square didn't count. I was sort of dozing, aware I needed B5, and then suddenly he was calling it. I pushed my red slot over before it hit me. 

I shouted BINGO, and then just in case no one heard it the first time, I yelled it again, throwing up my arms singing it over and over.

Me: "Bingo! Bingo. B-I-N-G-O and Bingo was the name-o."

And then for good measure, I stood up and danced while shouting it.

AD: "And that folks, is how it's done when you win."

I took a Kit Kat. Maddy and Alex then won, and we added another Reese and a Hershey Bar to the pile of junk. Sydney did not win. We told her it was karma for not participating in the car. She ate SueG's Reese. Pfft.

After Bingo came Karaoke and since we had nothing going on, we stayed for that too. We didn't sing with the mic although I sang along with the singers. Four people sang over and over, including the AD, who had a decent voice. The singers weren't bad, but the songs were all old-time songs that I knew from my dad.

SueG: "And Jesus music. That one guy kept singing church and cross songs."

Me: "Randy Travis sang that cross song. The others were decent hymns."

SueG: "Whatever. It was all depressing."

It really was. No up-tempo music. Most of it was melancholy. Madison ducked out first to poop or some such excuse. The rest of it made it to the end where a newbie walked in and sang a Mary J. Blige song that I'd never heard before, but it was harsh. Pretty much an angry woman trashing her man. The woman was a terrible singer. I mean, terrible, but I didn't care--good for her for putting herself out there. My friend next to me was one of the four singers. I high-fived her when I left.

When we exited, the AD wanted to know if I would be back next week as if this was a weekly recreation activity I'd signed up for and not a stay at a resort. He was very disappointed when I said I was leaving Wednesday.

AD: "You're just around the corner."

SueG and I are now considering driving over from Tampa every other week when she's off. This could be an excellent activity to get us out of the house.

Spring Break 2019 - Day 1

From the travel journal - 3/11/19 at 11:30 a.m.

Cara - It is precisely one year since I've written in the travel journal and traveled with the Glenn family. This year Madison has joined us as she is on her own Spring Break from college. We are taking a short two and a half-day trip. Sydney and Alex chose the Kennedy Space Center as our destination, and I vetoed doing it all in one day. I got us a Wyndham in Orlando to cut down on the driving and to extend the quality family fun time that SueG kept putting down as her favorites of our last trip a year ago.

Our time of departure was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Madison rolled out of bed at 10:43 a.m., SueG drove up at 10:54 a.m., and we left at 11:07 a.m. I blamed Madison, but...HOLD THE FORT!

SueG announced she had to go back home because something was wrong with her security alarm. She said we could blame her now for the late start, but I reminded her we weren't on any time schedule.

We took care of the alarm, grabbed water, used the bathroom, and left at 11:21. But...HOLD THE FORT!

SueG forgot to turn up her A/C, and we are headed back to her house with all of us laughing. No hurry, though. Check-in isn't until two.

I entertained us with a recap from the journal entries of last year's spring break trip to South Carolina.  Lots of laughter. Sydney, after hearing about her lack of joining in on the previous road trip, took one ear out of her headphones as a compromise.

Also, she was worried we'd talk about her, which we attempted to do and is how we then discovered the uncovered ear.

We listened to the oldies station.

Madison: "It is actually Hits of the '80s and More". 

She found the "and More" funny.

The two oldies in the car don't know every word in the songs. I make them up, and SueG stops singing as if on purpose, giving a few shimmies and shake dance moves to cover it up. 

Madison looked up the lyrics on her phone to sing them correctly. For a moment, we thought she knew or at best understood Corey Hart's I Wear My Sunglasses At Night until we realized she was cheating.

Trivia We Have Learned Thus Far:

• Lyrics to I Wear My Sunglasses At Night
• Who is Charles Puth?
• Who is Walk Off the Earth? - They are a band recommended to Madison by Austin.
• Whether or not Dr. Phil has a Ph.D. - FYI, he did earn that.
• Information about Florida Polytechnic College. Do they have dorms? Yes, two dorms consisting of 3 and 4 bedroom suites in Resident Hall I and 2 bedroom semi-suites in RHII. Also, the school is the only college with a library that is entirely digital.
• If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone hear it?

SueG: "No. Only the wildlife hear it."

Me: "How do you know?"

SueG: "It's in the book."

Me: "What book?"

SueG: "The book, Every Question, and Answer About Nature."

Me: "Is that available at the Polytechnic digital library?"

• What is something you want to do before you die?

SueG: "Travel. I'd like to go to Greece."

Cara: "Drive a big semi-truck so that I can blow the horn." SueG then mentioned how those trucks are stick shifts. "Okay, well, forget that. I just want to climb into the cab and toot the horn."

Madison: "Answer this question. No, I'm kidding. I'd like to go to Egypt."

Alex: "I want to go to Ireland."

Sydney: DID NOT PARTICIPATE

1:18 p.m.

Cara - We are stuck in stop and go traffic. I have tried my best to entertain, but no one has appreciated it. I've offered trivia, and I've rolled down my window to converse with other drivers. I want to ask someone if they have Grey Poupon, but most of the drivers are too young for that. Oh, and they don't have their windows rolled down. Last year we tried to get truckers to sound their horns, but no one would. 

When I came upon the first guy who did have his window rolled down, I posed that question to him.

Me: "Do you know why truckers don't honk their horns anymore? I'm just curious."

Him: "What?"

Me: "I'm trying to find out why truckers don't honk their horns anymore. Remember, as a kid, when we would do this to get them to blow their horns?" (I lift my arm and demonstrate)

Him: "No."

Me: "Okay, then. You're too young. Thanks anyway."

Alex: "He just mouthed, "What the fuck, lady?" as he rolled up his window."

He was driving a Toyota truck. What did he know about semis? Or anything for that matter? He wouldn't have had any Grey Poupon either. He sucked. No sense of humor. I mean, it wasn't like he was doing anything stopped in traffic. Well, he was smoking. I should have told him that would stunt his growth. Or discuss how filthy his lungs must look by now. 

I mutter all of this aloud to the participants in our van. I look for another participant, and when I located one, I discovered the driver had put on the window safety lock.  

Party Pooper.

Puddles Pity Party

My husband invited me on a date night. He told me to pencil it in on my calendar, and when I asked what we were doing, he vaguely mentioned something about a show.

Tom: "I don't know if it'll be good or not, but I got us tickets."

He was his typical vague self, telling me it was a play about a guy who masked his face. I imagined a tale about life behind the mask vs. life with a cover, but somewhere in the weeks that followed, I heard the word clown.

SueG: "What the hell are you talking about? That makes no sense."

Me: "I don't know. Who cares? I'm getting dinner and a show. I'm sure it will be fine.

SueG: "A clown?"

Me: "Maybe I'm wrong about that part. I really wasn't paying that much attention."

On the day of the program, Tom was sick. He wasn't sure he'd even feel like going, so dinner turned into eating leftovers at home, and I honestly wondered if maybe I would have to take SueG on my date instead of my husband.

SueG: "To see a clown? Uh..."

Me: "Okay, maybe I'm wrong about that. I don't know why that word is stuck in my head. Let's look it up."

I searched for local clown shows. Then I started in the city we were headed to that night and checked the shows for that evening. Nothing. Finally, I remembered another venue, and SueG remembered the name of it and BOOM. There it was.

Me: "OMG! It is a clown! Puddles Pity Party. He was here last year too in a sold-out show."

SueG: "You have got to be kidding me. A clown?"

Me: "It says he was on America's Got Talent. I don't watch that show. Let's look him up."

So, we did. We watched Puddles' performance on YouTube, and our faces mirrored that of Simon Cowell's when Puddles took the stage. He never spoke, but he sang and from what we saw...well.

Me: "Whatever. It's a night out."

SueG: "In the pouring rain to see a clown? Have fun with that."

Turns out, it was fun. 

The venue was one that I've read about but have never been to. Despite my husband's illness, he rallied enough to drive us there in the miserable pouring rainstorm we'd had all day. While I knew a bit about this clown from my earlier research, he knew next to nothing except that his colleague recommended it.

Puddles doesn't speak. He mimes or uses the audience for his voice. The stage setting is minimal with Puddles' suitcase, a chair, microphones, and a small coffee table and coffee set up. Oh, and a large screen that shows various stuff throughout the act. He does a lot of physical comedy, incorporates a massive wad of gum in his act, involves the audience multiple times, and has an obsession for Kevin Costner. And the man can sing!

Really sing. Puddles has a beautiful, rich baritone voice, and the clown can belt it out. He performed for two hours, and it was incredible. We were told before the show that videos and picture taking was encouraged at all times, so I made sure to send frequent SnapChats to SueG and her daughter. So that they would know what they were missing.

My favorite part of the act was during his singing of Chandelier. He entered the audience, took people's cell phones and exchanged them all around the theater so that when he was back on stage, audience members were scurrying around in search of their phones. His reaction to this was hilarious. Even so, I made sure my phone was tucked safely in my bra.

Seated three seats from us was another celebrity, but I had no idea. People kept coming over for his autograph or to take a selfie with him. The guy in front of me filled me--Bello Nook. He, too, was an America's Got Talent act, but he is more famously known for his Guinness Book of World record-holding, various trapeze acts at Madison Square Garden, and for hanging from a helicopter over the Statue of Liberty. He doesn't wear clown face but instead is known for his spiked hairdo.

He and Puddles obviously knew one another as he was featured in the montage of famous people Puddles has met through years of entertaining. 

It was a great night. Good fun. Entertaining. I loved it. It was a pleasant surprise. If Puddles is in your area, go. You won't regret it.

SueG: "Let's plan to go next year if he comes. We'll take the kids."

Me: "You'd see a clown?"

SueG: "I'd see this clown, yes. Let's plan on that."