Beverage review #2

Today I will review one of my all time favorite sodas.  I don’t know if this is considered cheating, because I have had this so many times.  The only difference is that, you already know is this beverage is gonna get my recommendation.  So let’s meet our friend, shall we?

Here we have Barq’s Red Creme Soda.  In the last review, I briefly mentioned my love of this soda.  Maybe the reason I like it so much is that it isn’t readily available anywhere in my surrounding area.  Anytime I travel to Ohio(I have a lot of family out there), I always make it a point to drink beverages that are not native to my state.  You may be thinking what makes this creme soda better than any other?  First it’s the red liqid, and second is the taste.  This is not to be confused with Big Red soda.  In my opinion, they taste nothing alike.  Big Red tastes more like bubblegum.  That’s not a bad thing.  This soda taste like a sweet creme soda with a little bit of the bubblegum flavor.  And it’s bright red!  This was the last remaining can, and I it has survived since I returned on July 5.  It’s 23 brothers were quickly dispatched.

I guess I don’t need to say it, but I will.  If you like creme soda or the color red, I would say to give it a try.  It doesn’t have the trademark “Barq’s Bite”, but it’s creme soda, and it’s supposed to be smooth.  I’m drinking the last of it now, and I’m a little sad.  So we’ll look at something that will make us happy!

Over the weekend my friend Chris(we call him Clarkinator), gave these to me as a late birthday gift.  He has had these M.U.S.C.L.E men since he was a kid.  When he showed them to me a couple of years ago, I was like are you giving them to me to add to the collection?  Unfortunately, he just found them in his closet and thought I would appreciate them.  Just before he moved back from Florida this past May, he had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and immediately  I said “How about them M.U.S.C.L.E. men?”  And he said, “When I find them.”  Well, this past Saturday he came by and went into his pocket and tossed them to me one by one.  I said thank you and he informed me that he kept a few, but that’s cool because now I have some of these guys in my toy collection.

I’ll see you at 6:30pm EST

Just as the title states, that is when I expect to have a “tasty” entry on tap for you guys, plus an extra “little” surprise.

For those who want to know, the final installment of Cincinnati Vacation is in the works, and I hope to have it up before the weekend.  Lots more cool stuff from the far away land of Indians and Blue Jackets.

I’ll see you guys later!

Cincinnati Vacation Part 2 chapter 2

After our adventure at Trader’s World, we headed down the road and went to Treasure Aisles.  Now, this is the place I remember going to!  From what I heard, this place used to be called Turtles Cove, or something like that.  I heard that part of it burned down.  When I first came here, back in 1996 or so, I remember buying a white Zombie cassette.  This was the place I specifically wanted to come to.

Almost immediately after walking the door, I noticed a photo op!

Already promising!  Now basically, I was on the hunt for NES/SNES games, 80’s toys, great deals and weird shit in general.  So, the first place I noticed happened to be a video game stall/store.  I headed straight to the NES section, looking for a bargain.  I noticed a few boxed games and inquired about two of them.  Only one of them ended up coming back to NY.  …And here it is!

The guy said that he would part with it for 8 dollars.  I reached into my pocket and had 7 bucks, he took it.  The cartridge and sleeve are legit, but I’m not sure about the box.  Sure, the little piece of styrofoam is in the box, but some of the print on the box seems a little blurry, but looks like the ones I’ve seen online.  Shit, for 7 bucks, I hardly got ripped off!

There were a lot of dealers selling 80’s toys.  The only problem with this was that, they were selling gallon size Ziploc bags of toys for $15+, or really overpricing single items.  So in order to find the best deals, you have to browse a bit.  If you see an item you like, and you think the price is fair, go for it!  I tend to buy something the second I see it.  This next find is no exception.  I immediately saw it, and thought that the price tag of 2 bucks was fair.

Considering how old this is, Rocksteady here, is in superb condition.  He even has his utility belt.  As I one of my favorite TMNT bad guys, he was a must.  The same vendor had the Rocksteady that was a super hero(Super Rocksteady?).  But I decided against that purchase, as that figure looked like it has seen some extensive play.

Moving right along.  Our next finds came from a stall that looked like yard sale.  There was stuff everywhere!  This lady was shilling plastic bags full of toys for 1 dollar.  I perused the bags, but could not find anything to jusify my dollar.  She had other items on shelves, and I inqired about the price.  She said “A dollar a piece.”  I went back and scanned the shelves.  A few things caught my eye, but I walked up to the lady and asked if she would take $1.50 for two.  She said “yes, would you like a bag?”  No thanks, I already have one.

On the left we have Spychanger Jazz, on the right we have a 1982 LJN E.T. action figure with extending neck feature.  I believe the E.T. figure originally came with a little Speak N’ Spell, but I doubt many of those survived due to their size.

As we wandered through, we ran across another game store!  But this one was different.  There were plenty of retro games available, but there was one reason why I stayed more than a few minutes.

Do you see it?

That’s right the Super Mario Bros. arcade cabinet.   I don’t think you can see what that little white rectangle says, so I’ll help you out.  It says”Yes, I work!”  The stage layouts for this are different from the NES edition.  I believe this came out after the NES version.  Now, I have played this before.  It was out in Oregon when I went there for my uncle Jimmy’s wedding.  That was around 1990.  It was alot of fun.

Before we left I had to hit the restroom.  They had some pretty sweet signs on a few of the bathrooms that kept the pirate theme.  Sadly, these were not on the doors of the restroom that I used.

On my way back from the restroom, I saw a guy with a table full of little toys he was selling for 1 dollar each.  A lot of fast food toys.  But mixed in with all of those, I found a companion for my recently aquired Spychanger Jazz.

Spychanger Optimus Prime.  These Spychangers are perfect for taking anywhere, as the fit in the palm of your hand.  If I was 10 years old, I’d probably have 2-3 of them on me during any given car ride.

So ends Part 2 of my Cicinnati Vacation.  I have 1 part left to go.  I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll stay quiet.

 

 

 

New post tomorrow!

I have almost completed chapter 2 of Cicinnati Vacation Part 2.  I will finish it after work tomorrow.  It will be fun.

Thanks for the positive comments, and because of your readership, I achieved my highest views since this blog’s inception.

Here’s a coll pic I found on Google Images.

Quick question

This is a question to anyone who visits this blog.

Are you guys diggin’ the content?  I see that I get visitors everyday, yet no one has left a comment since Feeding the Hun-grr.  If you guys have suggestions to stuff you would like to read about(that I have knowlegde of), please let me know.

Big thanks to everyone who visits.  I hit over 1,000 views Friday.

Cincinnati Vacation Part 2 chapter 1

Actually, the second day of my vacation was my family reunion.  But we didn’t get any pictures from that event, and it probably wouldn’t make for a good post.  So, fast forward to the last day of my trip.  This post will be part one of my last day, because this day was packed with greatness.

If you are familiar with this blog, then you’ve seen my “Yard Sale Finds” posts.  We had grand plans for our final day in Ohio.  We got up early, got ready, went and visited my dad’s burial plot and headed to Trader’s World.  This was my first time at this place and it was a cool experience.  Just take a look at what you see when you drive into this place.

There were animals like this everywhere!

Now, where I live, we don’t have any actual flea markets.  So when I get a chance to go to one, I’m giddy with excitement.  It’s one of those “thrill of the hunt” feelings.  I’ve read many stories about stuff people find at flea markets.  Today I don’t have a grand find, but I did manage to grab a few cool things.  This place was huge!  There were close to ten buildings(almost like barns, but real floors and it was air conditioned), all connected by a central corridor.  Plus, there were dealers in the lot, and a small city of other merchants in an open air facility.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t check out the whole place.  So let’s see what treasures the place had waiting for me.

My first find of the day only cost two bucks, and was the only find for me in the outside area.  Let’s take a look shall we?

Here we have 2 sealed packs(I opened one) of 1991 Topps Stadium Club hockey cards and a loose Ace Duck from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The cards only cost me 50 cents a pack and the Ace Duck cost me a buck.  While I don’t really collect hockey cards like I used to, I couldn’t turn down cards I remember buying nineteen years ago.  And I should’ve held out on the Ace Duck, as I found one in the exact same condition for only 50 cents.

There were quite a few vendors selling many vintage games, all at varying prices.  When you’re checking out games it helps to check a few places and compare prices to see what will be a better deal.  Unless, you see a deal that you know is a steal.  Everybody nowadays think they’re an Ebay expert and price their stuff accordingly.  But when I spot a box of old games under a table marked between 1-3 dollars, I know I’ll find at least one game I’ll buy.  Here are the aforementioned low priced games I picked up.

In the first picture we have Fester’s Quest, NES Play Action Football and Pictionary, all for play on the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Fester cost me 2 bucks, while the other two ran a buck apiece.  In a box right next to the one with these loose NES games, there was this complete SNES game for two bucks.  Now Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing isn’t a rare or great game, but I collect NES and SNES games.  This one had the cardboard tray the game sits in, a cartridge sleeve, all the inserts and instruction manual.  And to top it off, the box is in great condition.

As i was perusing this amazing place I stumbled into a stall with a guy that sold all types of old school goodness, primarily old unopened packs of all different trading cards.  Man, I had to have self control, or I would’ve spent like fifty bucks in there.  I had my 11 year old cousin Nick and my 14 year old cousin Wayne with me.  I gave them two dollars each to get whatever they wanted.  When we were in this stall, Nick bought a pack of Desert Storm trading cards for a dollar and seemed disappointed.  I asked him what was up, and he said that he didn’t want the cards, he thought they would be more animated.  I laughed pretty hard and wound up with the pack, and I’m not sure that I want them.  But I did spend two dollars here, and here’s what I got.

Growing up in the eighties, you know I had the complete set of the Ninja Turtle cards, but I don’t recall ever getting a single pack of Back to the Future II cards.  When I got home I wished I would’ve bought two packs so we can see what they look like.  And like I’ve said before is there a license Topps didn’t acquire in the eighties and early nineties.

Here are the last two items I purchased at this flea market

There was a vendor selling legit movie related and retro shirts for incredibly low prices.  Again I had to control myself.  Here was the sale she had going on…shirts were 3 dollars each, or 2 for five and I think 5 for ten bucks.  Up first, we have the Mega Man “The Usual Suspects” t-shirt featuring Heat Man, Quick Man, Flash Man, Metal Man and Crash Man, all from Mega Man II.  An then we have the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles logo t-shirt.  What more can I say about it?  T-U-R-T-L-E power.

Well that’s all for tonight.  In a day or two I’ll post our Treasure Aisles adventure which was right after we left Trader’s World.  So that will be part 2 of this part 2.  I will leave you with a few parting shots from Trader’s World.

Keep your fingers crossed.

I will try to have Cincinnati vacation part 2 up tonight.  I know I’ve said something like this in the past and have failed.  Part 2 will be the flea market finds of my vacation.  Lots of cool stuff and way too many pictures.  I hope you will join me.  See ya then!!

Beverage review #1

This is a first for me.  A beverage review.

Long before we even left for Cicinnati, I had told my fiancee that we would be bringing back at least two 12-packs of Barq’s Red Creme soda.  Since I was a kid, I have loved this stuff.  Now, I have not seen this elusive soda in any of my limited travels, except for in Ohio.  After our day at King’s Island, we stoppped at a gas station/convenience store called Thornton’s(I believe it’s a chain), so I could grab a few cold beers.  As I was scouring the coolers, I noticed this guy.

Now, I have tried the Big Red soda, but this was new(to me anyway).  For me, a new blue soda is something I have to try.  For those who do not know, Big Red is a red creme soda similar to the Barq’s variety, but in my opinion, it tastes like bubblegum, nothing at all like Barq’s.  I’m not saying that I dislike Big Red(it was my first uncommon beverage upon arriving in Cicinnati), I just prefer the Barq’s red creme.

I was expecting this to taste somewhat fruity.  How wrong I was!  I don’t think that the blue coloring plays any part in the taste.  This actually tastes like a really good creme soda.  It definately threw me for a loop.  I wish I had tried this while I was out there, rather than sampling it today, because I would have brought back more.  All in all, if you can find it, I reccomend giving it a whirl.

I have a few other non-local beverages I brought back for review.  I will post part 2 of my vacation in a day or two, and in between the long vacation posts I will post the aforementioned reviews.

 

 

 

 

Cincinnati Vacation Part 1

Alright.  As many of you know, myself, my fiancee, as well as my nephew drove out to Cincinnati for our summer vacation.  My family reunion was on July 3, so we planned our vacation to coincide with that.  Every year, up until I was 16, my family would drive to Cincinnati for our summer vacation.  This was my first trek out there since 2003.  My fiancee had never been to Ohio before, so this was new territory for her, and we had a blast.

I don’t have any pictures since we left until our second day.  But I will tell you about the shady motel we stayed in for less than four hours on our first day in Cincinnati.  I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the Reading/Sharon area of Cincinnati, but this place had potential as a crime scene.  The last time I had stayed in this motel dates back to 1997…and alot has changed!  We needed some rest, so we checked in to the Drake Motel.  We watched some tv and slept for a couple of hours.  When we woke up, we were hungry, so we decided to hit up White Castle.  Now, while we do have White Castle restaurants in New York state, we do not have one within 3+ hour drive of our house.  I will state that a White Castle cheeseburger from a White Castle restaurant is a million times better than the frozen variety found at the super market.

After we ate, we went to my Aunt Liz and Uncle Bill’s house.  We were hanging out and having some drinks with a few of my cousins, and the subject of where we were staying came up.  We informed them we were staying at the Drake, and they had a few things to tell us about this place.  My cousin Billy informed us that on average this place gets robbed twice a week.  He also told us, at night, people will aproach you for “favors” or hit you up for crack.  Lastly, he told us that it wouldn’t be uncommon for someone to kick in our room’s door and rob us.  Needless to say, we grabbed a few of our cousins, went to the motel, retrieved our belongings and got the hell out of there!  My nephew, Victor, stayed at my aunt and uncle’s house and myself and my fiancee stayed in a better part of town at a Red Roof Inn.  We slept a whole lot better!

After a good night’s sleep, we showered, picked up Victor and headed for King’s Island.  Being that we went to Cincinnati every year, you can probably guess I came here every year as well.

We had printed our tickets online at home a couple of days before we left New York.  By doing this, we saved 16 bucks a ticket!  We headed to the front gate to enter the day of fun that awaited us.

We arrived at a little after 12 noon, and being that we didn’t eat before we left, we sought to find a place to grab some lunch.  We opted for the Juke Box Diner.  A lunch for three cost us almost 40 bucks!  We bought a 46 ounce souvenir cup for $9.99, because we could share it and refills around the park were $1.99.  Here’s the cup at home now, and at it’s former home at King’s Island.

(sorry, that’s the only pic I have of the cup in the park)

Being that we just ate, I suggested that we wait a little while before we started riding the coasters.  So we opted to go on the dark ride Boo Blasters on Boo Hill.  The last time I was on this ride it was Phantom Theater( 1992-2002 ) and before that it was Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage ( 1982 – 1992 ).  The whole inside of the place was doused in black light and black light responsive paint.  Not only that, there were 3 laser tag like guns attached to each car.  As you ride, little targets appear on ghouls, ghosts, monsters and random objects.  Your objective is to shoot these targets and see who has the highest score at the end of the ride.  My fiancee’s gun was broken, and Victor beat me 880 to 830.  As you enter the line for this ride, you have the option to buy a pair of 3-D type glasses for $1.00 to enhance your experience.  They were worth it.

We did check out the Spongebob 3-D movie and the Drop Tower before Boo Blasters.  Spongebob’s movie is housed where the old Days of Thunder interactive movie used to be shown.  So the chairs moved, rocked and bucked like you were in a Nascar race.  Those same chairs were used for Spongebob’s movie, which made the 3-D experience that much better.

Next, we went on the Drop Tower.  This was the highest one I’ve went on, and it was able to accomadate 40 riders at a time.  It was a great thrill.  And after Boo Blasters we were itching to ride the coasters.  We were able to ride 7 out of the 10 coasters.  The ones we missed were Invertigo, Backlot Stunt Coaster and The Diamondback.

Here are pictures we had taken of us with Snoopy and Linus on our way to Boo Blasters

First we rode Flight Deck, which used to be Top Gun.  Paramount sold the park to Cedar Fair Entertainment Co., the same company who owns Cedar Point, in 2006.  So Top Gun was one of the handful of rides that had to be renamed to be unassociated from Viacom properties.  This coaster rides suspended to the track overhead.  On the park’s map this one’s rated at a 4 (5 being the highest ), considered a high thrill ride.

Next coaster up was Adventure Express.  This one has an awesome theme to it.  It’s supposed to be like riding through a rain forest and encountering an ancient Mayan/Incan temple.  We rode the front car on this one, and were on it in about ten minutes.  This one is rated a 5, an agressive thrill ride.

Coaster number 3 was The Racer(s).  This one has two trains, one red and one blue.  And if the operaters of the ride do it properly, the trains start at the same time and they “race” around the track.  Fortunately, we had a legitimate race, and our red Racer beat the blue Racer by one car.  From 1982 to 2008 the blue train would race the red train, with the blue train facing backward.  This year I had no reason to wait in line twice.  This coaster as well, is rated a 5.

My fiancee decided to sit the next coaster out.  So Victor and I waited on line for Flight of Fear, previously known as “The Outer Limits: Flight of Fear”.  This is the park’s one indoor roller coaster.  I remember the year that this ride premiered, I waited in line for more than 4 hours to ride it.  As the line starts to move outside, you progressively make your way into what appears to be a secret military hangar ( kind of like Area 51 ).  Inside there is a UFO.  Around the UFO there are computer components and monitors which show video of scientists examining the inside of the spacecraft, and then, you see some vague figure as the lead scientist starts looking crazy and presumably dies as the monitor screens go snowy.  As the line proceeds, you enter the spacecraft.  After a short wait ( we were on line, starting on the outside for about 40 minutes ) inside of the UFO, you’re at the line next to the track.  We decided to wait for the front car again.  This coaster goes from 0 to 56 mph in less than four seconds.  Being that this coaster is indoors, makes for a totally different experience.  There are plenty of loops as well as twists and turns on this ride to satiate any coaster enthusiasts hunger.  I know it’s one of my all-time favorites.  This one, like the previous two is rated a 5.

Flight of Fear’s neighbor is Firehawk, so we did the logical thing and went to wait in line.  I have never been on a coaster like this, and it was well worth the wait.  When you finally make your way to the train platform and board the train, there isn’t an obvious difference from other extreme coasters.  When you get in your seat, you put your arms through the shoulder straps, buckle them together and an attendant pulls up a different type of lap bar.  Before take off, the cars start to move backwards, causing you to be positioned on your back.  Soon after take off, the train spirals so that the track is above you and your facing the ground only held in by the restraints.  This was my first time on Firehawk, and it’s must if you’re at this park and haven’t rode it yet.  This one as well is rated a 5.

We planned The Beast as the next coaster to ride.  But, while we were on line for Firehawk, I saw a guy waiting in line holding a stuffed Gizmo from Gremlins.  My fiancee said I should ask him where he got it, because I went apeshit when I noticed it.  Initially I told her that we were going to see the whole park and we would be sure to spot the place to win him.  Rather than take the chance of not finding a place to make Gizmo my own, I asked the guy where he got it and he said at “some game next to The Beast.”  I asked him this about 45 minutes before we rode Firehawk, so by the time we decided to go on The Beast, just like a five year old, Gizmo was in the back of mind and I all but forgot about him.  A few minutes before we find The Beast, my fiancee says “Jay!  Look.”  And right there was the game I could play for a chance to win my very own Gizmo.  The game was mini basketball.  You know, the little hoops like 2 feet away from you and you have to get the mini basketball into the mini hoop that is tied of at the bottom, so you can’t say you got one in when the attendant wasn’t looking.  Anyway, it was two dollars a ball or three for five.  I put my five in the little spinny thing and the attendant set down three mini Nerf-like basketballs.  Those were so much harder to sink in the hoop than your typical basketball!  As you probably guessed, I didn’t make a single one in.  The attendant told me if I played again, she would give me four shots for five dollars.  Another five in the spinny thing!  Shot number three is a success!  But there was another Gremlin available besides Gizmo.  Instead of Gizmo coming back to NY, it was this guy.

It’s Mohawk from Gremlins 2: The New Batch.  While I love Gizmo, you just don’t see Mohawk anywhere.  He was one of the three mogwais from the second Gremlins film.  If they had the Daffy mogwai, he would have been my choice.

Okay, so the next coaster we rode was The Beast.  The Beast debuted in 1979, the same year I made my debut.  The Beast is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world.  As far as coasters are concerned, this is a must ride.  A classic among the many coasters the world has to offer.  Being a wooden coaster, it has a rough feel to it, but it’s really fast and an extremely satisfying experience.  Is there a question to as why this is rated a 5 as well?  Here’s a few shots I managed to take.

And our last coaster of the day was one of the greatest.  I present to you…Vortex.

What a perfect last ride!  There were times I would ride this coaster three or more times consecutively.  I did a little bit of reading on Wikipedia and learned that this ride briefly held a record for most inversions on a roller coaster.  That has to be saying something!  This one is intense and really gets your adrenaline pumping.  Judging from the photo above, you aren’t going to be surprised to learn that this is rated a 5 as well.  Here’s a few more shots of this amazing coaster.

( This one of the best pictures I’ve ever taken. )

In between the riding of the coasters we played a few games and won a few prizes.  Surprisingly, luck was not on my side as it usually is when it came the claw machines.  The first prize was won by my fiancee, and if you look at the pictures of us with Snoopy and Linus, you’ll see me holding this guy.

It’s Domo!  Laurren ( my fiancee), won this little guy playing a game alot like beer pong.  You get 6 ping pong balls for a dollar and you have to land a minimum of three balls in the cups to win a prize.  Making 3-4 balls in, nets you a small prize, and making 5-6 in, nets you a large prize.  we played a couple of times, and on the last round, Laurren made three balls in the cups.

This next guy was also won by Laurren, due to her mad game skills.

Oh my God!  She won Kenny!  Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

We played a water gun race to the top deal.  Being that only the two of us were playing, it was a win-win scenario.  Like I said, Laurren’s got mad skills when it comes to carnival games, and she won the race.

Other then that, we got many cheap refills, and I even had to buy a second souvenir cup because Victor dropped the first one after we got off Adventure Express, and of course, it broke.  We had a great time and I can’t wait to go there again.

I have a few more vacation related posts planned, so stay tuned.  I have a few beverages waiting to be reviewed as well as some cool things I found at flea markets and some establishments we visited.  Until then, I leave you with some random shots from King’s Island.

Damn…

Sorry, guys.  Movie Battle vol.2 is put on hold for the moment.  I wasn’t too happy with it and need to alter it a bit.  I just got back from Cincinnati and I have alot to share.   I had a great time and took lots of pictures.  I think that will end up being a 3 or more parter.  Please, bare with me, i promise, i will start posting at least every other day! 🙂