Sorry for the delay in writing. This won't come as a surprise to those that already know my typical writing schedule, but for whatever reason, it takes me forever to get in the blogging "mood." I know, shocker! It's weird too, b/c back in the day... circa 2002 or 2003, I got in on the early stages of blogging. That doesn't seem long ago, but seriously, blogging just started to get really big back then. I LOVED having my own little place on the internet and the thought of writing down stupid little things that happened in my daily life. Then came along the famous "Milkbreak.com" gang. Those were the good ole days I guess. Actually, those were just my single days, and even though I was out of school and running, errrrr "trying" to run a Chiropractic practice... I had a bit more time on my hands. Needless to say, kudos to anyone who is able to blog, and blog often. It's even some people's career now, which supports families to the point they don't have to have "real" jobs anymore. I'm slightly jealous of that fact. Obviously, time is whatever you make it to be... so, if I WANTED to make time to write, I could certainly do that. Sometime, I'd like to take the time to write about the concept of time, but time is of the essence, and right now is certainly not the time to take the time to write something on time... like I said, maybe sometime else I'll have more time to write about time, but right now... it's time to finish our Honeymoon Memories, part Deux. I really have no idea why I get satisfaction out of writing the same word in a sentence over and over and over and over... see... so weird.

Okay, so this time around, to save me a few keystrokes... I'll give an event a "title" and then a quick explanation if one is needed. And, by"quick explanation"... I mean a paragraph or two, or five. And, sometimes, maybe a title will just say it all. Pigs are flying these days, aren't they?!?

Sunday, August 24th (Continued)
Rental Car.... aka, "Back to the Basics"!
The moral if this short story is simple... when renting a car @ the Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise location, get one that has automatic windows/locks the FIRST time around. Otherwise, you'll get a little white 4-door Chevy Cobalt with multiple car-charger thingies that don't actually charge anything, which will lead to having an iPhone almost go dead while trying to navigate in to a foreign country in the POURING rain. Needless to say, we did make it to our destination safely (Hamilton, Ontario, CA). Nothing like kickin' it old school with the manual windows and literally almost forgetting how to unlock/lock doors without having a keyfob dongle-thingy.

The next morning, we woke up and were trying to plan out our day. And, as much as we hated the thought of driving back over the border and returning our little "tin-can-manual-everything" Flinstone car... we did just that. It was kind of funny, b/c it almost felt like we went on a 1-day honeymoon to Canada and then we were on our way back to the airport to go home the next day. Actually, something funny I forgot to mention is the experience of crossing the US/Canadian border. As some of you may have experienced, they just grill you up and down about what you're doing, and why you're doing it, and why you're not doing it a different way, etc. It's to the point where they almost have you thinking you actually ARE doing something wrong subconsciously, and you're just not admitting it! LOL What a great job... to sit there and basically give everyone the 3rd degree... harrass people with questions, and make them feel guilty for doing nothing except driving over a line. 

"Lucky Loon"
Basically, all I'll say about this is I'm pretty much fascinated by money from different countries. So, one of our first stops... I was still able to pay with American $$$ and then get back the change in Canadian. Let's just say I fell in love with the "Lucky Loon" almost instantly. I mean, where else can you get a "Loonie" and a "Toonie"!!!! Quick sidenote/question... does anyone else think Canadian change has a "fake" plastic-y feel??? Maybe it's just me. I brought home a lot of Canadian change if anyone would like to play with it. 

"Philthy McNasty's"
This was a restaurant near our hotel in Hamilton, Ontario...seriously, what a FUNNY FUNNY name!?!

 

"Harvey's" Burger chain Restaurant...and, oh you know it... we have pictures for Matt and Kelly! Some of you may or may not know this, depends on who all reads this... but Matt Harvey is famous for his "Harvey Burger" b/c they're so good. So, the irony of seeing a "Harvey's" burger chain up there was very funny to us.

By the by... during our trip, we tried to eat everything that was local to the Canadian cuisine, so yes, we did end up eating at Harvey's one night...and we ate at the chain right below, Swiss Chalet. Neither were as good as I hoped they would be, but still... it was all about the Canadian experience!!! 

Here's just a few more highlights from day #1 in Canada. It didn't take long and we knew we needed to start writing this stuff down, and plus, it's kind of nice to have a log of certain major events in life. 

So, after stopping at a stop sign that was approximately 10 foot tall, and oh by the way, they're ALL that tall in the city of Hamilton (I know, weird)!...we made a left turn only to be literally cut off by a teenager riding, and I'm not joking one bit... a 10-foot long or longer "Chopper" BICYCLE! That's right, not a Chopper Motorcycle, but rather a BICYCLE! And, when I mean he cut us off... he CUT us off... like, I had to hit the breaks hard and make a complete stop just so I didn't hit him. (sidenote: Apparently people kept stealing the stop signs in Hamilton, so the "tall" signs became the new standard to thwart people from the temptation. I really just wanted to say "thwart".)

In the hotel room, we watched the closing ceremonies of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Pretty cool, right? Well, yeah... if you're CANADIAN! Which we kind of were for the week. Part-time Canadians, eh. Anyway, so we were watching Canadian TV, duhhh... and yep, only saw members of the Canadian Olympic team. If I remember right, we didn't see one member of the US Olympic team. It was a little strange, to say the least. Regarding the TV... it was kind of funny, b/c of the location of Hamilton, we were able to watch most American TV stations as well. So, after sleeping in MUCH later than any normal day, we'd wake up "late" and watch the Today show in the morning, which was great since it's something we NEVER get to do at home b/c we walk out the door right at 7:00 a.m. every day.

I think Jackie would agree when I say this, but SLEEPING was a HUGE part of our trip. Having 2 dogs at home is fun and all, and they're cute sometimes, bla bla bla... but, the sleep deprivation I feel we get from those 2 mutts is incredible. [as I'm typing this, I'm being incessantly licked by "Frogger," aka Riley and "Bubbalicious," aka Newman is poking his wet nose in to my hand as I type so I'll pet him] So, yeah... major activity for us during this week VACATION from the puppies while they were at the "Spa" (that's what we tell them when we board them at the kennel, they're going to the "Doggie Spa")..........SLEEEEEEEEEPING. I know I speak for myself when I say the following, but I LOVE when the dogs aren't around. Jackie?... not so much.

Well, I've decided this is enough for "Part 2" of our Honeymoon Memories. My longwindedness is getting the best of me, and preventing me from ever posting these things!

Again, more to come sometime in the near future... as time permits.

Nate

So, we got married about a month ago. For those of you that were involved or there... you'll probably agree with me when I say I can easily describe the wedding in a couple of words..."Beautiful" and "Hot". Actually, I could probably substitute the word "Sweltering" for the word "Hot." BUT, and I'll probably hear Jackie say this the rest of my life... "IT DIDN'T RAIN!" It did rain in STL that day, but not in Alton, which was a blessing. My head was raining sweat down my face, but I guess that doesn't count. All in all... a beautifully hot day. I'll let my better half take care of posting some pictures from the wedding. I think it's obvious, but I bring the "wit" and she brings the pictures!

BTW... welcome to our official "we got married and we have to create a new Xanga persona" married-couple Xanga site. I suppose we'll both keep up our other sites, I mean... speaking for myself, people would protest if I didn't post something to my site every quarter. Or, not. 

So, what do we write about on our first official "married" post???... well, duh... our honeymoon trip to Canada (Toronto & Niagara Falls)! It became apparent to us on day 1 of the honeymoon that we needed to "log" some of the funnier things we were noticing along the way. First of all, you'll have to excuse my use of the ever-present Canadian term "eh" throughout... I love using that term. Jackie seems to think that I ONLY use/used that term b/c we were in Canada. Not true. I went to school with many Canadians back in the day @ Logan, and I've been fascinated with it ever since. I remember the day I had to ask one of them what in the world they were saying, b/c being the "American" kid that I was... I had no clue. In my mind, it's really a form of punctuation in it's own right, and I just like to say it often b/c it reminds me of my good friend "Chris from Canada". Anyone that knows me well knows that when I talk about Chris, he's always referred to as "Chris from Canada". Couple reasons really... 1) I just like to say his name that way, 2) It helps differentiate any other Chris I may know, and 3) probably most importantly, his last name is crazy-long... "Triantafilou." So, yeah... now you understand "Chris from Canada" eh.

Without further adieu... here's our Honeymoon Trip-log... in chronological order. Again, these are things that "WE" thought were kinda funny or noteworthy... which obviously may not be funny to everyone. Some of them will probably be "had to be there" moments... but that's okay, we'll still share them.  

Saturday, August 23
(otherwise known as "The BIG Day")
This story has been given the name "Milk and Cookies"... As some of you may or may not have known... after the reception, we drove to the airport and stayed 1 night at the Renaissance Hotel. That's the big black curved hotel right off highway 70, in case you were wondering. So, it's our wedding night, and as most of you that are married will understand, we only got to eat a little bit of food at the reception. For me, the reception was a huge blur of people, music, dancing, goodbyes and as I just said... a little bit of food. So, by the time we get to the hotel, both of us were just starving. So, we ordered some food and Jackie decided she wanted some milk n cookies. So, the guy that delivered the room service has to come in our room to drop off the food, and he was,  what we call in the business, a bit "chatty"... to the point we were starting to wonder if he was going to leave or not! This little story may not sound all that funny, but all you have to know is Jackie was in the bed under the covers basically "hiding" out. We had both just taken a shower due to the afore mentioned "sweltering" heat earlier that day. I know when I changed my tux dress shirt after the reception, which was after being inside for at least 2 hours after getting out of the heat... my shirt collar was soaked through and through. I heard stories of groomsmen and ushers actually soaking through their ties, if you can believe that. But, I digress... so, she was "hiding" out b/c when you're on your honeymoon, in your hotel room... you know, clothing is sort of optional at that point. Now, think about this guy just chattin' it up with BOTH of us and not leaving, and then it should be slightly funnier. It was for us, that's for sure. That's right, it wasn't just a smooth..."hey, here's your food, sign this... have a good night" kind of deal. It was an in depth conversation, not just with me... but with Jackie too. :) And, if you're wondering if the guy knew it was our wedding day... yes, yes he did. Matter of fact, he was practically insisting that he bring something back for free, or let him "comp" the milk n cookies, etc. Needless to say, we kind of just wanted him to leave the room.
Update: Just so this is only embarrassing for Jackie, and not myself... I did have clothes on while getting the food from the guy and signing the bill, etc etc. I mean, who does such a thing when they know room service is on its way up??!  


Sunday, August 24 (off to Canada eh)
So, Jackie, being the "planner" in our relationship... did a lot of the flight-booking online for the honeymoon. Apparently the groom is supposed to do this sort of thing, and this was a point of a little contention for a while, but I think she finally got sick of waiting for me to "plan" something and opted to just do it herself. Smart move on her part. Speaking of smart, she opted to fly us in to Buffalo, NY instead of Toronto. HUGE cost difference there, in case anyone is ever interested in making this trip someday. Also cost efficient, she booked us on "connecting" flights... so, Sunday morning we caught our 1st flight in STL around 10:30 or so. We were off to Chicago Midway airport, aka the airport you want to fly in to if you have to fly in to Chicago for anything. If you travel by air much, you understand. Once in Chicago, we had a short wait until our next flight up to Buffalo, NY.

Now, both of us have traveled a LOT while working with Stifel in the last 4-5 years. We experienced something on this trip that neither of us have ever had happen before. So, we board the plane... start taxiing on to the runway and then we just sort of stopped for a while. As some of you may know, this sort of behavior, depending on what airport you are at *cough* Newark, NJ *cough*, is NEVER a good thing. Well, a few minutes later they take the plane right back to our gate... and at this point, we're all just thinking something is wrong with the plane, which is always kind of scary. Turns out, nothing physically was wrong with the plane, but we had a little too much of something on the plane. Now, what could you possibly have too much of on a plane... hmmmmm, screaming kids? Snacks? NO, NONE OF THE ABOVE. Actually, wait for it.......................we had too much FUEL!!!! Yeah, try to wrap your brain around that one?!?! The Captain came on and told us that and we were all like.... "whaaaaaa?...wait, isn't having too much fuel a GOOD THING?!?" LOL Well, apparently in the airline industry, it's not. They pretty much calculate everything on a flight to a science or something, and yeah, somehow they managed to over-fill the gas tank... so, there we sat for at least an hour, waiting for the ground-crew to siphon off the "extra" fuel. Again, that is a first for us. Very strange. But, they must know what they're doing... b/c we made it to Buffalo without a hitch. We probably came in on fumes, but whatever... we made it.

Nate

More to come soon, promise!