Savannah night out

It was off to Savannah for a night of shopping, dinner, and theater. My daughter had bought tickets to Chicago at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. We had been looking forward to it for weeks.

First stop was Savannah Mall. They had just purchased (stolen might be a better word!) a boat and needed some supplies so we hit Bass Pro Shop. My first time there! Holy Hannah, they have a little bit of everything for the testosterone driven! Clothing, weapons of death, outdoor gear, live fish, and dead (stuffed) animals. Amazingly enough most of the customers were male. Go figure!

My son-in-law and daughter did their drooling over all the boating accessories available, picked up some life vests (the reason for the visit) and then it was off to (cue the heavenly choirs) Home Goods! Is that a wonderful store or what? I love that place!

After I had purchased my absolutely, positively necessary obelisk for my garden, we headed over to a restaurant for dinner. I won’t say where we went but I will admit that there was a ton of pasta involved.

With dinner finished, we headed back to downtown Savannah. My son-in-law and daughter agreed on the parking garage we wanted. We parked then headed the 2 blocks or so to the venue.

Two blocks later, the locals assured us it was just another couple of blocks up on the left. Four blocks after that, another local told us it was a few more blocks up. On the left. Did I mention it was raining? Yeah.

Sixteen blocks from the parking garage, we finally entered the theater. My daughter and I hit the rest rooms to check the state of our hair (frizzed!) and the guys bought drinks and refreshments. Off to our very high seats we went.

We all enjoyed the show (well, except for the guy who left in an ambulance from a heart attack or some such thing) and when we headed back to the car the rain had stopped. Good news all around!

On the way home, the kids wanted to stop at a convenience store for sodas and munchies. They went in and left my husband and I in the backseat of the running auto. Now their car had very dark windows so apparently we weren’t visible to outsiders. One of the drunk hangers outers at the store heard the car running and decided he wanted a closer look. He walked right up to the driver side window and peered inside.

We were beginning to wonder if we were going to see a carjacking from an up close and personal perspective.

“What the hell is that guy doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” my better half answered.

The drunk must have heard us because he wandered away looking disappointed.

When the kids came out, we filled them in on all the excitement they missed. We discussed how surprised they might have been to come out and find car and mom and dad missing. We also wondered at what point the carjacker would have noticed us strapped in the back seat! The humorous possibilities were endless!

It was a funny way to end a wonderful evening. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to spend the winter down here!

Really? For Ice Cream?

My husband and I went out for ice cream the other night. It was a place that has a very cold stone (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) that they can mix combinations on. I had never been there but I found the prospect intriguing.

Truth be told, I am not that much of an ice cream fan. It’s okay but not something I would go out of the way for. However, this place has so much hoopla surrounding it I felt I had to try it.

All day I was trying to figure out the perfect combination. Should I start with vanilla or chocolate? Nuts or not? How about some fruit for a bit different taste? Oh the possibilities!

When we got there, I had to study the menu. Okay, it had some offerings but nothing like I expected. Maybe a dozen bases and lots of candy type mix ins. What about fruit? How could I have my chocolate-almond-maraschino cherry- toasted coconut?

The answer of course, was that I couldn’t. I could have chocolate but no cherries (they had cherry pie filling but, really, who would eat that?). Coconut but not toasted. Sigh.

I settled for chocolate-coconut-pecan. The girl who was working put the chocolate on the stone, tossed the add-ins on top, and gave it two smooshes to mix it together (a $.69 fee for that). Hunh. This is what they are famous for?

She put the ONE SCOOP into a waffle cone (another $.69 fee) then handed it over. All this great stuff for a measly $5.09. For a one scoop ice cream cone! Amazing.

Well, now I can say that I have been there. I can also say that it is a very high probability that I won’t ever go there again. I think my soft, cold, sweet summer treat needs will be satisfied with $1.50 cones from convenience stores and ice cream stands

Urban Legends

Okay, I think it is time to begin to explore my Bookmark (I am sure you are on pins and needles wondering about my preferences!). My favorite fact checker/urban legend debunker has to be www.snopes.com.

At Snopes,the search option makes it easy to check a specific legend such as “Does Aspartame Cause Brain Cancer?” (If you are wondering, the answer is no).

The page lays out the claim and the status of the claim first thing. A copy of the original letter or email immediately follows along with an explanation of the origin of the story.

This is a great site for research, reference, or even an occasional laugh. It’s also a great asset for anyone’s Bookmark or Favorites list.