USA Trip, Days 5 & 6

         Days 5 and 6 consisted me travelling to Pittsburgh and was in the nicest hotel and casino there and was close to the River and also the Pittsburgh Steelers Stadium where the football team plays which is my dad's team and as you all know I'm a Packers fan, there is a picture of me with thumbs down LOL. As the crime rate is bad in the city we ate in the hotel and was worth it, had a hot ham sandwich with honey mustard, we delicious! Also got to go play at the casino and gamble a little bit and won the first time I ever gambled at a casino so was worth it. I tried a second time and went bust but oh well I won the first time around.

    The next day we took a side trip to West Virginia which was like half hour from Washington, Pennsylvania which I will get to tomorrow. Anyways we went to Oglebay where there is flower beds after flower beds. Really beautiful state. Wish we had more time down there to explore. The folks there were super friendly and anywhere in the US they've been great minus the Wendy's experience which I will talk about tomorrow. Lady that stopped to chat with us was really surprised we came so far from Canada to visit West Virginia. Anyways I got some souvenirs from there including a West Virginia Mountaineers which is their University there so nice to have that. Anyways we travelled back to PA and I hope you guys enjoyed this and I will talk to you all tomorrow for the final 2 days of the trip.

 

 

Chris

USA Trips Day 3 & 4!

            Day 3 we headed to Buffalo New York with a stop in Niagara Falls, NY which we have some found memories of Niagara Falls NY as we've been there for Hockey tournaments in the past. Anyways we went to Buffalo and attended a Bisons game as you can see on the right hand side they are indeed the affiliate triple A team to the Toronto Blue Jays. Was a fantastic time and was up close enough to their mascot Buster T Bison. He wasn't too far off from where we were sitting and honestly we were several rolls from the bottom actually and behind the Bison's dugout. 

        Day 4 we headed to Ohio to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Was really awesome and a lot to see and learn about and I actually learned about the early years of Rock and Roll and the history how rock began it's journey it was fascinating to learn the history and gave me a ton more respect for rock music. Small note we found where the Cleveland Browns NFL football team plays by accident as it is literally neighbours to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Anyways that is Days 3 and 4 of my trip, have a great rest of your day and I will talk to you all tomorrow for Days 5 and 6!

 

 

Chris

USA Trip Days 1 & 2 !

            With all the bad news out of the way, I want to talk about my trip with my parents. Days 1 and 2 was basically time in Niagara Falls Ontario, went mini golfing times 2. There was two courses, easy and hard to do so that was a ton of fun. We checked out all the different rides and the Ferris Wheel was really cool. Also got to see the falls all lit up but was on Day 2. 

     Also  went to the Butterfly Conservatory and saw an array of beautiful butterflies that my niece would actually really love. Was worth the money and visit. Also we took a drive up to Niagara on the lake and went to the town was nice to get out there and I tried Lavender cream rub on my knee which worked well and the pain was less then it was from all the walking I did there. Anyways I will talk to you all tomorrow for Days 3 & 4 and little note end of the week updates will be on Saturday this week for a change but talk to you all tomorrow. 

 

Chris

Plans For Traveling This Summer?

             So this has been coming in my mind a lot lately and the question I am going to answer for you guys is am I going to go away on holidays this year? Well I hope so! I do not think we will be traveling to the U.S. this year, Minnesota especially but you know I would love to go back to visit cousins down there but again it's a money thing especially to fly down. However I do have 3 places in the back of my mind actually and I am going to mention them in this post:

1) The one place is going back to Pelee Island with my mom and dad as we would love to bring her there but could also be just my dad and I that is undetermined right now. However either way I would love to go back on more time.

2) Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York- Been there so many years ago, I was fairly young at the time but I just do not know if I would ever go back anytime soon it is hard to tell. Also I do not think it would be this year as I do not want to go back to back years going to the U.S. so more then likely be a trip somewhere in Ontario but again you never really know. 

3) Third and finally is Tobermory once again. There is 3 more things on my bucket list I want to do before I finish everything off with what I want to see and do. One is take the Great Blue Heron for a 2 hour cruise around the islands which we have never ever done during the daytime. Still do our trip to the Grotto and Singing Sands Beach as well if we have the time to do that. Finally spend an day on Manitoulin Island and explore the island a bit and yes see the good old Norisle that is sitting there at the shore slowly sinking. Just hope they can restore it eventually it would be nice to actually go on there and see what it is like. 


               There is my list and more then likely this year, my dad and I will be doing Tobermory and just do not the full extent of the plan but the 2 Hour Great Blue Heron Cruise and exploring Manitoulin Island but not sure if we will be able to squeeze in the Grotto and Singing Sands but we can do a full 5 days Monday to Friday with the Friday to come back home after the trip. So I think that is the plan but there is one other thing but it would be quite a travel as we have to go to the U.S. for this but see the Museum where the Edmund Fitzgerald's Bell is which they pulled up after she sank in the water. I'm not sure if I'd ever do it but it is definitely a dream to do and something I'd love to see in person. 



Chris

Appleby's Restaurant- Watertown, NY Food Review

          This is one of the toughest ones to actually write as I had not such a great experience. Now we mind you if you remember the post about the trip I did mention this restaurant well this is going to be the toughest one yet. So we got there, quaint place and very busy around the lunch hour but that's OK, we managed to not wait long before getting our seat. We ordered drinks and of course our food. We got our drinks and ended up waiting little over 30 minutes for food. Now that day I just wanted to get home, I was ready to get back on the road and home bound but we waited and waited. My mom and dad asked when our food and they went to check. They said it's coming and yet the food still didn't show the heck up and I was furious and losing my patience with them. I kept saying to my parents let's just walk out as enough was enough and the waiter overheard me saying that and ended up getting the manager as we felt frustrated. Manager came and said it is coming and that we wouldn't have to pay it was on them so that was really nice of him. However I wasn't remotely happy with the fact we had to wait this long for the food but in the end it is what it is.


              Now to the actual food that I had was a Quesadilla Burger with Tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, red onions. Now it tasted very good and the burger was very juicy and never had a burger on a Quesadilla and this was an all time first for me honestly. I had fries with it on the side and those were tasty, not gooey. They were nice and crispy and the the flavor was really nice too, like some pepper on the fries which gave it flavor actually. The food I'd give 5 out of 5 all day long. There was nothing clearly wrong with the food, it was more the wait that really bothers me the most of this experience. The restaurant I am giving a 3 out of 5, despite the really long wait and I was going to be giving it a 1 but being generous as we did not have to pay for the food due to this inconvenience. I probably wouldn't go back at this particular location in the town but probably wouldn't be back through that town anyways as we are not planning to go back that way right now. Like I said to conclude these food reviews, this wasn't the easiest one to write to be honest but I am glad I am able to do these reviews. Next review will be a movie review of the Lion King Movie tomorrow morning. 




Chris 

Top Favorite Things To Do In Boston!

                I know, you thought I was finished with Boston but this is the last of these posts before we move on to other things on this blog as this week is the finishing of the trip. I told you guys there is ton of content to cover on that trip but look forward to new posts as we continue on with the podcast this summer. Anyways here is the top things on my trip:

1) Boston Tea Party- Was interesting learning about Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party and got to be interactive with the Boston Tea Party and threw tea over the edge of the boat so that was really cool. It answered ton of questions I had in my head about Paul Revere as I heard about it days before so that really helped.

2) Salem- Learning about individuals accused of being witches. The live demonstration of how it happened, it was very interesting and the fact I was able to maneuver around to see the presentation. It was very educational and that is the reason I went on this trip is to learn some history on Boston and the surrounding area.

3) Cheers- Yes this was the actual set they filmed the television show, Cheers on TV back in the day and I got an opportunity to watch an episode and its on my list of shows to watch now as I really enjoyed episode # 1 of the first season but it neat to be there and I got a beer glass that says Cheers Boston on it and I am only going to use it when I have a beer which I will be joining my dad for one this week. 

4) Constitution and Cassin- Was really cool to actually tour a Naval boat both of em. I thought I would only gone down one level but nope went down to two levels which was cool. Then seeing a naval ship that was in the second world war against the Germans and also the Japanese at the first start when the attack on Pearl Harbor.

5) Finally on my list is Fenway Park, now you're probably going to wonder why isn't this higher in the ranks but there is no particular order really but Fenway Park I got a lot more respect for the team as before I was never a fan of Boston Red Sox but got a ton more respect for em touring. As I said in a previous post last week, I was on the Green Monstah, got to see the press box but if you wanna know more to go back to that post https://www.chrisbontheweb.com/2019/07/boston-trip-day-3-4-5.html 


             There is the post for today, in conclusion of talking about this trip, this was my one of my favorite trip out of the one I went to. I learned a lot on this trip and it was an educational trip and it will definitely be a memorable trip to remember honestly. It was a long trip but worth all 7 days of this trip and probably will never end up in a big city again as it was a frustrating time with one way roads and the lack of signs in the city to turn off here or go here but I enjoyed it.



Chris

Dunkin Donuts Food Review

            On today's blog, I am going to review what I thought of the Dunkin Donuts... well donuts of course! First of all I am sorry about yesterday was primarily focused on the Podcast and trying to catch up so I would be able to go live tonight. Sometimes I need to sacrifice the blog to catch up and I know you guys will understand. Anyways I went to Dunkin Donuts somewhere in the state of New York I honestly have no bleeping clue where it was so I cannot really give you guys an answer but it was one of those stops on the side of the highway honestly. Anyways I ordered a honey dip donut. The first reaction of the donut was it was so soft, so fresh and the actual glaze wasn't a mess like any other one that I have had in the past or at anywhere. It was really good and I actually had a second donut from Dunkin Donuts later on like once I got to Boston and that was good too but gooey but still regardless sooo good!  Now I never have had Dunkin Donuts and this was my first time having it ever in my entire life! The second time I went to the Dunkin Donuts I had the exact same thing and pretty much still the same results like the first time I had Dunkin so pretty much I had nothing negative to say about it honestly.


               This trip I tried a bunch of new things that I never had before and there is nothing really wrong with that honestly. That is why I went on this trip to try some new things and this year is about me trying new things and I have definitely gone above and beyond on that and so far I think it went well minus two or three negative reviews I had and I will get into that on another post. Now for the rating of Dunkin Donuts is 5 of 5 all day long! Like I said before there is nothing remotely negative to say really. Loved it and if we go back down, I'd consider going back if I wanted a sweet treat and probably end up doing their Boston Cream which is one of my other favorite donuts and will definitely try that. Either way that was the second one I did as you know that I did Arby's first but I festered up and did this one first but it is coming probably by next week set of posts that are coming as I got a pile of food reviews which will be out every 2nd day. Either way I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think of Dunkin Donuts? Leave your comment below in the comments! I will talk to you guys tomorrow with Days 3 & 4 for the Boston Trip.



Chris

Boston Trip- Days 1 & 2

              Here it is the official blog posts about the vacation. I know I did a post this morning announcing the podcast but decided to keep this post scheduled. Anyways every second day I will have a post about the trip with Food Reviews every other day till I have covered everything. So we left around 1040 am in the morning and on our way to Kingston with a stop for lunch, which I did a review on Arby's Crispy Chicken sandwich which will be coming up in the coming days, which is no particular order really as I was going to originally going to do that but either way you guys will get all the food reviews one way or another. So after lunch, we headed to the border which we had to go over the bridge which was the 1000 Islands which is beautiful. We finally arrived in the States and on our way throughout the State of New York. We actually stopped in a town called Little Falls, NY for the night. Room wasn't the greatest, the Air conditioning was loud and didn't sleep overly well that first night but it is what it is and the vacation finally started up. Not much more on the first day but traveling and being in the car all day long.


             Now onto Day 2, we were once again in the car again traveling into the state of Massachusetts an Boston which was our final destination for several days that we were staying in the State of Boston as we were there for 3 - 4 days before we headed back north of the border home. We pretty much were in the State of NY till we got to Massachusetts. Now we got to the hotel and we actually got Valet which  was the cheaper option and all we had to do really was call for the car and they would bring it around. Now the hotel, AC Hotels in Boston was a 5 star hotel and one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at honestly. I do not apparently have the images of the hotel unless it is on my phone or Instagram I'd have to check. Anyways the bathroom had a walk in shower which I have never used one in my life time and honestly the only time I probably will ever will the rest of my life so I sure got the luxury experience of a life time.  We had a heck of a time finding food but found this little Italian and Deli restaurant and I ordered a Ham sandwich which was good as that was one food review I did not do on the trip and I honestly got enough of em to cover anyways. The next trip post I do will be on Thursday here on the blog and cannot wait to continue it as tomorrow will be officially a food review from the trip.



Chris

Coming Home Tomorrow!

             As you all know I pre-written posts for over my holiday so I am not leaving you guys hanging for nearly a week but tomorrow things we will be coming to a full swing as we are going to be back home from holidays and which means I will have a bunch of content to write as I will be blogging my ears off for you guys to what I have been up to for the last 6 days while on vaca from being in this studio for such a long time now.  I am however excited to be back home and getting back into the swing of things again and continue to podcast for you guys. I know I probably worrying about losing subscribers but I put a notice on the last episode that I am away but if I lose a couple of subs then it is what it is. But I know you guys are very understanding if something goes all to heck especially technically but again I cannot make a damn excuse as I got the other microphone I can use by switching seats temporarily while I try and fix it. However the tech issues now are very mimimal at this point. I am looking forward to getting back behind the microphone and recording again but it was a nice break for me but always nice to get back to normal.


              Anyways I will make sure to have a safe journey home as we drove out instead of flying and looking forward to catching up with you guys and the way the blog posts to catch up on what I was up to at the East Coast is Days 1 & 2 will be in one post, then Days 3 & 4 on another and finally Days 5 & 6, so 3 posts it will take to get covered then we will be back into normal everyday topics on the blog so it will be span 3 days that is it. It has been a fun filled trip and I have so much to talk about and excited to write the posts once I start writing again after catching up on things being back in the studio over the next couple of days. Speaking of which the next couple of days will consist of me recording podcasts and getting back on track. As for Twitch as you know I streamed on the weekend before I left and I am not sure when I will be back to it as I made the switch to do the podcast which will be explained eventually as it is only in the testing phases right now. Either way I feel energized to continue on with the podcast for the rest of the summer and excited to what is coming next for the podcast, blog and the website!





Chris

Minnesota Trip- Day 5 & 6

                First of all I gotta say, this has been a fun filled last 3 days talking about my trip and today's blog post, this will be my last post in this mini series of my trip but not the last blog post I ever make as I am planning to continue on blogging down the road. Anyways lets get onto the post today. On the 5th day of the trip, my dad, cousin and I went to church then we came back and had some downtime in the afternoon before we left to go for dinner with the family. We grabbed a small bite to eat at JJ's next door. I had a honey bread grilled cheese with different types of cheese mixed right in there. We then got picked up and went to Andrea's for a bit before if I remember correctly. From there we went to my cousin Marcia's for a get together and dinner and took a few pictures while I was there and it was a fun evening. 


                      The day we went home, I was sad to be leaving, but what can you do, I have to get home sometime or another. So we went to Perkins for our breakfast, I had the Eggs Benedict on an english muffin, which was soooo good! We went back to the hotel to get our suitcases and checked out of the hotel. We then traveled to the airport and went to our gate which actually not far to go but going through the security was a pain in the arse with security yelling at me when I had no clue what the hell to do as all of this is new to me and its changed so much in 26 years since I last flew so give me a damn break, like honestly! Anyways we got to our gate in plenty of time and I wondered about the area, looked at the departures, for those who follow me on Instagram there is a picture of me looking at the arrivals and departures. We finally got onto the plane and off we went and I got some pictures on the plane with both my parents and my own self. Now getting off the plane was stressful going through the customs and trying to figure out how the hell to work the machine but it wasn't easy.  I was in such a crabby mood getting off the plane and getting my baggage which my tag was taken off or fell off so it was hard to locate my bag. I started to panic but had to open the bag to check and soon as I saw my slippers I knew it was mine and it was easy to tell which one was mine anyways. Not sure whatever happened to the tag, we will never know but feel like I wasted money for nothing on a tag. Anyways I am happy to be home and back into the swing of things finally. 


Chris

Minnesota Trip 2018- Day 3 & 4

           So here is my 3rd and 4th day of my trip to Minnesota. Trust me I am just getting into the fun of the entire trip. So the morning of my cousin's wedding, we went shopping for my niece and nephew and for ourselves as well. I picked up PJ's with some dot design on it and also cartoon PJ's which I have worn every night since I got back on Monday night... lol. I saw them and I said i gotta get em. This is something I don't have in the way of PJ's and of course I am a big Spiderman, Ironman, The Hulk fan as I have seen one of the fantastic 4 movies. We then went back to the hotel to have some downtime and get showered and ready for the wedding. We went over to my cousin's for a while before we had to leave for the wedding. We got to the church for the wedding and I got to meet my Cousin Rob's girlfriend. We had a blast at the wedding and I danced so much that night I was aching a tad the next day but I hardly showed it.  They played Cotton Eyed Joe, the chicken Dance, YMCA, Land of 1000 Dances. My cousins sure kept me boogieing the night away and I didn't mind. I had my breaks between when I needed it. Also got in the photo booth with a crazy hat and glasses on which was really cool! You can tell we had a ton of fun at the wedding and I was tired when we got back to the hotel. 

             The 3rd day, I believe we went to the General Store in Minnetonka, Minnesota and looked around there. I got 2 things for later on in the year and in January which I cannot say on here what it is exactly but will revisit it at a later date in the new year! After that we went back to Andrea's for left overs from the other day, not the awesome breakfast we had but the meats and cheeses and banana, zucchini and Cranberry bread I had the cranberry and banana bread but did not get a chance to actually try the zucchini. Now we had some down time before we went to the Oktoberfest festivities and I just laid back and caught up with social media a bit with you guys. We then went to the Oktoberfest in Minneapolis and I had my first light German Beer which actually tasted good. Don't worry I only had one drink as I once had 2 beers and I felt woosey after 2 beers... LOL... I am a light weight I guess. For dinner I had a Oktoberfest sausage with sauerkraut which I tried sauerkraut for the very first time and it was really good! Also had apple strudel as well and that was really good, I was dancing once again and one of the songs I danced to was "She's Too Fat For Me" Polka which I have a throwback story for that at a later date. That is my next 2 days and tomorrow I will complete the last two days on my blog. Hope you guys enjoyed it as I enjoyed writing about my family trip.


Chris 

My Minnesota Trip- Days 1 & 2

              So I realize that I have taken this long to actually write about my adventures in Minneapolis, Minnesota but been so super busy getting back to a normal routine compare to my busy schedule while down there. Now I got a ton of stuff to catch up on things since I am home now. Now I left around 130 in the afternoon, knowing we were on a strict schedule the day we had to be there for a few hours before as we couldn't miss the flight whatsoever. We got the 5:59 flight and boy let me tell you, it was stressful going through security and customs and I almost wanted to just go back home and stay on my own but don't worry you would of seen me online more often then I was during my time being away down in Minneapolis, Minnesota. So the flight in general, I was nervous at the start but once we got going, things ran very smoothly minus the occasional turbulence other then that, everything was just dandy. We got there earlier then we expected we were there around quarter to 7 central standard time. We got picked up by my cousin Andrea and got us to the hotel to get checked in. We were even surprised with a welcome basket from the family! We indulged in a snack of our treats when we got settled into the room.


          The second day, was one of the most fun I had. I got a tour of the Vikings football stadium and I thought it would be an hour tour at the most but nope it lasted an hour and 45 minutes which was so amazing and yes we got to actually go onto the field and I couldn't believe how the field felt walking on it and what not I got some pictures of the entire tour, now it wasn't much but enough for you guys to get the idea, but on the left is an image of me on the field but the uprights at the end zone which you can see the logos behind me on there. Overall it was a great tour! The rest of the afternoon we sat down and chatted with my cousin to catch up what we have been up to recently and what not, the trip into Minnesota. Mind you this was my first flight in 26 years! We went back to Bunnies by my request obviously and I had a chicken Caesar wrap which is very much healthy along with the coleslaw as a side dish. That is the first 2 days of my trip and look forward to talking about the next 2 days of my trip, Days 3 & 4!


Chris

I'm Home From Minnesota, USA!

              Hey everyone! Yes It's me back in the flesh! I am back actually writing this more closer to the actual day to it being posted. It has been a busy and whirlwind of a last 6 days out of Canada as most of you know I sort of did disappeared and I realize that I didn't post up as yesterday was a rough day and I still am feeling meh this morning. I fell asleep pretty early and slept right through till 2 - 230 this morning which I am quite tired still and it will take me a couple of days to re-cooperate but I had a good time and it was nice to be out of the country to visit family and attend my cousin's wedding. I will be talking about that over the next 3 days tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Then of course, I have been writing down ideas for the blog while I was away on vacation as that is probably the only time I get to actually go away on vacation but I am happy to be home, despite feeling a bit under the weather but I think the echinacea is actually helping me a lot. Now today, I have the missing Survivor David Vs. Goliath Podcast and tomorrow's regular Survivor RECAP which I will get to in a moment with the actual schedule for this week. But I had a few ideas of doing a EP 1 & 2 Recap together but that would be a little long for you guys and I know you rather that I separate them from the first week and this week as well. Now here is the timetable for those who do not follow me on social media here is what it will look like:


Tomorrow (Thursday):  12 PM EST: Everything About Reality TV- Survivor: David Vs. Goliath EP # 1 RECAP
                                          9 pm EST: Everything About Reality TV- Survivor: David Vs. Goliath EP # 2 RECAP


               There is the schedule for this week and next week, we will be getting back to normal and regular schedule for the podcast as you know, I was away on holidays and now I am back, so as the saying goes we are getting back to regular scheduled programming. Ha Ha!  Anyways in retrospective, I really enjoyed having the time off to relax and kind of de-stress after a very long summer season and trying to stay on the right track of mind, so to speak. Hopefully you guys are happy to see back in the swing of things and hope you enjoy my tails of my adventures to the state of Minnesota in the next couple of days.



Chris

My Favorite Trips I Like To Go In The USA

             So, today's blog off with me covering my favorite trips from both up here in the USA. This will be quite a lengthy post but going to try and keep it short and sweet. I will split the two 

              Let's start with the United States of America, the good old US of A. I have been to many places in the States I would visit again too in the near future and my dad doesn't know this but next year I would like to go back to Lake Placid once again and I've been there before and would go back. Few things I loved was the Arena where the Olympics were and I remember the arena very well. Also I would like to go back up on White Face Mountain which I sort of remember going up there but hard to remember that far back what I saw up on the mountain. Also Lake Placid was where the 1980 Winter Olympics were. 

               Next is Chicago, loved visiting Chicago, going to Wrigley Field, eating deep dish pizza which is a well known thing in Chicago. Got to ride the double decker tours, the single older tour buses, cruise tour along the river there seeing all the different buildings within the city of Chiago, got to see Trump Tower Chicago which Bill the first winner of the Apprentice got to chose as a job within the organization. Also got to see Solider Field where the Bears NFL team plays, got to see the waterfront as well. I would go back and see more of Chicago, see the Museum of Natural History, find where the Blackhawks hockey and Bulls basketball team plays. See what I haven't yet to see in the city of Chicago aka the Windy City.  On the side of this paragraph is an image of Wrigley Field.

               The next Vacation I went to was in the same line as the Chicago visit is Minnesota and the reason why is because I have cousins down in Minneapolis. One thing I didn't know was the TV show Mary Tyler Moore was suppose to be filmed in but I believe it wasn't but the intro was done in Minneapolis. I would like to ride the  streetcar but it's a long train and you can walk right through it. Toronto has those kind of streetcars. Also of course I'd see another Twins game, hoping they can start being a good team again and they are getting better as they are winning again and even at home but the game was so much fun and it was a different atmosphere in a open stadium from the dome stadium out in Toronto so the experience was fun! Plus I got to meet the organist and I got a picture taken which is this picture:

I added the Mary Tyler Moore statue as well. There are too many pictures of my trip to Chicago/Minnesota but added 3 of them one in Chicago, two in Chicago and I am merely excited to eventually visit both cities again in the future. In conclusion of this blog post today I would like to say stay tuned for the Canada Vacation Spots I have been to on Wednesday and of course I will add more pictures to that post as well. Finally I will be making a post as more of an announcement in a few days from now as I have made a decision on an event I was suppose to go to has changed.




Have a great day!



Chris