family, friends and jef fafaaah done haaaam
This weekend blackpaladin and I traveled to Washington, D.C. While the main reason for this trip was to see Jeff Dunham perform, we also had the opportunity to visit with family and friends.
We were staying at my cousin's place in Arlington. It's a cozy little house that I hadn't been to in many years. It's been going through some changes and looks absolutely lovely today. After arriving on Friday night, we spent time chatting with my cousin Cyndi and her man Shiv. They are such a sweet couple.
Saturday started off quite nicely because we got to sleep in! Oh sleep, you elusive thing, how I love when I have more of you. The sleep was great because of the busy schedule for the rest of the day.
First on the agenda was lunch with some of blackpaladin's local friends. We made plans to meet up in a town called Shirlington. The town has been undergoing major revitalization that's working. The town is overflowing with eating establishments of a wide variety as well as some quaint shops. Trevor and I arrived in town a bit early. As we were walking to the Luna Grill & Diner, Trevor noticed a sign saying something like "We are open and having a Wine and Chocolate tasting."
The place is The Curious Grape. Totally check out the logo. It's adorable. I am so lame that if they were selling a little plushie version of the grape in their logo I probably would have bought it. Anyway, they were having a wine with chocolate tasting. While I'm not big on alcohol or wine, I did try each of the wines as well as the corresponding chocolates. The first wine tasted alright but left a burning feeling in my esophagus through the rest of the tasting. The chocolates were interesting, but none were making me go "WOW, I must have more!" The second and third wines were not to my liking. The fourth was sweet and I would probably drink it again, but not very much. It was getting closer to meeting time so we thanked them for the tasting and promised to return.
As we approached Luna's, it seemed people had not arrived and thus we had more time to kill... in the little toy and game store right next door. Even though I was staying with family, I had totally forgotten to get a hostess gift. What's so great is that Trevor recalled that at the same time as me and we were determined to find something nice for Cyndi and Shiv. While the little shop had an interesting selection, we ended up getting Blokus Travel Edition since it is specifically designed for two people. As we were finishing, a call came in from people for lunch.
I was pleased to meet ecwoodburn and lite, as well as see zaph again. Luna's had so many good and tasty items on their menu it made for a tough choice. I saw a very entertaining entry, Pittsburgh Barbeque which was half of a roast bee with something something. *giggle* Roast Bee. *insert python joke here* We all had a good laugh from that typo. There were also blue plate specials as well as green plate specials. Sadly all the specials were Monday through Friday only. I ended up with a cheeseburger. It was most excellent and came with super tasty fries.
Post lunch, the five of us stopped by the little game shop. Then we all went to the Curious Grape. Trevor picked up two of the four wines we had tasted, and then they put out a fifth wine. A request to try it and a short wait provided us with yet another wine. For me it was WAY too sweet, but he liked it enough to take a bottle of it too.
Sadly time was up and we were off to our next destination, a YMCA near Bethesda, Maryland. We were there in the hopes of running into some people Trevor knew from his days attending a local gathering called FanTek as well as supporting some FanTek people participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The day was quite gloomy and the clouds had been spitting all day, thus there wasn't a huge crowd.
We sat down and waited for a phone call. Cheering on the walkers was great, but it made me a bit sad and distant. I missed my mom and my grandmother Hazel. To help improve my spirits I started writing down fun things I saw on shirts. Here are the highlights from the time we were there.
I'm a Breast Man
Save Second Base
Walkers for Knockers
Just BeaTit
I'm for Boobs
Save the Tatas
Babes for Boobs
Heart & Sole
Save Boobs
Hokies Hiking for Hooters
Support Vehicle (van covered in bras)
Twin Power
Teachers for Tatas
Sassy and Classy
Live your Breast Life
Save the Boobs
Ph Double Ds
I was very entertained by I'm a Breast Man and Save Second Base. I really wish I could get my hands on a Save Second Base shirt. The shirt was to support Breast Cancer Outreach based at Georgetown University. Maybe if I email them...
Aside from the shirts and clapping for walkers, we finally were able to meet up with Bruce and Cheryl. Very nice people. Unfortunately I started feeling emotionally overwhelmed and a touch dizzy so I wasn't as social. Though it was a nice time. Eventually they needed to leave and we headed back to Cyndi's place to prep for the rest of the evening.
After changing up, the four of us headed to a little Greek food place. I was initially confused because the place was called Two Chefs Pizza or something like that. Once I opened the menu I did see greek food. Sometimes, you just need to have a wide a variety of things on the menu. Once we were stuffed it was time for the final portion of the evening.
The reason we traveled to the Warner Theater to see Jeff was because he was taping a new Comedy Central special and DVD. I had always wanted to be at a taping like this so I leaped at the opportunity.
I was very pleased and surprised that we found a parking space in the garage just across the street from the theater and for only $10, in downtown DC! Then it was time to wait in line, in the chilly night air. I was glad we arrived when we did because the line to get in was wrapped around the building, and it was a huge clump of people. Also we ended up with some interesting people behind us. Ah the fun of dropping eaves.
I thought it was quite strange that we were still standing outside at 9 when our show was supposed to start at 9:30. The issue was that the 7 o'clock show ran long. People finally poured out of the theater around 9:10. After a bit more of a wait people were finally let into the building.
Our seats were pretty good in my opinion given how late in the game I got them. We were in the third row, just behind the expensive balcony seating that had drink service. o_O So weird to see waitresses in a theater. Thankfully no one tall sat in front of us so our view of Jeff would only be impeaded by the camera on a moving arm rig.
I was so excited about this but I became even more excited when we were told by Jeff to not go anywhere after the show was done for they ran out of time with the first audience to film some important segments. WOOOOO HOOOOO! That confirmed that I had chosen wisely. The stage manager gave us a run down of things particularly that occasionally we would need to stand up and cheer like crazy or just break into applause. Oh like that's hard to do when we're all pumped up to be there anyway.
Finally things got rolling. I can't remember his name, but a nice comedian from L.A. was sent on stage to warm us up. I'll probably see him around later and go "Why is he so familiar?" Finally Jeff takes the stage. I was pleased to see that he can do stand up without his arsenal of puppets. He's great on his own. The ventriloquist stuff shows off his extra talents. While I doubt any of the puppetless stand up will be part of the Comedy Central special, I really hope it's an extra feature on the DVD.
Over the course of the show Jeff presented us with Walter, Achmed the Dead Suicide Bomber, Melvin the Superhero, Jose Jalapeño (on a "stick") and of course Peanut. It was great seeing Jeff do his thing live, and it was especially entertaining when he would fumble and need to start a particular thing over. The man is great at working his way through mental lapses. He really does argue with himself. Jeff would say "I totally lost my place" and then his puppet would scoff and say "I know my lines..." Hahahahahaha
The show was fantastic. I was laughing so hard I had trouble breathing at many points. Additionally I felt dumb for not bringing any water to sooth my throat after much laughing. I received a number of dirty looks due to my laughter. I don't get what the big deal was. It's not like I was laughing OVER what Jeff was saying. I was reacting when everyone else was. /sigh ...The curse of having a boisterous laugh.
Once the main part of the show was done, they did a few transistion shots where we all got to cheer like mad. The crew was taking some time setting up, and Jeff was finding ways to entertain us so he had his three daughters join him on stage for a few minutes. That was so awesome they were there and it was even more funny given that the puppetless portion of the act Jeff talked a lot about his family. Finally it was time to film the special segments. I don't want to spoil what they are, but supposedly they will be released on YouTube or somewhere like that over the course of the year leading up to the special/dvd release.
We finally got home around 1am and promptly crashed.
Again we took the opportunity to sleep in. Once up, I had some toast and fruit to tide me over until lunch. We ended up ordering pizza so that we could relax and play the Hello Kitty version of Uno. *squeeee* It's cute and I hadn't played Uno in years!
Eventually it was time to get dressed and head out. I gained a number of nice picture frames as well as some sewing supplies and blankets Cyndi was getting rid of. We said our goodbyes and hit the road.
Instead of heading straight back to Pittsburgh, we made a slight detour to the Virginia Farm Market, an establishment just north of Winchester, VA on US522. I was so excited to have the opportunity to go there particularly since I didn't get to stop by last year. I picked up some fuji apples, apple dumplings, apple pie, oatmeal cookies and peanuts as well as some honey sticks and apple cranberry cider for Trevor. Oh how I missed those cookies!
Since we were now on 522, we also made a stop in Berkeley Springs, WV. I love this little town especially taking a walk thru the park with George Washington's Bathtub. While walking about town I saw a number of shops and places I never noticed before. Sadly since it was around 5pm on a Sunday, all the shops had closed down. Not like I'll never come back, but now I'm really wanting to return to check out all of the little shops.
Eventually we were back on the road. Hunger and a bout of sleepiness got us to stop in Breezewood for a meal. The sit down place in the Gateway was nice. The buffet had this awesome meatloaf. I was quite sad by the soups though. The chicken noodle had peas in it and just tasted off. We stuffed ourselves and then walked about to wake up our bodies for the final stretch home.
The drive was mostly uneventful and we arrived back in the Pittsburgh area safe and sound.
Jeff's Comedy Central special will be on sometime in September and the DVD will be released not too long after that.
We were staying at my cousin's place in Arlington. It's a cozy little house that I hadn't been to in many years. It's been going through some changes and looks absolutely lovely today. After arriving on Friday night, we spent time chatting with my cousin Cyndi and her man Shiv. They are such a sweet couple.
Saturday started off quite nicely because we got to sleep in! Oh sleep, you elusive thing, how I love when I have more of you. The sleep was great because of the busy schedule for the rest of the day.
First on the agenda was lunch with some of blackpaladin's local friends. We made plans to meet up in a town called Shirlington. The town has been undergoing major revitalization that's working. The town is overflowing with eating establishments of a wide variety as well as some quaint shops. Trevor and I arrived in town a bit early. As we were walking to the Luna Grill & Diner, Trevor noticed a sign saying something like "We are open and having a Wine and Chocolate tasting."
The place is The Curious Grape. Totally check out the logo. It's adorable. I am so lame that if they were selling a little plushie version of the grape in their logo I probably would have bought it. Anyway, they were having a wine with chocolate tasting. While I'm not big on alcohol or wine, I did try each of the wines as well as the corresponding chocolates. The first wine tasted alright but left a burning feeling in my esophagus through the rest of the tasting. The chocolates were interesting, but none were making me go "WOW, I must have more!" The second and third wines were not to my liking. The fourth was sweet and I would probably drink it again, but not very much. It was getting closer to meeting time so we thanked them for the tasting and promised to return.
As we approached Luna's, it seemed people had not arrived and thus we had more time to kill... in the little toy and game store right next door. Even though I was staying with family, I had totally forgotten to get a hostess gift. What's so great is that Trevor recalled that at the same time as me and we were determined to find something nice for Cyndi and Shiv. While the little shop had an interesting selection, we ended up getting Blokus Travel Edition since it is specifically designed for two people. As we were finishing, a call came in from people for lunch.
I was pleased to meet ecwoodburn and lite, as well as see zaph again. Luna's had so many good and tasty items on their menu it made for a tough choice. I saw a very entertaining entry, Pittsburgh Barbeque which was half of a roast bee with something something. *giggle* Roast Bee. *insert python joke here* We all had a good laugh from that typo. There were also blue plate specials as well as green plate specials. Sadly all the specials were Monday through Friday only. I ended up with a cheeseburger. It was most excellent and came with super tasty fries.
Post lunch, the five of us stopped by the little game shop. Then we all went to the Curious Grape. Trevor picked up two of the four wines we had tasted, and then they put out a fifth wine. A request to try it and a short wait provided us with yet another wine. For me it was WAY too sweet, but he liked it enough to take a bottle of it too.
Sadly time was up and we were off to our next destination, a YMCA near Bethesda, Maryland. We were there in the hopes of running into some people Trevor knew from his days attending a local gathering called FanTek as well as supporting some FanTek people participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The day was quite gloomy and the clouds had been spitting all day, thus there wasn't a huge crowd.
We sat down and waited for a phone call. Cheering on the walkers was great, but it made me a bit sad and distant. I missed my mom and my grandmother Hazel. To help improve my spirits I started writing down fun things I saw on shirts. Here are the highlights from the time we were there.
I'm a Breast Man
Save Second Base
Walkers for Knockers
Just BeaTit
I'm for Boobs
Save the Tatas
Babes for Boobs
Heart & Sole
Save Boobs
Hokies Hiking for Hooters
Support Vehicle (van covered in bras)
Twin Power
Teachers for Tatas
Sassy and Classy
Live your Breast Life
Save the Boobs
Ph Double Ds
I was very entertained by I'm a Breast Man and Save Second Base. I really wish I could get my hands on a Save Second Base shirt. The shirt was to support Breast Cancer Outreach based at Georgetown University. Maybe if I email them...
Aside from the shirts and clapping for walkers, we finally were able to meet up with Bruce and Cheryl. Very nice people. Unfortunately I started feeling emotionally overwhelmed and a touch dizzy so I wasn't as social. Though it was a nice time. Eventually they needed to leave and we headed back to Cyndi's place to prep for the rest of the evening.
After changing up, the four of us headed to a little Greek food place. I was initially confused because the place was called Two Chefs Pizza or something like that. Once I opened the menu I did see greek food. Sometimes, you just need to have a wide a variety of things on the menu. Once we were stuffed it was time for the final portion of the evening.
The reason we traveled to the Warner Theater to see Jeff was because he was taping a new Comedy Central special and DVD. I had always wanted to be at a taping like this so I leaped at the opportunity.
I was very pleased and surprised that we found a parking space in the garage just across the street from the theater and for only $10, in downtown DC! Then it was time to wait in line, in the chilly night air. I was glad we arrived when we did because the line to get in was wrapped around the building, and it was a huge clump of people. Also we ended up with some interesting people behind us. Ah the fun of dropping eaves.
I thought it was quite strange that we were still standing outside at 9 when our show was supposed to start at 9:30. The issue was that the 7 o'clock show ran long. People finally poured out of the theater around 9:10. After a bit more of a wait people were finally let into the building.
Our seats were pretty good in my opinion given how late in the game I got them. We were in the third row, just behind the expensive balcony seating that had drink service. o_O So weird to see waitresses in a theater. Thankfully no one tall sat in front of us so our view of Jeff would only be impeaded by the camera on a moving arm rig.
I was so excited about this but I became even more excited when we were told by Jeff to not go anywhere after the show was done for they ran out of time with the first audience to film some important segments. WOOOOO HOOOOO! That confirmed that I had chosen wisely. The stage manager gave us a run down of things particularly that occasionally we would need to stand up and cheer like crazy or just break into applause. Oh like that's hard to do when we're all pumped up to be there anyway.
Finally things got rolling. I can't remember his name, but a nice comedian from L.A. was sent on stage to warm us up. I'll probably see him around later and go "Why is he so familiar?" Finally Jeff takes the stage. I was pleased to see that he can do stand up without his arsenal of puppets. He's great on his own. The ventriloquist stuff shows off his extra talents. While I doubt any of the puppetless stand up will be part of the Comedy Central special, I really hope it's an extra feature on the DVD.
Over the course of the show Jeff presented us with Walter, Achmed the Dead Suicide Bomber, Melvin the Superhero, Jose Jalapeño (on a "stick") and of course Peanut. It was great seeing Jeff do his thing live, and it was especially entertaining when he would fumble and need to start a particular thing over. The man is great at working his way through mental lapses. He really does argue with himself. Jeff would say "I totally lost my place" and then his puppet would scoff and say "I know my lines..." Hahahahahaha
The show was fantastic. I was laughing so hard I had trouble breathing at many points. Additionally I felt dumb for not bringing any water to sooth my throat after much laughing. I received a number of dirty looks due to my laughter. I don't get what the big deal was. It's not like I was laughing OVER what Jeff was saying. I was reacting when everyone else was. /sigh ...The curse of having a boisterous laugh.
Once the main part of the show was done, they did a few transistion shots where we all got to cheer like mad. The crew was taking some time setting up, and Jeff was finding ways to entertain us so he had his three daughters join him on stage for a few minutes. That was so awesome they were there and it was even more funny given that the puppetless portion of the act Jeff talked a lot about his family. Finally it was time to film the special segments. I don't want to spoil what they are, but supposedly they will be released on YouTube or somewhere like that over the course of the year leading up to the special/dvd release.
We finally got home around 1am and promptly crashed.
Again we took the opportunity to sleep in. Once up, I had some toast and fruit to tide me over until lunch. We ended up ordering pizza so that we could relax and play the Hello Kitty version of Uno. *squeeee* It's cute and I hadn't played Uno in years!
Eventually it was time to get dressed and head out. I gained a number of nice picture frames as well as some sewing supplies and blankets Cyndi was getting rid of. We said our goodbyes and hit the road.
Instead of heading straight back to Pittsburgh, we made a slight detour to the Virginia Farm Market, an establishment just north of Winchester, VA on US522. I was so excited to have the opportunity to go there particularly since I didn't get to stop by last year. I picked up some fuji apples, apple dumplings, apple pie, oatmeal cookies and peanuts as well as some honey sticks and apple cranberry cider for Trevor. Oh how I missed those cookies!
Since we were now on 522, we also made a stop in Berkeley Springs, WV. I love this little town especially taking a walk thru the park with George Washington's Bathtub. While walking about town I saw a number of shops and places I never noticed before. Sadly since it was around 5pm on a Sunday, all the shops had closed down. Not like I'll never come back, but now I'm really wanting to return to check out all of the little shops.
Eventually we were back on the road. Hunger and a bout of sleepiness got us to stop in Breezewood for a meal. The sit down place in the Gateway was nice. The buffet had this awesome meatloaf. I was quite sad by the soups though. The chicken noodle had peas in it and just tasted off. We stuffed ourselves and then walked about to wake up our bodies for the final stretch home.
The drive was mostly uneventful and we arrived back in the Pittsburgh area safe and sound.
Jeff's Comedy Central special will be on sometime in September and the DVD will be released not too long after that.