greatbear: (mad rushin')
Last night was a chance at something different here at Mayhem Acres, especially for Jeff. He had tix to see Dream Theater in DC, playing at the Warner Theater. Jeff got home and napped a bit, we had a quick dinner and then headed into DC. After cussing the usual DC traffic lights and cabbies, a trip around the Obama's place, I popped into the parking garage, found the perfect Mini Cooper-sized parking spot no one else could use (the Smart ForTwo nearby was hogging a full-sized spot all to himself) and we headed in. From leaving the house to getting our butts into the seats we experienced probably the most hassle-free trip to see a show in, like, forever.

One has to consider that I had snatched Jeff from rural Pennsylvania almost 11 years ago, a shy, country music-loving, Republican-raised and exceedingly polite country boy, and I have, well, been corrupting him ever since. Now, I know what Jeff is most likely to enjoy outside of his usual tastes, and, truth be told, he's a little bit more rock-n-roll than he will let on at times. He likes Rush a lot, gets into a lot of the prog and metal stuff that wafts around these parts, and most of the Dream Theater stuff he's listened to he really liked. The only fly in this particular ointment was the opening act, a thrash outfit called "Trivium." Now, don't get me wrong, I loves me all kinds of metal, but the stuff that consists mostly of pissed-off Cookie Monster growling and blast beats does not rank that high. Jeff, on the other hand is like, "what are you getting me into here?" Anyway, the band got on stage, and once they got into their schtick, the two of us were laughing our asses off. I was showing Jeff how to make Dio Fingers and when to present them. We made it through the headbanger session and enjoyed Dream Theater, complete with their new drummer, Mike Mangini. Sadly, we cut out a little early to beat traffic because Jeff was spent from being on his feet since 4am and would have to repeat the same the next morning. A quick scoot home where I poured him into bed ended our diversion for the month. It would have been easier if the show was not running so late. I guess we are both getting old.

One thing for sure, I need to take in more metal concerts. My tinnitis, an often annoying condition that spoils my enjoyment of music (and sound in general) get not only blasted away, but in the peace and quit of Mayhem after Midnight, I could hear so many tiny sounds around the house normally masked by the racket. Completely counter-intuitive. I guess it's the same as taking an old musclecar out of the garage and blowing the carbon out while having some fun.

We can rack up the Warner Theater as another good venue to see various shows. Small place, classical theater architecture, wonderful staff. Tomorrow they play host to Weird Al Yankovic. There's someone that's probably a blast to see live.
greatbear: (forearms)
Today's trip to DC did not turn out quite as planned. While I knew this was Veteran's Day weekend, and that crowds in and around the Mall and the various memorials would be pretty big, I did not count on one thing.

The parade.

I thought the parade would have been held tomorrow. Instead, it was held today, and this caused traffic to be rerouted all around the areas we were interested in. Parking nearby was nonexistent, of course, but even being able to drop Jeff and crew off nearby was a no-go (this being necessary because of his mom's disability and unable to walk long distances). So, it was off to get some lunch. We had planned to eat at Annie's Paramount Steakhouse. Of course, parking in the area was a nightmare. What I thought was a good spot a couple blocks away was actually a no parking zone. So I let my passengers out to walk to Annie's. I scouted areas several blocks far and wide with no luck (typical). After frustration began settling in I drove up to the restaurant itself to tell everyone it's going to be a while longer, and wouldn't you know...


Rock Star Parking!
(or, better for the Gay D.C. area, "Doris Day Parking")


In all my years of eating at Annie's, I have never parked this close. Over lunch of open faced turkey sandwiches and Annie's signature "Bull In The Pan", we decided to try again another time, when Jeff's nephew can join us and there is less insanity around the memorials. We did some shopping after this and took it easy at home the rest of the day. Everyone needed it.
greatbear: (Default)
We are playing hosts to Jeff's parents this weekend. If the weather cooperates, I plan in taking his mom and dad to DC for a while, including a visit to the Vietnam Memorial. One of her school friends is on the wall. They have never been to DC. For kicks, a trip to Annie's Paramount Steakhouse is in the cards as well. Not to be left out, I will take his dad to a couple big hardware stores and possibly Bass Pro Shops. Should be fun.

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Phil

December 2016

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