Bye Bye Beach

 In 1983 my grandmother decided to bring the whole family together at the close of the summer for one beach trip. From there until 2005 Pensacola Florida was our annual vacation home. I remember each one of the 4 houses we stayed in over that time. Each one growing bigger than the other. 

But when the hurricane blew them all away, we stopped our annual trips. 

For 3 years we weren't enjoying the sand, until Dad decided to bring back the tradition but this time with just our family in 2009 but this time, move the beach a little closer to us in Gulf Shores AL. 

But in 2025 that finally came to an end. My Dad had a lot of expensive costs last year with the beach house he'd purchased. Every year before then it was making him money but last year he had to put on a new roof, A/C units, paint and even reconstruct the staircase after a store had deemed them "unsafe". I don't know the specific number but I believe 5 zeros were attached to the 1st digit and it outweighed the income he'd made that year, so Dad decided to sell it. 

He made a hefty profit I'm sure. Housing in the area is hot right now and he bought right after the 2008 crisis, in which he bought the house for a steal so I'm happy for him. Problem is, we never knew last year was going to be out last. 

Bittersweet, I must say. Lots of good memories there, with the family, kids, and board games. In fact, last year may have been the BEST year I'd ever had playing games, since we played several sessions of Twilight Imperium, as well as a 7 player version of Spartacus (I dream come true) So it truly was the best of all years. Kinda sad it's come to such an abrupt end. 

But maybe in 2029, (another 3 years in-between) I'll begin the tradition again with my own family. There'll be older and more manageable to deal with.  Plus, I may also keep the tradition of moving the beach a little closer to home by settling for beaches in MS, my home state. I really like that idea and if things go well make it an annual thing. 

Time changes things, traditions eventually end and life moves on. That's the nature of it. I'll miss the good times we had on our family trips but look forward to creating our own someday.   

Caveat (Review)

 Been a while since I was genuinely scared watching a movie. 

Enter "Caveat" a movie about a guy hired to watch a man's schizophrenic niece in a house on an island in a lake. 

But there's a little mystery in the house that needs to be resolved....add some supernatural occurrences around the house to it and you've got a movie that's pretty good!

It's crazy, because this movie begins with the creepies, then tries hard to make you forget about it all in the 2nd act when the main character is trying to put the pieces together on what took place in the past. Followed by a strong 3rd act that had me looking away with a tummy full of the heebie jeebies, only to end it in a perfect way and (if you're lucky) as the credits role you'll realize the you were seeing the whole movie wrong from the very beginning. 

 Spooky and smart without spoon feeding the audience to what the real meaning to it all was in the first place. 

I liked that. 

Recommended. 

Have a good weekend folks!

Cheerwine

 I've always heard good things about this cola from friends. So the next time Megan and I ate at Cracker Barrell, I decided to go for it and see if it's really as good as people say. 

It is. 

Really tasty. I don't need to go crazy and start buying it buy the dozens, but at the same time, I wouldn't say "No" to having another. Good stuff. 

The other 2 colas they have there that I want to try is Moixe and Vernon's Ginger Ale. But I can wait another 6 months before we head back to Cracker Barrell. 

Honey Peanut M&Ms

 Love peanut M&Ms, so I had to try these the other day. 

Not bad. In different to whether I'd try them again in the future. I think the flavor I would go for if they made  spicy peanut M&Ms. That'd be great, but I doubt it'd be a best seller so they probably won't ever make it. 

I miss the dark chocolate peanut M&Ms too. But those went out of productions years ago sadly. Still, nothing wrong with the classic peanut M&Ms either. 

Ghost 7Up

 Saw this in the store a few months ago and picked it up. Didn't even know about it. So excited. Went back to my car. And right before I opened it up I thought "Wait...what if it taste just like 7Up?"

I was right. No difference. 

Don't get me wrong, I like 7Up. But I felt like I just paid $1 more for a 7Up energy drink. There's literally no difference in the taste. 

Why they did this, I have no idea. I know Dr Pepper bought them a few years back. Maybe they were just throwing one of their brands in with Ghost to see if there'd be any interest. Well... I hope that's it for this experiment. Not interested in cola flavors with the Ghost label plastered on them. 

Pass on this one.  

When to grabs the "upgrade" seats

 Was talking with some friends at work about when you should move to better seats in a stadium while watching a game and this is what we all agreed on. 

Baseball: After the 3rd Inning

Football: After the 1st Quarter

Hockey: After the 1st Period

Basketball: Who cares about basketball??

I won't move if I'm with my family because it's never a smooth transition and isn't worth the trouble. But when it's just me or me and my son, I'll move on down for the upgraded seats. 

What about you?

Megan's Bizarre rules

 There are 2 "rules" my wife has around the house I've never understood. So today, I'm enlisting your help to explain them to me. 

#1 Once a hand towel is used to dry ones hands and must be thrown in the dirty laundry immediately. 4

Because of this, we never have hand towels in the bathrooms, ever. 

#2 Once you're done using the toaster, it must be unplugged. 

Or.... .what? It'll cause a fire? I don't know why, but she gets made if I don't unplug the toaster after using it. Every other kitchen appliance can be plugged in but this one and I've never understood why. 

Maybe one of you could help make sense of these "rules"

Have a good weekend folks!

That's :Mr Pibb: to you!

And finally, I got to try the original recipe. 

After so many year, Coke decided it was time to bring back the classic taste. I didn't know it when he gave me a 2 liter bottle of it. I thought it was just "cherry" flavored. Only after I finished the bottle did I realize online that this IS the original taste. 

So what did I think? Great. Oddly enough however, I think I enjoyed Pibb Xtra more! Maybe because that's really all of had over the past 35 years. 

But I'm glad they brought the original flavor back. I heard they're fading out Xtra but I really hope they keep both around in the future. Like Mountain Dew, they can rotate flavors in and out throughout the year and that would be ideal for me. 

Either way, words can't express how thankful i was to this guy for being so generous with his stash. I'd like to say I'd be the same way....but it is Pibb we're talking about here so I'm really not sure. 
 

Pibb Punchn Peach

 So the reason Pibb is coming out with different flavors I heard is because Dr Pepper is taking back distribution rights from Pepsi and Coke, now that their brand is so strong. Because of this, Coke is fighting back with Pibb and trying to give it a big push (in the big cities) for now. 

I love it. 

The peach flavor has a STRONG taste. Like biting into a juicy peach! Pretty good but again, this is a flavor I'd only try every once in a while. Not all the time. I enjoyed the cans he gifted me with but don't think I'd ever buy a 12 pack of these if I saw them. They're nice to have every once in a while for sure. 

Pibb Thrillin Vanilla

 Truth be told, I had vanilla flavored sodas. All of them....except maybe this one. Not my favorite but because it carries the taste of Pibb with it, it's bearable. The guy was very generous in giving me several cans of this, which I suspect was because he knew this was a flavor that gets old quick. 

Would I drink one again? Sure. Would I choose anything else over this one? Probably. 

But in my area, where Pibb is scarce, beggars can't be choosers. So if this is all I got, I'm not complaining.  

Pibb Zero

 If you don't know, I love me some pibb! A few months ago at a wedding, I made out like a bandit at the house where the reception was, when I discovered the owner of the house loved Pibb too. We went in the back of the house where he showed me all sorts of flavors from Pibb and even gave me a few of each to enjoy. 

Needless to say, I've been slowly drinking through my stash (once or twice a week) for the past few months and now it's time for my reviews!

First off is Pibb Zero. I've had this before because a friend of mine from Austin TX, came in one year with 2 cases of it. My response? "Are you asking for my hand in marriage? Because if so, the answer's yes!"

She wasn't, but I enjoyed the Pibb anyway. Not really that much of a difference, which is a good thing. I hear these are super hard to come by too, so I appreciated the gift. 

More reviews coming tomorrow...

Bang Lime Pop Drop (review)

I used to adore Bang energy. The Coke sued them, bankrupted them, bought them and cut out almost every flavor I enjoyed. 

Now I RARELY get them because the only flavor they still have around I like (Sour Heads) is impossible to find around here, plus I've moved on to Ghost energy drinks now. 

But whenever I see a new flavor...I have to try it for old times sake. 

The name alone reminded me of one of the my favorite flavors Lemon Drop so I was hoping for something good. Instead, I got middle of the road. 

It beats the Key Lime Pie flavor from back in the day (which was one of my least favorites) but fell short of expectations. 

I really wish they'd bring back the Lemon Drop flavor. (sigh)

Have a good weekend folks!

 

Dracula (Review)

 Holy cow, I've seen the best Dracula movie of all time. 

Not only that but (at the moment) the best streaming movie I've seen this year. Shockingly good. Excellent, I would even say. 

The trailer didn't look like much but my goodness, how this movie pays off. 

Well worth your time if you haven't seen it already. I couldn't believe how engaging the plot, characters and scenery was in this movie. Amazing. 

I just hope this isn't the only movie to "wow" me this year. 

See it. 

We Bury the Dead (review)

 When an explosion happens off the coast of Tasmania, it kills everyone within a 55 mile radius. Yet some are known to come back to life after the event. 

It's our protagonist job of cleaning up the dead, reporting those who still walk to the army to kill and (secretly) find out what happened to her husband. 

It's a "zombie" movie that wants to be something different and in return, ends of being something completely boring. 

It's been a long time since I've quit a movie halfway in. Usually, i can plow through it while playing games or looking up stuff on the internet. But not this one. It got so bad, that I ended up watching a history of the 1969 baseball season instead. It was THAT bad. 

What a waste of time, money and effort (if there was any) in this movie. Avoid at all cost. 

Outlander (review)

Catching up with my reviews of movies I've seen this year come "Outlander" from 2007. 

I never knew this movie even existed until a friend told me about it a few months ago. 

The story of man who crashes his spaceship on earth during the time of the vikings. With the help of a local clan, he tracks down a beasts that came with him on his ship. 

It's a wild tale that keeps you interested yet comes up short in ways I can't describe. I felt like the premise was there as well as some of the scenes but as a whole the movie was missing something to put it on a higher scale for me. 

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed watching the movie but in the end felt it came up short. 
 

Strange Harvest (review)

 A while back my nephew wanted to watch this movie made to look like a documentary (they even dedicated it to the fake victims in the film) about a serial killer who also has a supernatural essence surrounding his killings. 

Twice I had to remind his friends that this was a movie and not an actual event....yep. 

Guess the movie was so good it had them fooled....twice. I can't say for sure but I even think I saw one of them trying to look up information about the serial killer on the phone. 

Geez. 

Anyway, is it worth the watch? Meh. It's not bad but really nothing to impress.