bobmacliberty

16 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

 

 

The highlight that this restaurant is known for is their “Grouper Melt.” This was the best sandwich I have ever eaten in my life. Everyone who got it raved about it. It had grouper, grilled onions, mushrooms and cheese. If you ever come down to Hilton Head you must try this sandwich. 10 out 10 stars.

That looks like a perfect lunch (hold the pickles).  I love Grouper!  If it's on the menu, in any form, it's usually my choice.  Sounds like you're having a great trip.

Anyone looking for a great horse racing experience should try Keeneland in Lexington, KY.  It's a beautiful track...nicer than Churchill Downs.  The only problem is that they only race for 3 weeks in April and 3 weeks in October.  It's a lot of fun with great tailgating before the races.  Fun people watching also with some serious money floating around.  It would match up well with a Bourbon Trail tour. 😁

1 hour ago, SteelCityCruiser10 said:

I know we have a lot of Seinfeld lovers on this thread so I thought I would share.  I saw a clip this morning of an interview with Jerry Seinfeld by Rich Eisen where Jerry explains some unknown facts about the famous "Marine Biologist" episode.  He said that he came up with the idea to connect Kramer's golf ball with the distressed whale at 2 am prior to filming day.  Before that, the distressed whale and Kramer hitting golf balls into the ocean were just two separate story lines in the episode. 

 

George's speech .. "The sea was angry that day my friends..." was also written at 2am the night before and Jason Alexander was given 30 minutes to memorize 2 1/2 pages of new script before shooting (and 100% nailed it). 

 

To top it all off, they needed to get approval from Titleist right before the episode in order for Kramer to be able ask if the ball George found in the whales blow hole was "a Titleist."  by name.

 

I found the story fascinating so I thought I would share with fellow Seinfeld enthusiasts.

 

Starts at 2:05.

 

 

There are a few other clips from the same interview that are worth watching:

We've been very busy lately.  Our daughter and SIL came for a long weekend visit last weekend.  They arrived Friday afternoon and left Monday night on what used to be a cheap Allegiant direct flight.  Not so cheap anymore.  We packed in a lot of activities while they were here.  Our club's Member-Member golf tournament kicked off with a stag dinner last night and golf today, tomorrow, and Saturday.  The tournament includes a lot of great food and drink in addition to golf, closing with a celebration dinner on Saturday night with spouses/partners.  Lots of fun.  Weather here has been perfect.  Sunny in the upper 70s and low 80s.

Another duplicate page for me. 🤔  Working from a desktop computer using Microsoft Edge. 🤷‍♂️

46 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Going to pack light though, fine with me just shorts and t-shirts and a pair of sneakers. Not having to pack dress clothes like for a cruise sounds like a dream vacation for us.

 

We can handle our own luggage when packing like no problem. Having to share a bathroom for a night or 2 not a big deal.

 

Yes, all the hotels are probably going to be nothing like 5 star hotels but no big deal we will be traveling with our boots on the ground getting the real experience of what these countries are all about.

 

Good Luck on your geek squad arrival, usually those guys know their stuff when they do finally arrive.

I enjoy Rick Steves' shows and like his walking audio tours.  We used his audio tours in Rome and they were very informative.  As you know, he's about value travel.  The hotels that he uses look to be clean but basic.  I'd rather spend a little more on hotels and get A/C and working elevators.  Have you looked at Tauck tours?  They are more of a luxury offering and may be too expensive, but they are supposed to be excellent.  They won't cover as much area as the Rick Steves tour you're looking at, but I'd rather spend more time in fewer areas to get a feel for each place.  I love cruising but my biggest gripe is that you basically do a "drive by" for each port stop.  For land tours, I'd rather spend 4 or more nights at each stop.

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Last night we had dinner at Fishy Fishy Cafe,sat at one of tables they have outside on a deck.

 

I had the Stuffed  Bacon Wrapped Shrimp,my Wife had the Fried Combo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Picture below is for @Ocean Boy not sure if you can see but it's a light house...does this count as a lighthouse picture? You can just see Overton the green canopy on the boat on the island across the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning I went and got what they called a gallon of fresh just picked North Carolina Strawberries,the sweetest Strawberries I have ever eaten.

Really good.

 

I love these kinds of restaurants.  Sometimes, fried fish and hush puppies really hit the spot!

2 hours ago, Sea Dog said:

Well starting this Thursday I am going on a little adventure. Thursday morning I leave for Hilton Head Island SC to visit my life long best friend from high school and the best man at my wedding.  He is a great musician, singer and entertainer who plays at the Salty Dog cafe for over 25 years. Dave @Ozark_Kid has seen him and knows who I am talking about my best friend Dave Kemmerly.

 

What makes this trip interesting and a I'm little nervous is that I will be there 5 days with 7 other friends who I went to high school with. Two of which Mary and Steve lived on my street growing up and I have known for over 50 years. Two couples, one of which were in my class and got married right after high school and another couple a year behind us. 

 

 

We are staying a a great VRBO in Sea Pines a short distance from the Salty Dog. It's a six bedroom house so plenty of room.  Here are some of the pictures of it as it looks wonderful. And it should because it is also for sale for over $3 million.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I mentioned that I was a little nervous. Most of these people while friends I have not seen in over 5 years. A few of us have spent time together but none for 5 days. I like these people but they are extremely different from me in my view on most  things. I stated the only way I would go is that we not discuss politics or religion as I have had a couple of run ins with one of the guys over the years. Maybe as I gotten older, I don't put up with BS and I just rather cruise with my wife than do anything else.

 

Linda is going to stay home with the dogs and said go have fun with your high school friends. I hope it will be that way. I may not be around later in the week as much but I will try and post some pictures of our adventures. Wish me luck and as they say "Can't we all just get along?"

 

 

That place looks fantastic!  Why rent when you can buy? 😜  It's a much closer drive to PC from there (think of the airfare that you'll save), better year round weather, and if anyone misbehaves, you can kick them out. 🤣

16 minutes ago, h20skibum said:

Do any of you have a true home theater setup, and if so, what remote do you use?

 

I have an Onkyo 7.1 receiver (center channel, front L&R, side L&R, rear L&R, plus subwoofer). My Sony tv is connected to it, as is a dvd player, Apple TV box, and Roku box.  I have been controlling everything with a Logitech Harmony 650 programmable remote.  

 

The thing I liked about the Harmony is it made everything a one button operation.  Press watch a movie, and it would turn on the tv, change the source to the dvd, turn on the dvd player, turn on the surround receiver, and it would be ready to go.  Same with everything else, it would automatically switch inputs and power devices on and off. 

 

It always worked great when I had a cable box, but since switching to Roku and using the cable provider app, the remote occasionally gets confused.  I started looking for a new programmable remote, but it appears Harmony stopped making them.  Maybe with so many going with sound bars and smart tvs, there wasn’t a big enough market for programmable remotes.  

 

Just curious what others use.  

I used to have a full home theater when we lived in Ohio.  I used a Philips Pronto remote.  You needed a bit of programming skills to configure it, but I enjoyed that, and I loved the graphical touchscreen interface.  I don't think the Pronto has been made for several years either. 

When we moved, I simplified to just a smart TV with a Sonos sound system (Arc soundbar, separate subwoofer, and rear speakers built into the ceiling).  No DVD player or any other external boxes.  Everything is controlled with the TV remote and/or software on my phone.

19 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Weird pages 4809 and 4810 are a repeat !

It's happened to me a couple of times and others have noted the same thing.  Doesn't seem to be consistent though in that one person will see it but another won't. Weird.  

15 minutes ago, Momof3gurlz said:

He finally went Thursday (nagging works!)

When a man says he is going to do something, he is going to do it.  There's no need to nag him every year. 😜

11 hours ago, Keksie said:

On the other site where Bella is Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge has a page with a picture. You can find it by searching for the Refuge.  The staff can post patient pictures.  The picture is from a couple of weeks ago.  I think there will be more as they grow.  

Found it.  They definitely are cute, especially all balled up together in their pen. 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3247879512173030

We went to Key West a couple of years ago and enjoyed it.  Although we're glad we went, it was probably one and done.  We stayed at a nice hotel on the quieter end of Duval called the Orchid Key Inn, which I'd recommend.  We did the Hemingway House, the Little White House, a walking history tour, and a sunset cruise.  All very worth doing.  We also had a couple of good meals (especially the Red Shoe Island Bistro...outstanding) and did a mini bar crawl from the top of Duval back to our hotel.  Now that I type this, I'm sort of talking myself into going back. 😁 

We drove from Amelia Island and broke up the trip with a stay in Key Largo.  Driving was fine and again I'm glad I did it, but if we were to go back it would either be flying or taking the high speed ferry from Fort Myers.  It's a long drive from Northern Florida just to get to the Keys, and then another long drive all the way to Key West.  Flying into Miami and renting a car could be a good way to check out various places in the Keys.

5 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

Made it. Our hotel room with a view. As Jimbo mentioned, hope the Jays play better this afternoon than last night. 
 

Great view.  Make sure you close your curtains. 😜

12 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Meanwhile, our budding artist worked on her life size family chalk art.  There may have been some tracing involved. 
 

This is fantastic!  I don't think I've ever seen this done before.  I love that she has them all holding hands. 🙂 She definitely has talent.  You can see it in the details of things like the faces and shoelaces.

14 minutes ago, Luckynana said:

I agree with you 100% about how Hunter must be an awesome teacher.  What a great guy he is!  He's going to be quite the "hero" in his school, if he hadn't been already.

I feel the same way about Soda.  Having worked in Special Ed, I can see the kids in her classes totally loving her.  I once worked with a teacher who was similar to Soda.  

Kids need enthusiastic and loving teachers.  They've always been needed, but I think even more so these days.

I agree with everything said about Hunter and was rooting for him.  I don't however think that he was strategic enough for Survivor.  Combine that with how dominant he was in challenges, and I didn't think he'd survive very long. 

If I was in his shoes at Tribal, I may also have hung on to the idol.  It seemed obvious that everyone was voting for Q, even knowing that you can't trust what you hear. He knew that he was vulnerable and was trying to stretch having the idol a few more days.  If he could then get immunity again, the idol would last even longer.  You could see how he really struggled with playing the idol or keeping it in his pocket.  He took a risk though and got burned.  Tiff did the same thing.  She swore that she would play her idol to get the target off her back but in the end, decided to keep it a while longer.  It worked for her.

17 hours ago, NHProud said:

It has been discussed before at length however I can’t find it so any help here would be appreciated. I’m not looking for in depth replies just basic info of what to look for in buying a streaming TV. We are not into complicated technology and gaming . Just basic stuff.  We’ve been watching our 36” not smart TV but have to switch because that is what Direct TV is using . 
 

Thank you .

I am physically incapable of providing just basic info when it comes to tech so hopefullt this isn't too much info for you. 🙂 I like to use a website called CNET for info about several things tech related, including TVs.  Here is their most recent "buying guide".  It provides a good, not too deep, discussion about features and other considerations when buying a TV, and recommends a few models:

Your TV Buying Guide: Spring 2024 Edition - CNET

You probably can't go wrong if you buy a mid-level or better TV from Sony, Samsung, or LG.  We have all Samsung TVs so that the remotes and user interface are the same everywhere. They will all have about the same features and pretty similar picture quality.  You may hear people saying that one brand is better than another but in this price range, that's mostly brand loyalty talking.  There's not much difference. Here is a Best Buy feature comparison of 50 inch TVs from those brands that are about $500:

Compare - Best Buy

If you read the CNET buyer's guide, they'll tell you to ignore the tech specs.  If you want to save a little and don't need the absolute best picture quality, there are models from these suppliers that are less expensive, and there are brands like TCL and Hisense (both recommended by CNET but I've never owned one).  I picked 50 inch only because you mentioned currently having a 36 inch model.  A 50 inch set will initially look huge to you, but you will quickly get used to the size.  If you've got space and don't mind spending a little extra, I'd go even bigger.  55 inch has become a standard size and 65 inch would be even better for a living room.  Note that these numbers are the diagonal length of a TV from corner to corner.  When determining what will fit a specific space in your house, you'll need to get the width and height values online.

You most likely currently have cable TV and can continue using cable with any new TV.  If you want to cut the cable, there a few streaming services to which you can subscribe.  New TVs come with apps (may be called something different for a specific brand) that you can easily install.  They are very much like a computer...for example launch the Netflix app (by clicking on it with your TV remote), sign in to your separately purchased Netflix service (usually just needed the first time you launch the app), and you're good to go.  You use the TV remote to navigate around the Netflix screen to pick what you want to watch.  Same goes for YoutubeTV, Apple TV, Prime video, Disney, Paramount, etc, etc. You may have more difficulty picking which streaming services to buy than which TV to buy.  Or you may end up (like we did) buying several different services which are starting to add up to almost the same cost as cable. 😁 Almost any brand TV will have an app for the above mentioned services, but you should confirm that in the online specs before buying.

Happy to answer any additional questions. 

So happy Dani to hear that you have the family all together for Passover!

5 hours ago, aussielozzie18 said:

Today, the excitement ramped up even further.  We dressed in four layers then headed to our Whale watch tour out of Nanaimo, where we were provided with a head to toe expedition suit and goggles.  Boarded our zodiac with 7 others + naturalist + crew/photographer and Captain.  Then spent the most wonderful 4 hours on the water.  After seeing stellar sea lions, harbour seals, humpback whale, we continued on all the way up near to Squamish in the water.  In this absolutely beautiful water, surrounded by snow capped mountains and we saw ORCAS!!!  We spent about an hour just drifting as this family of four orcas (mum & 3 sons - one only 1 year old) swam nearby.  Our Zodiac was the only one there.  We had this magic to ourselves.  I was almost in tears.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Took a solid 1hr high speed ride back to Nanaimo but it was so worth it and in all the gear, ours & theirs, we were toasty warm despite the cold temps on the open zodiac.
 

Looks like an absolutely amazing trip!

3 hours ago, LadyZolt said:

 

I see what you did there. 😁 Great picture!

1 hour ago, h20skibum said:

Before last summer, I knew nothing of Harry Potter.  Never read the books or saw any movies.

I don't know how this is even possible. 🤣  The activities that you plan for your grandkids are just amazing.  Again, will you adopt me?

While living in Ohio, we had a huge Halloween party and every year was a different theme.  Of course, one year was Harry Potter.  I'm still amazed at the Goblin that Micheline made from Gringott's bank.

30 minutes ago, HBE4 said:

In fact, it might be easier and cheaper for me to pack a couple suitcases, a few boxes of pictures & mementos'  and leave behind whatever doesn't fit in the back of an SUV.

We moved less than half of what we owned.  Some things wouldn't look good in Florida and needed to be replaced (according to Micheline, happy wife... 😁).  We, in order, gave some to our kids, sold some on FB Marketplace or a local consignment shop, donated some to Goodwill, left some for the new owners (who confirmed that they wanted it), and threw the rest in the 1-800-GOT-JUNK dumpster.  I know that someone got a really nice, solid mahogany dining room set in nearly perfect condition for a LOT less than we paid for it many years ago.

Fun night last night with a bonfire on the beach.

11 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Billy Joel, Live at MSG is on TV. He still sounds really good!

Great show in person.  I've recorded it but haven't watched it yet.

Inflation can definitely sneak up on you.  It seems like just yesterday that I could buy a takeout lunch meal for a little more than $5.  Now, it's more than $10.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the average US inflation rate for the past 20 years, smoothing out the shorter-term impacts of world events, politics, etc.  It's 2.43%.  That means something that cost $10 in 2004 would cost more than $16 today.  Inflation over the last few years has been higher than average, peaking at more than 9% in June 2022, so increased prices recently are real. Obviously, some items will see a higher inflation rate, and some will see a lower inflation rate.