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January 18, 2016 - 2:03 a.m.
"vertigo trivia" or "massachusetts road trip"

Hey Journal!

Wow! Today was a long and fun and crazy day! Dan and I set our alarms for 7:35 this morning and we got up and got ready to go. We headed out to Linda's house and we picked her up at 9:00. We went inside quickly before we left and she showed us the invitations that she had ordered for her wedding. Connor was awake and brushing his teeth when we arrived. He was watching videos of old 1980s toys being demonstrated on YouTube. Cameron was still asleep.

We hit the road at about 9:10 and our original plan was to get breakfast at IHOP before we hit the road. On the way, however, we decided to change it up and stop at a Cracker Barrel in Connecticut! I mean, who can resist a good Cracker Barrel visit!

Since we weren't eating right away we stopped at a 7-11 and Dan got coffee and I got a donut to hold me over.

We got to the Cracker Barrel at about 10:30 and there was a wait for a table. We walked around the store area while we waited but it was so packed it was hard to move around. Our table was ready in about 25 minutes and our waiter came over. He was kinda a disheveled mess. His name was Dave and he was a "Rising Star." (Perhaps a falling star...) He came over and explained that he would be our server and that he was also waiting on a table next to us. We figured that's pretty much how it works in a restaurant. lol I got the Momma's Pancake Breakfast and Linda got the Eggs in a Basket which she had always wanted to try!

Throughout the meal our waiter did some really weird stuff. He just kept bumbling around and when he would come to the table he would start babbling on and you couldn't get a word in! Dan and Linda asked for more coffee and he never came with it, and then he brought us an extra water by mistake and was totally awkward about it. Finally, he brought our food and then told me he was going to bring me extra sausage. I have no idea why....but he never did!! He asked me if I wanted a container to take my leftovers and called me, "bud!" Ugh! I hate that! He was a nice guy but he was just a mess. That's all there is to it!

We were back on the road after that and after not-so-long we passed a sign for the Pez Visitor Center. I have always wanted to stop there and see what it is... I mean, you know I love my Pez! Anyway, I wasn't sure if we had enough time because I didn't know what Linda's plans were with Kim... but she said that we had the time so we went. We got there at 11:21 (that's the time on my ticket!) It was $5 to get in but we got a dollar off with our AAA card! It wasn't bad because for the $4 you got a $2 credit towards anything in the store, a lanyard, and a free Pez dispenser. Not bad.

It was a cool place and they have a little viewing window into the factory but the factory is closed on weekends. They mostly had tons of old Pez dispensers on display and we walked around and checked them out. They also had this photo area where you could put your head on a Pez thing. It was funny and Linda's picture came out great!

We were there for about an hour and, honestly, I don't see how you could spend any more time than that, there. It was fun and I'm glad we stopped but there isn't all that much to do there. It's not an all-day event.

Back on the road at exactly 12:21. We continued our journey towards Worcester! Before going to Kim's house, we stopped at Wegman's! Of course! It calls us in. We are attracted to it! We got more Wegman's hand soap to take home as well as cereal and some other items that we couldn't pass up. I love Wegman's brand stuff.

It's great...every time we are away we stop at a Wegman's and then people come over our house and wonder how/why we have so many things from there... they get confused and think that one might have opened on Long Island. Nope, we just stock up when we have the chance! lol

Finally, it was time to go to Kim's house! We arrived around 4:00. She lives in Shrewsbury. We got there and Linda had brought a gift for her son, Colin. Colin is 3 and he was soooo cute! We hung out for a while, just sat around and talked and he was playing with his toys and stuff. He was really shy at first but was starting to open up a lot!

He had a lot of really cool toys. Real imagination toys... He had a train set, lots of cars, and cool interactive stuff that wasn't necessarily battery-powered but more along the lines of traditional stuff! I think more kids these days should have toys like that and learn to play without needing flashing lights and sounds.

Kim and her husband Brent used to live on Long Island but moved up to Massachusetts. So, we hung out there until about 6:00 and then we headed out to the Vintage Grill for some Vertigo Trivia!

We arrived around 6:15 and we got a table and started the night! We got the early bird bonus which meant that we didn't have to complete the bonus question. We knew the answer to that right away so we would have gotten it anyway! MARYLAND! We had the same waitress we had last time. I totally stand by my original assessment that she looks EXACTLY like the sister, Hilda, on the show Ugly Betty. She is her!

We had a really strong start to the game and I felt like our team was a real good mix. We all contributed and all had different areas of expertise!

There was some debate as to what our team name should be tonight. We had our original name - Bread Pudding - but we were toying with the idea of "New York Values" since, after all, we are from New York! When the host of the trivia, Dan, came around to hand out the sheets he remembered our team name from last and since he asked if we were going to be "Bread Pudding" again...so, we went with it!

The game was structured very differently than it was the last time we went. Last time was the year in review show and this one, I guess, followed the regular format. There was a music round, a picture round, all sorts of stuff thrown in there.

We had a great time and, like I said, we started out really strong. I had a gut feeling that we were going to come in first place, but... maybe I shouldn't trust my gut because we didn't!

At the last question, this one time had a ridiculous amount of points. We didn't miss that many questions so they must have gotten almost every one correct! For the final bet we did a little strategy. We knew the other team was going to bet high to try to make the all-time high score. We figured we'd guarantee ourselves second place by not bettering too much. 6 points. This way, we couldn't fall down to third if we got it wrong BUT if we got it right and the other team got it wrong, we could win. Of course, they got it right, and we didn't win... but I was happy with second place! :) We were strong contenders!

For our winnings, we got a $15 gift certificate and we'll have to use it on our next visit! We also purchased Vertigo Trivia shirts. We hung out for a little while after the game was finished and then we hit the road. It had been snowing during the game and it was starting to accumulate. We figured we should get on the road before it got any worse and Linda has work tomorrow... so we had to get her back!

Thankfully, Dan and I are off tomorrow so we're going to sleep nice and late after our long day of driving!

The snow wasn't so bad and the roads were fine. We made very good time coming home but I was exhausted and had to pee for the last hour or so of the trip! We got to Linda's at about 12:30 and I went inside to use the bathroom. She also gave me the envelopes for her wedding invitations because she wants to me help print the names on them!

Dan and I got home around 1:15 and now we're just getting ready for bed! I'm super-tired and happy that I can sleep nice and late! Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

Until tomorrow...

Goodnight. :)