Road Trip!
 

Since NEPA has less going for it than Central PA, we have to schedule the occasional road trip. I thought we could list recomendos for worthy destinations here.

Last weekend, we shot up to Syracuse, with another couple, for our annual Dinosaur BBQ.

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com

They work hard to make blues and bbq fit under one roof and are pretty successful. Saturday night we ate many pounds of dead animals of several species and sampled the Guinness and Sierra Nevada. We wandered around town so my wife could see her old college stomping grounds and returned to the BBQ for the blues portion. Phil Petroff and Natural Fact are a really tight gritty band who know how to connect with the audience. Phil plays his own music on classic electric guitars, mainly an old Fender Stratocaster, along with some T Bone Walker and SRV. We chatted with him at the break and found him to be a really charming guy, something you don't always find in extemely talented musicians.

On the downside the place is a hair too successful so expect to wait for a table and expect the band to start late say 11:00 or so.
I give them three out of five smileys. :) :) :)

http://www.national66.com/photos/031oldrd.jpg
Get your kicks on Route 66. Or take the virtual road trip.

Here's a fella worth tripping out for. He's a great guy, touring a lot all over, but heading to the Dinosaurs come June...

http://www.garyprimich.com

Rho and I drove up to NYC a few weeks ago. Actually Griff, we started by heading up your way (we were in Scranton and Wilkes-Barre for a bit), then I didn't feel like going back to Philadelphia yet, so we took I-80 east and headed through the Lincoln Tunnel into NYC. It's pretty much back to normal--almost got killed by a bus cutting me off in Times Square. Got lost in the Bronx and on Staten Island. Weird. It was my first time driving along the streets of Manhattan...and I don't plan to do it again for a while. :)

When I lived in St. Louis, I lived near what was the old route 66 in South St. Louis. I've probably driven a good chunk of it from Chicago to near Tulsa. Hopefully someday, I'll cover it out to Los Angeles. From what little I've driven, it IS a fun drive.

Hey Brother Syc! Its good to see yah back. You really need a navigator in NYC. Last time I was down there, my signals were not working in the pickup and I was going sign to sign, I thought the locals were being typical New Yorkers.... imagine my embarassment when I realized what was up. Typical rural .........

Gary Primich- If Charlie Musslewhite says he's a talent, I'd bet he is all that and a bag of chips.

Route 66- I wonder what the best vehicle would be for that trip? Maybe a mid sixties GM soft top if traveling as a crew or an old Harley if you are setting off alone?

Gracias Señor Griff. Manhattan in and of itself is generally easy to figure out in terms of just where you are at on the island. But it's when you get to the other boroughs that things get wacky. Staten Island seems to have this one road that just circles it. Queens and Brooklyn are befuddling as well.

Good choice. I always think of one of those old-school Cadillac convertibles (a la the one in the new CTS commercials). I drove an '88 Caprice...not quite the same effect. ;)

Binghamton and Old Time Hockey
 

Binghamton NY is the closest significant town to my homestead and has for several years suffered from a serious lack of serious hockey. No longer the case! Instead of the International Hockey League (I think thats the league) Iceman, all fight no skate, next year brings the AHL Senators down from PEI (sorry Canada but thems the breaks). Binghamton will have the smallest arena in the league so this may be a temporary joy. I believe the league average attendance is a little more than capacity for the arena. Binghamton is a hockey town, note the role she played in both important hockey movies Slap Shot (the original) and and in Mystery Alaska as the home of the Rangers AHL franchise, back when the screen play was written.

Comrade!
AHL! Hockey is good fun.
You'll get to see lots of talented young players. Will they take on those Hershey Bears? Sounds like a great old barn of a rink- bet they have a cheezy organist that can play "Eye of the Tiger" and that watery rink hot chocolate too! I get sentimental...

Our State Highschool Hockey tourney is on right now, broadcast across the state - the kids get to mouth "hi grandma" on the TV. And there is always that small town, way up north, like Roseau, where every kid on the top two lines is a sibling or cousin, that you just have to cheer for.

I hope they get the old organist back from the days of the old AHL franchise,...I'm trying to remember his name... I dunno but he had game! Right now its bad, just 10 second cuts of pop music punctuated by a stick to the head. I saw a game where the seat in the penalty box was never cool for three minutes. I think they'll play Hershey/ Scranton Wilkes Barre (Flyers)/ Kentucky (Thoroughblades) the old Binghamton Ranger franchise I think. I forget where the Whalers moved to but rivalries will be established... good times coming, must start agitprop for the old organist good thinkin!

I would imagine that the AHL average attendance numbers are swayed by the Phantoms, i.e., Philly, because they play at the Spectrum (where the parent club used to play, the Flyers) and I believe they even sell it out?

According to the AHL site, Philly draws 8000 a game, although I have heard of the Spectrum getting pretty full for some of their games. Providence and Wilkes-Barre draw slightly more. The league average is 5701.

I like the AHL for the fact that it not only plays in major cities (Philly, Chicago, Houston), but also in far flung small cities (St. John's, NF; Manchester, NH).

hmmm... if the phantoms are the Flyer club, I wonder who S/W is affiliated with or if they still have a club at the FU arena.

It's really the Scranton-Wilkes Barre PENGUINS. (I hadda look it up.)

UT already answered that...the Pens' farm team plays there. Although, it is Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. ;)

According to the AHL, the PEI team was "inactive." I'm assuming that means that the team just wasn't cutting the mustard in Charlottetown, and they pulled the plug on it.

Speaking of "local" hockey teams, I completely forget that there is an ECHL team in Trenton, as well as one in Reading. They both draw well, and Trenton is in first place in its division by 10 points.

Heh heh, Timing is everything. Wilkes / Scr must be a different town ;)