2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama

On September 10 and 11, 2010 the fourth annual Drive-In Super Monster-Rama was held. And, I was finally able to attend this amazing event for the first time--after hearing stories about the first three editions. A couple friends were kind enough to take me along for the ten or eleven hour ride down to Pennsylvania (actually the trip was even longer for them-they came from New Hampshire and picked me up in Massachusetts).

If you're a fan of drive-ins and/or great old horror movies this is a trip you simply must at least consider. It's worth traveling a distance for. Over two nights the Riverside Drive-In hosts the show, which is organized by George Reis and DVD Drive-In. Each night features four (yes, I said FOUR) movies that start at dusk and run right through the night, finally wrapping up sometime between four- and five-o'clock in the morning. You can attend both nights, or just pick the one that works better for you. The price is only ten dollars per person. That's the suggested price, but it wouldn't hurt for someone who could afford to give more to do so (this is a labor of love, not a money-making venture, and they're lucky to break even). From what I've heard the attendance has increased each year as word of mouth spreads about the show and more and more people find out about it.

The Monster-Rama is held the Friday and Saturday after Labor Day. This works out perfect for everyone because the Riverside closes for the season after Labor Day weekend. They extend the season for one more week specifically for this show. The drive-in doesn't make any money off the movies, but they keep their refreshment stand open throughout the evening/night/morning. This gives the drive-in a chance to make a little more money at the end of the season without actually interfering with its regular schedule, and also gives the Monster-Rama a venue. It's a great symbiotic relationship where everyone wins (the drive-in, the organizers and the fans who show up).

The Riverside Drive-In is located in North Vandergrift, PA in what feels a bit like the middle of nowhere. The location is great for watching a bunch of scary old movies. The only thing that seems to be close by is a bowling alley right next to the drive-in (and practically right behind the screen). This makes for interesting extra sound effects. At various points during the night you'll hear rumbling and wonder if it's an approaching thunderstorm, part of the movie, or someone rolling a strike (which is usually the case). To add to the atmosphere, you also hear distant trains blowing their whistles in the dark distance every once in a while.

In addition to the eight great movies featured (which are all presented on 35mm film--the way they were originally seen) there are also many wonderful trailers for all kinds of similar films, as well as cartoons, shorts and a ton of classic drive-in intermission material. It would be incredibly easy (as well as inexpensive) to simply show a DVD projection of all this stuff, but this is a show put on by true fans of drive-ins and the movies that were shown at them and they want to make it as close as possible to a true classic drive-in experience. This means that everything you see is film-based. It's not only a great thing for drive-in fans, but also for film fans in general. If you're a fan of both, then you're pretty much in heaven for two long nights!

The Riverside's projection booth ready to spool out all kinds of 35mm treasures

And now, our feature presentation...

A retro-inspired advertising piece for the show to set the mood

Friday, September 10: We got to the Riverside Drive-In early to be first in line. Other cars started lining up behind us soon after and the anticipation and mingling among like-minded movie fans started before the gate even opened.

The Riverside's sign, screen and ticket booth

First in line!

Looks like a nice evening for a movie (or four!)

Once inside and parked in a prime spot we headed into the refreshment area to check out the fare and get a head start on eating some yummy food!

Frankenstein beckons at the door to the Snack Bar

The Snack Bar itself

The snack bar, as reflected in the fish-eye mirror on the wall

Vintage Pepsi machine in the lobby

Even more ambiance in the Snack Bar area!

The Riverside has pretty much all the regular drive-in food you'd expect, plus some other interesting choices. Rather than listing everything myself, why not just take a look at the menu to see everything offered:

Being as this show was actually held the week after the drive-in had officially closed for the season, they seemed to run out of some items early (probably the last of the season's stock--no need to replenish the supplies when the place would be closed for months after this show). Nearly everything I tried was exactly what I'd expect and hope for from drive-in food--with one exception... I wanted to get a chicken sandwich as an alternative to hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza (all of which I had already tried). Unfortunately the chicken was one of the first things to run out. I tried the Bacon Cheddar Fries instead. Unless you're a huge fan of such things I'd avoid this concoction. The fries are fine by themselves, but add a bunch of liquid cheese and a generous portion of bacon bits and you feel like you're eating a pre-ordered heart attack. I could practically feel my arteries clogging! An acquired taste I'm sure, but not one for me.

The dreaded Bacon Cheddar Fries!

One more great thing I have neglected to mention so far is that the folks from Creepy Classics set up tables inside the concession building and have tons of great merchandise for sale throughout both nights of the show. In addition to literally thousands of DVDs (ranging from common, easy-to-find ones to some very rare stuff) they also have posters, books, magazines, models and toys of interest to fans of the kinds of movies featured at the Monster-Rama. Between the snack bar and the merchandise (and the cool old pinball machines) there is plenty to do between movies or even during one when you find your eyes getting very heavy as the night turns into early morning. Of course there's also plenty of opportunity to chat with monster movie fans from around the country too.

The good folks of Creepy Classics and their wonderful wares in the lobby

Another view of the Creepy Classics bevy of booty

and, just a portion of the DVDs that Creepy Classics had out for sale

The Riverside's Evel Knievel and Lost World pinball machines

As dusk turned into night the Drive-In Super Monster-Rama show itself officially starts with a welcome from George Reis and the playing of the National Anthem (a tradition of the Riverside).

Then the fun really began. Both nights of the Monster-Rama spanned the 1960s and 1970s. Night one featured The Comedy of Terrors (1963), The Oblong Box (1969), The Witchmaker (1969) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977). Night two featured Frankenstein Created Woman (1967), Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974), Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965). Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were all well-represented. In between all those glorious movies the crowd was treated to trailers for not only those films, but also such others as: "Beach Party", "The Terror", "The Man with the X-Ray Eyes", "Frankenstein Conquers the World", "Riot on Sunset Strip", "Angels from Hell", "Succubus", "Blood Demon", "The Shuttered Room", "De Sade", "Horror House", "The House that Screamed", "Curse of the Vampires", "Flesh Feast", "The Mad Butcher", "The Gorilla Gang", "The Amityville Horror", "Love at First Bite", "Challenge to Survive", "Gas Pump Girls" and many more... All that and more short subjects (a Three Stooges short, a Mr. Magoo cartoon...) and drive-in intermission ads than you could shake a stick at! In the interest of keeping this to a manageable length I won't include EVERYTHING that was shown. Suffice to say it was a LOT of entertainment over two fun-filled nights. For more details about each night please see part two of this blog entry (coming soon). It's difficult to imagine anyone going to this show and not feeling that they got their money's worth.

Of course, part of the whole drive-in experience is that you have no control over the weather. The first night was pleasant. It did get downright cold (as is wont to happen in the middle of September). That's not a problem as long as you bundle up and bring along a few blankets. The second night was a bit tougher. It started out okay, but a while after the show started the rain followed. It was light at first, but got steadier as the night went on. Patrons were forced inside their cars but didn't seem deterred. I can't say that I saw too many cars leaving during either night of the Monster-Rama. Obviously some people had other obligations and simply couldn't stay for the full four movie slate, but for the most part the majority of cars that drove in stayed throughout the night. It was an incredible experience which I hope to be able to have again.

Which brings me to the end. I feel bad about waiting nine months to finally get around to writing about last year's Monster-Rama, but now is actually a pretty good time to mention it because... Not too long ago George Reis finally announced that there will indeed be another edition of the event in September of 2011! The movies have been announced too. The fifth annual Drive-In Super Monster-Rama will feature Black Sabbath (1963), The Last Man on Earth (1964), Castle of Blood (1964) and Island of the Doomed (1967) on Friday September 9, and The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), Count Yorga, Vampire (1970) and I, Monster (1971) on Saturday September 10. If you can make it out to the show I'd highly recommend it! If you remember the good old days of the horror shows at the local drive-in then it's a great recreation of that lost time. If you are too young to remember the experience then it's a great chance to see what you missed out on.

Here's the official page for the show at dvddrive-in.com with all the details: 2011 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. Hope to see you there!

I have posted another blog about last year's Drive-In Super Monster-Rama. Part Two concentrates on exactly what was up on the screen during the first night of the show. Check it out here: 2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama Part II if you think you can handle more on the topic! Warning: Part Two features a LOT of photos!

And, finally, I have also posted Part Three of this series (the last one I promise). Part Three focuses on the second night of the show. Here it is: 2010 Drive-In Super Monster-Rama: Part III.

The Dallas Mavericks Saved My Life Tonight

Did they literally "save my life"? Well...no. Actually, nothing like that at all. I've never even been a fan of the team, yet I'm extremely excited by the Mavs' win over the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals about a half-hour ago. Let me explain why...

Last year I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the Boston Celtics (my home team and my favorite NBA team) made it into the Finals. While I didn't give them much of a chance against the Los Angeles Bryants (oops, I mean Lakers!), they actually managed to take a 3-2 lead in that series before heartbreakingly losing the last two games. From a pleasant surprise to a crushing defeat in two games--not how a Celtics fan (and Lakers hater) wanted the season to end. This year both the Lakers and the Celtics had good years, but showed weaknesses too. I still fully expected to see the Lakers in the Finals again for the fourth straight year. I was almost as happy to see Los Angeles swept by the Mavericks earlier in the postseason as I was disappointed by the Celtics' defeat at the hands of the Miami Heat.

Like I said, I've never been a fan of the Mavericks, but like a large segment of the NBA-watching populace, I was deeply disturbed by the self-crowned "King James" (Lebron James) and his quest to steamroll over the league by joining forces with Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade as the newest version of a "Big Three". Even more than I wanted the Celtics to win another championship--even more than I wanted the Lakers to not win another championship--I desperately did NOT want Lebron to finally win his first championship.

Earlier in the season the Celtics were able to handle the Heat pretty easily--winning the first three of their four regular season games. It wasn't until their fourth and final meeting that the faltering Celtics lost big to the finally-putting-it-all-together Heat. Of course that same momentum carried over into the playoffs and the Celtics didn't put up much of a fight against the team created specifically to win the championship this year. The Chicago Bulls were the last chance to keep King James out of the Finals, and they could do no better than the Celtics. Like the Celtics against the Lakers last year, I didn't give the Dallas Mavericks much of a chance against the Miami Heat steamroller (despite the fact that they managed to sweep the defending-champion Lakers earlier in the playoffs).

As I said, I've never been a fan of the Mavericks. I've never really had anything against them (other than occasionally being annoyed by the antics of loudmouthed owner Mark Cuban), they've just never been "my" team. But I did have a few reasons to like them in this Finals series. I do have a lot of respect for the ancient Jason Kidd (who's nearly as old as I am!). I've found a lot of respect for team star Dirk Nowitzki as the games in this series have progressed. And, the above-mentioned Mark Cuban has been mercifully silent throughout the playoffs. Of course, the main reason I have been rooting for them is simply because they were pitted against the hated Heat!

Game Six (and the series) just ended a matter of minutes ago and, while it was nice seeing the Dallas players celebrate, it was positively priceless watching Lebron and company slowly walking off the court, heads hung low in defeat! It was an absolutely fabulous way to end what had been quite a stressful week. I'll never rub shoulders with NBA stars. I'll never experience the feeling of winning an NBA championship. But I still felt just a bit of what the Mavericks were feeling tonight simply because of who they beat to get there. King James will have to wait at least one more year for his much-anticipated coronation!

Happy Anniversary Monster Dad

Wow! I knew that I had started this little blog last June, but just now realized that it was exactly a year ago today that I posted my very first entry (Who Is Monster Dad?). A lot has changed since that first blog, and a lot remains the same...

The past year has simply flown by. When I start thinking about the passage of time and how quickly it all speeds by I'm reminded about all my past battles with Time (as chronicled in Monster Dad vs. Time). The biggest event of the past twelve months was a sad one: the passing of my father. I knew last June that the day would someday come, but I didn't know when and wished it could keep being put off. It was a very difficult time when he left us in April, but I tried to take some comfort in the fact that the cancer that robbed him of his life did give our family a year-and-a-half with him before taking him away, and also from the strange dream I had two nights before he died--see Dreaming Of A Better Life (Or Should I Say Death?).

My two Little Monsters were one of the main reasons for starting this blog, and that remains true. I am still a stay-at-home Dad doing my best to raise them as best he can. The big difference with them is that they both had birthdays this year (obviously). The Little Monster is now five and a half years old and has "graduated" from preschool. She starts Kindergarten in the fall--and a whole new series of adventures will ensue I'm sure. The Littlest Monster is now two years old and is no longer a "baby". I still call her my Baby (actually I still call both of them my Babies), but she's now starting to show signs of growing up--to many signs of growing up (Time strikes again!).

The past year has seen Monster Dad traveling to Pennsylvania for the fourth annual Drive-In Super Monster-Rama (an event I still haven't gotten around to writing about, but will very soon). The Little Monster has watched a number of new (to her) monster movies in the past year, as well as continuing to develop her own personality (which I don't want to stifle by forcing my Monster Dad ways upon her). She has been introduced to Abbott & Costello movies too. And I'm very glad to say that she likes them--especially "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein"! Speaking of Frankenstein, she also saw "Young Frankenstein" for the first time last October, and it became a repeated-viewing hit. These movies were both part of Monster Dad's October Movie Challenge last year (chronicled in An Absolutely Horrible Month). It was a fun project that I hope to repeat this year.

As the second year of Monster Dad starts I am thinking about how this blog has evolved. I hope that it is still pretty consistent with what I originally intended it to be. I've "Branched out" a bit by doing some more generalized and less personal stuff, but have tried to keep it in the true overall spirit of Monster Dad. The biggest development in the blog itself was when I just "discovered" that you can check out the stats for your blog about a month ago or so. Suddenly I went from being totally ignorant of such information to being practically obsessed with it (trying to give the blog better exposure and find ways to promote it better to increase the all-important page views). Despite my efforts the blog is still quite obscure--over the past twelve months I've only managed to collect a total of nine followers! Thank you very much to those of you who have taken the plunge and decided to "follow" Monster Dad's exploits. Hopefully this second year will prove to be a good--and readable--one for Monster Dad and his family (and anyone else who might happen to stumble onto this page)...

Tornado Warning in Massachusetts!

Massachusetts experienced some insane weather today (June 1, 2011). While it may seem somewhat "tame" compared to what has been seen in the tornado-ravaged areas of the south recently, it was pretty crazy for Massachusetts. Starting mid-afternoon some bands of very heavy thunderstorms plowed through the state from West to East. It's still early, but from what I've seen and heard at least seven tornadoes touched down and at least four people have been confirmed dead as a result of the devastation (numbers which unfortunately are bound to go up as things get sorted out).

Our area (luckily) wasn't as hard hit as some other towns and cities (Springfield and Monson for example), but it was still a pretty scary afternoon and evening nonetheless. It wasn't just scary for me, but for The Little Monster as well. She is afraid of your garden-variety thunder and lightning, so you can imagine what she thought of today's extreme weather.

It all started innocently enough. At 4:00 I was just leaving the house to take The Little Monster to her ballet/tap dance class. Yes, I DO allow her to take part in non-monster related activities. As we were leaving, the sky was quickly darkening with heavy, threatening-looking clouds. I figured some late-afternoon thunderstorms were coming in after another hot (85 Degrees or so) day. All I wanted to do was get to the 4:30 class before the storm hit (and presumably quickly passed through). It wasn't until we were at the dance studio that I started hearing rumors and stories about tornado watches (less serious) and tornado warnings (more serious). I had the cell phone that The Wife and I share with me. This "cell phone" is something of a rarity today--it is literally just a phone. It doesn't have a camera. You can't access the internet from it. It doesn't play online games of have a GPS device. It apparently is capable of sending and receiving text messages, but I've never done that myself (should I be admitting that?). Though I had the cell phone with me, I couldn't get a signal--despite the fact that I was only about ten or fifteen minutes from home. The only source of information I had were the bits and pieces I was hearing from staff members and various parents who were arriving or leaving.

By the time The Little Monster's class started at 4:30 the nervousness was starting to settle in. Apparently a tornado (A TORNADO!) had just hit Springfield (about a half-hour west of us). By 5:00 reports seemed to indicate that something truly bad was headed directly for us. The Monster's class got out at 5:30, just as we heard the storm was five minutes away. The staff of the dance school strongly suggested that everyone currently inside remain there and head down to the basement level (and one of the classrooms/studios) rather than going outside. The teachers and parents who were there (including me) were all trying to usher our kids downstairs while attempting to downplay the potential danger we might be in (as well as the fear which was slowly starting to build in us). Of course this all just had to happen the day that The Wife had to go into work for a nighttime event. The Littlest Monster (aka The Creature, aka The Insane Beast) was actually staying at our neighbors' house up the street. We had asked them if they could watch her "for about a half-hour" between the time The Wife left for work and when I'd normally get back from dance class. I couldn't reach them by the cell phone with no signal, but was able to call from a landline and let them know we'd be a wee bit later than expected. They were very understanding.

The sky continued to darken until it looked like it was midnight. We all went into the smallish room and the teachers started playing music and engaging the kids in a game of Freeze Dance. The music at least partially drowned out the sound of the rain and the thunder, and at least partially kept the kids from thinking too much about what was really happening. It was a strange scene to find myself in--a room filled with fifteen or twenty youthful dance students and a handful of adults--all the kids dancing and playing games (Seven-Up) while we all tried to ignore what was unfolding outside. The Little Monster is pretty bright and repeatedly asked me what was going on and why we were staying after class instead of going home. She obviously sensed that something wasn't exactly right. Luckily she seemed to believe my attempts to downplay both the possible danger as well as my own somewhat nervous state.

By 6:15 it appeared that the worst was over, and I decided that it would be safe to leave. I figured it was one big band of storms passsing through and had no idea that in reality there were a number of bands. We actually got out to the car (amid the poor Little Monster's cries of "I'm Scared!") without getting wet. There was thunder and lightning, but the rain appeared to have stopped. Unfortunately, it started again as we pulled out of the parking lot. It got progressively worse until I could hardly see out the windshield. We pulled into a parking lot to wait for it to pass. After about ten minutes the rain completely stopped again. Unfortunately, a little further down the road there was a deep "puddle" (doesn't seem like a big enough word) at an intersection which I didn't dare go through with my little, low-to-the-ground Honda. I turned around and took a different route home which passed over a big hill on winding, less-than-great roads. Luckily we only encountered one more big puddle that I was able to ford safely by going through it very slowly.

When we got home I was very relieved to see the giant old oak tree in our front lawn still standing. We retrieved The Creature from the neighbors and returned home just in time for the next wave of thunderstorms. The Sheriff's Department called to let us know (via recorded message) that dangerous weather was happening and we should seek shelter (very comforting). I also found out later that The Wife heard the Emergency Broadcast signal on the radio (but it was an actual signal and not the regular tests one usually hears (also very comforting). The Little Monster did surprisingly well with all the noise and flashes of lightning. The Littlest Monster was oblivious (ah, the innocence of a two-year-old). I tried to put The Little monster to bed before the final wave hit around 8:00. We had been reading installments of an old book of mine called "The Abominable Snowman" (written for young readers) before naps and bedtime for a couple days. I did have concern that it could spark nightmares, but she insisted on reading it, and her sleep didn't seem to suffer much. But tonight just didn't seem like a good night to be reading about Yetis. Instead we read "The Little Engine that Could". The final wave of storms rolled in just as I said "Goodnight" to her.

Within ten minutes the thunder had become loud enough to get The Little Monster crying. I went in to lie down with her until it got quiet once again--about9:00. We were lucky enough to have been spared the worst of the weather. As The Monster slept The Wife returned home from work safe and sound and we watched the news coverage of the areas that weren't as lucky as us. All our little town really experienced was high winds, heavy rains (with thunder and lightning), hail and some flooding.

Here's some scary video of one of the tornadoes that hit Springfield (MA)

And, here's a little video I took from our back door stoop of the last bits of the storm. I missed the "good stuff", but at least captured a bit of what we saw that evening.

The 2011 Memorial Day Hot Dog Challenge

This story may cause a bit of a controversy (in my household at least). You see, on Friday afternoon The Wife suggested that we take the Little Monsters to the Worcester Public Library to check out some stuff and try to get some museum passes for the long Memorial Day weekend. She also suggested that we stop at Coney Island (also known as George's Coney Island or Coney Island Lunch) for some hot dogs afterward. Now, I have previously detailed a little bit about the fact that The Wife tends to have us eat a bit more healthily than I did back in my bachelor days--when my meals consisted largely of mac & cheese and takeout food. See Night of the Living Bread for more on this topic. While I am not a big fan of tofu and multi-grain bread, I do understand and appreciate that she is trying to get our little family to eat as healthy as possible, and to try to keep me around for a few more years than I might last if I eat the stuff I really want to eat. Suffice to say, we don't go out to Coney Island on a regular basis. It's a special treat to get such an opportunity. With all that in mind, I was certainly interested in going there on Friday. My arm didn't need to be twisted or anything.

George's Coney Island in Worcester MA

At night Coney Island's magnificent neon sign beckons passersby with its dripping mustard!

Here's a little video to show the true magnificence of the sign at night. Unfortunately the "DO" was out on one side on this particular night, but you can still get the idea.

This place is a Worcester (MA) institution. Their specialty is (not surprisingly) Coney Island Hot Dogs! I know that there are a LOT of places that claim to sell the best hot dogs, and many different cities and regions have their own take on how a hot dog should be served. I haven't taken stock of all the different styles of hot dogs around the country (though I wouldn't mind embarking on a trip based around doing just that!), but from my experience, Coney Island Hot Dogs rank right up there at the top. They take a grilled dog (important) and add mustard, an absolutely divine meat sauce and onions in their "The Works" dogs. You can have them other ways, but this is what George's Coney Island is known for. If you ever see someone at the counter ordering a hamburger it's a pretty safe bet that they've never been in the place before and they don't really know what they're doing.

Anyway, to get back to the story, we entered Coney Island Friday evening and I proceeded to get my usual order of "four, no onions". True, I'm missing out on a part of the true Coney Island experience, but I just don't like onions. It may not be a "genuine" Coney Dog, but it's still more than delicious! Plus, there is an unwritten and unspoken tradition between George's Coney Island and myself; you see, I always order mine with no onions--yet every time I go there at least one of my hot dogs will invariable have one (1) onion either on top of it, or hidden in the sauce. I've gotten over the disappointment of biting into one of my dogs and having an unsatisfying crunch of onion, and now I would actually be disappointed if there wasn't an onion in there somewhere. It would feel like the order of the world was out of whack or something.

Here's where the story gets interesting. As we were enjoying our meal of processed meat tubes, The Wife innocently quipped: "We should see how many hot dogs we can eat this weekend". Now, according to her, she meant it as a joke. Actually, she supposedly didn't mean anything at all by it--and even forgot that she had said it. On the other hand, I heard the challenge issued loud and clear and I took it very seriously! The challenge was on.

A photo from a previous visit to Coney Island (note the "bonus" onion!)

DAY ONE TOTAL: FOUR HOT DOGS

The next morning we were at a yard sale at our local library which was sponsored by the Boy Scouts. They had a snack area set up where they were selling coffee, soda, chips and...hot dogs. I mentioned to The Wife that I should get a hot dog (at 10:30 in the morning, as she'd later point out) to add to the four I'd already had the night before at Coney Island for the "challenge". She looked at me dumbfounded and asked "WHAT challenge?". When I reminded her of what she said Friday she pleaded ignorance. Either way, I did indeed order one (it was for a good cause after all), and the total was now up to FIVE HOT DOGS.

We next went to the Ecotaruim in Worcester, a nice little natural history/science museum which was previously known as the Worcester Science Center and the New England Science Center. We checked out all the exhibits and rode the little train around the property and then...made our way to the refreshment stand which we discovered is now run by a well-known Worcester restaurant. I considered (to the consternation of The Wife) getting another hot dog there, but the line was too long and an opportunity was wasted. The total stood at FIVE.

But, later that evening we were planned on visiting some of our friends and hanging out with them for a while. When we see them we usually either make food there or get takeout (subs or Chinese food). However, it turned out that they were having a big spontaneous cookout for Memorial Day weekend. In addition to a bunch of tasty side dishes they grilled up chicken, steak, hamburgers and...bratwursts. After a bit of consideration I decided that brats are close enough cousins to hot dogs to count toward the challenge. I was already eating one when the decision was made (by me), and then I just had to have another one.

DAY TWO TOTAL: SEVEN HOT DOGS

Sunday was a good day. The weather was nice and sunny. We had arranged for a babysitter so The Wife and I could get a little time to ourselves. We went to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers for lunch. Sadly, while Red Robin specializes in great hamburgers, they don't serve hot dogs. We had a very nice day all around, but the total for the challenge remained stuck at SEVEN by the end of it. A valuable day was "wasted" and there was only one day left of the long weekend. Which brings us to...Memorial Day.

Monday started out with some rain showers, and even a little thunder and lightning that threatened our town's Memorial Day parade. Luckily it did happen and we were able to watch it with the aid of rain coats and umbrellas.

The Little Monster greets a giant Duckie on a rain-soaked street during the Memorial Day parade

After the parade we were planning on having a cookout (hamburgers and...hot dogs). The sky started to brighten and the sun started poking out just as I fired up the charcoal. The rest of the day was beautiful (if a little muggy). A look at the plate below shows that I had a little bit of everything. If I was truly taking this Hot Dog Challenge seriously I should have replaced the hamburger, grilled veggies, broccoli salad and potato salad with three additional hot dogs, but I did want to enjoy myself and try everything available. The single hot dog brought the total up to EIGHT hot dogs--and this one was a Hillshire Farms Cheddarwurst dog! But there were only a few precious hours left of the challenge.

Memorial Day Dish

I was able to muster up enough stomach space to have a regular Oscar Mayer hot dog a little later (NINE), and while cleaning up I finished the half of The Little Monster's hot dog that she didn't eat. This brought the total up to NINE-AND-A-HALF hot dogs late on Monday evening. It looked like the end of the challenge, but later in the night I reheated a leftover cheddarwurst dog and managed to (barely) get the total into double-digits!

The final hot dog of the weekend--and the challenge!

FINAL TOTAL OF THE CHALLENGE: 10.5 HOT DOGS

Now I realize of course that ten-and-a-half hot dogs over a four day period only averages out to a little over two-and-a-half per day. This is a paltry sum for a "challenge" and absolutely nothing compared to what will be going on in the real Coney Island on the Fourth of July when Nathan's has their annual hot dog eating contest, but it still meant something to me. For a guy who doesn't usually get a chance to go off on a hot dog rampage like this, it was a very fulfilling and filling weekend!

The challenge is over, but fear not--it's only the beginning of the summer and I'm sure a lot more hot dogs are just waiting to be eaten over the next few months. This coming Saturday we're planning on going to a Worcester Tornadoes baseball game. Can you go to a baseball game and NOT have a hot dog? The adventure continues...

A hot dog from a Tornadoes game last year

Star Wars Day at Higgins Armory Museum

Higgins Armory in Worcester, MA is a great museum filled with arms and armor from the days of knights. While its impressive collection ("The only museum in the Western Hemisphere dedicated to the collection of arms, armor and art.") is reason enough to visit, this past Saturday (May 21) we had an additional enticement--it was the museum's third annual Star Wars Day! Sure, it was also "Judgement Day" and/or "The Rapture", but that didn't deter us in the least. In addition to all the great historical arms and armor from our own planet usually on display, it was a chance to see weapons, armor and characters from "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..."

The Little Monster has a love/hate relationship with people in big costumes, such as team mascots, Disney World characters and the like (she calls them all "Characters"). This has caused some issues when we go to sporting events. She loves that there are giant six-foot-tall sharks, cats, dogs and other creatures walking around and knows they're supposedly friendly, but when they get too close and it becomes possible to interact with them (get an autograph, take a picture with them, give them a high-five...) she gets a little scared. While The Monster has watched and enjoyed the original Star Wars trilogy (I haven't seen any reason to expose her to the second, Jar Jar Binks-riddled trilogy yet) I wasn't exactly sure how she'd react to actually meeting characters from the movies.

Anyway, I just found out that Star Wars Day at Higgins Armory would be taking place a few days beforehand. The Little Monster has just missed meeting characters from Star Wars (mainly Stormtroopers) at local events on a number of occasions where I either didn't know about their appearances until it was too late, or because we already had some other commitment when they were going on. It became imperative that we make it to THIS one.

Imperial forces mingle with visitors at the entrance to the museum

When we pulled into the Higgins Armory parking lot around 11:00 we saw a long line of people waiting to get in and to meet/greet the characters out front. With the help of a free pass we were able to walk past the line and enter the museum (after snapping a few photos with various members of the Imperial forces). Funny how it seems that the vast majority of the characters who show up for these events are from the Imperial (Bad Guys) side rather than the Rebel (Good Guy) side. I suppose part of that is because the vast majority of the Imperial force is made up of helmeted and armored personnel that fans enjoy dressing up as. And, to be fair, I also suppose that the Clone Troops from the second trilogy would be considered good guys more than bad guys (at least up to a certain point). That could all get kind of confusing... Anyway, let's look at the photos.

The Little Monster poses with a Snow Trooper and an Imperial Scout

The Little Monster and Monster Dad with an Imperial Death Star gunner

A special moment for Monster Dad as the Imperial Scout holds up Monster Dad's very own 1977-era Stormtrooper that he played with as a Monster Kid!

Inside the museum's entrance we met up with Queen Amidala. The Little Monster does enjoy such "girlish" things as princesses and ponies in addition to Monster Kid-type stuff, so she was happy to see a female character dressed up as a "princess". In fact, I made the mistake of saying "Hey, do you want me to get a picture of you with the Princess?" before correcting myself and saying "...I mean the Queen". Looks like my Geek license may have to be revoked! Well, to top it off, after I apologized for the gaffe, Queen Amidala said to me: "Actually, Senator would also be acceptable." Well, whatever the right title, we did indeed get the photo.

The Little Monster with Queen/Senator Amidala

Next, we went up to the fourth floor and actually checked out some of the museum's regular offerings. Normally this collection would be the whole reason to come to the museum (and it really is a place that anyone interested in knights, armor and weapons from Medieval times to the Renaissance really should visit), but today this awesome collection was merely a sidelight.

A really cool-looking Japanese dragon statuette

Just a few of the many suits of armor on display at the museum

Some helmets from days long gone by

While we were on the fourth floor balcony overlooking the Great Hall, we took in a Light Saber demonstration. The museum regularly has talks and demonstrations about armor and swords throughout the day, but today's demonstrations were mainly Star Wars-related, of course.

The "Jedi Master" introduces the demonstration

Old-school style sword fight, but with Light Sabers

I didn't get many photos of the Great Hall itself, but here's a couple pics from the "diorama" (for lack of a better, more impressive word) of two mounted knights engaged in a joust:

Note the Light Saber in the background as the demonstration continues

There is also a newer exhibit on the second floor (at least this was the first time I've seen it--though I haven't been to the museum for quite a few years) called the Department of Curiosities. This is a fascinating place filled with fantastic (and fictional) artifacts, creatures and other things from an imaginary world. It looks like something out of a Jules Verne book.

A cool-looking flying contraption among the items in the Department of Curiosities

Dragon heads mounted on the wall

Imaginative diving suit and another dragon

The skeleton of a young Centaur

This refrigerated creature made The Little Monster (and Monster Dad too) think of the Abominable Snowman--of course

And we could only wonder about the size of the creature that belonged to this skeletal hand

Getting back to Star Wars, outside of the Department of Curiosities we found Boba Fett with his own Personal Assistant (an Imperial officer) guiding him amongst adoring fans.

For a ruthless bounty hunter, Boba Fett was pretty good about signing autographs for his young fans

That's a bit more like what you'd expect a photo of Boba Fett to look like!

The Little Monster with Boba Fett

After having seen most of what there was to see (you can't really see everything in the museum in single visit), and with the Little Monsters showing signs of tiredness, we decided to head down to the gift shop before going home.

Photo-op with a non-StarWars-related character in the gift shop

A new look for The Little Monster!

And then, as we left we encountered even more Star Wars denizens on the way out the door! My wife informed me that we just missed C-3PO, who was heading upstairs while we were waiting to pay for a couple postcards and a pink dragon eraser in the gift shop. Oh well, maybe next time...

The Monster meets someone nearly her own size, a Jawa

How often do you get a chance to meet Boba Fett? We just had to get another photo with him!

Hanging out with a couple different types of Clone Troopers

The Little Monster and Monster Dad with a Snow Trooper and a TIE Fighter Pilot

As we headed across the street to the parking lot The Little Monster informed me that she wasn't shivering this time as she posed for the photos above. Apparently she confessed to her Mom that she was shivering with nerves when we took the first photos after we arrived, but warmed up to the idea enough to not find herself shivering by the end. I guess now I know that even Star Wars characters can cause a nervousness in her similar (if not quite as acute) to when she encounters oversized team mascots and Disney characters. Question answered.

That's pretty much the whole story, but here's a little more info and some potentially useful links for further reading:

Participating in the 3rd annual Higgins Armory Star Wars Day were: the New England Garrison of the 501st Legion, the Alderaan Base of the Rebel Legion, and the Higgins Armory Sword Guild.

The official Higgins Armory website is at: http://www.higgins.org/

And here's the 501st Legion's mission report about Star Wars Day at Higgins Armory

May The Force Be With You!