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Hey, no offense... I wouldn't have put it past her!

Just spent an amazing weekend in the company of two our northernmost posters, making the trek up to northern Alberta to visit with dedman (AKA Viridis Lament) and his wife, Disdemona.


I've long wanted to see this part of the world (ever since I saw the 2006 documentary, "Planet Earth" and was fascinated by the boreal forests) and it didn't disappoint. A huge ring of forest that circles the globe south of the Arctic circle, the trees of this ecosystem are responsible for a large portion of the world's oxygen production. Coming from the outskirts of Philly sprawl, it was so incredible just to be in an area where the air was so clear. It's no coincidence that Alberta's tourism slogan is "remember to breath".

Though obviously I traveled up during the mild season, deddy wasted no time filling me in with the tales of how cold it gets in the winter, with sub zero temperatures so severe that they literally advise people not to go outside. One of the neatest things he told me was about Fort Chipewyan, a hamlet a little further north that you actually can't get to in the summer, because the road there is recreated yearly... on top of the frozen river! So basically... deddy lives in a vast wilderness, surrounded by impenetrable terrain, with a population always concerned that, "Winter is Coming" and - oh yeah - did I mention that the animals I saw the most while I was up there were... ravens? (cue the epic music and clockwork map).

Apart from the amazing landscape, of course the real treat was meeting deddy and Dis themselves. Ever since we first "met" online back in 2008, I've felt that deddy and I had a great deal in common, both in our temperament and our interests. While his taste in music might run a bit darker than my own, hanging out with him only confirmed how closely we're cut from the same cloth.

Lodging up in that area is a bit paltry, so Mr. and Mrs. D set me up for the weekend in their beautiful home that they've been renovating over the past few years (the before and after pics would blow your mind). But the best thing the two of them have built... is their family. I was able to meet Dis's parents (and their tiny little lap dog... who immediately sensed that I was the type who would pet him non-stop) and deddy and Dis's two adorable little girls. I know it might be polite to call someone's kids "adorable" but... seriously, on this front... deddy wins.


Oh! And speaking about "winning". Ahem:


http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=817873#Post817873


My initial night up there may have been one of raw debauchery (my memory of the night is rather vague, you see). As part of the "100 Toothpicks" project, deddy decided to test my mettle. At our first location I, of course, shared a martini with deddy... and then had a second in honor of Disdemona. But apparently deddy has a few alts. So, next was a beer with Acid Indigestion Lass... then something called a "Zombie" with Viridis Lament... then... good lord... some sort of series of... I don't know... I want to say Tabasco laden shots with Shenu.

And then... we went to our second location...

As I say... I fear many details of the evening are lost to the ages, but I do know that - due to an incident at our third location - the next day someone was walking with a very pronounced limp... and it sure as heck wasn't me.




All in all, just a phenomenal weekend. It was an amazing part of the world... and two great hosts. Thank you so much for your hospitality, brother... you and the fam are welcome in my neck of the woods any time.

Well I have to say we really enjoyed having you here. The only really bad part of your visit was that it was so short.

I feel I must clear something up for the others though...while I did give my knee a whack on our toothpick laden night, at least I can remember how it happen (and it was tabasco...tequila and tabasco)

But Dis and I had a great time with you here, you are welcome back any time (and bring Mrs Ex if there is next time). However, ideally the next time we will be living on the east coast again so the journey is a little more sensible. Also we a coming your way for sure at some point, we want a helicopter ride!

So, I traveled (by bus) down to see Exnihil. The bus ride down was really horrible. The ride was in 2 parts. Boston to New York then New York to Philadelphia with a 40 minute layover. I arrived in New York 50 minutes late. Which was surprising as There really wasn't much traffic until we hit the city. The bus company scheduled me on the next available bus, the 9:15 (I was supposed to be on the 8:00 bus which would have gotten me to Philadelphia at 10:10) The 9:15 bus was scheduled to arrive at 11:45. So, I am waiting in line to board the 9:15 when they start boarding the 9:30 bus to Philadelphia. They stopped that when they realized that we were just a few feet away at the next gate. Then they started pulling people form our line based upon their destination. Althought we all ended up on the same bus. We left at 9:45. I arrived in Philadelphia at 12:10 and Exnihil picked me up.

I did stay over at Chez Nihil. Ex & I got up early and went out to breakfast. Then over to the airport for Ex's helicopter lesson. Now Exnihil was saying to me how he sometimes thinks that people might think he is making stuff up and how I was now going to be a witness to him actually flying a helicopter. AT the airport, he introduced me to a guy he claimed was his flight instructor. They then went off somewhere. I didn't actually see where. About 10 minutes later I did see a helicopter coming out onto the runway. I couldn't see who was in it. For the next hour, I watched the helicopter practicing some take offs and landings. Then it landed near the hanger and shortly after Exnihil popped up. There you have my eyewitness account of Exnihil taking helicopter lessons.

After that, we went into Philadelphia. I wanted to see Independence Hall. You have to get tickets, but they are free. Our tickets were for one o'clock. So, in the meantime we went into the Philadelphia History museum. It was a small museum, but with a lot of cool things to see. I think Exnihil was as impressed as I was with the radios for the 1930s & 40s. Independence Hall was nice and the tour guide was very informative, but was kind of "oh is that all". Next door was Congress Hall where Congress met when Philadelphia was the temporary capital. Again, the tour guide was informative. When we came in we were told to sit at the desk rows. In the middle of his spiel, the guide asked "Who can tell me something about the chairs here?" I responded with "They are reproductions" To which he then asked "How do we know they are reproductions?" Me: "We are allowed to sit in them!"

After Congress Hall, we got a bit of lunch and walked around the city a bit. My bus back to Boston left at 3 and would get back in at 11:20. This time I got into both Boston & New York on time.

It was a short trip, but I plan to sometime (most likely next summer) to return. This time, I will rent a car rather than go by bus.

So, after my lesson (where... by the way... I totally did some cool maneuvers for Quis' benefit) I was like, "So... did you get some good pics?" and Quis was like, "No... I forgot my camera." Arrghh!

And adding to the whole mystery of my world (which there really isn't) - although, yes, Quis stayed the night at my house - because of his travel delay we wound up not getting to my place until after 1AM - after my wife had gone to bed - and we left for breakfast the next morning at like 6:30 - before she got up - so he actually never even got to meet her! Oh, well... at the very least, he can confirm that I do, in fact... have a dog.

It was a whirlwind visit, but - as Quis reported above - quite a fun one. I'm always on about how cool it is to see someone seeing their city through new eyes, but - this time - that someone was me. Good times... but far too quick a visit. That's it... next time I'm flying up there to pick him up.



Also a bit quick was my jaunt up to NYC the weekend prior to meet the LMB's girl of tomorrow, Karie. Karie is the 46th (!) person in my 100 Toothpicks project (about which... yes, I know... I'm horribly in arrears on posting those, to the tune of eight people at this point. I'll catch up, I swear, I've just got a lot of plates in the air right now).

Karie (a South African expat living in New Zealand) had been doing her own sort of tour about the states, visiting Vegas, L.A., D.C., NYC and Memphis (where she met Lash, but I'll let one of those two tell that tale). Never one to ever pass up an opportunity to meet a fellow LMBer in person, I pinged her on FB and suggested grabbing a drink up at Rhino's bar. By coincidence, Kent Shakespeare was also looking to meet up, so we all agreed to make it an impromptu foursome (nearly a five-some, actually, but Cobie had to bow out for a christening).

What a wonderful time! Visiting w/ the always awesome Rhino... seeing Kent again (an old compadre who shares my Hudson Valley roots)... and meeting a new friend in Karie, who is both absolutely charming and a tough cookie, to boot (heading out into NY to go sight-seeing solo when her traveling companions started a late night spat the night before). The four of us had a lovely early evening, throwing back a few cocktails and talking life, love, and funny books.

Near the end of the night, Karie got a text from her spatting companions who said they'd all reconciled and were heading out to Coney Island. Sparing her a night ride on the subway - and since I was in no travel rush - I wound up giving her a ride out there with only minimal navigation problems (not a word, Blockade Boy... the GPS was fine!). It was nice to have a little bonus time to chat, and - because I know Lardy loves this one - yes, I used the opportunity to tell her my best story, the harrowing tale of the day leading up to my marriage proposal. Arriving out in Coney Island about an hour later, we bid our farewells, making a deal that our next round would be in New Zealand.


All in all, two wonderful back to back weekends with some of the best folks in all known space... would you expect anything else from the LMB?

Man, I love these meet-up stories.



And I really LOVE that story!

Heh, thanks... me too, LT.

It actually took me a little bit to track down, but I remembered - many moons ago - that I actually wrote it down for a post on LW, so... if anyone is interested... here it is:

http://www.legionworld.net/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=434135#Post434135

To be fair, I never proved to you that I have a tattoo.

I liked the day long pause afterwards, as people stopped themselves from posting "So, you think that was a busy day. Well, let me tell you about..." or "Ugh, not another tutor/student relationship. Icky!"

Actually it took most of us a day to read the whole thing.

I haven't read the written version yet, but it's something quite wonderful to hear it told by the man himself.

Indian Lad was home for Christmas break, so we met up today for lunch. We went to the Houston location of one Invisible Brainiac's favorite places, Jollibee.

Indy is really cool in real life, just as he is on LW.

It was great meeting you, Rocky!

Ibby, Jolibee was great. Thanks for recommending it!

My pleasure guys, glad you enjoyed now i am craving for Jollibee and will go drown my chicken and rice in some gravy

I'm pleased to report that yesterday afternoon, while traversing the treacherous frozen wastes of Connecticut, America, I was able to pause for a time at a roadside inn and enjoy a pint of ale with my old friend, Desmonius Primus Julianus, AKA Cobalt Kid.

It was great seeing Des again and was, perhaps, one of the most eclectic afternoons of conversations I’ve had in a while, with topics spanning: kabbalistic symbolism in the workplace, the history of Roman leadership during the Republic, the effects of the Red Scare on American alcohol consumption patterns, the meditative value of sensory deprivation, the use of ones Netflix queue as a barometer of marital fidelity, avataristic relationships to fictional creations, the care of dogs as metaphor for the human condition… and, of course, our long term plan for saving the world.

All in all, proof positive that Legion World meetups are not just awesome… they’re essential.

And as always, each of those topics felt natural and casual! It was indeed a great time, and I already can't wait for the next one.

Of course, it's pretty easy to be engaged in interesting conversations when you're hanging out with an actual modern adventurer! Ex just exudes positive energy and the way he shapes his life be so fulfilling is downright infectious.

You hit the nail on the head, Cobie! His fabulousness is completely infectious!

Yay! A Pre-Christmas Legion World mini-gathering just 6 days away!

Who are the lucky trio who will be breaking beers and throwing back some bread? (Strike that... reverse it.) Well one of them might be me (ok, fine, it is), but who are the other two?

Is one of them you???

Are you sure?

Awesome time today! A drink was raised by Pov, Ex and myself in honor of our pal Dev.

Great conversation ensued and most of it was even PJ-13 rated, which is no small feet when Pov is around!

What size feet did those PJs have?

With Pov, it very well may have been PJ's! It's the only time he wears pants!

Pov is the Johnnie Fingers of Legion World.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Fingers

Et, voila... Ex, Cobie and Pov toasting, "To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists."

Jeepers! You guys look like you could be brothers!

It's that NE one style fits all fashion sense. Triplets by different mothers.