FOOD: Nona Tap Bar

This past Saturday (7/23/11) was one of my fonder days of recent memories' past.

It began at 3:15am, an hour after when I was originally intended to wake up. By 4:30am, I was at Downtown Disney, in front of the World of Disney store, waiting for the Passholder Sale. In line, I met a mother & daughter from Tampa who were awake, perky, and somewhat covertly "conservative" as I picked up on their references to "Fox & Friends" plus the tone in which they encouragingly implied that someday I will get married [as in the traditional way] ... seriously, do I not put out the gay vibe? Anyways, between them and the attractive young Latin couple in front of us, 6:00am came quickly, and the madness was on.

Really, there weren't many great deals this time around, but I managed the following:

• Two full trays of Vinylmations (Toy Story and Have a Laugh),
• Four polo shirts with a Mickey on them (2 black, 2 orange),
• Four new outfits for Duffy Stitch (Australia, United Kingdom, China, and Buzz),
• Two awesome fabric, 40th anniversary jackets,
• Three girly scarves,
• Two Kermit Mickey ears, and
• One Disney kid's bank.

All-in-all, the damage came out to around $300 -- oh well, I was glad to have left the store in good spirits. Tired and depleted, I went over to Ghiradelli's and, per tradition, picked up a chocolate croissant and a small coffee -- a small breather before heading onto Event #2.

Next was the District 84 DEC Meeting at the Tupperware Headquarters. Registration at 9:30am, meeting to begin at 10:00am. I always enjoyed these meetings when I attended as an area governor last year. It was an opportunity to be part of a well-run, professional meeting. The difference this time was that I was there without any real responsibility, and there was a new generation of area governors -- it felt like I just stepped into a television spin-off. Anyways, I was there just to, during the breaks, distribute Club Ambassador forms and speak with each division to answer any questions and to get them excited about the program. The meeting was a really cool time, and I met a lot of people -- and many who I'd like to get to know better. At the meeting, I did get positive feedback from some of the district officers. I was appreciated for my energy and for taking pictures -- that communicated appreciation is what really fuels me and keeps me wanting to go back and do more.

That meeting ended about half-an-hour ahead of schedule. It was hot outside with the weather possibly changing. Instead of heading back west to the parks (dressed in slacks and a polo), I headed towards home, but not before stopping by the Lake Nona area to go exploring.

I'm a big Gowalla fanatic -- I recently reached over 2000 unique check-ins. Long story short, a Gowalla friend of mine who I never met had taken a picture, earlier in the week, while checking-in at a toll plaza, and made a comment.

His:

Rob Morris checked in at Boggy Creek Mainline Toll Plaza and took this photo.

5 days ago

• 
  Rob Morris: I tried to recreate Cedric's photo. I think I was pretty close to it.
  5 days ago
• 
  Cedric Ching: Nice timing! :) +1
  3 days ago

And here was my pic...

Mine:

Cedric Ching checked in at Boggy Creek Mainline Toll Plaza and took this photo.

3 months ago

Well, I then made it a mission for me to recreate one of his photos. I was going to pass by his area anyway, so let's have fun with it. The picture that caught my eye was one that he took of his Banana Bread Beer at the Nona Tap Room because it looked so delicious.

His (my goal):

Rob Morris checked in at Nona Tap Room and took this photo.

9 days ago

• 
  Eric Longstaff: Congrats! I keep forgetting to give my beer club card when I close my tab
  9 days ago
• 
  Cedric Ching: That looks so good.
  3 days ago

After the Toastmasters meeting, I drove over to Lake Nona and to the Nona Tap Room. As I walked up, a family was leaving. As I got to the bar and told the bartender my goal, my purpose, my mission, she told me that "yeah, he was just in here with his wife and daughter." I had given him a long look, but I didn't say anything other than "thank you." I might have wanted some recognition back... but then I remembered that my profile pic was of Stitch, and maybe 1 of my 1566 photos had me in it. Upon that realization, I felt like a stalker on one of those CBS procedurals.

Anyways, the beer turned out to be of the $15 variety... but it was my main purpose for being there, so alright. And I think that I did pretty good -- I had to get Stitch in there. What could've helped even more is if I had brought a print out to do side-by-side comparison, but perhaps that would've been even creepier.

Well, about an hour later, I receive notification of a comment on the pic, and it was Rob.

Mine:

Cedric Ching checked in at Nona Tap Room and took this photo.“Howdy Rob, here's an attempt to copy one of your pics. :-)”

2 days ago

• 
  Rob Morris: Nice job Cedric! I think I might have passed you on my way out the door.
  2 days ago
• 
  Cedric Ching: Yes, thanks for holding the door for me.
  2 days ago

Side-by-Side:

I was proud and scared at the same time. Proud that I accomplished my goal. Scared that I was being creepy. I didn't mean to. After finishing up there -- the beer was good (not overpowering) and quite a bit (two of those glasses' worth) -- I continued on to try to complete his Local Nona Living trip (10 spots, need 5). I picked up some Walnut Shrimp from Mr. K Chinese Restaurant and a large unsweetened iced tea from Dunkin Donuts a couple doors down, but that's it. I couldn't manage any more food. I will have to accomplish his trip another time. I brought the foods over to Moss Park -- a bit of an exploration. It had a nice view of Lake Mary Jane... $3 admission, but it's going to a good cause. The break from the ordinary was nice, and it fed some of my Gowalla-ing obsession.

That's about it.

(I'm sure that I could really work to tighten up the Lake Nona visit description -- plus add more links -- but I'd rather get this stuff up sooner than too late.) *smiles*

FOOD: Chick-fil-a's Spicy Chicken Sandwich

This week (from May 31st through June 5th), Chick-fil-A is having a preview of their new Spicy Chicken Sandwich. People were able to sign-up and schedule a time to pick up a free sandwich via their Facebook page (all spots have been filled).

The day the promotion was posted on FB, I signed up. My scheduled time was 5pm-7pm today, May 31st. A co-worker had invited me to a Memorial Day BBQ, but I didn't know this when I had signed up a couple weeks ago. I decided to stop by Chick-fil-A before heading to the party (I know, not good etiquette, but we're talking about free food).
...
Anyways, the Chick-fil-A had "flame" decals on its windows, and it kinda looked like the building was on fire! I totally appreciated the theming.

Inside, although there were a lot of regular customers (though not so represented in photo below), there was an order line especially for patrons with their printed-out Spicy Chicken Sandwich vouchers.

I just ordered the sandwich and asked for it to go.

While waiting, I noticed that off to the side, there were three tables -- each with a red tablecloth -- that were reserved for those with Spicy Chicken Sandwiches (great touch!).

Then I realized what I was wearing... my red steak shirt... with the words "Make Mine Well Done" on the back (oh, the cruel irony).

Anyways, when my order was ready, I quickly took it and headed to the car. Inside the bag, I found my sandwich and a special card/envelope -- which I saved to open for later.

(note: envelope was inside bag but not in the actual food container)

Chick-fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich was not quite what I expected. It was more of a buffalo chicken sandwich than Burger King/Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. Also, the texture of the chicken was somewhere between their Original and Grilled varieties.

My overall impressions of this new offering was... inconclusive. I mean,I'm a big fan of the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich, and also I usually shy away from foods with a "Spicy Flavor Inferno". Still, I'm open to something new twice.

And a good thing too...

When I got home, I pulled out the little orange envelope that came with my order, and inside found card thanking me for "taking the heat" plus a coupon for another Spicy Chicken Sandwich for after when it's available to the public.

How awesome was that?! Overall, from start-to-now, this was such a great promotion, and I'm ever-more proud to have a Chick-fil-A so close to home! Thank you, Chick-fil-A!
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The Chick-fil-A Spicy Chicken Sandwich will be available to the public on Monday, June 7th.

DISNEY: My picture is on the D23 website! Woo!

I was checking the D23 website for any updates, and on the Expo & Events I saw that their new "2010 D23 Member Events Coming Soon!" image and first found Deb in the bottom right picture (from D23's Flowers and Fireworks), then I looked up and saw me (from D23's Sip & Stroll)! Woo!


I <3 D23!

DISNEY RACE: Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror 13K @1:15:53, DHS, FL

[NOTE: This entry contains the SUSPECTS, CLUES, & REVEAL for the 2009 Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror 13K & 5K Race Mystery.

Click HERE for the STORY, RULES, & SUSPECTS]

Saturday, October 24, 2009
The Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror 13K race was so much fun!

The 13K race began at 10:30pm (the 5K started at 10:15pm), but I got there at 8:15pm just to look around for clues. I also wanted to get pictures of/with the suspects who were mingling amongst the crowd. I met a fellow suspect-enthusiast, and soon, my new friend Beth and I were running around taking turns taking our picture with them. They all looked so suspicious. Here's my set:

Me with Detective Willie Ketcham (left)
and Otto Von Bonn Bahn (right)


Me and Shelby Mayer


Me and Talullah Fruiti


Me and Roman Holiday


Me and Jack Diamond


Sandi (left, friend from the D23 Sip & Stroll) and Me with
Bucky GreenHorn (2nd from left) and Francis Floot (right)

Those were the only suspects we managed to round-up. Still on the lam were following: Minerva Lipwhistle, Ready Freddy Fiddlesticks, Paige Turner, Francis Floot, Honey Darline, and Vladimir Pooey.

There were some runners in costume. There was a some bunnies, a Goofy, Raggedy Ann and Andy, Harry Potter and Hermione, [Where's] Waldo, Richard Simmon's #1 Fan, a Semi-Pro, and a white guy in a tink costume.

I dressed up as "The Invisible Pedestrian"/"The Human Shadow", and Beth was dressed up as "Stinkerbell" (her friend's endearing name for her).

And we ran into even more suspicious characters like Sandi from last weekend's D23 event (shown above), and here with me and Beth:

and there was Cyndi, president of the Space Coast Runners:

and my neighbors Pat & Linda:

So much love and fun!
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Asides from the characters, there were other activities in the race staging area. For instance, there was a hotel register for everyone to sign:

And there was one guy passing out small hotel key magnets and another guy passing out Tower of Terror 13K tattoos. There were tables, spray bottles, and paper towels set up for the latter.

Plus, there was a DJ playing some music and making race announcements.

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Anyways, just my own record here, the race went well. I started with the 11:00-13:00 pacers, which was okay. The course was good though narrow at times in the sports complex. Running with a cape wasn't as easy as I'd imagine but I managed but was still fun. And I did meet my goal of sub 9:30-pace in order to make the press conference.

My stats:
Bib #2333
Chip 1:15:53 (9:23.6/mile)
Clock 1:18:06
Overall 741/3247 (22.8%)
Male 503/1385 (36.3%)
Age 66/166 (39.8%)

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But anyways, what you really care about are the CLUES right? Well, here they are... the first three were in the race staging area, the next five at Disney's Wide World of Sports, and the next three were back in Disney's Hollywood Studios. Enjoy!

And here's a race number with the suspects. Feel free to PRINT IT OUT and play along.

Clue #1: Hotel Register

"Eliminate the suspect who left their mark here."
(Lip print -> Minerva Lipwhistle)

Clue #2: Spira Tent

"We are raising the bar and providing great footwear for you! Now that's what you must do."
(Read the columns from bottom to top: ELIMINATEFRANCISFLOOTNOW -> Francis Floot)

Clue #3: Pre-Race Staging Area


"My Dearest Stone,

I know someone is looking
to take you out!
But it isn't me.

Sincerely,
XXHXOXNXEXY
XDXXAXRXLXXINXXG"
(Remove the X's -> Honey Darling)

Clue #4: Disney's Wide World of Sports Trail

"Listen For The Clue"

("e val di mure pwoo..." rotated syllables -> Vladimir Pooey)

Clue #5: On Track

Cheerleaders with cheerboards "FR","UI","TI" and Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti" playing in the background.

(Spells out suspect's name -> Talullah Fruiti)

Clue #6: Horse Generator in Parking Lot

Rebus Puzzle: Sea Shell, Honey Bee, Female Horse
("Shell" + "Bee" + "Mare" -> Shelby Mayer)

Clue #7: Musical Reindeer

Reindeer with Green Trumpets
(Green Horn -> Bucky Greenhorn)

Clue #8: World Drive

"Find the missing letter.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M

N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z"
(The 'X' is missing -> The Ex-Girlfriend [Paige Turner])

Clue #9: Hollywood Studios Backlot

"T _ E
C _ _ K
Just add Water."
(Water = H20, Add an 'H' and 2 'O's -> The Cook [Otto Von Bonn Bahn])

Clue #10: Hollywood Studios Buildings

Stilted Violinists
(Violin = Fiddle, Stilts = Sticks -> Ready Freddy Fiddlesticks)

Clue #11: The Hollywood Tower

Playing Card projected on the side of the building.
(Jack of Diamonds -> Jack Diamond)

So what does that mean? Who did it? To find out, check out the video of Detective Willie Ketcham's Press Conference at the Sorcerer's Hat:


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The Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror 13K was SO much fun, and I wish Disney had kept the race. But I'm glad that it had such a lively, spectacular send off. And I look forward to next year's Wine & Dine Nighttime Half-Marathon, which should be an interesting race for runners and challenge for the coordinators.

Anyways, thank you so much Disney Endurance Sports for a great event!
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[NOTE: Click HERE for the STORY, RULES, & SUSPECTS]
[eop]