Well, I finally took a vacation. I haven't done that by myself in several years, as usually I am accompanied by my family in some way. Not to say that I dislike my family, they are all wonderful (my mom and dad, and then my little bro and little sis), but sometimes it's fun to just go somewhere with my friends instead.
So, my girlfriend and I decided to pack some clothes and go stay with my friend Brandon in Washington, DC for a few nights. We've never been to Washington proper, and Brandon wanted people to come visit, so everyone wins! I was particularly excited because, while a trip to the capital of the United States was fun, I also have an extreme fondness for roadtrips. We drove the whole way, from Toronto to DC, which all-in-all was a 11-hr trip, thanks to the various routes we took + traffic. We stopped for dinner in Ridgway, Pennsylvania, where we had food at a Lumberjack restaurant. Savannah had steak and mashed potatoes, and I had fish and chips, and both of our meals together cost less than 30$, even with drinks (I had Coca-Cola, don't worry, no drinking and driving)! In any case, we arrived in DC (after getting lost once entering the city, thanks to the ridiculous way the city streets are laid out) late on the 22nd (indeed, early morning on the 23rd), and immediately went out for drinks with Brandon. We got back at 4am (after a night where we went to a college bar, and I was propositioned by a ridiculously drunk girl IMMEDIATELY after Savannah and Brandon went to go get some drinks, it was weird), and then got back to Brandon's place.
This next part was fun, because we decided that it would be awesome if we took a day trip somewhere nearby. 'Nearby' initially meant San Francisco (according to Google Maps, it's a 42 hour drive), so we kept on grinding it down until we settled on Corolla, North Carolina, a 5-6 hour drive from DC. Sidenote: I am eventually going to drive to San Francisco, I think that would be awesome. We still had decided that Sunday (the 24th) was going to be the day for the trip, so we went to bed to get up early for Saturday morning (read: in 5 hours). After getting up and taking a quick shower, the three of us headed out to downtown Washington - to the National Mall. Brandon works at the Canadian Embassy, so we stopped by there and he showed us around. We then hit up a multitude of tourist spots: outside the White House, the Library of Congress, the Washington Monument, the World War II memorial in the Mall, the Lincoln Memorial, the Pentagon and the Pentagon Memorial as well. We also went to the National Air and Space Museum, which was awesome, and learned that all 19 (!) of the Smithsonian Institutions are all free!
We had some awesome food in DC, too. Either the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence starts with 'We the People'...we went to Obama's favourite pizza place, called 'We the Pizza', and also stopped in at a place called 'Good Stuff Eatery'...I had a burger that was fried mushrooms stuffed with melted cheese, in place of a burger. SO GOOD.
When we crossed over to see the Pentagon, we were in Virginia, despite just being on the other side of the Potomac. We decided to explore for a bit, and found an awesome Irish tavern where we got some ridiculously cheap and delicious food.We soon headed back to Brandon's place, exhausted, and knowing that we had to get up super early the next day (even though we had just walked for 8 straight hours). In any case, we woke up fairly early, and headed out to Corolla, which is this tiny town on the tip of the Outer Banks, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. We had picked Corolla because Savannah loves horses, and apparently Corolla is known for their 'feral horses', which are basically just wild horses that live and breed on their own. She loves them, and who am I to deny her one of her favourite things? So, we drove down, parked my car near the beach, and walked for a mile or two until we found them. It was pretty awesome, actually, we were on a completely deserted stretch of beach, with the Atlantic stretching out forever in front of us. The water was crystal clear, completely blue, and it was about 30-35 degree weather (Celsius, of course, who do you take me for...an American?!). After we saw the horses, we walked a little back, and after Brandon accidentally fell into the surf, getting completely soaked, we just decided to go swimming in our clothes. Completely impromptu, and that led to a nice damp ride back to DC, but it was totally worth it. Swimming in the surf, with two awesome people (one of which is my girlfriend, to boot), on a gorgeous day with no one around? Yes, please.
On the way back from Corolla, Brandon asked if we could stop in at the airport and pick up his friend Stacy. We did so, and headed back to his place, where Savannah and I plotted out our trip back to Toronto, and promptly passed out. Upon waking up in the morning, after making it through the obscene morning traffic of DC and dropping Brandon off at the Embassy, the two of us decided to hit up some last sights. We hit up the National Museum of the American Indian, since that is what Savannah studies and she quite enjoys it...seeing her be so happy and interested in the subject made me super happy =P We then went to the National Archives, where I saw the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution, which was pretty cool...not to mention it made me want to watch 'National Treasure' again, hehe. Nicolas Cage, I know, but ah well, it's still entertaining to watch. After that, we headed out of DC, and began the drive home. We didn't stop very often, since by the time we got out of DC, it was 4pm, and so we got back to Toronto at around 3am, though it was worth it.
Fun facts about the trip: we traveled 2759 kms, all in all (so from Scarborough to Savannah's place dt to St. Catherines to fill up on gas, to Ridgway, PA, to Washington, DC, to Corolla, NC, to the airport, to DC, to Toronto, to Scarborough again). We also saw 32 of the 50 states represented in license plates during our trip (I'll post them in a later blog post, Savannah has them written down in her day planner), not to mention two Quebec plates and one British Columbia plate.
Honestly, it was super fun. It was nice to get away from everything and everyone (not that all that is bad, just that I needed a break), and spend time with someone whose company I greatly enjoy. Also, seeing Brandon was awesome, because he himself is awesome, and is a wonderful person, so it was fun just...hanging out with him. I entitled this post #1, because there might be a few more for me in the future. Niagara Falls looms as a possibility, either with friends or with Savannah, and she also wants to go up to the Bruce Peninsula for a day or two. I have no idea what's up there, so it could be super fun (and, let's face it, if I'm going with my girlfriend, it probably will be =P). Bottom line: roadtrips = awesome, and I can't wait to do it again.
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Men in Black 3
I honestly couldn't think of a witty title for this post...ah well. I saw MIB3 recently, as it was on my list of things to see. I went with the girl I'm seeing right now, who is an awesome person and suggested that we see it in the first place, and we both greatly enjoyed it. I want to do one of my customary reviews, because why not, right? It's not as if a lot of people read my blog, but it's fun to do nonetheless, even if to get my own thoughts cleared up so I can explain them verbally to people later.
In any case, Men in Black 3. They don't shy away from the fact that Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) recruited Agent J (Will Smith) 14 years ago. In fact, 14 years ago in 'real life', it was 1998, and 1997 (which is what they were obviously going for) was the first year we ever saw Will Smith run down an alien to have him utter the words "N-Y-P-D. It means I will (k)nock your punk-ass down!". I love Will Smith, by the way. Indeed, MIB3 is the newest movie by Mr. Smith since 2008, when he last released both 'Seven Pounds' and 'Hancock'.
I went into this movie with fairly low expectations, because lets face it, MIB2 was absolute garbage. It was shameful, as far as movies go, and I don't know a single person who would say it was actually 'good'. I LOVE this series, and I wouldn't ever say that was a good movie (just like the Star Wars prequels, but hey). Having said that, this movie blew me away with how much it exceeded my expectations. I was readying myself for a 5 or 5.5 out of 10, and this movie is a solid 7.5 or 8/10. Will Smith reverted back to the playful, funny character he became famous for, and Tommy Lee Jones was solid again as the stoic, no humour, Agent K. The delight of the movie, though, was definitely Josh Brolin. As many have said, he absolutely nails the younger version of Agent K (as this movie involves time travel, where Agent J goes back and meets Agent K in 1969), via his delivery of dialogue and facial expressions. Even Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame is in this movie, as the bad guy (the aptly named Boris the Animal), and is near unrecognisable. There is also a character named Griffin, a being who can see all possible futures, all the time. It lends itself well to how the movie progresses, and provides some hilarious moments, too.
I don't really have much to say, I mean, the movie was simply solid. It had its funny moments, and after a slower-ish first half, the pacing picked up once the plot began to get underway. The events of the climax of the movie lead to a particularly poignant moment between Agent J and Agent K near the very end...it was a surprisingly soft touch for the kind of movie I expected it to be. Given how MIB1 ended, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but it was still extremely nice to see.
All in all, a solid, fun movie, especially for people of my generation who were 6-7 years of age when the first installment was released. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!
8/10
In any case, Men in Black 3. They don't shy away from the fact that Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) recruited Agent J (Will Smith) 14 years ago. In fact, 14 years ago in 'real life', it was 1998, and 1997 (which is what they were obviously going for) was the first year we ever saw Will Smith run down an alien to have him utter the words "N-Y-P-D. It means I will (k)nock your punk-ass down!". I love Will Smith, by the way. Indeed, MIB3 is the newest movie by Mr. Smith since 2008, when he last released both 'Seven Pounds' and 'Hancock'.
I went into this movie with fairly low expectations, because lets face it, MIB2 was absolute garbage. It was shameful, as far as movies go, and I don't know a single person who would say it was actually 'good'. I LOVE this series, and I wouldn't ever say that was a good movie (just like the Star Wars prequels, but hey). Having said that, this movie blew me away with how much it exceeded my expectations. I was readying myself for a 5 or 5.5 out of 10, and this movie is a solid 7.5 or 8/10. Will Smith reverted back to the playful, funny character he became famous for, and Tommy Lee Jones was solid again as the stoic, no humour, Agent K. The delight of the movie, though, was definitely Josh Brolin. As many have said, he absolutely nails the younger version of Agent K (as this movie involves time travel, where Agent J goes back and meets Agent K in 1969), via his delivery of dialogue and facial expressions. Even Jemaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame is in this movie, as the bad guy (the aptly named Boris the Animal), and is near unrecognisable. There is also a character named Griffin, a being who can see all possible futures, all the time. It lends itself well to how the movie progresses, and provides some hilarious moments, too.
I don't really have much to say, I mean, the movie was simply solid. It had its funny moments, and after a slower-ish first half, the pacing picked up once the plot began to get underway. The events of the climax of the movie lead to a particularly poignant moment between Agent J and Agent K near the very end...it was a surprisingly soft touch for the kind of movie I expected it to be. Given how MIB1 ended, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but it was still extremely nice to see.
All in all, a solid, fun movie, especially for people of my generation who were 6-7 years of age when the first installment was released. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!
8/10
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