East Coast, West Coast, Holiday Inn — Ink Pen and Sweet Bronco Cross the Country

Road Trip – LA to Fort Lauderdale

For those of you who read my blog (mom?) and don’t yet know what’s up with me, I’m about to move from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale – hilarious, what doesn’t Wikipedia have a page on? After almost two years of working and living and, occasionally, hiking in LA, I am finally ready to accept the fact that, at least for the time being, I belong in the South and on the East Coast. It’s a long, tough move and I’m not sure what exactly has been calling me home, but I’m looking forward to life in Fort Lauderdale. Over the next week, Sweet Bronco and I are going to drive across the country, once again, and we will post photos and comments about our experience right here on awesome Moodvane.

Ink Pen Shmee Cross-Country Drive Preparation Check:

Check. All systems go

Sweet Bronco Cross-Country Drive Preparation Check:

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Roger that. All systems go.

33rd Street Wine Bar – Charity Auction

The 33rd Street Wine Bar (which some may know by its former name Kala’s wine bar) is a hot spot for a professional crowd of smirking, wisecracking wine lovers who happen to be genuinely nice people, whether they’re slurring slightly or not. I took some fun pics of the lunch date auction at the “It’s Raining Men and Women Hallelujah!” fundraiser last Thursday night, April 24, 2008.

It’s rough to learn your true value. MC is Peter Smidt from Riverside Hotel.

33rd Street Wine Bar proprietor, Candace, draws big money.

The bidding got fierce over this one!

For some strange reason, this was my favorite piece of art.

The Egg Prank Video Is Not Funny So Much As It Is Dumb

I love an internet humor video as much as the next media zombie, but I hate it when the videos are this unfunny (and premeditated):

Brazilian Balloon Priest – Why Put Us Through All of the Worry?

Terribly strange. Terribly sad. Terribly whimsical. I don’t think they’re going to find this guy alive.

Rickrolling and the Pie Chart of Things Rick Astley Would Never Do

For a little ’80s flashback amusement, check out this visual breakdown of Rick Astley’s promises. If you haven’t guessed it yet, never letting you down tops the list. Hilarious. As is this whole rickrolling phenomenon. I highly recommend sucking all of the amusement you can out of this throwback before moving on with your life. C’mon people, you know you want to watch the “Never Gonna Give You Up” video!

Manor Lanes and Kicking it Low Key with Big Wave Surfing Films

Sweet Bronco and I have been kicking it pretty low key these days. Last night we went to Manor Lanes and bowled in the mid-100s (awesome) and shared one pitcher of what Mickey Blue Eyes calls “bee” (Yuengling). Here’s the funny clip from an otherwise mediocre romantic comedy:

We’ve also been chillin’ on the couch a lot and watching the big-wave surfing film Riding Giants, which I highly recommend. It’s amazing to see the upper limits of human bravery. I’ve never even considered being a fraction as brave as these people. Can’t wait to watch Billabong Odyssey. Big-wave surfer Mike Parsons shows you why:

That’s Freaking Delicious – Maggie Moos

I was in a really bad mood yesterday, so Sweet Bronco and I decided to go for an old-fashioned mood fixer: ice cream. We considered going to Baskin Robbins for a hot minute because it seemed like the downtown Haagen Daaz would be too far to drive. Then, I remembered that there was an ice cream place I’d never tried (because I generally don’t eat ice cream and frankly the external decor is a little tacky) called Maggie Moos.

For any of you God blessed people who don’t know me but ended up here anyway, this is what a much-improved mood looks like for me. I’m the girl-woman, pictured above. Sweet Bronco is the boy-man pictured below.

Yes, it’s part of a big old corporate chain, but who cares? The ice cream is freaking awesome. Each scoop of ice cream is like a super high class blizzard. The owner, Andrew, slapped our ice cream around the counter like a high school bully smacks a tether ball (and then your head), flattening it to work toppings into the mix.

Andrew.

Maggie Moos is located in the Winn-Dixie shopping center on Federal Hwy near 26th street in Fort Lauderdale, across the street from the Krispy Kreme. If the hot light at Krispy Kreme goes on while you’re eating a maggie moos ice cream cone, don’t heed the call. You will die from an overdose of sweet goo. I will go back to Maggie Moos some day, when a 25 miles per week running regimen will allow me to process the delicious goo, to hear Andrew’s (Scottish?) voice again.

This is what it looks like when ice cream gets an old-fashioned beat down.

Fort Lauderdale Beach Weekend

As a part of my lifelong attempt to make peace with and enjoy the recreational offerings of the ocean, I spent the weekend at the beach. While walking off a week’s worth of LaSpada’s Italian Specials (heavy on the sweet peppers for a good time), I walked by this adorable couple(those figures in the water). When I passed them, the girl was lining up piles seaweed on either side of her man, who was kicking it on a beach towel. By the time I got back to their spot with my camera, she had created a sort of aisle that stretched from the sidewalk to the water’s edge, beyond which the two frolicked in the big blue. I hope they are a happy pair headed for more beautiful things and not just a couple of creative codependent cuties!

I planned on swimming this weekend, but there was an alarming amount or garbage on the beach and in the water at the north end of the public beach, one mile north of Sunrise. True, I am the sort of paranoid pam who can’t enjoy a round of barefoot beach frisbee for fear of taking a hypodermic needle through a foot arch, but the amount of waste on the beach would have deterred any sane person from entering. There was a piece of garbage in the water or on the sand at least every every ten feet, including plastic bags, cylinders, fishing lures and light bulbs.

 

 

 

Soldier Surprise Mom Videos

One day when I was surfing the internet, I typed “Soldier Mom Surprise” into the search box on YouTube. These charming videos popped up. Sometimes a mother’s love can be so intense that it’s almost funny.  You may avert your eyes, but try not to cry.

This guy jumps out of the closet and tries to push his mom off like she’s static cling.

Taxi Cab Surfer – a short photo essay

Magic Seaweed and Swellinfo.com said that there were going to be 10 foot plus swells on Fort Lauderdale beach today, so Sweet Bronco and I drove down to the beach to check out the swells. That’s when we pulled up behind a surfer so dedicated to his sport/way of life that he took a cab to the beach. We call him Taxi Cab Surfer because he rules! Here are the pics:

1) Taxi Cab Surfer arrives at the beach.

2) Taxi Cab Surfer pays the cab fare and exits the vehicle.

3) Taxi Cab Surfer is awesome.

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