Bukkit Tour: The Return

We've been back for a little less than a week, but what an eventful week it has been. The Behler family dance card continues to be full. When we arrived home in the wee hours last Wednesday morning, I thought we were on the set of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We got out of the car and walked to the front door and the whole flower bed had been landscaped and we had new patio furniture on the front porch. Little did we know what other surprises awaited on the other side of the door.

First of all, I want to give a great big shout out to Paul Burns for house/dog sitting for us and holding down the fort while we were gone. Indy was happier to see him on Wednesday evening than she was to see us when we got home early Wednesday morning, so we know she was in good hands.

Next I'd like to thank Tim Birt, Kevin Krahel, Isaac Harris and Paul Burns (again) for achieving the monumental task of repairing and redecorating Miranda's bathroom. The genesis of the bathroom failure is kind of funny.

A couple of years ago, the diverter handle on the bathtub spigot broke. No big deal right? Laela and I went to the hardware store and bought one of those universal spigots to replace it with. It was about a $15 item. So I go to install it and of course the "universal adapter kit" leaks all over the place. I decided that I'd replace the copper pipe that the spigot connects to and then everything would be good. I went out, bought a torch, some solder, and a short length of copper pipe and some fittings. Please keep in mind that at the time Miranda's shower walls were constructed of molded plastic with a built in soap dish etc installed over "water resistant" drywall. Well, I didn't know that you could by material to protect the wall from the torch, so away I go with the torch soldering the pipe through the small hole in the plastic/drywall. A brief distraction later (I think my phone rang and I checked the caller id one handed), the plastic wall of the bathroom is on fire. I managed to douse the flames with cold cups of water but the damage was done. It wasn't enough to structurally damage anything, but the plastic wall of the tub was ruined. Laela and I decided that we'd tear down all of the plastic and tile the walls. It wasn't until we tore down the plastic that we realized the rest of the walls were also drywall. Since we decided to tile, all of the drywall would have to come down so that the wall was strong enough to support the tiles. At this point the $15 spigot replacement turned into a monumental job and went into the "what a pain in the ass, I'll get around to it later pile." We have a functional shower in the master bath so it's not like we couldn't bathe.

Fast forward to June when we found out the the big scarlet "C" and planned a long family vacation. Kevin and Tim devised a plan to refinish the bathroom and get Isaac to paint it while we were gone;because, hey what teenage girl doesn't need her own bathroom? So while we were out of town Kevin, Tim, and Paul replumbed the bathtub to fix the slow drain, put up concrete board to support the tile, tiled the walls, and installed new fixtures. They also fixed the ceiling drywall and Isaac painted the walls the color that Miranda had picked out to go with her curtains, trash can, and towels. The end result is an absolutely beautiful bathroom space. I haven't even showered in my own bathroom since I've been home because I've been so stoked on the new one.

I'd like to thank Valerie Smith for conceiving and executing with Kevin and Tim the landscaping of the front of the house. It is gorgeous and put together with the Behler family brown thumbs in mind. That'll make it easy on the eyes as well as low maintenance.

Next want to thank my sister-in-law Libby Sullivan for organizing the cleaning of our house. Before we had left she had organized a small army of our friends and family to come over and clean the house from top to bottom. The place looks absolutely fantastic and will help me to not become sick when my treatments start. I don't have a list of everyone that participated but I know that people dropped everything that they were doing and even came in from out of town to pitch in to help for two consecutive weeks.

Words can't describe how grateful we are to everyone that helped out whether you played a big part or a small part, every single bit is appreciated. We certainly have no way of adequately expressing the gratitude we have in our hearts for everything that was done for us. We have amazing family and friends and unfortunately sometimes it takes a bad event to bring everybody together and tighten up the circle. You are all loved by us very much.

So stay tuned, I think I'm going to continue to throw my thoughts out there every week or so and don't forget the big concert/party on Friday August 6th at the Ravari Room. ALL/Legbone/Children of Reagan/Dirty Side Down will be rockin the room, so come on down and say hi. Let's party and raise a glass together.

Bukkit Tour Days Seventeen and Eighteen: Homeward Bound

Days seventeen and eighteen find us making our way home. While I was down in the lobby of the Country Inn getting breakfast and writing yesterday morning, Laela had gotten up and packed our belongings in the hotel room. When I had made it back up there at 10:15 she was ready to start putting things in the car. The parking garage was attached to our hotel and we were parked on the same floor as our room so it didn't take but a couple of quick trips out and we were ready to go. We bade Virginia Beach farewell and got going, but we had to make one final stop before we left.

We swung by the Food Lion grocery store on our way out. I was determined to relieve them of their 12 packs of bottled Yuengling beer since we can't get it in Ohio. They had ten of them in the cooler so we grabbed a cart and loaded them up. It took a little bit of Tetrising the Escape I was able to weasel them in. Stoked. Then we jumped back in and set out on our way. We stopped for lunch at noon time and ate at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I am totally a convert to that restaurant. They doubled up on the cajun love on my fries and they were fantastic.

It was around 3:30 when we arrived at Monticello. Monticello was the home of President Thomas Jefferson. He was the third President of the United States. You might also know Monticello as the "B Side" of the nickle. It is situated high atop on of the mountains of Virginia and the views are absolutely stunning. The grounds are vast as Jefferson was also a farmer with an impressive garden as well. We took the tour of the house but the standard tour only allows you on the first floor and into the cellars under the house. There are many gorgeous walking paths around the estate.

After spending a few hours at Monticello, we hopped back in the car and proceeded on our journey home. Driving through the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia is certainly a feast for the eyes. Travelling through there on a late summer afternoon when all of the trees are a lush green with low hanging clouds dusting the peaks was breathtaking. Occasionally the rays of the sun would peek through the clouds and it would look like it was right out of a painting.

Nothing really exciting happened the rest of the way home. We tried to get a hotel near Parkersburg to stay the night but they were full. By the time we had gotten to the next area with a decent hotel we were only a couple of hours from home so I made the executive decision to soldier on. We arrived home close to 2:00am. We were all hyped to see Indy.

Apparently the house has been visited by Santa's elves while we were away too. The house is spotless, the front has been landscaped and been given patio furniture, and Miranda's bathroom has been redecorated and the tub area tiled and the plumbing has been repaired. We were totally floored. The place looks fantastic. I have my suspicions regarding the culprits but I'll wait for confirmations before calling them out. Know this though, if you had a hand in any of the household shenanigans, you have our complete gratitude.

We'd also like to take an opportunity to thank everyone who had a hand in making the Great Bukkit Tour 2010 possible. Again, the generosity of our family, friends and co-workers has been astounding. It was a great relief to Miranda, Laela, and myself to be able to put our challenges behind us for a couple of weeks and just be a family out exploring the country and enjoying each other's company. It has been the vacation of a lifetime and I'll cherish every moment of it.

This concludes my blogging of the Great Bukkit Tour of 2010. Thanks for coming along with us and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Bukkit Tour Day Sixteen: Virginia Beach Relaxation

Day sixteen was our decompression day. We've been on the go for weeks and were ready to just have nothing planned. The weather was about ten degrees cooler so it was much easier to spend time outside. We went down to the hotel lobby and picked up an information card for Rudee Inlet Jet Ski Rentals. It was just a couple of blocks from the hotel so it seemed perfect. The girls hadn't eaten yet so we decided that it would probably be best not to do that on an empty stomach.

Right next door and sharing the same parking lot was Big Sam's. We got out of the car and our second casualty of the trip occurred. Miranda's favorite flip-flops blew out. The first casualty was my sun glasses on day one. It was unremarkable "beachish" food. Laela chose the best by having the lobster BLT. I had a crab cake which was fair. I think the girls were happy with the choice of eatery. Due to it's close proximity to the jet ski rentals the view for the ladies was fantastic. There were lots of deeply tanned strapping young lads prepping the jet skis for the day's outings visible from the windows. We finished lunch and ventured next door.

It didn't take long for us to get to the jet skis. Quickly signing a few papers, putting on life jackets, and walking down the dock. They gave us a quick run through on the vehicle's operation. Safety strap, turn left, turn right, start, and stop. It was easier than riding a scooter. There were about five jet skis plus a guide in our group. Laela got her own. Miranda and I shared a jet ski. We idled our way out of the inlet and onto the Atlantic Ocean. It was fantastic! We were instructed to stay 100 yards away from all vehicles including other jet skis and we were given about a mile within which we were to operate. That was plenty of ocean. It was a little choppy and took a few minutes to get comfortable with the rolling of the ocean. I had to remind Miranda that it was like riding a motorcycle and that she was to lean with me as I leaned. She leaned into a couple of turns and we had water gushing over the side and were close to capsizing. We signed up for a one hour ride. About half way through, we met up with Laela and she had bragged to us that she'd had hers up to 48MPH. To that point I hadn't had ours over 30MPH. I took that as a challenge from Laela so we started looking for some smooth spots where we could open it up. It was right about then that the instrument gauge flaked out on our watercraft. I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought maybe some water had gotten into it and shorted it out. We got through the rest of our ride uneventfully and then were instructed to follow our guide back to the inlet. The inlet is a no wake zone so we had to idle once we got there. Not two minutes later our jet ski completely died. We were the last of the pack so we had to yell to Laela that we were dead. She then relayed it up the line until our guide heard. Meanwhile there was a yacht exiting the inlet out into the Atlantic that was headed straight for us. With our engine out and adrift, we were completely at the mercy of the current. Fortunately the yacht was able to change his course and go around us. Our guide came back with a tow rope and towed us back to the dock. Miranda was excited because it was "the cute one" who came to "rescue" us. Once we got onto the dock and met up with Laela she said all of the guides asked if we were on number 15 because they had just replaced the battery that morning. Gee guys, if you are having electrical problems with a watercraft, how about not sending customers out on it? It shouldn't be hard to fix. It's either the battery, voltage regulator, or the stator. Maybe I should have offered to troubleshoot it for them. I was a little miffed, but oh well. We got our ride in and made it back safely.

After the jet skis, the rest of the day's plan was to relax on the beach. We went to the $7.99 surf shop across the street from the hotel. We got a beach chair, a sunbrella, flip flops for Miranda, and body board. We went up to our room, changed and then spent the rest of the day hanging out on the beach. Nothing but sun, sand, and surf. Miranda and I spent most of our time in the water. It was awesome just getting to hang out with her for a couple of hours while Laela read. It was such a good time. The shadow of the hotel creeping over the beach and onto the water let us know that our time at the beach was done for the day. We headed back up to the room and then went out to dinner.

After dinner we just strolled up and down the Virginia Beach Boardwalk (which is actually cement) and onto the pier. I think I got some good photos on the pier but I haven't checked them on the computer yet. On the pier we got ice cream and then decided to walk the beach. Eating ice cream with a cookie duster as long and luxurious as mine is quite the exercise in futility. I was a mess. We went onto Atlantic Avenue afterward. We rode some of the carnival rides like the Ferris wheel and went onto the Captain Cline's Pirate Adventure ride. Miranda and I also went into the Nightmare House, but after the pirate ride turned out to be haunted house which freaked Laela out she sat that one out. That essentially wrapped up the evening and we retired to the hotel.

And so ends the Bukkit Tour. Today we'll head off in the direction of home and arrive tomorrow. I can't wait to see everyone!

Bukkit Tour Day Fifteen: Last Stop Virginia Beach

Day fifteen of the Bukkit Tour brings us to our final destination, Virginia Beach, VA. We packed up our room in the morning and loaded up the car. We couldn't check into our hotel at Virginia Beach until 4:00. Checkout time at the Holiday Inn was 11:00 so we had five hours to kill. We decided to hit up Colonial Williamsburg to see if there was anything we could quickly visit before making our way to the beach. We parked the car and started walking around and what to our wondering eyes should appear but Boy Scouts. Scouts as far as the eye could see and now they were armed with Snap-N-Pops. There's nothing more annoying than dozens of teenage boys throwing Snap-N-Pops at each other. We quickly sought refuge in a local eatery.

It was a fine restaurant, but it just wasn't our lucky day. We got the no-confidence n00B waiter, Laela received the wrong sandwich (which ended up being tasty), and I got a bowl full of cucumbers. I hate cucumbers. Since we were in the south, Laela also ordered a mint julep. The bartender filled must've filled up the glass 3/4 of the way with whiskey because it was STRONG. You could smell it before the waiter put it down on the table. Needless to say, there wasn't much of that consumed and it was actually the most expensive thing we ordered (more than our entrees). After lunch we went over to the visitor's center to see if there was anything of interest and didn't really find anything. So we made our way through a few gift shops and then set out for the beach.

For the most part, the ride to the beach was uneventful but there was one memorable moment. About three cars ahead of us there were a pair of ladies riding metric cruiser motorcycles. Traffic had slowed down to a crawl. The next thing you know, someone jerk in an automobile cuts the two motorcycles off and the second one ended up on the ground. The first bike didn't see the second bike drop, nor did the RV they were travelling with because it was up front. Traffic stopped and I threw on my flip flops and hopped out of the car (Laela was driving) to go and make sure the lady was okay. She seemed to be fine but she was shaken up. She was also incapable of lifting her Vulcan 900 off of the ground. I stood the bike up for her and helped her and her bike over to the side of the road. The motorcycle wouldn't start after being on it's side because there was no gas in the carbs. By then the The RV had pulled over and the other rider she was with came over and started yelling at her. They were both of Eastern European origin and not speaking English. I asked them if they wanted any help getting the bike started but they waved me off. So I hopped back into the car and we arrived shortly thereafter at Virginia Beach.

The Countryside Hotel we are staying at is kind of a dump but it's the only hotel that had a "suite" available during the time we were booking. It's got a great ocean view though. We really just hung out in the hotel room, went to the beach for a little bit, got cleaned up and went out to dinner at Otani, yet another hibachi restaurant.

After dinner we performed a Behler family vacation ritual and found a miniature golf course. It was Pirate's Paradise Mini Golf. It was just like any other mini-golf in a tourist trap town, but the best thing about this was it's proximity to an AWFUL lounge band playing at an adjacent bar's outdoor patio. They were singing all of today's top 40 hits but the singer couldn't carry a tune if it had a handle on it. It's made all eighteen holes painfularious. Got a couple of good photos with the "pirates" and then left. While we were leaving we got to witness yet another auto accident. A stupid woman was trying to text and light a cigarette at the same time, ran a red light and got slammed into by a mini-van. There are cops all over the place at Virginia Beach so it wasn't but one minute before one had showed up. We drove back to the hotel afterwards and went to sleep. Looking forward to an uneventful day sixteen.

Bukkit Tour Day Fourteen: Busch Gardens, VA

Started off day fourteen of the bukkit tour after a refreshing night's sleep at the Holiday Inn. The girls and I took our time and got ready for the day and packed up the room. We figured it was going to be a hot day requiring lots of energy (the forecast called for 106 degrees Fahrenheit). When we pulled in on day thirteen, we thought to ourselves "What luck, there's a pancake and waffle restaurant right next door." So that's where we ate. Just as advertised, they had pancakes and waffles. The girls both had an order of apple pancakes and I had pigs in a blanket. Mmmmmm...blaaannket covered piiiiigs.

We walked back over to the car and started it up and the temperature reading was 97 degrees in the shade at 11:15. Laela and I were convinced that the day was going to be miserable and weren't looking forward to it at all, but this was the one thing that Miranda asked to do while we were on vacations so we were determined to make it happen. We had to rearrange our schedule a bit. Busch Gardens was supposed to be the very last thing that we did before coming home, but a tiny hotel issue had occurred which necessitated rearranging the schedule and I'm glad we did. Finding it was easy after leaving the hotel because we were so close to the park that all we had to do was follow the signs. I was really surprised by how expensive the tickets were. King's Island and Cedar Point are just a little over 1/2 the cost of Busch Gardens. The turnstiles to get you into the park aren't very efficient either, there was quite a line to get in which had me feeling very dubious about the rest of the day.

We hooked up a fast pass so that ol' wheezy McGee didn't have to swelter in the lines all day. There was a really nice older lady that helped us out with the pass. She set it up for four people and told Miranda that she should find some lucky fella to round out the four and that if she saw a bachelor in his seventies to toss him her way. It was really funny.

So we were all excited about the park, grabbed a map and started trying to figure out which rides to ride. Much to our chagrin, there are only four roller coasters in the whole park. I guess we're a little spoiled in Ohio with Cedar Point and King's Island. We rode the following: The Griffon, the Alpnegeist, Apollo's Chariot, and the Loch Ness Monster. All of them were fun steel coasters. The Alpnegeist was a foot dangler similar to the Raptor at Cedar Point. The Griffon is kind of odd because they seat you 10 across and if you are on the end during the ride, you don't see any track under you especially if when the stop you at the top of the 90 degree drop and let you dangle for a few seconds before they let you go. An interesting historical note on Apollo's Chariot: On opening day 1999 Fabio was in the first car on the first ride. As it plummeted down the hill a goose struck him in the face. When he exited the ride he was covered in blood, fortunately (depending on your point of view) he only suffered a cut on his nose.

We also took in some other rides, notably the water rides. There were three of them: your standard log flume, Roman Rapids your standard whitewater tubing ride and Escape from Pompeii which is a combination of King's Island's Adventure Express and Congo Falls. The water rides were fantastic for cooling us off and certainly made the day's oppressive heat more bearable.

Other park notables: We had dinner at the Festhaus. Guinness on tap plus "authentic" German food. There was a big gazebo in the middle of the hall and I said to Laela, the only thing we need is a polka band. 10 minutes later we had a polka band and dancers. It was silly fun and we enjoyed the entertainment. After dinner, Miranda and I rode the Alpengeist and Griffon coasters again, we stopped by the fudge shop and went back to our car. I took about ten minutes to unwrap my "meat toes" as Laela calls them. It was good though, an once of prevention (individually wrapping each of my toes before we left for the day) is worth an pound of cure and my digits were no worse for wear when we got finished.

So we make it back to the hotel and there is a tour bus parked in front of our parking spot from last night and it is filled with Boy Scouts. Let's take a moment and discuss the invasion of scouts on the Bukkit Tour. Once we had gotten to Washington, DC there were Boy Scouts everywhere. Apparently there was some kind of Jamboree in the DC area. They did not call us in advance and clear that with the Bukkit Tour coordinator. So everywhere in DC we went there were throngs of scouts. We figured we were finished with that after we left DC. Not true. Busch Gardens was also packed with scouts and of course a bus full of them were staying at our hotel. Now don't get me wrong, I was a scout back in my misspent youth. The problem is, I was a scout back in my misspent youth and I know what kind of shenanigans will be wrought by clusters of teen age boys traveling in packs. Ever since we arrived in DC, I've had a crick in my neck because I've had to strain it giving the evil eye to young men gawking at my daughter. Our favorite thing to do when we get to a hotel is to go and take a dip in the pool. Guess what? Full of scouts causing a ruckus. So we look over at the hot tub. Full of scouts. We got in the pool and huddled in a corner for about ten minutes and I got sick of it. I told the girls "Watch me go clear out the hot tub and then follow me." I walked over to the hot tub and there were about nine kids in it (small tub so it was packed like sardines. Scowling all the while I took the last seat available on the bench and three of them immediately hopped out. The "leader" of the last six saw Laela and Miranda get out of the pool and start walking over and said to the rest "Why don't we get out and make some room for them?" Walrus powers ACTIVATE! We relaxed for a while went back up to the room and got cleaned up.

We had bought some fudge, chocolate covered Oreos, and candy fruit slices at BG but we didn't have any milk. Laela and I Froggered our way across the street to the 7-11 and bought some milk, came back to the room and snacked with Miranda while watching the Boondocks on Adult Swim.

So that was day fourteen of the Bukkit Tour now in the books.

PS: No stickers have been found at Busch Gardens or any other stores in Virgina to apply to the Bukkit :(