Cedar Point

Stardate 65949.7 -  Few people enjoy roller coasters as much as my friends and myself. That is solid fact right there. So we set ourselves a course for Ohio to a spot practically in Lake Erie itself. Some call it the Mecca of Roller coasters and others just Cedar Point. Either way, we were in for a wild ride both in and out of the park.

We stopped in a saloon for lunch!

Snoopy!

Just to give you some mind blowing statistics about Cedar Point. It has about 16 roller coasters; one of which has won the best roller coaster in the USA for several years running. Our first roller coaster of the day was called, 'Top Thrill Dragster.' This mammoth of a coaster goes 120 mph and shoots you 420 feet in the air. The ride last about 20 seconds, but it melts your face off. We then ventured to other less intense roller coasters. One such was an old school wooden roller coaster called, 'Mean Streak.' It did have one mean streak to it. Wooden coasters are especially scary because you do not know when they could possibly break due... I don't know... rotting wood? We conquered a few kiddy rides until we got to the Millennium Force. This All Star hold its own and is the best roller coaster of all time. Although not as big as the Top Thrill Dragster, the Millennium Force drags you 310 feet into the air and then drops you at an 80 degree angle. Basically, a 90 degree drop means you fall perpendicular; a 80 degree drop means you drop perpendicular and back some. The ride was crazy sauce. I mean it has the same initials as the Millennium Falcon, so it has to be nuts.

We ended our adventure on a romantic carousel ride. It was full of lights and wonder! All in all, we had a great time at Cedar Point! I can't wait to go back next year and see the new ride they are opening up, and maybe get a Snoopy to take home!

View from inside the Carousel

Focus Foxies in Attendance: Rodney, Durete (whose pictures I stole), Tim, Danny, Erin, Justin, Rob, and Rachael (our awesome trip planner).

The Frosty Dog

Stardate 65949.2

17:06 - Living in a first world country, one rarely finds herself in the need for food and nowhere to go. I am not speaking of not being able to pick a place; I mean not having a place to go. Not many Focus Foxies get the opportunity, nay the privilege, of rolling down the streets near Cleveland's Airport. I assume this because I want to believe my audience does not patronize run down strip clubs in C-rated cities. I have to say that those streets are littered with houses of sequins and ill-repute. But I digress, we had to pick up someone on our way to Cedar Point. We could have confined ourselves to the airport parking lot, but we were hungry. Therefore, we ventured out into the scummy world of Cleveland to find sustenance.


About a mile away, we found one beacon of hope in the form of The Frosty Dog. The Frosty Dog was the only wholesome place in what I can only assume to be Hell's doorway. It was even considered a family establishment. Now the obvious specialties of The Frosty Dog were their hot dogs. As a small band of compadres, we sampled all kinds of hot dogs from plain to chili to mini corn dogs. Yours truly got the mini corn dogs, but that is to be expected.

What you would not have thought so obvious was their specialty was fried mac and cheese. It came so highly recommended that the woman in front of us explained that while she couldn't eat them, she made her daughter eat them. The logic seemed faulty as to why she did this, but she led us to believe that she could enjoy them through osmosis. She freely told us what to expect. "You know Kraft Mac N' Cheese? It tastes just like that, but fried." Lord, did that description not disappoint. Focus Foxies, if you can see in the picture, that is exactly what they did. They fried Kraft Mac N' Cheese. It tastes like what you would expect. Now the novelty for us DC folk came from why on earth would any one recommend these or feed them to their kids? We weren't sure, but we did make sure we did not leave town until we tried them.

I will have to say that if you are in the vicinity of the Cleveland Airport and hungry, I would go to The Frosty Dog. The hot dogs were great, and the prices were cheap. But do yourself a favor: don't try the fried mac and cheese.


Focus Foxies in attendance: Tim, Rob, and Danny the driver man

Tasty Fried

Stolen from Food Truck Fiesta

Stardate 65938.4

Stolen from Food Truck Fiesta

18:45 - I take fried chicken seriously. If you ate as much of it as I do, you would have some serious opinions on the subject as well. So when I find out that a food truck is going to be selling fried chicken, I have to investigate. The name of the fried chicken truck is Tasty Fried. The name says it all, but this truck does not have an ordinary past. It comes from a long line of tasty food trucks. Originally, there was Tasty Kabobs, which specializes in halal kabobs. Once Tasty Kabobs expanded to 5 trucks, they moved onto different types of food.

I went to go check out Tasty Fried, and I was famished. Focus Foxies, when I am famished, I tend to over order. In fact, I ordered three pieces of chicken with a side of fries and a biscuit. I do not regret that decision because the food tasted amazing, but you will need to talk to me later in life when I have type II diabetes. Each piece of chicken had a flaky and crispy outside and juicy inside. Life lesson for today, Focus Foxy, that is what you want out of fried chicken. It doesn’t matter what type. You need crunchy outside, juicy inside. I will say that the biscuit could use some major work. The chicken made up for though.

Last but certainly not least, look at the America themed packaging. How could the fried chicken taste awful wrapped in red, white and blue?

Flip Cup Champions

Stardate 65934.7

I'm still holding the winning cup

09:54- Many Focus Foxies know that I am part of a kickball/dodgeball/volleyball social sports league called NAKID. I have been on Suck it, Trebek! for two seasons. I have to say what we lack in athletic prowess (and we lack a bunch), we make up for in drinking abilities. Yet, this is not just a simple tale about drinking a few cocktails. This is a story is about how I became a metal award winning drinker and therefore legen....

After every game, we continue the shenanigans by playing a little drinking game called Flip Cup. The idea behind flip cup is simple: finish your drink and flip your cup. Easy enough? Wrong. This can be a struggle for many people. To add to the stress of flipping the cup, the game is played as a relay. Your whole side of the table has to finish in order to win the round. So if your team is full of strugglers (and not the good type) you could be waiting to drink for awhile. Typical official matches are best out of seven rounds.

Team Picture!

Now that the unaware Focus Foxies have the game down, let me explain how we won a medal. At the end of each season, NAKID has a flip cup tournament where only the strong survive. We were playing in the dodgeball/volleyball division with four people (see team picture). We had "One and Done" Rachael, "The Professor" Rob, "The Thunder from Down Under" Jack, and "Corgis for Life" Me. To be very honest, I was/am the weakest link on this team so they put me second in line. We successfully won the first two rounds with ease, and then trouble started brewing afterwards. We lost a round, then won one, and then they won one. It is was tough until we won out with 4 round wins.

Dary. It was Legendary! Beer was flung into the air; a round of high fives given; even a few chest bumps were involved. My hands were shaking from the adrenaline. They then gave us each medals and one big trophy for our win. So that, Focus Foxies, is how I and a few others became even more awesome. True Story.

Worldwide Knit in Public Day 2012

Stardate 65929.9

15:31 - Some activities exist to amuse old people, such as crossword puzzles, print media in general, and yelling at young people. Knitting is not one of those type of activities. I know what you are thinking. Isn't knitting the most old people activity listed above? I say to you false. You have no clue what you are missing. But on June 17th, a group of people set out to teach you differently because June 17th is World Knit in Public Day. It is a day where the craftiest of people come out and show off their mad yarn skills. The Textile Museum was hosting an event this year where knitters can congregate and learn from each other.


Focus Foxies, let me be honest and upfront. I crocheted instead of knitted/knitting/I don't know how to knit. I crochet, but I crochet very well. I learned in high school as a way to keep from getting bored. So my rebel self crocheted amongst the knitters and we all had a grand time.  I met my friend Kara at the Textile Museum. There she showed off her expert skills. I was stuck making granny squares (again, not a old people activity). The day was cool for a June day. We sat under a little gazebo in the Textile Museum's backyard and enjoyed the weather, conversation, and knitting/crocheting. We became fast friends with two other ladies sitting with us. We all swapped secrets about where to get the best yarn, and by we, I mean I listened.

I couldn't imagine a more plesant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. I got to do some crafting and got inspired for more projects.

Basil Thyme

Stardate 65910.5

 13:37 - I have been a great patronizer of the food trucks that have come to L'enfant Plaza since I moved to the DC area. As there are a dearth of lunch options, you have to look to these moving culinary caravans for suitable options. I have been wanting to try Basil Thyme for quite some time. They serve you a lasagna, salad, cannoli and drink for $10 (they actually sell it for $12 now). I thought that this must be a great deal with a ton of food. It turns out; it was meh. The manicotti lasagna was pretty tasty, the salad was sub-par, and the cannoli was the saving grace of the meal. I have never had a cannoli before so my judgement could be all wrong, but I applaud their use of cookies and cream as a flavor. Overall, if you have other options, go for those; $12 is just a bit too much for lunch.

Tubing Down the River

Stardate 65910.3

12:17 - Texas’ passtime in the early months of Summer is tubing down long rivers. My favorite Memorial Day memories center on floating the Frio River. To find tubing in the DC area, you have to follow county roads out to West Virginia. We packed our bags, bought a Groupon, and went to Harpers Ferry. Fueled on Yuengling, we rode the rapids of the Potomac and lazily drifted down the Shenandoah River. I am proud to say that no one fell off without meaning to, and we came back with as many people as we went with. That might seem silly to say, but you can get separated and lose people if they fall asleep or have too much.

The sun felt great and the river greater. I can’t say when it was that I last got out into nature, but it was way too long. I have been stuck in an office chair, locked in my basement bedroom, and tunneled underground in the metro. I was glad that I had time to breathe in the fresh air. Although these rivers aren’t as rough and tumble as Texas’ rivers, they still bought back fond memories and made new ones.This will definitely be a planned outing each year.

 Focus Foxies in attendance:  Durete (the groupon spotter), Rodney, and Rob

Ignite your Nattitude!

The Presidents' Race: Teddy Roosevelt always looses

Stardate 65891.4


2:05 - Focus Foxies, I have never hidden the fact that I am not much of a baseball fan. I blame this on being young and naive and mainly, under 21. Now that I am older and wiser and have a beer in my hand for the game, I find the whole experience way more enjoyable. I have adopted a team: the Nationals! I figured while I am in DC I should root the home team. Plus, I don't think the play the Astros this year, but I could be wrong. So I ignited my Nattitude (yes that is a thing) and travel to a few games now and again. On June 2nd (Stardate 65886.1), we double dated with another couple (yes that is a thing) to watch the Nationals beat up on the Braves.

One of us was happy with the score!

Heading up to the stage

I should say that was my objective in watching that game, and the Nats did pull out a win. This was much to the dismay of Atlanta native Focus Foxy Rob. I would rattle on about all these statistics about the game, but I really don't know that much about baseball. What I did know a bunch about was the concert going on afterwards. Every once in  awhile, the Nats will have concerts after their games.

On the Big Screen

We bought the tickets with the idea of seeing Dierks Bently, but due to family emergencies, we saw Big and Rich instead. While they haven't produced too many singles in a long time, they put on a great concert, and we got to go up to the front row.

I would suggest anyone stopping by the Nats stadium. It is fun to have a bit of DC pride and relax outdoors. They even have dollar games every once in a while.

Baseball Focus Foxies Fans in attendance: Rob, Chip (good sports), and Kara (my fellow country listener)