Tuesday, June 21, 2011

MONGOOSE PRIDE!!

Hey Everyone, we will be heading to San Fran tomorrow morning at an insane hour for our vacation. We will be gone for a week. I hope to update this blog with all our fun adventures but who knows how much that will really happen. Maybe it will maybe it wont lol just know it will be coming soon. To all our PRIDE attendees in OKC, Houston, San Fran and any other cities doing it this coming weekend, be SAFE and have more fun than you should!! We love you all!!
Mongoose Comic Cartoon

Monday, June 13, 2011

OKC Crew Weekend

Starting today off with some heavy duty rehydration and relaxation after a crazy weekend with two of our OKC friends Jimmy and Carlye. What follows is what I can only assume is a pretty accurate portrayal of the weekends events, which are brought to you by our sponsors, Vodka and Natty Light!! Let's begin.

FRIDAY NIGHT:We all had to work Friday, so our night didn't start until maybe 10pm once the OKC crew made it to Dallas. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Market Center. It is a very nice hotel with a big open middle that makes the top floor where we stayed a  little dizzying. Our suite was nice and the Do Not Disturb sign was one of the most creative I have seen to date. Once we got settled in the room, it was time to break out the beer and catch up on what we have missed out since we last saw each other. Fast forward thru the gabbing and a few drinking games and we hit the bottom of the beer. How many beers is too many for 4 people? We brought a 30 pack and it didn't survive the first night. Luckily, we had planned on staying in the room and not going anywhere that first night. We played games and chatted and listened to loud music, luckily we either didn't have neighbors or the walls were really thick. I think it was about 3am when we finally made it to bed.



SATURDAY:  Woke up about 9:30 in the morning so that we could make it downstairs to the free breakfast. Free food, especially for the morning after, is a blessing and I am pretty sure it saved my life. After letting breakfast settle a bit, we began our day of fun by hitting Target. This isn't really a vacation staple, but forgetting to pack a swimsuit can create a problem and Target can solve it. Found a suit and some fake mustaches for a dollar. (More on this later.) We then headed to Oaklawn to do some walking around and window shopping. Also to have a refreshing beer after walking around in this marvelous heat we are having. And since it was a mini vacation, you can have a beer in the afternoon right??


Ice Ice Miggity!!



We returned to the hotel to get some swimming and sunning done. The hotel had a nice pool and hot tub, sadly it was indoors. They did have a patio attached to the pool area that had some great sun and we took full advantage of all the offerings in the pool area. Nothing beats sweating out all the previous nights toxins while soaking up all that vitamin D. After our pool fun, it was time to take the Okies to In-N-Out Burger. Its a hell of a drive, but well worth it once you get that double double animal style in your hot little hands. They are constructing a new building along the way that has this weird diagonal structure attached to the facade which makes for a weird looking building. I'm guessing it's some sort of architectural feature that will make more sense upon completion. It gave us all something to discuss on the car trip. Once we arrived at In-N-Out, which has been open a couple of months now, both the drive thru and dine in lines were still a bit of ridiculous. However the dine in line moved quickly enough and soon we all had our burger feast. Shockingly, we were able to find 4 bar stool seats after Richard did a little tactical positioning. Anyone who has eaten at any In-N-Out can tell you that seating is always an issue even in the locations that have been open forever.












After ingesting that huge meal we needed to walk it off a little so we went to a Ross that was right down the street for a little discounted fun. I found a clearance shirt which I really liked and planned on wearing out that night. Sadly upon putting it on later that night,I noticed that there was a small problem. It looked plenty big but you can see appearances were deceiving. I certainly don't have a 6pak, but dammit a large is supposed to be plenty big for me. Luckily, I had stuff packed for going out already so this minor setback was just that, minor. But I'm getting ahead of myself here, let me backtrack.

 We made the long drive back to the hotel to prepare for that night's festivities. To start it all off, we attended the "Manager's Reception" in the lobby. This was their code for free drinks. Yes, you heard me correctly, the hotel had a bartender who would make you whatever drink you wanted, two at a time. When you finished, you just got back in line over and over and over. What an amazing concept in customer service. This will be a new requirement I look for in future travel planning. I can think of no better way to decrease the nights bar tab. Thanks Embassy Suites *HIC* Once the "reception" was over we all made it back up to the room feeling fine and decided it was time to make use of the props we had collected on our journeys. And yes alcohol does tend to make things funnier in your head than others may think, so just know this was funny as hell to us.
 


Getting ready to go out came next and of course that means it's time for some shots. **IMPORTANT NOTE FOR READERS** When we were ready to go out, we called a CAB. This is always a better plan when you have been drinking. Don't want to rely on anyone who has been drinking like we have to drive anywhere. LOL Not to say that we were stupid drunk, just that we all knew we had had enough to not be driving. Back to Oaklawn for the night's partying and dancing. Had lots of fun making the rounds at all the bars. S4, TMC, Roundup, Woody's and then back to S4 to dance the night away. I had 2 left feet that night but who cares, I danced like nobody was watching. It is always more fun to just cut loose and this group sure knows how to do it. A little after midnight, we had all had enough and hailed a cab to take us back to the hotel. We got home and decided to order pizza. Pizza, salad, bread sticks and the most amazing brownies the world has ever known. Quickly devoured and then off to sleep for all of us.
SUNDAY: We slowly started getting around on the last day of our adventure and decided that brunch was in order. We packed up and headed out to the Bishop Arts District in Oak Cliff. There are enough cafes, restaurants, and shops here to fill up a morning and afternoon. We went to Tillman's Roadhouse for an amazing brunch. I had an amazing egg sandwich with bacon and avocado. It came with a salad dressed with a spicy dressing and what turned out to be fried avocado pieces on top. We all ate and felt much better about life. Then came walking around and hitting all the shops, clothing, vintage, housewares, florist and the most amazing chocolate shop, Dude, Sweet Chocolate. They used dark chocolate and have combinations and creations you would never think of. They had a blue cheese and sea salt fudge that would blow your mind. Another combo that was incredible was orange pop rock chocolate bar. They gave us all sorts of free samples and it took all my willpower to just buy one chocolate bar with cardamom and soy nuts. I will definitely be returning here to get more goodies. Dark chocolate is one of my BIG weaknesses. So they have me hooked!! After our chocolate-gasm, it was time to say goodbye and so hugs all around and the OKC crew headed back home. I added links to both places in case you are planning a trip to Dallas. Be sure and check them out.
What a great weekend!! Thanks Jimmy and Carlye for making it a blast. Can't wait until next time.