Neil Gets Around

Daniela and ME!

2008-06-30T14:23:00.000-07:00

and that's all folks! join me next time, when i go... someplace else!

Shawn and ME!

2008-06-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

well, it's almost time to head back home, so i figured i better pose with my new friends shawn and daniela, too. they sure were nice to me. i'd definitely come back to st. louis to visit again!

Do you think they'll notice?

2008-06-30T14:19:00.000-07:00

i had such a good time at the show i was thinking about stowing away in these cases. but after thinking about it for a minute, i realized that i already miss my mom after just 2 days. i could never go on tour with a rock band.

Rancid ROCKS!

2008-06-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

here i am watching the rancid show from backstage, cause i was a V.I.P.!! shawn had to hold me up so i could see better, but it was good. and LOUD! good thing i don't have ears.

Vocabulary lessons.

2008-06-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

i learned a couple new verbs while hanging out with the rancid guys. first was "green-day-ed". which i gathered meant something along the lines of "destroyed a given backstage room, hotel room, etc. in some way". the second was "taz-ed" (like tasmanian devil?). as in "the band was on the crew bus for like 10 minutes and it got totally taz-ed." anyhow, here's me after i totally green-day-ed and/or taz-ed the food table backstage! wooooooo, cheezits!

The Bastards' Bus.

2008-06-30T14:03:00.000-07:00

lars told me that the bus we were on was the bastards' bus on their last tour, which he remembered because of this awesome etched bird mirror thing.

The Cupcakery!

2008-06-30T13:57:00.000-07:00

apparently the rancid crew expects phoebe to arrive with delicious treats when she comes to visit. so, we all had to run off to this amazing place daniela recommended, called the cupcakery. we got a dozen amazing cupcakes and brought them back to the bus. matt only wanted half of one, so i got to eat the other half of this delicious peanut butter anc chocolate one! A-MAZING!!

The BUDWEISER plant!

2008-06-30T13:55:00.000-07:00

st. louis is pretty much all about beer. here's the budweiser brewery. i INSISTED we go drive by so i could get a picture of it!

They I.D.ed me!

2008-06-30T13:49:00.000-07:00

when the bartender saw me with the red stripe, she came over and asked me for an i.d. unable to produce such a thing, my beer was taken away and replaced with a coke. boo.

Mmmm, Red Stripe!

2008-06-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

what better to wash down some jamaican jerk chicken than a delicious jamaican beer. mm mm mm!

Sorry, Mom!

2008-06-30T13:37:00.000-07:00

i know my mother would be diusgusted with me, but i just couldn't get enough of that jerk chicken! phoebe yelled at me for being a bit gross and washed my mouth out because she KNOWS how mom feels about chicken bones! ooooops!

FOOD! Finally!

2008-06-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

our food FINALY arrived. phoebe shared her jerk chicken with me. it was delicious!

Sometimes I feel so teeny...

2008-06-30T13:07:00.000-07:00

check out the size of this TREE at the venice cafe!

This is more my speed...

2008-06-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

sweet, innocent little flowers!

I think I'm too young for this!

2008-06-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

and here i thought this was a FAMILY restaurant!

Oh, deer!

2008-06-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Seems like our food took forever to arrive, so i asked this lovely guy to take me for a little ride. He was quite festive looking!

You're like an old friend...

2008-06-30T13:00:00.000-07:00

this guy looked kinda familiar to me. i'm not sure why, exactly...

You're TILE-in' me!

2008-06-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

there was a lot of mosaic stuff around the venice. this was my favorite, though.

My new pal, Juan!

2008-06-30T12:57:00.001-07:00

wandering around the venice cafe's patio while waiting for our food to arrive, i met this gentleman. i'm calling him juan. he gave me a ride in his bucket! woohoo!

No Pooping!

2008-06-30T12:55:00.000-07:00

this little cubbyhole lead to the men's room, where, apparently, the phrase "no pooping" is painted on the toilet. interesting!

Jamaican Me Crazy!

2008-06-30T12:53:00.000-07:00

all of the walls around the patio at the venice cafe are just COVERED in STUFF! i think the only place i've ever seen more license plates was in phoebe and ryan's dining room when mom dropped me off there.

The Venice Cafe

2008-06-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

we finally decided on a dinner location - the venice cafe. i guess phoebe and ryan ahd been here for drinks the last time they were in town, and they loved the wacky patio. and wow - so did i! just wait til you see some of the stuff out there!

How CUTE!

2008-06-30T12:50:00.001-07:00

we were driving around trying to figure out where to take ryan to get some dinner, and he was just sitting there quietly with his hand on phoebe's knee. it was kinda cute. look!

Me and The ARCH!

2008-06-30T12:19:00.000-07:00

this was as close as we could get for me to pose by the arch. we're still several blocks away from it and it is just B-I-G!

The Arch!

2008-06-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are a little closer to the arch. it's hard to explain how BIG it is! so freaky!

The Arch and the Mississippi!

2008-06-30T12:16:00.000-07:00

here we are crossing back over into missouri to get some dinner with ryan! the mississippi is SO flooded. i couldn't get a good photo of it, but the water came up to the leafy parts of the trees that were down on the boardwalk area. crazy!

Me and Tim!

2008-06-30T12:15:00.002-07:00

Me and Matt!

2008-06-30T12:15:00.001-07:00

best bass played in the world!

Me and Branden!

2008-06-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

this one uploaded sideways, too! *kicks blogger in the dick*

Me and Lars!

2008-06-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

what do you mean? i don't even know what this "photoshop" thing you are talking about IS!
yeah, ok. i'm lying. see, as it turned out, things got a little wacky before the show, and i missed my photo op with the band. so, i doctored up these images so you could get an idea of what it WOULD HAVE looked like, if i'd had the chance to get my picture taken with the guys...

A closer look!

2008-06-30T12:11:00.000-07:00

i had to step outside for a closer look at this "dream girls" place. i still don't quite know what it is...

Sauget, IL: Land of Dreams.

2008-06-30T12:10:00.000-07:00

I was looking out the bus window, and there was a place right behind the club called "Dream Girls". i wonder what THAT is...

Look at me! I'm a ROCK STAR!!!

2008-06-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

yeah, that's right, kids. that's me. chillaxin' on a tour bus. i look pretty at home here, don't i? i could totally go on tour. (also - just to my right is tim armstrong, who is neat-o! he didn't want to take a picture with me now, but said that before the show, i could get my picture taken with the WHOLE BAND - right as the go on stage! i can't wait!!)

This is Ryan.

2008-06-30T12:05:00.001-07:00

here i am with phoebe's boyfriend, ryan. he doesn't say much, but seems pretty alright to me.

My chariot.

2008-06-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

this is where i spent a lot of my trip. i fit quite comfortably into phoebe's handbag and she was able to sneak me onto the TOUR BUS! woohoo!

Another state!!

2008-06-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

here i am crossing the mighty mississip! we're on our way to sauget, illinois, which is where ryan is. it's just across the river from st. louis, and i was told it has a population of like 300 people, and is home to a dance club, two strip clubs, a 24 hour bar, a gas station with off track betting, and several factories! sounds classy!!

Looks like home!

2008-06-30T12:00:00.000-07:00

after our food-fest, we swung back by the house to collect shawn and headed out to pick up phoebe's boyfriend. driving down the highway in st. louis looks a lot like my hometown of cleveland.

But I can't resist!

2008-06-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

not me, though. i'll take it! daniela was nice enough to share her concrete with me. there was apple pie in there. it was ok, but i can't help thinking it would have been better if there were, i dunno... COOKIES in there?

Ted Drewe's Custard!

2008-06-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

so, this place is supposedly a st. louis institution. and i love me some sweets, so daniela offered to take us all to ted drewe's frozen custard stand. i was a little disappointed to discover that this sorry shack only has vanilla, though. what the hell is that about? phoebe flat out refused to eat anything, calling bullshit on the entire enterprise.

Unlike the girl in the bad Flaming Lips song, I DO use jelly!

2008-06-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

here i am waiting for the toast i ordered to arrive. i'm protecting all the jelly so no one else uses it all before i get a chance.

Fruity breakfast.

2008-06-30T11:53:00.000-07:00

once it was FINALLY time to go, daniela took phoebe and i to the City Diner for breakfast, but i think they were trying to trick me into eating this basket of plastic fruit! bitches!

I hate waiting...

2008-06-30T11:41:00.000-07:00

but i sure like this chair! these people take way too long to get ready to go. don't they know i want to go explore OUTSIDE of the house??
(ps - i have no idea why this image decided to upload sideways. i tried to fix it and i can't. stupid blogger.)

I get my kicks...

2008-06-30T11:37:00.000-07:00

well, of course i got busted in the bra bin. so i decided to get my proverbial kicks elsewhere. and i overheard someone say that the infamous Route 66 does indeed go through missouri someplace, so this sign for sure had to go into my photo blog here!

Sticking my nose where it doesn't belong?

2008-06-30T11:35:00.000-07:00

well, knowing i had a big guy with wings on my side, i got a little more brazen, i guess, in my explorations of the house. and i discovered that our hostess, daniela, has a big-ass tub full of big-ass bras! teehee. i'm terrible!

New friend!

2008-06-30T11:34:00.001-07:00

when the dog thing finally left me alone and i could take off my disguise, i met THIS fellow. he told me to climb aboard and that if anything fishy went down, he'd fly me outta there. i felt a lot safer with a big dude like this on my side and started to relax a little more.

Incognito!!

2008-06-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

i woke up before everyone else did on saturday morning, so i decided to roam around the house and check out some stuff. that so-called "dog" kept following me with it's enormous tongue out, though, so i decided to hide out for a while. i figured even HE wouldn't recognize me in this mask i found!

@!#& that ?*%... PABST BLUE RIBBON!

2008-06-30T11:16:00.001-07:00

local outmeal stout, or whatever the hell, is all well and good, but i know my pal phoebe, and i did a little exploring and pointed this out to her. she was way happier!

Schlafly = St. Louis microbrew.

2008-06-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

well, once i felt safe enough to venture out from behind my pillow, daniela and shawn were offering phoebe some sort of local microbrew. she poo-poo-ed it (requesting, instead, a "beer-flavored- beer", but i figured i'd get a picture, since it's a st. louis kind of a thing.

Imposter Muppets are not to be trusted.

2008-06-30T11:10:00.000-07:00

After my saliva-laden assault, I was feeling a bit nervous Drokeston Manor, so I decided to hide out behind this sweet day of the dead pillow until it went away.

You're not the "Grover" I remember!

2008-06-30T11:07:00.000-07:00

upon our (delayed) arrival in st. louis, phoebe's friend daniela came to pick us up and brought us back to the very cute house she recently bought. i was feeling very cozy and relaxed when suddenly... this BEAST, who claimed to be called "Grover" came over and LICKED me. blechhh! first of all, no licking. and secondly - you don't look like the "Grover" I know. hrmph. weird, fuzzy imposter!

On The Road Again!!! (...finally!)

2008-06-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

it's been quite a while since my big trip to florida. i've had the itch to do some more travelling,and today that itch is finally getting scratched. mom just dropped me off at phoebe's and we are off to st. louis, missouri in a few minutes! i'm really excited. i love going to new places and meeting new people!

And that's all folks...

2005-11-27T09:10:00.000-08:00

And that's it. That completes my photo diary of my trip to Titusville, Florida. It was so much fun. I'm so glad mom asked Phoebe to bring me along. I think I need to get out and travel more. Like my new buddy Harold. But as fun as it's been - I can't wait to get home to see my mom again. We've missed you, Lacey!!!

Me and GARY!!

2005-11-27T09:07:00.000-08:00

...and here's me with Gary! What a cool couple. I wanna be just like them when I retire!

Me and NAN!!

2005-11-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

It's my last day in Florida and I realized that I had pictures with all my new friends - EXCEPT Nan & Gary, who've been such awesome hosts! So here it is - Me with Nan...

One sexy chick(adee)!

2005-11-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

Of everyone Nan brought over to meet me - this foxy little chickadee really stole my little heart. She was adorable. I have quite a crush now. She let me give her a quick kiss goodbye before she went home to bed, and I will never forget it!

ANOTHER astronaut??

2005-11-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

Since I seemed to be so interested in meeting new people this trip, Nan decided to bring over some of her little friends from the RV. And I do believe I am the luckiest boy alive. Who else gets to meet TWO astronauts in two days?? Wow. Maybe I'LL be an astronaut when I grow up.

Little deers!

2005-11-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

After all those christmas cookies, I was feeling in the holiday spirit, so I climbed up on top of Nan & Gary's cupboards to say hello to these 4 reindeers hanging out up there.

Clean up time!

2005-11-26T20:50:00.000-08:00

Since I really did contribute to the cookie crumb mess, I decided to help Nan out with the vaccuuming.

Cookie Monster???

2005-11-26T20:30:00.000-08:00

After lunch, we all went to see the new Harry Potter movie, which was rubbish. But when we got back to the house - we decorated Christmas cookies! Oo, did I like those cookies. I ate so many, Phoebe told me I was a "Cookie Monster". Can you believe that??

Jumbo shrimpS!

2005-11-26T14:30:00.000-08:00

And whlie I was feeling chatty, I went and said hello to these two, as well. Ooo, I'm just making so many friends here in Florida.

Jumbo Shrimp?

2005-11-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

After the beach we were all starved, so we went down to Nan & Gary's favorite restaurant, Dixie Crossroads. There were these HUGE shrimps hanging around outside. I'm getting pretty social so I went up and introduced myself to this guy.

Buried!

2005-11-26T12:30:00.000-08:00

I really started having some fun on the beach. Harold buried me right up to my neck in the sand. It was pretty neat. He teased me and told me it was because I was hanging around naked... and that the nude beach was further down the shore. But I didn't care. It was so nice out - I just had to get some sun. Luckily no park rangers came by to arrest me.

Another new friend.

2005-11-26T11:15:00.000-08:00

So, I just met this guy. His name is Harold. He's soooo my new hero. He has been all over the place with Nan & Gary. He came over to my umbrella and convinced me it was safe to come out and play on the beach. And I had to believe him - cause you shoudl just HEAR about some of the places HE'S been. Maybe one day HE'LL do a blog, too. That'd be coool!!! Then I could keep up with him.

Sand in my crotch.

2005-11-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

OK. OK. I decided to venture off the chair. I figured if I stayed close to Gary, I'd be safe. So I settled in under the umbrella... and totally ended up with sand in my crotch!

Son of a BEACH!

2005-11-26T10:05:00.000-08:00

Wow. Here I am looking at the Atlantic Ocean. That thing is HUGE! Really makes me feel pretty teeny. I think I may just stay here in this chair where it's safe... catch a little sun or something.

Love Actually IS All Around.

2005-11-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

After munching on some leftovers, we all settled in to watch "Love Actually". It was good. I liked it a lot. I'm pretty tired now. But I'm excited about going to the beach tomorrow!

Leftovers!!

2005-11-25T19:00:00.000-08:00

Ooo. I love leftovers!

Holiday #2.

2005-11-25T18:45:00.000-08:00

That Nan sure is festive. When we got home from teh space place, she started prepping Christmas cookies, and got out her fiber-optic snowman and tree to get us all in the spirit. He was pretty nice.

There's a real astronaut in there!

2005-11-25T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yes there is! A real live astronaut-type dude in that suit. It's not just some statue. It's a DUDE! I'm so glad Phoebe was willing to carry me over to get a picture with him, cause I was jst downright shy when I saw him walking through the lobby of the Space Center as we were on our way out. Wow!

ROBOT!!

2005-11-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

I knew when I saw this guy I had to ask him if he'd pose with me, cause man... does my mom dig robots! This guy was alright. He didn't mind stopping to stand with me one bit. Woo!

Little engine work?

2005-11-25T10:20:00.000-08:00

As we walked by this thing - an engine off of a space shuttle or rocket or something - I decided that maybe I could give it a little wrenching and they'd be able to maybe use it again. But boy oh boy. I think it was just too big. I'm a little guy.

Just like "I Dream of Jeannie"!

2005-11-25T10:10:00.000-08:00

Here's me and Phoebe in one of those astronaut capsule thingies like the guy from "I Dream of Jeannie" was in in that cartoon-y opening to that show. Remember that?

Space shuttle!

2005-11-25T10:05:00.000-08:00

Well, they got us all up WAY too early today, but now that we are here at the Kennedy Space Center, I'm pretty excited. I mean, damn! We've been here 5 minutes, and I'm already an astronaut! See me flying the shuttle?

BOOZE!!!

2005-11-24T20:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I guess I know what kind of trouble I can get into now. I found this little bottle of booze that was just my size. WoooHooo. I hear that a shark on whiskey is mighty risky and a shark on beer is a beer engineer, but what is a shark on toffee liqueur? Crap - I need to get to bed. We're going to the space center tomorrow.

Mm mm mm.

2005-11-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Happy Thanksgiving, y'all. Phoebe & her parents have skibbled off to go see the movie "Rent". Not me, though. Not my thing. Plus they have this wine rack here... I wonder what sort of trouble I can get into!

Gobble Gobble...

2005-11-24T17:10:00.000-08:00

Aside from Phoebe's parents, these two turkeys are the first dudes I met here in Florida. They seemed alright. Thankfully, we didn't eat them.

Bike ride?

2005-11-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

I was JUST about to take a spin around the Great Outdoors RV Park on Gary's snazzy bike, when they told me dinner was ready. Oh well. He's pretty tall. I probably couldn't reach the pedals anyhow.

Up the ladder...

2005-11-24T12:36:00.000-08:00

I've often wondered what was at the top of the ladders at the backs of RVs. So, I figured this was my one chance to check it out. But I only got about 8 feet up the ladder before I got a little nervous about the height and asked Phoebe to come get me back down. Guess some things are meant to remain mysteries.

Lighthouse?

2005-11-24T12:18:00.000-08:00

So, while I was poking around in Nan & Gary's yard, I found this thing that kinda looks like a lighthouse. Despite the fact that it's just my size and all, I really didn't get it since they are like miles and miles from the ocean! Sheesh... weirdos.

Airstream!

2005-11-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

I went back outside to kill some more time until Thanksgiving dinner is done, and DUDES! Check it out! Nan & Gary's next-door neighbors have a freakin' Airstream! How cool!!!

Do Not Feed The Gators!

2005-11-24T11:19:00.000-08:00

Out in front of the Cracker Barrel, there is actually a watery ditch wuth ALLIGATORS in it. Nan & Gary said it was too early in the day for them to be out, but I had to look for myself. I didn't see any. I'm kinda glad, though. Scary!!!

On Golden Pond

2005-11-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

I decided to go sit by the pond out behind the Florida Room while they were finishing up the whole turkey-stuffing business. I hear once that's in the oven, we are going to Cracker Barrel for breakfast.

Chillaxin'

2005-11-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

Here I am, chillaxin' on the front porch of the Florida Room, waiting for stuff to get rollin' around here.

Palm Tree!

2005-11-24T08:45:00.000-08:00

This is me, in a PALM TREE! Palm trees are kinda weird. If you ask me, they look a little bit like really big pineapples.

Wake Up, Nan & Gary!

2005-11-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hey. Here I am looking into the RV to see if Phoebe's parents are awake yet. It's Thanksgiving, afterall, and they need to get over here and start cooking for us, right?!

Bath in the sink?

2005-11-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. The sink in this little house is totally bizarre. I am sooo taking a bath in it later. It's like this crazy glass bowl that sits ON TOP OF the counter. Pretty fancy, if you ask me.

We're Here!

2005-11-23T21:45:00.000-08:00

Phoebe and I have arrived in Florida! It is WARM here!! I like it. We are sleeping in this weird one-room house type thing called a "florida room". Her parents are staying in their RV, which is parked outside of the florida room. It sure is nice here. I can't wait to go exploring tomorrow!

Getting Ready!

2005-11-23T13:30:00.000-08:00

Hi. I'm Neil. I'm getting raedy to go to Florida with my mom, Lacey's, roommate, Phoebe. She's leaving in a few hours. I'm pretty excited. I've never been to Florida before. Mom asked Phoebe to take me. She's cool like that - lookin' out for my interests and all.