Single Men Looking to Meet Someone? Try Disney

by Jamie Rhein on

I’ve heard that laundromats are good places to meet guys. I once interviewed a guy in a laundromat for a journalism class after I randomly picked his name from the Albuquerque white pages of the phone book. (I opened the book and plopped my finger down. His name was where my fingertip landed.) He was a nice guy, but he hadn’t been to many places and wasn’t exactly sure how he ended up in Albuquerque from a childhood growing up in Brooklyn. While he folded clothes, I worked on getting deep thoughts out of him for a decent quote.

So, if you’re a woman, perhaps you might meet a guy who has a way with laundry in a laundromat. If you’re guy, here’s a tip I read in the article, “Cruise prices drop when leaves fall.” If you’re single, mind you, and you want to meet a woman, go on a Disney Cruise. According to tipster, Art Sbarsky who once was a cruise executive, single moms travel with their kids on these ships. Doesn’t this scenario sound like a movie in the making?


Don’t stop now. Get even more information on cruises.

If you are a guy who is thinking about a Disney Cruise, here are some things you might do:

  1. Get a bandana to dress yourself like a pirate. There are kids dressed like pirates on the home page. It wouldn’t hurt to try to look like you belong. Plus, with the bandana (make it red) you’ll be ready for the Pirates of the Caribbean deck party.
  2. Sing karaoke at Studio Sea or twist the night away at a dance party.
  3. Go to the fitness center and afterwards get a massage in the spa.
  4. Take in a show like Hercules, A Muse-ical Comedy. Brushing up on your Greek myths might impress someone.

Just like the article said, prices drop right about now. The Disney Cruise starts at $389 for a 3-day trip to the Bahamas.

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Okra Man, Okryland, Okra by the Bushel and The Okra Strut

by Jamie Rhein on

I love okra. Okra fried, okra in gumbo, and the way it was served when I was in The Gambia, cooked in a tomato-based sauce with fish or chicken, seasoned with cayenne pepper and ladled over rice. In Irmo, South Carolina, folks are so in love with okra they have a festival that pays it tribute. At The Okra Strut the huge inflatable Okra Man is a mascot of sorts. This is the festival where people of all ages see how much okra they can chow down in an okra eating contest in between carnival rides at the Okryland section. The Okra Strut Parade is the state’s largest festival parade.

This is no small carnival either. 50,000 people are expected to show up at this two -day event, September 28-29. Perhaps they are hoping to take a prize home from the Great Okra Giveaway, although the days are also filled with performing groups and appearances by beauty queens.

South Carolina is also the state with the World Grits Festival. There seems to be a fondness for food that either you love or you hate. If you are an okra lover, here are some recipes in case you want to branch out from the usual breaded in cornmeal and fried.

Oktoberfest Lessons: The Chicken Dance

by Jamie Rhein on

To get you ready for this Oktoberfest season, we’ve advised you on what to wear– Lederhosen, given you instructions on how to eat a Weisswurst, shown you the best carnival rides to try, and pointed you towards the best beer. To recap, we’ve hit dress, food, entertainment and libations. What’s missing from this Oktoberfest round-up is dancing. To prevent the situation where you are left standing in your Lederhosen gazing into your beer mug, unsure of what to do on the dance floor, here’s a lesson on the Chicken Dance. Any Oktoberfest celebration wouldn’t be complete without it. Perhaps, you’ve seen it at a wedding. Even when guests are sloshed, this one is doable.

For the easy version, all that’s really required is that you:

  1. Put the fingers and thumbs of each hand together so that you have two chicken beaks–sort of
  2. Raise your beaks to at least shoulder level to look engaged an interested–higher is better–and open and close them four times to the other dancers
  3. Bend your arms at the elbows to simulate bird wings and flap four times.
  4. Wiggle your behind as you bend and your knees so you lower to the floor and comeback up as you continue to wiggle. (Try to do this to four beats in order to look like a pro.)
  5. Repeat the steps, but going faster and faster until the song ends.

Here’s a Chicken Dance how -to run down, complete with an animated chicken, and a You Tube video with a variety of Chicken Dances performed last year at the Oktoberfest in Leavenworth, Washington. As the video shows, you can do this dance several times in a day and it’s just a little different each time–as in a tad different, as in almost identical.

Missoula, Montana: A Great Family Destination

by Jamie Rhein on

In the midst of time we spend in Philipsburg, Montana every year, we make sure we have a day or two designated for Missoula. This year we spent more time then planned because of fires elsewhere. No matter. It’s a perfect place for families with multiple ages and interests. We’ve done most of what there is to do over our years of visiting.

This is a town where you can hook up with an outdoor company for float or a rafting trips of the Clark Fork or Big Blackfoot Rivers, visit Fort Missoula established in 1877 and now a museum, and ride on the Carousel for MIssoula with a wooden dragon that has a plastic sleeve with rings in it coming out of its mouth. Riders who score an outside horse attempt to grab the rings each time they go by until the last one is gone. The last ring is a golden. Whoever gets it gets a free ride. I tried this yesterday, and grabbing those rings is easier than it looks.

The carousel itself is stunning in the artistry of its horses and it goes a bit faster than most-often there are as many adults on it as kids. I wasn’t the only one. Adjacent is Dragon Hollow, a wonderous playground with outdoor musical instruments and art tiles as part of the play structure.

Another thing we’ve done a couple of times is hike up to the large white M above the University of Montana’s campus. The switchbacks make the climb not so dreadful and the view is wonderful. The town is filled with events year-round and downtown Missoula has some terrific stores for browsing. Made in Montana goods are easy to find and no matter where you shop, there’s no sales tax.

The best store, though is Rockin’ Rudy’s. There is a medley of stuff from Made in Montana goods like huckleberry jelly and candy to politically incorrect gee gaws that make fun of politicians (before the last election both George Bush Jr. and John Kerry were equally parodied in card games, chewing gum and bobble-head type stuff), great jewelry, music and videos, joke shop items, luscious smelling soaps, clothing and racks and racks of greeting cards. You really have to go there to understand the beauty in its bounty.

Here’s the “2007 Best of Missoula” article that lists what folks in Missoula like about their town. It gives me some ideas of where else to head the next time.

Flint Creek Valley Days: Philipsburg, Montana

by Jamie Rhein on

Flint Creek Valley Days in Philipsburg, Montana is the kind of small town festival where everyone is involved–even the tourists. This was our fourth. The highlight for me is always Saturday’s. People park their trucks and hatchbacks on Broadway (the main street) with hatches up and gates down for the best view. Kids come with empty shopping bags ready for when the candy flies. Every one who is in the parade throws salt water taffy, Tootsie Rolls, Dum Dum lollipops and bubble gum into the crowd while waving and calling out to friends and neighbors. Anyone with a business is in the parade along with various clubs.

The other big draw is Sunday’s car show. I’m not an huge car person, but these are beauties. My favorites are the cars that people add extras to show them off such as an old-fashioned car hop tray, the kind that you used to get at a restaurant with a Drive-in.

This year, a week ago today, while I waited for the parade to start, I sat next to a lovely older woman who shared the back of her open hatchback with me while she told me town news. She grew up in Philipsburg and recalled stories when the mines were in full swing. Over the years she’s seen the town shrink and expand with the economic times.

Besides the main parade there’s a kiddie parade on Friday night where kids dress up and ride or walk through town before ending up at a carnival. We missed it this year, but this was one of my son’s high points when he was three. My Flint Creek Valley Days high point was a few years ago when I ran in the 5K and got ribbon.

A pancake breakfast, a logging competition and live bands on Friday and Saturday night add markers of things to do in between moseying down the street browsing the vendors’ wares and picking up some street food. If you’re thinking of visiting Philipsburg, this is one of the liveliest weekends of the summer. It’s always the last weekend in July. Here is a list of other town events–some past and others still to come.