The 18th International Sons of the Desert Convention Begins in Manchester
Thursday, August 9th, 2012
Dull care was left at home as I made my way to the final destination of our road trip. Bob and I had been on the road for two weeks, staying in different lodging each and every night, so I was ready to lay my head on the same pillow for the next four days. I was also really looking forward to the antics and camaraderie with my many old friends who had been part of the Sons of the Desert for many years. Bob and I rolled into the Radisson hotel in Manchester at 8:30 in the morning on Wednesday, July 18, 2012. This would be the first day of the 18th International Sons of the Desert Convention. So naturally the first thing I did was to plant myself in the lobby for the next three and a half hours. Read the rest of this entry »
My New England trip now officially holds the record for the longest vacation I have ever taken. Clocking in at 19 days, it was a magnificent trip that saw all sorts of bucket list items and checklists being crossed off of my life pursuit. If you have enjoyed reading about these types of road trips in the past, then this one will be one nice, long doozy for you. I not only enjoyed nearly every minute of it (except for when Don yelled at me), but I will look forward to writing and posting about it – which is about as close as one can get to actually living it over once again. 
The final day of the Florida leg of my trip came around on Thursday, April 19, 2012. My family and I had spent the last four days at the Disney resort – hitting the other three theme parks over the course of three of the days. Although my Mom, Bob, Denise and her kids, and Ashleigh and Silas would be hanging out at Walt Disney World (specifically at Disney’s Hollywood Studios) the following day, but that time I’d be on the other coast at Disneyland and California Adventure. Aaron would be leaving the area and meeting some friends elsewhere in Florida the next day as well. So this was our last shot at getting to the Hollywood Studios park. 
I had just one last little adventure to round out my trip that encompassed Disney World, Disneyland, a Hollywood Show, and Knotts Berry Farm. This would be the most low-key, but also the most unique of all of the experiences of the week. I only found out about this because I happen to be friends with Larry Hankin on Facebook. I had originally requested him as a friend because I was a fan of his work in Billy Madison (as Carl), Friends (as Mr. Heckles), Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (as Doobie the cab driver), Annie (as the dog catcher), and most notably – to me – as Tom Pepper, the actor who plays Kramer in the pseudo-sitcom Jerry on Seinfeld. He’s the one that stole the box of raisins during his audition. If you care to look him up, I’m sure you’ll be impressed that his credentials go on and on. 
Although the Disney extravaganza had seen it’s final day, I still had one more classic amusement park to visit before I could color this trip completed. Although I had been to the Knott’s Berry Farm Halloween event known as