BenSpark Family Adventures

So I’m sitting here in the Vancouver Airport awaiting my 10:45pm flight. It is now 11:30pm. Which is real close to my original flight time. Fun, fun! Have you ever had to wait for an entire 777 airplane’s passenger list to be re ticketed? I have! And let me tell you, it is as joyful as they say it is. Standing in line listening to ‘experts’ discuss what can be done to improve air travel. Guess what? Shut up! Nobody cares what you think. Why is it that it is always the idiots who express their opinion to anyone and everyone, who are the loudest people on the planet? Just let me stand in line, and get my new ticket, without listening to you prattle on with your conspiracy theories and witticisms. Okay my rant is done, for now. I have a feeling that we won’t be making our 11:50pm departure time either. Oh well, another nail in the coffin regarding the theory of Allison’s that Vancouver is evil. Vancouver however is not evil. I look forward to returning in two weeks to do this once again. ...

  So, here in Vancouver there is a strange thing that I just had to experience, Boston Pizza. They are everywhere. I went to Boston Pizza last night for dinner just to go there and check it out. Expecting a Boston themed restaurant I was surprised not to find any Boston decorations or anything. It’s just them name of the place. It made me laugh to see, Boston Pizza rather than New York or Chicago Pizza, because frankly pizza is not what I associate with Boston, no matter how many times I’ve been to the North End. The only references I saw to Boston were on the menu, I had the Boston Royal Pizza, (Pepperoni, Ham, Peppers, Mushrooms, Olives, Onions and Shrimp.) Weird. They also have a Boston Extreme Heat sauce for the wings, which were not at all as good as the wings at Montana’s (Which by the way was themed like a lodge in Montana.) Despite the false advertising of this restaurant having anything to do with Boston the pizza was actually decent.

  I’m in Fogville. Every morning it is dark, every night it is dark, every afternoon, well you know the rest. I am in Vancouver BC and it has been foggy and cold each day so far, oh and its rained for a change too. So, I’ve not been uploading images this week. I’m on a dial-up too and I’m not able to really upload much of anything. I tried to take another picture from my hotel window again. If you would like a big grey image I would upload it, but however it is not much fun. I bought an umbrella. I rented movies Charlie’s Angels 2 and Bulletproof Monk. I can rent in BC now from Blockbuster. Both movies were okay, lots of crashes and fights, guy movie stuff. (i.e. Movies that make Allison’s eyes roll.) I found a new chicken wing sauce that is my new favorite. Honey Garlic! I had dinner at a restaurant called Montana’s last night and had chicken wings that were fried in cornmeal then coated with Honey Garlic sauce. They were awesome! Hopefully the sun will come out so I can get pictu...

Originally posted by Allison Drew has been mysteriously missing from the Blog for a few days now….. hmmm….. That must mean that he’s back in Evil Vancouver again! Things have been quiet around here since Neil & Andrea’s wedding. Drew and I went to a VERY interesting open house at a home for sale in Grafton this weekend. And not good interesting…. it was no-work-had-been-done-in-this-house-since-1950 Interesting. At least we got a good laugh out of it! I was off to my first meeting of the new year for the Zeta Chapter at Merrimack College Sunday evening. It was good to see the girls again and to see them all excited for Recruitment. Last night I was at PetSmart in the cat room. That was fun. There are lots of great cats there, if you are interested in getting a sweet little kitty. I’ve totally fallen in love with a kitty named Zephyr who is at the shelter. But we have our two boys and that is enough for now. Well I guess I’ve rambled enough… but that’s what is up with the Bennett/Sp...

Have you heard of The Kieran Ridge Band? If not, you probably soon will. Kieran Ridge is a classmate of mine from the Saint Anselm College. He contacted me today asking for help because his band. The Kieran Ridge Band is in a contest where they could win the chance to play a large concert. His band is way out in the lead, but let’s keep him there okay! I for one have already downloaded the song, and will probably do so many more times, as it kicks ass. Kieran has a great voice and the song is awesome. Please help The Kieran Ridge Band by going to this website http://www.musicforamerica.org/music/aid/516 and downloading his song “Lonesome Traveler”. You can also download another song of his called “Laborer’s Blues”. Also go to Kieran’s website to find out more about The Kieran Ridge Band.

Andrea and Neil walk down the aisle Yesterday was the wedding of our good friends Neil and Andrea. What a fun time! The wedding was at Saint Mary’s in North Attleboro. I did the prayer of the faithful. Then after the wedding ceremony the reception was at the Holiday Inn in Mansfield. We were able to see the Pat’s win the AFC Championship before the first course of the meal. Gonna be another exciting SuperBowl for New England Fans. Allison and I sat with Derik and Sarah, Jimmy and Kathy and Michelle. Dinner and dancing were great fun. Dancing with Derek and Steve is always entertaining. Allison and Michelle both got to take home centerpieces. Wasn’t that a great looking cake, it tasted really good too, with hard shelled chocolate covered praline ice cream. Allison and I wish Neil and Andrea a long and happy life together. Thank you for letting us share the day with you. The Wedding Cake Some Fancy Boots Cutting the Cake The Bride feeds the Groom The Groom feeds the Bride. The Happy Coup...

I’m in Langley, BC and this morning when I arrived at Langley hospital I saw that it was transformed into Smallville Medical Center. I learned that Smallville is filmed in Cloverdale, BC. That is a little ways away from Langley. It was a rare treat for me to see the film company setting up for a scene that will be part of and episode called “Resurrection” that will be airing here in BC on March 2, 2004. During lunch I took a walk around the front of the building to see how the production was going. And while I was standing there and checking out the set up I took a few pictures. And as I waited I saw the arrival of John Schneider (Jonathan Kent) and Tom Welling (Clark Kent). I even took a picture but I was very far away from them to get a decent photo. But that is them in the red box. The scene that they are filming is a simulated bomb threat and evacuation from the Smallville Medical Center. The room that I am conducting training in is right next to the room where all the extras are h...

  I’m in Langley, BC and this morning when I arrived at Langley hospital I saw that it was transformed into Smallville Medical Center. I learned that Smallville is filmed in Cloverdale, BC. That is a little ways away from Langley. It was a rare treat for me to see the film company setting up for a scene that will be part of and episode called “Resurrection” that will be airing here in BC on March 2, 2004. During lunch I took a walk around the front of the building to see how the production was going. And while I was standing there and checking out the set up I took a few pictures. And as I waited I saw the arrival of John Schneider (Jonathan Kent) and Tom Welling (Clark Kent). I even took a picture but I was very far away from them to get a decent photo. But that is them in the red box. The scene that they are filming is a simulated bomb threat and evacuation from the Smallville Medical Center. The room that I am conducting training in is right next to the room where all the extras...

 I have arrived in Vancouver. My suitcase has seen better days and was beat up pretty badly on this flight. I must also mention that this is actually Shelby's suitcase that I've been borrowing. So looks like I owe someone a new suitcase. There's nothing like getting your suitcase after going through customs in Montreal and finding the entire top wet, pieces hanging off and broken zippers. Unfortunately, or fortunately, when I got to Vancouver the suitcase was dry and the extent of the damage wasn't as severe as I first observed. However when I opened the suitcase in the hotel room I noticed that there was a problem with the zipper and around the zipper were a couple of tears. Not thrilled about that. I experienced something on this flight that I have never experienced before on a domestic US flight. Body Odor! I'm not talking, hey its a little stinky in here, I'm talking full on, honkin', dirty underwear in the sun all day, STINK. I finally made my flight. I...

Today, well now yesterday, was Allison's birthday. We had a great time at La Caretta. A full write up and photos to follow as soon as I can get them posted. Happy Birthday Allison!!!

  Okay, now that I’ve stopped laughing at the sight of this photo I can post it. Steve Donohue sent me this image from back in the day. This was taken between junior and senior year when I lived at Arnold’s for the summer. I rented a room from some guys in my class while they were home for the summer. I was working at the Saint A’s Coffee shop in the manager’s office preparing the new menus and other items. Well, the first night I was staying there all the guys and I went to this Chinese restaurant called the Yee Dynasty to see The Curtis Knight Band. They were a fun band and I remember we kept yelling “Cu-Kni Never Die!” throughout the night. There must have been a camera around that night because Stevie-D just sent me this photo. Notice the hair length, that was short for me in college. It’s pretty scary seeing these old photos. This was also the first night I was staying at the house and I didn’t know everyone that well and all my stuff was in the basement and I was staying upst...

  So this is the hospital that I’ve been working at for the past week. It is a pretty hospital. The rooms for patients are huge suites. There are 40 suites so far, the hospital will be adding more as time goes by too. They are going to be expanding over time. They are still putting the finishing touches on everything and that is a little weird but things seem to be going okay so far. I spent much of the day building reports and other dictionary things. For lunch I had a really good pulled pork sandwich at a BBQ joint., so it’s all good. This is a shot from the car while I was driving from the hospital to the hotel. Isn’t the sky awesome. If it wasn’t for the dust and smog in the air the sunsets and sky would be so incredible. The nights are pretty clear and the moon has been pretty full this week. So that has also been a great sight. Tonight I went to dinner with another specialist Laura to Jaxon’s Restaurant. They are a Micro brew. I got a sampler of their beers. 8 little 1 ounce ...

This morning I was cruising the Sci-Fi.com website rumors section and it looks like Russell Crowe may be tapped to play Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code movie. Read the story here. You can also read the story at Cinema Eye. There is also an entry in the Internet Movie Database.

This morning I finished The Da Vinci Code. It was definitely worth the read. I suggest that you go out, get it and read it. That is about all that happened today. Not much else to report. I am looking forward to heading home. Although, talking to Allison, I think I’d much rather have the weather here than at home. If it wasn’t for the lack of trees and grass it would be a good place to stay. I did go to a neat little place during lunch called the El Paso Connection. They had some fantastic furniture that Marcia would love. Sorry Marcia, I didn’t rent a U-Haul while I was here. They had a ton of southwestern stuff. There were many rooms throughout the huge building and each one was covered floor to ceiling with knick knacks, trinkets and all sorts of things. It’d be a neat place to furnish a country home or rustic cabin as well. Sorry, no picture of the place today.

  I’m in El Paso with a couple of other specialists for the PSH LIVE (post LIVE, weirdest LIVE trip, ever). Tonight we went to Cattleman’s Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch for dinner. We had a great dinner there. I had a Filet/Bacon Wrapped Shrimp Kabob. Each of us tried this drink made from lemon juice, beer and was served in a salted glass. I forget the name of it, but it was interesting, not something I’d recommend, but interesting. I had visited Cattleman’s on a previous trip to El Paso, when it was summer. I was able to get some good sunset photos that trip, but tonight it was dark by the time we arrived, so I couldn’t get any good photos. Liz took this photo. Thanks Liz! And pretty skillfully too I might add (notice no flash glare.) Cattleman’s Steakhouse has been host to movie sets for films such as Courage Under Fire and Resurrection (never heard of it). I also had my first sighting of Alternator Smokescreen today at Target. I can’t wait to get this Transformer. It is so w...

One of the things I enjoy while I travel around the country is that I am able to hear the Bob and Tom Show. If you get it in your area, listen. They have some funny guests like Todd Snider and Frank Caliendo. You can even listen via the internet. Check out Bob and Tom’s website. Be warned the comedy is not for everyone.

So, today I traveled to El Paso. What a long day. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy traveling, for the most part. However, today was a rather sucky travel day. Last night I got a call from American Airlines to tell me my flight was canceled and they had re-booked me. No big deal, in fact it was nice. They asked me what I preferred for seating window or aisle. I prefer aisle. So naturally I ended up in the middle seat for the two legs of the flight Oh the dreaded middle seat. I can always tell when the person in front of me will recline their seat. The telltale sign is someone who sits in the seat too hard initially and then rocks it back a bit or even checks the distance of the recline. I can tell a recliner because that is the person who sits in front of me. As you can tell today wasn’t the best day of traveling however it could have been worse. I could have been the lady who was sitting next to me on the flight from Boston to Dallas who was headed to Hawaii. She wasn’t going to make her con...

Last night Allison and I went to Stone Soup to see Ellis Paul. Rachel Davis opened for Ellis and she was quirky and fun. She had a good voice but I couldn’t always make out the words. We got her CD so we could listen to her more. While waiting in line we met Audra and Patti. Audra owns Mad Hatters Bakery in Newport. It is not on main street but you can get muffins there for half of what the main street shops get. So, if you find yourself over by the police station and homeless shelter in Newport look for Mad Hatters and grab your self a muffin and say hello to Audra. We’ll certainly be stopping by there when we get a chance to go to Newport. Another chance meeting while at the concert was Steve Donohue from Saint A’s. Steve and I graduated together and worked at Saint A’s at the same time. He was in Admissions and I was in Public Relations and Residence Life. It was nice to see Steve and Kristen Skoglund, who is also a Saint A’s grad from the class of 1996. It is nice to find out that ...

  This year Allison and I attended a very nice New Year’s Eve get together with our friends. The party was hosted by Derek and Michelle. Their friend Mike came and so did Derik and Sarah and Neil and Andrea. Michelle made a great Taco ring from the Pampered Chef line. It was very tasty. Derek burned our tongues to cinders with a couple drops of some cheese dip laced with some crazy hot, hot sauce (Dave’s Insanity Sauce). My taste buds were fried for a little while. I made two racks of pork ribs that had been in the crock pot slow cooking all day long. When the pieces were removed from the crock pot the bones fell right off the meat. The photo here is of the other party attendee Coco, as in Coco Puff. Derek and Michelle's dog. Coco enjoyed the Trivial Pursuit game too. As Neil can attest to, because by the time he arrived the crock pot contained many bones and a mere hint of the meat that had been on them. As the night continued we pulled out the 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial ...