Summer 2024 Travel

Above, at Billy the Kid's grave in Fort Sumner in June.

Now that summer 2024 is over and done with, I can now look forward to the next few weeks of autumn and then winter. We tend to get early snows in autumn.

At least I made some good travel use out of the summer months.

In June, I headed to Fort Sumner to see the Billy the Kid Museum and gravesite. This was a camping trip in the motorhome. It was educational as well as fun.

Above, Jessica Tseang and I at G-FEST in July near Chicago.

In July, I headed to the Chicago area (by plane) for G-FEST, the annual Godzilla/kaiju convention by Daikaiju Enterprises. It was enjoyable and I got to see some friends for the first time since 2019.

In August, the cruise to the Bahamas was made with Norwegian Cruise Lines. I went with a friend I've known since junior high. We made several stops including Freeport, Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay. We jet skied at Great Stirrup Cay. I even managed to win $60 in roulette in the cruise ship's casino.  

Above, Mitch Geriminsky and I in Nassau, Bahamas in August.

A camping trip to Ridgway, Colorado for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation Grit Series marathons and Monument Valley, Utah closed out the summer. The Autumn Equinox arrived during the trip. I did some horseback riding in Monument Valley. That was the first horseback ride I took since 1974. That was fun. 

Above, horseback riding in Monument Valley in September.

Autumn travel, so far, will be for a clampout in Arizona with the Lost Dutchman Chapter of E Clampus Vitus. Beyond that, I have no plans for autumn travel. But one never knows what may come up on the spur-of-the-moment.

Get Neutered For Kamala!

 Perhaps it's not a bad idea for all Kamala Harris supporters to get neutered 

Wienermobile Rolls Over On Chicago Freeway

 

An Oscar Meyer Wienermobile rolled over after the driver over-compensated and lost control on a Chicago freeway last Monday.

Too bad this didn't happen during G-FEST two weeks prior. It would have been something interesting to see.

G-FEST XXIX Write-Up

Above, inside the G-FEST Dealers Room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An email came my way this morning with some news articles pertaining to Godzilla. One of them was about G-FEST that took place last week.

This came from Journal & Topics.

The article starts out with:

Since G-FEST XVIII last year, it’s been the biggest year for Godzilla since his 50th anniversary in 2004.

“Godzilla Minus One” from the original Japanese film studio was released in late 2023 and won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards. Hollywood’s “Godzilla X Kong The New Empire” came out this year as one of the highest-grossing films, making Legendary Pictures’ “Monsterverse” a billion-dollar film series.

On top of all that, this year marks the 70th anniversary since the first Godzilla movie was released in 1954.

G-FEST XXIX was held this past weekend from July 12-14 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare to mark these milestones, as well as continue what is now a tradition in Rosemont and the foremost  out.meeting of Godzilla, Gamera, King Kong, Ultraman, and other monsters’ fans in North America. G-FEST continues to be independently held by Daikaiju Enterprises Ltd. — the Lees family from Manitoba.

Previous G-FEST attendance was reported to be more than 3,500. This year, around 5,000 made it out.

It was my guess that 7,000 attended. But since the reporter spoke with J. D. Lees, I would say he would be the one with more accurate data.

To read the full article, go here. 

Flight Delays, Etc.

Above, Saturday at G-FEST.

It is strange that during the past few years whenever I have flown to a destination for a vacation trip, those flights have been without any problems. But when returning home, my flights have either been canceled or delayed. Usually, they have been weather-related. I had to stay overnight twice due to flight cancelations. It happened at G-FEST in 2019 and Salt Lake City in 2020.

The trip going to G-FEST in Chicago has been the same. The flight there was on-time and without any problems. But coming back, my flight was delayed for three hours. I don't actually know the reason for this, but it would be safe guess it was also weather-related. I had a 10:00 flight on Sunday. 

We did have a thunderstorm come through Chicago Saturday night and it rained Sunday morning.

It looks like others who attended G-FEST had travel problems as I did. Yesterday, one was diverted to another Florida airport due to weather. Another had a flight delay going to North Carolina.  

Next month, I am going on a cruise to the Bahamas. Hopefully, the flight from Albuquerque to Miami (and back) will go without incident. I'm not counting on it.

G-FEST Day 2

Above, Jessica Tseang, Toshio Miike and interpreter Mariko Horikawa. Photo by Armand Vaquer. 

Right now, I am taking a breather from walking around G-FEST and attending this morning's sessions on the 60th anniversary Mothra vs. Godzilla (also known as Godzilla vs, The Thing), an interview with production designer Toshio Miike and an interview with Rie Ota, who played Baragon in Godzilla, Mothra & King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack. 

While attending the Toshio Miike interview session, J. D. Lees and I caught up on the latest happenings in the world of kaiju and other stuff.

Naturally, I took some photos of the various proceedings, most of which are for G-FAN.

Above, the Mothra vs. Godzilla session attendees. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Above, Jessica Tseang and Rie Ota. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Friday Night At Red Bar

Above, last night at the Red Bar.

Since last night was Friday night, I decided to head down to the Hyatt Regency's bar called the Red Bar for a little nightcap.

I ordered a Margarita and chatted for a while with a lady bartender.

Then, I succumbed to temptation and ordered another Margarita and an order of quesadillas. I have to say that the drink and snack were quite good. The buzz from the drinks would guarantee that I would not have to wait very long to fall asleep after I got back to my room.

Above, the quesadillas and the second Margarita. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As I was heading out, the hostess was talking to some people waiting to get into the bar. I said to them, "I wouldn't argue with her. She's hot!" (Well, she was.) She gave me a nice big grin.

Made It Into The G-FEST Dealers Room, Etc.

Above, yours truly with Roger Wyatt.

The line into the G-FEST Dealers Room finally died down, so I was able to make it in and browse around.

It is hard to believe that I was at the "ripe old age" of 45 when I attended my first G-FEST in 1999 in Burbank, California.

Although I am in relatively good health at age 70, the old stamina is not there anymore. I have to sit and rest periodically (especially my feet). 

The new convention hotel, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare, is much bigger than the Crowne Plaza, but it appears that the convention is getting too big for even it. I am only guessing, but it looks like 7,000 (or more) attended today. What's next? A football stadium? 

I would also guess that the attendance was helped by two Godzilla movies, Godzilla Minus One and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, in generating more interest and more fans. 

One thing I also noticed, in looking over the toys the dealers had on display, there are a lot of of them on the tables I already have. 

The photos herein are what I shot today. It is a good thing that my phone takes good photos as I found that Canon Powershot S3 camera is not working. I just get a black screen. It is known as the "Black Screen of Death". Maybe I can find a repairer. I decided to use it instead of my Canon Rebel as I have some downloading issues with my computer. 

Above, a fan-made Mecha-Godzilla.

Above, Boris Karloff as the Monster in the Dealers Room.

Above, yours truly and a friend.

Above, lots of toys at the Radioactive Toys tables.

Above, Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolf Man in the Dealers Room.

Above, Dojo Studios Godzilla suit. 

Now At G-FEST 2024

Above, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

What seemed like a longer flight than three hours, I made it to Rosemont (outside of Chicago) for this year's G-FEST.

Above, a view of the lobby from the 8th floor. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The convention moved to the Hyatt Regency O'Hare out of necessity. It simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza Hotel.

The Hyatt, as one might expect, is a lot more luxurious with prices to match. Since G-FEST is only once a year, I'm not complaining. I saw few people I recognized. 

Above, the dealers setting up their tables in the Dealers Room. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I am up early as I went to bed early, plus my inner clock is out of whack. 

Above, having an after dinner stogie.

G-FEST officially starts today. The Dealers Room will open at 10:00 this morning.  

G-FEST Weekend Weather

Above, Memory Lane: yours truly with Haruo Nakajima at G-FEST in 2008.

It looks like it will be warm in the O'Hare International Airport of Chicago vicinity during G-FEST.

The temperatures will be in the 80s with chances of thundershowers. I remember one year we had a big thunderstorm at G-FEST. It was so intense that it seemed as if King Ghidorah was just outside of the hotel. Maybe we'll have a nice light show outside during the usual "Godzilla Blood" parties.

According to the National Weather Service, the weather at O'Hare (the convention hotel, the Hyatt Regency, is nearby):

Today

Isolated showers before noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight

Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. North northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday

Sunny, with a high near 85. East northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday Night

Mostly clear, with a low around 67. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday

A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light south wind becoming south southwest 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 15 mph.

Saturday Night

A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.

Sunday

A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Sunny, with a high near 93.

Sunday Night

A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. 

Almost Ready To Go

Above, after getting the "toys" out of their respective garages. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Packing my luggage is about 95% done.

I got The Beast out of the GOCO Beast Barn. It is not to drive to Chicago for G-FEST in, but to get to the Albuquerque Sunport for the flight to O'Hare Airport.

I took it down to the Flying J to gas it up ($3.250/gallon here, $3.599 in Gallup the last time I checked). I had to get the Jeep out to return to the Flying J to get my mail as the RV key ring doesn't include the key to the mailbox, whereas the Jeep key ring does.

Looking forward to heading out to G-FEST.

G-FEST 2024 Kicks Off This Weekend

Above, one of the vendors in the Dealers Room at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

G-FEST 2024 will be kicking off this weekend at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The is the big Godzilla (and kaiju) convention.

This will be the first for me at the new hotel. G-FEST simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza Hotel which necessitated the move to the Hyatt Regency. The last G-FEST I attended was in 2019. Then COVID and other stuff intervened.

Above, yours truly with Jessica Tseang at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Steve Ryfle.

I was lucky to get direct flights to and from the Albuquerque Sunport. The only drawback was that my return flight is in the morning.

As with the Crowne Plaza, shuttle bus service is available at O'Hare to the Hyatt Regency (and back).

Above, G-FEST founder J. D. Lees and the late Akira Takarada at the 2019 G-FEST. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It will be nice to see the ol' gang again even though we've kept on contact through Facebook. 

Tickets are still available online (or at the door) by going here.

G-FEST XXIX Flights Booked

Above, yours truly with J. D. Lees at G-FEST XXVI in 2019.

Although I have already booked my room for G-FEST XXIX months ago, my trip to the convention is now official as I have booked my flights.

It is a good thing that I did as the total fare is under $400, which is surprising during these times of high inflation. 

Additionally, the flights are non-stop from Albuquerque to Chicago. It seems that non-stop flights are a bit more rare than in the past. At least I won't be sent to some nightmarish airports like Denver or Dallas-Fort Worth.  

The last G-FEST I attended was G-FEST XXVI in 2019. It will be nice to see everybody again this year.

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.

The last of the three-week selections from 1971 is from the Canadian band Lighthouse and their hit, "One Fine Morning". Like Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, Lighthouse also had a horn section and that plays a big part in "One Fine Morning".  The song was released in July 1971.

From Wikipedia:

Lighthouse is a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 in Toronto, Ontario, whose repertoire included elements of rock music, jazz, classical music, and swing and featured horns, string instruments, and vibraphone. They won Juno Awards for Best Canadian Group of the Year in 1972, 1973, and 1974. 

Classic Rock Music Monday

The stuff that now passes as "music", particularly rock 'n roll, leaves me cold. So, to start off the week, here's a video of a classic rock artist.

To start off this week, we have Chicago, formerly known as Chicago Transit Authority, with their 1970 hit, "25 or 6 to 4". This is a live version from 1970 with a great guitar solo by co-founder Terry Kath. Kath was such a great guitarist that he even had Jimi Hendrix praising him. 

I saw Chicago twice in concert (both times at The Forum in Inglewood, California). The first was in 1971 and the second in 1972.

From Wikipedia:

Chicago is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1967. The group began calling themselves the Chicago Transit Authority (after the city's mass transit agency) in 1968, then shortened the name in 1969. Self-described as a "rock and roll band with horns," their songs often also combine elements of classical music, jazz, R&B, and pop music.

Growing out of several bands from the Chicago area in the late 1960s, the line-up consisted of Peter Cetera on bass, Terry Kath on guitar, Robert Lamm on keyboards, Lee Loughnane on trumpet, James Pankow on trombone, Walter Parazaider on woodwinds, and Danny Seraphine on drums. Cetera, Kath, and Lamm shared lead vocal duties. Laudir de Oliveira joined the band as a percussionist and second drummer in 1974. Kath died in 1978, and was replaced by several guitarists in succession. Bill Champlin joined in 1981, providing vocals, keyboards, and rhythm guitar. Cetera left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Jason Scheff. Seraphine left in 1990 and was replaced by Tris Imboden. Although the band's lineup has been more fluid since 2009, Lamm, Loughnane, and Pankow have remained constant members. Parazaider "officially retired" in 2017, but is still a band member. In 2021 he revealed he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

What does 25 or 6 to 4 mean? The short answer is that it was about the time.

The long answer (supplied by Ashley Underwood at Quora):

The long answer comes from Robert Lamm, who is a keyboard player, singer and songwriter for Chicago. Lamm explained on The Chris Isaak Hour: "I was living with a bunch of hippies up above Sunset Strip. One of the advantages of this particular house was that it was in the Hollywood Hills and I could look out over the city late at night. I wanted to try to describe the process of writing the song that I was writing. So, 'waiting for the break of day, searching for something to say, flashing lights against the sky' - there was a neon sign across the city. That song came from the fact that it was 25 or 6 to 4 a.m. in the morning when I looked at my watch - I was looking for a line to finish the chorus.

71 Years of "Adventures of Superman"

Yesterday marked 71 years since the Adventures of Superman starring George Reeves hit the airwaves for the first time. It aired on Chicago's WENR.

Filmed in 1951, the syndicated series languished until a sponsor could be found. Eventually, Kellogg's Cereals of Battle Creek, Michigan stepped up and became its prime sponsor.

The into included Kellogg's sponsorship:

Dennis Hays posted the following on Facebook:

On this date September 19, 1952 the Adventures of Superman makes its television debut on Chicago's WENR. 

The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California on RKO-Pathé stages and the RKO Forty Acres back lot. It was sponsored by cereal manufacturer Kellogg's. The show was produced for first-run television syndication. 

As a syndicated show sold separately in every market, Adventures of Superman did not have an official national premiere date. Here are some of the dates and markets for the launch of the series. 

September 19, 1952 at WENR in Chicago

February 9, 1953 at KECA in Los Angeles (later known as KABC).

April 1, 1953 on WJZ in New York (later known as WABC).

And various other dates in smaller markets. 

On April 8, 1953, Variety reviewed the April 1 New York premiere, writing, "It's to National Comics credit that its television version is restrained on the scripting side and well done technically ... Filming is top-notch, with no expense spared to get those special effects. George Reeves, who acts Superman, doesn't have too much of a role in the initial pix, since most of it deals with boyhood of the hero, but he registered nicely as the meek reporter and as the hero. Phyllis Coates was okay as Lois Lane, the girl reporter, while John Hamilton fits the fictitious concept of the editor. Other roles were well handled."

It is kind of hard to believe that the show is over 70 years old. Then again, I will be hitting 70 next year and I drive a Willys Jeep that's 71 years old. That's also hard to believe sometimes.

Meanwhile, In Chicago...

 

Bye-Bye, Beetlejuice!

The worst ever mayor of Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, has lost re-election. It is plainly obvious that the people of Chicago are fed up with her.

From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Lori Lightfoot, the first Black woman and the first openly gay person ever to serve as mayor of Chicago, on Tuesday became a one-term mayor.

With nearly 99% of the precincts reporting, the mayor who guided Chicago through the pandemic finished third in Tuesday’s election with 17.06% of the vote behind former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas, who won 33.77 %, and Cook County Commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union organizer Brandon Johnson, who wound up with 20.29%.

Vallas, 69, and Johnson, 46, will face off five weeks from now in the April 4 runoff to decide who will become the 57th mayor of Chicago.

To read more, go here. 

70th Anniversary "Adventures of Superman" Article

This week marks 70 years since the Adventures of Superman debuted on sydicated televion. It first was made available on September 19, 1952. The first station to run the series was WENR in Chicago.

Other stations picked it up soon after, including ones in New York and Los Angeles.

The following article appeared in the Sportsman-Review of Spokane, Washington on September 18.

Here's the author's Twitter link to the article: 

G-FEST XXVII A Success

Above, J. D. Lees and yours truly at G-FEST XXV1 in 2019. Photo by Reagan Lees.

From the myriad of postings on Facebook and elsewhere, it appears that G-FEST XXVII was a huge success.

One poster said that the two-year layoff due to COVID-19 "made the show stronger."

I couldn't make it this year as my former roommate, Jessica, will be coming over next week and we will be doing some traveling during her visit to Durango, Colorado and Navajo Lake State Park. The funds are rather finite these days. 

However, I am planning on attending next year's convention. I last attended in 2019. Hopefully, I won't have airline issues like the last time.

From what I have been reading, the attendees liked the new hotel, the Hyatt Regency O'Hare in Rosemont, Illinois (outside of Chicago). G-FEST simply outgrew the Crowne Plaza, necessitating a move to a much larger venue. When the numbers of attendees were smaller, the Crowne Plaza worked out just fine. But since the numbers grew to over 5,000 or so, that venue would not work out. 

The ballroom used for the Dealer's Room looked enormous. 

I found the architecture of the Hyatt Regency to be interesting, from the photos of it many have posted. Some likened it to the sets of Logan's Run. Yup, I can see that.

Anyway, I am glad that everyone had a great time.