Back to normal

It wasn't really a vacation, but I am back from Avon, Ohio.

Rachel had another shoot with the ShurTech/Duck Tape people and I did what I do- make the arrangements with them, drive, and play Strat O Matic while things are going on.
I did manage to do the podcasts while there and I hope you enjoyed those.
The podcast was a little easier to do because I could tuck away and talk for a bit, whereas the blog was hurt by the interruptions that come with being in a workplace environment.

I had a great time in Avon with my favorite ladies and ate at a lot of great places- You can see what I thought of them- here
The people at ShurTech treated us all well and whether Rachel ever does future videos for them or not, I have nothing negative to say at all about how they treated her or us...

I was in Avon during our 9th anniversary here at TRS and with all the hubbub going on,I just remembered that I need to do our annual post talking about the anniversary along with our thanks to the various people that support the TRS empire.
I'll try to do that sometime during the next week.

For those of you interested in my schedule for the first two weeks of the season.
I'll be in Altoona on Tuesday for meet the team,
Hagerstown on Wednesday for meet the team,
Skipping the Suns home opener on Thursday as the pass isn't accepted on opening day and I just don't feel like arguing over it.

I'll then be at Hagerstown Friday through the following Wednesday, but then skipping the Frederick home opening series vs Lynchburg (Indians! Grrr) due to a crazy 48-hour run at work because of some work training, and then I might be able to hit Harrisburg on that Saturday for Vlad Guerrero night!
That is about the only good thing about the trainings-I was able to trade off to get the Guerrero night off!

Keep your eye out for a new feature every three months, which will be our official boxing rankings!
We have three voters right now and look to add maybe two more.
I think the boxing fans will enjoy that feature!

Think that will do it-Hope to be back tonight with our annual anniversary post! 

The hero of Canton?

You would only know the title of the post,if you were a fan of the
TV show Firefly ,but for one special Father's Day-Cherie and Rachel indeed did make me feel like the "Hero of Canton".

Since we were going home and since it was Father's Day,the ladies that care and take care of your humble author decided to take me to the renovated Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton,Ohio.
The Hall has undergone several renovations through the years that Cherie and I have been together,not to mention the first visit that I made as a child in 1976.
I've always thought the best way to handle the HOF is to go through every handful of years or so,usually when they do an upgrade of some type,although there have been many times that we stop by as we were driving through the area for a gift shop run.
The HOF never charged for that,which was smart to install that policy as I'm sure that they made lots of money off that decision!

First off,for those of you that have been here before,the upgrades are dazzling!
Those of you that know me know of my love of older things,but sometimes old can mean rundown and even though the HOF was not that,these make it simply a much more fun visit!
The entrance is different than the traditional entrance at the Domed Oval seen at the upper left of the picture and I sort of miss that,but it really is much more visual and exciting to enter now than before.
Also,the design and items inside the oval are totally revamped and as much I'll miss the old oval and its layout,you can make a real case for a renovation as that part was basically untouched since my visit as a child in 1976!

I'm not going to get into too much detail as you need to go yourself,but I will add a few things.
The store is now twice as big as previously and there is loads of stuff from every team,albeit some overpriced!

A few areas of the HOF weren't changed much and that's nice.
My favorite area is untouched with the leagues that challenged the NFL,including my beloved USFL,but nothing that was truly outdated is still there.
A few new exhibits are very cool including a life size bench of player sculptures of NFL greats.
Care to bet who we picked for a snapshot?

There is also a 50 yard field beside the parking lot now to throw the ball around and its painted nicely to resemble a real field.

However,the most fun thing that the HOF has added is now a walk through Fawcett Stadium next door.
Fawcett is not only the home of the Hall of Fame game every season,it also hosts the most rabid high school rivalry in the country between Canton McKinley's Bulldogs and the Tigers of Massillon.

The HOF has several markers on the turf that mark exactly where famous NFL plays occurred and a fellow talks about the plays.
That stuff I knew about,but it was so fun looking at things from a different perspective on the field.
Often we look at things as they look on TV,so this was a great touch along with just being on such a famous field,I was thrilled.
After that,the group got some free time,just to toss the ball around and another thrill was getting to throw the football to the ladies.
I'll never forget that and I wish that they offered this before so that I could have shared that with Ryan.
That would have been another memorable experience.

The ladies weren't finished with me though as they finished my Father's Day gifts with a metal sign for the house with Brownie the Elf embossed on it.
Earlier in the trip at the Duck Tape Festival,I had almost purchased the sign,but it was on the other end of the facility from where we parked and I reluctantly passed.
Fortunately,the same sign was available and for the same price as well and the ladies insisted on buying it for me!
Off to lunch and that will be covered later this week.

It was a great day and I thank the ladies for everything,.
It's good to be a husband & father and good to be loved along with being appreciated.
Both of my ladies do just that.

I would recommend the new HOF very highly and if you are in the area stop by.
Canton isn't quite the same experience as Cooperstown,but I'm not sure it's supposed to be.
Enjoy it for what it brings to the table...

I hope to wrap up the trip with the drive home (and pictures) with another post later this week.

AND if you are still wondering about the title-here is your explanation!

Duck Tape Madness

After a week away, I plan on trying to catch up over the next few days as I look at my weekend with my ladies that includes a stop in Akron for a first-time visit to Canal Park for a game and a stop at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Father's Day, but we start with the reason for the trip-Rachel's graduation wish for a trip to the Duck Tape Festival...

Now, I normally jump on any chance to hit O H I O even if it's just for a trip for Jones potato chips or a shot at Grandpa's Cheese Barn, but I must admit the Duck Tape Festival truly didn't seem like my idea of a great time from the start.
It didn't turn out that bad though and Rachel wound up getting a nice "haul" for her supply table, so it was worth it to her.

Avon, Ohio is a small city (census estimate is about 20,000) near Cleveland that houses the Duck Tape brand factory and uses the name and product for the reason for the city to have a fair type setting.
Many small towns use a theme for a weekend setting for the town to have a parade and a fair and since the factory is the town's largest employer, what better theme could there be?
I know the true name is DucT Tape, but Duck Tape found a niche' with the mispronunciation of the name and became the name brand of the product.
Think of regular tape is usually called Scotch tape for another example of this...

We rode by the factory on the second day and Rachel along with Cherie stopped and snapped some pictures of the sign in front of the factory.
It really to sum it up was a large carnival or small fair if you prefer with a decent size addition on the end devoted to Duck Tape.
There were large works of art using the tape with the theme of the year being space and some of those artworks were interesting-my favorite was a large Saturn V rocket.

The parking was not done well considering the large ground that they had and on Saturday, we had to park far away (I can use the walk), but was blocked in such a way that I had one small avenue to exit and that was with several shifts and starts.
Fortunately, only a skilled driver as I was able to maneuver my way through in the rented SUV.
Full sarcasm and a nod to First Blood there, for those of you that have seen the film many times, I'm sure you know what I'm referring to.

However, what Rachel enjoyed best was getting tape that wasn't available elsewhere such as scratch and sniff tape (what won't they make?) that has not been released for sale in stores and getting free rolls of "Old School" silver (Excuse me, sir have you gotten your free roll? Of course, not) for her.
The downside? Well, there were two.
The first was the interminable wait for credit card machines to get rolling (hey, when you are spending the money-get those points!), but the lady running the store was very nice and the other was someone named "J Wallets".
I don't watch Duck Tape videos other than Rachel's, but apparently, J is another video person and he obviously has A) Rich parents, B)Parents that spoil him or C) Both as he loaded up a massive basket filled with this stuff while running around pouting that he didn't get enough tape.
There were a few things that could have went smoother on this trip, but now in hindsight (although maybe not at the time), have to spend 20 minutes in line behind a whining J Wallets might have been the worst part of the trip.

All things considered, the festival was tolerable for the old man and I even had a good cheesesteak out of it and Cherie had a nice stromboli according to her for another plus.
I'd do it again IF there were other things to do as well to go with another trip to Avon!

Duck Tape?

Yes.
Duck Tape.
That obscure little tape that was so versatile that you could use it to patch up almost anything,even if it didn't look all that great doing it, has moved from my tool area (I have one,even though I'm not very good at fixing anything) to possibly ranking right with the New Jersey Devils as Rachel's passion in life.

I never gave Duck Tape (the name brand of this item) much thought as the choices were usually black or gray,only was used when needed and was just another tool in the box to be brought out when needed,which is my house was occasionally at best.
But in the last two or three years,this tape has become part of the household vernacular,added to my regular stops in stores and a major portion of making my daughter happy.

Rachel has a talent.
A talent that I just cannot fathom as I have the artistic/craftpersonship abilities of the leopard gecko and things that she does with this little roll of tape that I would use in vain attempts to keep something useful or even taping a package to be mailed stuns me,because she certainly did not get this ability from me.

This humble tape now comes in more designs than you can think of ranging from colors (Neon Pink?) to sports teams,cartoons,etc.
If you can think it,they might have it available in Duck Tape.
The happiest that I have seen my daughter since this day was when we were in a Wal-Mart and watched her discover rolls of a discontinued and rare pastel tape.
Yes,we got them all for the record.

Rachel has made wallets of several different styles,handbag,purses,pillows,flowers and other items that I'm sure are escaping me right now and they hold up very well.
Surprisingly well as usually homemade items simply aren't very durable,but between the hardiness of the product and Rachel's skill in making them,they hold up very well.
I even own one,although I told Rachel that I am holding it in reserve until my wallet dissolves (mine is a Cleveland Browns).

It's funny that something as recent as a few years that I would not have given a second thought to has become a source of income for Rachel.
That's right-source of income as not does Rachel sell her creations at Simply Duck Designs,but she now gets paid by a marketing company for her videos on YouTube.
Check the Simply Duck Designs YT below out and please watch the ad,that's the money maker!
Rachel now has nearly 2,000 subscribers waiting for her words,creations and whatever else she wants to discuss on a given day,which is hard for me to fathom,but what do I know,I have a fraction of that number that read this thing and I've doing it far longer!
I love the tutorial below with the ruler that is so old that it pictures the Los Angeles Rams and the St.Louis FOOTBALL Cardinals!
Rachel even is making an appearance at the Duck Tape Festival in Avon,Ohio for this stuff.
Apparently,this is the Super Bowl of Duck Tape and Rachel selected this as her graduation trip.
Cherie and I are fortunate,other kids are hitting the beach to get torn up and who knows what else and my daughter wants to do the Duck Tape Festival with Mom and Dad.
We've been blessed.

As much as this seems to be a snoozer of a time for me,I did manage to get an Akron Rubber Ducks game out of it and a stop in Ashland for the usual "supplies"-Pizza,Jones Potato Chips and a trip to Grandpa's Cheese Barn,so it'll be some fun,but it is time with the family that creates memories and who knows who you'll meet at a festival.

A tape,a skilled child,the internet age and a little marketing (I need to learn her secrets) and my daughter has created quite a little niche for herself.
I'm very proud.