Staying at the Hamptons

No, I am not talking about these Hamptons.

Between visits to Danville to see Josh, Louisville to take Jonathan to Dairy Judging at the State Fair and Nashville with my mom's operation, I've had five separate stays at various Hampton Inns in the past couple of months. Each stay has been really good. I've found that I always get a clean room with a nice bed, cable TV with a lot of channels, and an expanded contenential breakfast. The staff is always very friendly. The people behind the check-in desk are especially nice. In Louisville, I forgot my tootbrush and the lady working the desk (Lisa) gave me a free one with free toothpaste. She was from Ballard County originally (Kevil) so that helps explain her hospitality. In Nashville, Applebees didn't give me spoons for the to-go desserts we ordered (a must for a Triple Chocolate meltdown). Jennifer graciously helped me get spoons from storage even though they were really for breakfast.

Hampton Inn has moved into my top hotels list. My other two top choices are Drury Inns and Homewood Suites.

I plan to post an entry sometime about my likes and dislikes of the various hotel chains I've frequented in my stays.

Awesome Blossom - Chili's Responds...

August 14, 2008


Dear Mr. Yancy,

Thank you for your feedback regarding Chili's.

We are sorry to hear of your displeasure when we removed Awesome Blossom from the menu. It is never an easy decision to delete any item from our menu as we always run the risk of an unsatisfied guest. It is only after extensive testing that our test kitchen and our culinary team makes the decision to remove any item from the menu. We will forward your comments to the culinary team for their review and consideration.

Guest feedback is vital to our success and your comments are important. We appreciate your loyalty as our guest and hope you will continue to frequent Chili's.

Sincerely,

Pharisa Smith-King
Guest Relations

Reference Number: 204687

The Awesome Blossom is gone!!!

My son and I went to Chili's while in Louisville. We wanted to get our usual appetizer of an Awesome Blossom. We scanned the menu and it was GONE! I asked our waitress and she confirmed it was no longer available.

I have searched the online menus at several of the Chili's I've gone to and there is no sign of it. From what I can tell in searching the web, it's been removed. Next thing you know, they'll be getting rid of the molten chocolate cake.

Yes, I realize it has a lot of calories and fat. I had one about once every six months and generally split it. I think I can handle that every once in a while. I exercise regularly and generally watch what I eat. I don't think an occasional splurge hurts.

I'll be OK eventually :-)

Wonder what Michael Scott thinks?

Where has all the time gone?

My younger son Josh is 17 years old today. He's starting his senior year at Ballard Memorial tomorrow.

It seems like yesterday when he was born. I remember distinctly him being born during Wheel of Fortune. Dr Owens made the nurse turn off the TV just before the Big Bonus puzzle came up. I never did find out what it was :-)

We've done a lot together. From T-ball, church youth camp, baseball, all kinds of church activities, multiple trips to Myrtle Beach, Cardinal ballgames, soccer, tennis, cross country, track, Academic Team and I haven't even scratched the surface.

We have really good talks about religion, morality, economics/finance, and politics. We agree on most of this stuff (we are both conservatives), but he always comes up with good points that make me think.

He says he is going to major in computer science (despite my best efforts to stop him). He says is he going to win the big UK scholarship and go away next year. I missed him enough for 5 weeks of Governor's Scholar, I can't imagine longer than that.

I wouldn't trade either of my sons or our time together for anything. They've both grown into fine young Christian men with my assistance (or despite it). I am thankful to God for blessing me with both of them.

Slip sliding away?

The Cardinals lost another one run came to the Phillies. They twice had the bases loaded with one out and did not score (in the 8th and 9th).

They are now SIX behind the Cubs. They can't afford to lose any more ground to them.

Hopefully the off day will help and they'll reel off a winning steak.

Fancy Farm Photos

Here are pictures of the Yancy men in the Fancy Farm 5k. These were taken by Jonathan Grooms, Carlisle County CC coach and admin of the fabulous KYTrackXC.com web site.


Josh

Jonathan

and yours truly...

Cardinals lose...

The Cardinals lost 2-1 to the Phillies last night to fall to 5 games out of first and 1 out of the wild card. There was an extremely curious managerial decision in the 8th. Aaron Miles led off with a single. There was a lhp on the mound so Tony Larussa sent Ceasar Izturis up to bat for Skip Shumaker. He failed to bunt twice then took a called third strike. Joe Mather grounded into a double play and the brief glow of a rally was gone..

The Cardinals ended up playing Adam Kennedy (a 2b) in left field since they had Rick Ankiel unavailable with an abdominal pull and they'd used their only backup outfielder as a pinch hitter the inning before. Fortunately, that didn't hurt them.

Carrying 12 pitchers causes these type of issues especially when you have a player (Ankiel) who isn't on the DL but can't play.

We are under 60 games left, they don't need to give away wins (especially at home) like this.

I Survived It....

I made it in about 27:30 (I don't have my official time yet). My goal was 27:54 (9:00 miles).

It was hot. My wife Donna said the heat index was 99 at race time (7:00pm).

I made the mistake of being in the back thinking I'd be slower. I wanted to show good running ettiquette and not slow people down. However, I got hung up behind others for the first half mile. There was a pack of teenage girls I had to get around by running in someone's yard.

I thought I was doing well until Mr. Durfree (the boy's former cross country coach and now Heath coach) passed me while pushing a stroller with his two girls in it. I also managed to pour water in my nose when I snatched my first cup and drank it.

The hill coming back was tough. I managed to keep running though.

Thanks to all the people along the way shouting encouragement. It was very helpful. There were also several kids who encouraged me along the way which I greatly appreciated.

My younger son Josh was waiting with a bottle of water at the end (Jonathan and he had long finished by the time I got there). I had to walk a little bit but I didn't feel nauseous. I talked with Mr. Durfee for a bit and we headed for home...

I'm glad I did it. It was on my list of things to do in my lifetime. I plan on trying another one but I need to work on my stamina for a few weeks.

My first 5k is tonight...

I am going to run in my first 5k tonight (at the home of the World's Largest Picnic). My sons ran last year. They are both excellent cross country runners. I said when they ran this last year that I'd give it a shot this year. So, I am keeping my promise.

The heat index is supposed to be 98! I also hear from several runners the return segment is almost entirely uphill. I hope I survive to post how I did!

I run regulary each day (except on Saturday when my wife and I go for a walk together) so I know I can make it. I don't know how fast though...

My First Entry!

I just keep saying "I need to blog about that" so I've decided to give it a try...

Hopefully, you will find some things of interest on here (and I'll remember to post on a routine basis).