In previous posts, I have talked about my weekend in Hong Kong in 2006. In addition to shopping for a Fake Rolex, I spent this weekend being attacked by monkeys and a handicapped boy. While we were still looking for a fake Rolex vendor, we were standing at an intersection next to the street market. The vendors had their booths set-up in the street, so it was no problem for us and everyone else to be standing in the street.
I have shared my story about being attacked by monkeys on Monkey Mountain during my 2006 trip to China. Later that day, we were visiting more places around Hong Kong. We needed to travel to the other side of the harbor, so we took the Star Ferry. My traveling companion Mike told me that this ferry is the oldest in Hong Kong. He said it might be the oldest in China or maybe even the world. It is a famous Hong Kong tourist attraction ranking along side of the Eiffel Tower on some lists.
Back 2006, I went on a two-week trip to China, with a side trip to Singapore. Before I went, I talked to several people who had taken this trip that mentioned buying fake Rolex watches in Hong Kong. I considered picking one up as a gift if I could get a good deal on one. I was travelling with a guy named Mike who traveled regularly to China. He knew several of the people that had bought these watches and knew the market area where we might be able to find them. We spent the middle weekend of our trip in Hong Kong and I shopped for gifts for my family then.
Libertyland was an amusement park with a patriotic theme located at the Mid-South Fairgrounds in Memphis. It was probably best known for the roller coaster called the Zippin Pippin in part because Elvis Presley declared it as his favorite ride. This ride was built at the Fairgounds around 1912, years before the amusement park opened on July 4, 1976. I have several friends who were music performers at Libertyland in its early years. One of them was even an Elvis impersonator. Libertyland was only a moderate success. Most of my visits to Libertyland were made during the Mid-South Fair in the fall and rarely a summer trip when it was just the amusement park.
When my kids were young, we would visit my mother-in-law in San Antonio, Texas regularly for family vacations. My mother-in-law would buy our family season passes to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. One year when we were there, I rode a ride called the Frisbee with my son and youngest daughter. Wikipedia describes the Frisbee as “type of pendulum amusement ride featuring a circular gondola that rotates as it swings back and forth. Riders are seated on the gondola facing inward.” Most years my kids weren’t interested in riding this and I did care to go on it for my own amusement. It’s not the style of ride that I would normally be attracted to. This year was one of the last years that our family made this trip. My kids were more willing to try different rides. I encouraged them by riding this one with them.
Several years ago, I had an opportunity to travel to Italy. I was travelling with a man and a woman from the company I work. We were on a business trip to visit a supplier for our company. When we arrived at the airport in Milan, we went to the baggage claim area. I quickly found my bag and so did the man. The woman did not see her bag. We waited until every other bag was claimed and cleared from the carousel. Still no bag for her. We went to the lost baggage area and made a claim before we left the airport. Fortunately for this lady, she had brought a few necessities with her in a small carry-on bag. We had a business meeting as soon as we arrived. We also had a drive that was at least an hour to get to the town where we were staying. The lady was able to shop for a few things after we had gotten to this town.
Several years ago, I was traveling for business with a large group of people. During our trip, we were visiting several of the customers of our company. I was the only salaried person on the trip and was responsible for taking care of the group. There were at least 2 people on the trip that had never flown before. I was the only male in our group. Our travel plans took us to Walla Walla, Salt Lake City and Denver. The inexperienced travelers were nervous, especially on the first flight. By the end of the trip, one of the most nervous ladies was making future travel plans. She asked me if you could pick what size plane you rode on when you fly. She had decided she liked the larger planes more.
A few years ago, I was cooking ribs on my smoker grill on a Saturday afternoon. We planned to have friends at our house that evening to help us eat the ribs. The other big thing that was happening that day was my wife was at my son’s house helping him paint before he moved in. When my wife gets involved in a project like this, she sometimes loses track of time. I knew she would want to have plenty of time to prep the other food before our guests arrived. I would send her text messages with updates on the progress of the ribs throughout the day.
A few months ago, I was preparing to play bass guitar at a worship service at church. Right before the service started, a man brought be a grocery sack containing a picture frame. The service was just moments away from starting but I took time to peek at the contents of the bag. Inside I found a photo of Elvis wearing a karate uniform. There was another man in the picture, also wearing a karate uniform. I considered that it might be the man that brought me the picture, but I thought he was too young to be him. I hadn’t known this man very long and I still don’t know him that well. He had been around me long enough to know that I go to Graceland every year for Elvis Week. Later when I was showing the picture to friends, we noticed that he had written a note to me on that back of the frame that said “To Art, Because thou art strong”. I didn’t get to talk to him about the picture until about a week later.
I’m surprised that I haven’t shared this story from my 2008 trip to the Elvis Week Candlelight Vigil. This was the last year that I went on this trip by myself. I didn’t take the tour. I didn’t take many pictures. I remember not being that enthusiastic about the trip. I was talking to interesting people, but none stand out in my mind like Howard from Georgia.