Thanks, Jackass

So the Hilton Anatole decided early this morning that they'd turf QuakeCon out in favour of some Pharmaceutical convention. Not impressed.

They've cancelled and refunded all QC rate reservations, at least. So thats a start.

We're now located at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, some 20 Miles to the North-West of the old location.

I've heard good things about both the hotel and the area. But that doesn't give me a room reservation.

The issue lies in the bookings, of course. Since the announcement, every single room in that hotel has been sold out for the nights of the 12th & the 13th. They have promised an allotment of rooms with a special QC rate to be released next Monday the 6th of July. We just have to cross our fingers and hope like hell that we'll get in on those rates. If we don't, we're up for a separate hotel, something I'm not really interested in doing. Even if it is a safer area to walk around in.

Well...I guess at least the Taxi fare will be cheaper.

Gaylord Texan Hotel

1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine, TX 76051

Supersize me, damnit

So back in '04 around the time when "Supersize Me" hit theatres, Maccas pulled the plug on Supersize meals in the US. They copped some flack for it here too, which is retarded because its never been on the menu and I'm fairly certain they only ever did it for drinks as a special you had to ask for.

Anyway, that counts out any chance of a stupidly large novelty McD's meal in August. Though I think they've still got the drinks, on the condition we saw here in Aus.

So that kinda sucks. I'm not going to order something like that anyway, I'll probably get a "you're a retarded tourist" look from the server if I did.

Instead, I'm going to hit up a 7-Eleven. I want a Big Gulp (or whatever the stupidly large size is they have there, I saw it on Ellen recently but I can't remember). Or at least I'd like to see the cup size.

Funness. :)

Touring Party

As a part of my Dallas trip I was hoping to catch a Cowboys home game. Unfortunately they're away the week we'll be there so I've got no hope of a pre-season match viewing. I'm going to have to resort to watching something resembling a match (or at least about 20 minutes of it before I get bored) on TV.

As a sort of "consolation prize", I've found out that Cowboys Stadium is open to tours. They run for around an hour and depart the Pro Shop every half hour as follows;

Monday - Saturday	9 am - 6 pm (Last Tour Departs At 4:30 pm)
Sundays	11 am - 5 pm (Last Tour Departs At 3:30 pm)

Tours include the following locations;

Pro Shop Press Box Limited Field Access (Not Guaranteed) Scoreboard Control Room Silver Level Platform Cowboys Locker Room A Suite Player Interview Room   More info is on the website;  http://stadium.dallascowboys.com/tours/tourInfo.cfm JT has stated that he'll most likely come with, which is good news for me :)

Bart's riding in the front today because he's good at SPORTS!

So I have this plan, and its a real loose one that I've had for several years now. I wanna see a whole bunch of sports in the US that we don't get (or aren't as good) here.

The list of sports and the teams I'd like to see are as follows;

Baseball (MLB) - New York Yankees, LA Dodgers

Basketball (NBA) - Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, LA Lakers, New York Knicks

Ice Hockey (NHL) - Any

Grid Iron (NFL) - Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants/Jets, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins

On this trip I'm incredibly fortunate to be in LA when the Dodgers take on the Cubs. I've yet to buy a ticket but it will be done soon.

As a flipside to that, the Dallas Cowboys' Pre-season starts in August, and they are on an away-week whilst we're there. I'm majorly disappointed in this, as Dallas doesn't really seem like a place I'll want to visit again unless it is for Quakecon (thus presenting me with the same issue again, most likely) where as I feel I could probably revisit LA at any point in order to see a Dodgers game. This of course could be entirely wrong :)

I do intend on finding out about a possible tour of the stadium, regardless.

As it is currently Summer in the US, this completely rules out any chance of seeing the NHL, and pretty much the same for the NBA - their pre-season starts in September.

So this trip covers 1 of the 4 big ones. Well, 1 of 3, if I never see an NHL game I'll live.

I'd also like to grab some merchandise while I'm there, for the big 3. 

Some MLB caps (Yankees and Dodgers at least)

A baseball

Dodgers Pennant

Cowboys Jersey and/or a Bulls Jersey

Basically I'd love to get one of all three, so that'd include a Dodgers Jersey. 

But cost is fairly high for that sort of thing, event replicas are up around US$80 for an NFL/MLB Jersey, and around US$50 for an NBA Jersey.

I'll post again when I find out details on Cowboys Stadium tours.

Its all roses

Okay so this is a real stretch. I'm sure as soon as we land in LAX we'll be absolutely knocked off our feet at the same time as being totally enraptured in this new and exciting place. I imagine we'll be running crazy around town finding the closest supermarket and going nuts. But just in case we find ourselves suddenly bored (haha)...

Rose Bowl Flea Markets

1001 Rose Bowl Dr. Pasadena, CA 91103

12 Miles from Kyoto Grand

http://www.rgcshows.com/RoseBowlFleaMarket/tabid/52/Default.aspx

Goin' Down TOWN

Nice little linky here, since we're staying downtown.

http://www.downtownlawalks.com/

Dallas Farmers Market

Just trying to find a few things in Dallas in case I get bored at Quake Con (something I'm hoping doesn't happen, but you never know).

Dallas Farmers Market
1010 S. Pearl Expressway
Dallas, TX 75201
(At the corner of Harwood and Marilla Streets, in the southeast corner of Downtown Dallas.)

Looks pretty nifty. Fresh food and such. Site has a listing of in-season fruits & vegies which I'll update this post with once it gets into the next season (that is, if I can remember).

http://www.dallasfarmersmarket.org/