Julia Rose Invades The Arabian Desert, Toledo Rockets Dizzy Bat Disaster & A Huge Waffle House Fight
I'm BACK. Morning Screencaps IS BACK. My sanity IS BACK.
First of all, let me apologize to the readers who sent the messages thinking something had happened to me. I'm fairly certain one reader thought I was dead or there was a serious family issue. It turns out I spent four days traveling across Pennsylvania with my wife.
Rumors of my death were premature. I was quiet about my travels because so many Screencaps readers are concerned when I pre-announce travel plans. So this time I went dark. Very dark. Hunkered down on the back roads of PA. Didn't answer texts. The only time I paid attention to my phone was for the GPS across the state.
Trip highlights and observations:
• Our trip centered on two hotels: Hotel Rock Lititz in tiny Lititz, PA where most of the world's top music performers have their stage shows created on the Rock Lititz campus which is comprised of several black buildings rising from the Amish lands. The appearance of the Rock Lititz buildings would lead one to believe they're housing U.S. nuclear secrets.
Read more about Rock Lititz:
Rock Lititz is a conglomeration of what seems like 15 different businesses that work together to create a one-stop shop for the likes of Bieber, U2, Springsteen, Beyonce, boy bands, etc. These performers come to this campus to prepare before going on world tours. They get a look at the stages they'll be on. They see the lighting for the first time. They see the moving stages created by the Rock Lititz team.
And this is all being done in a former cornfield on the outskirts of town across the street from a Wawa gas station, Amish farms and random suburban houses.
Saturday night, by chance, we went to see a U2 cover band play in the Rock Lititz mini theater (yes, it's another black box rising out of the Amish lands) where employees train before being sent out on those world tours. Yes, the sound was amazing -- even with a cover band on the stage. The lighting was world-class. Put it this way, Mickey's Black Box, as they call it, was easily the best place, from a sound and lighting perspective, this U2 cover band will play in their careers.
Mickey's Black Box on the Rock Lititz campus. Bono and The Edge doing their thing for the 55-and-up community.
Studio 1 on the Rock Lititz campus. This is where some of the world's biggest performers see their stage shows for the first time.
• The hotel is cool. The bar is cool. The restaurant is cool. The lobby is cool. The pool has a guitar pick logo on the floor. Everything about staying at this place is first class down to the hotel room bathroom doors which are made of concert stage boxes.
Credential wallpaper inside a Hotel Rock Lititiz room. The credentials are from tours worked by the Rock Lititz team.
This greets guests upon reaching the third floor at Hotel Rock Lititz.
The Hotel Rock Lititz even features the fake grass created by the Rock Lititz team for Justin Timberlake's 'The Man of the Woods' tour.
• Hotel No. 2 was the Logan Inn, in New Hope, PA, a 295-year-old inn that has recently gone through a multi-multi-million-dollar renovation/expansion to bring it into modern times and let's just say the architects nailed it. While Hotel Rock Lititz was all about the future of cool, the Logan Inn is about mixing old-school cool and current cool. We're talking a semi-private bourbon bar with NO TVs, super long leather couches that can fit 30 people, a basement club that could hold 500 people, a center bar that served expensive cocktails or a basic Bud Light.
We had this place to ourselves Monday night. Seriously, we were the only people in the lobby/bar area for hours. The bars and restaurant were closed, but the basement pool table was open and there we were just two visitors owning the place. I could've take a case of beer down there and thrown a rager and nobody would've known.
There was one guy watching the place through the night and he was hiding in a darkened part of the lobby talking on his phone.
Logan Inn bourbon bar
The Logan Inn piano in the bourbon bar
The Logan Inn basement club on a quiet Monday night.
Here's what a renovated, nearly 300-year-old basement looks like. Logan Inn, New Hope, PA
Looking for a private area to sip on your Blanton's? The Logan Inn basement has you covered.
The Logan Inn bourbon bar basement stash.
Quick observations:
• I wasn't expecting to see so many old people at the U2 cover band performance. Then I started to realize those same old timers were in their mid-30s when Rattle & Hum was released. Time sure is flying.
• There shall be no more hints on how to play better pool for my wife. I'm done. It's not a charity event while playing her in pool. She's serious about beating me and I will no longer serve as her coach.
• Always make sure you stay in the 1-star hotel before the 4-star hotels.
• I'm positive that was a bloody handprint on a door outside the Friday night 1-star hotel.
• Valley Forge never disappoints. Make sure to go through George Washington's winter home (1777-78) while visiting. The park service employee said the structure is approximately 70-80% original.
• Shout out to Mother Nature. Philadelphia set an all-time high Monday (78) and it was incredible. Mrs. Screencaps knocked out a bunch of her shopping and I stood there supporting her mission.
• Always make sure to smell the Amish root beer before you drink it.
• It was so nice to not have to negotiate with the kids on what we were going to do each day.
• Tröegs Perpetual IPA was the best beer I had all weekend.
• It's great to be back all refreshed and ready to finish the football season with a clear mind. Now I need to figure out if Michigan-Ohio State is in my future.
I had no idea OutKick writer Mike Gunz was a huge Avril Lavigne fan
Look at this guy gettin' after it. Good work, Gunz.
Costco in Spain
• Mike T. sent this in while I was away:
There’s only 3 Costcos in Spain,I believe, one of them is in Seville! Time for a little shopping Costco style in Spain!
Customer service is always excellent at Costco.
Few different offerings at the food court.
You know you're in Spain, octopus on top, anchovies, then sardines, I love Spain!
And with that, let's get the day rolling. There are dozens of emails to get caught up on. We'll work through them as we go this week and get back into a groove.
Have a great Wednesday.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com