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Posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

Dave!Today at lunch I went back to the All-Candy Expo to take another look around... and to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. debut his new candy bars.

Not surprisingly, a lot of people were crowded around the booth.

What did surprise me was the name of the candy bars: "Big Mo." I guess that term doesn't mean what I thought it means? A Google search tells me that it's a nickname for his home town (Mooresville, NC) and that his racing team is called "Big Mo Posse."

The good news is that both his candy bars are darn tasty... they're back-to-basics caramel or peanut butter dipped in creamy milk chocolate. And they're a good size too! Dale himself seems like a really nice guy, and comes across as a down-home kind of person (which is refreshing given his superstar status). He even stuck around to answer questions from the audience, which was cool of him...

Dale Jr.

Big Mo Bar!

But the candy I MOST wanted to eat at the Palmer booth? PEANUT BUTTER PENGUIN PALS!!!

Peanut Butter Penguin Pals!

Coolest. Candies. Ever.

I would have liked to have stayed at the show for the rest of the day, but work was piling up so I had to go.

After working for a few hours, I took a quick break this afternoon to do something I haven't done since my first trip to Chicago 18 years ago... go to the top of the Sears Tower! I had re-watched Ferris Bueller last week, and was compelled to visit.

I will never go to the Sears Tower again. Nor will I recommend it to people.

Once you get there, they literally take you hostage. You are FORCED to sit and wait 15 minutes for a movie presentation that they MAKE you watch, as verified by a man and his wife who were in line behind me...

HOSTESS: Please enter the theater to watch a presentation before going up to the SkyDeck.
MAN: We don't want to watch a presentation... we just want to go to the top.
HOSTESS: It's a very nice presentation!
MAN: I'm sure, but we are in a hurry and don't want to watch it.
HOSTESS: It's only six minutes long, then you'll be on your way.
MAN: But we DON'T want to watch it!
HOSTESS: We'll get you up there! We'll get you up there!
MAN: Does ANYBODY here want to watch this presentation?
EVERYBODY: NOOOOOOOOO!
HOSTESS: Enjoy the presentation!

And, sure enough, you have to sit there six minutes to watch a video presentation. It wasn't bad, I guess, but you shouldn't be FORCED to watch the crap. If I had a choice of having to wait 15 minutes then sitting through an additional 6 minutes of the presentation... or just hopping in the elevator and going to the top of the Sears Tower, I would have skipped the presentation. To be honest, that's 21 minutes of my life I'd like to have back. NOTE TO SEARS TOWER MANAGEMENT: People don't like to pay to be held hostage. If somebody pays you $12.95 to go to the top of your building, LET THEM GO TO THE TOP OF YOUR BUILDING WITHOUT FORCING THEM TO WATCH SOMETHING THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE! Because that just makes you a bunch of assholes.

Sure the view from the top is nice, but I'd rather go to Hancock Tower, with a view just as good... and there they don't force you to watch a movie. On top of that, but they're $1.65 cheaper and have a better location.

Oh well, here was my trip to the Sears Tower...

Sears Tower

Chicago View

The tall black building in the center of the back skyline is "hostage-free" Hancock Tower, where I'd rather go for a view of chicago...

Chicago View

And thus ends my trip to Chicago. I think I'm back in November, but can't remember for sure.


Categories: Travel 2007Click To It: Permalink
   

Comments

  1. Hilly says:

    Um hello, Belle is hot AND smart!

    I really thought this post was going somewhere else by the title ;).

  2. sizzle says:

    note to self: go to hancock tower, not sears.

    you’d think if they were going to force everyone to watch the 6 min video they’d at least put in some subliminal messages about buying stuff in the gift shop or something.

  3. Wayne says:

    They should at least give you something, like the timeshare people do. You can get $50, a TV, a cruise, etc for sitting through a 90 minute presentation and having enough willpower to say no.

    (said an owner of a timeshare for the past 8 years 🙂

  4. iddly says:

    You need a 7th option on your “who will you shag?” poll – none of the above.

  5. Caroline says:

    Man, it looks like it was a gorgeous day in Chicago, my favorite American city. Am very jealous!

  6. Oh wow… Dale Jr’s candy is comedy in a box! I’ve only been to Chicago once and my favorite little tour was definitely not the Sears tower (for the same reason you described) it’s the stained glass museum at Navy Pier.

    PS: Looks like we’re having bouts of rain this week in So Cal… I tried to order up a batch of our usual glorious weather, but God isn’t cooperating after those Jesus candy canes.

  7. bogup says:

    Thanks for showing my favorite sport (Nascar) and my favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Yep, all his fans know he is a nice guy! He’ll be with a new team next year (Hendricks Motorsports), and new sponsor (Pepsi – Mtn Dew), and a new #(88) to be announced tomorrow at a press conference. I’m envious you got to see him in-person.

  8. Robin says:

    Hey, I am in Chicago for work too! We were dying to cut out of our meeting and go downtown today. Looks like you managed to have a little bit of fun (except for the six minute movie thing). 😉

  9. kilax says:

    I knew Jasmine would be heading up the polls. She has that exotic appeal. Yummy.

    What’s with the votes for sleeping beauty, you necrophiliacs?

  10. Sheila says:

    OMG OMG OMG!! Dale Jr is super cute!!

    Okay, I’m sorry. I tried to stop myself, but I couldn’t.

  11. joy says:

    this post rules

  12. borysSNORC says:

    Hey – I voted like a good little Bi-Curious Georgiana… but where’s the poll for the most shaggable Disney Prince? 🙂
    RMB

  13. Michelle says:

    Penguin-Pals look awsome!! I want a Mo’! =D

  14. kapgar says:

    It’s a shame I was stuck in Oak Brook all week at a conference or we could’ve met up. Also sorry about the Sears Tower experience. I would recommend Hancock as well.

    Hey, buy some more of those penguins and offer them up along with your Stevetoon shirt for Blogiversary V!

  15. Avitable says:

    I’d rather shag The Princess Diaries’s Anne Hathaway. Or Julie Andrews.

  16. ChillyWilly says:

    Penguin Pals… got to find me some.

    So is the Sears Tower like the Empire State bldg, where they get you through the line and start finding more ways to take your money?

  17. Amy says:

    Your comments about being forced to watch the presentation at the Sears Tower reminded me of my experience in “Sweden” at Epcot Center this past March. In “Sweden”, they have a water ride where you get to sit down and see Swedeney sites. It’s a nice ride to go on in the middle of the day when your feet hurt and you want to cool down. HOWEVER, after the ride, you’re corraled into a street scene where they make you wait for SEVERAL minutes before someone comes out onto a second story balcony to let you know that you’ll soon be let out, and they’d really enjoy it if you’d go see the short video presentation on Sweden. So after about 10 minutes, you’re allowed out of the street scene area (where about 100 people have now been corralled), and you walk into the movie theatre. There are nice people from Sweden there, looking so hopeful that you’ll stop to watch the movie (but, come on, who wants to watch a movie about Sweden while on vacation?!). You walk through the theatre seats, trying not to catch the earnest gazes of the Swedish people and are let out into their GIFT STORE. You have to navigate through the tightly packed aisles in order to regain your freedom.

    It’s been 6 months since I was in “Sweden” at Epcot, and I’m still scarred. I think I have PTSD.

  18. supercereal says:

    Where’s the shag option for us big Mo’s? I’m feeling left out…

  19. Yeah, I’ve done that whole Sears Tower thing. I lived in Chicago for 4 years, and not once, did I step foot in the Hancock Tower. WTF were we thinking? I don’t know, I guess we were just young and stupid, or something.

    I’m like a lot of other gals, I’m just not “in the mood” to vote for shagging a princess. Give me a prince with, oh, I dunno… a bulge perhaps? Yeah, that sounds very nice. I’d vote in a poll like that.

    Oh yeah, I almost forgot, where the hell was BOBBY LABONTE? Shit fire and save matches, that guy is the hawt! Always has been in my book… Way hotter than his bro, Terry (not that there’s anything wrong with him). Now, ya’ll gotta take into consideration that I lived in East TN for 9 years.

    Thank you, thank you very much. 😀

  20. Lora says:

    With the exception of the Ferris Bueller connection, why not go to the bar on the floor below the SkyDeck? No admission fee, you get to have a drink, and the view’s the same.

  21. lizriz says:

    I believe that the Hancock Tower also has a bar.

  22. Harold says:

    Since I sleep on Disney’s Ariel bedsheets, it was a no-brainer for me who to vote for….afterall she has nice flippers!

  23. Robert says:

    What’s with all the votes for Ariel…you guys into fish tail?

  24. birdie says:

    I love the view from the top of the Hancock Center Tower! In fact, I plan to go again in November. Of course, the fact that The Cheesecake Factory is located in the lower level of the building may be part of the attraction…

  25. Mooselet says:

    I really miss that combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Australians look at you funny when you mention it.

  26. Lewis says:

    WHY CAN’T CANDY MANUFACTURERS MAKE ANY GOOD CANDIES WITH DARK CHOCOLATE….I’M SICK OF MILK! Okay. I’ve calmed down now. Didn’t mean to yell. You know, they call the USS Missouri the Big Mo, too. What an amazing day for picture taking…..even though the hostage scene sounds horrendous.

  27. Christian says:

    Amy, would “PTSD” be short for Post Traumatic Sweden Disorder?

  28. yellojkt says:

    I so want those Penguin candies. And Belle. Smart, sassy, and sexy.

    I’ve been to the top of both Hancock and Sears. Hancock does have the better view.

  29. Bre says:

    Pfft – Belle just married well! Sleeping Beauty is where it’s at!

  30. Baak says:

    Funny, the poll reflected my pick order [i]precisely[/i].

    Something weird there – almost eerie…

  31. Kristin says:

    Wait – are you telling me that there’s actually a candy bar out there that’s just plain caramel and milk chocolate? Is it the chewy caramel or the runny kind?! I MUST KNOW!

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