Small Talk: "I'll Take Non-Show Chat For $400, Alex."

[saber5055]

12 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

When the rock band was setting up, one of the bass drums said,"Pink," and I thought , "Whoa! Pink Floyd?"  No, it was Frijid Pink. LOL.

And right away I think the singer Pink, I love her. Except she was born in 1979. Where does the time go!

Did you get to see Frijid Pink?

[Prevailing Wind]

Yes, but they weren't exciting enough to drag us away from our KFC. LOL

[saber5055]

@Prevailing Wind, for some reason this Onion story made me think of you.

[Prevailing Wind]

30 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

@Prevailing Wind, for some reason this Onion story made me think of you.

YESSSS!!!!!!!

Hillbilly Hotdogs in West Virginia...They've expanded their dining room to TWO old school busses...

Edited April 7, 2021 by Prevailing Wind

[halfpint ingals]

In honor of the story with seeing celebrities on airplanes, I have a story but I cannot remember it because I was a baby. In 1978, my parents and I were flying and had a holdover in Chicago. The real Colonel Sanders came over and held me. 

[j5cochran]

On 4/7/2021 at 4:08 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

YESSSS!!!!!!!

Hillbilly Hotdogs in West Virginia...They've expanded their dining room to TWO old school busses...

I have eaten at Hillbilly Hot Dogs many times, though not since the pandemic started. Their hot dogs are delicious! FYI, in case it ever comes up on Jeopardy, the traditional southern West Virginia hot dog has sauce (called chili by some, but no beans!), mustard, onions, and coleslaw. In northern West Virginia, we have the sauce, mustard, onions, but eat the coleslaw on the side.

https://www.hillbillyhotdogs.com/

[Prevailing Wind]

The first slaw dog I ever had was in Cleveland, GA (home of the cabbage head kids) and I fell in love.  When I was on the Jersey Turnpike, I stopped at a service plaza and got a hot dog with slaw on the side.  I went outside and found a picnic table with an old guy seated at it and I asked if he minded if I sat down on the other side.  He agreed and then proceeded to tell me what I was doing was sacrilege as I put the slaw ON the hot dog. LOL.  Then he changed the subject to baseball.

[saber5055]

A slaw dog would be delicious. (As is a slaw burger!) Around here the talk is the Chicago dog, which is a Vienna Beef hot dog in a steamed bun, topped with -- in this order -- yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish (it's a crazy shade of glowing green!), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. And you never EVER put catsup on a hot dog, EVER. It's sacrilegious and doing so could get you excommunicated from, well, life.

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, saber5055 said:

A slaw dog would be delicious. (As is a slaw burger!) Around here the talk is the Chicago dog, which is a Vienna Beef hot dog in a steamed bun, topped with -- in this order -- yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish (it's a crazy shade of glowing green!), a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt. And you never EVER put catsup on a hot dog, EVER. It's sacrilegious and doing so could get you excommunicated from, well, life.

So do you have to unhinge your jaw like a snake to eat it?

[saber5055]

45 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

So do you have to unhinge your jaw like a snake to eat it?

I know, right? I think much of the time the pickle spear comes along side. Stores sell the bright glowing green pickle relish, but while I look at it on the shelf, I've never purchased any. It seems like it would glow in the dark. I do all the other toppings though, but IMO the tomatoes need to be small or you would indeed need a snake jaw to shove that whole stack in. And I would never be so blasphemous to ever let catsup touch any 'dog. That's a given.

I'd love to try Hillbilly Hot Dogs. Heck, I'd love to try any food that didn't come out of my own kitchen these days. I'm actually losing weight during pandemic. My cooking ... ugh.

[Prevailing Wind]

There's a "Skip's Hot Dogs" in the next town to the east of us in Metro Atlanta - it sells Chicago-style dogs and, yes, I'm afraid the relish DOES glow in the dark. I call it nuclear relish.

When I was visiting Maine, I discovered they like their hot dogs, themselves, to be a nuclear style glow-in-the-dark red. I'd love to see a Maine hot dog with Chicago relish on it. Bwaahahahahaha.

[saber5055]

10 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I'd love to see a Maine hot dog with Chicago relish on it. Bwaahahahahaha.

Red Snapper hot dogs with Atomic Green relish!

You'd have to wear shades, for sure.

[Prevailing Wind]

I'm watching the Create channel right now - they've got a bunch of Lidia Bastianich cooking shows on. Seems Lidia's doing lockdown shows - cooking at home for a family, not a crowd.

[saber5055]

I hope Joe is one who will be eating Lidia's dinner so he can tell her what a cr*p cook she is. (Not that she is, it's just that Joe is such a ... let's say, pompous ass.)

[Prevailing Wind]

Speaking of pompous asses, I watched Kitchen Nightmares twice. OMG. it's enough to put off restaurants forever. Do these cities not have health inspectors?  I won't be watching that again - not only is it a horror story, Gordon Ramsay is the king of pompous asses.

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Speaking of pompous asses, I watched Kitchen Nightmares twice. OMG. it's enough to put off restaurants forever. Do these cities not have health inspectors?  I won't be watching that again - not only is it a horror story, Gordon Ramsay is the king of pompous asses.

He did one of his shows in our town (a small town, so we knew the venue immediately).  I didn't think it was Kitchen Nightmares, but looking at IMDB, I guess it had to be. Anyway...I would never go to that place after seeing it on the show. From their current advertising (well pre-Covid current)  it seems like they rejected everything Ramsay suggested.

He seems to be a sweet guy when he's not doing his shows, from interviews and/or cooking videos I've seen. 

[saber5055]

Oh, too true about Kitchen Nightmares. I don't know how often health inspectors have to make their rounds, but those places that have ... let's say, "stuff" ... built up have been not cleaning for years. Those restaurants have to apply to be on the show, right? I mean, Ramsay's staff can't be going around the country, barging into the backs of restaurants, then saying, "Hey, your rotted food is going to kill your customers some day. How about let's put you guys on national teevee and shine a spotlight on your diseased establishment."

I used to watch Hell's Kitchen, but no more because of Ramsay. That also keeps me from Master Chef. I guess he's nice to the kids on Junior Chef or whatever that one's called, but a bunch of precocious kids are even worse IMO than Ramsay's  cursing, shouting "DOG'S DINNER!" and throwing food.

I've also seen him be nice and pleasant in other things, but the persona he's chosen for himself is not my "cup of tea."

I used to like Jamie Oliver's show when he went around to make school lunches healthier. Seems like Ramsay hated Jamie though, kept slamming him in the press. Don't know if Jamie has a show now since my tv watching is limited to three over-the-air channels (on a good day).

@Clanstarling, did you go to that restaurant before it was on Nightmares? I will say that show does make cooking at home more appealing, for sure.

[Grundoon59]

I go through periods where I can stand watching Gordon Ramsey and periods where I can't.  The reason I keep going back is a memory of watching him on  British show called Faking It where he was part of a team teaching a short order cook named Ed how to run a team of chefs in a cooking competition.  He was somewhat of his "usual" self to Ed for part of the show but when he was watching Ed compete through hidden cameras his proud father self came out and he was really human.  Mother Grundoon and I were really moved and would often cut him some slack when we saw him acting differently on other shows.  

[Prevailing Wind]

My broadcast CW channel has some digital sub-channels and one of them is DABL - seems to be a DIY channel - and they carry Jamie Oliver's "Five Ingredient Meals" show and it's pretty interesting. He doesn't count condiments & spices/herbs as ingredients, but it's amazing the complete meals you can make with just 5 major ingredients.  I love reading cookbooks, too. You'd think I'd be a better cook, but, nnoooooo, I'm a spectator.

 

[Prevailing Wind]

6 hours ago, Browncoat said:

"Truly, Madly, Deeply"? @Prevailing Wind?

I *finally* found it on DVD, bought it, eagerly awaited its arrival, only to find out it's AREA 2.  I changed the setting on the laptop's DVD drive in order to watch it. Didn't get around to watching it and now the laptop died.  The new computer doesn't HAVE a disc drive at all!  I ordered a separate one from Amazon & should arrive tomorrow. I'm changing that sucker to AREA 2 right away.  Juliet Stevenson is also brilliant in it.

I've loved that movie since I saw it on a VCR.  If Rickman didn't play cello, he had a great coach who made him look like he really could play. I first fell in love with him in that Costner Robin Hood movie.  But, jeez, if you ever get a hold of "Closet Land" be prepared for a weird-ass movie.  Warren Zevon gave an interview when he was dying and he said he felt like he was in a Madeleine Stowe movie. I knew exactly which movie he meant - Closet Land. There are only two people in the whole movie - Stowe & Rickman. I found it amusing that WZ considered it a Stowe movie and I thought it was a Rickman movie - hormones at work.  "Close My Eyes" was weird, too.  I adored Galaxy Quest. I do not understand why I don't OWN it. I mean, jeez, it's got Tony Shalhoub in it, too, who can do no wrong in my eyes. AND Sigourney Weaver playing the anti-Ripley.

[Browncoat]

"Galaxy Quest" is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I saw "Truly Madly Deeply" in an art-house theater in Chapel Hill, NC about a million years ago when it first came out.  I loved it (and Alan Rickman!).  I haven't seen either "Closet Land" or "Close My Eyes."  Rickman was brilliant, though, and I was gutted when he died.  (See the Britishism creeping in!)

[saber5055]

Geez, now I have to go on a Rickman movie hunt. The last thing I saw him in, he was in a movie on PBS, I don't even remember the plot or the name, just that it starred Mr. Hottie Rickman. Gosh, he sure had it. I, too, was "gutted" when I heard he had died. It seemed no one in the press gave it much coverage. Anyway, thanks for all the titles guys. A Rickman movie marathon just might bring me out of the blues.

Edited April 12, 2021 by saber5055

[Prevailing Wind]

Don't forget Quigley Down Under. Sure, Selleck is supposed to be the star, but we know different, don't we?  He does the BEST bad guys. He's the only reason I *ever* watched Die Hard.

[chitowngirl]

If you can dig it up, find The Song of Lunch. Alan plays He and Emma Thompson plays She. It’s only 50 minutes, but SO riveting!

[Clanstarling]

8 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Oh, too true about Kitchen Nightmares. I don't know how often health inspectors have to make their rounds, but those places that have ... let's say, "stuff" ... built up have been not cleaning for years. Those restaurants have to apply to be on the show, right? I mean, Ramsay's staff can't be going around the country, barging into the backs of restaurants, then saying, "Hey, your rotted food is going to kill your customers some day. How about let's put you guys on national teevee and shine a spotlight on your diseased establishment."

I used to watch Hell's Kitchen, but no more because of Ramsay. That also keeps me from Master Chef. I guess he's nice to the kids on Junior Chef or whatever that one's called, but a bunch of precocious kids are even worse IMO than Ramsay's  cursing, shouting "DOG'S DINNER!" and throwing food.

I've also seen him be nice and pleasant in other things, but the persona he's chosen for himself is not my "cup of tea."

I used to like Jamie Oliver's show when he went around to make school lunches healthier. Seems like Ramsay hated Jamie though, kept slamming him in the press. Don't know if Jamie has a show now since my tv watching is limited to three over-the-air channels (on a good day).

@Clanstarling, did you go to that restaurant before it was on Nightmares? I will say that show does make cooking at home more appealing, for sure.

No, I hadn't gone there. They're a bit out in the country. We would have hit it eventually, but thanks to  the show, we scratched it off the list. We also had an Undercover Boss here. Quite a lot of national TV for our small town. (38,000).

5 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

 I adored Galaxy Quest. I do not understand why I don't OWN it. I mean, jeez, it's got Tony Shalhoub in it, too, who can do no wrong in my eyes. AND Sigourney Weaver playing the anti-Ripley.

We love it too, and own it. Unfortunately our DVD player (or our DVDs) are no longer happy and won't play. 😞 But, by Grapthor's Hammer, we will watch it whenever we can find it streaming. We feel the same about Tony Shaloub. We'll watch him in anything he does.

[saber5055]

46 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

Quite a lot of national TV for our small town. (38,000).

Thanks to my superb research skills, I might soon show up on your doorstep. Hee hee hee!

Hey, my town's smaller than your town (1,400). It's never been featured on any teevee show though, so there's that.

[Browncoat]

I will add Stanley Tucci to the list.  There are several outstanding things with him and Tony Shaloub, including an episode of Monk.

[Clanstarling]

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Thanks to my superb research skills, I might soon show up on your doorstep. Hee hee hee!

Hey, my town's smaller than your town (1,400). It's never been featured on any teevee show though, so there's that.

Uh oh. I was warned about sharing too much information on the internet. 😆

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I will add Stanley Tucci to the list.  There are several outstanding things with him and Tony Shaloub, including an episode of Monk.

I've got "Big Night" on my watch list. To see it again, I've rewatched lots of things this past year.

[saber5055]

15 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

If you can dig it up, find The Song of Lunch. Alan plays He and Emma Thompson plays She. It’s only 50 minutes, but SO riveting!

Yes, this is what I watched on PBS a few years ago, it was so good. It was created for British television. There is a lot of Alan Rickman on YouTube if anyone cares to delve into it.

Odd that I don't like Tony Shaloub. I never watched Monk when it was on in real time, but recently watched one episode because Willy Nelson was the suspected murderer (Willy Nelson, playing himself, sure, he's a killer!) and then the last episode/finale was listed so I watched that. I know finales are either good or not, but this one ... geesh.

He was okay on Wings though.

[proserpina65]

20 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

But, jeez, if you ever get a hold of "Closet Land" be prepared for a weird-ass movie.  Warren Zevon gave an interview when he was dying and he said he felt like he was in a Madeleine Stowe movie. I knew exactly which movie he meant - Closet Land. There are only two people in the whole movie - Stowe & Rickman. I found it amusing that WZ considered it a Stowe movie and I thought it was a Rickman movie - hormones at work.  "Close My Eyes" was weird, too. 

Those two films are for completists.  Closet Land was deeply disturbing (and was meant to be) and yes, Close My Eyes is just weird - why would you want to sleep with your brother when Alan Rickman is right there?  Can't say that I'd ever watch either one again.  I actually found The Song of Lunch pretentious and boring.  I mean, both Alan and Emma were very good in it, but I felt like that was time I wanted back when it was over.  Time I could spend watching Truly, Madly, Deeply or Sense and Sensibility for the umpteenth time.  Or Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves.  Not a great movie, that one, but the Sheriff of Nottingham is just so over the top entertaining.

16 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Don't forget Quigley Down Under. Sure, Selleck is supposed to be the star, but we know different, don't we?  He does the BEST bad guys. He's the only reason I *ever* watched Die Hard.

Yep, he's the reason to watch Quigley.  (Now, Die Hard, on the other hand, is my favorite Christmas movie, and he's only part of the reason.  A big part, though.)

[Clanstarling]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Yes, this is what I watched on PBS a few years ago, it was so good. It was created for British television. There is a lot of Alan Rickman on YouTube if anyone cares to delve into it.

Odd that I don't like Tony Shaloub. I never watched Monk when it was on in real time, but recently watched one episode because Willy Nelson was the suspected murderer (Willy Nelson, playing himself, sure, he's a killer!) and then the last episode/finale was listed so I watched that. I know finales are either good or not, but this one ... geesh.

He was okay on Wings though.

The final episode was not great. It's really the first few seasons where Shaloub shines.   We just rewatched the entire series and were disappointed in the last few seasons. But in the beginning his character was equal parts irritating and heartbreaking. (others may feel differently)

[saber5055]

34 minutes ago, Clanstarling said:

But in the beginning his character was equal parts irritating and heartbreaking. (others may feel differently)

Season 1 Ep 3 and 4 played here today. Season 2 is rerunning on another channel. I will try to watch S1 E5 or 6 tomorrow to see if my heart is broken or if he just makes me irritated. I'm sort of leaning toward that second choice, but we'll see.

I like to watch the first episodes of long-running shows to see how much changes over the show's run. Or, more accurately, how much the writers forget or just change, depending on what they need that week. I actually was sorry I missed Monk's first ep, I would have def watched that.

[Prevailing Wind]

Tony Shalhoub in a totally serious role with a disturbing ending: The X-Files episode "Soft Light."

The Comet channel has started showing XF Mon - Thurs, starting at 10 PM, three episodes at a time. They're still early in season 1.  It's season 2, #23

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751206/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_88

I couldn't believe that was Antonio from "Wings" - he was compelling and, yes, heartbreaking in this.  OF course, being XF, it's really a dumb premise, but suspend your disbelief.

 

[Browncoat]

Y'all should check out "The Imposters" -- Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Lili Taylor, Allison Janney, and so many others.  I thought it was really funny.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Browncoat said:

Y'all should check out "The Imposters" -- Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Lili Taylor, Allison Janney, and so many others.  I thought it was really funny.

Good movie with a terrific cast!  Another with Janney, Shalhoub, and Tucci (with Platt as a producer, and directed by Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott) that I like even more is Big Night, mentioned above.  Just don't watch it while hungry.

[Driad]

Speaking of astronomy, once I was in an astronomy group, at a place where we had a great view of the Milky Way.  Someone said, "Wow, the sky is almost perfectly clear, except for those two little clouds!"  A real astronomer explained, with admirable patience, that those were the Magellanics.

[saber5055]

I'd love to be able to look at the night sky through some industrial-strength telescope. A close college has one and used to do meteor-shower viewing parties before, well, you know. I just never went to one, for some dumb reason I can't remember. Maybe because even the close colleges are frigging far away from my house.

[Prevailing Wind]

In August, I've driven from Atlanta to Dillboro, NC in the Smoky Mountains. Nearing midnight, I leave the hotel & drive about 45 minutes to the center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Near the state line between NC & TN, at the crest of the ridge is a visitors' center with big overlook and a large parking lot.  I go to see the Perseid meteor shower. It's very dark up there and everybody, as they turn into the parking lot, turn off the headlights & use their parking lights to find a place to park. We all turn off the dome light in the cars for when we get out. All the people up there are very cognizant of the need for darkness.

The first three times I went, it was cloudy.  The next time, there was a full moon. The next year (2018) I FINALLY got to see some meteors! It was so cool! AND I was parked near an "elk crossing" and the elk were lurking nearby. Their whistling was very, VERY eerie.

[Clanstarling]

I have never seen the Milky Way. It's on my bucket list - but only if we can find a place I have access to a potty. Earthly matters trump the stars.

[Moose135]

7 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

...center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Near the state line between NC & TN, at the crest of the ridge is a visitors' center with big overlook and a large parking lot.

Clingmans Dome - that was the first place I ever shot the Milky Way.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, Clanstarling said:

I have never seen the Milky Way. It's on my bucket list - but only if we can find a place I have access to a potty. Earthly matters trump the stars.

When I've shot the Milky Way, I've never been more than an hour from such "civilization". I've usually been on the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Outer Banks of NC. One of my favorite MW photos was shot just 20 minutes from my hotel in the Outer Banks.

 

Edited April 14, 2021 by Moose135

[zoey1996]

Speaking of space, anyone else been viewing the ISS? One of the meteorologists here usually mentions on air or in her Twitter feed when and where it will be visible. I’m pretty sure I saw it a few nights ago.

Growing up on a farm in North Central Kansas, we had great sky views. I’ve even seen the Northern Lights. I could easily see the Milky Way, both dippers, and others I didn’t always recognize. On my bucket list is seeing the Southern Cross.

When I lived in Wichita, an astronomy club would hold viewing nights at a nearby lake, and I went a couple of times. And in Omaha, we were able to see Hale-Bopp when we were several miles out of the city, near Standing Bear lake IIRC.

Edited April 14, 2021 by zoey1996

[saber5055]

You guys are amazing with your stories and photos, Moose. I did see the ISS once, we were leaving a dog show in Pennsylvania after dark, and driving out of the grounds the ISS was in the sky in front of us. There were a bunch of us in the truck, and someone spotted it and said "Hey look! It's the ISS!" So those of us riding in the back clambored to the front and got to see it.

I've also seen the Northern Lights, again while driving to dog shows in the middle of the night. That helped keep us awake at 3 a.m. with many miles left to go. A while back they were suppose to be visible here on the northern horizon. I stayed out a long time waiting but did not see them. There are thick woods in my north pasture so if the Lights were there, the trees blocked them.

It was also common to see the rando shooting star during overnight drives to dog shows. Once I swear to god I saw a UFO. And another time a bear in far southern Illinois during an all-night drive home from Georgia. Both possibly could have been real. Or not.

Interestingly given where I live, I get freaked out in the dark. Even when I go into the fenced back yard I take a dog with me and a small lantern, and I do the same when I sit in the pitch-black front yard. One time I drove down my road, a very deserted one-lane that no one lives on, and sat in the pitch to watch a meteor shower. I have to say, I only lasted a few minutes, I kept anticipating Freddy Krueger or something to break through my car door and ... well, do whatever Freddies do. If I had another human with, that would make all the difference.

I would def go with one of you to your astral viewing places, no dog needed.

I kept trying to see Elon Musk's Starlink satellites but finally gave up. I had a directory of when they would be visible here but I guess they shut their lights off while over my house.

I can always find and see Orion though!

[Moose135]

I've seen the ISS a few times, I've gotten a couple of photos, but nothing too impressive. What I really want to do some time is shoot it as it passes the sun. I've seen some of those shots, and they are incredible. I've checked a couple of trackers in the past, but haven't looked recently. I'd like to see the Northern Lights one of these days. I have a few friends who have gone to Iceland to see/photograph them. A few years back, during a period of increased solar activity, there were reports that you could see them in northern North Carolina, so I took a ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway to try to shoot them, but didn't see them. I went with a couple of folks from my photography group, and asked my now GF to come along - we had shot together with other people, but she didn't know me well and was a little wary about going off to the woods with this strange guy in case I was an ax murderer. We started dating a month later, and have been together 3 1/2 years, so it all worked out.

[saber5055]

33 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

I've seen the ISS a few times, I've gotten a couple of photos, but nothing too impressive.

Photos, please. Let us be the judge whether impressive or not. (Side note: Impressive was the name of a famous Quarter Horse stallion that was bred a zillion times, producing a bil-zillion foals. Later it was discovered he had Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis or HYPP, which causes muscle spasms and trembling, and he passed it on to his offspring. It's now called the Impressive Disease.)

Glad to know you are not an axe murderer. Yet anyway. I'm telling your GF to hide all potential weapons. And to watch "So I Married An Axe Murderer" as a PSA.

Edited April 14, 2021 by saber5055

[Clanstarling]

On a different topic. I saw this on Facebook today, so I thought I'd share:

 

[Moose135]

4 hours ago, saber5055 said:

Photos, please. Let us be the judge whether impressive or not

Speaking of celestial stuff, last July we were up on the Blue Ridge Parkway one evening to catch Comet Neowise.

 

 

[saber5055]

@Moose135 you are too modest. Your photos are wonderful, I love them. They look just like the ones online when I check on upcoming celestial events. Thanks for sharing with us.

@Clanstarling, no kidding about that perfect Jeopardy board. Except I'd have to replace some of those with AKC DOG BREEDS, KENTUCKY DERBY WINNERS, FARM LIVESTOCK and HAWAII FIVE-O REBOOT. Heh. I've never thrown my back out but that last category did make me laugh. Would love to see those clues!

BTW, I easily got the astronomy TS in today's game. Some of you will know why it was easy for me!

[Prevailing Wind]

When I was in Bar Harbor in 2019, they said the Northern Lights were supposed to be visible.  So I managed to find some warm stuff to put on and at midnight, made the drive up Cadillac Mountain. Every registered vehicle in Coastal Maine seemed to have the same idea. After being blinded by inconsiderate people with LED flashlights, I drove to a deserted beach area, mostly known just by locals (the front desk lady at the hotel told me about it.)  I waited for a very long time in the dark and saw stars in the sky.  That's it.  When I mock-whined about it the next day, Mr. Front Desk told me they were a no-show at his house, too.

I was a bit disappointed, but since I hadn't even known about it til that morning, I didn't have enough time to build up a lot of excitement over it.