Vincent Price is Dead – #SoCS

Bourbon milkshake

Maddie wanted to sit. I wanted a beer. We compromised.

Cheryl makes a pretty good Michelada

It’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday, so it’s time to take Linda’s prompt and head to the bar. Linda sets the stage for this week’s conversation by giving us:

“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is ‘flower/flour.’ Use one, use both, it’s totally up to you. Enjoy!”

She’s kidding, right?

If we were having a beer, you would be wasting no time.

“It’s your turn to buy.”

“Yes, thanks, it is good to be back.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just that sometimes, when you’re gone for a week, I forget whose turn it is.”

“But not today.”

“No, not today.”

“Not today – what? Are you guys not drinking today?”

“We’re drinking Cheryl, but he’s paying. It’s his turn to buy.”

“I think we established that. Welcome back Cheryl.”

“Thanks Dan. It’s good to be back. Did you have a good trip?”

“We had a great time, how about you?”

“It was great, I miss them already. You want a Corona? Or did you switch beers when you were in Pittsburgh.”

“That’s a silly question. He operates within a four-brand range of beers.”

“That might be true, but I did have some drinks that might surprise you.”

“My young friend, if you can surprise me, I will pay for today’s food and drink.”

“You heard him, Cheryl.”

“I did, but I’m leaning toward his side, Dan – you don’t normally drift out of the box.”

“You want in on the action?”

“Sure, surprise me, and the first round’s on the house.”

“OK young man. That’s raise and call. Let’s hear it, what did you drink that wasn’t beer?”

“In reverse order, I had a Margarita at the baseball game, wine with dinner Sunday night and a Bourbon milkshake with dinner on Saturday.”

“A Bourbon…”

“…milkshake?”

“Yes.”

“Well, first round is on the house. Wings and subsequent rounds are on you, old man.”

“Thanks Cheryl, I’ll have a Corona.”

“OK, you got me. But, baseball… I thought you went down to see the Steelers lose.”

“We did go to the football game, but we stayed an extra day to see the Pirates play.”

“Did they lose, too? Is that why you turned to the hard stuff?”

“No, they won in classic style. Tied going into the bottom of the ninth. Two outs, two men on, three-and-two count on Stallings. He smacked it into left field to bring Kramer in from second.”

“I love it when that happens.”

“It sure felt good.”

“I’m surprised the game wasn’t rained out, wasn’t Florence headed your way?”

“She blew through early. It poured all day long.”

“Were you stuck in your hotel?”

“No, we toured Heinz Chapel and Phipps Conservatory.”

“Phipps? I thought it was Phibes”

“Anton Phibes? That was a movie “The Abominable Dr. Phibes?”

“I guess I’m confused.”

“I guess, Vincent Price died twenty-five years ago – tough to tour.”

“Wait, so what’s Phipps? A concert hall? “

“A botanical garden.”

“You – went – to – a – flower show…”

“It’s a bit more than that.”

“How much more?”

“Fifteen acres.”

“Yikes, that’s a lot of flowers.”

“Well, we stayed under glass, given how hard it was raining, but I think there are over a dozen glass rooms.”

“So why is it called Phibes?”

“It’s not!”

“Phipps, Phibes, what’s the difference? Why not Pittsburgh Botanical Gardens?”

“Henry Phipps built the gardens in 1893 as a gift to the city.”

“Speaking of gifts, it looks like you boys are about done with the free round. Ready to buy some food?”

“We are, Cheryl. Wings and another round.”

“So where did you get a bourbon milkshake?”

“A place called Burgatory – a burger joint on the North Shore.”

“North shore of what?”

“The Allegheny River, but the North Shore is a district. It’s where both stadiums are, where the Science Center is, the Casino, a river walk, and lots of other attractions.”

“Hopping place?”

“It was pretty live Saturday night, Pitt beat Georgia Tech earlier in the day.”

“So, some of your teams won. Still, it seems like a long drive for a couple of ball games. Why didn’t you fly?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“You get there faster.”

“Yeah, but flying sucks the life out of a road-trip.”

“Maybe I am old, but I don’t see the fun in road trips.”

“Music, snacks, taking pictures and Eat’n Park.”

“You have nine hours of music?”

“Faith does – I think someone once said: ‘music goes into the making of a road trip like flour goes into the making of bread’ – or something like that.”

“Pablo Neruda, but it was ‘peace goes into the making of a poem…” Dan, but I like your version. Here’s your Corona (with her lime), your Meiomi, your seltzer and the wings will be right up.”

“I should have known you’d know that, Cheryl, you write beautiful poetry. Cheers!”

The gallery is from a walk through the conservatory. Sorry I don’t know the names of most flowers.

This has everything I like.

Hey, this one has a name. Most of the signs weren’t close enough to photograph with the flower.

Lots of hanging stuff.

How cool is that? There was a little girl walking around staring at this from every angle.

This, I think is an “Angel’s Trumpet”

I’ve never seen a flower that blooms like this.

The sign said “Strawflower”

I dunno, but pretty.

Some things were hanging down to greet us

Everywhere we walked, something was waiting for us.

I like the light shining through these petals.

So pretty.

It appears to be flying toward us.

These are glass sculptures.

The best thing about this flower was the way it reached out to us on the path.

Sorry I don’t know the names. Pretty yellow flower.

The gardens are inside, but bees and critters can be found. We even saw a chipmunk.

I love seeing water drops on flowers. This flower is a color I don’t see well, but I know it’s pretty.