Wednesday, November 23, 2022
Not a major hangover, amazingly, but I felt as if I hadn't slept at all. Joints ached, short of breath and very, very lethargic, I was wondering if I was going to make it back to the park at all. Had a chocolate chip cookie the check in staff gave me last night and washed it down with the Mike's Harder Mango. Not good. Didn't achieve a better state. Still groggy and listless.
Eventually by noontime I willed myself into action and after a refreshing shower, made my way back to the park, driving of course, but parking still free since I now had my pass. Oh walking was quite the chore. Temps were in the low 70s but I was soon sweating from the strain of walking just a few paces at a time. I know I looked pathetic.
Slowly made it to NBC Sports Grill & Brew but they had no outside seating available so I moved on into the original park. I knew I didn't have enough energy for both parks and figured I'd cover a bit more of the original in this trip and focus on IOA next one. The Today Show Cafe had outdoor seating like its predecessor Boulangerie Patisserie but aside from being packed full, I checked out the food online and it didn't tempt me. Maybe Finnegan's, I thought, but as I ambled my slow, fat ass towards the New York section of the park, the crowds intensified and I saw a line stretching out the door of that iconic Irish pub.
Crowds made wait times for rides outrageous too so I figured those were out. I made it to just outside the San Francisco area and I was thinking Lombard's but I heard someone shout out that it was a 45 minute wait. Ugh. I was really suffering now, originally overcast all day, the sun was peeking through and I was sitting on a bench near the former Beetlejuice venue and figured I'd make my way out.
On the way, I diverted back to Hollywood Blvd. and luckily I was just in time for the 1:45 showing of The Bourne Stuntacular. It was freezing in there so luckily I had my grey Daytona Beach hoodie and pulled that on, but then in the briefing room where about 200 people were all standing around each other, casually spreading Covid to and fro, it got warm again so off with the sweat, then back in the frigid air as we entered way-too-slowly (due likely to this generations' lack of confidence in crowd control) to the theater seating.
Well it had a crisp HD, maybe even IMAX widescreen, cool 3-D sans glasses effects and some ok acting and fight sequences but man oh man, this makes me miss T2-3D so much more.
I left the park after the show and went back to NBC Sports and conceded to an indoor seat by the window enjoying a tasty mushroom burger with potato puffs and Diet Coke ($24.59 with tip) (yeah, I wasn't feeling the drinking thing today).
Back at the hotel room, I peeled off my sweaty shirt, collapsed on the bed and tried to get a nap. Maybe I'd feel better and be able to go back to the park in a couple hours or so. Nope. Fucking insomnia. Couldn't sleep and couldn't feel rested enough. So after flipping through a couple channels on the TV and confirming that standard TV still sucked, I bedded down for the night. From 8pm to 4am I didn't sleep a wink, just lay there with my eyes closed. From 4 to 6:30, very spotty sleep.
Thursday, November 24, 2022 (Thanksgiving)
Checked out around 7:30 am drove to a nearby Burger King for a cold croissant egg and sausage with hard cold dried out hashbrowns ($8.51) and made the very foggy but very traffic-free drive back home.
I really need to work on my health. Issues like I'm having are unacceptable. Next time I return to Universal, I will be sure to be in a better state of fitness. Spending almost a thousand dollars for a few drinks, a couple meals and one attraction is simply nuts!