On my last post, I documented my trip to the Grand Canyon. Also part of the trip was a visit to Phoenix to my favorite burger joint and to meet up with one of my favorite bloggers.
In-N-Out
One of my favorite burger joints ever since I can remember is In-N-Out Burger. I grew up in California where there are many locations. But up until recently, In-N-Out hadn’t graced the Beehive State. The closest current location is a four-hour drive in St. George. Since my daughter and I were so close to Phoenix while visiting the Grand Canyon, it would seem wrong to not make the under two-hour trek to enjoy a tasty treat.
Fries animal style, Double Double, grilled onions, cheeseburger
Fortunately, the Salt Lake area will be getting In-N-Out locations this winter. I will have to limit my visits to once a month to keep it real [and keep me from turning into a tub of double-double goo].
Blogger Meetup
Marty and Kevin
One of the bloggers that I’ve been reading for some time now is Kevin Spencer. He’s a British guy living in Phoenix and is not only a big fan of The Cure and Depeche Mode like myself, but he also takes some very stunning and incredible perspective photos.
As it turns out, he had never met another blogger in person. I was his first, um… blogingly speaking. We decided to meet up at a place called The Fish Market.
The Fish Market in Phoenix, AZ
The food was very good and so was the company. Not only did I learn a lot more about Kevin than I knew from his blog, we had a nice chat about all sorts of subjects. And as he found out, I’m quite the chattering fool when it comes to discussing my favorite subjects.
And my daughter Tiffany joined in the conversation as well, being extra patient with her dad and a fellow blogger.
Marty, Tiffany and Kevin
It was great to meet Kevin in person and be able to put a face with the name and the pictures.
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A Quick Giveaway
Ok, to celebrate back to school time, I’ve got a few SD cards laying around that I’m going to giveaway. To enter to win, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post and mention who was your first blogger that you met in person. If you’ve not met anyone yet, then tell me what blogger event you would like to attend someday.
As shown in the picture, there is an 8gb SD card, a 2gb SD card and a 1gb SD card. I will pick 3 random comments [from 3 different people, for those that leave more than one comment]. I will announce the winners next week.
Meat and Eat / Meet and Greet by Banal Leakage, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
When it comes to California fast food cuisine, I always preferred Fatburger to In N Out.
I met Mr. Fabulous (http://www.pointless-drivel.com) and Certifiable Princess (http://certifiableprincess.blogspot.com) simultaneously at a get together at my house – that was my first blogger meet-up.
Awww… you broke Kevin Spencer’s blogger meet-up cherry. That’s so sweet. Did you cuddle afterward? It’s the considerate thing to do. Dave2 still owes me a cuddle after Depeche Mode in ‘05.
I don’t think that third card is a 1GB card. It’s an adapter for a MicroSD card.
Wow… Kevin looks so real and life-like in those photos! I always thought somebody with such excellent music tastes would be a figment of my imagination, but there he is. I don’t get to awesome places like this because they don’t have vegetarian options. Sure wish they did though.
avitable – I’ve heard of Fatburger, but have never been to one. If they have one in Orlando, I will have to give it a try.
kapgar – Does a handshake and photo op count as a “cuddle”?
That MiniSD adapter has a 1gb MiniSD card inside of it.
dave2 – Yep, in the flesh. As for In-N-Out, while they don’t have an actual veggie patty, there are some options for making the burger without the meat.
http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/
They don’t have one here, which vexes me. But on the West Coast, they have a ton and I loved them.
avitable – Guess I will seek one out when I’m in Vegas or California next time.
i am not much of a burger eater (blasphemy, i know!). never have been to an in-n-out, but your photo is seriously making me want those fries AND that burger. dammit, that looks great. seeing as how pittsburgh doesn’t have one of those joints i’ll just have to wait, but i will absolutely have one of those glorious creations.
glad you had a good time meeting kevin. he looks happy. and kind.
i so wanna win the 8gb card. oh hell, who am i kidding…i wanna win regardless! so, my first blogger, eh? well, jester was the first blogger i ever met, but it wasn’t at a meet up. hell, he had to tell me what a blog was and why someone would want to have one. which means the first blogger meet up for me was tequilacon 08 in philly. i drove from pittsburgh and picked up karl, britt and adam at the airport. then we went to the hotel where dawg and poppy joined us. finally hilly arrived. then later that night there was a big ole dinner with even more bloggers. great blogger meeting weekend!
there. now, what did i win?
Ohhh 2 of my favourite bloggy boys in one place and I wasn’t there to squish you both!!! I’m so glad you had a fab time and if Kevin doesn’t get his British arse (not ass) back here soon so I can buy him and his lovely girlie a pint then I’ll sulk….hugely!
You deflowered him!!! I am guessing you were gentle.
My first blogger… well, I went to Avitaween, but the first blogger I met there was Geeky Tai Tai, and she was the BEST. (Still is, as we all know!) Couldn’t have met a greater person for my own “first time”!
Fat Burger is okay – we have one here.
Dave2 was my first, I brought along my husband and not surprisingly he was totally into that!
I thought about In & Out while in SF, specifically because you mentioned it on the GC post, but I didn’t make it in. I was wondering about animal style – the photo helped!!
In-N-Out Burger is yummy! Our mutual friend, AF, is damned excited about the one they’re building in Jordan Landing. In the interim, Chadder’s in American Fark and Worst Valley is a fairly tasty substitute.
hello haha narf – Well, if you find yourself on the west coast (CA, NV, AZ or UT), you will have to try an In-N-Out Burger.
I remember the photos, blog posts and stories from TC 2008. Next week, we’ll see if Random chooses you.
penelope – Arse.. Ass… they both can be kicked it seems. lol And nice to know I’m a fav.
sybil law – Always the gentleman. I saw your supergirl costume photos. I met Geeky at TC09 in Santa Fe. She is awesome.
beth – So the most recent Davelanta was your first? that’s cool.
alex – I’ve not tried Chadder’s yet. I may have to go try one and see how it compares.
Had an excellent time meeting you both mate. The comments about you being my “first” are totally cracking me up by the way
I really need to try In ‘N Out to see how it compares to Five Guys.
(Why do I know Kevin Spencer but don’t?)
(Hit Enter by mistake, I meant to say that all in one comment.)
kevin – Glad we were able to meet up, too. It was that clever line that I thought of while writing the post, with words echoing in my head.
poppy – I will have to do a comparison taste test once I can have a Five Guys and In-N-Out in the same place.
And venture over to Kevin’s blog. You will not be disappointed.