I woke up this morning to the sun in my eyes...what a wonderful thing. I love the weather, but I have a feeling I couldn't live on the beach. The incessant pounding of the waves gets on my nerves after a few days. It's getting to that point.
They are going to launch a rocket today. I'm hoping to get pictures! I'll post them on Picasa and/or Facebook when I get them.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
October Trip First Three Days!
Hey there! It's been a long time since I've written, as usual. I just forget to update and my life is extremely boring and lame. But I'm on vacation and so I decided to let everyone know about my trip.
We left Cincinnati on Saturday October 24, 2009. The weather was drizzly and cold, not optimal travelling conditions, but not the worst thing in the world. Vacationers this year are Greg, Kaitlyn, her boyfriend Daniel and me. We drove my big black Yukon XL...luckily gas prices aren't in the $3 range!!!
Our drive down was pretty uneventful. I did go a different way this year. Rather than travel down I-75 as we always have, we decided to take the more easterly route, I-40 to I-26 to I-95. I've always been hesitant to go that way, because I-40 through the Smokies used to be a narrow 4-lane expressway in horrible disrepair. The road was actually condemned a few times due to rock slides and just general poor condition. I was pleasantly surprised this time. The lanes were much wider, the curves less sharp and the traffic was light. The North Carolina Rest area was very nice and the leaves have started to turn. We travelled all day, leaving at 9:53 AM and stopping for the night at 11:45 PM in Yulee, FL. First time I've ever been in 7 states in one day!!!
In Yulee, we stayed at the Comfort Inn. Normal room, on the old side. But it was decent and they had a free continental breakfast, plus waffles. The staff was extremely nice and we had a good night's sleep.
From Yulee, it was an easy 2 hour drive to Ormond Beach. The sun was shining and I was actually having a harder time driving the short distance than I had the long. Maybe that was because I had driven so far the day before. We got to the LaPlaya Resort at around 1 PM and our room was ready. We have a one bedroom, oceanfront suite on the third floor. This hotel has a lot of potential, but is older and showing its age. Hey, the elevators work...that's an improvement over the last three hotels we stayed at down here.
We didn't do much yesterday. Just kinda hung out and got used to everything.
Today dawned clear and bright. We laid out by the pool most of the day and visited the Tiki bar. Then we played Pirate's Cove Mini Golf (Daniel won. And surprisingly, Greg not only went, but he came in second.) We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and are now back in the room. I think Kaitlyn and Daniel are going for a walk on the beach in a bit...And I'm going to shower and go to bed. More tomorrow.
We left Cincinnati on Saturday October 24, 2009. The weather was drizzly and cold, not optimal travelling conditions, but not the worst thing in the world. Vacationers this year are Greg, Kaitlyn, her boyfriend Daniel and me. We drove my big black Yukon XL...luckily gas prices aren't in the $3 range!!!
Our drive down was pretty uneventful. I did go a different way this year. Rather than travel down I-75 as we always have, we decided to take the more easterly route, I-40 to I-26 to I-95. I've always been hesitant to go that way, because I-40 through the Smokies used to be a narrow 4-lane expressway in horrible disrepair. The road was actually condemned a few times due to rock slides and just general poor condition. I was pleasantly surprised this time. The lanes were much wider, the curves less sharp and the traffic was light. The North Carolina Rest area was very nice and the leaves have started to turn. We travelled all day, leaving at 9:53 AM and stopping for the night at 11:45 PM in Yulee, FL. First time I've ever been in 7 states in one day!!!
In Yulee, we stayed at the Comfort Inn. Normal room, on the old side. But it was decent and they had a free continental breakfast, plus waffles. The staff was extremely nice and we had a good night's sleep.
From Yulee, it was an easy 2 hour drive to Ormond Beach. The sun was shining and I was actually having a harder time driving the short distance than I had the long. Maybe that was because I had driven so far the day before. We got to the LaPlaya Resort at around 1 PM and our room was ready. We have a one bedroom, oceanfront suite on the third floor. This hotel has a lot of potential, but is older and showing its age. Hey, the elevators work...that's an improvement over the last three hotels we stayed at down here.
We didn't do much yesterday. Just kinda hung out and got used to everything.
Today dawned clear and bright. We laid out by the pool most of the day and visited the Tiki bar. Then we played Pirate's Cove Mini Golf (Daniel won. And surprisingly, Greg not only went, but he came in second.) We ate dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and are now back in the room. I think Kaitlyn and Daniel are going for a walk on the beach in a bit...And I'm going to shower and go to bed. More tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Universal Service?
I must admit, I was a little bit “wrongheaded” disagreeing with Robin’s point of view this morning. While I do agree that an all-volunteer armed service is the optimal solution, the statistics just do not support it. And I am (somewhat) in favor of a draft. It would not do any of our children, or our children’s children, any harm to have mandatory Armed Forces service. It might point some of these aimless, drifting people in a good direction.
That being said, I do not agree with what little I’ve read about Obama’s Universal Service. I do not think anyone should be forced to do “community service”. Yes, we should help others less fortunate. But we should be able to follow our conscience, not be told we MUST help the disenfranchised, the illiterate, the desperate poor. The Peace Corps, the Job Corps, etc, are all good programs, but should remain volunteer programs.
Of course, I don’t know why people are causing a furor about it now. It looks to me like it was something Obama spoke about prior to his election and nothing much has been said since. If you google it, all you find are some articles written in 2008 after he made a speech in Colorado. I haven’t found one current article about it. Personally, I think Obama is too busy trying to push through all the other spending programs, i.e. socialized, oops, Universal Health Care, bailing out fat cat insurance/banking/automotive companies and so on, to worry about a Universal Service program. This may pop up again in the future, but for now, there’s bound to be other things about which to worry.
Let’s spend our time worrying about reforming our current political system. A democracy is a good idea, but truly, we need to limit the time a person can serve in Washington (or Columbus, Lansing, Albany, you get my drift). Once we start limiting terms, then we will probably be able to get representatives who truly are for the people, by the people.
That’s just my opinion.
That being said, I do not agree with what little I’ve read about Obama’s Universal Service. I do not think anyone should be forced to do “community service”. Yes, we should help others less fortunate. But we should be able to follow our conscience, not be told we MUST help the disenfranchised, the illiterate, the desperate poor. The Peace Corps, the Job Corps, etc, are all good programs, but should remain volunteer programs.
Of course, I don’t know why people are causing a furor about it now. It looks to me like it was something Obama spoke about prior to his election and nothing much has been said since. If you google it, all you find are some articles written in 2008 after he made a speech in Colorado. I haven’t found one current article about it. Personally, I think Obama is too busy trying to push through all the other spending programs, i.e. socialized, oops, Universal Health Care, bailing out fat cat insurance/banking/automotive companies and so on, to worry about a Universal Service program. This may pop up again in the future, but for now, there’s bound to be other things about which to worry.
Let’s spend our time worrying about reforming our current political system. A democracy is a good idea, but truly, we need to limit the time a person can serve in Washington (or Columbus, Lansing, Albany, you get my drift). Once we start limiting terms, then we will probably be able to get representatives who truly are for the people, by the people.
That’s just my opinion.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Swine Flu
OK...there is a swine flu epidemic. I get that. It started in Mexico and has gone global. So, it may turn into a pandemic. I get that too...
But what I don't get is why the media has to whip the public into a paranoic (is that a word?) frenzy? Yes, we are all at risk...Yes, it's dangerous. But they don't have to use the swine flu as their headline news EVERY SINGLE DAY and EVERY SINGLE NEWSCAST. We get the idea.
And BTW, this outbreak makes me think that we should build a great big wall (think Great Wall of China) along the Mexican Border. That would stop illegal immigration, pandemics and Mexican drug traffic.
Yes, I'm an isolationist, so what?
But what I don't get is why the media has to whip the public into a paranoic (is that a word?) frenzy? Yes, we are all at risk...Yes, it's dangerous. But they don't have to use the swine flu as their headline news EVERY SINGLE DAY and EVERY SINGLE NEWSCAST. We get the idea.
And BTW, this outbreak makes me think that we should build a great big wall (think Great Wall of China) along the Mexican Border. That would stop illegal immigration, pandemics and Mexican drug traffic.
Yes, I'm an isolationist, so what?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)