2010/07/05
We got up today, got some food and headed down to Station Square for the Ducky Tour. We checked out some of the stuff as we killed some time. We saw the foundation and some of the old steel mill stuff that was sitting around. Ale bought a sexy pair of sunglasses at a stand and soon it was time to board.
Amazingly enough I had not gone on this before but I was glad we got to now. The vehicle drove all around Pittsburgh and the tour guide told us all kinds of cool things that I didn't even realize. Ale had a blast and soon we hit the part where we drove into the water and that was neat. The driver called for some guest driver's as we swam(?) along. You even got a cool sticker that says 'I drove the Ducky Boat' but Ale was too chicken to go up there. Oh well.
When we got back we hit up the Incline and walked over to the observation decks to get some good pictures of us and the city. I have done that before several times and I was happy to share this experience with Ale. We got some great pictures and I think she liked seeing the city from this perspective.
After we went back down Mt Washington we started checking out all the shops and things that were in Station Square. Ale wanted to get lots of gifts and souvenirs that had PITTSBURGH stamped on them so that's what we did. We also went a hurricane simulating machine which was fun. It just blew air at you really hard. We stopped at Houlihan's and got some delicious chicken nachos for lunch.
It was late afternoon by this point and we promised Aunt Dee we would stop out so we headed back stopping at dairy queen to get Ale a Blizzard (another treat she never tried). We did that and when we stopped at my Aunt's she got to meet her and my cousin and we played with some sparklers and stuff. It was another adventurous day!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Alevacation part 3
2010/07/04
We woke up today and I got to show Ale some of my domestic skills. I used some of the food I bought to make a kick ass breakfast for us. Eggs and bacon and toast and all the good stuff. I think she liked it. When we finished up and got ready it was time to head out to do our activities for the day.
The first stop was Laurel Caverns. It was a bit of a drive to get there but it was awesome because we just got to sit besides each other for real and enjoy us just being there for once instead of just over the video screen. It's cool that we can talk over the computer and chat and all that but to finally be in each others presence was a totally different kind of awesome.
I may have been here before but I don't remember it and it was around this time that Isaac was going to go here on a field trip with Penn Pals so that's how I got the idea. With both of us going we could talk about what we've seen separately and that would be cool. Plus it's a cool activity to do anyway. The view from the top of that mountain is insane. You can see forever and it's just very peaceful and awesome up there.
When we walked inside the building they have at the opening of the cave we saw all kinds of cool brochures of the other stuff that was around here so we grabbed a few as souvenirs. There were also all kinds of cool pictures of bats and maps of the caves from different viewpoints all over the wall and we stopped to check that stuff out too. We had a few minutes to kill before the next tour so we played with some of the crap in the gift shop and soon they paged us to begin our descent.
You'd have to experience this yourself to see what it's like. I wish they'd give you a map and a flashlight and let you go at it yourself but I can see they don't want morons getting themselves lost and killed and stuff. I guess if we'd really want to do it we could join their group and get in that way somehow but not right now.
The tour lasted about an hour and we got to see some cool stuff. There was one point where they locked us in a room and shut out the lights. You totally could not even see your hand in front of your face! They played a song with some colored laser lights that lit up to the beat and that was neat too.
There wasn't much left to do when we walked out of the cave so we just hopped in the car and headed out to our next destination.
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival @ Twin Lakes
This was pretty fun. Although I hear horror stories about how packed this place is being as it was the last day, it wasn't that bad at all for us. I was cautious though and parked maybe a little too far away. We had to walk a distance to get there but that was okay. We played on the fun activity thingies they have on the path as we went and just talked and enjoyed each others company. We took the wrong path and had to walk the whole way around both lakes to get there but again, what was the hurry?
When we got there Ale got to have funnel cake for the first time ever and she loved that. I also bought her a tie-dye shirt so she can be a hippie with me now. We looked at some of the crafts and other stuff that was there and that was about it. We hit the end and walked back through a second time and then decided we were tired and it was time to head back to the car. We went back to Jim's and that was about it for that day. We ate some of the food I bought and went to sleep.
We woke up today and I got to show Ale some of my domestic skills. I used some of the food I bought to make a kick ass breakfast for us. Eggs and bacon and toast and all the good stuff. I think she liked it. When we finished up and got ready it was time to head out to do our activities for the day.
The first stop was Laurel Caverns. It was a bit of a drive to get there but it was awesome because we just got to sit besides each other for real and enjoy us just being there for once instead of just over the video screen. It's cool that we can talk over the computer and chat and all that but to finally be in each others presence was a totally different kind of awesome.
I may have been here before but I don't remember it and it was around this time that Isaac was going to go here on a field trip with Penn Pals so that's how I got the idea. With both of us going we could talk about what we've seen separately and that would be cool. Plus it's a cool activity to do anyway. The view from the top of that mountain is insane. You can see forever and it's just very peaceful and awesome up there.
When we walked inside the building they have at the opening of the cave we saw all kinds of cool brochures of the other stuff that was around here so we grabbed a few as souvenirs. There were also all kinds of cool pictures of bats and maps of the caves from different viewpoints all over the wall and we stopped to check that stuff out too. We had a few minutes to kill before the next tour so we played with some of the crap in the gift shop and soon they paged us to begin our descent.
You'd have to experience this yourself to see what it's like. I wish they'd give you a map and a flashlight and let you go at it yourself but I can see they don't want morons getting themselves lost and killed and stuff. I guess if we'd really want to do it we could join their group and get in that way somehow but not right now.
The tour lasted about an hour and we got to see some cool stuff. There was one point where they locked us in a room and shut out the lights. You totally could not even see your hand in front of your face! They played a song with some colored laser lights that lit up to the beat and that was neat too.
There wasn't much left to do when we walked out of the cave so we just hopped in the car and headed out to our next destination.
Westmoreland Arts & Heritage Festival @ Twin Lakes
This was pretty fun. Although I hear horror stories about how packed this place is being as it was the last day, it wasn't that bad at all for us. I was cautious though and parked maybe a little too far away. We had to walk a distance to get there but that was okay. We played on the fun activity thingies they have on the path as we went and just talked and enjoyed each others company. We took the wrong path and had to walk the whole way around both lakes to get there but again, what was the hurry?
When we got there Ale got to have funnel cake for the first time ever and she loved that. I also bought her a tie-dye shirt so she can be a hippie with me now. We looked at some of the crafts and other stuff that was there and that was about it. We hit the end and walked back through a second time and then decided we were tired and it was time to head back to the car. We went back to Jim's and that was about it for that day. We ate some of the food I bought and went to sleep.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
2010 PT Fall Festival
This past weekend was the 4th Annual PT Fall Festival and of course Isaac and I went. We went last year and had probably one of the best times of our lives and when I heard midway through August when the dates for this year's was (Sept 17th & 18th) I immediately marked those off on my calendar. I don't think this year's was a super awesome as last year but that would have been difficult to achieve. We still had a blast, saw many of our friends and family and had an all around great time.
It started on Friday night.
Isaac wanted to go the second I picked him up from Penn Pals but I knew we needed to hold off a bit. I did splurge and order some Pizza Hut pizza for us to eat that way we wouldn't be hungry and spend money when we were there. (Side Note: The new Big Italy pizza sucks. The Bigfoot was better. Don't waste your money) I waited until about 6:30 or so and we walked down. It wasn't exactly pumping yet but at least it was still light. We did see a few people we knew, Candy & Bob, Brandi, Walt, Becca so that was cool. I did find out in horror that the cost to ride the crappy rides had gone up considerably. $2 a ticket or $13 for a bracelet to ride everything. The bracelet did not cover both days. I was hesitant to spend that kind of money but I did make a deal with Isaac that since he has been doing good in school and following the rules that I had a 20 dollar bill that was pretty much his to spend as he pleased. I let him know that rides today equal no rides tomorrow and as you would expect he opted for rides now!! Did I mention the rides were crappy? I mean they were serviceable but not that thrilling in any sense of the word. He did ride the swings and the teacups and anything else they would let him on. I was making sure we got our moneys worth. He did freak out on the haunted house as he did back at the WM county fair so that was funny. He was terrified of someone stepping on the thing that activates the screaming noise.
It was starting to get dark and there were people streaming in from the football game going on across the street at the high school but we stuck around to play a few games first. He won a little dolphin stuffed thingy at the fishing pond, a whistle at the 'throw darts at balloons' game and a lollipop at the kids shoot basketball game so that made him feel accomplished I hope. We walked out of there happy and went home to go to bed. We had to get up early the next day!
And continued into Saturday
Although I gave Isaac the choice to sleep later and hurry or get up early and take our time I decided when I opened my eyes at 8:30am that it was time to get things moving. We got up, got dressed and I made some breakfast and we were out of there. We had to walk the whole way to Aunt Dee's to get our seats for the parade. (I found out via RunKeeper that it was exactly 1 mile from our house to Dee's) This year there was no Nicholas or Jed or Zippy but it was still fun. The parade was nice and we remembered to bring a bag to keep the horde of candy that was thrown his way. We chilled at Aunt Dee's for a bit after it was over and then headed down and checked out the classic car cruise that was there as we entered since Isaac loves those mighty machines! We met up with Stephanie and Allie at around 1pm and walked around with them for a while and went to the petting zoo. We saw Mary Jo and her daughter Kim there and then we went up to the Warrior Wonderland (or the 2 playgrounds as we call it). Anne met us there with Sean and Ella so that was nice. We walked back down to the fair and they were as outraged as I was about the ride cost. Luckily for us most of the ride operator's must have not been checking too closely because they let Isaac on with the bracelet from yesterday so that was good. We got some food after a bit and we did find the Walking Tacos that Isaac loves so much so that was also good. We got some ice cream and farted around a bit more having fun until about 4pm. I was sunburned at this point and everyone was casting off for other things they needed to do. Isaac and I walked home and took a much needed rest. Last year we went back for the fireworks but this time we didn't seem to care as much. We did see some of them through the trees from the front porch when it was time but we didn't fell like standing there in the dark getting eaten by bugs so we went back in to whatever we were doing at the time.
All in all a definite fun time that is going to be part of our yearly activities. I'm just kind of hoping to bring a special someone with us next year so I can enjoy it with someone rather than just Isaac.
It started on Friday night.
Isaac wanted to go the second I picked him up from Penn Pals but I knew we needed to hold off a bit. I did splurge and order some Pizza Hut pizza for us to eat that way we wouldn't be hungry and spend money when we were there. (Side Note: The new Big Italy pizza sucks. The Bigfoot was better. Don't waste your money) I waited until about 6:30 or so and we walked down. It wasn't exactly pumping yet but at least it was still light. We did see a few people we knew, Candy & Bob, Brandi, Walt, Becca so that was cool. I did find out in horror that the cost to ride the crappy rides had gone up considerably. $2 a ticket or $13 for a bracelet to ride everything. The bracelet did not cover both days. I was hesitant to spend that kind of money but I did make a deal with Isaac that since he has been doing good in school and following the rules that I had a 20 dollar bill that was pretty much his to spend as he pleased. I let him know that rides today equal no rides tomorrow and as you would expect he opted for rides now!! Did I mention the rides were crappy? I mean they were serviceable but not that thrilling in any sense of the word. He did ride the swings and the teacups and anything else they would let him on. I was making sure we got our moneys worth. He did freak out on the haunted house as he did back at the WM county fair so that was funny. He was terrified of someone stepping on the thing that activates the screaming noise.
It was starting to get dark and there were people streaming in from the football game going on across the street at the high school but we stuck around to play a few games first. He won a little dolphin stuffed thingy at the fishing pond, a whistle at the 'throw darts at balloons' game and a lollipop at the kids shoot basketball game so that made him feel accomplished I hope. We walked out of there happy and went home to go to bed. We had to get up early the next day!
And continued into Saturday
Although I gave Isaac the choice to sleep later and hurry or get up early and take our time I decided when I opened my eyes at 8:30am that it was time to get things moving. We got up, got dressed and I made some breakfast and we were out of there. We had to walk the whole way to Aunt Dee's to get our seats for the parade. (I found out via RunKeeper that it was exactly 1 mile from our house to Dee's) This year there was no Nicholas or Jed or Zippy but it was still fun. The parade was nice and we remembered to bring a bag to keep the horde of candy that was thrown his way. We chilled at Aunt Dee's for a bit after it was over and then headed down and checked out the classic car cruise that was there as we entered since Isaac loves those mighty machines! We met up with Stephanie and Allie at around 1pm and walked around with them for a while and went to the petting zoo. We saw Mary Jo and her daughter Kim there and then we went up to the Warrior Wonderland (or the 2 playgrounds as we call it). Anne met us there with Sean and Ella so that was nice. We walked back down to the fair and they were as outraged as I was about the ride cost. Luckily for us most of the ride operator's must have not been checking too closely because they let Isaac on with the bracelet from yesterday so that was good. We got some food after a bit and we did find the Walking Tacos that Isaac loves so much so that was also good. We got some ice cream and farted around a bit more having fun until about 4pm. I was sunburned at this point and everyone was casting off for other things they needed to do. Isaac and I walked home and took a much needed rest. Last year we went back for the fireworks but this time we didn't seem to care as much. We did see some of them through the trees from the front porch when it was time but we didn't fell like standing there in the dark getting eaten by bugs so we went back in to whatever we were doing at the time.
All in all a definite fun time that is going to be part of our yearly activities. I'm just kind of hoping to bring a special someone with us next year so I can enjoy it with someone rather than just Isaac.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Another great day
While walking around the parking lot on a break on Tuesday I was showing my new shoes off to Billy and I said offhandedly that they were so awesome I could totally beat him in a race. Now I'm used to hanging out with lame people who would never take me up on that, never even consider it, but to my pleasant surprise he took off running!! It was close at first but about halfway thru I pulled away and he couldn't keep up. That was amazing!!
That wasn't even the best thing about that day. I love when things just come together. When I left work and picked up Isaac I thought it would be a cool idea to stop at Bushy Run park and take a walk. It was. (I just wish my walking tracker thing would have worked. I must have not hit the button or something) So we got a nice little workout there to keep our fat asses in shape. We went home and did our bookbag thing where I looked at all his papers and he did his homework. No Mimi today so we got to cook our own dinner (tacos, of course) and cleaned up after that. There was a little time to play and I used that chance to update my MovieDB with something I was working on and it worked!! I can now change the results of a drop box menu box based on the choice from another one. We made our lunches for the next day, got cleaned up and our clothes ready and even read a story good night. I just love days like that!! <3
That wasn't even the best thing about that day. I love when things just come together. When I left work and picked up Isaac I thought it would be a cool idea to stop at Bushy Run park and take a walk. It was. (I just wish my walking tracker thing would have worked. I must have not hit the button or something) So we got a nice little workout there to keep our fat asses in shape. We went home and did our bookbag thing where I looked at all his papers and he did his homework. No Mimi today so we got to cook our own dinner (tacos, of course) and cleaned up after that. There was a little time to play and I used that chance to update my MovieDB with something I was working on and it worked!! I can now change the results of a drop box menu box based on the choice from another one. We made our lunches for the next day, got cleaned up and our clothes ready and even read a story good night. I just love days like that!! <3
2010 Labor Day Weekend
We've been having a lot of fun lately so I wanted to give a quick update on some of the stuff that has been going on.
Friday was the start of Labor Day weekend so I had the car packed and ready to go so when I left work I went straight to get Isaac and hit the road. My dad was moving this weekend so we had to check out and enjoy his resort one last time before we weren't allowed in here anymore. It's also hopefully the last time we have to take those twisty wine country roads that slow you down. I found a new route that is all highway that I can't wait to try out. On the way down we stopped at our usual Burger King that we always go to. It's our tradition. We got there late but still a good drive time and hung out for a little bit. The house was a wreck. Everyone was packing and moving stuff. This is where it was first hinted to me that I have been shanghaied. I thought we were coming for some pool and playgrounds but apparently I was one of the main work horses they were waiting for. That was okay I guess. I come down here and have fun all the time so the least I could do to help my family was help them move. Olivia's boyfriend Kyle was also here to help.
We woke up early on Saturday and went at it. We were hauling stuff out for the Uhaul at 8 in the morning. We completed our first load by 11:30 and thought we were having a good time. Until it was 8pm and we could barely life our arms anymore. We did 3 loads and although we did get most of the big things that needed moved, there was still stuff at the old house. We were all exhausted and La ordered way too much pizza. It was cool that we got to spent one night at the old house and one night at the new house, the first night anyone stayed there.
Speaking of the new house, it was great! It had very similar qualities to the old place but it was way bigger. It had a real finished basement instead of just dirt. The only drawback really was that it was not on the resort. I wonder what sorts of things will we do now when we come here to vacation?
At least on Sunday morning since most of the moving was done we got to take a break. After an awesome breakfast at my favorite place in the world IHOP (only 5 minutes from his house!!), we went up the road to a playground. It was pretty nice and there were some other kids there. Dad and I played some frisbee and he later told me how much he enjoyed that. I guess that's one activity we can do. I wanted to try and hit another park but dad had to go to work later so we decided it was time for pool. The resort put in a new pool area and we hadn't hit it yet so that was our destination. It was very nice two new huge pools and two hot tubs too. Dad didn't stick around but Isaac and I had a blast. We were very sad to drive out of there knowing that we were probably never going to be back.
We went home and packed up all our stuff (in the craziness of moving we did forgot some shoes) and gave everyone a hug good-bye. They were very grateful for our help and we happy to be there for them. We drove home and brought our stuff in. We still had a whole day of vacation to go!
I woke up early on Monday and changed my oil. I was hoping to do that down in VA but that didn't work out. Mimi took us to get Isaac some school clothes at Kohl's and we both got new shoes so we were very happy about that. After that we hit the last 2 close playgrounds I had on our list and then I took Isaac to see the Scott Pilgrim movie (best movie ever) and he really enjoyed that. We went home and got some much needed down time after getting our clothes and lunches and backpacks ready for the next day. An awesome ending to a great weekend.
Friday was the start of Labor Day weekend so I had the car packed and ready to go so when I left work I went straight to get Isaac and hit the road. My dad was moving this weekend so we had to check out and enjoy his resort one last time before we weren't allowed in here anymore. It's also hopefully the last time we have to take those twisty wine country roads that slow you down. I found a new route that is all highway that I can't wait to try out. On the way down we stopped at our usual Burger King that we always go to. It's our tradition. We got there late but still a good drive time and hung out for a little bit. The house was a wreck. Everyone was packing and moving stuff. This is where it was first hinted to me that I have been shanghaied. I thought we were coming for some pool and playgrounds but apparently I was one of the main work horses they were waiting for. That was okay I guess. I come down here and have fun all the time so the least I could do to help my family was help them move. Olivia's boyfriend Kyle was also here to help.
We woke up early on Saturday and went at it. We were hauling stuff out for the Uhaul at 8 in the morning. We completed our first load by 11:30 and thought we were having a good time. Until it was 8pm and we could barely life our arms anymore. We did 3 loads and although we did get most of the big things that needed moved, there was still stuff at the old house. We were all exhausted and La ordered way too much pizza. It was cool that we got to spent one night at the old house and one night at the new house, the first night anyone stayed there.
Speaking of the new house, it was great! It had very similar qualities to the old place but it was way bigger. It had a real finished basement instead of just dirt. The only drawback really was that it was not on the resort. I wonder what sorts of things will we do now when we come here to vacation?
At least on Sunday morning since most of the moving was done we got to take a break. After an awesome breakfast at my favorite place in the world IHOP (only 5 minutes from his house!!), we went up the road to a playground. It was pretty nice and there were some other kids there. Dad and I played some frisbee and he later told me how much he enjoyed that. I guess that's one activity we can do. I wanted to try and hit another park but dad had to go to work later so we decided it was time for pool. The resort put in a new pool area and we hadn't hit it yet so that was our destination. It was very nice two new huge pools and two hot tubs too. Dad didn't stick around but Isaac and I had a blast. We were very sad to drive out of there knowing that we were probably never going to be back.
We went home and packed up all our stuff (in the craziness of moving we did forgot some shoes) and gave everyone a hug good-bye. They were very grateful for our help and we happy to be there for them. We drove home and brought our stuff in. We still had a whole day of vacation to go!
I woke up early on Monday and changed my oil. I was hoping to do that down in VA but that didn't work out. Mimi took us to get Isaac some school clothes at Kohl's and we both got new shoes so we were very happy about that. After that we hit the last 2 close playgrounds I had on our list and then I took Isaac to see the Scott Pilgrim movie (best movie ever) and he really enjoyed that. We went home and got some much needed down time after getting our clothes and lunches and backpacks ready for the next day. An awesome ending to a great weekend.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Pet Peeve: Sunoco gas pump too slow
I've been annoyed by this for some time now but this was the first time I thought to write it down. Sunoco gas stations in my area here have all seemed to have upgraded their pumps within the last few years and I'm sure they are nice and new and shiny and have pretty colored lights on them but damn, they are slow and clunky and take too much time to begin dispensing fuel!
I go to the gas station to put gas in my car. I do not want to have to answer 50 questions to make the electronic pump menu system work. No, I do not want a car wash with that. No, I do not want a free bumper sticker or credit card application or GRRRRRR!@*@^%!!
The optimal solution is pull in, swipe card, push button selecting grade and go. That is not how the pumps at Sunoco work. Not only do you have answer a series of questions, the machine is maddeningly slow between asking and responding. Shouldn't your swiper machine know if it's debit or credit? If I swipe it and don't enter my PIN then guess what, it's credit. I'm sure this new crop of gas reward cards are very useful to some people but not me. There shouldn't be a specific question asking me if I'm going to use one. If I scan it, accept it, if not then I don't have one. Duh. Let's go here!
In short, speed up the process. Customer surveys are for people that actually go in the store. You should feel lucky that the owner of this store chose to locate it as he did and the route that I take to go to work intersects it or some other petrol company would be getting my money instead of you. Please take my feedback in mind when rolling out your next series of pump upgrades. I do not appreciate this minute or more of my day being wasted this way.
I go to the gas station to put gas in my car. I do not want to have to answer 50 questions to make the electronic pump menu system work. No, I do not want a car wash with that. No, I do not want a free bumper sticker or credit card application or GRRRRRR!@*@^%!!
The optimal solution is pull in, swipe card, push button selecting grade and go. That is not how the pumps at Sunoco work. Not only do you have answer a series of questions, the machine is maddeningly slow between asking and responding. Shouldn't your swiper machine know if it's debit or credit? If I swipe it and don't enter my PIN then guess what, it's credit. I'm sure this new crop of gas reward cards are very useful to some people but not me. There shouldn't be a specific question asking me if I'm going to use one. If I scan it, accept it, if not then I don't have one. Duh. Let's go here!
In short, speed up the process. Customer surveys are for people that actually go in the store. You should feel lucky that the owner of this store chose to locate it as he did and the route that I take to go to work intersects it or some other petrol company would be getting my money instead of you. Please take my feedback in mind when rolling out your next series of pump upgrades. I do not appreciate this minute or more of my day being wasted this way.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
How Pathetic Is That
If my job seems redundant it's because it is.
I needed to send this guy an email about sending in some of his missing files. I searched through my 'Sent Items' to find a template of a prior email I sent so I could just change the dates I was asking for and resend. I found an email that I sent on this exact day last year 2009/09/02 and in it I was asking for the exact same files but from last year. Not even cool. :|
I needed to send this guy an email about sending in some of his missing files. I searched through my 'Sent Items' to find a template of a prior email I sent so I could just change the dates I was asking for and resend. I found an email that I sent on this exact day last year 2009/09/02 and in it I was asking for the exact same files but from last year. Not even cool. :|
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
