Morning Joe Re-Tweeted Me!

Probably not that big a deal, but made me feel good. I commented about the President's comments to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and how many service men I talk to believe in the mission. Someone at @Morning_Joe liked my comment enough to re-tweet it.
Excuse me while I deflate my pathetic ego.

(Boston) New England Aquarium - Part the Second

The aquarium has several rehab facilities.  There is a whole section that is like an ER and hospital/rehab for sea turtles.  No pictures allowed :-(

I did get some pictures from the "fish hospital".  This poor guy has a bubble over his eye.  He is in the "Critical Care Ward".  He doesn't look very happy.

(Boston) New England Aquarium - Part the First

The New England Aquarium was our first stop on our first full day in Boston.  As with most of the attractions we visited, I could have spent a whole day here.  Sea Lions have an external wall on their tank and are the first critters to welcome you to the aquarium.  If you look real close, you can see them in the photo just left of center. (click on pictures - they are stored in hi-res and you can blow them up big!)

The facility has a four(?) story walk around tank in the middle of the building with large (think Sharks!) sea life in it.  The bottom "floor" of the building is a gigantic penguin pool with hundreds of penguins.

Picture taking was a problem.  People using flashes kept getting nice pictures of themselves.  The flash turns the glass walls into mirrors.  I had my best success shooting in video mode.  First video clip has Seahorses, a crab, an urchin, and these strange 5 armed creepers that look like something from a SciFi movie.  There are three more videos after the jump (click the "read more")

Ocean City MD

We left Wednesday morning on a semi-spontaneous trip to the shore. The ride down was great. No traffic jams, construction, or any other problems. We made it to the shore by lunch.

I spent most of my time reading on the beach or flying my kites. Jerry bought a body board and beat himself up with it in the surf. He also went to H2O, the only under-21 club in OC, in the evenings. He had a great time at the club and it was probably the highlight of the trip for him so far.

Today we head north to Rehoboth Beach.

Vacation Time

Going on vacation. Jerry and I are leaving this AM and will return early next week. Stay tuned for updates.

Athletic Shorts

Chris Crutcher returns to some of his characters from other books. This collection is a quick read. Crutcher shows that he is able to capture the same intensity that he does in his novels in short stories. Read the other books first.

I read the book today. I did skip one of the stories with a character from another one of the novels, 'running loose', until I get a chance to read it.

It was a wonderful day to lay outside and read. I read the first half of the book this morning while sitting on my porch. I finished reading the book at the Selinsgrove pool.

Went to a friends for dinner. All-in-all, A real kickback kinda day.

Lazy Saturday

The day got off to a slow start.

After lunch, Junior stopped in and said he wanted to go fishing. We packed up the car and went to the Montour Preserve. We fished there for about an hour and caught nothing.

Then we headed through Turbotville and followed the road leaving town to the river. Somewhere between Montgomery and Dewart we found a path that led down to the river. It was also near an old railroad bridge.

Jerry and I swam out to the railroad bridge piers and fished in some deep holes. We could see some big fish, but didn't catch any monsters. We did catch a few keeper sized, although we didn't keep them.

We fished until 6:30. We cleaned up quick at the apartment and went to Bonanza for dinner.

Now, I can eat a lot. So can Jerry. (I'm fat and he is a growing boy/young man). But Junior put us both to shame. He ate four full plates from the buffet and two 10oz. steaks. He skipped the french fries, but did eat the baked potato. What a monster appetite!

Long Pond

Monday

Todd had to work. Janine took Jerry to Long Pond and they went fishing in the canoe. I didn't get many pictures. I watched Sam.




Once again, Jerry did great with Sammy. Did I mention that Sam is only ten months old? He is a bruiser.

Egg Bros Inc

Todd and I spent most of the day working on a project for one of his friends. There is a wedding for their daughter next week and the family wanted to do something special. The parents wrote lyrics for a song. My brother helped compose the music and the mom, Martha, sang the lyrics. My brother played the guitar and mixed the music. I received lots of pictures and some VHS dubs to make the video. It is the first Egg Bros Inc project outside of the family.

Downside. It took all day and part of the night.

Upside. We know it was a success. Martha was crying after she watched the video. I'm so proud of our project. Todd and I work well together.

I might get eatin' by a bear

Jerry spent his evenings worrying about getting eatin by a bear or other creatures.

Deputy Sheriff Eck and Baby Sam

Stayed at my brother's last night. We all slept in. The baby kept my brother and sister-in-law awake. Janine made a wonderful breakfast. Then Todd, Jerry, and I went off to Todd's office and then the rifle range. Todd wanted to practice some.

It was a good opportunity to give Jerry a taste of what he might get to do if he joins the military. Jerry is talking about the Marines. I would be just as happy if he went into the Army or Navy.

Janine grilled some steaks and burgers for dinner. And again, it was wonderful.


Jerry spent some time with his 'cousin' Sam. Sam liked Jerry a lot. I think Jerry will make a great father someday. He did really well with Sam.

Ruggle's Mine

Jerry talked me into taking him to the Ruggle's Mine. It was a bit pricey ($20 each) to get into the quarry. We did get a bucket of rocks with some small gems in them.


That little speck in the middle of the above picture is Jerry.

Now we need to find a tumbler.

Sculpted Rocks Swimming Hole

Second Day of New Hampshire Trip

Went to a swimming spot called Sculpted Rocks. Turned out to be a great day to go swimming. The weather was the best we would experience on the trip. Made a video. You get to watch it.

Leaving for New Hampshire

Took off this morning for New Hampshire for a short vacation.

Saw a car wreck just in front of us on the way up. We were in New York and a car zipped across both lanes from left to right and into the grass. Jerry and I stopped to help. The car that went off the road backed up onto the road and took off. Before we could merge back into traffic, a State Police Officer pulled in behind us. A few minutes of explanation later and we were back on the road.

We stayed near Dartmouth College. After a dinner of steak (and for Jerry that means 'just steak'), we walked around the campus. Jerry found a Hookah bar and thought it was funny that they actually advertised that they smoked tobacco in the Hookah. A group of summer students was out front dancing to the beat of some bongo drums being beatin' on by some other students. Jerry also bought a huge Grateful Dead poster.