The American tradition began after World War II and the building of the transcontinental highway system in the United States- the day trip. The time when the family gets together and drives off to some exciting destination for a day of fun, thrills, and relaxation. We live in a nation where work is the mainstay of life and we are expected to keep our noses to the grindstone five days a week anxious for Friday when the whistle blows at five o’clock signaling that work is done.

The family prepares for the Saturday day trip or maybe it is the Sunday day trip. Regardless, the day trip is as American as apple pie. Packing the car with food and water, extra clothes, perhaps a first-aid kit, and the absolutely necessary sunscreen. The last thing to do is to set the home alarm system before leaving the house. It’s a good thing we found such an inexpensive home security system.

I remember growing up in Southern California the wonderful day trips my dad would take us on. One of the more memorable was the time we went to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake nestled in the mountains above the Los Angeles basin away from the smog and endless traffic jams. The clear mountain pine air filled my nostrils and the sun glistening across the lake gave it a surreal look. The two lakes sit side-by-side and are as different as night and day. Arrowhead is more untouched and beautiful than Big Bear Lake. But both lakes have appeal in their own right. I remember seeing a wild wolf for the first time crossing the road in front of us and realized how natural and unspoiled nature is amidst the sprawling mecca of modern society.

This year the nests are very low to the ground. I’m going to predict that we will have a winter with much less snow than last year. It will be interesting to see if that is the case. Right now, with the temperatures in the triple digits, I’m trying to stay cool by thinking about snow! How crazy is that?!

My wife and I were looking at the http://www.horizonmyrtlebeach.com web page to get a better idea of what are the Myrtle Beach best hotels for being able to spend some time at the beach, but also be close to the shows and amusement parks.  I’d like to have a Myrtle Beach hotel that is set up like a condo – with several bedrooms and a kitchen and living room.  We could share that with Mom & Dad to split the expense, but also have room to spread out and relax.

When she finally found her car, and was ready to leave, would you believe her battery was dead?  Yes, it really was.  She said that she got the garage attendents to give her car a jump start.  She got home a full eight hours later than she was planning to get home.  So she missed the high school reunion party that she had been  planning to attend.  She was unhappy about that; she had been planning for months to go!  No, it was not a good travel day for Sandra today.

There are so many things to see and do in New York. Of course we will make sure and see some good shows while we are there. I have been asked to check out some of the venues online, since I am pretty good on the computer, so I have taken some time to see what type of shows are going to be running them. The Internet makes this task a much easier one to take on. I’ve checked into some IZOD CENTER TICKETS as well as some JONES BEACH THEATRE TICKETS and they are much more affordable then I first thought, which is a pleasant surprise. New York isn’t known for being cheap what-so-ever, if you know what I mean!

It will be too late in the year to utilize any of the Central Park Summerstage TICKETS  that are being heavily advertised, but that is all right, there is a huge variety of events to pick from and I have my work cut out for me trying to please every one’s taste, wants and needs, but I’m up for it and look forward to the challenge.

I reserved a bit of my tax refund money for a nice summer vacation this year, it has been a long year and a vacation is way over due. I found a great Myrtle Beach hotel online at http://avistaresort.com. The Avista Resort is one of the many oceanfront resorts located in the North Myrtle Beach area and it has been designated as America’s “Number One Family Beach” I like that it is only two walkable blocks away from the famous Main Street that has such a wide variety of things to see and to do.

There are tons of resorts in Myrtle Beach that can be checked out on the Internet, what a great way to find the best one to suite my needs and wants. I look forward to playing a few rounds of golf while I’m there. I come from a family of golfers and we used to always make time to play a game or two during the family vacations back in the 70’s, it’s a good sport for the whole family to enjoy all year round.

I’ll make sure and take plenty of pictures and will post a few here shortly after my return.

I always enjoy browsing through the shops for a few hours, and then having a lobster dinner at a Boothbay Harbor Restaurant. There is nothing quite as good as having lobster on the coast after a day of watching the many yachts and boats in the marina. I like to fantasize about being as wealthy as the folks who own some of those magnificent yachts. I know it will never happen, but a guy can dream, can’t he?

There have been a few times when I lent money to someone to help them out of a jam and then found them squandering money on something totally unnecessary.  That has always bugged me to no end.  If they have enough money to squander money on something totally unnecessary, then why haven’t they paid me back the money they owe me?  When I ask them what’s going on, why are they throwing money away on “stuff” when they owe me money, I get the “gee you’re a big jerk” reaction.  I think Ben Franklin gave some really good advice back in his time “Neither a lender, nor a borrower be.”

Baseball season is in full swing now and some teams are beginning to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. Whether or not these teams can maintain the leads they have remains to be seen, and it is not out of the question that lower ranked teams can still put together some winning streaks and climb out of the cellar. In either case, I know that Major League Baseball will be one of the most watched sporting events on my satallite tv this spring and into the summer.

The team I follow is the Milwaukee Brewers and currently the Brewers are in a bit of a slump. The Brewers’ offensive capabilities remain solid as ever with incredible hitters such as Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder, and Casey McGehee leading the way for the crew. The pitching is the Brewers’ main weakness and has been for the last few years. The starting rotation more often than not can make it the six or seven innings they need to go, so manager Ken Macha almost always has to dip into the bullpen sooner than he would like. The only problem there is that the bullpen has been prone to give up big innings just like the starting rotation, which doesn’t lead to very good results. In addition, the all time saves leader Trevor Hoffman who is usually a rock solid closer for the crew has already blown more saves this year than he did all of last year. If the pitching doesn’t get better, it may be a long summer for the Brewers.