Dorney Park a tale of two halves - of the day.

Jill received for her birthday 3 passes to Dorney Park, a combined water park and amusement park. We had been to Dorney Park before a few years back and did not really like it. For some reason the park attracts boat loads of buses with people from the big city. Last time we went there was just too many people there, just too many. But this time around it was like "hey the tickets are free, so why not". Well now I can definitely say "never again". The day had started out early...this being part of Jill's birthday gift we set off for a flea market a kind of large car boot sale where various items can be got very cheaply. We were looking for really specific things and did not find them. Then it was on to a diner for breakfast, to fortify us for the day ahead...when you hear about the prices of food in the park you will understand.

more to come...soon

Family Night at Palmer Pool 2008

Friday Palmer Pool had their annual family night where they remain open until 11pm. This reminds me of the post I had of a previous family night with a fantastic picture of the sunset. There were similar scenes this time but I didnt have a camera to capture them. No just a phone from which I took this picture, which hopefully captures a little of the flavour of the night. With flashing lights of various coloured lights for the dj who played some good music. This all added to the atmosphere and the night was a big success. The picture was taken from the grass lawn near the concrete pool deck. The water was cool but actually nice in a kind of "have to get used to it" way. We swam for a good amount of time and then had a break, it was then that we thought we may leave but it was close to 10pm then and I am happy we stayed a little longer until 10.50pm. The pool was very busy and it was an enjoyable night. There will be another family night in both July and August.

Duck has 9 young ones.

Summer must be the time of new families and at work this still holds through. Today it was discovered that the ducks now have 9 young ducklings, newly born. It was kind of funny to see how the ducklings would all follow their mother in small tight formation. Everyone was told to be careful driving around as the family would congregate under the cars. However later it was shown that they had returned to the pond/lake which is not far away. The best place for them. Today it was cooler and we had some strong thunderstorms so then, perfect weather for ducks!

Miles Per Gallon experiment.

How much are you paying for Gas/Petrol?

With petrol/gas reaching $4 a gallon, a level that is making many people in the U.S. quite unhappy, but remember I know that it is much more in Europe so those of you in Europe will say "so what! its more over here". However we must remember that everything in life is relative and until things affect our own insular lives then we dont seem too bothered really. I must admit I dont even know what the price is in Ireland (per litre). Four dollars over here is quite the breaking point. I never much went in for those massive jeeps/suvs & trucks. Coming to America visually on the highways that was always striking to me. Ireland a nation of such small cars and America a nation full of big fuel guzzling suv's, and as long as fuel was relatively affordable this lifestyle was going to be indulged. Lately it has been a different story and with some vehicles here only getting around 12 miles per gallon its easy to see why, trade in those fuel guzzlers for a smaller economical car. My own cars get about 30 miles per gallon and I want to find a more economical model...any suggestions, please post below. Suv's are now so hard to get rid of and people are trading thousands to gain an extra 10 miles per gallon. Such undertakings need careful mathemathical assessment and knee jerk reactions will not help in the long run.
We have been looking at Hybrids...Toyota Prius being the shining model of the future maybe...however lately I have heard that problems lie ahead for the hybrid's with the battery that is principally used to lower the intake of fuel by switching between fuel and battery, with the battery being so expensive to replace in the 3-4 years life it has. Also parts are perhaps expensive and hard to find. Three years ago when I eventually bought my Saturn I was looking at the Prius, but declined on the grounds of perhaps Toyota not being so reliable. Now I just want a good car maybe 2-3 years old with better than 35 miles per gallon anyway back to the main question.

How much are you paying to fill your vehicle? and what plans do you have for the future?, has all of this changed your attitude to the future?

Birds have flown the nest.

Our old car is giving us problems.

Pool is open for business, the summer is here.

Philadelphia Cheesesteak and a Graduation.