Airport Phobia

Wow it has been such a long time since I had anything to do with airplanes and airports, since 911 air travel has become such a hassle that I have completely shied away from flying, as so many other people have done since then. So when my BFF just announced that she will be flying in from Alabama for her niece’s high school graduation and that she needed me to pick her up from the airport, I almost fell over.

Don’t get me wrong I would do anything for my long time BFF (best friends since the 4th grade and still going strong after all these years) but just the thought of all the issues that go along with airports just gets my tummy all in knots. I mean let’s face it the jfk parking issue is enough to get me all in a tizzy much less finding the right terminal. What really freaks me out is if the flight is delayed then what would I do in the mean time? If it was just for a short time, like an hour or two, I could handle that. I would of course bring a book, but I can only sit and read for so long.

What ever it takes I’ll do it, don’t mean to sound like I’m boo hooing about it all. After sitting here thinking and writing about it it does sound pretty petty, never knew I had such an airport phobia……

Thanks To My BFF

The one place that I always wanted to go to when I was a kid, much like every other kid, was Disneyland in southern California. It never happened when I was a kid, but now I have the opportunity to go there and by golly you can bet your bottom dollar that I am going to jump on it and go this year with my BFF Judy.

Judy managed to line up a sweet deal for disneyland tickets at dnticket.com that she is going to pay for with her tax refund check and she has invited me, her BFF since 4th grade, to go along with her. She had a lot of deductions this year and is getting the biggest refund ever and wants me to help her spend it! I mean what are friends for, right? We haven’t done anything major like this together in so very long, it will be awesome spending a whole week together in such a fun and magical place such as Disneyland.

I will have to buy some new clothes with some of the money that I get back from Uncle Sam to take with us, but I guess that is the least I can do considering the expenses that she is going to be responsible for for all of this.

Sheetz Customer

I just got my Sheetz customer appreciation card which entitle me to save 3 cents a gallon as long as I make sure the sales clerks scans my card. I will also expect to receive an email once a month to let me know what item from their convenience store for free, like a free yogurt, a free bottled water, or a free package of candy. I love Sheetz, they all most always have the best price for gas as it is so saving another 3 cents will be welcomed.

 

Weekend Bike Riding

What a beautiful weekend we had. The weather was perfect and most people were out and about taking advantage of this unexpected warm, sunny end of the work week. I took out the bike that has been in the garage all winter and rode about down town for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and had a blast. I was a bit out of shape, but I didn’t let it stop me and it felt good.

New York City It’s Always Open

Growing up and living in New York City had many advantages. I really enjoy that we are provided with so many events, concerts, shows and the like. While growing up my parents took us kids, on numerous occasions to see the most wonderful Broadway shows which I’m so grateful to them for doing that with us all those years. It really made me appreciate all the venues that were available to us all.

Not only were all of the shows/performances a great thing to experience in the Big Apple, but all of the wonderful and diverse Coffee Shops and Restaurants that we constantly chowed down at back then was always an adventure and provided us with great entertainment and great food any time of day and any day of the week. There is always some place open in the big city to get something to eat and/or drink and plenty of people out and about enjoying life and just taking it all in.

There is no better place to be during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays than New York City. I think that is what I miss the most. I’m just going to have to make a special effort to get up there and do the holiday thing in the next couple of years. I know so many people that are still living in the city that I won’t have any trouble finding good places to stay at to lay my head down at the end of the day.

A Fiji Wedding

It most be nice to be able to plan a Fiji honeymoon these days. Times are hard and most people I know and love are struggling just to keep a roof over their head, food on their table, clothes on their back and gas in their homes for heat and in their vehicles to get them where they need to be. There are some great travel deals going on right now since money is tight for the majority of folks today, folks have cut back on so many things and travel is one thing that most folks have had to put on the back burner.

Due to these great Fiji vacation packages (and other vacation locations as well) my cousin, who has been engaged for several years now has been busy planning one of the dream Fiji weddings that most brides would simply die for. You see my cousin just turned 25 and has finally received the O.K. for her to start being able to use the money that was placed in a trust fund for her so long ago from an accident that took her mother’s life back in the 90’s. A dream wedding in Fiji is the first item of business for her in using this large amount of money that she so dearly deserves, although no amount of money could ever make the loss of her mother better at least it will bring her some pleasure in the future.

A Galapagos Cruise For Two BFFs

My best friend really has me worried these past couple of months, her two grown sons are making her life totally miserable, so much that she had to go to the E.R. three nights ago thinking she was having a heart attack. Thank goodness it wasn’t a heart attack, but her stress level is so bad that she is physically sick from it all. And that really jerks my chain.

It really bites that she lives so far away. I would love nothing more than to drive down there and shake some sense into both of my god sons, but a seven hour drive is a bit more than I can handle right now, although I would do it in a heartbeat if I thought she really needed me to.

Anyway she is talking about the two of us getting away on one of the Galapagos Cruises that we have always talking about wanting to do since way back in the day. She is getting a good chunk of change back from Uncle Sam this year and would love nothing more than taking a trip on a Galapagos Cruise Ship with me – her BFF and have been since the fourth grade. Who would have ever thought that we would take a Galapagos Cruise together so many decades later.

Best Radar Detector For 2011

I live in a Communists state – good old Virginia has always made it illegal to own and operate a Radar Detector, truckers really hate driving through Virginia, rightfully so. It really sucks to get a speeding ticket, those suckers are expensive all the way around and can really sour your day.

Even though they are illegal here it doesn’t stop many of us from using them. My brother even had one on his Harley, LOL! That particular one died last year so for Christmas I found the Best Radar Detector for him online at bestradardetectors.net which had the Best Radar Detectors for 2011. Was he a happy camper on Christmas morning for once. He is always so hard to buy for so it was really cool to see how pleased he was with my gift this year. Not sure how I’m going to top it for next year though…

A Biker’s Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the pad, There was nada happenin’, now that’s pretty bad.

The woodstove was hung up in that stocking routine, In hopes that the Fat Boy would soon make the scene.

With our stomachs packed with tacos and beer, My girl and I crashed on the couch for some cheer.

When out in the yard there arose such a racket, I ran for the door and pulled on my jacket.

I saw a large bro’ on a ’56 Pan Wearin’ black leathers, a cap, and boots (cool biker, man).

He hauled up the bars on that bikeful of sacks, And that Pan hit the roof like it was running on tracks.

I couldn’t help gawking, the old guy had class. But I had to go in — I was freezing my ass.

Down through the stovepipe he fell with a crash, And out of the stove he came dragging his stash.

With a smile and some glee he passed out the loot, A new jacket for her and some parts for my scoot.

He patted her fanny and shook my right hand, spun on his heel and up the stovepipe he ran.

From up on the roof came a great deal of thunder, As that massive V-twin ripped the silence asunder.

With beard in the wind, he roared off in the night, Shouting, “Have a cool Yule, and to all a good ride!”

Flat Tire Issues

Been dealing with a slow leaking tire for the past couple of months. A few times a week I have had to put air into the darn thing before hitting the road and I finally got tired of dealing with it and took it yesterday to Wal Mart. They told me that I had a big gash in the side wall and a new tire was needed. So $85 later I have a new tire in place.