October 2008 Archives

This term, mentioned today during a phone interview for a story, was new to me. I had never heard, thought about or considered billboard pollution.

That's probably because I drive Route 30 and Interstate 83 most days and feel like it's just a given -- not good, not bad, just there.

Well, now that I've heard the term, I'm thinking and considering and you'll have to check back here on the blog tomorrow to find out more about the story I'm working on and why billboard pollution should be part of every York County resident's vocabulary.

Have you heard this term? What's your take on billboards?

This morning, I was jolted out of my pre-coffee haze by a sign at the Sheetz in Mechanicsburg saying regular unleaded gas was $2.25 a gallon.

With my tank on empty, I scooted in and filled up my Honda Civic for $24.75!!
Not $45 or $50 like recently. $25!!!!!!! I'm not getting overly excited though. I fear the prices will just go back up once the election is over.

It was such a pleasant discovery during a time when it seems the all news relating to jobs, finances, cost of living and the economy in general is bad news.

On the flip side though, I read this story about how some people are about fed up with being charged $1,000 for some domestic flights -- for COACH seats! -- and that doesn't include the fee to check luggage.

What do you think of this?

Hey everyone, look what's coming!
I was pretty psyched to read this story about how we'll probably be able to keep our drinks and other liquids with us as we go through security in airports starting sometime next year.

How exciting!

Laura Westerberg of York poses for a photo with guide Mohamed Khalil July 17 at Deir el-Bahari, Egypt.

She and others spent 11 days touring Cairo this summer, then flew south to Abu Simbel and, finally, cruised the Nile from Aswan north to Luxor.

Westerberg wrote that seeing the pyramids and places such as Valley of the Kings and Karnak was inspiring: "The sharp line where the vegetation stops and the desert begins was sobering - showing how little fertile soil is available for Egypt's inhabitants for living and farming."

Her travel tip: Get a guide Buy four to six bottles of water a day and drink them all - plus bottled water at meals. Wear a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen to protect your skin and eyes.

The York County Heritage Trust Auxiliary will sponsor a Scandinavian trip from Sept. 10-22, 2009. A slide presentation of stops on the trip -- in Norway, Sweden and Denmark -- will be shown at 4 p.m. Nov. 10 at the York County Heritage Trust Museum at 250 E. Market St., York. Everyone is welcome to attend.

The tour begins in Stockholm and proceeds to Oslo, Lillehammer and Loen before cruising through the fjord region and visiting the Briksdal Glacier. The cruise ends Sept. 19 in Bergen. The following two days will include a city tour of Copenhagen, visits to museums, shops and the Tivoli Gardens.

Many of the stops on the trip are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Cost is $4989 and includes airport transportation, round-trip airfare, hotels, numerous meals and all taxes and fees. For details, call Norma at 873-6581.

Students and chaperones from Susquehannock High School traveled to Ecuador and The Galapagos Islands from June 23 to July 2. Students must have taken two years of Spanish to go on the trip.

The group toured Ecuador's historic capital of Quito, visited the equator and Cotopaxi, the largest active volcano in the world. They also spent time on Santa Cruz, Floreana and Bartolome islands in the Galapagos, where they saw sea lions, frigget birds, blue-footed boobies, iguanas, giant tortises, crabs and more.

Susquehannock student Matt Schriver offered the following travel tips:
*Bring cool-weather clothes for high-altitude destinations
*Be careful with your passport -- it can easily be lost or stolen
*Knowing some Spanish can be very helpful, especially for shopping and dining out.

Join YorkArts Saturday for a day in Pittsburgh visiting the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History and the Andy Warhol Museum.

The bus departs from the South York Plaza at 6:30 a.m. and returns by 9 p.m. Tickets cost $60 for those who only want to visit the Carnegie museums, $70 for those who also wish to tour the Warhol museum.

For details, call 848-3200.

For the third year in a row, Ghosts of Gettysburg has been voted "Best Ghost Tour in the Country" by the readers of Haunted America Tours, a Web site that averages more than 2 million hits each month.

Here's what those who run the site had to say about the local tour, operated by author and paranormal investigator Mark Nesbitt:

"Nesbitt tries to gather factual data on the stories he receives so he can offer a background as to why these ghost stories may have evolved. His stories are factual and interesting."

Nesbitt -- a former National Park Service ranger/historian -- was also honored as the year's top paranormal investigator and ranked as the country's third favorite haunted author.

As I've watched the leaves change color and the air take on the chill of fall the past couple of weeks, I kept telling myself I needed to get outside and enjoy it before the trees are bare and the cold, intolerable.

Sunday, I finally did, hiking five miles up and down a mountain in Col. Denning State Park near Newville with friends. (That's my friend Stacy and me standing up on the rock)

I must say, it probably wasn't the wisest decision to undertake such a massive workout after a month away from the gym. The past three or four weeks, my primary physical exercise has been carrying boxes up and down stairs of my new house.

While that is a bit of a workout, it in no way prepared me for the rather misnamed "Flat Rock Trail," which I thought could have been renamed "Vertical Rocky Trail to the Sky."
Today, I feel a little sore, but in a good way. And the time outside was totally worth it. Check out the awesome view.

What outdoor activities are you doing these days? Post a comment and share.

As far as kids are concerned, Saturday is the big day.

It's when the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia re-opens in a restored National Historic Landmark building. The expanded attraction now resides in Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, the last major building remaining from the 1876 Centennial exhibition.

Six new exhibits, a huge toy sculpture, a collection of Philadelphia CHildhood Treasures and a 100-year-old Dentzel Carousel join an array of interactive, hands-on learning opportunities for kids and their families.

Saturday, from 10 a.m. to noon, two world renowned chainsaw carvers will be at the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Millersburg.

Yes, it will take you a little more than an hour's drive to get there from York.

But you can make some fun stops on the way home -- including two of my favorites: Sledworks in Duncannon and The Millersburg Ferry.

For seven hours Friday, investigators from The Travel Channel's "Most Haunted Live" will visit five historic locations in Gettysburg and broadcast live from the heart of Adams County.

Tune in from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. for the interactive event, which will let viewers participate in the paranormal investigations by text messaging and faxing in psychic art.

Check out a trailer here.

What's your favorite haunted local spot?

What? You never have time to kill?

You must not have ventured into the world of air travel in recent years. The best way for me to get caught up on books, magazines, music and such is to fly.

If you'll find yourself on a plane in the future, you may want to pick up a copy of this book for some new ideas.

What's your best use of in-flight or airport lag time?

I know firsthand that with the economy the way it is and the immediate outlook anything but encouraging, it's kind of frivolous to be sad about news that airfares -- especially international ones -- are at an all-time high.

Last week, for the first time, I felt the pain of homeowners who rely on oil heat as I wrote a check for nearly two week's worth of pay to the guy who came to fill the tank in my basement.

I'm saving a week of vacation for a mid-winter escape, but with air travel getting so expensive lately, I'm wondering if I'll be able to swing it.

Are you changing your travel plans for financial reasons?

It has been nearly a full week since my last post. I apologize!!

(Apparently no one missed the blog though because I didn't get any e-mails or comments on older posts!)

Here is my excuse:

And, a list of what I've learned in the past week about moving and becoming a homeowner: