June 2009 Archives

It never fails -- things always happen at the most inconvenient times. Mostly bad things. And especially when you're away from home, and maybe can't even speak the local language.

Beautiful Smiles Family Dental Center in Fairview Township suggests putting together a dental emergency travel kit to take with you when you hit the road -- or air or sea.

Here's what you should bring:

Fixodent or Polygrip -- Yeah, you think dentures, but it works as a temporary cement if you lose a crown or bridge.

Benzodent, Ibuprofen -- For the inevitable toothache or gum irritation.

Empty prescription bottle with screw top and neutral saline solution -- If you lose a tooth, pop it in the container along with some of the solution.

Dental wax -- If braces, brackets or wires break or come loose, this can save your cheek and lips.

Dental floss and peroxide -- Use the floss to remove foreign debris, then flush with a mixture of half peroxide and half water. Apply Benzodent.

Denture repair kit -- Lets you mix up an acrylic material to repair cracked dentures or re-attach a denture tooth to the prosthesis.

My friend and I spotted this car in the parking lot of the West Shore Farmer's Market one Saturday when we decided to go there for lunch after our morning spinning class. When we went inside, we saw our cycle class instructor. We're betting the car was his because he was pretty intense!

The Pennsylvania Cable Network, PCN, together with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, will broadcast a series showcasing Pennsylvania state parks again this summer.

It kicks off Sunday, June 28, with a visit to what I consider my state park: Cowans Gap in Fulton County. It's where my family has gone camping since I was little -- first in pop-up campers, then rented cabins.

The series will continue for 10 weeks, highlighting just some of the state's 117 state parks. York County's Codorus State Park will be featured Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Connie Smith of Manchester sent me this license plate picture she snapped while in Mechanicsburg on June 19.

Remember Alf?

Grab your camera and sneakers and prepare for a free Photo walk of downtown York Saturday morning. (The photo shown from the steps of the State Capitol is from a recent photo walk in Harrisburg.)

Walkers of all ages and photography levels are invited to meet at 10 a.m. at Continental Square (Market and George streets in downtown York) for a 2-mile meander around town, photographing items of interest.

In addition to obvious landmarks like the Central Market and the Colonial Courthouse, participants will be looking at architectural details noted in local author Scott Butcher's "York's Historic Architecture." Butcher will be available to answer questions.

Following the event, walkers are encouraged to upload their favorite pictures to a shared Flickr page, where other walkers and friends can view and enjoy them.

Cameras ranging from disposables to professional models are all suitable.

For details visit www.vrphotowalks.com or email Andy Smith at ostman4200@comcast.net.

If you're already bored by summer, Gettysburg is where you want to go.

The town has a lot going on this week, but the main event is the Gettysburg Fringe Festival, which continues through Sunday with a number of events at venues throughout town. If you're into art or interested in preserving nature, check out the Land Conservancy of Adams County's art market at the Adams County Agricultural & Natural Resource Center from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Both days this weekend, the Gettysburg Foundation will offer art-focused tours of the battlefield, one of the world's largest collections of outdoor sculpture. Learn more about the artists who made the 1,300 monuments and the stories behind them. For tickets, call 877-874-2478.

Folks who are familiar with the popular UnCork York wine tours each March will be pleased to learn that the York County Convention & Visitors Bureau will hold a new event Nov. 20, 21 and 22.

UnCorkYork participating wineries will feature exclusive tastings of Nouveau and newly-pressed wines fresh from the harvest. Vistors will be invited into the cellars for tank and barrel tastings to witness another step in the process of turning grapes into fine wine.

Thing is, they need a name for the new event. Submit your vote by Friday, June 19, for a chance to win four free tickets to the November event.

York County is pretty well known for its snack foods and motorcycles.

But did you know that a local textile mill produces material used in Hollywood films? That the country's oldest and largest wallcovering manufacturer has its products in more than 40 countries?

Learn these trivia tidbits and more during this year's Made in America Tours, June 17 to 20. More than 20 local factories will welcome the public onto the production floor to see how items are made.

New for this year's event, Historic York's Architectural Warehouse will present a guided tour showcasing stories of treasured architectural elements and historical furnishings.

For details, visit www.factorytours.org or call 1-888-858-YORK (9675).

Here are the answers to the York County geography quiz I posted up here a few days ago. How many did you get correct?

1. Yoe (pronounced Yo)

2. Etters (There is a post office by this name, but most people with this address actually live in Newberry or Fairview townships)

3. Pinchot Lake at Gifford Pinchot State Park in Warrington Township.

4. Pleasureville

5. Summer and Autumn. (Winter is represented in Winterstown and Spring in Springfield Township)

So, there you have it!

Here's a fun geography quiz focusing on York County that I came up with as an activity for a recent staff meeting. See how many you know -- post your guesses as a comment to this post -- and look for the correct responses in an upcoming post!

1. What small town could also be a way of getting someone's attention -- especially in an urban culture?

2. Name the northern York County place people frequently say they're from, but it's not a town, borough or township.

3. Name the York County lake that I frequent with my kayak. (Hint, you can probably figure this one out by spending some time in the "backyard travels" or "Jen's Journeys" section of this blog.)

4. What unincorporated village in Springettsbury Township seems like an awfully nice place to live -- where things are always pleasant?

5. Which two seasons are not represented in the name of a York County borough or township?

I spotted this one in the parking lot of my dentist's office earlier this week. Pretty self-explanatory, huh? (or should I say -- ahh!)

Most people know to suspend the newspaper delivery, ask a neighbor to bring in the mail and take other precautions to secure their home while they're away.

But what many apparently don't think about is taking care with what they tweet while they're gone. As social media has extended its reach, more people than ever are posting status updates and tweets about their day on the beach, the mountain lion they happened upon, the fantastic exhibit they caught.

And they give nary a thought to who might be looking at this information.

Check out this story from USA Today about what could happen.

Do you have any tips for how to handle status updates or tweets while you're away? I mean, you want to share your awesome experiences, but you don't want to put yourself or your home in harm's way.

Finally, after a year of record-high gas prices, airline add-on fees, a bad economy and swine flu, there is some good news on the travel front.

Listen to this podcast by Wall Street Journal travel columnist Scott McCarthy by NPR. He explains why it may be easier and cheaper to fly this summer than last, and why more people may want to consider taking a trip. He also clues you into some bargain destinations such as Mexico, which is trying to get tourists to return after the swine flu scare.

What are your summer travel plans? Will you be flying anywhere? Driving? Sticking close to home?

We Pennsylvanians should count ourselves lucky.

We don't have to pay an admission fee to lounge at Gifford Pinchot State Park or take the kayak for a spin on the lake. That isn't the case at state parks in many nearby states, nor at the country's national parks.

Tuesday the National Park Serivce announced it will waive
entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments -- including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite -- on three weekends this summer: June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.

The Park Service said 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees that range from $3 to $25; the nation's other 244 parks are already free. Most Americans live less than a day's drive from a national park.

For details on the offer, click here.

I didn't realize that the Venezuelan rainforest -- and Angel Falls in particular -- are the inspiration behind Pixar's latest animated hit, "Up."

I haven't seen it yet, but now I definitely want to.

Look at these two pictures at right -- one from the film, the other of the real Angel Falls. Pretty good, eh?

Angel Falls is another one of those places I've been so close to, but never got to visit. (I lived and studied in Venezuela during college -- pre-Chavez -- but never got to the rainforest part of the country.)

Check out this story.

Anyone seen the film? What do you think?

Now this could be useful.

Like the author of this story, I know that some businesses offer discounts to AAA members. I also frequently forget to look for and ask about said discount.

To help you take advantage of your membership and save money more often, the travel organization now offers an application you can download to either the iPhone or the iTouch.

Anyone tried it? What do you think? I have an iTouch, so maybe I'll look into this...