travel

Pitch perfect

by mayberry on August 11, 2011

Sometimes, you really do get a PR pitch that is right on the money. I wrote about that on my review page today. You should check it out because you could win a prize of your very own.

I’ve also been meaning to tell you about a nice email I received after my cranky post about how I like to do my OWN crosswords, independently. The people behind CRUX Crosswords for iPad gave me a code so I could check out their app. It is a nice collection of crossword puzzles from many sources, from my beloved New York Times to the Onion’s AV Club. You still need a membership to access some of these (that darn Times), but if you already have one, you can enter your info here and get puzzles through the app. It was just awfully nice to receive a totally no-pressure email from someone who really had read my post and acted accordingly.

This would all be a great segue into a BlogHer wrapup post, but since this isn’t 2009 there aren’t many stories to tell of either bloggers or brands behaving badly … at least, as far as I know. I saw lots of good friends, met some new people (still going through the cards and following/subscribing; I will get to you soon, I promise!), attended some sessions and parties, enjoyed the San Diego weather. I wrote about my brush with fame (Bob Harper!) at my fitness site. I missed a few things that I later regretted, and a few people who couldn’t be there.

As always, my favorite favorite thing was the Voices of the Year community keynote–and I love this post about it, and all of BlogHer11, from Liz at Mom-101, “You get what you give.” It’s a smart takeaway for all of us.

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Yogi and Pepe

by mayberry on June 15, 2011

The kids and I are enjoying a visit to Grandma’s chateau in her final weeks of occupancy. But on our way here we enjoyed a little adventure courtesy of the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds. If you are Aimee, you take this ball and run with it right to some stunningly beautiful national park in Utah.

If you are me, you go visit Yogi Bear at a Jellystone Park in Indiana! True story. It’s Great Outdoors Month, which the association observes with a promo called Go Camping America. Through June 25, stays at participating campgrounds and RV parks are 20% off, and you can get 15% off camping gear at Coleman.

Now, we are not what you would call “campers” in any sense of the word. We don’t own a tent, for starters. So to get in on this Go Camping action, we needed a campground that was a) on the way to Grandma’s house, and b) equipped with cabins for those of us who have lived to the ripe old age of 40 without acquiring any camping gear except the sleeping bag/”tent” combos for little kids that you get at Target.

So, Yogi to the rescue! At Jellystone Park, we could get a teeny little cabin (with electricity, without plumbing–but the bathroom was very close by and clean) that smelled totally piney fresh. It had a cute front porch and a sleeping loft that my children were almost brave enough to sleep in, and some sweet Yogi curtains. See:

(Also pictured: green bear from the skil-crane machine at Denny’s! Score!!)

In order to get to the campground, we had to drive through a pretty sketchy stretch of road (abandoned buildings, the occasional fast-food joint, and a trailer park), but the campground itself felt safe. It was pretty packed with RVs–some visitors own their lots and keep their campers there all the time, adding landscaping, decks, lawn ornaments, road signs, and other goodies–and I think our favorite activity was just walking around and looking at them all.

That, and observing the small family of skunks we noticed doing some spring nest cleaning under someone’s shed. Luckily, they did not seem to mind the attention. I don’t think the piney fresh scent of our cabin would have been up to the task of competing with skunk stink.

We also played mini golf and panned for “jewels” at the Old Faceful Mining Co. What my kids really wanted was to rent and drive a golf cart. See, we’re so outdoorsy! I said no. If we hadn’t needed to keep going towards Grandma’s house, we would have checked out the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which was just a few miles away. Maybe next time.

The ARVC comped our stay at Jellystone (just $65 for the night for the cabin we had–more on weekends and holidays) and helped fill our gas tank too. Thanks!

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Gratitude

by mayberry on November 26, 2010

…is playing the Telephone game with two mostly deaf 90-year-olds. Seven people, four generations and every one of us crying with laughter.

…is breaking out the pumpkin pie two days before Thanksgiving, because why not?

…is going to an old school Italian joint for pizza and porketta sandwiches that will probably appear one day on Man vs. Food.

…is being home again safe and sound with the weekend ahead of us.

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Something blue

by mayberry on September 8, 2010

Twelve hours before we were due to leave for my sister’s wedding, as I was packing like a crazy person, Opie desperately needed to put on his ninja Halloween costume (foreshadowing of things to come at the rehearsal dinner, apparently; see left), which was somewhere in the depths of the dress-up box in the basement playroom, where he refuses to go unaccompanied. So I grudgingly took him down there, and soon realized that something was amiss. Something was, in fact, really smelly. Opie confessed to having spilled something or other on the area rug recently, but I soon realized the entire 5′x7′ rug was soaking wet. As were the two beanbag chairs sitting on it, and the fabric-covered storage bin nearby. Oh, and look, way over here! A giant puddle on the linoleum! I started mopping, and sopping water up with towels, and cranking up the dehumidifier, and actually, I was pretty glad about the ninja costume because at least we found the leak before we left town for eight days, and not after.

The next morning, we got up before 5 a.m. to go to the airport, where we then sat until after the far more civilized hour of 9 a.m. In the end, after lengthy sojourns in both Minneapolis and Salt Lake City, we arrived in California more than 12 hours late after 22 hours of travel (and only one tantrum, in the hotel room at 2 a.m. when Opie felt completely persecuted by our refusal to let him watch a little TV before bed. “Just one show!” he wailed).

But the wedding–the whole vacation, really–was totally worth it. My sister lives in Pennsylvania but spent most of high school and college in northern California, so she wanted to be married there. The ceremony was held on the side of a mountain in California, with pine trees and a stone patio and an incredible view.

The view

We stayed in a small inn nearby, where we–the wedding party, family, and other attendees–were the only guests. I loved being able to spend a few days with normally far-flung family members (my own, and my sister’s new in-laws too. Jo was completely taken with the groom’s 11-year-niece–I mean, how cool is an 11-year-old when you are 8!). The inn had a lounge/game room on the ground floor, with a huge Rock Band/kararoke set-up, another Wii, pool, ping-pong, air hockey, and a poker table. So fun!

Jo and I spent most of the day of the wedding getting purty, while Opie entertained the groomsmen with his best joke: What’s the difference between roast beef and pea soup? Anyone can roast beef, but no one can pee soup (thanks iCarly!). Here we are all dolled up.

With bonus EAR

Doesn’t she look amazing?!

Minutes after these pictures were taken, at the inn, we went to the ceremony site. There Opie proceeded, accidentally, to FLING the wedding rings right off his little ringbearer’s pillow–at the exact moment that my sister’s car pulled up. So basically I greeted her at her own wedding with the words “WE LOST THE RINGS!!” Thankfully, we were inside a small tent when this happened, so at least the rings did not go flying off the side of a cliff or out into the wilderness. My cooler-headed brother recovered them quickly from the corner of the tent.

After that, the hitching proceeded without a hitch and so did the party. Jo and I danced until the DJ packed up at midnight. “Party in the USA,” indeed! Congratulations Susan and Andrew. Happy almost 1-month anniversary!

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I had a pretty good weekend

by mayberry on March 9, 2010

A few more details at About Family Fitness.

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Probably apocryphal; and so what?

by mayberry on February 3, 2010

I heard this second-hand but I choose to believe it, OKAY? So the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago apparently has, or had, an exhibit which allowed patrons to get a really close look at the penguins.

So close that a four-year-old kid could pick one up.

And stash it in his backpack.

And keep it there for several hours.

And wait until he was halfway home, somewhere around Milwaukee, to announce its presence to his parents.

Who made arrangements to drop off the bird at the Milwaukee Zoo.

March of the penguins, indeed!

Photo: Shedd Aquarium

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WW: One if by land

by mayberry on December 30, 2009

Lantern at Longwood Gardens, December 27, 2009

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Take that to your quinoa party

by mayberry on August 30, 2009

We are back at Grandma’s deeeluxe spread for a quick visit before school starts. My recently engaged sister is here too, so we’re having fun paging through bridal magazines (thanks, Kara!), making fun of the ugly dresses and admiring the pretty ones. It’s way too cold for the pool but we’re swimming anyway. My brother and sister-in-law are also here (hence the title. This is the way he talks to me). They just trounced me at Scrabble.

My sister-in-law illustrated two books for Scholastic. If you’ll be potty-training in January 2010, you won’t find any cuter books than these (I have seen the insides and they are just as adorable).

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Dispatches from the AVP

by mayberry on August 23, 2009

* The comfort level at Grammy’s house has improved at least 87% with the addition of a) a new mattress, and b) a shower-nozzle thing attached to the tap in the (no shower, just tub) bathroom.

* Opie: “Allll this Pennsylvania time is making me LATE for my CONCERT.”

* Something is wrong with this country when you can no longer buy bait at the gas station, and when the rustic-looking farmer’s market sells Amy’s organic frozen meals.

On our way home now. Only three flight segments and a layover at O’Hare stand between us and our own beds. *gulp*

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Crazy hair day

by mayberry on July 13, 2009

crazyhair

For some words (crazy ones? You be the judge), go visit Binkytowne, where I am guest posting today on behalf of the vacationing Amy. She asked me to describe my most memorable vacation. You’ll have to click over to find out if I followed the rules.

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