We've had our car for three years and we put 60,000 miles on it. It is now hovering about 177,000 miles. I am hoping it makes it 200K but, it's going downhill fast. We replaced various parts and sensors and the car still doesn't run right. So we've been looking for another car. And let me tell you, this is no easy task.
If you remember right, I mentioned in my last post that we were going to DC. My husband found lots of affordable cars in Maryland. So I brought the checkbook. We had to rent a car just to get to DC (first time Priceline users but that is a post for another time) anyway. He finds this really nice car in our price range at the Fitz Mall in Gaithersburg, MD. We are staying in Rockville MD so it wasn't far. We wrote to the dealer and went to DC. The sales guy, I think his name was Jason, said all the car needed was tires and rotors. Now, tires you have to replace every so often and rotors are easy and inexpensive to fix if you have someone, like I do, that knows how to fix stuff on a car. When he writes back to us we are in DC. It is close to an hour train ride from DC to Shady Grove. We tell him we are interested in actually looking at the car because it was a good price and only needed tires and rotors. The guy writes back and says he'll let us know when the car is ready to be looked at.
So we do some sightseeing stuff. Finally, the guy says we can come look at it. This is at 4 pm or close to it. We rush to the closest Metro, take the red back to Shady Grove, pick up the rental and drive to Gaithersburg. I probably should mention that we actually told this twat burger we were in DC not lurking around Popeyes in Rockville. Anyway back to the story. My husband gets to the dealer and tries to find this Jason guy but the twat burger pushes him off on another salesperson. Who proceeds to tell him that the car needs thousands dollars worth of work to even pass Maryland inspection. And we can't drive it because it is unsafe and it will need to be towed. Blah blah... then the salesperson tried to sell him a more expensive car.
My question WHY LIE? Why waste our time for nothing? We seriously wasted 2 hours on this twat burger. And this could have been prevented if he would have been honest in the first place. People like that give car salesmen a bad name.
The adventure ended this weekend. We rented a car for the day to go to Harrisburg where we had two prospects lined up, mileage was under 200K, and in our price range. We got the first car on our list today. It was a 2000 Nissan Altima. I love this car. It has a sunroof. Now, I just need to think of a name for it. I was thinking Davina but I don't know. The place we bought car one, Team One Auto Group, was honest and friendly.
And there you go, my advice: avoid Jason at the Fitzmall in Gaithersburg, MD because he is a liar or withholds the truth and you will waste your time unless of course you are buying a more expensive car and he will probably love to lick your hemorrhoids.
Until next time...
Showing posts with label Adventures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adventures. Show all posts
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Hanging in Washington DC
Hey there, I know I have been horrible at posting lately. Sometimes I am lazy and other times well I am busy doing other things. Two weeks ago the family and I packed our bags and went to Washington DC. I lived on the east coast my entire life and this was the first time I was actually in DC. I was on the beltway once as my parents drove to Florida. We stayed outside of DC in College Park, MD and when we got off the Metro at L'Enfant Plaza, it was one word- overwhelming. Everything around me was white and massive. Unlike in New York City where I felt tiny among skyscrapers, in DC I was just mesmerized. One could just go there and stand on the street and just take in every building, of course I am talking down by the National Mall. However, our adventure started before boarding the metro.
We left home right after my husband finished work for the night and the drive itself was decent just boring as it was late at night and there was nothing but trees to look at. We made it into Rockville, MD just about 2:30 a.m. I had a coupon for a hotel but the catch was we couldn't make reservations which sucked balls. And wouldn't you know, the hotel was full for the night. Not a problem, I had another coupon and my computer. And this what really started our adventure, finding a 24 hours McDonald's so I can use their wifi. We wound up driving around the suburbs of DC for hours looking for either McDonald's or a hotel that had rooms. We stopped for gas and the police were at the gas station searching some guy's car. The guy was cuffed and he didn't seem to be a threat but there were tons of cops. At least a dozen cruisers and officers yet two detained the suspect and two searched the car. The others were chatting. The gas station remained open. The attendant was too busy and I am not sure he charged me enough for the coffee but who cares. Also he didn't have a phone book, I suppose that is the sign of the times. Once we left the gas station, we drove from Seven 11 to Seven 11 looking for directions to anywhere by now we were in Silver Spring, MD. Finally, I found a McDonald's and I called a hotel in College Park. They had rooms. Great because we were coming there. We got the directions and went on our way. We don't have smart phones but I tell you, this was the night I wished I got my husband a smart phone for his birthday. We checked into the hotel and we went downstairs for a quick breakfast and then we were off to buy Metro Smart cards. And our DC adventure begins...
The first museum we went to was the American Indian Museum and there were a lot of artifacts in there and information about the various tribes. There was also some cool Native art. These museums are huge and there are so many to choose from. The next one we went through was the National Air and Space Museum which is freaking awesome. It was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I did not see the space shuttle because that is at the Air and Space museum near Dulles Airport.
The one we went to had a lot of stuff from the Apollo missions which I loved. There is just so much to see there. I know we spent a couple of hours in there and I am sure we did not see everything. Of course, the museums are free to visit so we plan on going back again in the future. This was the first day we were there we went to the zoo to see Pandas but missed them and we were also at the Natural History Museum but not for long as the place was packed and we couldn't see very much. We also went and saw one of my friends who lives in the DC area. We came back to the hotel and just crashed. We were up for over 24 hours at this time and we were beat.
On Sunday, we started with the National Archives because we wanted to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the documents but I was surprised by them. For the longest time, I always thought they were on sheets of paper (think 8.5x11 or 11x 14) but that is not true. They are wide and just massive sheets of parchment. It was incredible to finally see those in person. I am glad that I did. Of course, it is a bitch to see them because you have these jack holes who have to read them. News flash, you can't barely read them because the ink is fading. There are some phrases that can be read but for the most part they are unreadable. It was nice to see them but it was also nice to get the hell out of the building and get some fresh air. We went back to the zoo later in the day and missed the damn pandas again but we did see some other critters and such. Lucky for us some of the Smithsonian museums were open until 7 pm so we went back to the National Museum of Natural History.
Finally, I saw dinosaurs and other bones from critters long gone. This was one of the highlights of my trip because I really wanted to see dino bones. I think dinosaurs are really fascinating. Hell I would still watch Dinosaur Train on PBS but my kid makes fun of me. Anyway in addition to the dinosaurs there is the Hope Diamond. I thought the Hope Diamond would be this massive raw rock but it is not. It is a cut and polished rock that was made into a necklace. There was also some other large gemstones there as well. This is also my favorite museum. I loved it. The bonus was it was pretty empty when we were there so we could finally look at everything we wanted to. Next on the list was to visit monuments since they are open 24 hours. The first one we went to was the Washington Monument.
I asked a policeman for directions and I am not sure why we didn't follow them. We wanted to see all the monuments, well that was the plan anyway. We made it to the Washington Monument and then we decided to go to the Jefferson Memorial. There probably was an easier way, in fact I am sure there was but that is not how we roll. We were in the park by the Washington Monument and then we crossed the street. We could see the Jefferson Memorial far off in the distance. By now night has set in and it was chilly. We walked around the tidal basin by the Potomac River, it was breezy. A helicopter kept making low passes over the tidal basin. The cherry blossom tree branches were low and it was dark because there was barely any light. I really thought there would be light. We finally made it to the Jefferson Memorial. It was one hell of a walk.
After doing some tourist stuff and taking a piss, we decided to head back to the hotel. We all were tired, hungry and cold. According to the Metro bus there was a stop a couple of blocks away. The park ranger didn't know but gave us directions to the main part of DC. I was about three minutes away from hailing a taxi because it seemed like so many were driving by looking for customers. We made it to the money making building and just two wonderful blocks was Metro. Hurray. It didn't matter if we had to transfer trains or not it was the Metro. We finally made it back to MD around 11 that night and got some food. Monday would be our last day there. We looked at a map and if we would have listened to the Police man, we would have been able to see all the monuments, we just took the scenic route in the dark, that's all. The zoo was the first stop and finally I got to see my pandas.
I freaking love pandas. I think they are the cutest. I was so happy to see them in person. The one in the photograph is mother panda, they were feeding her bamboo. The baby was there as well. We didn't spend too much time at the zoo because we pretty much saw everything over the last couple of days before and since it is free to get into, why not. After seeing the pandas we went back to the National Mall and went to the National Museum of American History. By the time we left DC it was rush hour traffic and we had to take Metro back to Silver Spring, MD to get our car and head home. Lucky for us, the Metro crowd thinned out by the time we got to Silver Spring. Of course, our adventure was not quite over yet. Not sure how to get back on the highway, we used a map and went another way with rush hour traffic all the way. Finally, we made our way onto 270 by the time we reached Germantown, traffic disappeared.
It was an awesome time and I can't wait to go back again because there is so much we didn't see.
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| College Park, MD |
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| National Museum of the American Indian |
The first museum we went to was the American Indian Museum and there were a lot of artifacts in there and information about the various tribes. There was also some cool Native art. These museums are huge and there are so many to choose from. The next one we went through was the National Air and Space Museum which is freaking awesome. It was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I did not see the space shuttle because that is at the Air and Space museum near Dulles Airport.
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| National Air and Space Museum |
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| National Archives Building |
Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of the documents but I was surprised by them. For the longest time, I always thought they were on sheets of paper (think 8.5x11 or 11x 14) but that is not true. They are wide and just massive sheets of parchment. It was incredible to finally see those in person. I am glad that I did. Of course, it is a bitch to see them because you have these jack holes who have to read them. News flash, you can't barely read them because the ink is fading. There are some phrases that can be read but for the most part they are unreadable. It was nice to see them but it was also nice to get the hell out of the building and get some fresh air. We went back to the zoo later in the day and missed the damn pandas again but we did see some other critters and such. Lucky for us some of the Smithsonian museums were open until 7 pm so we went back to the National Museum of Natural History.
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| National Museum of Natural History |
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| Washington Monument at Night |
I asked a policeman for directions and I am not sure why we didn't follow them. We wanted to see all the monuments, well that was the plan anyway. We made it to the Washington Monument and then we decided to go to the Jefferson Memorial. There probably was an easier way, in fact I am sure there was but that is not how we roll. We were in the park by the Washington Monument and then we crossed the street. We could see the Jefferson Memorial far off in the distance. By now night has set in and it was chilly. We walked around the tidal basin by the Potomac River, it was breezy. A helicopter kept making low passes over the tidal basin. The cherry blossom tree branches were low and it was dark because there was barely any light. I really thought there would be light. We finally made it to the Jefferson Memorial. It was one hell of a walk.
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| Jefferson Memorial |
.jpg) |
| Pandas at the National Zoo |
It was an awesome time and I can't wait to go back again because there is so much we didn't see.
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Sizzling Summer
And it's hot. Today not so bad as others but it still hot. I was so looking forward to yesterday because we were supposed to have thunderstorms some of them severe. I really wanted to use my new LED lantern but the storms never came and my tomatoes can use the rain. The haze is thick like someone plastered a fine coat of white all over the world and I live in the mountains. Down by Philly in Lancaster County was a lot worse.
Last Monday was my birthday. After much discussion I decided on going to eat at the Good and Plenty Restaurant. Honestly, I would have eaten at the Plain and Fancy but I got a free meal at the Good and Plenty (which saved like 20 bucks). We left after my husband got done work and slept over night at the Sleep Inn in Mountville because I had a coupon and it had an indoor pool open till 10. With traffic we didn't get there until 9:30 so we had half hour for swimming. We threw on our swimsuits and into a heated pool. Afterwards we drove down to Lancaster and stopped at Jennie's diner. It was open 24 hours it was posted on the sign but I didn't see the sign and I asked the crazy waitress anyway. She was a little nuts and according to my husband she was going to stab out his eye with a fork because he wasn't paying attention when she brought coffee. Besides her, the food is cheap and good. Hell unlimited coffee was only $1.35 and my pancakes were huge. Our bill came to 20 bucks you can't find places like that too much anymore.
On Monday, I got a free game of mini golf from the place right next to the hotel we stayed in. We made sure to wake up early so we can enjoy more swimming and take more showers. We checked out about 10 am and played golf. It was already sweltering. I knew I should've bought a case of water at Sam's. I brought the cooler along because we wanted Amish baked goods. By the time we left golf, I looked like I was just in the shower- with my clothes on. We had a brief reprieve driving on 30 toward places like Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse. Our next stop was a buggy ride.
I have been to Lancaster many times. My grandmother on my dad's side has lived there forever so the Amish are always interesting but we didn't do the tourist stuff when I was growing up. I always wanted to go on a buggy ride. I chose Aaron and Jessicas at the Plain and Fancy because I had a coupon to save $2. Our driver wasn't Amish which would be okay but he didn't really talk about the Amish. In fact, he said about three things. It was nice to ride through Amish farmlands, it was quiet and beautiful. Corn stretched high into the sky. The driver's horse was plain tired but he kept tapping on her hind quarters to keep her going. It was over 90 and the sun was hot. He tried to say his horse was fine but we thought otherwise. Even the other family said about the horse being tired. I may not have lived on a farm but I know when an animal was tired. If I was a horse, I wouldn't want to be outside pulling a buggy full of people. On the ride, we didn't see any of the Amish working the fields maybe it was too hot for man and beast. The highlight was stopping at a home and we bought homemade rootbeer and cookies.
After the buggy ride, we drove to Intercourse for Kitchen Kettle for jams and such. I really love jams and jellies. After that we went to the Amish Village where the guide who is not Amish but actually had Amish friends growing up offered a lot of information and knew a lot of stuff. Finally it was dinner time. Thank god for air conditioning. I am not a big fan of air conditioning but there are days where AC is heaven. Since it was Monday, it wasn't busy. We were seated with folks from New York and New Jersey. The folks from Jersey must be close to New York City because they had the accent where as the folks from New York didn't have the city accent. I felt like a stranger in my own state since most of the people at the restaurant were from another state. We found another motel for the night that didn't have a pool but had a deal with another place up the road to use their indoor pool. After swimming, a stop at WAWA for coffee. MMMMM WAWA coffee.
It looked like it was going to storm in Lancaster, the sky grew dark and fearsome but soon the fading sun shone again. It was a great birthday adventure!
Speaking of heat, if I had a damn pool at my house, I would be in it all the time. I have three neighbors who have pools. And no one is in it. Maybe you will see the kids in the one pool for like an hour and that is it. The rest of the time they are running the streets. Why spend money on chemicals if you aren't going to use it. I want to a pool to be in it, not for a status symbol.
Oh yeah, I just got over a 24 hour virus which made me nap all freaking day long and my tonsils swelled and I had a fever. It was just so much fun.
Last Monday was my birthday. After much discussion I decided on going to eat at the Good and Plenty Restaurant. Honestly, I would have eaten at the Plain and Fancy but I got a free meal at the Good and Plenty (which saved like 20 bucks). We left after my husband got done work and slept over night at the Sleep Inn in Mountville because I had a coupon and it had an indoor pool open till 10. With traffic we didn't get there until 9:30 so we had half hour for swimming. We threw on our swimsuits and into a heated pool. Afterwards we drove down to Lancaster and stopped at Jennie's diner. It was open 24 hours it was posted on the sign but I didn't see the sign and I asked the crazy waitress anyway. She was a little nuts and according to my husband she was going to stab out his eye with a fork because he wasn't paying attention when she brought coffee. Besides her, the food is cheap and good. Hell unlimited coffee was only $1.35 and my pancakes were huge. Our bill came to 20 bucks you can't find places like that too much anymore.
On Monday, I got a free game of mini golf from the place right next to the hotel we stayed in. We made sure to wake up early so we can enjoy more swimming and take more showers. We checked out about 10 am and played golf. It was already sweltering. I knew I should've bought a case of water at Sam's. I brought the cooler along because we wanted Amish baked goods. By the time we left golf, I looked like I was just in the shower- with my clothes on. We had a brief reprieve driving on 30 toward places like Bird-In-Hand and Intercourse. Our next stop was a buggy ride.
I have been to Lancaster many times. My grandmother on my dad's side has lived there forever so the Amish are always interesting but we didn't do the tourist stuff when I was growing up. I always wanted to go on a buggy ride. I chose Aaron and Jessicas at the Plain and Fancy because I had a coupon to save $2. Our driver wasn't Amish which would be okay but he didn't really talk about the Amish. In fact, he said about three things. It was nice to ride through Amish farmlands, it was quiet and beautiful. Corn stretched high into the sky. The driver's horse was plain tired but he kept tapping on her hind quarters to keep her going. It was over 90 and the sun was hot. He tried to say his horse was fine but we thought otherwise. Even the other family said about the horse being tired. I may not have lived on a farm but I know when an animal was tired. If I was a horse, I wouldn't want to be outside pulling a buggy full of people. On the ride, we didn't see any of the Amish working the fields maybe it was too hot for man and beast. The highlight was stopping at a home and we bought homemade rootbeer and cookies.
After the buggy ride, we drove to Intercourse for Kitchen Kettle for jams and such. I really love jams and jellies. After that we went to the Amish Village where the guide who is not Amish but actually had Amish friends growing up offered a lot of information and knew a lot of stuff. Finally it was dinner time. Thank god for air conditioning. I am not a big fan of air conditioning but there are days where AC is heaven. Since it was Monday, it wasn't busy. We were seated with folks from New York and New Jersey. The folks from Jersey must be close to New York City because they had the accent where as the folks from New York didn't have the city accent. I felt like a stranger in my own state since most of the people at the restaurant were from another state. We found another motel for the night that didn't have a pool but had a deal with another place up the road to use their indoor pool. After swimming, a stop at WAWA for coffee. MMMMM WAWA coffee.
It looked like it was going to storm in Lancaster, the sky grew dark and fearsome but soon the fading sun shone again. It was a great birthday adventure!
Speaking of heat, if I had a damn pool at my house, I would be in it all the time. I have three neighbors who have pools. And no one is in it. Maybe you will see the kids in the one pool for like an hour and that is it. The rest of the time they are running the streets. Why spend money on chemicals if you aren't going to use it. I want to a pool to be in it, not for a status symbol.
Oh yeah, I just got over a 24 hour virus which made me nap all freaking day long and my tonsils swelled and I had a fever. It was just so much fun.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
What's It Been a Week?
Has it been a week or more since I wrote? Yeah probably I've been busy with other things. And tomorrow I will be working on a pretty large project for freelancing which is going to pay pretty nicely, so I probably won't be writing on here too much. Just to let you know.
So what have I been doing?
Researching polymer clay techniques. I am addicted to clay now and I am working on complex canes. I made my first one today. Tommorrow I will slice them down and bake. I will probably will make one into a real necklace and the others I am going to sell on just a peice of hemp. I made some the other day which turned out okay.
Still working on my third ebook as in still working on the cover. My husband is helping out with the photoshop. All I'm supposed to do is create a drawing which I finally got around tonight and tell him how I want the cover. He found some pretty nifty fonts on the web that will fit nicely with the story.
Preparing poetry to sell on my store. Most of it is done but I still have to scan some sheets of paper in and print some sample poems and scan them in as well.
I went to visit my parents on Sunday they live in eastern Pennsylvania. Sunday morning came around and guess what there was snow on the roads so we waited until 11 am to leave and it is about a 4 hour trip there. Someone want to tell me why gas on the other end of the state is 20 cents cheaper. Anyway, once in the area, we stopped for WaWa coffee. MMMM I love WaWa coffee. Then we drove to see my mom. Then turned around and saw my dad.
Let me tell you about the crazy dog my dad has. He really is nuts but I wouldn't mind taking him home. His name is Rocky and he is a pug. Dad set up an air matteress for my husband and I. My daughter slept on the recliner couch. At this time Rocky is napping peacefully. My dad shuts off the light and dog runs wild. We are lying there then he pounces on the matteress. Rolls up and down the matteress and hops off. Then he comes back and chews on himself then leaves. Once more he rolls around the bed. Now he is really getting naughty. He crawls up my side and lays down for thirty seconds then jumps back off. He snorts in my face and runs off and brings a toy.
And now he is hopping to where my daughter is and hopping back down on our bed. I let him outside. When he comes back in, I give him a treat and he is much calmer and goes to sleep. Thank god. I think he was crazy for a good half hour if not more.
On Monday, we started back to home. First we took a lovely tour of Allentown because I didn't know how to get back on a road I knew. Lucky for us we found another WaWa and got more coffee and found a road I knew. We decided to stop at Roadside America, a really nifty roadside attraction off Interstate 78 at the Shartlesville exit. Inside is a huge miniature village with a lot of movng parts and of course many model trains. It is really reasonable to visit. I have some pictures but they are still on my tablet and I didn't get around to putting them on my computer but I will post them forthright.
And that my friends is all there is to it. Until we meet each other again at the cow's funeral in Toronto.
So what have I been doing?
Researching polymer clay techniques. I am addicted to clay now and I am working on complex canes. I made my first one today. Tommorrow I will slice them down and bake. I will probably will make one into a real necklace and the others I am going to sell on just a peice of hemp. I made some the other day which turned out okay.
Still working on my third ebook as in still working on the cover. My husband is helping out with the photoshop. All I'm supposed to do is create a drawing which I finally got around tonight and tell him how I want the cover. He found some pretty nifty fonts on the web that will fit nicely with the story.
Preparing poetry to sell on my store. Most of it is done but I still have to scan some sheets of paper in and print some sample poems and scan them in as well.
I went to visit my parents on Sunday they live in eastern Pennsylvania. Sunday morning came around and guess what there was snow on the roads so we waited until 11 am to leave and it is about a 4 hour trip there. Someone want to tell me why gas on the other end of the state is 20 cents cheaper. Anyway, once in the area, we stopped for WaWa coffee. MMMM I love WaWa coffee. Then we drove to see my mom. Then turned around and saw my dad.
Let me tell you about the crazy dog my dad has. He really is nuts but I wouldn't mind taking him home. His name is Rocky and he is a pug. Dad set up an air matteress for my husband and I. My daughter slept on the recliner couch. At this time Rocky is napping peacefully. My dad shuts off the light and dog runs wild. We are lying there then he pounces on the matteress. Rolls up and down the matteress and hops off. Then he comes back and chews on himself then leaves. Once more he rolls around the bed. Now he is really getting naughty. He crawls up my side and lays down for thirty seconds then jumps back off. He snorts in my face and runs off and brings a toy.
And now he is hopping to where my daughter is and hopping back down on our bed. I let him outside. When he comes back in, I give him a treat and he is much calmer and goes to sleep. Thank god. I think he was crazy for a good half hour if not more.
On Monday, we started back to home. First we took a lovely tour of Allentown because I didn't know how to get back on a road I knew. Lucky for us we found another WaWa and got more coffee and found a road I knew. We decided to stop at Roadside America, a really nifty roadside attraction off Interstate 78 at the Shartlesville exit. Inside is a huge miniature village with a lot of movng parts and of course many model trains. It is really reasonable to visit. I have some pictures but they are still on my tablet and I didn't get around to putting them on my computer but I will post them forthright.
And that my friends is all there is to it. Until we meet each other again at the cow's funeral in Toronto.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Thursday's Mis-Adventure
Yeah, I know today is Friday but I got home way too late last night to write about last night. I would love to tell you that I had a run in with a ghost or I went out and saw a band then got on stage and did a couple of songs but none of that happened. No, this is a story about driving home. A drive that should have only taken about 30 minutes or a little more instead took hours... Let's start from the begining.
After I picked my daughter up, we drove back down to State College to meet with my husband for his lunch break. No when I left work at 3:30 it was sleeting about 15 minutes later it changed to all rain. And it rained all the way back to State College. After, we got the food from the golden arches (let me just tell you those new spicy chicken sandwiches are really yummy) we met with my husband and it began to sleet again.
I had some shopping to do at Wally-world which I knew wouldn't take me long so I went over there with my daughter and got some things. We left Wally-world and got gas. Before this, my husband said I could switch vehicles with him and take the jeep home (4x4 vehicle but I am pig-headed).
After getting some gas, I started home. It sleeted on 99 and I just drove slow, the roads were passable. No sooner then starting up the mountain, the sleet changed to snow. But it wasn't flurries this was an onslaught of snow. It came from all directions, swirling and whirling around. The mountain is already incredibly dark to begin with and the snow made it worse. My speed went from 45 to 20 to about 5. I down shifted into first right at the steepest part of the mountain. I started sliding and my car was getting hot oh yeah and I smelled something burning (more than likely my clutch). I pulled over and called my husband. He left work to come rescue me.
He came and he took the car and I took the jeep with my daughter and we started back up the mountain. He gets a little further when some girl in front of him gets stuck which means he gets stuck again. Neither him or the girl can move. She asks us for a ride into town and we agree. So we leave my car there because there is no way we can move it. Now at this moment traffic is still moving on the mountain but not fast.
He begins to climb the mountain when we come to a standstill. The traffic is no longer moving. The four of us are sitting in the jeep just stuck. Eventually, we see some tow trucks and even a plow truck. I should mention that I was stranded on the mountain for almost an hour before my husband could get to me and I saw the plow truck make only one pass. We spend four hours on the mountain. We get home at 11:30, use the potty and go back out to get my car since the snow changed back to rain.
We head back down the mountain and look for my car but it is gone. So we stop at the State Police and ask what happened. My car got towed and of course the police officer said the state had to the right because they had to clear the road. I asked him what happened on the mountain because I was on there for four hours. He said, the road got icy and Penn Dot let it get out of control. Wow what an answer.
Speaking of Penn Dot, I drove to work yesterday morning and they were out either salting the roads or throwing anti-skid at 7 am when it wasn't even doing anything. But I rarely saw them on the mountain where there was so much snow. And today, when I went to rescue my car from the tow place they were out everywhere.
And that was our little mis-adventure in the snow. At least everyone is okay.
Stay warm, eat cookies and watch Christmas movies all night
After I picked my daughter up, we drove back down to State College to meet with my husband for his lunch break. No when I left work at 3:30 it was sleeting about 15 minutes later it changed to all rain. And it rained all the way back to State College. After, we got the food from the golden arches (let me just tell you those new spicy chicken sandwiches are really yummy) we met with my husband and it began to sleet again.
I had some shopping to do at Wally-world which I knew wouldn't take me long so I went over there with my daughter and got some things. We left Wally-world and got gas. Before this, my husband said I could switch vehicles with him and take the jeep home (4x4 vehicle but I am pig-headed).
After getting some gas, I started home. It sleeted on 99 and I just drove slow, the roads were passable. No sooner then starting up the mountain, the sleet changed to snow. But it wasn't flurries this was an onslaught of snow. It came from all directions, swirling and whirling around. The mountain is already incredibly dark to begin with and the snow made it worse. My speed went from 45 to 20 to about 5. I down shifted into first right at the steepest part of the mountain. I started sliding and my car was getting hot oh yeah and I smelled something burning (more than likely my clutch). I pulled over and called my husband. He left work to come rescue me.
He came and he took the car and I took the jeep with my daughter and we started back up the mountain. He gets a little further when some girl in front of him gets stuck which means he gets stuck again. Neither him or the girl can move. She asks us for a ride into town and we agree. So we leave my car there because there is no way we can move it. Now at this moment traffic is still moving on the mountain but not fast.
He begins to climb the mountain when we come to a standstill. The traffic is no longer moving. The four of us are sitting in the jeep just stuck. Eventually, we see some tow trucks and even a plow truck. I should mention that I was stranded on the mountain for almost an hour before my husband could get to me and I saw the plow truck make only one pass. We spend four hours on the mountain. We get home at 11:30, use the potty and go back out to get my car since the snow changed back to rain.
We head back down the mountain and look for my car but it is gone. So we stop at the State Police and ask what happened. My car got towed and of course the police officer said the state had to the right because they had to clear the road. I asked him what happened on the mountain because I was on there for four hours. He said, the road got icy and Penn Dot let it get out of control. Wow what an answer.
Speaking of Penn Dot, I drove to work yesterday morning and they were out either salting the roads or throwing anti-skid at 7 am when it wasn't even doing anything. But I rarely saw them on the mountain where there was so much snow. And today, when I went to rescue my car from the tow place they were out everywhere.
And that was our little mis-adventure in the snow. At least everyone is okay.
Stay warm, eat cookies and watch Christmas movies all night
Friday, November 30, 2012
Egg Hill Church
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| A really old headstone |
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| View of Egg Hill Church from Road |
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| Old headstone leaning against basement door of the church |
With all that being said, I went to Egg Hill and I took some pictures. There is some really old headstones. The church is a simple wood plank church with a chain link fence (the fence was added to deter people away from it). It is actually registered as a historic place. The church is sealed off and there are no trespassing signs. I just looked around the outside and the graveyard. I did peak in the basement and maybe it was the way the light came in but it looked like old blood on the wall. Now the foundation is made of stone so it could have been iron in the rock or from the roof which I believe is also metal.
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| Church bell tower |
I don't know what I am supposed to feel if there really is a place that is haunted but it felt like any old place. It was quiet and peaceful. The church is tucked away deep inside the woods. And the road there is rocky and you can only drive 5 miles an hour. There is a lovely creek that runs alongside the road. A person lives right near the church so don't think about going there to break in to do whatever. I didn't disturb anything just looked around. Also, I'm not going to post the directions you can find where it is yourself, should you want to go.
Wait for the bumps in the night and on your back, scream silently because no one can hear you.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Photos from the Corn Maze
Well I got some pictures from the camera from last weekend. If you need a refresher check out Pumpkins and a Corn Maze. I know there is a storm coming up the east coast and of course I have some thoughts about that but that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Enjoy the pictures before the world goes to hell.
Enjoy the pictures before the world goes to hell.
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| Before the entrance, douglas fir |
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| Pirate flag flying proudly above the corn |
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| Pay your respects with a bit of blood |
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| I heard blood is good to keep the bones shiney |
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| An alien autopsy now we know the truth |
Saturday, September 29, 2012
About the Ghosties
Remember, I said last post I am starting a new hobby called ghost hunting. No, I don't plan on getting equipment (even though if you browse enough on haunted house websites you can buy your stuff to find the ghosts) I just want to see something or maybe feel something.
I do believe in ghosts and I would really like to see some proof. Though I had what some would call a paranormal experience. I just call it weird experience and I am the one with the over active imagination and I am the one who also really believes that there is something else surrounding us.
The science brain that I have knows that we have energy inside of us. And energy can not be created or destroyed just changed. So maybe ghosts are residual energy from someone else. Who knows? Let me tell you about my experience, actually I have two.
When I was about 13 or so I lived in a ranch house in Delaware. It was not a antique house it seemed relatively new. I had the room in the basement. I used to have the feeling I was being watched it used to creep me out so much I would hide under the covers. So I got black curtains and I always kept them closed but I still had the feeling of being watched. Of course, I was in the basement and maybe there was a real person outside looking in, there are a lot of perverts out in the world. One night, I had the window open and I went to bed the next morning I woke up and my window was closed. It was one of those small basement windows that open inward. My parents didn't close the window. Okay maybe there was a gust large enough to close the window. I doubt it though.
The other story, I lived in a 100 year old plus house in Bellefonte. And my experience there was just odd glints of orange light from the corner of my eye, mostly in the middle of the night. So it could have been tiredness or outside traffic. Sometimes, I would hear someone coming up the steps when everyone was accounted for including my cat. It sounded like a person coming up the stairs. Yeah, I know it was an old house and it could have been settling but it seemed more like footsteps.
Lets bring this around full circle, I was researching last night on the internet of supposed haunted things in my area that I would like to see. I was researching Egg Hill and soon I found myself on You Tube because someone made a documentary on the place. And you know when you are You Tube they have a suggestion sidebar. Well I started clicking on some other ghostie videos. One was hard to see but most seemed really fake. Maybe it is because I am not experiencing it first hand and there are so many explanations for the phenomena going on. Some of the videos are plain fake and that's an obvious fact for a blind person.
So soon, I will be going out to these places and maybe I will see or hear something or maybe I won't. At least it will be adventure nonetheless.
I do believe in ghosts and I would really like to see some proof. Though I had what some would call a paranormal experience. I just call it weird experience and I am the one with the over active imagination and I am the one who also really believes that there is something else surrounding us.
The science brain that I have knows that we have energy inside of us. And energy can not be created or destroyed just changed. So maybe ghosts are residual energy from someone else. Who knows? Let me tell you about my experience, actually I have two.
When I was about 13 or so I lived in a ranch house in Delaware. It was not a antique house it seemed relatively new. I had the room in the basement. I used to have the feeling I was being watched it used to creep me out so much I would hide under the covers. So I got black curtains and I always kept them closed but I still had the feeling of being watched. Of course, I was in the basement and maybe there was a real person outside looking in, there are a lot of perverts out in the world. One night, I had the window open and I went to bed the next morning I woke up and my window was closed. It was one of those small basement windows that open inward. My parents didn't close the window. Okay maybe there was a gust large enough to close the window. I doubt it though.
The other story, I lived in a 100 year old plus house in Bellefonte. And my experience there was just odd glints of orange light from the corner of my eye, mostly in the middle of the night. So it could have been tiredness or outside traffic. Sometimes, I would hear someone coming up the steps when everyone was accounted for including my cat. It sounded like a person coming up the stairs. Yeah, I know it was an old house and it could have been settling but it seemed more like footsteps.
Lets bring this around full circle, I was researching last night on the internet of supposed haunted things in my area that I would like to see. I was researching Egg Hill and soon I found myself on You Tube because someone made a documentary on the place. And you know when you are You Tube they have a suggestion sidebar. Well I started clicking on some other ghostie videos. One was hard to see but most seemed really fake. Maybe it is because I am not experiencing it first hand and there are so many explanations for the phenomena going on. Some of the videos are plain fake and that's an obvious fact for a blind person.
So soon, I will be going out to these places and maybe I will see or hear something or maybe I won't. At least it will be adventure nonetheless.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Defying Gravity Plus Other Going Ons
It's been a few days and I really wanted to write last Sunday but I have no idea what I did on Sunday. Anyway, so I decided on a new hobby. Ghost hunting and visting interesting places that require some adventure spirit and gas money.
I got a book from the library called Weird Pennsylvania and it is chock full of supposedly haunted things and other interesting places that aren't found browsing at the local tourism center. There is a bunch of things to do in Bucks County (just north of Philly) but that will require a lot of planning and researching especially in the map department. So I came up with a little road trip to visit some interesting things in western Pennsylvania especially Bedford.
First stop, Gravity Hill a little bit northwest of Bedford in the town of New Paris. I got the directions from the book but you can get them from the Teapot visitors center in Bedford. If you ever heard of Gravity Hill it is a place where it looks like things will move uphill. I heard about these places years ago. There is one in Bucks County and I tried to find it when I lived there but I spent hours driving around and never did find it. The one in Bedford is all advertised either there are little markings on the stop sign right before the hill.
The drive was excellent as we wound through rolling farmlands with an ominous black clouds in the horizon. We found Gravity Hill and it was not all that I expected but it was still cool. There are two parts of Gravity Hill , the first part doesn't do much but the second part well that was much better. We put the car in neutral and the car did seem to move uphill. It is supposed to be an optical illusion and maybe it is. I still thought it was cool anyway.
So after that we went to Schellsburg because I wanted to see these sculptures in the woods. We find the place but the sculptures are marked off with no tresspassing signs and I just didn't have the balls to go into the gift shop and ask if I could see them. So we continued on the Lincoln Highway (Route 30 W). We stopped at a scenic overlook in the Alleghany Mountains and soon we found ourselves at the Flight 93 Memorial.
If you ever do find yourself in Shanksville, PA on Route 30, then do make it a point to stop here. It is couple mile drive from the entrance off the road to the actual memorial. It is a large open field with just the road. When you park in the parking lot, this is your last chance to finish smoking or whatever. When you enter the plaza the debirs field is on your left. Walk a little while and there is impact sight and way out in the field there is the original memorial that reserved for only family of the ones who died in the plane crash. The wall of names is at the back. And each peice of marble has one name of the deceased on it. It is somber and sad but for some reason there is great peace and serenity there.
After the memorial, it was time to eat and then we found our way back home. I have a bunch of pictures but I have to take them from the camera yet so look for them in the near futre.
Until the next adventure comes...
I got a book from the library called Weird Pennsylvania and it is chock full of supposedly haunted things and other interesting places that aren't found browsing at the local tourism center. There is a bunch of things to do in Bucks County (just north of Philly) but that will require a lot of planning and researching especially in the map department. So I came up with a little road trip to visit some interesting things in western Pennsylvania especially Bedford.
First stop, Gravity Hill a little bit northwest of Bedford in the town of New Paris. I got the directions from the book but you can get them from the Teapot visitors center in Bedford. If you ever heard of Gravity Hill it is a place where it looks like things will move uphill. I heard about these places years ago. There is one in Bucks County and I tried to find it when I lived there but I spent hours driving around and never did find it. The one in Bedford is all advertised either there are little markings on the stop sign right before the hill.
The drive was excellent as we wound through rolling farmlands with an ominous black clouds in the horizon. We found Gravity Hill and it was not all that I expected but it was still cool. There are two parts of Gravity Hill , the first part doesn't do much but the second part well that was much better. We put the car in neutral and the car did seem to move uphill. It is supposed to be an optical illusion and maybe it is. I still thought it was cool anyway.
So after that we went to Schellsburg because I wanted to see these sculptures in the woods. We find the place but the sculptures are marked off with no tresspassing signs and I just didn't have the balls to go into the gift shop and ask if I could see them. So we continued on the Lincoln Highway (Route 30 W). We stopped at a scenic overlook in the Alleghany Mountains and soon we found ourselves at the Flight 93 Memorial.
If you ever do find yourself in Shanksville, PA on Route 30, then do make it a point to stop here. It is couple mile drive from the entrance off the road to the actual memorial. It is a large open field with just the road. When you park in the parking lot, this is your last chance to finish smoking or whatever. When you enter the plaza the debirs field is on your left. Walk a little while and there is impact sight and way out in the field there is the original memorial that reserved for only family of the ones who died in the plane crash. The wall of names is at the back. And each peice of marble has one name of the deceased on it. It is somber and sad but for some reason there is great peace and serenity there.
After the memorial, it was time to eat and then we found our way back home. I have a bunch of pictures but I have to take them from the camera yet so look for them in the near futre.
Until the next adventure comes...
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