Schuylkill River Outdoors

I really thought I wrote about this already. Apparently I have lost my marbles.

On Saturday afternoon (after we were sure any impending storms had passed), I went tubing down the Schuylkill River with my family and one of my daughter's friends. For anyone that really knows me, I'm not a fan of water. I can swim - I would rather avoid it though. Luckily, tubing doesn't really require going into the water much.

Basically, tubing (on any river) is where a person sits on an inner tube or raft and lazily floats down the river. Until fairly recently, the only place to do this in my area was on the Delaware River in Point Pleasant. It was a little exciting to know that we didn't have to drive so far anymore. The Schuylkill River isn't usually as deep as the Delaware. However, it is still deep enough for the kids to splash and have fun.

It's also a fairly cheap activity. For a 4-6 hour trip on a one person tube, it only costs $20. If you pay attention to Groupon or Living Social, you can usually pick up a good deal around the beginning of summer. We managed to get a trip for 4 people for less than $30. An awesome deal, if you ask me.

So, if you need something to do on a sunny day and don't feel like getting mobbed at the pool, I'd definitely recommend going tubing. A fun time will be had by all.

The Olympics are over!

It has been a very long two weeks but now the Olympics are officially over. The closing ceremonies were a huge star-fest. My daughter was excited to see One Direction and Jessie J. I just wanted to see the Spice Girls sing. (It must have sucked to ride on top of the taxis. They looked like they were driving fairly fast.) George Michael was a bit of a downer. He looked like he could use a little more rehab. Overall, I enjoyed the closing ceremonies. Now it's just two short years until the Winter Olympics. I hope I don't get sucked into those as well.

Need a new t-shirt?

My closet is woefully bare. I hate trying on clothes so, as a result, I rarely buy new pieces. The worst part of my closet is the "casual tee" section. The newest shirt in there is the cute sakura blossom shirt I bought in Washington DC two years ago. Besides that, the next newest shirt is at least 5 years old. So I started looking around online for some new tees. While the combat infantry badge shirt is kinda cool, a lot of the other shirts seem to promote hatred and violence. I don't feel comfortable buying a shirt from a site like that. Where do you buy your casual shirts?

Who is your Olympic body double?

I have been a little Olympics-crazy this year. Normally, the Games go by and I only notice when they interrupt my TV shows. This year is different. I'm not sure why - it just is. Since we've been talking about it a lot at work, one of my coworkers emailed this to me. Who is your Olympic body double? You put in your height and weight and it tells you what Olympic athlete is approximately the same size as you. I am the same size as Chile's Maria Fernanda Valdes - a weightlifter competing in the women's 75kg. Pretty neat!

Work is crazy

I am having a terrible day at work. The phone lines are filled with people being ridiculous. They don't even know what they want to purchase. How am I supposed to direct their call to the appropriate department when THEY don't even know what they want? It makes me want to drop a metal building on their heads. Also, please stop calling me because your printer doesn't work. It's not our job to fix your computer issues. At least it's almost time to go home. Maybe I'll fill tonight with chocolate chip ice cream. That might make all the stupid go away.

2012 Summer Olympics

As everyone knows by now, the 2012 Summer Olympics are currently running in London. I don't usually watch a lot of sports. However, I have found myself drawn to the Games this year. My daughter finds the synchronized diving interesting, while I'm enjoying both the men's and women's beach volleyball matches. Unfortunately, my husband is completely uninterested in anything Olympic-related. The Games end on August 12 - just 10 more days. That isn't too long for an event that only happens once every four years. Right?

Camelbeach

My family didn't get a chance to really go on vacation this year. Instead, we took the day off yesterday and went to Camelbeach, the water park at Camelback Resort. Since it is only a two-hour drive from our house to the park, it was absolutely perfect for a one-day summer getaway. Luckily, the weather cooperated with us. For the most part, anyway. The park itself isn't huge. There are around 10 slides, varying between mat slides, tube slides, and family tube slides. My daughter's favorite slide was Spin Cycle. One or two people ride tubes through a shoot before swirling around a bowl only to be spit out at the end. It was tons of fun. My favorite ride was Sandstorm. A family tube, that fits up to 4 people, splashes through two funnels that throw the occupants into complete darkness. The best part about the park is that we managed to go on a majority of the water slides (there were a few none of us wanted to hit) before a thunderstorm rolled in around 4:30PM.

Price-wise, the park is pretty reasonable. General admission (purchased online) is $33. However, you can buy a 4-pack of passes for only $100. The catch is that all 4 tickets must be used at the same time. I think the park was way more fun with four people anyway.

If you are in the Pocono Mountain area in the summertime, this is definitely a must-visit place. And I recommend reserving a cabana. Not only do you receive a complimentary fruit basket in the morning, you also receive a complimentary dessert basket in the afternoon AND there is a waitstaff that will bring you whatever else you need. Very worth the money.

Create Your Own Coin

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting things to give away to my Zumba participants. I found a site that has military coins BUT they also have a "create your own coin" thing. It might be different to create a variety of coins to give out for accomplishments. Things like "100 classes attended" or something. What do you think? If you were attending a Zumba class, would you like to get that as a thank you or is it a terrible idea?

Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

Last night, my husband, my daughter, and I went to the symphony at The Mann Center in Philadelphia. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra performed The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses. The orchestra performed 4 movements featuring music from a variety of the Legend of Zelda video games.

My husband is the true gamer in the family. He has played most, if not all, of the Zelda games. Both my daughter and I watch him play but we're not as familiar with the series as he is. However, we all enjoyed the concert. There is a large video screen above the orchestra that shows videos, both game play and cut scenes, from the games. The music was beautiful and even I recognized a few of the tunes. I also thought the video screen was a nice addition. I don't always know which game is which just by the title. Having the video helped me identify each game.

The downside of the concert was the crowd. Since this is obviously aimed at gamers and not normal symphony-goers, the crowd didn't know the appropriate behavior for a symphony. While I will forgive those that wore jeans (to the SYMPHONY!), it was extremely annoying that people would cheer and scream when fan-favorite characters showed up on the screen. Yes, I understand that Epona is awesome. But I paid a lot of money to listen to the music, not you screaming your head off for a video game horse.

If the concert is coming to your neck of the woods, I would recommend checking it out. Just keep in mind that the audience will be full of people with no knowledge of social etiquette.

A geeky tattoo!

While my daughter was away on vacation, I got a new tattoo. (She doesn't like when I get new tattoos.) It is a Sailor Moon themed design. Sailor Mars' symbol in front of a red heart from the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series. Since I just got it on Thursday, July 19, it's still pretty gross. I'll be sure to take a picture of it once it's healed and pretty.