Look like anyone you know?My bike ride this morning went particularly well. Monday is the speed workout and even with additional distance and a route that includes a couple of hills I kept up a brisk pace.
This afternoon's swim? A different story. Pam pointed out that I've got three months to get it together but I'm not sure that's going to be enough time. And I stepped off the distance to find out that the pool at our rec center is 25 meters end-to-end. Really bad news! The swim portion of this sprint triathlon is 400 meters. I'm not very good at math but if I've got it right that works out to the equivalent of 16 laps in this pool.
I think I'm going to stuff floaties in my trunks and hope nobody notices.
The Russians are playing us. By "us" I mean the west. The agreement they signed said they'd begin pulling out of Georgian territory today. No signs that they've even begun a pullout, and today the Russian President, one of Putin's employees named Medvedev, said, referring to earlier Georgian action, "We will do our best not to let this crime go unpunished." Does that sound like the Russians are done in Georgia?
When the boys were young our vacations were tent camping trips up the west coast, staying almost exclusively in state parks through northern CA, OR and WA. We'd stay a few days with my folks and then camp our way back home. Great times and rich memories. It was all we could afford on a small church preacher's pay, but that was fine. A "rustic" site (no power and only a spigot) was $5, and a can of Denty Moore stew with some fruit did just fine for dinner.
No theme parks or tourist traps that gobble up money in exchange for short term thrills. We went exploring on the beach, hiked in the forest and took free tours of things like restored Victorian mansions (don't miss the Captain Flavel house in Astoria, OR) and factories. Our favorite in that category was the lumber mill in Ferndale, CA.
Factory tours are, IMHO, the great overlooked entertainment value (free!). And they're tremendously educational, too. It's fascinating to watch raw materials go in one end and finished product come out the other.
So, as a public service to you, the vast reading public (OK, maybe not so vast), here is a site that lists lots of factory tours available in every state in the country. There are factory tours near you! And no matter where you're going on vacation you'll find more!
Put your wallet back in your pocket. Skip the movies, the water park and Wally World. Go on a
Factory Tour
If you have no specific destination in mind, then you can't be lost.
2 comments:
Gotta love Astoria! What about Tillamook?! Ever been to the cheese factory?! My favorite part is the store where you can sample every cheese imaginable!
Kellogg's. That's the best tour around! Watching the different cereals be made and then getting to pick out a box of cereal at the end... what more could a kid want?
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