We took a week to visit famous places in Pennsylvania and New York (specifically Philadelphia and Manhattan).
Day 3
Woke up and went down to the main floor for breakfast. The breakfast had a lot of options, including a few microwaves so you could heat things to your own satisfaction.
Then we got ready for the day. The plan was to spend the day taking in the historic district: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the US Mint, and Ben Franklin’s grave.
The historic district was several blocks from the hotel. There wasn’t a good public transportation option, and I didn’t want to have to deal with traffic and parking, so we walked. It was good for the kids after spending all that time in the van the previous two days.
On the way there, we happened to pass another district:
Being part Asian, the family wanted to make a quick detour down that road and see what we could see.
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We took a week to visit famous places in Pennsylvania and New York (specifically Philadelphia and Manhattan).
Day 1
Get to eastern PA. Nothing fancy here.
Stayed at a local place (not a chain) because I thought it would be interesting – a greater chance of something memorable compared to a national chain.
The place was called the Hershey Farm Inn, and I chose it because they had a buffet-style restaurant that was open for breakfast (and free for hotel guests). Plus it had a pool. And some nice grounds: a pond, some goats, some geese, a flower garden, walking paths, and a giant statue of an Amish man. I didn’t know about that last item until we arrived though. The place is not related to the Hershey Chocolate Company – it’s just near the town of Hershey.
It fulfilled my expectations in that it was unique and therefore memorable. I can’t recall the details/layout/features of the various chain hotel rooms we’ve stayed in, but our accommodations that night were half of the top floor of an old farmhouse. It was setup to sleep 8, I think, so two of the kids didn’t even have to share a bed like usual.
I took the kids on a walking tour of the grounds while Some Wife got dinner ready in the room. She brought it from home so we wouldn’t have to go out that night. We ate dinner, then we all went to the pool. Outdoor only, slightly cold, but it worked. After the pool, the kids played on the boat-like play structure and chased the geese. Then winding down in the room with some home-improvement show on HGTV, then off to bed.
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Only three more weeks until Reformation Day. This is the big one, being the 500th anniversary of Luther’s uprising. Start planning your festivities now.
So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.'”
Jeremiah 18:11
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People can have pet peeves.
That implies there are or were wild peeves. And that makes me wonder.
- What was the natural range of the wild peeve?
- When was the peeve domesticated?
- Why was the peeve domesticated?
- Of what use are they, really?
- How did they help further society, like the horse?
Someday I may investigate this further. Any interesting findings could be published in a book with a title such as On the Domestication of the Peeve.
You will laugh at violence and famine, And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.
Job 5:22
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I’d like to present to you today an example of success:
Colin Kaepernick
The critics might disagree, saying that he’s a washed-up quarterback who can’t play in the NFL anymore. But if your definition of success is “currently playing in the NFL”, then over 99.9% of the people in the USA are unsuccessful.
Other critics might contend that he has brought division and conflict to our country with his antics during the national anthem. That might not look like success to you, but your goals are not his goals.
What are his goals? (I haven’t asked him directly, so I’m going off common knowledge and common sense here):
He wanted the country to be aware of (and discuss) the treatment of minorities. He accomplished that, so success.
Before that, as an NFL player he wanted to get his team to the Super Bowl. He accomplished that, so success. Rather, partial success, since he probably wanted to win the game.
Before that, as a college player, he probably wanted to make it to the NFL. Again, success.
I dare say he has accomplished more and been more successful before the age of 30 than many people are in the whole lives. You can say a lot of things about Colin Kaepernick, but unsuccessful should not be one of those things.
The Lord was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian.
Genesis 39:2
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With my hobby of tracking NFL scores (or at least wins and losses), I check the results of NFL games to update my data. The easiest way to do that is to get the scores. A lot more places have scores available than a simple W or L for the day.
I figured the best place to get the NFL scores is the NFL website. And a convenient device for me to use is my iPhone. It’s not the latest one, but there are still millions of them in use, so it’s fairly relevant.
I went to the NFL website, clicked on the Scores link at the top, and this is what I saw (yes, it was fully loaded and rendered):
The NFL website was done so poorly that I couldn’t decipher the jumble of letters and numbers. Compare that to Google:
Much better.
You’d think the NFL would check that their website rendered properly in Safari on an iPhone, but apparently they did not. I’m going to blame their website redesign that’s new since last season. There is a lot about it that I don’t like, but rather than go into all the details, I’ll just stick with this one example.
Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool displays folly.
Proverbs 13:16
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The English language has provided us with a fair amount of modifiers and punctuation in order to make things clear. Confusion and humor come into play when people do not avail themselves of those items.
Exhibit #1: The sign in restaurant bathrooms that says “Employees must wash hands”
In the interest of saving printing costs, or because of laziness, or because of some other reason, the people responsible for the sign usually do not include punctuation or possessives. This leaves it open to the interpretation that the employees of the restaurant are responsible for washing my hands.
My guess is someone who likes to have fun with grammar pointed this out to management. Or perhaps management received a complaint from someone who did not get his hands washed by an employee.
Either way, I saw this sign the other day:
And I couldn’t help but smile and take a picture of it to share with the internet.
It was at a Red Robin, in case you want to support them for acknowledging poorly-worded signs.
Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
John 13:9
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This is Alpha, the first-born, when he was 2YO.
This is Beta, the second-born, when he was about 2YO.
This is Gamma, the third-born, when he was about 18MO.
