Back Again

It's been a long six months, but I am back. Made it through winter and am now dealing with summer. From one season to another.
Our annual trip to New York City was spectacular. We took the Megabus from Pittsburgh to NYC. We left here at 7:00 AM and we were checking into the hotel at 3:00 PM. It was on a newer bus, double decker. We got in line early so the four of us could sit together. We watched people line up, and thought that they were cutting. So we got out of line and got behind them. Turns out they line up backwards and we would have been first, but alas, we were about 20th. Monkeyboy wanted to be first so he could sit on the top front of the double decker bus, but we couldn't make it. Megabus is wonderful. They are clean, and on time. The four of us traveled for a total of $84 round trip. Well, there was that slight problem on the way home. As we were coming up Summit hill we pulled over to the side of the road. The driver got out, looked at the back of the bus, got back on and we lumbered up the mountain. A few miles later he pulled over again, and this time he came into the bus and said that the coolant line had broken or something. So we spent two hours at the Get Go. The weather was perfect and we all had books to read, so it was fine. Really it was.
There were a few college students on the bus. The one sitting next to Monkeyboy and Mippy talked on his phone for almost 4 hours non-stop. I never knew a man to do that. It was amazing. His battery would have died, but they have outlets on Megabus as well as internet. Internet would probably have been quieter. His battery did die at the rest stop, but he charged it again immediately upon boarding the new bus. The new bus had the air conditioning on. It really wasn't warm enough for air, so Mippy asked him to turn it off. He misunderstood and turned it up. When we realized that it was getting even colder, she asked him again. Apparently, he was new and couldn't figure out how to shut it off, so it was a cold ride back to Pittsburgh, but other than that, the trip on the Megabus was fine. Much better than being stuck in an airport for 20 hours.
Swimming is always a big part of our trip and Monkeyboy has come so far this year. Diving for money at the bottom of the pool, swimming the width of the pool. Bean and I also having fun in the pool.
We saw "The Adams Family" and Bean and I went to see the NYC Ballet. Monkeyboy and Mippy went to see The Harry Potter Exhibit.
We ate a couple of good restaurants and saw the Burton Morris Exhibit at POP.
Monkeyboy told a joke in the restaurant that sent us all into gales of laughter...well, not Mippy, but Bean and I about choked as we laughed so hard.
Bean had the starring role of Belle in "Beauty and the Beast". She was excellent and of course, we gave her a standing ovation.
And of course, it is baseball time. I believe Monkeyboy is one of the best pitchers on the team. Their team has had a winning season so far, and tournament ball is about to start.
I finally did the bathroom after many months of procrastination. Pulled my back out reaching that one corner, not totally unexpected.
I am doing volunteer work at Animal Friends here in Pittsburgh. I love walking the dogs, and they each have their own personalities. Belle is a mixed breed, very gentle, who loves to lie next to me and be scratched on her head and back. Most of the dogs are mixed breed, but some are not. Ripley is a basset hound, who walks slowly to examine each blade of grass, but whose short legs race across the parking lot to get to the grass. Miss Tiny is a beagle who is being pursued by Prudence. Both are female, although Prudence does have a beard. She is a bit....well, maybe more than a bit....overweight. She is a delight, but has to rest as she is being walked due to her weight. Here is a link to their website if you would like to see them.
www.thinkingoutsidethecage.org
The butterflies are flying at Phipps. And our summer show is pretty spectacular. We are getting all kinds of international visitors and it's fun to listen to them talk about how much they like our city.
Pirates are playing pretty good baseball, so we are following the team a little more now. Had a couple of sell out games with Philly...go figure. And we won 2/3 games! We truly are a sports town!
Well, I hope I haven't lost too many viewers. How was your winter/summer? We seem to have missed spring. Hope you are all well!