Iowa

Iowa

Friday, June 10, 2011

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!

18 comments:

Jen said...

Mia's back! Yea! It's so good to see your post. We have taken the Megabus also, and we love it. Cheap, cheap, cheap. We go on it regularly. Sounds like NYC was a fun trip. Keep posting, Mia, missed you!

Lori said...

OMG, I can't believe you are back. It's so good to see your post. I kept checking periodically, and HERE IT IS! I went to that website that you posted and some of those dogs are adorable. Funny story about Prudence. How do all the dogs get there? I mean I read about some of them...it's sad!
We don't have a megabus here. At least I don't think we do. Great price though, and yes, it does beat flying.
Keep posting, Mia.

Elizabeth said...

Good to see you again, Mia. I have missed your posts. I looked at the website...cute dogs. And cats. Glad to hear about Bean, that must have been quite a thrill for her. And good for Monkeyboy! Feels like home again...thanks for the post.

Wacky Mommy said...

love ya, Mia! tell everyone hi from us. NY sounds fun as always.

Anonymous said...

Mia, it is so good to see you back again.
New York trip is always fun to hear about, as is bean and monkeyboy.
I, too, visited the website. Seems like a decent shelter. Nice to see you do volunteer work there. Do you have pets of your own?
I am exhausted, time for bed for me, glad to see you are back. Keep posting.

Cathy said...

WOW, Mis is back. Interesting how many people have been watching your blog. I am one of them. Daily (I know, I have no life) I log on to my puter and check out blogs that I follow, and much to my surprise, here you are. Welcome back, Mia, I have missed you. And no, I have done nothing to my house since January, waiting for your post to see if you did anything. And darn, you did the bathroom. Does this mean I have to do something???? Let's see some pictures, Mia.

Ben said...

Great to see your posts again, Mia. Yes, the Pirates are doing better, and it is nice to see them draw a crowd again. And Sydney is starting to practice on theice again, so there is hope that he may actually be able to play again.
We have a dog shelter here on the North Side also. It's not as nice as the one on the website and they have more pit bulls than anything. I've seen the megabus and it looks pretty nice. Hope they can stay in business, works for a lot of college students I hear. What was the joke monkeyboy told...or maybe we don't want to know!

Bill said...

We were at the Pirate game last Saturday, and it was great. Sell out crowd, everyone in good spirits and fireworks night. It was a great family night, although expensive by the time we got dogs and drinks.
Glad you are blogging again, Mia, and hope all is well with you.
We are planning a trip to DC on the megabus next month. It is a great bargain with gas prices what they are, and we won't have to worry about parking and driving in the city.

Tim said...

I thought I had until August to get in shape for the cheering. Now you tell me I have to do it for the Pirates too? I don't even like baseaball. Geesh.

AllieCat said...

Love the animal friends website. Looks like the have some cute pets. I love Purdence! It's nice that they have some information about all the animals. Nice to see the blog again, Mia. Congrats to Bean and Monkeyboy too.

ginger said...

Glad your'e back. I find this much more interesting than Facebook.

We are about to meet our new grandaughter whom my daughter adopted from Taiwan. She will be 4 in September and speaks nor understands no English so it is a challenge but my daughter is up to it. They will visit in August so we are anxiously awaiting.

That's my big news!

Twigs said...

Yes, Mia, Pirates beat Philly in two games, but at least we won one. They were good games.
I love basset hounds, they are so cute. And Prudence looks very cute, even if she is overweight.
We have taken the megabus to NYC when we go. It's a great way to travel, so cheap. We are preparing to visit family in Oregon in a couple of weeks.

SocialWorker2 said...

Was pleased to see you are posting again, Mia. It's been awhile. Sometimes we just need a break.
I'm glad for all the good news and the humor that your blog provides. Keep up the good work.

Noelle said...

Love the picture of the bathtub full of flowers. And the dogs are adorable. I laughed when I read about Prudence. So glad you are back again Mia. No vacation plans this year, money is too tight. Keep posting.

Pickles the Dog said said...

Grrrrrrreat Post. My human was afraid to post so I said I would do it. So here it goes...."Woof. Woof!"

Tigger said...

You came to NYC and didn't look me up? You haven't blogged since January and we are supposed to forgive you? We worry about you, watch for you and there is no explanation? MIA, don't do this to us again. Send me an email if you must, but let us know if you are okay and decide to quit blogging. My email address is
tjmiller487@aol.com

Angela said...

Welcome back! I want that bathtub...with the flowers for my garden. I visited the web site and I like Prudence. She has character.

SassySam said...

Wow, mia, you know...I had to increase my mall time because you didn't post. I will gladly give it up to see you keep posting!