May We Never Forget

Today is a day we need to take some time and remember that horrible day in our history and pray for all those we lost and their familys.
May we never forget.... God Bless America

Boston Massachuetts Flash Back to 2001

I love to travel. There is so many beautiful places to visit here in the United States.
I love New York, Washington DC and Boston the most. Of course I have yet been able to travel to Europe or anywhere outside of the US except briefly to Canada and the border towns of Mexico so all could change.

There is so much history to be found in Boston. There is Paul Revere's Home, North Church, and Century Old Cemeteries. Some where one of my ancestors is buried among those graves. While in Boston there was so much to see and so much to do. We ran out of time and did not have a chance to research where this grandmother was buried. Some day in the future I hope I will walk the streets of Boston again.

We stayed at the Copley Square Hotel. It was nice and close to all the tourist sights.
We took the tour of the Ship "Constitution ". We at fish by the harbor and clam chowder at a small vendor stand outside by the harbor.

It was so fun to tour the Boston Tea Party Boat. The young people working are so friendly

Hope that you have enjoyed my remembrance of Boston Massachusetts

Fee Free Weekends at National Parks

We are in the middle of summer and you are probably looking for inexpensive things to do with the family.
I received this link in an email from a genealogy group I am involved with. Thought it would be a great to pass on to my readers looking for inexpensive things to do with the remainder of the summer and the family can share the history of our wonderful country.
Fee-Free Weekends in Your National ParksAmerica’s Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better this summer with three fee-free weekends at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees*.Mark your calendars for fee-free weekends this summer:June 20-21, 2009 (Father’s Day weekend)July 18-19, 2009August 15-16, 2009
History is everywhere In nearly 400 national parks and every hometown. It covers everything from the remnants of ancient civilizations to the boyhood homes of U.S. Presidents to the stirring sagas of hard-fought wars to the reverberations of one woman refusing to give up her seat on a bus. History is a part of who we were, who we are, and who we will be.As you explore these pages, we hope you find what you are looking for – but even more importantly, we hope you discover something that surprises you. We invite you to learn more about history and how the National Park Service works to preserve it.
Keep saving , stay safe and enjoy these links I have included thanks to http://www.nps.gov/history/

Touring New York City

We may not always be able to travel as much as we would like due to finances, but if we take the time to take photos, find some fun post cards to bring home we can always return to the memories of our fun adventures. My dh and I have had many wonderful adventures in our 20 years ago. We have traveled much of the US. What memories we have. As I sit and sort the photos I am back in New York City. We were there before that awful day in 2001. We had a small hotel room just off Broadway and 42nd street. We went to the top of the hotel and there was a small bar. There we sat and had a drink and almost next to us was the Empire State Building. We took the subway to Battery Park, took the ferry to the Ellis island to see the Statue of Liberty. http://www.nps.gov/stli/. We joined a bus group to tour New York city. On this tour a wonderful man was our tour guide. A life time New Yorker accent and all . He showed us Greenwich village, we ate chinese in China Town, took the ferry to Staten Island, and best of all visited the Twin towers just before midnight. We rode all the way to the top and drank champagne and ate chocolate strawberries at Windows on the World Restaurant as we looked out over the city. We could see the Statue of Liberty from there what a wonderful site that was. That memory will always be with me. A pleasant memory but also a sad memory. The staff was young, pleasant and helpful. I remember them often and say a little prayer. I love New York City. The people, the taxi's and the noise and of course the wonderful deli's.

Summer Fun on the Frugal

Summertime. It brings back all kinds of memories. Playing Grocery store in my garage or putting on a play, hopscotch and freeze tag with the neighborhood kids, sitting on the front porch reading. Riding my bike with my sister to the library to find another mystery to read . We had only one bike growing up and would share it. One of us on the seat and the other on the back pedal. Going to church summer camp for a week or 2 weeks. We would swim, ride in a canoe go to church of course , and best of all meet the new cute boys from the big city of Minneapolis. We would buy candy or chips and drink sodas that were so cold they were half frozen. We would playing for hours on end outside, coming in only for potty breaks and to eat lunch. I grew up in Duluth Minnesota and we lived 1 1/2 blocks from Lief Erickson park. Lake Superior was my front yard. My mother would pack us a picnic lunch and off we would go to sit on the rocks of Lake Superior. And of course going to the old downtown theater every Saturday morning to watch 3 Horror movies. Frankenstein, the Mummy, Dracula oh so scary.I hope that my 2 boys who are now grown men also have great summer memories from the past. And of course I hope that my grandchildren will some day look back to wonderful summer memories.But let’s face it, times have changed. I can’t fathom my small grandchildren going out to play all day long with what we now know about sun exposure. And in this post-Adam Walsh world we live in, I can’t imagine their parents sending them off on a bike to a day camp, park or library one or two miles away.I have come to the conculsion that you do not have to be a child to enjoy the summer. There are things we as adult's can do and still keep the cost reasonable. I will be searching for things that my husband and I can do this summer.We have a beautiful pool at our complex and already have been down there 3 times. But that is only 3 times in the month we have lived here. So one plan is to spend more time there. We love to search thrift stores for things to sell on eBay. I have compiled a list of thrift stores in the Houston area. From this list we have only visited about 10 of them. So we have many more thrift stores to visit. I love to wander old cemetaries. Just miles away I hear there is a wonderful cemetary in Richmond Texas with lots of history. That is on my list for this summer. Maybe I can find more interesting old cemetaries with history. We are not that far from Galveston, walks on the beach how great can that be.And of course there are the movies. We do not go to movies often, so this is on my "to do" list this summer. When we do go, we always go to the early movie that has reduced priced tickets. So I hope to see more than one movie this summer.As I was searching for movies I found that at theaters owned by Regal Entertainment, free movies are being offered every week from June 16th through Aug. 13th. In our area, the theater is offering its Free Family Film Festival on Tuesdays, Wednesdays. To top it off, the theater is offering a G-rated movie and a PG-rated movie so you and the kids could see as many as 18 free movies over the summer on the big screen. Some of the offerings at our local theater include Charlotte's Web, Kit Kittridge and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.Now that’s a great deal. Click here to check for a participating theater near your home. The selection of movies varies by location.So while you and your children are enjoying a movie hopefully dh and I will be next door seeing the latest Tom Hanks movie or what ever is playing at the time. Watch for future posts on fun adventures we are having this summer on the frugal. My picture is part of my back yard as a child. Lake Superior at Duluth Minnesota. Of course the picture is from the present.It is so built up with shops and restaurants. Not the same that is for sure. Hope that you will share with us some of your summer plans on the frugal. This post was put on my other blog site but I feel it fits here also. Watch for future blogs on fun adventures while still be frugal this summer

Miss Spooky

Well spooky is doing well. She had to have surgery a couple of weeks ago. She came thru it just fine.
We are keeping it a secret from her that we will be moving to Texas end of April.
We have sold the motor home so all traveling will be by the van and staying in motels. Even without the motor home we will have lots of adventures. Our years together have taken us across the US many times and I look forward to that continuing in the future how ever that may be for the three of us.

http://www.restaurant.com/index.asp?pgn=home

Dining Out Coupons

After entering my Coke rewards I thought I would take a look at what I could get for my rewards. Scanning the list of choices, I found a reward for dining out. Well of course that is one of my favorite things to do, and I like coupons and gift certificates to reduce that cost.
Here is the web site I found.
http://www.restaurant.com/index.asp?pgn=home
You can enter your zip code or city you are interested in. You can then see the list of restaurants that are offering the opportunity for you to buy a reduced gift certificate. Be sure to read the fine print. Good certain days only, You need to spend at least a certain amount and some add the tip for you. But if you like to eat out once in awhile and like to reduce that cost take a look at the web site.

Check out my other blog savings shopping

Click on profile to see my other blog

Grocery Shopping Blog

I have started a blog on saving money grocery shopping. Take a look there

Life Goes On

Much has happened since my last post. It has been almost a year since I was here.We had a great adventure crossing the US from Minnesota back home to California. We saw many beautiful sites. I loved driving through Colorado and Utah. The scenery was breathtaking.Gas prices were higher than we expected on that trip. Our Internet business slowed down during the trip and even after we arrived home. This has made it hard to want to even travel anywhere after.My father suffered from dementia for over 10 years. I flew to Minnesota to be with him when he was in the hospital at least once. In September of 2008 he ended up in the hospital again and it did not look good for him. At that point we packed up the motor home and took off with Spooky the cat to head back to Minnesota. We were on our way driving across the US again; my sister was flying in from Houston and my brother and sons were waiting for me.We got to the border of Colorado and Nebraska when my sister called to report that Dad was doing much better and maybe we could turn around to return to California. We got as far as Sterling, Colorado and dear hubby started to feel ill. We checked him into the emergency room. After being seen by the doctor we spent that night parked in the Hospital parking lot. After a great breakfast at this local café (name unknown) we started driving. My sixtieth birthday was days away and hubby suggested stopping in Las Vegas to celebrate. We no sooner registered at the Circus Circus RV park, got set up and walked to the casino and my sister called again. Dad had turned for the worse. Now was the time to get an airplane ticket, leave hubby and Spooky to finish the trip home to California and fly to be with my Dad, my sister, brother, sons and other members of family.It was a sad time in Duluth; my dad passed away September 15th, just days after my birthday. His family surrounded him. We spent our time praying, reminiscing about our times with him, and telling him how much we love himWe had a small beautiful funeral in the Cemetery Chapel. My daughter in law Sue is in school to be a minister. She preformed the service and did a wonderful job. She knew daddy and that made it special. My hubby could not be with me, but his brother Ken came to the funeral. I never doubted he would come, he is that kind of guy. Behind daddy’s casket was this large window. As you looked out you saw the most beautiful trees that had turned the most wonderful fall colors. After the service we buried Dad next to Mama.2 days later I flew home to California.Since then we have sold the motor home and decided to move to Houston. We will be nearer my sister and her family, closer to Minnesota where our children and grandchildren are.By the end of April another adventure starts. I hope that you will join us in our travels. It may not be in a motor home but will still be an adventure for this family.As you join me here please feel free to comment. I have also started another blog on my adventure tighting the grocery budget. Here is the link. http://couponloversunite.blogspot.com/