Vacation thoughts

As March closes, my mind is drawn to May when we will once again venture to Florida to visit friends and Walt Disney World! I'm glad Spencer will get in free for his birthday. I still had to cough up $79 to get my butt past the turnstiles. Oh well. That's the price you pay for visiting The Evil Rodent Empire.

We will be spending the night at Port Orleans Riverside. This is one of the Disney Resorts that is having a Spring special on rooms. I believe this resort used to be known as Dixie Landings. It's got the flavor of New Orleans and the bayou. Looks good to us!

We really loved Coronado Springs when we stayed there for 4/3 in September. The beds were very comfortable and the room was much larger than what we had in the All Star resort a few years back. I'm hoping Port Orleans is similar in room size and bed comfort. It's important to have a nice bed!

After Disney, we will return to the Gulf coast to visit Jane and Bill. They live very close to where Stephen King winters! I took the opportunity to drop Mr. King a letter a few weeks ago and hope he has not left for Maine yet. But I'm sure he'll return by April when his Red Sox begin playing.

And, a trip to Florida is NEVER complete unless we pay a visit with The Mattman!!!! I wonder if he's still bartending at Don Caesar's? I guess we will find out soon enough!

This week, Spencer should be receiving his CD by Gryphon. I know he's been wanting to hear this album again. His copy is on vinyl and we don't own a record player! So we had to wait for the CD. And now, we found it!!! I'm eager to hear it as well. I do like the song Lament from this particular album (Red Queen to Gryphon Three).

Well, goodbye March!

Interesting Times

The times, they are a changing. And indeed they are at a rapid pace! I have never seen so many foreclosed homes in all my life. The unemployment rate in our area climbs higher each passing day as companies close one by one. Job fairs are overrun by the desperate and some are even turned away. And yet, I wish I could disagree with the latest findings of a Gallup survey (in cooperation with America's Health Insurance Plans and Healthway) that claims the happiest people in America live mainly "out West".

Initially my buckeye feelings were hurt deeply in reading the results of this survey because Ohio ranked as one of the lowest on the list. I almost began to reconsider my own personal happiness!

Should I be so unhappy that my my average cost of living is much lower than those who live "out West"? My rent is lower than most house payments in the West! I shop at Save-A-Lot and take personal glee in the vast savings. Even our gasoline is often lower than the national average on most days. Dollar type stores are aplenty in this part of the country.

Ohio has many things that I'm sure those "out West" would envy. We have drive thrus for our beer, wine and snacking needs. We also still have drive in theaters. We can visit restaurants with car hops. (Sans the roller skates, of course.)

We call our sodas "pop". We call soft serve ice cream "custard". We drive on highways. And we know not to park our cars on the devil strip.

Ohio is home to past presidents, the Wright brothers, John Glenn, and many, many more.

For those who say Ohio is not a land of happy people, are clearly not talking to the right ones.

I love Ohio. And I'm happy!