a colleague of mine recently got back from a visit to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and shared an interesting tip. Apparently they’re running a little known promotion called the “Summer Reading Program” which allows any student 18 years or younger to present their library card at the ticket window to receive 25% off single-day admissions for the student and up to 5 guests. I’m not sure if it works for any other Busch Gardens park but it’s confirmed to work for BG Williamsburg as well as Water Country USA. This is the best discount that I’ve seen for BGW right now and it will most definitely help with the cost of taking the whole family there. According to the email that my colleague received from customer service, the promotion is good until November 1, 2009.
Thought I’d share that lil’ tidbit with you all. See ya in line for “The Griffon”!
— The Griffon
This past weekend, I had the rare pleasure of leaving the wife and kids at home to spend the afternoon/evening with some old friends of mine.
yup, like your typical “whipped” husband, I rarely get any free time outside of my usual household & parental duties.
But my buddy whom I’ve known since grade school was turning *40* this weekend and he invited all his “groomsmen” from his wedding for a sort of reunion at his house. Since I’ll be turning the big 4-0 this year as well, I felt an extra “kinship” with the guy and agreed to make the two hour trek to his house.
It was great seeing the guys again after all these years. I literally haven’t seen some of the guys since my friend’s wedding over 15 years ago. I had a good time for the most part but I soon realized that these types of reunions conjure up all sorts of not-so-pleasant reminders that I’ve tried so long NOT to think about… like:
- how little I’ve actually achieved (in financial terms and status) over the last 15 years
- how ambitious I was back then compared to how run-down and unmotivated I am now
- how my 40 year old friend has much nicer furnishings than I do
- and finally, I’ve realized how bad I am at small talk and at keeping conversations
going with folks I no longer know so well
but definitely the take home message I found myself dwelling on during my drive home was how little I’ve got to show for at the 40 year mark.
Yes, I have a family, a house and a job and such. and I’m thankful for all those things but really nothing to boast or brag about.
and especially at these reunions and gatherings, I’ve got nothing. I suck.
remind me in the future to never agree to attend these sorts of reunions or gatherings ever again!
enjoyed a company outing to the local ballpark. can’t complain about free hot dogs, hamburgers and a great view of the game. the weather held out nicely too. It had been raining most of the week but luckily it all cleared up by the time we got to the ballpark.
I had sort of a “wake up call” last weekend. As it so happens, I’m turning 40 this year and the wife and I have long thought we’d better start taking better care of ourselves (physically) before it’s too late. Like your typical parents of young kids, we both “let ourselves go” over the years, primarily focusing on our kids needs and forsaking our own. So taking the time to stay physically fit and such, fell by the wayside. So anyway, since our kids are getting old enough to ride their bicycles beyond our little cul-de-sac, the wife and I bought ourselves our own bikes to ride along with the kids.
Here’s a fun fact for ya: I haven’t been on a bike since college!
So, as you can probably guess, I overexerted myself while riding with my oldest son this past weekend. We were simply riding around our subdivision which sounds harmless enough but I have to point out that it’s NOT COMPLETELY flat around here. There were several “steepish” inclines that we had to go up on during our ride. and obviously my legs weren’t used to pedaling so hard and by the time I got back home, I nearly collapsed. I was out of breath, thirsty and perspiring like crazy. and then on top of all that I had excruciating leg cramps for the next hour. man, I was a wreck.
I didn’t realize that I was overdoing it until after the fact. So apparently I have to take it even “slower” the next time out with my son.
For our wedding anniversary, I arranged for my parents to take the kids so that I could take the wife out for dinner. Man, it has been a while since we had a quiet evening to ourselves. It was refreshing and we both had a great time out to celebrate our anniversary. Our dinner was delicious and my meal in particular went well with the tall glass of beer I had. the wife had a margarita but couldn’t finish it so being the gentleman that I am, I finished it for her. Yup, I was feeling mighty good at the end of our meal. After a rough year of disagreements and me being sent to the “dog house” multiple times throughout the year, I’m glad to see that we made it through all that and our relationship is surprisingly stronger than ever. whew. Here’s to another year and many more to come…
See ya in line for “The Griffon”!
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