I'm Busched

Yesterday we went to Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg, VA. This was our 4th trip this year. We didn't quite get the early start we'd hoped, as my daughter wanted to spend over an hour straightening her hair. (Lesson #1 don't bother straightening your hair before going to a park with water rides) We took an alternate route from the one the GPS gave us previous times (Lesson #2 google map before a trip so you can see the different potential routes you can take, instead of relying on GPS to give you the best one. Even with their "detour feature" our efforts yielded much better results. A paper map is also very handy.) and we hit zero traffic jams. Not sure if this is because we left earlier, but I would think driving through Hampton Roads at 8am has great potential for traffic jams...but we were lucky. Considering our last trip to Busch Gardens took us almost 4 hrs and 3 major traffic jams, I was very grateful for this smooth commute.

Having a yearly pass (which really is a necessity if you plan on going more than once in a year so I think we'll call this Lesson #3) we didn't have to bother with the entry line and the only hold up we encountered was Mike's line choice for scanning his ticket. Riley and I went to a line with only 1 person in it. (Lesson #4 don't follow the herd, check out your potential options before making a choice) We grabbed a map to make a makeshift plan as to where we'd go and decided to hit a ride that we missed the last time we were there, Europe in the Air located in Ireland. Not 30 steps later our first major incident. My right flip flop broke. (Lesson #5 bring a spare pair of shoes in case of an emergency) Now, I remembered that they sell flip flops at some of the shops in Italy, but we were headed the opposite direction, and figured I could endure for a bit, even though the pathways were made of graveled cement (ouch) and in the sun were very hot.

Europe in the Air was awesome. It is a 4D ride, in a theater of motion, where you fly over bits of Ireland, England, France, Germany and Italy. As I tend to get Vertigo, I did get a bit of motion sickness, but it was worth it. Not to mention that the theater is air conditioned, a great reprieve from the hot sun outside. Afterward I found out that there is a shop in France (next to Ireland) that sells shoes, so we headed there. Unfortunately, the selection was small and the prices....well let's just say I decided to suffer a little longer. (They ranged from $20-$35 for FLIP FLOPS) Riley and Mike hit the Griffin while I waited, then we took the lifts back down to England where we would catch the train to Italy. (Lesson #6 is for the park designers: While those with young children really like the Elmo World option for their little ones, there is a significant population that is repulsed by the sounds. The volume is way too high, and I think it might be better situated in a side area, rather than a heavy traffic area. My daughter won't ride the train from England to Italy because of the loud Sesame Street jingle they play as the train passes that area, and frankly I have to cover my ears, too, although I'm not quite as repulsed as my 12yo is.)

Ok, so we walked to Italy instead of taking the train, and the first shop we reach only has men's flip flops (IOW, too big) and those prices are even worse than the prices in France. I saw one pair that was $65. WHO in their right mind pays $65 for flip flops? (Lesson #5 restated...BRING a second pair of shoes) Mike and Riley head over to Apollo's Chariot while I look for other shops. I had to give my daughter her shoes back so she could go on the ride, and I have to admit I was feeling the effects of the pavement even more so, and my usual charm lost its edge as I made haste through the crowd to various shops. At the third shop I tried, I finally found a pair of flip  flops for 12.99. At that point 12.99 seemed like a good deal (it's all relative, baby) and I purchased them. (Lesson #5 restated. BRING a second pair of shoes)

Now it was time to get wet, so we headed over to the rapids, everyone armed with their own shoes. Riley didn't want to go on them at first because she worried about her hair getting wet and getting curly. (Remember Lesson #1? Don't bother straightening your hair before going to Busch Gardens.) But it was hot, so she conceded and joined us on the rapids. This is where my next unexpected event occurred. Why it was unexpected is my own ignorance, as I should have mathed this one out. But my flip flops got wet and because the thong part was made of fabric, they stretched out.  Now as any flip flopping  wearer knows, loose flip flops can be a pain to walk in as your feet have to kind of clutch at the bottom of the shoe to keep them on. (Lesson #7 don't wear fabric based flip flops to a water park...and if you are a water park, don't sell that style either)

Mike left us when we left Italy to do his own thing and I was still feeling a little motion sick from the first ride (not much, but enough to notice) so figured I might need to eat something to settle my stomach. We bought Churro's, but manoman was that a bad idea. Turns out my loose tooth was very sensitive and when I accidentally touched it while placing a bit of churro in my mouth, I felt like jumping out of my skin. And the fact that Churro's have so much sugar, I figured it was why it didn't help my stomach much either, so off to Fest Haus in Germany to find some real food to eat. My stomach did start to calm, but now my tooth hurt worse than ever and I was getting a headache. Not to mention the fact that from clutching those stupid flip  flops, my feet developed some serious cramps that took almost 30 minutes to subside. I tried to hold a good cheer for my daughter as I didn't really see how I could make everyone end their day on my account, but honestly all I wanted to do was a find a bed and lay down for awhile.

Now my daughter was starting to get tired too. And we hadn't reconnected with Mike yet, so I called him and we decided to meet up. By the time he arrived it hurt for me to even talk as even my lip touching my tooth was painful. But the sight of Mike rejuvenated my daughter who now said she wasn't really tired, she was just bored because she didn't want to go on any rides by herself, this time. (Most of the time she does go by herself because she likes to ride the same ride over and over LOL)

We had planned to stay for the fireworks show, so I showed Mike, on the map, where I'd be for us to meet up while the two of them took off to go on a few more rides. At last I found a spot where I could be a little out of the way and just lay my throbbing head down for a bit with the added perk of being next to the bridge where we'd watch the fireworks. However, that didn't seem to last, as Mike called after only 30 minutes as he couldn't find me, and he'd lost Riley. Seems she really was tired and had I not been distracted by my own issues I would have put the pieces together. She didn't go to bed early enough the night before and only slept a few hours the night before that. She was not only tired, but CRANKY too. (Lesson #8 it is worth canceling plans if the child hasn't had enough sleep)  She got mad at Mike and took off because she didn't want to look at the map with him about where to meet me. She said she already knew and headed in the wrong direction.

Mike and I decided it was best not to wait for the fireworks and just go home. It took us about a half hour to find her. It seemed like the moment I realized she probably went to Pompeii to get splashed, that we saw my soaking wet little rag doll heading towards us. She, of course, balked at leaving, but not that much, as she REALLY was tired, just didn't want to admit it.

So what did we learn from all this:

1. Don't bother straightening your hair before going to a park with water rides.
2. Google map directions to see if you can find a better route than your GPS and bring a paper map, just in case you need to make modifications.
3. Get a yearly pass, if you plan on going 2 or more times during the year. The price is about $10 more than what you'd pay going just once, once you factor in the parking fee. The yearly pass includes parking, and a 10% discounts whenever you buy anything, including food, drinks, souvenirs, etc.
4. Don't follow the herd. It only takes a little effort to find a more expeditious route.
5. Bring a spare pair of shoes (and I didn't mention this, but I saw a lot of people wearing socks and shoes, and frankly, that seems like folly too, as over half the rides you get wet, which would mean walking around in wet shoes. I don't even want to be in a room where those folks are removing those shoes LOL)
6. For the park designer...put a childs theme area outside of common areas, many of your patrons will appreciate it.
7. Don't wear fabric based flip flops on water rides.
8. Be willing to cancel/or change your plans if the child(s) has not had enough sleep. In the end no one has a good time, so plan ahead, make sure they are well rested before embarking on a long day of fun and adventure.

10 Things We Can Do To Reduce Oil Consumption

This is a copy of a blog post at greenpeace.org expanded upon with my personal touches. Seemed a good topic to add since I've been away from my "daily" exercise so long. My editorial on this will be in red.

This entry comes by popular request. A lot of people have been asking what they can do to use less oil, and reduce demand for the sticky stuff ruining beaches everywhere. Here's my top ten, feel free to add to it in comments:

1. Carpool, cycle or use public transport to go to work.
If this is not possible for your situation, then you can always leave home a little earlier and park further away from your job. If you work 30 miles, then drive 29 miles and park, and walk the last mile to work. (Or whatever would suit your situation, some could walk 5 miles, some maybe only a few blocks because of safety issues, but even a little bit adds up)

2. Choose, when possible, products packaged without plastic and recycle or re-use containers.

Always keep a reusable bag(s) handy for shopping or if you are only getting 1 or 2 items, just say no to a bag. If you find you bought more than your reusable bag can hold, than donate it to your local thrift store.
If it has holes in it, or you needed to cut the handle off because the bagger tied it in a knot (I hate when they do that), then you can cut the bag into a sheet and iron 3 together to make a plastic fabric. I made my daughters Halloween bag using this method decorated with the individual candy bags she got from the school Halloween party. Not beautiful, I know, but it was made an hour before trick or treat time. You could make your own REUSABLE plastic bags to take to the store with you, that is more durable than the one's they hand out. One could make shower curtain liners, or bathroom window curtains, coasters, there are some wonderful creative "re-use" ideas out on the net. Here's a link to get your creative juices started: Plastic bag crafts. Just keep those things out of the landfill, please.

3. Buy organic fruits and vegetables (fertilisers and pesticides are based on oil more often than not). And always look local first. Produce that is imported from across the country and other parts of the world require a far greater amount of oil than those products grown in your community. Better yet, start your own backyard or patio or even a windowsill garden.

4. Buy beauty products (shampoo, soap, make-up) based on natural ingredients, not oil. Another tip from a reader on that blog recommends buying bar soaps instead of the plastic pump bottles. If you already have the plastic pump bottle, reuse it. Add soap ends and water to make your own, albeit, a bit chunky, liquid soap. There are a myriad of natural products that you can use to replace the chemical products on the market.

5. Choose when possible locally produced products (less transport involved).
Also instead of driving to find what you are looking for, consider using the internet first, then the telephone second to see if you can find it before you leave the house.

6. Buy clothes made out of organic cotton or hemp - not from oil derivatives.
Synthetic fibers are made from oil derivatives. That said, I buy most of our clothes from second hand stores and don't worry as much about the label, as the item already went through the market place, therefore you aren't creating a demand for the oil derivatives.

7. Use non-disposable items in picnics and summer festivals.

8. Quit bottled water. I know this is controversial, but you couldn't pay me to drink our local tap water. When I first moved here I was a tap drinker, even though it didn't taste very good. Within a month I started getting kidney cramps. I switched to bottled water and no more kidney pain. If you are like me and your local water is unbearable, then at least buy from the largest carton available and use your own individual, reusable container, instead of buying the 1 time only drink bottles. Some stores will allow you to refill containers which is another means of saving.

This can be said of anything you buy that comes in plastic. Buy the largest laundry detergent, dish soap, syrup, etc, etc. If you prefer to have your smaller bottle save it, and refill it from the larger bottles. Or look for glass containers to hold your supplies.

Tunist made a good point about using a water filter instead of buying bottled water. I suppose it's high time I check that out.

9. Fly less. (Sorry blog author, but I could have come up with something better than that as a #9, as have many of those who've posted in the comments section...yes flying less is good, but many of us don't fly at all so....) I think I would add drive less. Make sure when you need to go out, take care of several tasks at once. Do your grocery shopping weekly instead of daily. See if you can find a friend or two to come along, too. This will save 1 or 2 cars less on the road for a shopping trip. Here are a few from the comment section:
From Bongodog: “Don't use styrofoam, bubblegum, or ballpoint pens! 
Download MP3s instead of buying plastic-packed CDs 
REFILL your plastic dispensers instead of replacing them. 
Lose the hair gel. 
Use KY Jelly instead of Vaseline!
From tangent: As regards plastic dispensers - it would be better to buy bars of organic soap instead that only use paper packaging and don't contain oil derived substances.”

10. Demand that your government encourage renewable energy instead of subsidizing oil. No beating this idea. We must make ourselves heard that this is non negotiable .

US Energy Information Administration - Independent Statistics and Analysis
The United States is 3rd amongst the world producers of oil. And yet we import twice as much as is produced by the top oil producing country. No other country even makes a close second.

1. U.S. consumes 19.498K barrels of oil a day
2. China consumes 7,381K barrels of oil a day
3. Japan consumes 4,785K barrels of oil a day

1. U.S. imports 10,984K barrels a day.
2. Japan imports 4,652K barrels a day.
3. China imports 3,858K barrels a day.

Over 6,000 products are made with petroleum byproducts. Here's a list of just 144 of the kinds of  things that use them.
Partial list of Petroleum based products