What Is Exploration?
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009According to Dictionary.com, the definition of exploration is;
- an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination or
- the investigation of unknown regions
So if we take the first definition, an act or instance of exploring or investigating; examination, then we see that almost anything we do from trying something that we have never tried before to researching something we know little or nothing about is an act of exploration. It is something that we can and should do every day to broaden our horizons and grow as human beings.
In the second definition, the investigation of unknown regions, can be interpreted as seeking far and distant lands but the fact is, we can find all kinds of great things by exploring the world around us. That can be from traveling to places we have only dreamed to visiting the zoo with a child and seeing the experience through their eyes. Exploration can be a chore or a delight. How you look at it is really up to you.
The New Chevy Malibu
Friday, October 2nd, 2009I recently took a 1500 mile trip and decided to rent a car so I wouldn’t put additional miles on my truck. The car I ended up with was a new Chevrolet Malibu that has about 25,000 miles on it. I wasn’t sure whether I would like this car or not since I have driven Fords for the last 20 years. What I discovered is this car is a clear winner and if these are the kind of cars that the new General Motors Corporation is dedicated to making, they just might be on the right track!
Once I found out how to adjust the lumbar setting in the driver’s seat, the trip became a very enjoyable one. The Malibu handled very well in heavy traffic as well as in the open road. The only thing I found irritating was the steering wheel tilt. There wasn’t enough room and movement to make it easy to get in and out of the car; though I have to say I am kind of weird because I sit almost straight up in the seat due to an uncooperative back. However, other than this one small issue, I had a very enjoyable trip and will consider purchasing the Malibu on my next car purchase. BTW, what would have cost me an easy $300 plus in gas in my truck cost less than $150.00, which was a great surprise as well!
Traveling with a GPS
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009I broke down and purchased a GPS before traveling out of state to a brand new area and I have to admit, I am spoiled already! Who knew this thing could really get you from one place to another, in one piece, find the nearest gas station, dinner, coffee place or restroom then return you back home again. It was a lot of fun traveling and glancing up to see about when you will arrive at the next destination as it makes it easy to call ahead to hotels or relatives to let them know about the time you will arrive AND be right on the money!
Between the GPS and access to the the internet for weather updates, my trip went extremely well. I made every business meeting, dinner and family visit on time and never once got lost! I was able to find my favorite coffee shop and pastry place on the road for breakfast each morning as well as souvenir shops to bring a couple of things back to the wife and kids. I can’t wait to share this with my wife and let her know how handy this will be getting around town when we are not sure exactly where we are headed. Fun and useful and I think that is a great combination.
Saturn’s are a Piece of Junk!
Monday, July 27th, 2009For all you out there in car land who sing the praises of the Saturn, I must tell you that my experience has been a total nightmare from the get go. I bought the car with a little over 50,000 miles on it three years ago and have spent and additional $4,000 on various repairs as well as one repair that I have had several different Saturn dealerships and other garages working on for over a year and no one knows why the speedometer won’t work!
If you have any additional information that is not found in one of the various forums, please let me know but other than that we have tried everything. It would be great if the repairs were about one thing but I have had to replace the power steering motor, multiple speedometer cables, one of the many computers, the key cylinder as well as going through the hassle of getting a new key and the cost was crazy! The car has stalled on the freeway, on Main Street and left me stranded at school twice and at the mall once. So in three years I have had it towed 6 times as one morning it would not start in the driveway. I know I own a lemon and should sell it but it just needs to go to the dump to be totally destroyed. I will never own another Saturn; even if you give one to me!
Exploring the Smokies
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009One of the most popular ways to vacation in the Great Smoky Mountains is to rent a cabin. There are literally hundreds of rentals available on both the Tennessee and North Carolina side of the national park. There are so many options; it can be overwhelming to settle on a comfortable choice. A simple Internet search will bring up several pages of cabin rentals, and they all sound good. When we took an off-season vacation to the Smokies in February, we decided to narrow our choices down to one spot – Townsend, Tennessee. It’s a sleepy little town with less action and fewer choices than well-known tourist traps like Pigeon Forge or Gatlinburg. But what you miss in excitement is made up for in peace and beauty in tiny Townsend.
Our beautiful cabin was $500 for seven days. This was quite a bargain for a beautifully decorated two bedroom loft-style cabin with a Jacuzzi, CD player, cable TV and fireplace. The peaceful abode was decorated in log cabin style with antique fishing poles, old books, quilts and framed cross-stitched quotes. There was a grocery store in town, so we stocked up with enough food for a week. We packed picnics for the park during the day, and drove back to cook a dinner at “home” in the evenings. Simply wonderful!