WHEN ITS A BUSINESS TRIP!

I'm not embarrassed to say that in my 30+ years of working, I have not taken many business trips.  I don't feel cheated or slighted in the least and in fact, on my last business trip out of the US (in 2010 to Toronto), I almost didn't get back into the USA! But that's a story for another time....

That said, last week I went with co-workers and a vendor representative to visit some facilities in the San Diego area and one in Las Vegas.  While I have visited Las Vegas before, I have never been to San Diego and in fact, the last time I was in California was in 1978. I kid you not.

While confidentiality prohibits me from going into detail about the trip, I can share some tidbits - first and foremost being I met some wonderful people - some I had interacted with by phone or email prior to the trip and some I met for the first time.   Meeting such great folks is what makes 7 days away from home (and the work we do) worth while.

The photo above is a shot from my room in San Diego - overlooking the marina at Mission Bay. It was so beautiful that first night! It was beautiful every night but let's face it - first impressions, right?

Here are some other photos from the area for you to enjoy.  On my last night in San Diego there was a full moon! I think I did OK capturing it with a cell phone camera!

We had some lovely dinners on the trip, too! Steak & Seafood, Italian and Mexican!  I even had Chinese delivered one evening when I wanted to eat by myself.  Unfortunately, where our hotel was located there wasn't anything within walking distance, so delivery was the only option baring the hotel restaurant, which I had already sampled.

Here are some fine examples of deliciousness! (Yes, that last photo is a salad...)

The last part of our trip was in Las Vegas (less then 24 hours) and while I don't have photos of the fabulous food, I do have a photo of the huge salt water aquarium in the hotel (with a small tiger shark in it) and a photo (albeit a sloppy one) of the Dolly Parton slot machine at the airport where I won $15 after spending $2.95.  You could even choose which Dolly songs you wanted to hear while you were pushing buttons and spending your money!

It was a successful and informative trip and other then the snuggly San Diego sweatshirt and the nasty cold I brought back with me, I am glad to say my suitcase was lighter (in a manner of speaking) on the return. 

Many thanks to everyone we met for their enthusiasm and to my co-workers and vendors for all their efforts.

Mission Bay, San Diego - go and visit - I highly recommend it!!

On Sunday, December 8th, I picked up my nieces and we headed off to decorate the various family plots for Christmas. We have a tradition, we shop for the decorations, visit each grave and then go to lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant, Jasmines.  We used to try and do gravestone rubbings but after 3 or more times of near frostbite, moved that activity to the summer time. 
However, this year they were calling for bad weather and while I don't mind driving myself in a snowstorm, I would rather not with 2 precious 12 year olds in the back seat. So we headed out earlier then usual and agreed to postpone our lunch until after Christmas.  
We completed our task in good time and I had the girls back home just as it started to snow. That's where I made my mistake - I stayed visiting with my sister-in-law and her mom for 45 minutes so when I left their house - the roads had already turned into a driving nightmare. 
422 and 202 were pretty good - everyone was driving slow but in a careful manner. Then I hit 76 which basically turned into a parking lot. Believe it or not - this was the SECOND time in my life (the first being in 2007) that I managed to get myself trapped on 76 in a snow storm. Gah! So when I got to the first exit, I decided to take it and try the back roads for getting home.
Part of the problem was the ice under the snow.  Even though the roads were treated, everything froze so fast and then was covered with snow which made for tricky driving. Well, after sitting at the bottom of the exit ramp for nearly 30 minutes, I gave up and got back onto the highway...which proved to be an excellent move - until I got to the exit for 476.
I need to take a minute here to stop and praise my Ford Focus. It was a DREAM to drive in this storm - I can't say enough about how good it was to feel safe in these dangerous conditions.   However, I can't say the same for EVERY BMW I saw on the road (and I saw a good number) - every time they would take their foot of the brake, their rear-ends would slide out from under them - can you say 'involuntary near crashes?' So glad I did NOT buy a BMW!
So when I got to the exit ramp, I was greeted with this:

I'd like to say these were slow moving trucks - but they were PARKED.  Took me a good 10 minutes or so to figure out that they drivers of the first two rigs were actually out on the highway checking out a jack-knifed tractor trailer on the far right shoulder and also helping push stuck motorists up the ramp to make way for the rest of us. Thank you professional drivers!

Luckily, a couple of salt/plow trucks also made a pass on part of the ramp which helped a great deal.

So we sat for a bit in frustration, but after the tankers & the banana truck got going, I passed the BMW (it has slid into off the ramp onto the shoulder) and carefully got up the ramp, onto the highway and home!  Final tally: 2.5 hours to drive 23 miles.

All in all - was wasn't a bad snow-trip - 
I just didn't have any drinks or snacks. O.o.

Back in 2007, I took my friend Lara to Indian River Inlet in Delaware.  She had never been to the beach in Delaware before and certainly not in October.  She loved it!  

Fast forward to 2013 and finally we had a chance to visit again - so with her husband, Harry and our good friend Michael in tow, we packed up and headed off!

There are many 'best' things about the Delaware beaches, but the most wonderful is how incredibly clean they are - and how beautiful!  Indian River Inlet is part of the Delaware Seashore State Park.  My Dad discovered it many years ago when his truck run was through the Eastern Shore/Peninsula that encompasses Maryland and Delaware.  He brought the family often throughout the years and we always had a wonderful time.  You pay a fee for the day - per car NOT per person, out-of-stater's paying a wee bit more then in-stater's. There is a bath house with a snack shop (open only in season) and hot showers.  So, you can spend a day at the beach, clean up and head out for a great dinner without feeling sweaty & sticky. 

We had a lovely time, stopping first in Rehoboth at Primo's Hoagies to pick up some lunch and then heading to Indian River.  We spread a blanket on the beach, ate our lunch, lathered up with sun block and had a wonderful afternoon consisting of naps, taking photos, getting our feet wet in the ocean and having serious and not so serious conversations (the way we always do when we are all together).  It truly was a wonderful day. 

There was a good number of people on the beach enjoyed the warm temperatures but despite the crowd, it was not noisy.  Dogs are also allowed on the beach (as long as they are leashed) and every dog there was well behaved and rather cute - even that one dog big enough to be a pony!

Later in the evening, we headed back to Rehoboth and re-discovered the same Mexican restaurant Lara and I ate in back in 2007!  This is the first time I can say that the food was BETTER then the first time (and that first time was pretty stellar)!  After we walked the boards a little and then headed back to Pennsylvania.

I can't stress enough that you really don't know what you are missing if you don't give Delaware Beaches a try.  Just remember - going 'down the shore' is going to the New Jersey beaches - going to 'the beach' is Delaware all the way!

     My niece, Sam (I've mentioned her in other road trip posts) is a transfer
student to the Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) which is located in
Indiana, PA - which also happens to be the county seat of Indiana  County!   Orientation for transfer students took place a few days ago  and during a lull in my job hunting, I offered to give my sister and niece  a ride.
     I like to plan for road trips - even short ones - so when I picked up the girls, I was prepared with a cooler with snacks (some healthy, some not - this is a road trip after all) and drinks.  the car was also gassed up and ready to hit the road and I had picked up a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee for my sister (she and my dad LOVE Dunkin Donuts coffee - I like it but I had WaWa coffee). We headed out around 11am and with the blessings of EZ Pass, good directions and not much traffic, made great time. 
     Pennsylvania is really a lovely state and even though I have been lucky enough to have driven through a lot of it, I can still be impressed with the scenery.  I was also very impressed with my Focus's gas mileage!  We have been suffering greatly from the heat these last few weeks and while I don't usually drive with the air conditioner running, it got quite a workout on this trip!  Average MPG going out - 36.4!
     We stayed at a lovely Holiday Inn just outside of town and after we unpacked, we drove through the campus and past the apartment where my niece will be living and then went here for dinner:

My sister had remarked that while we had seen these restaurants through many a car window, neither of us had ever eaten there, so we should give it a try.  They actually made a pretty good steak!  Mary & Sam were thrilled with the salad bar and mused that next time they would be happy with just the soup & salad offerings!
     After we went back to the hotel and thought of taking a swim, but the pool was a bit full for our tastes, so we caught up on some cable TV while my sister worked on her laptop in the lobby on WiFi.
     It was early wake up call for the three of us - Sam & Mary had to be at their respective orientations by 8:00am.  I headed back to the hotel to suck up more cable TV (I don't have any tv service at home, cable or otherwise) and then get cleaned up, pack up our stuff and check out.  I indulged in hotel breakfast (boy was that a bad idea) and thought about a swim but there just wasn't time. Then I had a full day of exploration ahead of me.  I visited Sheetz and got ice for our cooler; uncovered the location of all 3 grocery stores and drove around the mall.  I also visited IUP's book store and bought myself a hoodie - a bit of a challenge because IUP has about a 100 different kinds of hoodies but only about 3 of them zip all the way up the front and that's the kind I prefer - and there's the whole plus size thing (I like my hoodies big and comfy).  BUT - I did score a hoodie and I'm looking forward to chilly weather so I can proudly display my IUP love!   

     Checked in with my sister and she was on lunch break and dying for coffee.  I found the ONLY Dunkin Donuts in Indiana, PA, grabbed a cup of her favorite and swung back to the college to pick her up.  We headed to the book store so she could do her shopping and then we drove around town a bit before dropping her back off for more orientation.
     It was about that time that I was ready for lunch, so I found a fast food joint and parked with my burger and watched it rain and rain and rain.... did you know that Indiana, PA gets more rain every year then Seattle, WA? Sad but true - I say sad because my niece is such a sunshine/warm weather girl (I didn't mention snow....).  

     I also discovered an A&W Root Beer place and while I am positive they had amazing root beer floats, I didn't head over there and find out. 
     Then it was off to Wal*Mart for a wee bit of shopping (I have a hard time resisting the lure of fresh school supplies...crayons, virgin note books...the smell of fresh ink...<3) but I also gassed up the car and headed back to campus.  The girls were finished earlier then expected and we headed for home.
     It was an uneventful trip home despite the dangerous downpours that left me with about zero visibility to the point where I was navigating by the reflectors embedded into the paint on the highway.  I mentioned to my Dad later that I had the wheel gripped so hard my fingers hurt after and I think he thought it was because I was afraid - I explained it wasn't that I was afraid since I've driven in blizzards & hurricanes before - but I had my sister and niece in my car and was responsible for their safety which made me hyperaware of the situation.  Have to protect my girls, you know?
     We stopped in Carlisle, PA at the Route 11 Diner where we consumed some excellent cream of broccoli soup, omelets and a hot turkey sandwich with gravy fries. There was a whole (funny) incident with my niece losing her footing off a 6 inch curb much to her friend's amusement (thanks to text and twitter) but we made it back safely and in good time (though not as good gas mileage).  Many thanks to the ladies for letting me come along on their adventure and drive (which is one of my favorite things) and explore! Much love!
     I am sure there will be more road trips to Indiana, PA to visit Sam - I personally am looking forward to one with lots of SNOW!!

I was catching up on twitter last night and saw that  niece, Sam, wanted to visit her boyfriend who is currently playing in an amature baseball league just outside Baltimore, Maryland.  For a variety of reasons (including a first time, less then positive rush hour experience on 695) she didn't want to drive down. I, on the other hand, needed to get out of the house for awhile so for the low low price of a tank full of gas and road snacks, I gave her a lift.

We left Delaware County, PA before 9:30pm last night and made great time. There was absolutely no traffic on 476, 95 or 695 and along with the beauty of EZ Pass, the round trip was made in great time! We also had an awesome time catching up, as we hadn't gotten to spend any time together of late. I really enjoy my visits with Sam and her bother, Scott; they are great kids (although I think they are too old for me to call them kids anymore!).

The one item of note on this quickie road trip was the prices for gas! Currently in my part of Delco, gas is about $3.45 a gallon (unlike the $3.39 it is in parts of Berks County) but historically, gas in the State of Delaware is cheaper. Not last night - it was considerably higher! In fact, it wasn't until we were almost in Baltimore that gas was at least as low as at home if not a wee bit lower. Why the focus on gas prices? Well, to those who drive a lot and/or are under strict budgets, gas prices are a major factor in where and how far (or how often) one can take a jaunt anywhere. So we tend to notice these things. For me personally, I am fascinated by the difference in the price of gas just within a 100 mile area of my house - it can be 30 cents less a gallon less near by parent's house then near my house and across the river in New Jersey, it can be even more then 30 cents less AND its full service! The prices fluctuate all the time. Fascinating!

And our road snacks? This trip was a quick stop at Taco Bell where I discovered that the Cool Ranch Dorito taco tastes just like a regular taco.

Oh and since we spent all our time chatting on the drive down, there was no need for a play list - but - I did use the 'Uplifting' one I made and talked about in a previous post but with to notable additions:  'Happy' and 'Just a Cloud Away' both by Pharrell Williams and both from the 'Despicable Me 2' soundtrack. Fantastic movie, by the way - I thought it was better then the first one and I loved the first one!

Overall, while it wasn't an exciting jaunt, I enjoyed it and I was glad to be able to lend Sam a hand.  It is rumored that she and her young man are going to visit Baltimore's Inner Harbor - I hope they bring me a post card for my collection!

    My parents live in western Berks County, almost into Lebanon County. It is 75 miles from my house to their house which can take anywhere from an hour and a half to two hours depending...so I love to leave early in the morning to drive there - its all about the open road, a definite decrease in bad drivers and this feeling of peacefulness I find driving early in the morning.
    So I left about 6:00am and my first stop was in King of Prussia at a local WaWa for coffee and a toasted bagel and then it was the Pennsylvania Turnpike West! The Turnpike is lovely early in the morning - many days you can see deer frolicking along the verge and further out, horses and cows grazing in fields and meadows of the farms that become more frequent then housing developments.  My first turn is at Morgantown, where I take 176 north towards Reading - but I don't go all the way because I just can't stand driving through Reading (and when you don't like driving on a particular road or through a particular area, it doesn't make for a great road trip); from there I weave through beautiful Berks county and pretty little towns like Shillington. Then its 422 and on to Womelsdorf!  
    Usually when I visit my folks, I like to go with my dad to Horning's Market in Bethel, and as I mentioned in my last post - Hornings needs a post of its own! This time, I needed to hit the market before getting to the farm, so I headed to Bethel first and was in line waiting when the store opened. I got my shopping done and headed back to Windy Knolls (my parent's place).  The girls helped my dad fill the bird feeders (dad has a special garden for the birds, bees & butterflies). I printed the directions to the park from the internet and then we packed the cars and headed out for Knoebels!

Side note: my family might argue that my parent's place isn't a farm - but to me - any place with a house, several acres, a barn with a working farm tractor, and plots of growing things (say a garden) makes it a farm. Thus - my use of farm to describe Windy Knolls.

    Now, I had been listening to my mix all the way up to the farm but I really began to appreciate it on the drive to the park.  It was a beautiful day - sun shining, breeze blowing - perfect for a road trip!  And my mix was PERFECT!! 
    My dad was leading and it was great to just follow and not have to navigate or fuss with directions. It was just over 50 miles from the farm to the park and many mountains to cross, so we had some fun driving to do. Now while the mountains may not be as high as the Rockies we crossed on a family trip when I was a kid, they are still high enough to make your ears pop!

    In a little over an hour and a half, we arrived at the park and I have to admit I was shocked at the huge number of acres filled with parked cars!! But the first awesome thing about Knoebels is that you don't pay to park. Not a penny.  There are also stations set up through the parking area and a regularly scheduled tram drives through the parking lot to take people to the park entrance (no cost for that either!).
    As soon as we got to the park entrance, my dad found a ticket booth and purchased tickets for the rides - see, there isn't a fee to get into the park - you just pay for rides and concessions, gift shops, etc.  My dad had a great time going on some of the rides with my nieces (the root cause of this great adventure).  It didn't take us too long to meet up with some of my other siblings and their families who met us there to enjoy the day.  The adults took turns taking the kids to various rides and all my nieces and nephews in attendance had a great time.

    Other tidbits about Knoebels that I found impressive:
    $2 for a 20oz bottle of water
    $3 for a cheeseburger (a DELICIOUS cheeseburger I might add)
    Didn't catch the price for fries, but I had some of my brother David's and 
    they were also delicious!
    CLEAN! The park was really clean!
    Lots of places to sit both in the shade and in the bright sun
    Everyone was treated with respect - be it adults, children, people with 
    disabilities, etc.
    The lines at the rides moved incredibly fast - no agonizing waits
    Dogs on leashes are allowed in the park, but their owners are responsible for 
    cleaning up after them at all times!

    We spent hours in the park and when it was time to go home, we had a pack of exhausted and soaking wet children so again, that tram to the parking lot came in supper handy! 
    The only drawback I could mention about the park is its location - which is way out in the middle of somewhere Pennsylvania (actually between Danville and Bloomsburg) so for folks closer to the Philadelphia area, it will take quite a long time to get there but I cannot stress enough how worthwhile experience it was - for everyone of all ages.  The clincher? I am not fond of amusement parks - but I am very glad I went along on this adventure and I can definitely say I would visit this park again (only this time I want some of that delicious ice cream I saw people eating along with my cheeseburger!)!!

Do yourself a favor and make this road trip and have a great time for yourself!  
http://www.knoebels.com/

My parent’s drove down to Maryville,
Tennessee the end of last week and on Friday June 21st brought back my two nieces for a week’s visit with the family.  The girls are wee youngsters – about 7 and 5 years old and both of them are a lot of fun.  There are a plethora of activities planned for them but the first was a visit to Knobels amusement park (http://www.knoebels.com/) which warrants a post completely of its own.  I have never been there so my plan was to drive up to the farm early Saturday morning, make a Horning’s run (again – deserves its own post) and then caravan up to the park with my parents.  
 
However – I did not have a lovey week and I really needed something with a kick to get me going, so on Friday, I created the following play list (that I tested while doing errands) and concluded that it would do just nicely!

UPLIFTING playlist:
 
Pretty in Pink – Psychedelic Furs
Walk into the Sun – Dirty Vegas
Know for Sure – 10 Silo Deep
Busy Child – Crystal Method
Tenderness – General Public
We Got the Beat – The GoGo’s
Whip It – DEVO
 
So why did I choose these songs?  Ok so here we go!!
 
I had decided I needed an 80’s sort of vibe and since the playlist was called ‘UPLIFTING’ – I felt a perfect place to start was ‘Pretty in Pink’. 
 
‘Walk into the Sun’ was the perfect #2 for the chorus alone but if I ever needed a nudge to encourage me to learn to play bass, this song would be that nudge – it has a simply perfect bass line.
 
‘Know for Sure’ – the first lyrics of the song are ‘I’m tired of talkin…’ – and after a week like mine – it was a perfect choice. And if I ever decided that I had a yen to be a choreographer – this song would be the impetus – there are so many layers to this song and rhythms that can be applied to so many different styles of dance, well… the mind boggles. 
  
‘Busy Child’ I chose because I felt the rhythm fit in with the other songs and it seems to mix things up a bit and I like that.
 
‘Tenderness’ – again 80’s vibe; now – if you could listen to a song and feel someone’s personality then that is how I feel about this song because
listening to it feels like my friend Janie – one of the best intelligent, witty,
funny and clever young writers out there (http://youlifeisnotsogreat.wordpress.com/about-you-life/) and a genuine
wonderful soul. On her blog read the ‘about this blog’ page and it will tell you
almost everything there is to know about her – except her truly spectacular
fashion style, her utter passion for books and all her glorious fandoms. She is
wonderfully uplifting. I don’t really care about the lyrics of this song but when I hear it – it’s like I just spent 4 hours with her at the Keswick coffee house sprawled on a couch conversing. (Thanks Doll!)
 
‘We Got the Beat’ – excellent drum parts and guaranteed to cause chair dancing and bopping even while driving.
 
‘Whip It’ – come-on – who DOESN’T know the words to this song? And honestly – can’t be any more inspired with lyrics like ‘if a problem comes along, you must whip it’ or ‘whip it – into shape – shape it up – get straight – go forward – move ahead’ right?
 
I have to say – it was an uplifting mix – and after the 300 plus miles I drove yesterday and as many times as this mix played (it is only about 30 minutes long) – I can tell you I did not get tired of being uplifted!
 
Hey – the weather is lovely – make your own mix and get out there and have some fun! Let the fresh air, sunshine and good music lift you!



Author's note: all songs I use in my play lists come either from albums I have purchased (or have been purchased for me) or MP3 singles purchased via Amazon.com.

My Focus 'Fleet' a photo text that I sent to my dad the day I picked up my 2012  Fcus last March.

I already had a 2004 Focus that I purchased used in 2007 - it was my second one and I loved it! I had just finished paying it off in March 2012 when I sold it to my niece, Samantha, who was in need of a car.  Wisely, I used the cash as an excellent down payment on the 2012 - the very first brand-new car I had ever purchased! For a brief few days, however, both cars were registered to me so as a joke, I referred to them as my fleet!

So .....
here I am a little over a year later and I am still in love with my Focus.  What I am not in love with, however, is being out of work. It is crazy that while I have time to actually take a trip, there is the small matter of $3.51 per gallon for gas which is THE deterrent to an out of work adventurer.

But I can dream and play the 'what if' game. So where would I go? Well that's a bit hard to say because I have recently watched Ken Burns' National Parks documentary and have realized how many parks in my time zone that I have not yet had the privilege to visit. 

If I could throw a bag into the car, I'd head to Great Smokey Mountain National Park in Tennessee. I've never been to Tennessee or Kentucky so it would be virgin territory all the way. 

Since the famous Route 66 takes a dip through Tennessee, I'd travel a bit of that highway.  The postcards are probably awesome!

I'd like to take a stop in Pigeon Forge, TN which is the birthplace of the spirited Dolly Parton. While I'm not a fan of amusement parks, I hear there are some excellent displays of local crafts & artisans at Dollywood and I would love to explore those.  

I would also make a side trip to Knoxville and take a drive past (but not visit) The Body Farm, a forensic anthropology center at the University of Tennessee (http://fac.utk.edu/).  I am a great admirer of Dr. William Bass and the work he started at UT.  

Of course there would be a stop in Maryville, TN to visit two of the most adorable nieces an Auntie can have!

Other places I might visit:  Appomattox Courthouse and Shenandoah National Park (both in Virginia) and Gettysburg's battlefields and cemeteries in PA.

Sigh.

Sounds like great fun doesn't it?  Well in the meantime, I will go online and order every piece of free tourist materials available and embellish my plans until the day I can dance a jig and hit the road!

Don't worry - photos & travelogue to follow should I ever get to make this expedition!  

If you are interested in visiting any of America's wonderful National Parks and Monuments, click on the 'Road Trip Suggestion' button on the website's main page - it links to the website of the National Park Service!

Music has always been a huge part of my life.  We didn't really have a television growing up but either at home, at my grandmother's and even when we were at the barn doing farm work, music was always playing.

To give you a picture of the impact on music in my life and the diversity, know that my special ringtone for my dad is The Bristol Stomp and for my mom it is the William Tell Overture.  I dated a drummer in a punk band and later a guitarist and one of my brothers is a drum corps instructor.  I've taken belly dance classes and loved going to clubs of all kinds.  So you can see, my mental musical file is rather full of all sorts of juicy bits.

Bearing all this in mind, you can see how important it is for me to have just the right music for a particular road trip and since I have no ipod doc in my car and since I cannot haul around every cd I own (or my laptop for that matter), I often make a special mix to bring along because one can more easily sit in traffic if there is a good song playing.

Back in March of this year, some of my closest friends got together to celebrate 4 birthdays in the group that are close together.  Much driving was about to ensue so the perfect mix was a requirement.  We like a wide range of music styles so this mix was going to be tricky to meet the tastes of the group.  I was pretty pleased with the end result - leave a comment and tell me what you think!

Big Birthday Weekend Mix 2013
1. Fast and Beautiful by Dope Stars
2. When You Sleep by My Bloody Valentine
3. All The Things She Said - by t.A.T.u
4. I Remember by Deadmau5 & Kaskade
5. Walk Into the Sun by Dirty Vegas
6. 6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps
7. Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve
8. Son's Gonna Rise by Citizen Cope
9. Extraordinary by Liz Phair
10. Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) by Big & Rich
11. Feva for the Flava by Hot Action Cop
12. Bring the Noise by Public Enemy & Anthrax
13. Blow me One Last Kiss by Pink

PS - the numbers on the cake should read 118 - which is the total combined ages of those having the birthdays! That cake was pretty tasty!

Several years ago, I was on my way to a child's birthday party and my gift was an almost 3 foot tall stuffed penguin.  I had tossed it into the passenger seat but quickly discovered that anytime (for any reason) that I hit the brakes, the darn thing would go flying all over the car. At the next stop light, I grabbed the toy and using the seat belt, strapped it in.

It didn't take long for me to notice that the top of the penguin's head stuck up enough over the base of the window that other drivers around me could see and were straining their necks to see what I had in the front seat of my car!  The reactions were hilarious.  Thoroughly enjoying myself, I went out later after the party and bought one for myself and strapped him in (for safety).

In rapid succession more penguins joined the pack until there were 10 of them going along for the ride - and not just any stuffed penguin could make the cut - they had to look somewhat real - nothing cartoony and no clothes (exception being my Pier 1 penguin - what a cute hat!)!! My friends and family got a real kick out of them and soon they became our keyword for denoting the sharing of confidences (what is said in front of the penguins - STAYS in front of the penguins  - kind of like Vegas, only plushier).  (For the friends and family who professed distain of my fuzzy companions, I say 'they are my whimsy'!)

Last spring while I was shopping for my new Ford Focus, I set up a twitter account (@The10Penguins) for the penguins as a sort of social media experiment.  Believe it or not, Ford's Service department actually started following them!  They don't tweet much anymore, but it was interesting once again to gage the reactions of people to the stuffed seat warmers!

The Penguins came along when I bought my new Focus and (space permitting) have been my road buddies on most of my adventures.  Here they are in all their backseat glory!