Pack a Flashlight

Pack a flashlight or two. I always, always, always pack a flash light. If I'm traveling by car I pack a flashlight. If I'm traveling by plane, I always pack a flashlight. Going for a quick wk-end or a nice long vacation, yep I pack a flashlight in either case.
WHY?

1. Electric can go off anywhere, anytime. After all it goes off at home, right? Why wouldn't it go off due to a storm or electrical problem when you're traveling?
2. Hotel rooms are dark, which is really nice when you're trying to get some sleep; but when you wake up in different places all the time can you see your way to bathroom in the middle of night? Not normally. Thus the little flashlight on the right in above picture is something always packed in my ditty bag for all trips, long or short. It's always placed on my bedside nightstand in hotel rooms. It always get's used!
3. The flashlight on the left is a new item we've gotten really hooked on. You do not need batteries! Batteries are heavy. Regular batteries are expensive, always have to be replaced and are not at all environmentally friendly. If you use (and we do 99.9% of the time), rechargeable batteries, then you need to be sure and pack the recharger. This flashlights run by being cranked up. See the handle? You crank it a few times, then snap it back down and you have light. We've tested it out. We cranked about 40 times and it ran all night. It's small, lightweight, easy to use and the light has 2 levels--regular and bright. So, it really is one that you can see with.
4. If traveling by car, hubby usually has a large heavy duty flashlight in the car. This is a safety must! If you're on the road at night and have a problem, you really do need to see what you're doing. Maybe you need to change a flat, hard to do without a good flashlight.

Sometimes we're caught off guard and things happen one doesn't expect, with truly with a little bit of forethought and planning you can be prepared for almost anything. Being prepared, being organized can make your trips so much more enjoyable. Being organized, being safe and planning ahead can make what could be a bad situation nothing more then a little bump in the road.

More than a school yard with Flat Stanley and Flat Joe

This wolf sculpture came all the way from Bozeman, Montana at the request of Ron Hirschi. It sits in the school yard at Wickliffe Elementary School in Upper Arlington, Ohio. Besides being a fabulous piece of art it has quite a history. It was requested by Ron Hirschi, a author of Childrens Books. He's a naturalist and teaches kids about the importance of saving the enviornment. His book, "When The Wolves Return talks about the importance of this animal in nature. He spent lots of time at Wickliffe helping students with writing, inspiring them to take care of the planet. There were fishing trips, walks in the woods as well. Flat Stanley enjoyed telling Flat Joe all about the Wolf, and Ron Hirschi.
Walking around to the front of the building Flat Stanley told Joe all about Peace Poles. This one has English, sign language on 2 sides and Japanese and Chinese on the other sides.
May Peace Prevail on Earth. Joe climbed to the top of the pole for a really good look, so you may need to click to enlarge it enough to see him.
The plaque indicates this pole was commemorated in April of 1991, the end of The Gulf War. When the pole was placed children sang songs about peace. Sadly, that peace has been interrupted.
In the garden beside the Wolf is this memorial to Will Powers. Will loved nature and enjoyed Ron Hirschi's visits. He lost his life riding his bike home from school. Both Flat Stanley and Flat Joe wanted to pause and honor this young man.

Activities:
Go to the library or book store and get one of Ron Hirschi's books.
Draw, color, or sculpt with clay one of the animals from his book.
Plot on the map Bozeman, Montana and Upper Arlington, Ohio.
Discuss how animals balance nature.
Do math with the numbers/miles from the maps
Make a word puzzle with new words from the book.
Discuss what the Gulf War was about.
Make your own peace pole
*No one likes to think of a child loosing his or her life; but it does happen. Discuss bike safety with your children, it's important.
**Look around your schoolyard, are there plaques, statures? Do you know what they mean, what the story is behind them? Many school yards have things to teach us.

See you Oct 1st when Flat Stanley and Flat Joe have a special on playing and having fun for you. Don't miss it, you see FLat Joe will be packing his bag and moving on to another interesting location.
Have you missed previous adventures with Flat Stanley, you can catch up, CLICK HERE

When and Where are you Traveling?

Once you finalize all your travel plans type up a complete travel itinerary and email or print to pass along to at least one other person besides those in your travel party. When are you leaving, where are you staying, phone numbers for contact at the hotel as well as your cell phone numbers. If you're flying include flight times along with the name of the airlines and your ETA. It's always a good idea for someone else to know your whereabouts. People have gotten lax and and or lazy and don't do this as much as they used to. They think as long as they have a cell phone, they're ok and anyone could reach them. However, what if your lose your cell phone, or it get's stolen, or the battery runs out, or you find you're not getting good cell coverage and there's an emergency? People need a way to contact you, and you need a way to contact them. Be smart include name, dates, addresses, and phone numbers.

Think of the sad situations we all hear about on the news where someone doesn't make it to their destination. People try, but can't reach them by cell phone. Police can't look for them if someone doesn't know where they were suppose to be, or when.

Maybe you keep everything in your laptop; but someone takes it and then you've got no way to check confirmation numbers. Maybe you keep notes in your purse or wallet and that gets stolen or lost or forgotten. Be prepared, have a back up. If you pass along your complete itinerary to someone else you're covered.

Are you renting a car, include the name of the company. This too can help in the case of an emergency, an accident etc. If you're driving your own car, include the color, make, and license plate number on your complete itinerary.

Not saying something will happen, or that you need to be paranoid; but a little caution is in order when you travel. Things do happen, usually when we're least prepared. Take an extra 5 minutes and pass along your complete travel itinerary. Something so simple can be a life safer later.

My brother was out of town on business when our mother had emergency surgery. We didn't know if she'd make it through the night and contacting him wasn't easy. When you travel, be safe, be prepared. You'll have fewer people worried about you, and you'll have a better stress free time.

Please enjoy some pretty fall color. The suitcase will be back with regular posts soon. Just taking a few days off.

Break ins can Ruin your Travels

Don't let this happen to you! Broken car window, that's a rock in the backseat. That's the rock they used to break the car window. Yes they got my purse, my ID's, my glasses. This happened because my purse was in the car. How many times have you left your purse, your camera, your GPS in the car? I'm betting far too many times. I NEVER do now. Thankfully I wasn't out of town on vacation when this did happen. When I travel, I'm actually more on alert. If you leave items in your car (you often can't carry everything), make sure they are not visible. More importantly, lock them up BEFORE you get where you're going. It does no good to get out of the car, walk to the back and lock it (purse, DVD player, GPS etc.) up as people watch you do it. That's about what happened here. When you plan not to carry your purse, or camera bag etc, put them out of site before hand. Take your car keys with you, you chap stick...whatever items you plan to put in your pocket, then lock and or hide your purse and other valuables.

Having nothing visible that's tempting someone to break in will help protect you, your car, and your valuables.

I did have my car keys, and my cell phone in my pocket. Don't be unsafe, don't get stranded. Always have your items locked, or hidden or better yet with you! I down size my purse and therefore it's light enough to carry with me now at all times. I always have my cell phone even when I stop briefly to go potty at a rest stop. Do NOT leave things in the car, it really only takes a short while to have a mishap. Protect yourself, your family, and your valuables. Think ahead, pack well. Enjoy your travels.

**A bit of a side note here, do you have the name and phone number of your insurance agent in your cell phone? If not, you should. Do you have the number to call to stop your credit cards in your purse or cell phone? If not, you should. When this happened to me, I called hubby who immediately canceled the charge cards and call the agent. In this regard, I was lucky.**

Indianapolis, Indiana

As you travel around downtown Indianapolis you'll want to park your car and walk. There's much to see. Hubby recently had business in town so I joined him for an evening. The center of downtown has this large very imposing monument to those lost in The Civil War. It is dated 1865. Streets go out almost like spokes of a wheel from here. Making the monument very accessible and visible from many different locations through the downtown area. This was a drive by shot, as we were short on time. Though we have walked this on other trips, and I highly recommend it.
The evening I got to down we took a little walk around the area after his meetings were over. Was dusk, thus the pictures are a bit dark. Indy has done a nice job blended old and new; business and residential.
This too was within walking distance of our hotel. In fact just a block away if that. This is The Canal Walk at dusk. Small children are enjoying running through the sprinklers on the left as the grass is being watered. The walk way is used by bikers and walkers alike. People of all ages seem to be enjoying the pretty landscaped area. The Canal Walk runs along part of The Old Central Canal which was funded by the city back in 1830. It's intent was to connect The Wabash and Erie Canals for increased trade; though it was never a success and had financial problems. Historically throughout the country the canal days were short lived, quickly replaced by more efficient rail transportation.
Apartments, Condo's, businesses, and restaurants line the sides of the canal. Paddle-boats can be rented as you enjoy the day eating and shopping your way up and down the canal. This area is most unique in downtown Indy in that it's White River State Park. It's not common place to have a state park in a thriving downtown city; but this is certain a plus. Large pretty open areas, sculptures, flowers, and an amphitheater. Truly something for everyone.
This historic marker gives some insight into the history of a church that once stood at this location. Directly across the street from this historic sign is a wonderful park for children to play in, pets to run in, families to picnic in and enjoy themselves under shade trees. While just a short distance away is the beautiful modern skyline of prosperous Indianapolis.
And a short distance away a residential neighborhood with many historic restored homes. This is A B & B, The Nestle Inn. I spent a weekend here a few years back with some good friends. It's fabulous, I highly recommend it.
Across the street from our hotel was a neighborhood pub that was hoping on a Friday night with dining in, dining up and out, as well as dining on the sidewalk area. We managed to get up and out, thankfully as inside is very smoky. Indy has not yet joined much of The US in banning smoking indoors. The weekend we were there, Indy was hosting a large motorcycle race at The Brickyard. No doubt these bikers came to enjoy it. We saw tons of bikers and interesting bikes.
This though was probably the most unique of those we saw. lol

Traveling Buckeye Style

We're getting ready for another OSU game day. My cousin Flat Joe is selecting his "Buckeye" items so he can look cool like me. After all, I'm his older wiser cousin, Flat Stanley. As you can see, I'm appropriately dressed and sporting the colors. So, did you know OSU means Ohio State University. And the colors are Scarlet and Gray with black and white as extra. And in case you didn't know, (and my visiting Cousin, Flat Joe didn't) The Ohio State Universitys nick name is The Buckeyes.

See the Buckeyes on the earrings, necklace and bracelets? Do you know what a Buckeye is?

Let me back up just a bit. President Lincoln signed The Land Grant Act on July 2, 1862. That made possible higher education for the masses. The Ohio General Assembly established The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College though there was a dispute about how broad or narrow it's curriculum should be. Luckily Joseph Sullivan pushed the idea of a broad spectrum to the board of trustees for a liberal arts type education. Soon thereafter the school's name was changed to Ohio State University.

Aesculus glabra, Buckeye Tree is native to the State of Ohio, particularly along The Ohio River. It's a very hardy tree, one hard to kill that produces a shinny nut with a spot that resembles the eye of a Buck/Deer. Apparently in early history the tree's wood was used to fashion many items the pioneers needed, and became popular. Ohioans then became known as Buckeye's. Later the school's athletic teams officially adopted it as their nickname, and mascot.

A favorite candy of peanut butter and chocolate is made that looks like a buckeye and can be found in almost any store in the area, as well as made my hand at home.

Keeping a Buckeye in your pocket is thought to be good luck, thus wearing the Buckeye Necklaces should give the teams good luck and cause many wins.

So Buckeye's are Trees, Ohioans, Sports teams, and candy!

Flat Stanley and Flat Joe out, we have to go get ready for tailgating.
And it's Follow Friday, get in the act.
You can read more about Flat Joe Here




Can someone PLEASE tell me why this linky shows numbers on everyone else's blog, but not mine? I've looked at this using 2 different browsers, Moz FF and Int. Explorer, and on hubby's computer (last week), and no numbers????