WAKE UP,PEOPLE! What are you doing on your summer vacation?

[ltwoman]

There was a bear attack in Kentucky lately, which is somewhat unheard-of. Unfortunately they're now trying to find the bear so they can kill it. Not sure what I think of that policy, since stupid tourists often try to hand-feed them in the Smokies.

There was a bear attack two days before I got to Tennessee. The bear swiped at some guy when he tried to feed it. So the result was : Bear 0, Guy 1. I was told they have to put the bear down because once it gets a taste of human blood, it thinks of us as a food source. Moral of the story: leave the bears alone. (I wonder if this line of reasoning would work in the criminal justice system? Hm. Best leave that for another thread, huh? or website.)

[dufmanno]

Um, I'd just like to chime in here and let you know that I have had a life long recurring nightmare where I am mauled and eaten alive by a bear, so thanks for that great visual.
On an unrelated note, I've just returned from two trips- one family related trek to Florida and another to New York for a 4th of July celebration. When the sun shines I slink out from my cave and start socializing again so I've not been posting as often but I do come and read ALL updates at least three times a week.
I wouldn't want to miss out on being a creepy lurker.

[IndyGirl]

Today, it was back to work after being on staycation for a week. I had a laundry list of stuff to get done while I was off. There was a family reunion on Sunday afternoon. I caught a minor league baseball game later that day. I also took a few local trips with my camera to take some shots. I'll be heading up to Chicago for a long weekend at the end of the month. Summer weather has set in. It's hot, hot, hot in Indiana. I hope everyone is having a good Summer!

[conroy]

Counting the days (too many to go!!!) until I go to Toronto at the end of next month. Hopefully, by then it will be somewhat cooler than the 100+ Fahrenheit it was here on the East Coast today

[Kim]

We are going to Yellowstone National Park in a few weeks. We hope to see Yogi and Boo Boo, but not too close up, lol! We will go white water rafting and go on a good ole fashioned chuck wagon dinner, in between looking at geysers and paint pots. In the fall we are planning quick trip to Cooperstown, NY to see the Baseball Hall of Fame, then up to Niagara Falls to do the touristy thing, then on to Toronto to hit the Hockey Hall of Fame, eh?

Right now I'm enjoying the heat. Just got back from a Mets game at Citifield where the game time temperature was 95.

[Divemistress of the Dark]

It's hot here, too. You know, I had really hoped this would be the one summer that our lawn wouldn't die, given the record amount of rainfall we had this spring, etc. But - nope. It's crispy already and some of the trees are dropping leaves from heat stress. Prediction for tomorrow: 97. At least there's some rain in the forecast...

[smax]

[quote="Divemistress of the Dark"]Some folks hereabouts hope for a higher profile on "soccer," as we call it.
quote]

that's a bit of a misnoma that you Yanks are incorrect to call the game 'Soccer', the game was originally called Association Football:

from wiki:
"The rules of football were codified in England by the Football Association in 1863 and the name association football was coined to distinguish the game from the other forms of football played at the time, specifically rugby football. The term soccer originated in England, first appearing in the 1880s as an Oxford "-er" abbreviation of the word "association".[5]
Today the sport is known as football in English-speaking countries in which it is the most popular football code; where other codes are more popular, the sport is more commonly referred to as soccer."

so you could rightly say that as American Football is more popular in the US that you're correct to distinguish the game by calling it 'Soccer'........ although i have heard some pronounce it "Sew-cher" with a "Sch" sound in the middle, now that's just wrong.....

back to talk of heat and fauna.

[alex]

I got away last weekend for the first time since I went to see The Police at The Gorge. I only went to my hometown, a couple hours away. But I spent the entire weekend in the lake. It's been such a busy two years, but hopefully I'll be able to let you guys in on some cool news in about 3 weeks

[luddite lady]

[quote="conroy"]Counting the days (too many to go!!!) until I go to Toronto at the end of next month. Hopefully, by then it will be somewhat cooler than the 100+ Fahrenheit it was here on the East Coast today[/quote]

I'm counting the days too, Conroy. Toronto is also in the grips of a heat wave with only slightly cooler daytime highs than those on the East Coast. By late August though, the weather should be lovely. It's usually warm in the day but cools off enough at night to keep it all very comfortable.

The wrap up of the school year had me run off my feet as I dealt with three graduations, two soccer tournaments, one visiting ex-husband and a son with a suspected broken wrist. (Luckily, the last item ended up being only a bad sprain.) Since then I've been recovering by watching a lot of World Cup and tending to a woefully neglected garden. World Cup time is such fun in this town because it is soccer mad and counts as one of the most ethnically diverse places around. For each team in the tournament, there is an ex-pat community of rabid fans living here. Even in the preliminary rounds, there are all sorts of post game street parties and folks running about waving every sort of flag. At this moment, there are still road closures downtown as a semi-spontaneous street fiesta continues in celebration of Spain's win.
My summer plans are limited to getting really good at walking again. I've been managing without the cane for about a week now, but I'm not breaking any speed records. The other goal is to get my eldest daughter all packed up and off to university by September. If you ever saw her room, you'd know that this is no small task. Do any of you have a back hoe I can borrow?
Happy summer all.
ETA: Kim, let me know when you'll be around in the fall. I'd love to buy you and yours a beer, eh!

And alex, I can't wait to hear about your exciting news. I hope you can spill all the details by the time Conroy and the Cats come to town.

[sockii]

vespa and I are getting settled in the new digs pretty well. All six cats (his 2, my 4) are getting along SURPRISINGLY well. Some hissing but no out-and-out brawls after almost a week together. I can't wait to have the place in good enough shape for a nutter housewarming, hopefully by this September.

I haven't had internet except for when I'm back in Philly 2 days a week for almost two weeks (hence the massive catch-up this morning). It's been annoying yet also strangely peaceful...but hopefully I'll be back on line in a regular fashion by tomorrow.

Only other thing I have coming up in about two weeks is my 20 year high school reunion. THAT ought to be frightening.

[Popcorn Blizzard]

Wow! I'm returning to this site after a three year absence due to unemployment. Nice to see some familiar names: sockii, dietmar, divemistress. What have I been doing this summer? Shooting out resumes and receiving zero replies in return. Man, it's bad. Maybe I need to start a blog. Something Police related, perhaps?

[63falcon]

Not an actual "big vacation", let's see a weekend in Chicago to attend a wedding in my boyfriend's family, ummmm taking at least one (& hopefully both) of the 2 boys I helped raise camping at Carter Caves SP in Olive Hill KY-beautiful place!, and then another camping trip to the Seneca Rocks/Dolly Sods WVA area, and then over to Beautiful Virginia......

[policefan]

Now I know what the black bears really have been up to.... L O L


http://tiny.cc/bcblackbears

[63falcon]

[quote="ltwoman"][quote="Divemistress of the Dark"]There was a bear attack in Kentucky lately, which is somewhat unheard-of. Unfortunately they're now trying to find the bear so they can kill it. Not sure what I think of that policy, since stupid tourists often try to hand-feed them in the Smokies.
[/quote]

There was a bear attack two days before I got to Tennessee. The bear swiped at some guy when he tried to feed it. So the result was : Bear 0, Guy 1. I was told they have to put the bear down because once it gets a taste of human blood, it thinks of us as a food source. Moral of the story: leave the bears alone. (I wonder if this line of reasoning would work in the criminal justice system? Hm. Best leave that for another thread, huh? or website.)[/quote]

...which is why back home in Amherst Co. (VA), the BEARS get eaten, by HUMANS! The most frequent food form they take is as chili or barbecue, since you have to spend abt. a day "rendering" all that fat/oil out of the meat. Mr. Hartless used to stretch the skins over the side of his barn; he said he had seen one come down out of the (National) Forest adjacent to his property, stop at the barn, sit up and sniff all around that skin, and then head right back on up the mountain , dude got the message-and saved his own hide in the process!! I'm just sayin'....actually, the only time we do get 'nosy' bears back home is when out of state hunters come in and "bait", which not only unsporting but ILLEGAL in Amherst Co..
I've had one sleep outside of my tent all night on a trip up in Maine, and he left me alone-but all my good smelling goodys were in the car-and I guess I didn't smell good enough!

[moonstone]

YeeeeHah!

I've got 9 days off as of now. My first real time off since Christmas.

No plans, no travel arrangements to keep to, no planes, trains or boats to catch. Just lots of lovely sleep in's, reading, listening to music, swimming in the sea, walking my dogs and going out for late night drinks with friends without worrying about early morning driving.

Perfect!