Virginia Aquarium A Must See ~ Part III 2009 Vacations Series!

You can’t visit Virginia Beach without touring the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. You’ll experience up close and amazing views of Aquatic animal habitat life. On the outskirts of Virginia beach along the marsh country like settings, you’ll find one of the most exciting displays of marine wildlife. Be prepared to walk and allow at least half a day to enjoy the scenic nature trail and gaze through all the cool and educational aquariums and habitats. With our love for wildlife in our own area, we totally loved our visit to the aquarium! I encourage everyone to visit Virginia’s Aquarium quality time the whole family will delight in, especially young children! Here’s a only a small sampling of the wonderful creatures we feasted our eyes upon! You can click on all photos to see them enlarged!

The otters took my heart with their close knit family colony. This adorable otter is so glad to be alive, basking in the sun. Look at his cute precious face.




I’ve decided if I could be reincarnated as an animal, the otter is what I would choose! The otters sleep all lumped up on top of each other, seen here in a photo my daughter took!




This otter is sleeping on his back with his buddy beside him! With the natural habitat setup they can take a swim whenever they want. My kind of life!




The sea turtles were my next favorite exhibit gracefully swimming through the water, and it was so cool to look at them up close in the huge glass aquarium. Wild to see a turtle swim, and we found it hard to get good shots cause they were constantly in swimming motion!







I was very leery to touch the stingrays in the giant touch pool. They remove the venom every 6 months, so you can actually touch them The stingrays swim like saucers through the pool, as if they like to be petted My husband described their feel as if touching raw meat! I just read on the Virginia Aquarium site one of the pool stingrays gave birth to 4 stingray pups, shortly after we left! Famous wildlife T.V. personality Steve Irwin was killed by a huge stingray!




The lionfish one of my favorite fish, has venomous spines which are primarily used to defend themselves. Lionfish eat their prey whole, feasting on shrimp and brine!




The sharks were extremely elusive, swimming around constantly as we tried to get good shots of them. You could tell they dominated the waters!



















We enjoyed our vacation immensely, and I was anxious to get home to my OP cat! The Virginia weather was hot and humid the way I like it for the beach and swimming!

When we reached the PA line, we were greeted by a beautiful PA sunset and of course the wonderful ROAD CONSTRUCTION PA is known for! We had to fill up the car and found out in a week’s time gas had gone up 10 cents, Gas was 2.55 when we left on Sunday June 7, 2009, and 6 days later on June 13, it went up to 2.65! Now gas has jumped up to 2.69! Can’t even get a vacation break when driving by car!

Destination Virginia Beach ~ Part II 2009 Vacation Series!

Last Tuesday June 9, 2009, we left Kings Dominion and drove down 64
to Virginia Beach. We stopped at a visitors center on the way and picked up coupons for motels, restaurants, and brochures to main attractions! Let me tell you the coupons can save you some money. The 5 lane highways flipped me out, as well as the 70 mile per hour speed limit. In PA the speed limit 55-60, with mostly 2 lane highways! We found a wonderful hotel called the Red Roof Inn on I-264 Exit 15A close to VA Beach. In our coupon booklet. we had a coupon for $49.99, which saved us $10.00 off the price of a room for four! We paid $60.00 a night for our 2 night stay at Doswell and the motel was not near as nice. We ended up staying at the Red Roof Inn for 3 nights. Rooms and beds were clean, pool was wonderful, and the personnel were great and helpful!



















After settling into our motel, we headed to the beach. The first thing I noticed was a immaculate statue of King Neptune. You couldn’t miss the astounding 34 foot bronze statue towering the Atlantic ocean beach entrance! Neptune is the Mythological God of the Sea, the amazing statue is one of the largest bronze castings in the United States.

We found parking two blocks away for $5.00 a day, and walked to the beach. We no sooner laid our blanket down, a huge storm cloud thundered overhead. We had driven over 400 miles to get here, and the beach was closed due to the impending thunder storms. We hadn’t even entered the water yet! What better way to pass the time than to go shopping! The beach shops are not located right on the beach like the New Jersey boardwalk, but one block over from the beach. The beach was not reopened due to the nuisance rain!

Wednesday June 10, 2009 we finally enjoyed a beautiful hot 90 degree day at the beach. I felt so stupid upon entering the water, I left my sunglasses on and they were lost in the ocean waves! The ocean was cold, but felt good with the high humidity! I always forget the power of sunrays on the beach and my back received a pretty bad burn. I did wear an SPF 50, but forgot to reapply after swimming! Virginia beach was just like I remember from several years ago, still breathtakingly beautiful!

I was astounded by the Tons of stingray eggshells which were in the water and all over the beach! Makes you wonder how many live ones were in the water!

Restaurant wise, we ate at Kentucky fried chicken, Denny’s, and a seafood buffet, and there were sushi restaurants everywhere so I had the chance to eat sushi. I wish I could have gone to a couple mores sushi places! For my friend Ochi, a photo of a dish I ate called Mermaid roll. Inside sushi was seaweed of course, salmon, shrimp tempura, avacado and on the side they gave me an egg plant tempura over rice! The green dip sauce was not very good, I took a bite, and almost chocked it was so hot and nasty like horse radish which I don’t like! The sushi mermaid was excellent though!

I ’ve one more part to my Virginia vacation series, hopefully we’ll take another vacation! Stay tuned for some great photos!

Casualties Of The Economy ~ Part I 2009 Vacation Series!

Constantly observant and in tune to my surroundings. I was very affected by the fact there were folks actually living in the 1st motel we were staying at on our way to Virginia Beach! Kings Dominion was like a halfway point to the beach, and a place my daughter simply had to check out! I’m not much of a rider, so I stayed back and relaxed by the motel pool. A pool is a must have when we stay at a motel, we love to swim any time of day or evening for that matter!

I befriended a upper middle aged couple, who had lost their home in Gloucester Virginia. They had been living in the motel since the beginning of May. Due to the turning economy they were unable to hang on to their home. They lost their cats, most of their belongings, and ultimately their humble abode! Stripped to one vehicle for transportation,the once music teacher was forced to find any job near the motel. I could tell they were good people, kind and surprisingly in decent spirits in spite of their dire situation.

A devastating sight to behold, for our America has always stood for the land of plenty. I wished them luck on their journey to reestablish a new real home! The home casualties are not limited to Virginia, but are on the doorstep of every city throughout the country. We only need to look out of our existing lives to be touched by the devastation!

We stayed at the motel for two days, and I left there very humbled! The fallen infrastructure of all businesses big and small, lost mortgages and family homes. Who will become the next casualty!

Ecological Footprint Test ~ How Do You Rate!

Tough economic times has impacted the way we live in numerous ways! Your ecological footprint is a measurement of lifestyle resources, consumption, and your overall impact on the environment. I found the Ecological Footprint Test on my buddy Ochi's site! Ochi said the test is for UK citizens, but interesting nonetheless! I took the test and my ecological footprint is 3.5, and if everyone lived like me we would need 2.2 planets to support global consumption! Man and I thought I was a real conserver! What is your ecological impact! Here are different ways I've tried to conserve:

1. Out here in the country we burn garbage, mostly paper like napkins, paper plates, cardboard food containers, plastic bags including garbage bags. The rest is divided into cans and glass products, which go to be reclycled! We also have a compost bin where we throw all our egg shells, vegetable and fruit peelings, and coffee and tea grinds. This year we spread the compost over our vegetable garden to fertilize the soil!

2. My husband strung me clotheslines in the utility room, so I can hang my laundry to dry! I used lines only for the winter months when I couldn't hang laundry outside, the lines are used all the time now! I prefer to hang my laundry outside in the sunshine and fresh air anytime possible! I rarely use the clothes dryer anymore to conserve electricity!

3. Talk about electricity, I use very little lighting in the daytime. We always turn out lights in rooms we aren't in! I can say my computer is in use at least 50% of the day, and I haven't tried to use the new energy saving lightbulbs. We do however use very little electricity for heat, as we burn wood all Winter long. We have oil backup heat, but we hardly ever use it!

4. Shopping at budget grocery stores, I take my own bags, reuse my own small boxes, and pack all my groceries myself! We in turn grow a huge garden and freeze all that we can to consume all Winter! I drink my own homemade beverages and use the same squirt bottle to take with me when I go out!

5. Gas prices have gone sky high again, so I'm sure that everyone is conserving here! We make only necessary trips to purchase things we need. I do have a teenager that is on the run constantly, so there are trips for her pleasure outings! She also belongs to many activities which makes more trips than we would like, but hey what are kids for!

I tend to sway back to the olden times, where I learned from my mother when we were poor. She taught me a lot about survival in tough times, including how to make budget food meals. What are your ways of conservation? How were you taught to conserve by your parents, what example are you setting for your own children to survive in tough times? Most of all how can you change the global consumption you use to conserve our ecological enviroment!

Famous Actor David Carradine Dies!

Famous Actor David Carradine 72 has died today apparently from suicide at his Bangkok hotel where he was filming a new movie! He was known for his martial arts role as Kwai Chang Caine . Kwai was nicknamed "Grasshopper," by his Shaolin master Po in the 70's movie series Kung Fu. I remember all the guys from that era wanting to be just like Kwai, carrying around Nun chucks to be cool! I always thought it was so neat that he could walk on rice paper without making a mark!









David Carradine is also well known for his most recent role in the violent massacre movie Kill Bill. David has starred in over 100 movies, and has maintained his raw handsome looks even as he aged! David Carradine will be sadly missed by all his fans old and new! Rest in peace Grasshopper!








Photo credits Yahoo ~Associated Press.

Trooper Kevin Foley Receives Life Sentence Today!

Pennyslvania Trooper Kevin Foley was in court today for sentencing. The Judge gave him the automatic mandatory life sentence without parole! Trooper Foley was convicted of first degree murder in the brutal murder case of Dr. John Yelenic. Kevin Foley was living with Dr. Yelenic's wife Michele up until his murder arrest.

John Yelenic's family is happy to be done with this phase of the trial, having to wait 3 years for a conviction! They are continuing with their $1 million wrongful death suit against Foley, Michele Yelenic, and past friends of Foley's who helped to hold evidence in Dr. Yelenic's case.

Kevin Foley still upholds his innocence and plans with his defense attorney to appeal!

There is a beautiful photo of John and Michele on the channel 4 news write up. Unfortunately, not all stories have a happy ending! My husband and I are very content knowing justice has been served in our friend John's murder case. May his loving spirit now finally rest in peace! We miss John and his irreplacable smile!

My related posts on Dr. John Yelenic's Murder:

Trooper Kevin Foley Guilty On All Charges In Dr. John Yelenic's Murder!

Justice For Dentist John Yelenic

Money Pitfalls And Dreams ~ Poem

Money Pitfalls And Dreams

Money for many a high status thing
may yield fruition to a lifelong dream

huge fortunes kill sometimes maim
thrust in the spotlight of unwanted fame

money only merely ink paper after all
bitter root of greed’s sudden downfall

money can offer future security
purchases important daily necessities

money given morally can help the poor
open wide new opportunities door

others cope as needed thriving without
while others drink from a pouring spout

society has governed we can’t survive
the wrath of green moolah to stay alive

but can money buy freedom or happiness
or garner the rich feeling of self respect

only you choose your destiny...


©Jo A. True-Burkholder 2009

Response to Ozymandiaz: What is money? Thanks for the inspiration!