Army Heritage Days 2012

The Army Heritage and Education Center is hosting Army Heritage Days complete with live re-enactors, lectures, and presentations. We’ve gone in years past and it’s been a lot of fun for the whole family. The event runs 9am-5pm Saturday and Sunday and is free and open to the public.

Armed Forces Day - City Island 2011

Harrisburg City and Ft. Indiantown Gap will once again partner to turn City Island into a military base for the day. Exhibits open at 10am. There is also a 5K fun run/walk hosted by the YMCA that starts at 8am, May 19th. The 5K is free for military members, but there is a small fee if registering online.

Letterkenny Army Depot is also hosting their annual line up of Armed Forces Day Events. There will be a children’s fishing rodeo, golf tournament, exhibits, tours, among other things to see and do for the whole family. Letterkenny’s events start at 8am and run until 2pm.

Carlisle Barracks Running Festival 2010

Carlisle Barracks and Carlisle YMCA are hosting an Armed Forces Day Running Festival. Registration begins at 7am for the 5K for ages 14-adult (fee), and ages 4-13 will run at approximately 10am (free).

Also starting on Armed Forces Day weekend, current military members and dependents can get a free annual pass to National Parks and other public lands.

I could have taken more pictures. It was a gorgeous day, but it was nice to just be out enjoying the day. I didn’t take the big camera. All I had was my cell phone in my pocket.

Lunch was a burger and fries at Hungry Andy's in Fell's Point.

After our delicious and very reasonably priced burgers at Hungry Andy’s ($7.30 for 1/4lb burger, fries, and canned drink), we headed back towards the Inner Harbor. We stopped at Whole Foods where I got whole nutmeg. We also stopped at Miss Shirley’s for drinks and a snack, but there were no snacks to be had. The pancakes were $10.99. Every plate we saw being bussed off the empty tables had food on it. The portions were huge, but there’s also a $3 plate sharing fee. We thought it was pretentious, but that’s our opinion. The opinion of Baltimore is that it’s one of the best breakfasts/brunches. They had outdoor tables, but it was a 25 minute wait. I’m glad now we only waited 5 minutes for the crappy inside table we got.

Then we headed back to the car. I was done. My fibro was flaring. I thought I’d nap on the way home, but it was way too entertaining. Maryland drivers have this thing where they slow down to 60 MPH on the hills on the interstate. I guess they don’t use cruise control. Then we got off the interstate and took some back roads to kill time. In Hanover, PA, the population seemed adverse to wearing shirts.

Once we got back into the Harrisburg area, we weren’t sure what to do with ourselves, so we went bra shopping. I need to find a strapless one for the formal event we have coming up. No luck finding one, but we killed 45 minutes. Then we browsed Pier one and saw a great frog to go with our mushrooms in front of our house.

Then we headed off in search of food. We started at Appalachian Brewing Company for a draft beer (for the husband), a draft rootbeer (for me) and a cup of the cheddar ale soup.

I don't drink beer, but I love this soup.

Then we decided to move on to JoJo’s Pizza in Mechanicsburg for our main course. Supposedly the best pizza in Mechanicsburg, and boasting a gluten free option, we had pretty high expectations. Meh. Our pizza was under done. It tastes the same as Marcello’s, so no reason to drive to the next town for what we can get right around the corner. Nice to have a GF option when my dad and stepmom visit though.

You can see it's under done by how pale the crust is.

That’s why it was really no surprise to me when an allergy group I belong to on Facebook posted a news story about that district allegedly (since the case is ongoing) not keeping an allergic child safe. I don’t know the family involved, nor the details other than printed in the news story. I only know what our family endured. If I overlay our experience with the news article, and make my own inferences, add them to the story from 18 months ago when a student thought life was so hopeless from the bullying in the Midd-West school district that he committed suicide, I can only surmise that school is most likely once again negligent. Negligence is their M.O.

Bullying is NOT kids being kids, and food allergies ARE a real health concern. I just don’t understand what’s so hard for schools to do what’s right by our kids in keeping them safe. I don’t know how many more children will have to die before more schools take these issues seriously.

For drinks, my husband decided to hand over his car keys and order the beer sampler. I had a Pepsi. The beer sampler is a great value, and my husband highly recommends it if you’re into trying new beers. We made a list on my phone of the ones he liked for future reference.

For an appetizer, we got the cheesesteak egg rolls. They were absolutely fantastic. The beef they use is so tender. The horseradish sauce is just the right balance. We discussed having a brewery night and starting at another one we like that has a great beer cheddar soup, and then ending at Lancaster Brewing Company for the egg rolls and drinks.

Since the appetizer was so good, I was excited for our food. I had ordered the meatloaf. I wasn’t feeling well, so I wanted comfort food. It came with mashed potatoes and carrots. The gravy was made with the Milk Stout beer and mushrooms. Total comfort food for me. This is not your grandma’s meatloaf. Well, at least if your grandma is like mine and her meatloaf was basically a hamburger in the shape of a loaf pan. This was flavor full and good.

My husband ordered a New York strip with sautéed onions and fries. It came out perfectly cooked, which is a feat in this area, only completed by one other place we’ve eaten. They had a ribeye special that sounded delicious with garlic mashed potatoes, but then we were told the veg with it was asparagus. Unfortunately, our experience with asparagus is that it tastes like tiny trees, so we passed.

I really didn’t plan on writing a review of our evening out, but it started with a picture of the beer sampler for fun to post on Facebook, and then when we bit into those cheesesteak egg rolls, I knew I had to tell everyone about this gem in Harrisburg because really good food is so hard to find. You can probably expect more of these reviews as my husband and I get to discover a whole new side of the area we live in without kids now that we have respite care.

*I was not compensated for all of the deliciousness we consumed that night in any way. We didn’t even get our FourSquare promotion for checking in and showing the waiter. 

Before we even got there, we got our parking pass for the day, a letter with detailed instructions, and our name tags in the mail. Score one for logistics! They also answered my questions about peanuts in any of the foods or contamination. In case you’re wondering, just steer clear of the muffins and pancake topping goodies.

We got there at 7:30am. Breakfast with Santa was due to start at 8am. Other people were early like us, and they opened the doors. I was so thankful for this, because man did I have to pee. I don’t recommend having our morning tea or coffee before leaving the house if you’re driving in from outer areas. Anyway, you pay when you get there, which is awesome. We had an illness on Thanksgiving, so I was hoping we wouldn’t have to cancel on our day, but if we did, we weren’t going to be out the money since we hadn’t paid yet.

After you pay, you follow the signs, and an elf directs you to your assigned table (score 2 for logistics!). You are then free to move about and get your breakfast. There were two hot buffets set up on each end of the seating area, with the pancakes and drinks in the middle (3 for logistics). Our table also had a container of cookie ornaments for each child to decorate, a Bingo card, and some Kisses as the centerpiece.

After Santa arrived, and we were done eating, we were free to go see Santa, and take our own pictures, at our leisure (score 1/2 for logistics, I’ll explain later).

After some Bingo, and giving everyone a chance to eat, we lined up to go ride the first ride of the day on the Chocolate Tour ride. This is where things moved a little slower. We had to wait a bit for people, but not too long. I understand we had to do this as a group.

After the ride, we were then treated to the 3D show. This is where it fell apart. Of course we had to wait for everyone for this. Since some people were still seeing Santa, and then got to the ride late, those of us who had gotten to breakfast on time (the letter said 7:45am), had to wait for the scragglers. My opinion is they should’ve been moved along with the group and then they could see Santa after the 3D show. He wasn’t going anywhere.

During the intro to the 3D show, there was information on Milton Hershey and the company. It was a lot of the information we had heard when we took the trolley ride. I’m not sure how many people had been there before, or heard the information before, but there was a group of adults behind us talking loudly that were very rude. I expected the kids to talk some and the wee ones to make noise, but the adults should know better.

The 3D show was really cool. I only made it about halfway through before my sensory issues got me. It’s not something I will do again. The snow got my arm wet when it came out of the ceiling. There were a few times I got a few drops of water on my arm as well. The general 3D part triggered my motion sickness, and I got a headache and nausea. By the time we walked out of there, I was so beyond done, and at that point Chocolate World was open and there was at least one bus load of people there.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. This was a WAY better experiences than our past ones at Wegmans. As long as we live here, and as long as the boys want to do breakfast with Santa, we will go to Chocolate World. Our food was hot, and everything flowed as smoothly as could be expected. They run so many of them leading up to Christmas that the group was kept pretty small. I will just sit out the 3D show from now on, and they’ll go with Dad.

My husband will tell you that nothing compares to Weyerbacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale, but I’m making him try some others just to see anyway. Who knows what he may find by branching out a little.

These remnants from Lee are creating flooding along the Susquehanna river that are record breaking. The weather people are comparing the river and creek levels to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 in many areas. Derry Township (Hershey for those not from the area) is probably the hardest hit area right now as most of it and Hummelstown are under water. I know the Pizza Hut that I would have driven by tomorrow to take Aaron to his GI checkup had water up to its roof when they were broadcasting the 6pm news last night. Needless to say, I’m calling to reschedule. I’m sure they’ll understand since even the Hershey Medical Center campus has experienced some flooding on its roads.

To give you an idea in Harrisburg, flood stage is 17 feet. The Susquehanna river is expected to crest at 28.5 feet. That will be the 3rd highest level ever.

Thankfully, we are safe. We’re soggy, but we have power. Our kids are home with us and not stranded at their school. We have water. I am thankful, and thinking of all of the families affected during this time.

*For current road closures (there are hundreds) you can visit a site like a local newspaper, or 511PA. You can also follow your regional 511PA on Twitter. 

We squeezed in checkups, ABA therapy, the dentist, and the ENT all week x2 kids. All were fairly routine until the ENT. I was expecting to have to schedule ear tube removal as the boys have had them three years now. One of Zach’s fell out since the last appointment, so we’re going to give the other one a chance and recheck in the Spring. Aaron on the other hand is a mess. His nose is swollen and full of boogers. His adenoids may be the culprit of his sinus infections every time he gets a cold, his mouth breathing, and his poor sleeping. We go back with Aaron in six weeks to see if his nose has calmed with new treatment, and check out the adenoids.

We also got orders the day i wrote my last post after an email shitstorm. Someone dropped the ball, and it was found. When the orders came about fifteen minutes later, I laughed. My husband hadn’t seen them since his work laptop doesn’t have PDF capabilities. He forwarded them to me, and I printed a copy. We are assigned to where he is now indefinitely. We take that to assume they still haven’t found a replacement. Honestly, if they’re looking for someone like my husband, they’re not going to be likely to find it. This will be his 9th school year in ROTC, minus a deployment. He was a contractor before we came back to active duty as AGR. It’s hard to match that sort of experience. The most important thing is that we now have paper stating our assignment so we can stay in housing, renew my ID card, and get our new 10yo his ID card for health care, etc.

I also had a blog issue, but that’s been resolved. To any newbs, I suggest you Google what you’d like to name your blog before doing so. Even if your blog is only to document your personal journey through life, the posts are still indexed by the search engines and will compete with blogs already established. Some of us care about our ranking in the search engines.

Today, the front brought much needed rain and a lesser needed migraine.

I’m hoping tomorrow the migraine is totally gone so I can function enough to swing over to Old Navy. Have you caught wind of their mystery sale? $100-$125 of stuff in a bag for $20. It’s too good to not at least go look. It starts at 8am, so we’ll see how I’m feeling when I wake up. It’s also that time of the week where I need to go grocery shopping. My family seems to think they need food. I know my husband is hoping I can already get Weyebacher’s Imperial Pumpkin Ale since their Facebook page stated the other day that it’s coming to a store near you. He talks about it all year, and it’s the beer we will be kicking off the beer reviews with since it’s his favorite.