Newport Aquiarium and Creation Museum

My family has just returned from a short vacation. We vacationed close to home because of the gas prices being so high. One tank of gas got us through. We brought our own food with us, but did eat one meal out. The most money we spent was in the gift shops getting things for the girls, of course.

We went to the Newport Aquarium just outside the Cincinnati area. I was very disappointed in this attraction. It did not live up to the advertised expectations. Of course we went during family hours because of having a 3 year-old and a 19-month-old. It was rough and crowded. The attractions are nothing like what is advertised. I was expecting huge over-the-head displays and all there was was dark tunnels with water around and some small fish and small sharks. Big thumbs down to a family friendly atmosphere too!

Now the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Ky was wonderful!! Even my girls enjoyed this trip. The displays are beautiful and very educational. The staff is very kind and helpful. There were plenty of activities to keep the whole family entertained. They had a petting Zoo that was my girls favorite place, the camel and goats were the big winners. My husband and I would like to go back again when just the two of us can go. As this was a pretty family friendly place, if you wanted to take time to read about every display and see all the theatricals, small children are not easy to cart along. Overall it gets a big thumbs up.

We stayed at the Econo-Lodge in Richwood, KY and for a "non-expensive" hotel it was not bad. The mattresses and pillows were a little on the flat and lumpy side, but the rooms were clean and in good repair. I would stay there again.

One thing that was frustrating is that people are so rude. What ever happened to people saying "excuse me" when they ram you in the back because they are running down the halls or saying I am sorry when they knock you over. Politeness seems to be a dying art. It really hurts to see how common courtesy has gone down the toilet.

Overall the vacation was a thumbs up.

Health Care

Okay, here we go. This is another topic that is near and dear to my heart. Health care!! We hear all the time that there are many people in the United States that are uninsured or under insured. This is a sad situation. We live in one of the riches nations in the world and we can not take care of our own.

I was a geriatric nurse for 10 years before leaving the field, and let me tell you, if anyone is hit hard it is the elderly!!! Care for the elderly has become sad in our nation!!! Our parents and grandparents (in most cases) gave us everything and we forget them as they age.

We are a throw away society! This includes people. When people become of no use to us we dispose of them. I cannot tell you how many people I have taken care of over the years whose family have just dumped them in nursing homes and expected the government to take care of them. The saddest time I would see is over the holidays. We would have gift drives that involve the staff and we would buy new clothes or other necessities for residents. The list of residents in need grew all the time. Many would not have visitors.

Of course some of this is changing with the growing advertisement by lawyers for lawsuits. The minute someone would get sick, lawyers were contacted. Nothing strikes fear in the hearts of healthcare professionals as the word "lawsuit". Now there have been justified cases, but a majority are because of the drive to sue if anything goes wrong. Medicine is not a perfect science, and sometimes people get sick and die. It is part of life. We are not meant to live forever.

Now I do not think there is any easy answer to solving the health care crisis (and that is what it is in my opinion). It will be interesting to see what the presidential candidates will truly propose as election time comes nearer. This will be something I monitor closely.

We need to remember our elderly and our children in this issue!!! More thoughts on this later!

To tax or not to tax, how much do we want to suffer!

For my first post I figured I would rant on about the much debated "gas tax holiday". My question is who is this holiday for!!!!! Get real!!

Gas companies want to make a profit. If you pose a company to pay the tax for consumers, who is going to pay for any lose of profit? Answer: the consumer. Gases prices are going up and will not stop, gas tax holiday or not. The extra cost will be passed down to the consumer and the amount of the tax the company is charged will be passed down. We are in a no win situation here.

My suggestion on how to resolve this, stop driving!! (HAHAHA) You hear about how we should drive alternate fuel hybrids, use public transportation, and the such. I live in an area that does not have mass transit and buying a new car that will not pay for itself for years is out of the question!

What would happen if for just 2 days Americans left their cars at home and went nowhere? Talk about an economic crisis. No trips to Walmart or McDonalds!!! Don't you think that would send a message?! Not that this is going to happen, but what if?

As I say, this blog will cover many issues. Stay tuned.