Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024
Sunset, Kailua-Kona, The Big Island, Hawaii, March 11, 2024

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Today's the Day - Thurs., Nov. 20, 2014

Oh, boy. I have been waiting for this day. I can now buy the U.S. National Parks "Senior Pass." It's a $10 Lifetime Pass to U.S. National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands. That means when we visit a National Park or Federal Recreation area that little pass will provide admission for up to four adults in one car (as long as I'm one of the adults).

Prior to this, we have always had the $80 Annual Pass. I'm so happy. Bob says it's the most excited I've been about my age since I turned 21. I reminded him I was also happy when I turned 50 and was able to join AARP.

I'm a nature girl at heart and love our national parks and recreation lands. I always thought the $80 annual pass was a bargain when we traveled to many national parks in a year. A $10 senior pass for the rest of my life is great! Since we love camping at U.S. Army COE (Corps of Engineers) parks, this pass will give us a very reduced camping fee because those parks are federally owned.

As soon as I have a day off, I'm going to run down to Mission San Jose and purchase that gem of a card.

Speaking of having a day off...Besides my four ten-hour days at the RV park, Snelling Temp Agency has asked me to work for two different State Farm agents and work as a room monitor at a convention in San Antonio. Looks like I may be working six days a week through the first of the year! Busy, busy, busy.

Today I received a present in the mail from Mom. Her wrapping is so festive.

Beautiful wrapping job.
Mom makes the most gorgeous necklaces. This one doesn't translate well into a photo. It is very sparkly; great for holidays and special occasions and can make any outfit look like a party. I should get a lot of use out of this.

Necklace and earrings made with love by Mom.
In giving thanks to people in the RV park the other day, I forgot to mention Bob E. After cable in our area of town went down one afternoon, I couldn't get the cable channels back on when service was restored. I tried a few different things with settings on the TV, but couldn't figure it out. My Bob was out of town for his brother's wedding. Bob E. graciously came over and got the cable working again. What happened? Well, when I was fooling around with settings, I changed the setting for channels to Cable Box, but I should have changed it to Come in through the Wall. Once he figured that out, he re-scanned all the channels for me and then I was able to watch TV again.

More thanks go out to Larry and Mary. They have a tangerine (?) tree that is so heavy with fruit the branches are hanging on the ground. They invited people from the park to help themselves to some fruit. I picked some tangerines this afternoon and they are delicious.

Last night for my pre-birthday dessert, Bob brought home Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes from Sugar Belles Cake Shop in Boerne, Texas. Oh, yummy. They are my absolute favorite with cherry filling in them. Sinfully delicious.

Travel Bug out.


25 comments:

  1. Happy birthday! Interesting how our priorities change and what we get excited about as the years go by ;-) The $10 lifetime pass is a great benefit; but considering the hit the NPS budget has taken over the years, I can't help but think that it should be an annual pass.

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    1. Erin, it just may become an annual pass sometime in the future. If it does, I hope my $10 card will be grandfathered in.

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  2. Happy Birthday Susan! Wishing you a healthy and happy year ahead! And congratulations on reaching the Senior Parks Pass age! That is a serious savings! :-)

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    1. Thanks, Lisa. Because we like the national and federal parks so much, this particular card has great meaning to me. Very happy about the price.

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  3. Happy Birthday Susan! All those tangerines sound delicious. I could eat them forever and ever. I agree with Erin that the poor parks need more money which our Republican congress will never give them. I think those of us who can should donate directly to the NPS.

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    1. The tangerines are wonderful right from the tree. We're supposed to get big rain here on Saturday, so I plan to pick as many tangerines as I can before the rain. That poor tree is so over loaded!

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  4. Love the National Park Pass. It has 50% camping reduction in many parks also....though not all. (that are operated by outside companies do not honor the price reductions) Yep it is one birthday gift that keeps on giving!! Happy Birthday!!

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    1. Can't wait to buy and use the pass. Our $80 annual pass is good through April so we have that as well.

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  5. Replies
    1. Thank you. I'm behind on reading your blogs. Hopefully I can get caught up. Been working four ten-hour days and looks like I may be working almost every day until after Christmas. Snelling has jobs for me on the days I'm not at the RV park, so I would be working six days a week and today our RV park informed us we can work some extra hours on a Sunday to do inventory. When it rains, it pours! I'll catch up as I can.

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  6. Happy Birthday to YOU! I had to laugh. On my 62 birthday, Mo and I were at the entrance to Yosemite National Park, where I bough my pass just after 8AM. The ranger laughed and said, "You are going to make sure you get the full benefit of your pass!" It is a wonderful benefit, nice for entering parks, but even nicer for half price camping at all federal facilities. Enjoy.

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    1. That's a good story about getting your pass at 8 a.m. on your birthday. I have to wait until I can get to a park that sells them because apparently not all parks do.

      And, yes, the camping discount will be much appeciated!

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  7. Congrats on reaching this economical milestone. Well worth waiting for! :c)

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    1. Well, yup, had to wait until I turned 62. Definitely worth the wait for the benefits.

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  8. Happy Birthday Susan! Getting the Senior Pass is great. I'm really surprised that you can get it at Mission San Jose. My understanding was that you can only purchase the pass at a park that charges entrance fees and that Padre Island National Seashore near Corpus Christi was the closest place you could get one. You can also pay an extra $10 and get one through the mail but it is more fun to get it in person.

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    1. Hey, Colleen, thank you for the info. I didn't know you couldn't get the pass at Mission San Jose, but I hadn't been over there to check yet. If I can't, then we'll have to take a field trip to Padre Island. Lots of blogger friends in that area to visit if we head down there. It's all good. I'll let you know if I find out differently about the pass at Mission San Jose.

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  9. Happy Birthday, your cupcakes sound delish. We too look forward to the day we can buy our lifetime pass

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    1. Faye, I'll tell you what...those cupcakes are exceptional. I don't know what she puts in them, but the chocolate cherry cupcakes make my mouth feel good, almost tingly. Very tasty.

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  10. A very happy birthday to you Susan. Sounds like you are having a marvelous day.

    We are so thrilled with the park pass. We were scared to death that the "big wigs" in DC were going to do away with this little gem.

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    1. A very good day, indeed.

      If the "bigwigs" had done away with this perk, I would be so disappointed. Must buy the pass BEFORE that ever happens!

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  11. Happy Birthday! Have fun with your new pass. :)

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    1. Will do, not a problem. Have to find where I can purchase it first. Apparently it is not available everywhere.. : (

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  12. Replies
    1. Thank you for the birthday wishes.

      You must have the card already!

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  13. Aw yay! That's awesome! What great birthday happenings :)

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