The first is that I fostered puppies for Hearts of Hope Dog Rescue. I love dogs and have two spoiled pit bull mixes of my own, Jack and Jilly.
Puppies are really fun and cute, but a lot of work. Too much work for during the school year, but I have a lot of extra time in the summer! So I fostered a total of five puppies throughout the summer. First I had these three cuties for about two weeks:
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| Petey, Lulu and George |
A few weeks after those three were adopted and I was feeling some crazy puppy withdrawals. Luckily someone found this sweetheart in the parking lot of a vet clinic and I got to care for her for two weeks. We called her Sophie.
My last foster was a sweet puppy named Lily. She came all the way from Lebanon where she had no hope of being adopted. A group called Animals Lebanon sent her over to the United States with her mom and siblings. They were even on the local news. I had her for three weeks and was getting very attached, but school was starting soon so I was very happy when she was adopted by a wonderful couple. Here is one of my favorite photos of Lily.
If you are looking to add a pet to your family please consider adoption. Petfinder is a great place to look because it connects you to available dogs from local shelters and rescue groups.
The second highlight of my summer is a quick trip to Cedar Point amusement park that I took with my mom, dad, sister-in-law and brother. We did not take any photos on the trip, but we did discuss creating a list of visitor tips for others who are going to Cedar Point. My brother, sister-in-law, sister, cousin and I all spent a summer or more working at Cedar Point and we have also visited many times. Through the years we have learned some things that make our trips a little easier and now I am sharing those with you.
Here are our top ten Cedar Point trip tips:
1. Ask for water - if you go up to a vendor that has fountain pop they will give you ice water for free! Bottled water is $3.50!
2. Stay at a Cedar Point Hotel - you get discount tickets, early entry, free parking, a courtesy van and they are clean.
3. Avoid the cheap hotels near Cedar Point - they tend to be old and dirty. This did not bother me when I was a poor college student, but it does bother me now.
4. Eat local - Chet and Matt's Pizza and Berardi's Family Kitchen are great local places to eat. Chet and Matt's offers crazy pizzas like macaroni and cheese pizza, plus normal pizza. Berardi's has great service, good food and will accomodate gluten free diners.
5. You can find information about gluten free food and other special dietary needs at Cedar Point by visiting their website. My dad found out last year that he has celiac disease so this was really important for us this summer.
6. Pack only what you need - a few of the big coasters will not let you wear anything extra like sunglasses, glasses, hats, earrings, etc. and on the Millennium Force you have to put your belongings in a locker or have a nonrider hold them for you.
7. Don't carry around your purchases - for an extra $1 you can have your purchases sent to your hotel (if you are staying at Cedar Point) or to the main gate. The cashier will give you a claim ticket for you to pick up your stuff on the way out.
8. Wear sunscreen and comfortable shoes that won't fly off. On the Raptor and Wicked Twister your legs are dangling during the ride and if you are wearing flipflops you have to take them off and store them in the bins or sit on them.
9. Try a different route when driving to the park. 250 is the main route and is very busy. I recommend coming in from the other direction using Cleveland Road, but it isn't as straight forward so use a map.
10. Go early or late in the season - the month of May and the end of August are the least busy. Saturdays and holidays are the busiest.
Excellent tips! We went last summer when it was 100 degrees (Real Feel said 111!). My sister, brother, sister-in-law, teenage step niece and nephew and 1 year old nephew and I went. It was fun but too dang hot! :)
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