Kennywood 2019

 A friend gave us 4 free tickets to Kennywood last year, thanks Linda!  It's been years since we last went to Kennywood.  Although it is an annual  fundraising thing for the school, we don't buy  anymore because the kids are not really  into going, they're probably got tired of the same place, thus lost interest.  Anyway, since it was free, we went.  It was different, the kids are no longer super excited with the rides as they used to.

 I am glad we were able to go though, with this pandemic erupting this year, we chose to stay home and do home improvement projects rather than going on places.

 The thing I don't like amusement park is the long queue. You're basically  wasting time falling in line just to get to a ride that doesn't even last long.

 Our son is not really crazy with rides, he prefers to hang out with me and wait for my husband and daughter while they finish with the rides they go into.

 It's funny because now that they are in a good height where they go on a lot of rides, they are no longer interested.  They used to be disappointed when they don't meet the  required height for the ride.

 My daughter is the adrenaline junkie so she went on few rides before we went home. 

Hot weather can really suck out  the energy out of you so we didn't stay  very long.  It was good enough to enjoy a few rides and get out of the house for few hours.  

Looking at these pictures, our children have grown so much in a year.  They are now taller than me and  almost at my husband's height.  Our son became a teen in January and our daughter will turn fifteen in 5 days. Oh how time flies, her freshman year went by so fast.  This will be the last year for our son at St. Joseph, son he will join his sister at Madonna High School.

Mirrored German Sculpture at Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park

If  you have seen my first post about the Theodore M. Berry International Park, I would love for you to see this neat feature, the Mirrored German Sculpture.  We had a lot of fun watching our reflections to these mirrors, it made us skinny, thick, and weird in every piece lol.

There are numerous descriptive signs along the path that describe  all about what went into making the particular areas and the meaning behind all of them. These pictures shows the  part of the formal European garden section and our favorite feature which is the  mirrored German sculpture.  It said that these pieces were  brought here and were assembled onsite.

My husband  said  he finally find something that made him look skinny without any specific workout routine or diet  tactic lol.

It really is a neat feature in that park.  I have never seen one like this in so many parks that we have been to so it was quite a discovery for us.

This park is well maintained and kept for anyone to enjoy.  I love that it is located  by the river.

I will feature the rest of the European Garden next time.  

Again, this park is located right on the Ohio River, it is one of coolest  city parks that I've seen.  According to the info I have read, this 22-acre Cincinnati Park Board park opened in 2003 and was, at that time, the first new Cincinnati Park Board park to open in 40 years. The park was named in honor of Cincinnati’s first African-American Mayor, Theodore M. Berry.

Naval and Military Park in Buffalo New York

After attending the mass at St. Joseph Cathedral, the priest  talked to us and he happened to have been  a chaplain in the military before  dedicating his time to a traditional church.  Upon learning that my husband was also in the military, he suggested for us to check the Naval and Military Park nearby.

I am so glad that the downpouring rain have stopped  as we  came out the church.  God hooked us up  by having a clear day after the mass, we got to enjoy the park and the rest of our time in Buffalo.

We live in mountainous region so when my kids see a body of water, they are excited.  Not to mention that  military  parks are also one of their favorite places to visit.

I love the location of this military park because you can both enjoy  a tour inside the ship or just enjoy exploring the land park.  We did not do the tour because we have seen a ship like this in  Corpus Cristi, Texas sometime ago when we visited San Antonio.

Besides, we were just there for a short amount of time so we really did not have time to  see  every nook of the ship.

We are a military family so we are always excited to see setting such as this.  The nearest one in our area to have a similar setting is Pittsburgh al;though it is a submarine and not a ship.   

What I like about going to a place like this is, it perks up my husband's spirit.  I think he misses being in the military sometimes.  I hate the constant moving when in  active duty but I do miss the travel part of it.  I think 20 years is long enough to say "I served my country."

Anyway, here's the entrance to the  tour to U.S.S The Sullivan.  I think if you have never been to a ship, I would highly recommend to go to one of these tours, it's really cool to see what's inside a military ship.

I love all of these monuments and statues, you get to learn so much info by reading each o them.

My husband's last tour  in the Navy was in South Korea.  WE HAD SUCH GREAT MEMORIES OF OUR STAY THERE.  This definitely bring back memories.

I like that their are   different dedications to every monuments.  This one is for all the Hispanic Americans who served/serving.

I just notice that I captured my husband's reflection on this  Rust Bucket display, can you see it (first shot below)?

As we walked around, it makes me sad to think that a lot of these sacrifices  is sometimes being overlooked by new generation.  I feel that it is less appreciated.

The anchor is always my favorite in military parks.  I guess it has to do with the fact that hubby is a retired sailor.

It's really nice though that the park is open for public.

The park is well kept  and maintained, it is so relaxing to walk around there.  I am so glad that we were given a chance to  see  this beautiful park before we  came back to our state.

The Buffalo River is  such a perfect background for this park  It makes you want to stay and hang out.  If only we had time, I would have explored more.

Who would forget the tragic event in Pearl Harbor.  Lots of lives have lost.

This park is complete with so much information.  I don't think they left out places  that the US has been ivolved  to when it comes to preserving the peace and protecting  citizens.

I hope you enjoy this virtual tour of  the Naval and Military Park.  It is a beautiful place to visit, really.  I hope you get the chance to explore there someday too.