Thursday, June 18, 2009

Goings Ons

The National Park Service is offering three "Fee-Free Weekends" at over 100 national parks that usually have entrance fees. One of these weekends is this upcoming weekend, June 20-21, 2009. The other weekends are July 18-19, 2009 and August 15-16, 2009. If you live near a national park, this might be the perfect weekend to pack a picnic, grab a Frisbee/kite/book and a blanket (this is an essential component for afternoon naps in the grass) and head out to enjoy the outdoors. You could also incorporate a visit into your Father's Day celebration, if you are so inclined.

I am getting hungry just thinking about a picnic. One of my all-time favorite picnic lunches was consumed roadside in North Carolina, having been packed that morning by my friend's mother, and included: fried chicken, potato salad, pimento cheese sandwiches and pink lemonade cake for dessert. It doesn't get much more quintessentially Southern than that. If you need a starting point, Real Simple magazine has 4 easy picnic menus, in addition to many other recipes, as well as a handy "Picnic Packing Checklist." Even if you can't make it to a park, you could even picnic in your backyard this weekend.

Check out more information about this special and which parks waived their fees here. I commend the National Parks Service for making it even more affordable to visit the parks, though the fees for visitation are usually pretty reasonable. If you can spare a few dollars though, I'd encourage you to make a donation, as institutions such as parks and museums are often woefully underfunded.

Okay, it's lunchtime! Thank goodness because all this talk of picnics has awoken the hungry beast also known as my stomach. My sister and I are heading out to try a new-to-us "Gastronomia Oaxaqueña" Mexican restaurant. I'll be sure to report back with my findings. Just as long as you don't expect a full report on your desk by morning because I would have a hard time with that kind of pressure.

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