First Indoor Football Game

Maybe it was the April chill in the air or non-stop talk about the NFL draft, but either way I had an itch for some football. With that in mind I headed over to Lehigh University's Stabler Arena for Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks Indoor Football League game. I used a buy two get two reserved seats coupon from Discover Lehigh Valley's website (www.discoverlehighvalley.com) and took my wife and two girls to our first indoor football game.
I found the style of football to be unique and entertaining. The field is extremely short and makes for high scoring and big play after big play action. Kickoffs are a waste of time as most either hit the rafters or are touchbacks. Both QB's threw for 350+ yards which is pretty impressive considering the field is only 50 yards long. The final score was 79-77 with the Steel Hawks coming a two point conversion away from sending it into overtime.
As for the kids, well they agreed that the Lehigh Valley Steel Hawks put on a great show. Continual promotions, a dance team and excellent facility make the team a real family value in the Lehigh Valley. They have another 4 home games on the schedule so visit http://www.discoverlehighvalley.com/29380/play/attractions/lehigh-valley-steelhawks/ to learn more and to purchase tickets.

Occupancy is 9/10 of the Law

As the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy continues, the chaos as it relates to hotel rooms will not quickly go away. The decision to cancel the NY Marathon was 100% correct, just 2 days late. Even when the electricity returns and residents return to their homes, a new influx of FEMA, contractors and insurance adjusters will gobble up hotel rooms just before the big Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade and holiday season in NYC. Bands, tour groups and individual guests will all be pushed out of the big city as long term hotel guests occupy rooms. No hotelier in their right mind can force a guest to leave once they have occupied a room and have not broken the law and have means of payment. Get ready for an increase in customer complaints and disappointed travelers as they find their well laid plans messed up by Sandy's aftermath. My suggestion for all those planning to travel into New York City is to call the hotel, speak to a Sr. Manager and get verbal confirmation at least three times that your room will be there when you arrive. If you have booked via an online travel agent plan on some type of hiccup. With 25% less profit in these reservations, the hotel will be less likely to honor the reservation. I also recommend arriving early and before dark. No one wants to make their way around NYC in the dark looking for a hotel room, if theirs is somehow not available when they arrive. Groups that find themselves displaced can look to the Lehigh Valley at www.discoverlehighvalley.com for availability, great rates an only a 90 minute highway commute into the city.

Free Fishing Day in PA

Memorial Day will always be a day remembered for honoring our fallen veterans, parades and barbecues, but a new tradition is quickly making a name for itself in @visitpa and @lehighvalleypa, free fishing day. http://fishandboat.com/promo/fff/fff_banners/fff_your_holidays.gif
Every Memorial Day and Labor Day, Pennsylvania fish and boat commission allows adults to fish for free, in hopes of catching the fishing bug and become a regular angler. So after several articles in the @mcall and twitter posts by @visitpa, I convinced my two girls to head over to Lehigh County's Trexler Nature Preserve to try our luck at fishing. I picked this location because I knew they could play in the Jordan Creek and visit the @lvzoo if fishing did not hit the mark. The weather was perfect and the girls ventured into the Jordan as I prepared the fishing poles. The water was warm probably in the 70 degree range, and the water level was high and moved rapidly, due to several storms this past week. We had a few nibbles from the fish, added some scrapes and cuts and my oldest found a hammock that was just her speed. I am confident 10 years from now the kids will say, "Dad always took us fishing," and may pass it on to their kids, I am sure that is what the Fish and Boat folks had in mind with this promotion. Next, looking forward to one year taking the Sojourn Down The Lehigh River.
Side note: Even free fishing has an economic spin off. Dropped $26 at a local bait/tackle shop (rod, worms, hooks, etc.).
Another note: first attempt at mobile blogging. Used my Blogger App on my iPod. Feed back welcome!

Morning Call - Cuts are painful

As the Morning Call makes continued cuts to the writers and photographers of the paper, I am saddended to think that I will miss this paper in a couple of months, when it no longer provides me anything of value. Although, I have certainly disagreed with the editorial board and their position on the Lehigh Valley Zoo over the years, I did enjoy staying informed on many important issues in the region. I love the touch and feel of the paper vs. the keyboard or smartphone. And will miss the quite moment, I have every morning with my newspaper and thoughts. The MC still delivers a good bang for the buck (100,000 readers) from and advertising perspective, but this will continue to disenigrate because of the core flaw in their business model. By not listening to their readers, and eliminating staff, they have driven their customers to other sources for news and information. Ex. They cater the real estate section to the realtors (listing by realtor/not location), this only drives ppl to the mls to search for homes, where you can sort by location. I could go on and on, about what they have done to the sports section, but that is not going to change the situation. The job cuts are painful for the employees, but they are probably releaved in some sense, since they can see the writing on the wall or now on the web.