Have you noticed that when you do not get the normal amount of sleep that your body requires, you tend to be more grouchy and even clumsy, doing things that you would not normally do on a full night of sleep. If you were to miss a couple of nights of sleep you would not be able to function properly, you would have a hard time thinking straight. Scientist have studied people that have gone five consecutive nights without sleep, the person actually ends up hallucinating. The brain can not function and normal every day tasks become impossible.

So after reading this information, you might have a better understanding of the importance of sleep – for everyone. It is not beneficial for anyone to lose sleep. Did you know that an estimated average of 56,000 traffic accidents are caused by drivers falling asleep, which ends up turning into about 1,500 deaths annually.

Gold is uniquely made up of a soft metal which makes it a cinch to forge but is super strong. Gold never corrodes, tarnish and can not rust. It has been used for centuries to make jewelry, coins and even used in various types of art. Being an element it is number 79 on the periodic table, with the symbol being Au. When it comes to chemical functions and electronics, Gold is extremely useful because it is a great conductor of electricity and heat. Did you know that just about every computer world wide has a touch of gold somewhere inside it? I was very surprised whent I first learned that piece of interesting information.

For me having children has been a life long desire. I helped raise my two younger sisters who depended on me for just about everything, they even at times called me mom since there own was never around. As I grew into my late teens, I always knew I would a mother and I knew deep in my heart I would have a boy and a girl. I was right. I have a 5 year old son and a 3 year old daughter. I never once doubted the possibility of not being able to have children, it was like I was born to be a mom. It is the greatest accomplishment I have ever achieved. I promised myself that I would also be a stay at home mom. I quit working when I was 8 months pregnant with my first child and have not worked since. They bring such joy to my life and give me a purpose for getting out of bed everyday. It’s not a walk in the park. I won’t lie to anyone, there are days where they have me pulling my hair out, but the benefits out weigh the tough part of it. I would never know what to do without my  children and I look forward to watching them grow and get married, and have children of their own some day.

The smaller fleets are a luxury all on their own.  Intimate, romantic and personal.  The service from the crew is one to experience.  Take the full sail cruises for instance.  They have the beautiful sailing yachts that have both motor and sails.  Their ships hold from 148 to 312 passengers and 88 to 163 crew members.  On average the crew to passenger ratio is 1 crew member to 2 passengers.  Casual wear in the dining area,  no formal wear required.

This fleet of ships are personal and quite accommodating to the passengers. Go ahead walk up to the Captain and see the bridge!   They offer a variety of water sports right off the aft open air sports platform.  You have access to kayaks, snorkeling, water skis, sailboards and even sailboats.  These are just a few of the amenities that they offer as part of your cruise.  These ships are smaller and able to go into the smaller ports and dock right up there next to other private luxury yachts.

The bottom line is the larger lines are more commercial and the smaller lines are more personal.  If you want intimate and want the crew to remember you go with the smaller line.  Come aboard, their expecting you!

One story that I numbered ‘22’ was about catching sharks off the back of a Navy ship while he was stationed in Hawaii. My Father and his best friend worked in the kitchen doing prep work, like cutting fruit and making salads.

When there wasn’t anyone around they would help themselves to a roast or a chicken. They would hide the meat until the time was right, then they would place the meat on a hook and throw it overboard. It didn’t take long at all before they had a shark hooked on the line. They would reel in the huge beast and try to get it on the deck of the ship without getting caught. Once the beast was on board they would hide and wait to see the reaction of the other sailors.

They were able to pull this off several times before they got caught red handed. The Captain of the ship didn’t see the humor in the fishing expedition and my Father and his friend spent a few days in the Brig.

The state of Washington has many mountainous areas. In the Cascade Mountains is Mount Rainier which is one of the highest mountains in the nation. Most of the population of Washington lives in the Puget sound Lowland. This is a part of the ocean that extends between two pieces of land.  The Pacific Ocean gives Washington very mild seasons and a lot of rain year round. The farms need to use irrigation systems and are famous for Washington apples. The state of Washington produces more apples then any other state in the U.S.

In 1980 Mount St. Helens erupted which was the first eruption since 1857. This eruption caused a lot of damage to the Cascade Mountains.  The volcano shot out ash and rocks that covered a huge area. It started forest fires and melted all of the mountain snow, which caused major flooding. Trees were knocked down, wildlife and crops were threatened. People in the nearby towns had to be evacuated. It took about five years for the greenery to return and to this day is still not 100% where it once was. The Columbia River Gorge is the boundary between the northern state of Oregon and the southern state of Washington.

First it is a good idea to get one that is light weight in case you are in a hiking trip in the mountains, you want everything you need to be as light as possible since you will be hiking with this stuff on your back. You do not want to buy down because when it gets wet it is absolutely worthless to you and take hours to dry. You want to stick to a polyester sleeping bag because it absorbs very little moisture and it dries so much faster than down. Plus you do not have to get it dry cleaned like you do for down. You can just throw your polyester sleeping bag in the washer and not have to worry about it.

Another plus to buying a polyester sleeping bag is that it is nonallergenic and never collects any dust, whereas down collects tons of dust therefore people think they are allergic to down but it really is all the dust that they collect. Last but not least, down is very expensive and most polyester sleeping bags cost about half the price you would pay for down. Hope this helps and have fun on your camping trip.

Long ago the Aztecs commonly used the Mezcal worm for its protein. In times of hunger and coming close to starvation, the Aztecs would eat these worms because they are so high in protein so this was basically an alternative to stay alive and not starve  to death. Although some people will consider it a gimmick if you find a worm in your tequila but others will think of it as being good luck. But either way this worm does change the flavor of the agave.

The tradition is that if you are so “lucky” to get the worm in your tequila, you are suppose to pull it out and place it on your tongue then continue to take your shot of tequila but you are suppose to drink the tequila slowly. Once you have done this then you eat the worm and you are on to your next shot. Of course if you have never done this before, your first reaction might be to run to the restroom to pay the porcelain god a visit.

Why is geography important in understanding politics?
The political environment that defines the quality of our lives is deeply affected by the geographical make-up of a nation and its neighboring entities. The seemingly unreasonable actions of many warring nations are often dictated by certain geographical limitations or issues that create a difference of opinions, such as sharing of common water resources. Presence or absence of geographical boundaries is responsible for making many nations either vulnerable or immune to siege by neighboring nations.

The resulting, peaceful or troubled history of a nation due to such geographical reasons in turn, dictates the overall orientation of its political policies, i.e. whether they are liberal or conservative in their approach or if their international political approach is that of befriending other nations or being extremely wary of making a commitment. Some of the most crucial political policies such as the expenditure on defence resources and budgetary allocation for protection against damaging weather patterns are indirectly influenced by the geographical patterns associated with a region.

Why is geography important in shaping society?
Geographic borders often create natural boundaries within a nation itself which eventually leads to demarcating various sections of society. As a result, the economic and social habits of every social group limited by its geographical boundaries are separate from the neighboring one. Societies that have thrived in kind and progressive geographical terrains have conventionally flourished and those that have inhibited geographically-challenging domains have developed a more aggressive method of sustenance since their access to natural resources is limited. Further, customs such as traditional clothing are often defined by the kind of weather patterns that are found in a region.

Geographical patterns also dictate the food habits and the general appearance of many communities. The degree of government funding allocated to the society’s economic development is often limited by the kind of spending that is needed to sustain basic needs such as water and basic food resources. This is why nations with more yielding, fertile lands and helpful climatic patterns have been able to sustain their economic progress while those in tougher, arid regions have had to compromise on socio-economic spending just to sustain basic means of livelihood.