Where the heck have I been?!?!

It's been a long time since I last posted. I was on vacation in Hawaii the last time. That was November of 2007! It's August of 2008! I have a lot of catching up to do.

Hawaii - I want to live there FOREVER!

Work trips - a lot. Going through my calendar, these are the places I've been since last November.

• Durham, NC 9 want some sweet tea?)
• Lansing, MI (brrrr)
• Hazard, KY (yeehaw!)
• New York, NY (and no, I didn't get to play tourist)
• Anderson, IN (don't speed)
• West Bridgewater, MA (great taco salad)
• Muskegon, MI ( Hi Mom)
• Barcelona, Spain (for a fabulous wedding)
• Baltimore, MD (Lexington Market does not equal Reading Market)
• Columbus, OH (Don't come in with a different college on your body)
• Paterson, NJ (Great Residence Inn)

That's it. It doesn't seem like I have been to too many places. I will be heading off to many more though for the rest of the year. Hopefully, I will keep you posted.

Vacation

The bf and I are on vacation. Yes, I had enough miles with Northwest to go round trip to Hawaii, yes I had enough points to get my hotel at Marriott free, and yes, I had enough points to get a rental car free the entire time.

We got into Honolulu Thursday evening after an 8.5 hour flight. It was a lot warmer than back in Minnesota. Stepped off the plane to an aroma. Ambrosia for the soul = Hawaii. There is a scent that is unusual but wonderful. Got the rental car which was an minivan - back to the counter to get a different vehicle - woohoo! a mustang. Traveled to the Cabana - here is the link http://www.vrbo.com/50583 If you ever need a place to stay while on Oahu, this is the place to be. There is an outside shower (sinful). On the first full day, we went up to the north shore to see the waves then stopped at the Polynesian Culture Center. Lots of fun stuff to do.

On Saturday, we went to do some snorkeling at Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. The waves were pretty rough in areas but we had a ton of fun. We saw a lot of fish and also a sea turtle. I took a lot of pictures but unfortunately, the film I was taking pictures of the turtle with got wet and we didn't see another turtle after that. The BF's mask had a leak in it so we had to get a new one which meant finding a dive shop then go back to the preserve.

Sunday, we went to Pearl Harbor. It is amazing how many people lost their lives on December 7, 1941. There is still oil leaking from the USS Arizona. We also took a tour to the USS Missouri which is where Japan signed their surrender. Then we had time to kill which meant some more driving. We headed towards the Dole Plantation. If you want to do the Dole Plantation - Don't. It is a bit disappointing. I was hoping to be able to tour the grounds, learn a little about the raising of pineapple plants and so forth. No such thing unless you paid for admission. They push pickapearls on you which has nothing to do with pineapples. After that waste of time, we headed back up to the North Shore to see how the waves were looking. BIG! We stopped at Sharks Cove to do a little poking around. That spot would be a great place to snorkel because it is protected and shallow. The BF and I had fun climbing on the lava rocks.

The funny thing is that when we got to Hawaii, we had to find a Kmart for a fan ($40), get a new suitcase because mine finally kicked the bucket ($42) and we had to buy a new snorkel mask ($74). These are all items that we shouldn't have had to get. Oh well, it happens.

Tomorrow (Monday), we fly to the Big Island for the rest of our vacation (10 days). More updates to come along with pictures.

And it's back to Salt Lake City

Yup, you guessed it. I think they like me, they really, really like me! This time though, I was at two different sites. The core lab and then the University Hospital. In between sites, I had a day off. What does that mean? A pedicure and traveling up into the mountains. I think I crisscrossed the city 3 times. Maybe that is why I almost put on 300 miles in the Lincoln Town Car. Yes, I said a Lincoln. This time, I used my free day rental because it was expiring soon and didn't want to take a chance on getting a Kia Optima again. What a luxurious car. I just needed the sign on the back that said "this vehicle makes wide right hand turns". Try to park a boat into a small parking spot. It was pretty cool to get up into the mountains where the ski resorts are to see snow on the ground and it being 65 degrees out. I got to sit for a while by a babbling brook that eventually turned into a raging river. There's gold (maybe fools gold) in them there hills.

Salt Lake City is a great place to visit. Maybe even a great place to live.

New York City

How exciting! I got to go to NCY again on the companies dime. I got in on a pretty beautiful day and was dropped off at the door of the hospital in Manhatten. Started working with all my luggage by the instruments. How fun is that? I decided that having a car was absolutely stupid so it was my own two legs that got me places. By places, I mean the 22 blocks from the hotel to the hospital. So, that first day, I was walking with my luggage (which was a carryone) and my shoulder bag for the computer. I was absolutely limp by the time I got into the hotel. Note to self, just take a cab. I did walk to the hospital and back each day and it felt good to say that I did it. By the 3rd day, I was sore. I was done though so it was back to the hotel and dinner. At a suggestion from the front desk, I had dinner delivered from Jackson Hole. http://www.jacksonholeburgers.com/ Holy Sh&t!!! It was a big burger with a lot of toppings. And I had fries which were a lot of steak fries! If you need a burger and you are in NYC - you must go to Jackson Hole. I couldn't finish my meal. Maybe only ate about half of it. The thing that would be even better would have been a beer. 5:30 the next morning and I was on my way to the airport. I tell ya, cabbies are expensive in New York.

Oh, by the way, I didn't get a chance to do any site seeing again! The next time I go, I will have to try!

East Stroudsburg, PA

Almost forgot to post my trips! How shamefull of me. Well, I have to think back a bit to remember this trip. I flew in on a Sunday night and drove the 2 hours up into the Pocono Mountains. My hotel definately wasn't in the best of shape when I got there for a Holiday Inn Express. It was run down and stinky. I had reserved a non-smoking room and guess where they put me - smoking! That got fixed quick.

The customer I was working with that week was great. A funny character that knew a lot and was easy to work with. There was a University track field next to the hospital so I was able to walk during times when I was waiting for things to get done. What a great way to get exercise! It was a neat area and a place that I am sure is beautiful during the fall.

Indianapolis, IN

It has been a while since I had to use my motion discomfort bag. This morning was one of those days where it was necessary. It started at 5:10 to BF telling me that the alarm was supposed to go off 10 minutes ago. The volume had been turned down and I didn't check it the night before. It was okay because I hit snooze once then get up. I roll out the door at 6:15 a.m. with plenty of time to make my 7:45 flight. I get to the airport at 6:50 and find out that the flight was truely at 7:10. POOP! I wasn't going to make it on the flight and if I did, my luggage wouldn't make it for sure. Fine. Put me on standby for the next flight. I make it though security in 3 minutes because there was no one around, check the gate and realize it was close. I thought it was G18 (which was printed on my boarding pass) but it was really F4! I ran to the gate and made it! Luggage had to get picked up after I was done with everything today. There was a bit of turbulence on the landing and once we made it on the ground, I was thankful because I hadn't lost my cookies yet. Well, I had those strange burps and grabbed the bag. On the ground, with only a cup of Mountain Dew in my belly, I puked in my bag. Boy did I feel better! Hopefully, I won't kill myself this week working too much.

ttfn

Salt Lake City, UT

Surrounded by mountains and 70 degrees out only needs one work. Beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't get to enjoy much of it. I spent much of my time in a dimly lit room. Monday was 16 hours, Tuesday was 10, Wednesday was 14, and Thursday was 10. I did get a chance to get up into the mountains on Thursday and tour Park City. This is where the Olympics were. It had a lot of cool shops that I didn't get a chance to get to because it was getting late. Friday, I flew out at 2 p.m. so took the opportunity in the morning to see Salt Lake and go around a mountain. I get to go back the week of the 26th of March. Maybe, I will have the opportunity go get some shopping done! Pictures were taken and they will follow.

Mayo

What an exhausting trip. 16 hours two days in a row, 12 hours on the next day, and then 8 hours of sitting around. I didn't even get a chance to hit Whistle Binkies for some beer. Next week, it's off to Salt Lake City, UT

Hawaii, here we come

Well, it has finally happened. I have enough points and the stars are alined. We are going to Hawaii for 2 whole weeks! Can you believe it???? I never thought it would happen. The island we are staying on is Oahu. I will give you more details when they form.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

buried

that's after the snow has been shoveled away from the car.

Louisville Pictures

Girls, are ya jealous?





Louisville Sluggers Museum and Factory

Louisville, KY - again

What a pleasure it is to have a semi-uneventful trip. Until I wanted to go home. Mother nature had other ideas for me to get home. Imagine a blizzard on March 1, the day I was to fly home. Of course there were a lot of cancelled flights and every flight I was on was cancelled EXCEPT the flight to Detroit with a connection to Minneapolis. I was able to make it home! The drive was interesting though. You could be a drunk driver and no one would be wiser. No lanes to see, just ruts to drive in. I got the car in the driveway and that's as far as it would go. Pictures will follow.

Mom and Dad's house in progress

Midland, Michigan pictures

Frankenmuth, Michigan. We tried to go shopping at Bronners but unfortunately, they were closed. At least we had the pleasure of enjoying a hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps. MMMM MMMMM!!

Midland, Michigan

This time, I had a partner in crime. New coworker and I had a bit of fun. The disk drive didn't work, had to call Service in. Humming along, customer having issues with an assay, called Service in, again. Couldn't work on the instrument until he was done so we ran away to Bay City. By the way, it was Valentines Day. One of our team mates was in the area so she joined us for a Valentines dinner. Had a few good beers and great conversation. The next day brought us back to the original location to finish up.

I had the opportunity to go see the folks new home and boy, is it looking great!

It's been a while

New Brunswick, New Jersey got done without too many hitches. I made it to my next destination which was on Long Island without a GPS guide. I worked at a hospital in Bayshore and ran into problems. That meant that I wasn't going to make my 5:30 flight back home on that Friday which meant I had to change flights and book another hotel room. It was a late night to get to JFK Holiday Inn. I do not recommend that particular hotel. Not very nice people. I got onto my plane home but my luggage didn't make the same trip. It sucked!

So I am home with no luggage and I am flying out at 7 p.m. Sunday evening. I think it was planned. I usually don't pack an extra pair of undies but I did this time. I usually don't take my keys out of my luggage until I get home but this time I did. I usually wear my contacts but this time I didn't. I think this was fate.

Luggage made it at 10 a.m. on Sunday. Quick throw it into the laundry and repack it for the next trip.