Bennie's Reflections

Gulf Oil Spill

2010-05-28T09:40:00.005-04:00

Last week I was in Mobile Alabama. I took a quick trip out to Dauphin Island to see the Gulf Coast one last time before the oil was certain to come on shore. The news was reporting the oil was 30 miles off the coast of Alabama at that time. With the winds they said you could smell the oil (but my sense of smell did not pick up the scent). I was amazed to see so many off shore oil derricks from the island. They were everywhere I looked.

The sand on the coast is so beautiful and I knew if I wanted to see it that I needed to see it last week before the winds and tides changed. I watched on the news the other day and they said that oil has now hit this small island - but one of my posters said it hasn't. One can hope they can keep the oil off these beautiful beaches.

For those who have never seen the offshore derricks I have included pictures. And just so you know what the beaches look like I’ll put a few of those pictures up too.

Things I See On The Road

2010-05-14T08:18:00.002-04:00

I thought this was cute when I went though baggage claim at the Sacremento, CA airport.

What a nice start…

2010-05-05T13:36:00.000-04:00

Well it’s been a while since I have written anything on the blog. I doubt anyone is reading it anymore – I know I wouldn’t after this long a hiatus.

This has been a busy week for me. I started off driving to Savannah on Sunday and working there for two days then drove home Tuesday night. Today I am traveling to the west coast on the scenic route. I am on my flight right now from Myrtle Beach to LaGuardia airport – the first of three flights today.

It’s really strange what a business traveler will do to keep the price down and get where they are going on a preferred airline. It was cheaper to fly to New York then back south and then west. And funny enough it’s only taking about 2 hours longer.

The airplane I’m on today seats 90 and there are only 21 passengers and I’m the only person in the first class cabin. I hope the rest of the flights are like this you don’t have to fight to put your bags in the overhead bins.

This week I saw (or should I say noticed) the first honeysuckles blooming along the side of the road. And the first Magnolia Tree in bloom. It’s hard to believe it’s already May and almost Mothers Day again. I got the card in the mail just under the wire this week to get to mom in time. This year I found the funniest card to send her. It had a little kid with crayons and drawings on every piece of furniture, wall, floor and door. The mom was standing in the door with this look of defeat on her face. The caption above the kid was “Someday we will look back on this and laugh”. For some reason this struck me as so funny. So I wrote on the inside “So can we laugh yet?” Mom will surely get a kick out of that.

I get to meet up with some friends out in the San Francisco area on Friday night before I head home on Saturday. Then next week it’s off to Wilmington, NC on Monday and back to Savannah on Wednesday night. Good thing I enjoy my frequent flyer miles and motel points right.

Hope everyone is doing well…

Yes, Yes, Yes... SPRING!

2010-03-08T18:47:00.004-05:00

Well anyone who knows me knows how happy I was to take these pictures today in Mobile, Alabama!

I went to Bellingrath Gardens for a few hours when I got here today. I have not been there in 20-25 years. I'll write more about it later this week. For now you just get a few pretty pictures.

A Stranger in Savannah

2010-03-02T20:35:00.001-05:00

I bet you all thought I fell off the planet. I am still out here kickkin’ on the road. I am in Savannah again this week.

I really enjoy my drives down here from Myrtle Beach. I left Monday morning at about 5 AM with the big old full moon in the clear skies. These trips take me about 5 hours to drive so there is plenty of time to myself to think and listen to music.

I was really starting to get bummed out about winter lasting so long. I was thinking to myself how I really needed to see trees with leaves on them. Sure enough about an hour later I was in Charleston and some of the Redbuds have started blooming. That means spring is not that far off for those of us that live way up north in South Carolina. Those few little trees made my day.

Today President Obama was in town here. He spoke at a building about a block away from where I am staying. I really expected the traffic to be a zoo due to the presidential motorcades. Much to my surprise the roads were empty since they cancelled classes at the school. The drive home was not bad either.

I did see a lot of Secret Service folks around the hospital today though.

I’ll try not to go months between posts. I just need to post a picture here or there. Hope everyone is doing well out there.

Receivin

2010-02-28T15:29:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you just see things that crack you up on the road. I know this sign was not designed this way but it was too funny.

Need I Say More?

2010-02-04T20:28:00.002-05:00

You ever have one of those days?

Sights from the Road

2010-01-29T07:46:00.004-05:00

Last week I went to Orlando. A co-worker of mine went with me to Sea World and Epcot. It was a nice trip and we get to repeat it next week.

This week I took a quick trip south to Savannah. I took the picture below on the trip. It's about 45 miles south of Charleston, SC. Sometimes there are pictures that just jump out at you - this was one of them.

Orlando Warning - Gas Prices - Suncoast Energys

2010-01-23T15:25:00.005-05:00

This week my travels took me to Orlando, FL. I was really excited to get out of the cold weather and to get out and do a few things. What I did not expect was the gouging at a gas station "Suncoast Energys" next to the Hertz Car Rental lot.

If you go to the Orlando area you need to be aware that the gas prices at Suncaost Energys across the street from Hertz is $2 higher than gas stations about a mile down the street.

So if you are ever in Orlando just be careful to watch the fuel prices around the airport. I found the statistics above at the following web-site: http://www.orlandogasprices.com/

Sights from Savannah

2010-01-11T18:42:00.004-05:00

Too lazy to write... But I'm back in Savannah and here are a few pictures I took today on my walk around town.

The picture above is one of the many squares in town. The fountain was pretty with the moss and live oaks all around it.

The picture above was the moss in the trees in one of the squares with the sun going down behind it.

This statue is of John wesley the founder of Methodism.

I saw this boat coming in on the Savannah River. I loved the colors.

The bridge across the Savannah River is huge. To really appreciate it you have to see a ship go under it.

I'm not sure what the building above is. But the gold leaf on the roof was beautiful in the sunlight.

A Different Day

2009-12-14T18:57:00.002-05:00

Well I’m in my new location I’ll be writing from over the next few months – Savannah, GA.

Savannah is about a 4.5 hour drive from the house. Not worth flying since I’d have to fly to Atlanta or Charlotte and connect. So I opted to drive this week.

It was strange not to feel rushed to get to the airport. I woke up, went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned, went home and packed my bag then drove south. I didn't have to take off my jacket and shoes, x-ray the bag, pull out my zip-lock back of liquids or any of that. I was able to hang my clothes in the car so I won't have to iron in the morning. So to say today is a "Different Day" certainly describes it.

I did have to be here for a phone call in the late afternoon, but the worst case would be I’d pull off on the side of the road to take the call. The skies were foggy all the way from Myrtle Beach to Savannah. In Charleston I could not see the top of the bridge until I was on it. And when I got to Savannah I couldn’t see the top of the bridge even while I was on it.

Just north of Charleston the basket weavers were selling the baskets on the side of the road. It's amazing how many stands there are and even more how much they charge for them.

Savannah is a really beautiful southern city that reminds me a lot of a small New Orleans. The Live Oak trees and Spanish moss everywhere. There are beautiful city squares and the riverfront. I look forward to getting to explore some here.

I’m sure I’ll have to go eat at Paula Deans sometime. I know she loves cooking rich foods. I’ll have to look and see if she has deep fried butter (no it’s not real, but she does love butter).

What I can do with a few hours and a bus pass in San Francisco

2009-12-03T21:05:00.014-05:00

I had a whirlwind day today. I worked from my motel from 4AM - NOON. Then I took off with my BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) ticket and went on into San Francisco. You'd be amazed what I can swing off with a few hours, a bus pass and some determination.

BART is a different transit system than the Municipal Transportation (MUNI). I bought a one day Passport for unlimited rides on the cable cars, buses and MUNI trains. Let me tell you if you are going to get around that's the best way to do it.

I took the cable car from Powell to Hyde.
When you get to the top of the hill you see the most beautiful view of the Downtown skyline.
The cable car takes you to the top of Lombard Street which is the crookedest street in the world. I walked down to take the picture from the bottom up. I noticed there was a house For Sale on this street wonder if Stefan would be intrested? The Coit Tower on top of Telegraph Hill is beautiful. I didn't make it over there to see the art but I did get a great picture from the hill top. At the end of the line is Fishermans Warf. The view to Alkatraz today was really good.San Francisco is known for the Sourdough Bread. I saw this place that made all these different animals out of the bread so I had to take a picture. Then I had Clam Chowder for Lunch. It was really YUMMY.I rode the cable cars to China Town and saw this sign. Lucky for me it was written in English on the other side.I took the train over to the Castro District which is the Gay Area. I got to see the Harvey Milk Memorial and the famous Castro Theater sign.

I saw more than I have uploaded and took about 30 pictures. I got to see our Corporate Office where my paychecks come from.

So that was what I did in a few hours in San Francisco. I rarely get a chance to get out and about when I'm on the road. But as you can see when I do I can cover a lot of ground.

What I See on the Road

2009-12-01T08:16:00.005-05:00

Well today I am flying from Wilmington, NC to Oakland, CA. My route takes me through Charlotte and Phoenix so it's going to be a long day. It started at 2:30 AM when I woke up before the alarm to get started. The Wilmington airport is 60+ miles north and to catch the early flight that means leaving the house at 4-4:30 AM. Good thing I was not on the absolute first flight that leaves at 5:30 AM. ICK.

I have also decided I was meant to be born farther south than I am now. It was 39 degrees this morning when I got to the airport. I know that doesn't sound all that cold but to me it might as well have been 15 degrees. I'm sure glad I don't have to live in an area where I'd have to use a snow blower or plow all winter.

I am sitting in the Charlotte airport on a two hour lay-over. Every year they put up two Christmas trees made of live Poinsettias. I thought I'd share a picture with everyone since you may not travel this route to see the tree.

I hope to write a bit more this week. I've had a major block on writing the past few months. When I'm working it's "nose down and give it 150%" and when I'm off I am truly OFF and have no desire to write. I guess this is what writers block is all about. It's not that nothing has happend, its more that I'm too lazy to write about it or document it with photographs.

I hope to get out this week in the San Francisco area and see something other than the inside of a conference room or inside of a motel room. Wish me luck! Maybe I can reach that goal this week.

Flexible if nothing else

2009-11-30T08:32:00.003-05:00

Well our Thanksgiving plans changed at the last minute this year. For years this was the big holiday spent with the neighbors that bring the family down from Erie. They were not able to make it this year for a variety of reasons so we went to a friends house in Greensboro, NC.

It was a very nice Thanksgiving with a small group of people. It takes about 4 hours to drive from Myrtle Beach to Greensboro and we have made this trip many times.

This time we left the cat (Pez) at home for a few days. I figured she would have a party while we were gone and just really enjoy herself. She travels OK but it's not one of her favorite things to do. And since the friend we were seeing has two other cats we just felt it would be less tramatic for all of us to leave Pez at home.

Sheeot had a tough time.. She had to share her pillow with a Monster Black Cat named Titus. It's hard not to share when the cat is bigger than you are and has sharp claws.

When we got home Pez was really happy to see us again. I think she might have been a little stressed being on her own but now I know she can do it.

I'm off to San Francisco this week. Then Texas the week after. Then I have a new account in Savannah, GA.

I'm exicted about the Savannah account. It will be nice since it's driving distance and I can just hop in the car and not have to hassle through airport security and connections. I hope to take the dog and cat down to Savannah with me sometime and stay over a weekend after work. They have both been there before. I just want to stay and tour sometime.

Nature TV

2009-11-21T11:42:00.003-05:00

This little squirrel was out preparing for his own Thanksgiving feast this week. He stopped in the tree outside my bedroom and made fun of me and the cat. Pez was not amuzed.

I’ve always been told…

2009-11-18T08:58:00.002-05:00

I’ve always been told that if you have nothing nice to say; don’t say anything. So I’m going to my little corner and shut up and try to fly under the radar today.

Happy Hump Day everyone…
Oh and it's raining again. Maybe I should go back to bed.

What I Woke Up To

2009-11-17T13:19:00.002-05:00

Well all... I'm still alive. Just been super busy working from home office and to be quite honest been too lazy to write. I just wanted you all to know I'm still out here kickkin' and causing trouble.

Here is what I got to see this morning when I looked out my bedroom window. I now it's just water and trees, but it makes you glad you woke up.

Do I Have to Do All The Work Around Here?

2009-11-02T18:13:00.001-05:00

If you ever wonder what I do for a living this picture should sum it up. This week was the go-live for the Inventory project at the hospital. Take a guess which person in this picture is me.

One Clue - I'm wearing a paper hat! Just like I did when I worked in fast foods. I guess my career has come full circle now.

Daytrip to Shreveport

2009-10-31T21:33:00.004-04:00

Thursday night I decided that the weather was too bad to drive to Arkansas to see mom. It was a good call considering how much rain and bad weather we had. There were 4-5 tornados in the Shreveport area which I would have had to drive through.

Shreveport is about half way from where I’m working and where mom lives. So I met her and my aunt there in Shreveport and we drove around looking at the damage and then through some neighborhoods just to see the nice houses in the area.

A church steeple was blown off and fell on a car that night. It was a white Lexus from what I heard. My aunt tells me he woke up in the hospital and wasn’t sure what happened. The steeple is said to weigh 2 tons.

We went downtown Shreveport and went to a botanical garden and art museum.

The statue below is at the River Walk in Downtown Shreveport.After we messed around downtown a while we tried to get to the Rose Gardens in time to walk around. We didn’t make it but I did get a few pictures at the front of the gardens. Maybe next year I’ll get to see it.

Soaked in Texas

2009-10-29T21:23:00.001-04:00

Well this week I have been in Lufkin getting ready for a go-live over the weekend. Since we needed to be back on Sunday morning I decided to stay out here over the weekend instead of flying back to South Carolina on Friday and back here on Saturday.

I thought this is a great time to run up to mom’s about 4.5 hours north of here and spend the night. Tonight would have been the night to go but we are getting torrential rains here so I called mom and told her I didn’t think it was a good idea for me to drive in the dark in heavy rains.

It turned out that my decision was the right one. Mom called me back and a tree is down over the power line down the road from her and she has no power. So I couldn’t have worked home office from there. They have had flooding there and we have had flooding here.

On the way back from dinner I drove through water that was up past the floor boards on the side of the car. I would never do this normally but I was on the major highway here and I couldn’t do anything but proceed. I am looking out my window now and I see they have that road closed and routing traffic around the flooded area.

I am staying at the Courtyard that just opened this month. I have been waiting for this place to open so I could move back into the Marriott Chain. They have had a tough night here. The parking lot is flooded out in front and there is a full sized pickup with water up to the doors. I am parked on the end of the building up-hill from the water.

To add to the frustration the fire alarm was going off in my co-workers room when he got home from work. So he reported it and we just decided to go to dinner. When we came back the entire fire alarm system was going off. They could not bypass the system until 45 minutes had passed. So about 5 minutes after we got back they got the alarms shut off. But then the elevators don’t work because they are in fire mode. I finally got tired of sitting in the lobby and hiked my butt up the four flights of stairs to my room.

So I guess I’ll have a nice day working from the motel tomorrow and have a day of rest in the motel on Saturday. Might as well make the best out of this right?

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2009-10-13T09:32:00.000-04:00

I’ve written notes with this title before. Yesterday was one of those days where I hit all those forms of transportation. It was more like Automobiles, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

This week’s destination is a place where I really wish I had a few extra days (San Francisco Bay Area). We are in a little town named Walnut Creek just northeast of Oakland. I am traveling with a co-worker that I am lucky enough to travel with quite a bit. It’s a good thing he is a great traveling companion.

Yesterday Ed missed his connection in Charlotte and his flight was 3.5 hours later than planned. Of course he had rented the car and he just knew I’d be stranded at the airport. I had scoped out our destination and knew that BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) had a train that left the airport and dropped me within two blocks of the Marriott where we are staying.

So I proceeded to head out on my little adventure. The BART train took me through San Francisco then under the bay to Oakland and then northeast to Walnut Creek. The train ride was a few minutes over an hour ride. The girl that sat in the seat next to me did not speak much English but was enough to know we were going to the same stop.

I always find it strange how things work out. Another guy that sat in the row in front us found out we were heading to his stop. This guy was about 20-21 and lives in the area. We struck up a conversation and I learned a lot about him on our trip. It’s funny how much people will tell you about their lives. His story was interesting enough to listen to.

His parents met in the Peace Corps; his father was from Costa Rica and his mother was from California. Neither spoke the same language when they first met but they still fell for each other. He spent most of his life growing up in Costa Rica. Then they moved him to the states to get a higher education. He is going to school to get a degree in Engineering. He and his friends are starting a Reggae Band. When he graduates he wants to join the Peace Corps and eventually he wants to sail around the world.

It’s so refreshing to listen to someone young who has all these lofty dreams. I don’t even know this kid and I so hope he can fulfill them. When we got off the train he helped the girl in the seat next to me with her suitcases. We had to navigate a long escalator and he made sure she got down with her bags and helped direct her to where she needed to go.

I was so glad that we found him on the train ride. It reminded me of my trip to Paris France in 1997. This girl was in a strange country; spoke broken English and this nice gentleman helped her get where she needed to go. I was so pleased to know that in a big city there are still young men that know how to be a gentleman.

I have lofty goals for the rest of this week… Tonight I have dinner plans with a friend I worked with in Charlotte over 10 years back. Then the next night I am hoping Ed will take the train with me into San Francisco and catch a cable car down to find some place to eat. He has never been to this area and I’d like to show him what little I know about the area.

I’ll try to get pictures this week. Tonight will not be the night since there is a huge storm blowing in today. They are projecting 2-4 inches of rain in the valleys and 5-7 inches in the hills. We are expecting winds in the 40-60 MPH range and in canyons gusts up to 70 MPH. You would know I’d be here when you have tropical force winds and rain. At least it’s only one day of bad weather.

Danger to Dogs - Xylitol / Sorbitol

2009-10-12T05:54:00.003-04:00

In July 2007 our dog had a seizure that we could not explain. Of course it’s on a weekend evening and we rushed her off to the emergency animal hospital in Myrtle Beach. We thought maybe she had been poisoned. Her symptoms were sudden a few minutes earlier she had been playing like a puppy then later she could barely walk; was lethargic and yelping in pain from the slightest touch.

Just this weekend we have finally figured out what happened. I had heard on the news in Houston the other day that Sorbitol and Xylitol sweeteners are poisonous to dogs. I heard the blurb on the news and decided I needed to read up on this since I chew gum that is sweetened with these sweeteners.

I first read an article that was in USA Today back in 2007. Then I did more research and found the AVMA had posted a warning back in October 2006. Further research lead to a blog by a Veterinarian in Miami who had written an article about the dangers of Xylitol and dogs.

The symptoms Sheeot had were exact to what has been described in all my reading. It was quick to come on and it was very serious. After reading all this I realize that she is lucky to be alive. I feel bad that I didn’t know about this sooner.

I would have thought with us giving the exact descriptions of this to the Vet they would have at least been prompted to ask us if we had Altoids or Sugar Free products where the dog could get them. This information had been published less than a year prior in the JAVMA which I would hope the veterinarian would have read (I guess not).

All the articles I have read indicate that Dogs bodies don’t process Xylitol like we humans. The dog can develop a sudden drop in blood sugar, loss of coordination, become lethargic and have seizures. The effect is rapid and can come on in as little as half an hour or start up to 12 hours later. The JAVMA states that you need to act swiftly and get your dog to the Veterinarian.

Many of the articles tell you to call the Animal Poison Control Center. There is a $60 cost for support and you are told to pay it because they will assist the Veterinarian once you get there. As of this weekend I have programmed the Animal Poison Control Center number - 888-426-4435 into my cell phone. I have also posted it at the house.

Please spread the word to your family and friends of the dangers of sugar free products to dogs. Don’t assume they are informed – trust me I had no idea until recently. I can't even say your Veterinarian will catch it quickly enough. Ours never figured it out.

Looking back I’m sure our dog picked up an Altoid or some gum I may have dropped near my recliner. She’s not above helping herself to things out of the trash can.

So this is my Public Service Blog.

Listed below are the links just in case you can't get the links above to work.

USA Today - http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2007-03-18-xylitol-sweetener_N.htm
AVMA - http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/oct06/061001b.asp
Animal Poison Control Center - http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/
888-426-4435
Dolittler Blog - http://www.dolittler.com/2006/10/27/pet.vet.dog.cat.vs101.10.27.06.html

Medical Advances

2009-09-29T21:36:00.000-04:00

Tonight I got to attend the ribbon cutting at the hospital I am working at in Lufkin, TX. I had been through the building during construction and even toured it earlier in the day. I got the behind the scenes tour up to the helipad on top of the building.

The new tower is amazing and the CEO said it cost 47 million to construct the state of the art Cardiovascular and Stroke Center. Later this month they will start moving departments across a floor at a time.

I got the biggest kick out of the robot in the Emergency Room. It had a screen on the top as the head and the guy running it was in Kansas City and controlling this robot in Texas. It showed his picture and your own picture. He could adjust the picture to pick up groups or zoom in on individuals. What an amazing tool to have a robot that can navigate halls and go room to room with a doctor anywhere there is an internet connection. This was the “Wow Factor” for me.

The bed in the Intensive Care Unit was pretty slick too. It has so many tricks it can do to make the nurses and patients lives better. The bed speaks 25 languages. So if the patient does not speak English they have common care plans loaded and they select what they want from the patient and the language and the bed translates to the patient. Not only does the bed speak 25 languages… It plays music; weighs the patient; rolls the patient side to side and can convert to a chair. It can pound the back (I think she said percussion) to help patients with pneumonia. Let me tell you this thing was quite the improvement over my bed at home.

They have built a Heart Room and a Cath Lab. And one room can convert from a Cath Lab to a Cardiovascular Room so the patient does not need to be moved. The rooms were 900 square feet. They are the largest Cath Labs in the world at the moment. I’m sure someone will build a larger one at some point.

Oh and they were handing out brains at the entrance tonight. They were the little squeeze balls in the shape of a brain. So now I have a spare brain to boot.

So this is what a day in the life can be for me. It was a pretty cool day in general.

Memories of a Dear Friend - Ruby

2009-09-28T19:47:00.002-04:00

It has been a long time since I’ve really had something I wanted to write about. Today after looking at pictures of Jackie’s Hot Air Balloon adventure it started me reminiscing about when mom and I took our Hot Air Balloon ride.

The first person I knew that took a Hot Air Balloon Ride was a retired lady who volunteered with me when I worked at the Oklahoma Blood Institute. Her name was Ruby. She went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. She had such wonderful pictures and I was so surprised that she had taken a ride in one of these balloons. I thought what a gutsy woman she was.

Ruby had been widowed quite a few years before I met her and she didn’t have any children. She is one of the people I can say really touched my life over the years. She passed away 15 years ago and I still think of her fondly to this day. She touched so many lives.

Way back when before I started traveling for a living I started saving key chains from places I’d been. Then people would bring them back to me from the vacations I doubted I’d ever get to take on my own. Ruby probably brought me the most key chains of anyone. She was always on some adventure to Europe or in the United States. I still have a strand of key chains from all around the world she picked up for me all those years ago.

I have been lucky to find a job I truly enjoy that allows me to see places I never dreamed I’d see. Ruby would be so happy for me if she were here. I never thought I’d go to Europe or for that matter take a Hot Air Balloon ride. I remember her writing me a note when she was in Ireland she was describing how there were so many shades of green she couldn't do it justice in her note. It was a place that I know she dearly loved visiting.

Jackie – thanks for you post and the beautiful pictures. You brought back some very fond memories of a lady I have not thought about for a while. It was nice to think about her again.

Well it's officially FALL now...

2009-09-23T18:46:00.001-04:00

I got home today and found my Spider Lilly's in bloom. I used to love these when I was a kid. Mom brought me these bulbs a few years back and I missed them blooming last year because I was out of town. I caught them this year!

A new destination this week

2009-09-21T19:12:00.001-04:00

This week I have a different place to visit. I am about 4.5 hours south of the house. My morning started off early waking up around 5AM (not because I had to but because the animals felt it was time to get up).

My boss lives about an hour north of me in Wilmington, NC. He picked me up at the house around 8:30 AM and we got to drive south through all the Costal South Carolina cities (Myrtle Beach, Georgetown, Charleston & Beaufort). We then crossed into Georgia to our destination Savannah, GA.

Savannah is a really interesting historical city. I have been here several times touring and it’s just a charming Southern City. If you are looking for a small city with the true Southern feel this is the city for you. The riverfront is loaded with shopping and dining options. The banks are very steep so you better be in shape or find the public elevator to take you back to the street level.

I got me meet a co-worker I’ve worked with for over a year and never met face to face. She was the last person on my team that I had not met face to face. It’s so nice to know what your co-workers look like.

We left the motel on Abercorn Street and drove down to Bay Street though the nice squares in downtown. We had dinner at a very nice restaurant on the river and back home at a decent hour. So I’m able to let everyone know I’m still alive out here.

I have a lot of blogs to catch up on. I’ve not only taken a break from writing but from reading too. Amazing what a busy schedule does…

It was a good weekend at home. We are working on replacing my wood sidewalk and the steps at the house. We spent time with my neighbors that were down from Erie (mainly eating meals and just shooting the breeze). We had a very nice meal at an Italian Restaurant named Pomodero’s.

A different route this week – Charlotte

2009-09-19T09:31:00.003-04:00

For years (about 8) I flew USAirways as my primary airlin. Since the hub airport for them in this area is Charlotte I connected there weekly for years. I changed airlines when they were having so many issues with the merger between USAir and America West. After a while I just got tired of the issues and switched over to Delta. I started to switch back about 2 years back then as soon as I did they started charging extra for everything from cokes to pillows. I was waiting on them to charge for seatbelts and trips to the bathroom. So I again just decided to stick with Delta.

This week the prices of the airline tickets forced me to take USAirways through Charlotte on my way to Houston. They have stopped charging for drinks but they have not reinstated other things like the 500 mile minimum credit for a flight. They still charge for checked bags so more people try to overstuff the overheads. They have about one of the best on-time ratings of the major carriers. It’s still not enough to make me come back to the airline though. It takes a long time to build a status on an airline and I just don’t feel the need to go through that again.

I did enjoy flying through Charlotte because I haven’t done that in a long time. It’s one of the favorite places I have ever lived. It made me a little home sick just seeing the skyline when we were landing. I worked for about 4 years in Uptown and watched them tear down a building and start building a new skyscraper.

Charlotte calls it “Uptown” instead of “Downtown” because it sounds more positive to be called UP. The uptown area looked like it was 2 weeks old when I moved there and to this day it looks like a brand new city.

Of all the places I’ve lived I would say Charlotte is the top of the list to this day. I had a job I loved, a city I was proud to call home. It’s funny as much as I enjoyed it there that I have not been back in over 7 years other than to fly through the airport. I guess I need to schedule a vacation to go there sometime. Maybe I need to go to the Southern Living Home Show or something fun like that.

South Dakota Vacation - Day 3

2009-09-03T23:55:00.005-04:00

Today we went to the Crazy Horse Monument in the morning. My uncle told me that they lived in a house about 200 yards off the road at the entrace to the monument and told me to look for an old house on the right. If he is right this is the house my grandmother raised her five boys at. She was widowed when she was pregnant with her last child (the one who told me where the house was located at).
We left Custer heading west to Newcastle Wyoming. We went north from there to Lead South Dakota where the gold mines were.

This was one of the sights we saw driving our short stretch in Wyoming. This was just a mountain in someones field, no special markings. I thought it was pretty with the white on the top and the red dirt with the green trees at the foot of the hill.

When we got to Lead we had lunch at a Pub on Main Street. In Lead the streets are almost straight up and down. And I had to parallel park to boot. It took me a few seconds to remember which way to turn the wheels when you are parking facing down hill. I turned them to the right toward the curb. I guess I was right because when I was sitting with mom on the deck eating lunch I scoped out all the other cars and they followed my lead.

The clock below was right next to the pub we ate at.

The buildings below are part of the old gold mine "Homestake" in Lead. The gold mine was active for 125 years closing in 2002.

The open pit gold mine in the picture below is one of the mines in the area. This hole was huge. I had an uncle that worked in these mines in the 70's.

I'm not sure what this contraption was for but it was up on the side of the hill above the open pit mine.
This is one of the trains used in the mine to pull the rock out of the mine.
We finally made it to Deadwood which is now the area for gambling. I thought this hotel was a good picture. We made it home in time for a nice nap.

We wanted to go see the lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore. You can see we made it. I have never really taken pictures after dark so this is one of the first of my attempts.

One of the rangers gave a 30 minute talk about the monument and what each of these men did for our country. It was very informative and it was quite amazing how much she taught me that I should have already known.

At the end they brought down the service men and women. They took volunteers from that group to take the flag down and fold it. Then each of them stated what branch of the armed forces they were in and their name. It was a very nice end to the day.

South Dakota Vacation - Day 2

2009-09-02T23:18:00.010-04:00

There are just some days you can't summarize everything. Today is one of those days for me. It was so full from the beginning to the end. I am going to summarize the best I can what we did; where we went and what we saw today.

To start off we took the road out of Custer heading to Mount Rushmore. On the way you could see the Crazy Horse Monument from the road. We have not been down to the monument yet but we plan to do that on our trip. Here is the picture I got with my nice zoom lens. It's almost as good as being at the park.
One of the big things I wanted to do was to go see Mount Rushmore. And as you can see we could not have picked a better day to go. Mom read that the best time to take photos is in the morning. The lighting was perfect. In the gift shop they had a man who had actually worked on the monument for 3 years. He was 18-21 during his 3 years working on the monument. He is 88 years old and was in good health. It was really neat to get to talk to him. The monument was being built from 1928-1941.

On the road down from the monument there is a place you can take a profile picture of George Washington. I didn't remember that as a child when I was here but I'm so glad I stopped to take the picture. After we left Mount Rushmore we went to a town named "Hill City" to have lunch. Mom had a Buffalo Burger and I had a BBQ Pork sandwich. I was a bit buffalo'ed out since the night before I had a Buffalo Sirloin and for lunch I had a Buffalo Burger. Least to say they serve a lot of buffalo here.

After lunch we were heading to Custer State Park and the Needles highway. This was the second thing I really wanted to see up here. So I guess today was my day to pick and choose. As you enter the park there is a lake "Lake Sylvan" and it's so beautiful.

The reason it's called the needles highway is the rocks and this one in particular is called the Needles Eye. We continued to drive through the needles highway and I have so many pictures you are not seeing but here is one we had someone take of me and mom.This area is called the Cathedral. Not sure why but it was a sight to see as we drove around the twisting roads.

I wanted to see the Bison in the wild. I was corrected that they are not called Buffalo but they are North American Bison. So from here on out I'll refer to them as Bison. This one was out in the wild just walking around. We couldn't help it we saw the prarie dogs and we had to stop and feed them some of the peanuts from yesterday. The ones in the park here were not as tame as the ones yesterday but he figured out we were pretty cool and took the peanut and made his feast on it.

I'm not really sure what these animals were they looked like a different type of deer than what we have in the south. They were all over the place.

We finally ran into a South Dakota Traffic Jam with a bunch of donkeys. One car made the mistake of rolling down the windows and feeding one. Nex thing they knew they had donkeys with heads all the way in the car from both sides eating. I'm glad I was not in that car, I'm not big on donkey slobber in my car.

At last we found what I remember my dad showing me all those year ago. The field with all the Bison in it. There were over 500 in the herd in the picture below. The guard said there are 1200 more but they were not sure where they were in the park today. There were Bison Chips all over the place. You had to watch your step

Once we left the State park we had about a 10 mile drive on a dirt road before we got out on the blacktop heading to my uncles house. I took pictures of all the hay yesterday and we saw a bunch of haystacks in the fields today. I have not seen that in years and thought I'd share it with everyone.

We finally made it to my Aunt and Uncles house in Buffalo Gap. The town is very small and all the roads are dirt. I saw my uncle last when my grandmother passed way in 1995. I had not seen my aunt since the winter of 1987 (22 years back). Least to say it was really good to visit with them again. My aunt's mom lives with them and remembers seeing me when I was a little kid back in the early 70's when we visited them in Elgin, IL.

My uncle shared pictures with me he had of my dad when he was a baby and little boy. He had a sheet of photo paper with my Grandma and Grandpa and the military pictures of all the boys. My grandfather had two sons from a prior marriage both of which served in WWII. Then my dad was the first for my grandma and he served in WWII and Korea. Then her other four sons served in Korea.

My uncle told us a lot of the family history. Some I knew and a lot I didn't know about. He told me my Grandfather had been gassed in World War 1. He was originally from Freemont, Nebraska and the reason they ended up in Custer was because they had a hospital there and the altitude. They sent the military boys who had been gassed to these areas. He also told me about one of my relatives that lead Brigham Young to Utah.

Our history seems to be between South Dakota, Nebraska, Oklahoma and back to South Dakota. I really thought I was the first of the Dowty's to be the Okie... But he told me I wasn't. Darn, can't I be the first at something?

We left my uncles house with a wooden shoe that my Great Uncle Gillis wore when he came over from Holland. He was married to my Grandmother's Sister and they never had any children. He maintained the Custer Cemetary for years.

I also left with some pictures I will cherish from my dad's childhood.

So that is my day in a nutshell. I know today's blog was long but it was such a full day I couldn't shorten it much more.

Greetings from the other South State - South Dakota

2009-09-01T23:56:00.004-04:00

Well this is it... Live from the other South State! South Dakota. At last a trip for pleasure instead of work. Today we left Rapid City and toured the Badlands National Park area about 50 miles East of Rapid City, SD. The fields on the drive were loaded with hay and rolling hills. Here is a picture of the fields with hay as far as you could see.
South Dakota is famous for Wall Drug. When my dad was in the military he saw signs in Japan of how many miles it was to Wall Drug in South Dakota. They had road signs all the way from Rapid City and I found this offer of Free Ice Water just too funny not to take a picture of.

Of course when we got to Wall Drug sure enough there was the Free Ice Water. I guess if you advertise you have to make the effort to deliver right?

Wall is a small town on I-90 just north of the Badlands and just East of Rapid City. The town is really small and pretty much all there is to do is eat and shop at the drug store. Mom was brave enough to ride the Jackalope. Note there is not a picture of me doing this. I know what get's posted on the internet.

Anyone who knows me knows the terror I have when it comes to snakes. So you know I was not too thrilled to see this sign. Of course it was far too hot for the snakes to be out, we didn't see a one. I guess this is one way to keep people on the path (NOT).

I got off the path and saw this beautiful picture. I wanted to know what he was looking at so I had to get closer.

When I did I realized what this fella must have been thinking... How the heck am I gonna get down there? And why are they hanging on the side of the cliff like that? Is there room for three?

Once we got through the bulk of the Badlands which I consider "South Dakota's Grand Canyon" we started seeing the prarie dogs. They were so cute and I bought some unsalted peanuts to feed them. This one even posed for me. As you can tell he's had a few peanuts in his days, look at that pot belly.

Just before checking into our room we ran across the cemetary that is one of the reasons we came. My dad's family is from Custer SD and we wanted to see my grandparents graves. My real grandfather passed away when my dad was about 8 years old. We found his gravesite quicker than we thought considering I have not been here in 14 years and mom in about 17 years.

Not sure what the plans for tomorrow hold. Sometime this week we will see Mt. Rushmore; Crazy Horse and then who knows what from there. Keep an eye out and I'll try to post more pictures if I have time.

Things that happen while I'm gone

2009-08-28T15:48:00.005-04:00

I wrote some time back about the house in transition. Stefan is remodeling and I'll take off on a trip and come home and see all his hard work. A few weeks back I left and he was planning on putting up some new lamps on each side of the front door. This project was going to include adding some cedar shakes around the area as an accent. Least to say that project went a bit farther than planned.

Here is a picture of the house I took a while back (6-9 months back) and this is what it looked like for the most part when I left week before last. I came home to the bottom two pictures this week.

This is the new look.

Japan Trip

2009-08-25T07:53:00.004-04:00

I'm too lazy to write about anything this morning so I thought I'd share a few pictures from my trip to Japan a few years back. Both of these pictures were taken at Miyajima just out of Hiroshima.

The Road Home

2009-08-24T08:03:00.000-04:00

Last week I was in Portland and the airfare was too expensive to take the most direct route home. So to save about $600 on the airfare I took the route that had me stop in Minneapolis and Atlanta on the way home. For a few hours time to save that much seems worth it.

The day started out with the typical Delta Delays. We were an hour late leaving Portland due to runway construction and weather in Minneapolis. Four hours late leaving Minneapolis for Atlanta and one hour late leaving Atlanta to head home. Total delays in one day were 6 hours.

I gave up the thoughts of ever landing on-time a long time back. I make my reservations and plans to always be one hour late. It’s really a shame but I’m more accurate than the airlines and I don’t stress about when I’m getting there.

I did however have a fun experience that was a first for me. I actually had a coupon to use wireless internet on the plane. So I hooked up on the 2 hour flight from MSP to ATL and it was a lot faster than I expected. The good thing I figured out is that you can hit the wireless and go to Delta’s website for free. So I was able to see the status of my next flights, find out where we were landing and even could have re-booked a backup flight if necessary. I’d have never thought of internet on the airplanes when I started my travel career. I just hope they never allow phones.

Today I’m back on my way to Houston. My flight was on-time. I am meeting a co-worker in Houston and I arrive about an hour before him. This will be the day we will be ahead of schedule.

Portland Tour

2009-08-20T22:49:00.002-04:00

Well everyone I actually got out and about this week on my trip to Portland. The picture below was taken today in the Rose Gardens.

I thought these flowers were so beautiful. I want a huge mound of these at home. I love the bight yellow. This was taken outside the Rose Gardens.
This picture was taken in the Japanese Gardens there in Portland. This is one of my favorite places in Portland (along with about 20 other favorite places).
Here is Multnomah Falls. I find this place amazing and I can't go there enough.

Beaches Report

2009-08-19T22:03:00.000-04:00

Well this is my report from your favorite Restaurant in downtown Vancouver. I ate at Beaches tonight.

It’s really hot here in the Portland area today (about 96 degrees). Even so I sat outside on the patio overlooking the Columbia River. I really enjoy watching the boats and everyone playing on the river. It was so hot the poor birds were panting. I can’t say I knew they did that before today. They all had their little mouths open and some you could even see the deep breaths.

I should have taken my camera. I never have it when I want it the most. They have a pay phone up on posts out in the river with a sign to call in your order. Of course the phone is way too high and there is not enough room to pull a boat in. But it was one of those cute things I’ve never noticed before.

I had the Beaches House Salad which is wonderful. Then I had the Blackened Pork Chop with mixed grilled vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes.

I really like the waitresses at Beaches. They ask your name when you are there and from that point on they call you by name. I know they have to write this down somewhere to keep up with all the names each night. It’s just a really nice touch to the customer service. Then at the end of the meal they bring you a notepad with things people have written about the service they gave.

Beck this was a great suggestion you gave me all those months back.

A Day of Changes

2009-08-18T22:09:00.001-04:00

Well it’s been a while since I’ve updated everyone on what’s going on in my life. So I’ll start off with where I’m at! I’m in Vancouver, WA again. This is one of my favorite areas of the USA. I really love the Portland/Vancouver area.

Monday was the day of changes. I flew from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta and we were pulling up to our gate D22 to park when they changed our gate on us to C36. I had it all planned out because I was supposed to depart from E33 and I could walk it from the D concourse. I got off the plane and confirmed my gate of E33 and then when I got to the train I thought you might need to look at this again. Good thing because they moved the gate to T6. So that’s on the opposite end of the airport so off I went to the new gate.

I got there and I looked at the plane and I knew it was much larger than the 757 I had picked my seats on. So I asked the agent and sure enough they had changed our aircraft to the larger plane. I asked to be moved to a window like I had booked and the system had already done it. This was a fantastic change because I had been upgraded to First Class and this is the type aircraft they send back and forth across the Atlantic. The seats lay back farther than my recliner at home. I would say about 80 degrees. To get to the seat back pocket in front of me I had to unbuckle and get up. I was loving life.

Monday I got up at 3AM Eastern time to start my journey. I got to Portland at 11AM Pacific. I headed to Multnomah Falls first thing (it’s one of my favorite things to see up here). I then went to my motel checked in and took a nap. About 3:30 PM I got up and headed north to meet a few friends for dinner half way to Seattle. We had a nice dinner then I came back to my room last night and got to bed about 20 hours after my day started.

Now I’m on a scavenger hunt for a Dove candy bar that my client gave me today after lunch. I put it somewhere and can’t find it. I looked all through my laptop bag and it’s not there. So I figure it’s in my jacket pocket down in the car in the garage. So I’m going to need to head down there and see if its there. I sure hope not because it’s plenty hot here and I’d hate to think it’s in my nice suit coat melting. Then again.. I do really want this chocolate bar. Darn that sweet tooth..

Beck – I’ll have dinner for you at Beaches tomorrow night..

What a lazy blogger

2009-08-10T08:31:00.002-04:00

I know it’s been a week and I’m still uninspired to write. Last week was a good week mom came to Lufkin where I was working to spend the week with me. We really had a good time and I’m glad I have been assigned a place close enough she can come see me.

I caught a nice summer cold on the way home so the weekend was spent sniffling and sneezing. And today I am on my way back to Houston. Next week I get to head back to Oregon and I’m really excited to get that long flight again. It gives me time to write and do things I never seem to do on the shorter flights.

I had sworn off vacations this year to focus on the remodel at the house. Well this is a testament to my will power… I booked tickets to South Dakota and then later this year I’m heading off to Isla Mujeres. So much for not taking a vacation! Good thing I get all the frequent flyer miles and the costs are minimal. When I was able to secure my tickets to South Dakota for the lowest miles and $10 I thought I just have to do it.

So I will get to see the area my dad grew up in. I have not been there since 1995 when I went to my grandmother’s funeral. My dad was raised in the Black Hills in a town named Custer.

www.visitcuster.com

He always told me when he went into the military that he found out there were places you could live and not have the bitter cold. He never went back there to live, only to visit after that.

Well it wasn’t much to write about today and just the mixed up ramblings. At least you all know I’m still alive though.

Myrtle Beach Airport Bridge

2009-07-30T12:09:00.006-04:00

I’m back on my kick of not being inspired to write much. So I’m going to share a picture a friend of mine sent me this morning that made me laugh.

There has been a huge building project going on to build a new $46 million bridge across the Intercoastal Waterway in Myrtle Beach to make easier access to the airport. I am thrilled to report they opened this bridge about 2 weeks back.

Now mind you a project of this size and magnitude has plenty of checks and double checks to make sure things are done right. So my question is why didn’t they do a spell check on the city name and at least spell Myrtle Beach right?

I hope they put better quality work in the construction of the bridge than they did in the making of the road sign.

What are the Odds?

2009-07-29T08:21:00.000-04:00

I am working home office again this week (as you can tell from the lack of posts). I finally got myself to sit down last night to enter my expenses in for the previous week. This is a chore I don’t like even though it doesn’t take long and it’s not all that difficult. I try to make myself do it on Saturday but that slid into Tuesday.

The ritual goes something like this.

We enter our expenses on-line, assign the cost center to be billed, enter where we went and what we did. The system assigns a unique trip number. We have to write our personnel number and trip number on each page of our expenses we are sending in so they can be matched if they get out of order. We only have to send receipts in for items over a certain value which is higher than most meals I eat.

So I have devised a system that I enter just enough to get my trip started. I save it and paste that number into a Word document and print out about 8 pages with my trip and personnel number. This part I have down…

I go to print and there is not a single sheet of paper in the printer. Since this printer is networked to all computers in the house I figure there will be a line of things that have not made it there yet that will kick off. Strange enough my last print job just used the last sheet of paper. It’s happened before but not a common occurrence.

I move on to the taping down the receipts on the forms I just created so I can fax them to the expense department later. I pull out my tape dispenser and have just enough tape to tape down one small receipt. So it’s off on the search for another roll of tape. I get my roll of tape and continue the ritual.

I keep all my receipts even if they are below the value I have to turn in. I just want them if I ever get audited (which really has not ever happened, but I’m picky that way). So I generally staple them together and attach them to my reports that I faxed in. Wouldn’t you know the last staple was used earlier in the day. So off I go again on the search for staples.

I fax in my receipts and expense report (30 minutes later due to all the searching for supplies) and I’m ready to file them away in my shoebox file cabinet. I always highlight the date of the report so it’s easy to find if I flip through them. I reach over and grab a highlighter off my desk and the darn thing is out of ink.

Least to say I’m still looking for the cameras in my office. I’m sure this will show up on candid camera someday. I mean what are the odds of not having paper in your printer, tape in you tape dispenser, staples in your stapler or ink in your highlighter all in the same day.

Good thing that was my last task of the day.

If only I could sing

2009-07-21T07:59:00.003-04:00

If only I could sing I could probably write a few more songs about the airline industry. This guy has really put United Airlines on the spot with his issues. When you have 4 minutes if you have not see this it's worth the watch.

I need to get a guitar and learn to sing.

The following was sent to me in an e-mail about the video. There are some good articles about this guy's experience. I don't think United expected him to be able to reach over 3 million people in less than a month.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
The story of a Canadian musician whose guitar was allegedly damaged by United baggage handlers at Chicago O'Hare has become one of the most-talked-about aviation stories on the Web this week. Now, after going viral online, the story also has gone mainstream. The Chicago Tribune, U.S. national TV networks and a bevy of Canadian papers are among those to pick up the story during the past day.

The move shows just how quickly the Internet can help a disgruntled customer can turn the tables on a company and its effort to manage its public image.

As for the Tribune's take, United's hometown newspaper writes "Canadian musician Dave Carroll could have sung the blues after United Airlines workers at O'Hare International Airport smashed his guitar and the carrier refused to pick up the $1,200 cost to repair it.

Instead, he turned the experience into a witty ditty, 'United Breaks Guitars,' and scored an instant hit on YouTube, his first in a 16-year career." The Tribune adds that Carroll "spent hours reasoning with United agents in Chicago, New York and India" over a nine-month period, all to "no avail."

Carroll posted his United-themed song and video on YouTube early on Monday. As of this morning, it had been viewed nearly half-a-million times. The Ottawa Citizen notes "the song documents Carroll's woes and frustration with the airline's refusal to compensate him for his loss." Carroll performs the song on the video with his Nova Scotia-based band, the Sons of Maxwell. The Citizen adds Carroll -- via notes on his YouTube post -- "promised the last person to finally say no to compensation … that I would write and produce three songs about my experience with United Airlines and make videos for each to be viewed online by anyone in the world."

As for the other two songs, they're still coming, Carroll says. Still, the buzz generated by the first song is remarkable, even earning him a mention on CNN's "The Situation Room" yesterday. "Any day you’re on Wolf Blitzer’s screen in 'The Situation Room,' it’s a big day," Carroll is quoted as saying by the Los Angeles Times.

United, on the other hand, "is facing a PR nightmare after failing to resolve the issue," Benet Wilson writes on her Things With Wings commercial aviation blog. But, she adds "to its credit, United Airlines saw the error of its ways and is now trying to resolve the situation. And @UnitedAirlines was on Twitter explaining to its 15,603 followers on what it's doing for the guitarist and offering an apology." Damage control in an era of new media ...

And, Carroll's video could even lead to a better experience for other United customers, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "While we mutually agree this should have been fixed much sooner, Dave's excellent video provides us with something we can use for training purposes to ensure that all customers receive better service for us," United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski says to the Sun-Times.

DELTA – The true meaning

2009-07-20T11:51:00.000-04:00

DELTA = Delayed Through Atlanta. Let me tell you it’s so common that flights are delayed here that I’d be surprised if they left on-time.

Today I’m sitting at the gate on a flight that is already 1.5 hours delayed. They keep saying it’s because of a late inbound aircraft. Then they tell us it’s being towed over from the hanger and has to have security screening before we leave since it’s the first flight of the day. Mind you it’s NOON didn’t they know this flight was on the schedule? They sold 74 seats and 12 extras they don’t have.

I find it amusing to watch all the business travelers that are pacing around attached to cell phones freaking out that they are going to miss their meetings. All I can think is they should have booked the earlier flights if they had meeting today. I am obviously calloused to the whole situation.

Sad part is on Friday they did the same thing in Houston on the first flight out. They ferried over the WRONG plane and didn’t know until the crew got there. So they had to move the plane that was there and bring us the right aircraft.

I’m not a rocket scientist but don’t these Airlines have computer systems to help coordinate all this stuff. I trust these people to fling me through the air in a tin can at 30,000 feet and they can’t even get the right plane to the gate knowing full good and well what should be there and when. I understand delays for Maintenance and Weather. But for stuff like this it’s a bit ridiculous.

Things I see in a week

2009-07-18T09:59:00.006-04:00

I've been horrible about writing for some time now. I keep telling myself I'll get better but I guess the summer heat has got to me.

The past 7 days I've been gone. I flew to Houston and drove from there to my mom's house in South Arkansas (about 6 hours). I spent the weekend with her then went to work in Lufkin, TX about 1.5-2 hours north of Houston. Mom came with me and spent the week so it was nice to spend time with her.

When I first got to the Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport this statue was in the main lobby of the airport. Being Houston has NASA and Texas is known for cow I guess it's not a huge stretch to come up with this one.

Mom and I stopped to see the courthouse that is being restored in Marshall, TX. We were hoping it was ready for tours but it was not. The building is over 100 years old and they are restoring it to the way it was back then. To the extent of using art brushes to touch up painting, gold leaf. We peeked through the windows but figure it will be ready by Christmas.
The statue below is at the Marshall County Courthouse as well.

Now you've heard about all the Texas travel so you would think the picture below would have been takend in Texas. That's where you are wrong - it was at the Myrtle Beach airport when I got home. Who knew we drove around old Caddies with Horns. There are a lot of things I saw I didn't get pictures of. I'll try to do better in the future.

Not a lot to report

2009-07-12T13:35:00.002-04:00

I’m back at Mom’s in LA “Lower Arkansas”. I had home office last week and work in Lufkin, TX this upcoming week so I flew out Friday to Houston and drove 6 hours north to moms. I took a picture at the airport that I was planning on posting to the blog but I left my camera cable on my desk at home. Maybe next week I’ll get it right.

Instead I think I’ll post another picture from a trip I took to California a few years back.

One Year and an Eternity ago

2009-07-06T08:26:00.000-04:00

Last year I changed jobs over the July 4th weekend. I left a job that I had worked for almost 4 years to go back to my previous employer with a lot more travel. I left on July 3 from one job and started the new job July 7.

It seems like an eternity since I came back. I always say a month doing this type work feels like a year. You are running from place to place, week to week and the time just flies by. I have no idea how many air miles I’ve flown in the past year but I’d say it’s very close to 150,000. I know I’ve ping ponged cross country most of the year working in Los Angeles and Oregon. I started off in Houston for a few week last summer and back in that area for the 1 year mark.

Looking back it was the right move at the right time. It was a gut wrenching decision to leave a job I loved and leave people I truly cared about. Sometimes we have to spread our wings and go even if we don’t really want to do it.

Not much of a blog today… But it’s what happened a year ago in my life. Some mighty big changes that week.

Happy 5th of July

2009-07-05T09:12:00.000-04:00

I’ve been horrible about writing the past few weeks. I guess we all need time off at some point and this was mine. I’ll try to do better in the weeks to come; it’s not that I haven’t had ideas to write about just that I was too lazy to write them.

I had an unexpected day home alone yesterday. I was planning on going north of Wilmington, NC yesterday but plans changed at the last minute. So I ended up at home alone. I went for a walk in the park behind my house and spent about 2 hours over there. They have swings in the shade where you can watch the boats on the waterway. I watched those while listening to my iPod for about half an hour. Then I walked about 2 miles in the woods sitting along the side of a pond for a while then returning to my starting point watching boats come in and go out from the ocean.
I was really surprised that on the 4th of July how few people there were in the park. I doubt I saw 5 people the whole time. I guess everyone was at the beach which is where I plan on going in about half an hour.

Hope everyone is doing well and I’ll try to get another post out in a few days.

Finally a beach day

2009-06-22T08:53:00.001-04:00

I live so close to the beach and I’m too lazy to take the 5-10 minutes to drive over there. Well we decided to drive over there yesterday. It was a super hot day for us with temps in the upper 90’s. The water temps were 82 and it was just a wonderful day to wade in the water.

I got a few pictures to share. Things I just take for granted.

The tides were really high yesterday. This generally happens a few times a year and the marsh behind the house looks like a lake. This log has been in the marsh for sometime, it blew down in one of the many hurricanes and just floats around when the water is high. This white egret decided it was a fine place to stand and fish for a while. I got to sit from my bedroom and watch this for a while. I noticed it when I had started packing for my trip this week and just decided it was more important to sit and enjoy the beauty of home for a bit before I left.

Too lazy to write...

2009-06-16T08:32:00.004-04:00

When I'm at home it just seem so hard to get any inspiration to write. I guess it happens so rarely that I just want to enjoy home. That will be over starting next week when I start traveling to Lufkin, TX until the fall. I'll have a few weeks back in Oregon and at least one more week at home this summer but then it's over till the leaves change.

I thought since I'm so lazy the least I could do is post what's in bloom in the yard. Sue I have a pink Banana in there just for you. You did your post about all the different bananas I don't remember you talking about the pink ones. We dont' have a long enough season for them to get fully formed but I have little bunches of bananas every year off this plant.

Oh NO Not Again… Another Addiction!

2009-06-08T14:40:00.004-04:00

Anyone who has known me for a long time knows I have the addictive traits when it comes to certain things. Years back when I was in High School I was given a cigarette and as bad as I coughed and hacked with a little encouragement from my good friends I was soon to become a full fledged smoker for the next 24 years. I did finally kick the habit 8 years ago.

I’ve written about the wonderful tool Face Book and how great it is. I have met people I have not heard from in years. Many of them were my old High School friends from years ago. I have not been the best at keeping in touch and it was so much fun to hear from these people I have not heard from in 27 years.

Well those same corrupt kids from High School have done it again. They got me hooked on a game on Face Book called Farm Town. It seemed innocent enough when one of my old friends sent me a donkey, then another sent me a cherry tree and another sent me a horse. I though well they have already given me a start what can it hurt?

Let me tell you this game is addictive. It has everything you need to turn it into a daily ritual and yes an addiction.

1) You have levels and you can quickly move up the levels
2) Each level you move up there are nicer things you can buy
3) You can give gifts to friends for free (allowing you to hook them too)
4) The higher your level the nicer the gifts you can give (so you seem nicer)
5) You get trophies for doing things (yet another reward – I’m all about rewards)
6) You get coins for plowing, planting and harvesting
7) Depending on the seeds you plant how long it takes to harvest (4 hours to 3 days)
8) Crops will rot or die if you don’t get them (adding a sense of urgency)
9) You make more coins if you hire someone to help (promoting that networking with other junkies)
10) You can buy more land making it easier to move up to future levels

Let me tell you the developers of this game knew just what to put in it to hook people. The good thing is there is no cost other than your time. They show advertisements so they have a revenue source.

I have pulled myself though 23 levels and 8 trophies so far. I hope I can start limiting myself to only checking it a few times a day. You know that’s like saying I’ll only smoke a few cigarettes a day. Yeah right.

Here is what my farm looked like a week back.

Here it is today.

What happens around the house while I work?

2009-06-05T15:16:00.006-04:00

Well this is what I found a few minutes back when I went to go get coffee. No wonder she is up prowling around all night and waking me up in the morning.

There are not words to describe how jealous I am of these two right now... I want a NAP TOO!

What’s in the iPod?

2009-06-03T10:44:00.002-04:00

I have always loved music. My favorite genre is Country followed by Pop and R&B. It’s been a while since I have purchased a new CD. I have so many at home and to be quite honest there hasn’t been anything fresh that has caught my ear in a long time. I’m sure part of it is me and that I just have not looked for anything new in a while. I’ve been told it’s that I’m getting OLD.

I have been hearing a song on the radio quite a bit at home that I really liked (Better in Time). I finally decided to download it to my iTouch. It was from an artist I had never heard of named Leona Lewis. I listened to several songs on the album “Spirit” and decided that it was well worth the purchase of the entire album. Come to find out her CD has been out quite a while and she has several great songs on them.

She has some hits that have already hit the top of the charts, some I have yet to hear that I think will be big hits for her in the future. And there was even a remake of a song from my era “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”. She really slowed it down and it’s so relaxing to just lay back and listen to her version.

I didn’t have any stories that came to mind listening to this album, but if you enjoy pop music I would certainly suggest you listen to this album sometime.

Funny Job Experiences

2009-05-31T09:40:00.003-04:00

Years back when I lived in Oklahoma I didn’t make enough at my first job to support the lifestyle I wanted or needed. (My spending habits didn’t help matters either.)

So to support myself I worked two jobs most of the time and sometimes I even held three jobs.

One of the jobs I had was working at a Texaco convenience store. The pay was not great but wow the experiences I had were just too funny. It was at this job that I met some of the funniest people and strange ones too.

I saw my first Drag Queen; had to shut off pumps from boys not paying attention while gawking at a little hottie bent over filling up her sports car. It was a never ending trail of funny events. I had a guy that bought beer from me every day that claimed to be Vince Gill’s older brother. I challenged this guy to bring him by sometime since I loved his music. Much to my surprise it was his brother and I got some albums autographed by him.

I worked at Texaco stations all over the OKC area. And the one where this next story comes from was located in the perfect spot where there were to major interstates and a high volume street. We were so busy we had to have two people working all the time. One person stocking; cleaning; and helping take money during busy times. The other person basically stood there all day turning on pumps and taking money.

One afternoon there must have been a wreck on the interstate. I had worked all day and it was late evening. My co-worker was a black lady named Samantha. I told her if she would run get us dinner I’d pay for it. I had been working about 15 hours at this point and I was starving. So Samantha went to get us something to eat.

Right after she left this car drove up with four teenagers that had to be 16-17 years old. You could tell they were on a double date. The two boys came in the store and trying to shock me yelled out asking if we carried condoms. I told them they were on the wall and pointed to where they were. Of course they were packaged in thee packs.

They brought the package to the counter and put it down. I rang it up and they didn’t have enough money. So these young men went back out to the car and you could see them digging through ashtrays and glove boxes trying to get enough money to pay for the condoms. They came back in the store a little more humbled just to find out they were about five cents short. Of course at this point I’m feeling pitty on them and said not to worry about it.

One of the boys looked up at me and asked if they came in a smaller size. Being the quick wit I am and the lack of control when it comes to my mouth I popped right back and said “If these are too big maybe you shouldn’t be playing with them”. I knew he meant fewer in the package, but it’s not what he said.

The other boy could have crawled under the door after that comment. I knew from that comment if I had been turned in to the office I’d loose my job. I just felt that if they had nerve enough to write this one up it would be worth it.

Samantha seemed to be gone forever because I was so tickled it was all I could do to stand there and take money from the customers. The wreck had been cleared and our business was really picking up. When she got back I had to go to the cooler and just let it out. All she could hear was me in the cooler just howling. I finally pulled it together and came back to the counter.

Samantha dated a young white man about my age. So I told her the story and she stood there with a straight face and replied "It must have been white boys if the condoms were too small".

I was no good the rest of the night because I was chuckling the whole time. I’m sure it has as much to do with being over tired as the event.

I doubt I’ll ever forget this story.

Trip last week

2009-05-28T13:04:00.001-04:00

I’m not sure how all you folks write so often from home. I always get preoccupied and don’t ever sit down to write anything. You must be much more disciplined than me.

Last week on the drive from Arkansas to South Carolina I took a few pictures to share with everyone. One of those was in Birmingham, AL. We were on the loop around town and I saw this replica of the Statue of Liberty. It was so beautiful I had to share it with everyone.
On my post last week I told you I felt we had it made when we crossed the Mississippi River. On the way home I noticed that we saw the Kudzu again once we were on the East side of the river. They have it west of the Mississippi but not like we have in the east. This vine crawls all over everything and grows up to a foot a day. I don’t have pictures of it but someday I’ll have to get a picture and post it.

The girls were both very good on the trip. The cat “Pez” hates to get packed up and travel. Once we get her in the car she is really pretty good. She’s the only one with a bathroom on the road. Sheeot (the dog) is just as happy as can be if you put her near an AC vent. She spent a lot of her time sleeping in my lap and when she was not there she was between the seats with her head on my travel pillow.

I hope everyone is having a good week. I hope to get inspired to write more in the next few days.

Are We There Yet?

2009-05-25T19:27:00.003-04:00

I'm sure that's what Pez had on her mind as she watched the scenery go by.

Crawdads, Crayfish – Mudbugs and Southern Living

2009-05-22T17:17:00.004-04:00

I have had a nice welcome back to the country this week. When I was a young boy we lived out on this very farm with my grandparents. My grandmother was very sick so we moved a trailer next to the house and that was home for about three years from my 4th to 7th grade years.

I had a great time on this farm as a kid. Fishing in the pond; riding mini-bikes; and just being a kid in general. I remember the lighting bugs in the evenings and seining for crawdads (crayfish) to use as bait for bigger fish.

This week the crawdads (aka – crayfish / mudbugs) were building the towers they built when I was a kid. It’s something I have not seen in years and I am sure some of you may have never seen if you are not from the south. These mud towers show up all over the place this time of year.

I guess that’s why they are having the “Mudbug Madness http://mudbugmadness.com/ ” in Shreveport this weekend. Stefan wanted to be sure I reminded people that these are the same crayfish we eat in the south. For some reason he thinks that’s weird?

Sheeot and Pez have both had a good time this week. Sheeot has been able to run in the fields and be a farm dog. Pez even took a trip outside and under the house today which is unusual for her. They are adjusted just in time to head home.

The week is nearly over and we start our trek back to the east coast this weekend. We are going to stop in Atlanta and spend the night and have a shorter drive the last day on to South Carolina. Funny how quick the time has went. We arrived here a week ago today and it just doesn’t seem like we have been here that long.

Here are a few pictures of where we have called home this week.

DTV Transition

2009-05-20T20:22:00.002-04:00

Well we got mom all setup for the Digital TV transition that is due on June 12. Originally I thought this will be simple enough, we hook-up the converter boxes to the current TV; scan for channels and we’re done. How naïve of us to think that would be it.

Mom lives on the edge of nowhere and the nearest TV station is about 100 miles to the south of her. Now she is only two miles from the courthouse square in Magnolia. Cable TV is not provided outside the city limits (which mom is about 10 feet out of).

We have always used an outdoor antenna attached to the house. Years ago we got three TV stations, then it went down to two and a few weeks back she was down to one station. Thank God it was ABC. I would have had to rent a motel to see Desperate Housewives and Dancing with the Stars.

The thought of getting Satellite TV just turns mom’s stomach because the cost. Sure it starts out low, and then you have all the add-ons if you want TV in more than one room, then rate increases and having to depend on them. Her wish was to simply have her two TV stations that she has had for years. So she set the bar low enough we should be able to swing it off.

I hooked up the DTV box and scanned for new channels. Nothing! I think a few profanities to myself and try it on a different TV. Still Nothing.

Being on the edge of nowhere there are not many options for help. I break down and find Radio Shack who explains to me that you have to have both VHF and UHF antenna to get the transmissions. Well we don’t have the right antenna on the house so the project just mushroomed. So while we are there we do fact finding and are told we can’t use the old flat cords we had used and we also need to install coax cable.

We spent the better part of a day pulling cables in the house, and another day taking down the old antenna and putting up the new one. We ended up getting the basic two channels (3 & 6). But each channel sends multiple signals so channel 3 has three settings 3.1, 3.2 & 3.3. On one is ABC, the next is always local weather and the last is the local news that repeats over and over like CNN Headline News (only the local version).

Channel 6 has HD (High Definition) on one and SD (Standard Definition) on the other. Then in some rooms I get an additional channel with two digital numbers showing the same programs.

So now we are out $40 in converter boxes; $90 in a new antenna and $100 in coax cable and splitters. Mom decided she wanted a TV in her bathroom where she can watch while putting on her makeup. So she picked out a nice 19” HD TV. The picture in her bathroom is better than I get with Cable in my living room.

I also read on ( http://www.dtv.gov/ ) that many stations are not transmitting full strength right now. Once the conversion happens they will increase the signals. There is a wealth of information on the website. The only issue there is most folks who use antenna’s for TV don’t have computers or internet to read those websites.

I think this transition will leave a ton of people without TV. We just happened to be at moms at the right time to prevent her from having problems. I never expected it to be such a big ordeal. I think June 12 will end up being the real Y2K.

The Big Event - Magnolia Blossom Festival - Part 2

2009-05-19T09:07:00.000-04:00

OK, OK. I’ve been lazy and have not written about the second half of the Magnolia Blossom Festival / World Championship Steak Cook Off.

We went back to the square about 5:45 PM and stood in line to get our steaks. I heard there were 5000 steaks cooked and served. They let people enter from all four corners of the square and in less than an hour all the steaks are served and gone. The tickets are $15 and you get a salad, drink, baked potato, steak and desert. The steaks are 16 oz Ribeye’s.

Mom, Stefan my Aunt Jeanette and I all got our steaks and found a table. Jeanette’s twin JoAnn came to join us and we split up the food and she ended up with quite a meal too.

After the meal we went and found our spot for the announcements of the winners of the cook-off, parade and all that jazz. Then the concert started with Aaron Tippin. He was pretty big in country music in the Mid-90’s. He has since faded from the spotlight. He has his own recording label now and has a new album of trucker songs with some of the old trucking songs. He is a high energy concert to watch and it was a good show.

I’ve been playing lazy and not doing much on the computer. Yesterday we started working on getting mom ready for the Digital TV Switch over on June 12. It’s not as simple as they make it sound. I’ll write about that later.

The Big Event - Magnolia Blossom Festival - Part 1

2009-05-16T16:48:00.006-04:00

Well today’s the big day in Magnolia. The Blossom Festival is Friday and Saturday with most of the events taking place on Saturday. The festival started years ago as the “Arts Festival”. 20 years ago they added the “World Championship Steak Cook-off” which now takes up most of the festival.

We started off the day watching the parade of cookers going down Main Street. These are our chef’s for the big event this evening. They limit the number of cookers to 65 each year due to limited space on the square. They always have to turn teams away. So I guess that’s good.

The courthouse square (downtown) is where all the cookers are parked. The square fills up with the smoke and smells of the cookers. The art show is on the Courthouse Lawn and all the shops on the square are having a busy day with all the tourists. There were 4000 steak tickets sold at $15 each.

In addition to the parade there are car shows, dog shows, bike shows and all sorts of events. Below are some pictures of the parade and the car show. Later tonight we will go back for the steaks and the concert.

This cooker is a rocket, and as you can tell I didn't have a wide enough camera to get the whole thing.

The crowds were going wild. I'm sure this lady would appreciate her picture being on the internet.

Stefan found the car he want's to drive home.
This old Model A had the instruction manual and tools with it.

Well enough for now... Time for that nap. We have a long night ahead of us.

Greetings from LA - (Lower Arkansas)

2009-05-15T10:41:00.003-04:00

Well we have our 1,000 miles of driving behind us. The first night we drove from Myrtle Beach to Oxford, Alabama (about half way between Atlanta and Birmingham). We spent the night there and made the remainder of the trip yesterday. We took I-20 all the way to Minden, LA and then headed north from there.

Both the girls (Pez and Sheott) did well on the trip. Of course we had plenty of potty breaks along the way and treats were handed out. As you can see from the picture of Sheeot she was just fine with the trip. This picture was taken at the Welcome Center in Mississippi.

I’m not sure which travel is the hardest (business or personal). It was a chore getting the whole family ready to roll – generally I only worry about myself. I can tell you it was a nice change to travel by car instead of fighting my way through the airports. You get to see so many things on the ground along the way.

I always feel like I’ve made it when I cross the Mississippi river. We are still a long way from mom but after 800 miles a couple hundred more miles seems minimal. The river was up this trip I guess from all the rains up north. I’ve seen this river up to the tops of the levies before and it was not that bad but it was touching both levies and was plenty full.

Tomorrow is the big Blossom Festival in Magnolia. We will go watch the parade of cookers in the morning, then go see the art show. Later in the evening we will go have our Steaks at the World Champion Steak Cookoff. After that there is a concert with Aaron Tippin. That will be the kick-off to my week long vacation. We don’t have any huge plans other than to NOT WORK.

The next travel destination

2009-05-12T06:59:00.002-04:00

I am home office this week but I head out on vacation at the end of the week. I will be going to see mom in Magnolia Arkansas and going to the Magnolia Blossom Festival. This festival started as an art show years ago and my mom used to display some of her paintings there.

Through the years they have added the World Championship Steak Cook-off and many other events (concerts, dog shows, car shows, etc.). Last year we went back to this festival. It was the first time I had been there in 20+ years. Funny I’ll get to see two years back to back.

What people think I do on the road

2009-05-11T09:34:00.003-04:00

A few weeks back while watching TV the Residence Inn commercial came on. I asked Stefan if this was what he thought my life on the road was like. He told me he was certain this is what life on the road is like.

I can tell you it’s not quite like this. First off there is not a curtain rod made out there that could hold me. And I’m pretty sure there is not a Residence Inn with ceilings that high. I guess I might need to change brands and give this a shot sometime.

And Beck - Thanks for the instructions on how to post "Youtube" links on my Blog. I guess you can tell they made sense to me.

What’s in the iPod? – Gladys Knight

2009-05-10T07:42:00.004-04:00

I wrote the words to this song in a Mothers Day card to my mom some years back. The song is called “You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me”.

Gladys Knight picked a line out of the song “between each line of pain and glory” to become the title of her autobiography.

Every time I hear this song I think about my mom. She has dedicated her life to me. She has seen me through good times, great times, bad times and sad times. She has been my biggest fan and my harshest critic. She has seen me through relationships, break-ups, trying to find my beliefs and coming to terms with myself. She has been there to support me through financial hardships and seen me gain my own financial independence. She has watched me grow from a boy to a man. And over the years we have become more than Mother and Son we have become Friends.

My mom is quick to tell me she is proud of me and that she is glad she has me as a son. In previous blogs I have written about how much it helps to have a cheering squad. The encouragement never stops from her. There are so many children out there that are not as fortunate as me. Many moms don’t have the time to give their children. I consider myself very lucky that my mom had the time and the desire both.

I am very proud of my mom. The kindness she shows everyone puts her in a special place. She is quick to lend a helping hand to family, friends and even strangers. Even to this day in her 70’s she takes time from her life to drive people places that can’t drive for one reason or the other. She will hop on an airplane and fly to my house to watch animals and when she is there she is a non-stop Eveready Bunny cleaning, washing dishes/laundry or cooking.

After reading all of this, read the words to the song and you will know why it holds a special place in my heart.

You’re the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me – Gladys Knight

I’ve had my share
Of life’s ups and downs
But fate’s been kind
The downs have been few

I guess you could say
That I’ve been lucky
I guess you could say
That it’s all because of you

If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
You’ll be there
Between each line of pain and glory

Because you’re the best thing
That ever happened to me
You’re the best thing
That ever happened to me

There have been times
When times were hard
But always, somehow I made it
I made it through

Because for every moment
That I’ve spent hurting
There was a moment
That I’ve spent just loving you

If anyone should ever write my life story
For whatever reason there might be
You’ll be there
Between each line of pain and glory

Cause you’re the best thing
That ever happened to me
You’re the best thing
That ever happened to me

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there that read my post. I’m sure you have children that can agree that you are between each line of pain and glory in their lives; and that you are the best thing that ever happened to them too.

It’s Cheaper to Bribe Housekeeping

2009-05-08T05:51:00.004-04:00

I wrote earlier this week about how much I loved the shampoo that the Embassy Suites leaves in the room. I also stated I could not find it to purchase anywhere. Of course I was told to GOOGLE-IT and given a post where I could buy it.

Once I saw the price of $24.95 plus $7.95 for shipping making the 16 oz bottle cost $32.90 or $2 per ounce. I decided it was cheaper to bribe the housekeeping staff.

So each day I left a few dollars as a tip. I wrote a note thanking the housekeeper for the extra shampoo and asking if they would please leave more. Positive notes and saying Thank You can open a lot of doors and get you a lot of things.

The haul this week was pretty good…

20 Shampoos
15 Bars of Soap
9 Hand Lotions
7 Conditioners
7 Extra Coffee Packets
6 Extra Bottles of water

Now mind you I only asked for Shampoo. So all the other stuff is “BONUS”.

Not only did I score with my BONUS - my room was in perfect shape every day. Not a speck of dust, no streaks on the mirrors, etc. I mean my room was sparkling clean from top to bottom. I always had fresh towels and every detail in the room was covered.

And for roughly $10 I have quite a haul to take home. Oh and the shipping and handling is free since I am Platinum on Delta and I can check my bag for free. Mind you I never check a bag but since I have so much liquid I’m going to have to today.

Here’s a quick peek at my haul this week. Those who know me well know I don’t pass up a freebie. So you can get a good laugh at my haul.

Like they say.. Once a Ho, always a Ho.

Who’s in the seat next to you?

2009-05-07T20:40:00.002-04:00

I have found through the years I’m not as social as I used to be. In the past when I traveled I was the little jabbery kid in the seat next to you. I would introduce myself and visit with you (if you’d let me). Through the years I have become the grumpy old business traveler who finds his seat and minds his own business. Actually I guess I would make a good kid now "don’t speak unless you are spoken to."

The company I work for is a worldwide company and we have employees all over the place. A few weeks back I sat in my seat and shy of Hello I flew from Atlanta to Orange Counta. Just before landing the lady in the seat next to me started visiting with me. Come to find out she worksfor the same company and works for one of my old bosses I had 10 years back in Chicago. Talk about a small world. If only we had started talking sooner I might have some dirt on someone.

The next week the lady in the seat right behind me saw me reading material from work. After I was done reading and putting things away she asked me which division of the company I worked for. Come to find out there is another person on a flight with me cross country from the same company.

I’m not above visiting with a person in the seat next to me if they speak first. I think that’s the way most business travelers are these days. We are heading to our destinations; we are busy and just try to mind our own business.

You can really meet some neat people on airplanes. On my trip to Portland I sat next to a gentleman who had a great accent. I asked him where the accent was from. He was from the Netherlands. He was a salesman that sells flower bulbs from Holland to distributors. He lives in the US now and has started his new life. I find it amazing when a person can pick-up and move to another country and start a new life. It takes a strong person to do this and I have known quite a few in my life that have done it.

On my way home from Portland I sat next to a lady who's 85. She was from Prague. We talked about her life in Czech Republic and how she ended up in the US. Her story was one worth hearing. She had moved from Prague to Chicago and a few weeks after that her home country was taken over and became a Communist state. Can you imagine leaving your country and having the government overthrown like that? Czech Republic was under communist rule for 40 years until the 80’s. This lady was going home to meet friends of hers she had not seen in years.

This lady’s story only begins here. She showed me a picture that was taken the week before where she had been snow skiing on Mount Hood. She had her first and only child when she was 40 years old. Her Husband lived to 96. During their life together she had lived in Central, South and North America. We chatted off and on for the entire trip from Portland to Atlanta. If I can be as healthy as this lady at 85 I have no problems living that long.

I probably seemed to be a very smart person to her because I had just watched a travel channel special about Prague so I knew much more about her country than most people know. It was just dumb luck on my part that I'm like to watch TV.

The next week I sat next to a man from Toronto who was returning from Cancun. We didn’t speak much until we were almost to Toronto. I mentioned we were over Lake Erie and about to fly over Niagara Falls. From there on we had a conversation just to find out we are in the same industry. Him in Canada and me in the USA. Geez how many healthcare software consultants can there be out there?

This week I was right back to my grumpy old self and didn’t talk to the person in the seat next to me. So instead I spent that energy on my co-workers and playing once I was on the ground.

South Beach

2009-05-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

What a busy week in South Florida.

To start off I am traveling with co-workers I have never worked with before. I knew the names of two of the people but had never worked with them. To be quite honest I could not have told you what they looked like before our trip this week. The other was someone I had never met at all but have spoken on the phone with. Funny one of the people I met for the first time is our new Director.

Tuesday we started off having lunch together so we would know what each other looked like before we went on-site to the client. It’s funny but when you work remote and travel all the time it’s not uncommon that you work with people for years and never know what they look like.

At the end of the day they asked me if I wanted to go with them to South Beach which is about an hour south of where we are. It’s really nice when your in a group you tend to see more things. I didn’t take my camera because I had been to South Beach before and I didn’t want to look like the tourist. That was a HUGE mistake.

One of the co-workers had a friend that owns a condo on South Beach and I didn’t know we were going to look at the condo. It was about 20 stories up overlooking the ocean. The view was so wonderful. The condo had Italian marble and was decorated just perfect. I felt bad about walking on the floors because the whole condo had less dust in it than my laptop bag.

From there we walked South Beach and had dinner at a very nice dinner at Caffe Milano. It was nice to sit and get to know everyone on the team.

Then tonight I had dinner with a co-worker I had not seen in about 5 years. We worked on the implementation team several years before I left and came back to the company. She lives here in Boca Raton and I could not pass through without having dinner with her one night.

Tomorrow night I’m having dinner with a co-worker from last job. I have not seen her in over a year and I’m looking forward to just sitting back and catching up.

As you can tell the South Florida trip has been jam packed with stuff to do. Too bad I’m expected to work full days down here. Who has time for that when there are so many people to visit?

Weeks like this remind me why I enjoy working on the road. There are times we get beat down on the road and cop an attitude about how tough it is. But there are very few people who work the 9-5 jobs that get to see and do what I do. This week has been one of those rare treats on the road. I wish I had pictures to share with everyone.

All Four Corner's

2009-05-04T20:39:00.001-04:00

As of today I have hit all four corners of the country in a month. One month ago I was in the Los Angeles area, then Portland, Toronto and today Palm Beach, FL. I am really glad to be back in South Florida. When I worked at my last job I got to come down here quite a bit since we had three facilities in Florida.

I am staying at the Embassy Suites this week which is one of my favorite chains. They provide a cooked to order breakfast (food wins my vote every time). There is also a happy hour each night (wasted on me). You always have two rooms, one with eating area and couch and a separate bedroom. I am on the top floor and the ceilings are always higher on the top floor. These are about 12 feet. They actually have the rooms decorated very nice with accent walls.

The Embassy has the best shampoo. It’s a Rosemary Infused shampoo by Bloom. I can’t find it anywhere to buy so you know I’ll be lifting as much as I can to haul home.

Where did that Finish Line go?

2009-04-29T15:46:00.002-04:00

Well the decision was made for me whether to stay or go. I got out early enough to go home early but the cost to change the airfare was over double the cost of staying the night.

So I guess the plan now is:

-Kick back, relax and enjoy the motel room tonight
-Have a nice dinner
-Go home bright and early tomorrow

It could be far worse. It could be snowing and cold like January.

I can see the finish line

2009-04-29T06:50:00.000-04:00

I’m winding down my week in the Hamilton/Toronto area today. This week has flown by. I never seemed to know what day it was all week though. Generally we don’t fly to work on a Sunday so I’ve been a day off ever since I got here. Monday seemed like Tuesday; Tuesday like Wednesday and so forth.

The agenda today goes through noon. I didn’t realize that when I booked my travel to go home tomorrow morning. There are flights out this evening that I might be able to catch that would get me home tonight. That’s providing we finish on time with the agenda. I decided not to make that decision until this afternoon so I would not feel rushed. Hamilton is not that far from Toronto but the traffic can be a huge factor.

I have mixed feelings about heading home tonight. I want to be there, but I never get the chance to enjoy the nice motel rooms when I’m on the road. They are simply a place to sleep, shower and get ready for work. The thought of kicking back at the Hilton, having a nice dinner and taking it easy tonight sounds like a very good option.

The other issue with making a change like this and making last minute travel arrangements is the special security they put you through. Generally it will make you a selectee for additional screening. I battle with whether or not it’s worth it to have them do a special check on my bags, give me the ever so gentle frisk, etc..

I know my nature and I’m sure I’ll rush around and try to catch that earlier flight home.

At home today Stefan is having carpet put down in the new bedroom he built. So we will be able to move the bedroom from the old room to the new room and start the remodel on that room. I will be so excited to see a room in the basement that is clean and useable.

Tomorrow the appraiser comes. I had a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) and they sent me a letter stating the house values had dropped so they were reducing the credit line. Least to say they do not have all the improvements included in the valuation they performed with the Magic 8 ball they used. So to keep my line of credit where I want it they said get the house appraised and if it comes in high enough they will pay for the appraisal and re-instate my line of credit. I don’t have to have the line of credit, but I just like to know it’s there if I need it.

So even though I’m never home there’s always a whirlwind of activity there.

It’s been a good week and I’m glad to be to Hump Day. It seems more like the end of the week. Too bad it’s not I could use a 4 day weekend.

Here in Hamilton, ON

2009-04-27T06:52:00.001-04:00

Well I made it to Toronto last night with no problems. I flew in on USAirways instead of Delta. They come in to a different terminal and it’s huge. All the immigration folks were wearing masks over their faces. So I guess they are taking the swine flu very serious here, that was strange to see. Funny Hertz had my car and I never had to stop.

I found my place here in Hamilton and already scoped out the food… The Keg Steakhouse is just up the street, the Swiss Chalet is the other direction and Tim Hortons coffee is next door. So I have found all my necessities for the trip. Now I just have to find the client site.

North Myrtle Beach Fire Update

2009-04-26T12:50:00.002-04:00

I have had several people write to check on me the past few days with the fires burning in North Myrtle Beach. The fires are still burning and as of this morning they say the fires are 85% contained. The 15% that is not contained is on the NE corner which unfortunately is the direction I live from the fires.

The house is about 7-8 miles from the fires so I would hope they get them contained before they reach my area. When I flew home on Friday I was on the wrong side of the airplane to see the fires. They had my typical route home closed off (Hwy 31) and I had to take the route right through town (Hwy 17). It’s slower but about the same distance. I didn’t see or smell any of the smoke.

Yesterday I was able to sit on the patio and work for a few hours. I did see a helicopter with the water bags under it flying down the waterway. I assume they were heading to the fires. This morning on the way to the airport the smoke was very heavy starting at Main Street in North Myrtle Beach for about 7-8 miles. Then it cleared up.

The local newspaper has some good maps and photos of the damage here. There are 70+ homes destroyed and another 30+ that are not structurally sound enough to live in.

http://www.thesunnews.com/

Maps of the fire with pictures and video can be found at:
http://www.thesunnews.com/news/local/story/872218.html

Some people have had problems getting to the Sun News website so I have included a map so you can see how close it is.

Beck this post is for you… Beaches!

2009-04-23T22:34:00.004-04:00

Well I told you I was going to go eat at your favorite place in Vancouver, WA this week. And that I did. It was a great suggestion and I’ll give you the blow by blow you wanted.

For those of you not familiar with this area there is a Restaurant called Beaches that sits right on the Columbia River. You can watch the boats going up and down the river as you are having your dinner. It’s a beautiful setting and the food is good too.

I walked in wearing my snazzy outfit with my PINK tie. Of course the hostess was right on that telling me how nice it looked. I reminded her it takes a real man to wear pink and pull it off. She assured me I did it. Least to say she won me over right there.

They sat me on the window where I had a beautiful view of the river. I guess I should have taken my camera in with me. Oh well I was not going to go back to the car and get it.

The waitress came to my table and the conversation went like this… Hey my name is Alisha what’s your name? I replied it was Bennie. From that point on she called me by name like a long lost friend.

I could not make up my mind what to eat so Alisha asked the types of food I liked. I told her anything that didn’t swim. Her suggestion was a Greek Chicken and a few other things. I picked the chicken and it was a really good pick. The sides were spaghetti squash with carrots and zucchini and garlic mashed potatoes. I was very pleased with the meal – Beck you were right it was great.

As I was eating the place got busy and the table next to me had a kid about 7ish. They brought him a kids meal in a sand bucket like you would have on the beach. The bucket was filled with toys to entertain him until his meal came. It was fun to watch his face light up and it worked he played quietly until his meal was delivered.

At the end of the meal Alisha delivered my check in a notebook. She asked me to write any comments in her notebook. She left this notebook with many customers and I read a few of the comments. It was something I have never seen done before but what a nice way to get feedback. Of course all of it was positive, so someday she will get to look back at these nuts that wrote in her book.

So Beck… That’s the blow by blow for you! Great suggestion too.

What’s in the iPod? – Here you come again…

2009-04-22T09:20:00.000-04:00

OK, OK… I’m not really listening to this right now but it is somewhere on my iPod. I think the Canadian Immigrations should be singing this to me when I show up next week. I found out late last night that I am heading back to Ontario, Canada. A different place but I’ll be using the Toronto airport again. This trip I’ll be in a city at the end of the lake… Hamilton, Ontario.

Pray that I have good weather… No Snow, No Snow, Please No Snow.

You would know that I did a good job and spent all my Canadian money last trip. So I’ll have to stop and get cash again. I guess next time I should just keep it instead of trying to spend it all.

Home away from home...

2009-04-20T20:29:00.004-04:00

I can already tell this is going to be a great week. The weather here in the Portland area is Sunny Skies mid to upper 70's. The trees and flowers are all in bloom. Hertz upgraded me to a Cadillac DTS and Hilton put me in my standing room (549).

Here are some pictures I took today. The tree below was at the hospital and greeted me when I drove in the parking lot.

When I checked in at the Hilton the kids were all playing in the water in the park across the street. All you can hear are joyous laughs and screams from excited kids.

Another picture of the park.

I love looking out at these trees from my room. Everyone is in the park today on blankets, reading books, having picnics. Seeing this you know that Spring is officially here.

The flowers in the park were stunning in the sunlight. I so love the tulips, and they have already faded at home. It was nice to see them again.

It may be a boring post... But it's so nice to see spring...

Weekend Update

2009-04-20T05:26:00.003-04:00

My computer appears to be fixed. Dell came out on Friday and replaced the motherboard. I am crossing my fingers still. I am really hoping it is fixed, that whole penmanship practice thing didn't happen this weekend.

The weekend was a busy one. I read some paperwork from work and prepared for my trip to Vancouver, WA this week. The weekends always seem so short compared to the work week. And 3AM came awful early this morning (seemed much earlier than usual).

Stefan has completed the new deck railing off the bedroom. It will need painted but we need to let the treated wood dry some before we paint it. I can’t believe the designs he comes up with, it looks so great. Here are pictures of the view from my deck and the new railing he built this weekend.

Technical Difficulties…

2009-04-16T10:11:00.001-04:00

It’s been a fun week so far. The techie person is having technical difficulties with his laptop. I think it’s a power supply going bad. Who knows… I’m not the hardware guy, I’m the propeller head that works with the software.

It started on Monday when my laptop just shut off on its own. So I take it as a fluke and turn it back on and keep working. Tuesday when I started my computer again it ran for a few hours and shut off again. Now it’s not looking as much like a fluke as a problem. Well after it happened the third time I gave up and called the help desk and submitted a trouble ticket. By this time the computer would not turn on at all.

I was quick enough to get all my files off my computer to an external hard-drive. Ran a virus scan and scanned for spyware just incase there were gremlins that made it into my computer. Both scans came up clean which is not a surprise to me since I never go anywhere iffy on the internet.

Wednesday morning I get a call from the help desk telling me they have sent the ticket to a local technician and I should hear from him in the next hour or so. They didn’t realize that I was a remote employee and not in the office. So once that was added on I was given a phone number and name.

My computer ran all day yesterday until the end of the day when it started shutting down again. I have yet to hear from the technician and I have left several messages on his voice mail. I’m hoping they have not assigned it to someone on vacation. That would be my luck.

Next week I am on the road to Oregon again. If I don’t have my laptop I’ll be stuck with the old fashioned way of working (Pen and Paper). A friend of mine told me to practice my penmanship. Little does she know I haven’t practiced that in 25 years. I just hope I can read my notes if I have to take that route.

It’s funny how dependant we have become on technology. I haven’t traveled without a laptop in 10 years except when I was on vacations overseas or on a cruise. So it will be strange if I don’t have one.

The good part is I will be able to access my e-mails using web mail from other peoples computers. I just have to find computers I can hijack while I’m on the road.

Rotten Reservation Week…

2009-04-14T12:37:00.002-04:00

As much as I travel I am lucky that I rarely have issues with my travel reservations. I find when I have troubles traveling it’s all or nothing that week. Last week was one of those weeks.

My trip took me from Myrtle Beach, SC to Santa Ana, CA. The week was a shorter week than normal with me flying home on Thursday. My site visit was 50 miles northeast of the airport I arrived at. To prevent any traffic related issues I stayed in Riverside at the Marriott the first two nights then the last night returned to Santa Ana to spend the night at the Hilton next to the airport.

Sounds simple right?
- A flight
- A car rental
- Two motel reservations

This should not be too complicated for a frequent traveler to pull off. I guess this was not my week. It was my turn to have the travel week that falls apart at the seams.

I got to the Marriott and my reservation was not in the system. So I dig out my confirmation number and they look it up. For some reason it was in the master Marriott system but not at the local facility. So about 20 minutes later they got me checked in to a room. Generally it takes just a few minutes to check in. It also happened to two other co-workers of mine that checked in after me. So I write it off to the local hotel.

I move down to the Hilton Irvine/Orange County Airport to find my reservation is not in the system. Again I pull out my confirmation number to find out my reservation was for the 04/06/09 instead of 04/09/09. They are sold out and have no rooms. They forced the system to get me a “conference room” that had a fold out couch. Least to say the room was huge with a table that seated eight people, a kitchen and bar area. The TV was a flat panel about 50” and I had two bathrooms.

If you don’t show up for your reservation you get hit with a charge for a “no-show”. All the years I’ve traveled I don’t think I’ve ever had a “no-show” charge. At least not one that was caused by me… I’ve had times when my flight did not get me to my destination and I’d call and cancel. But to never let the hotel chain know is just out of character for me.

So I do the best thing I can and handwrite a note to the Hotel Manager begging forgiveness and asking them to bend the rules and credit me the no-show charge. In my note I plead my case and noted that I would call her when I get home and find out the result.

I got home and the next day I was called by the manager who told me that they would not waive the no-show charge for me. I was really surprised with as much business as I give the Hilton chain that they would be so harsh in the reply. She explained that I cost them revenue by not showing up. I find it highly unlikely that they left that room vacant after a certain time but I don’t have any way to confirm that suspicion.

Considering the no-show charge was $175 I just couldn’t let go that easily. I really felt they could have worked with me to negotiate a lower rate or something. I decided to call the Hilton corporate line and ask them. I didn’t hide the fact that I had tried to take it up with the local facility when I was explaining the situation to them. The lady I spoke to was very helpful and told me the local facility is who makes these decisions and that she would write the District Manager on my behalf and ask them to re-consider the charge based on my 10 year history with the Hilton chain.

Over the weekend I get a call from the same lady at the local facility telling me the same thing. Not going to happen, I cost them money.

So I replied back to the corporate office and explained the reply I got from the local facility. The corporate office told me they will make the one time exception and with proof of payment for the room they will send me a check for the $175.

I have to say I was not impressed with the local facility and will not stay there again unless it’s the very last option. Hilton corporate certainly made me feel good about how they handled the situation. They very well could have lost a good customer, but they did the right thing.

I’m glad I got my bad travel week out of the way. The last one I had that was all out of sorts was about 2 years back going to Reno, NV. That trip must have had the build-up of several years for all the things that went wrong on that trip. I’ll write about it sometime.

Good thing I’m home this week… Maybe I should double check my reservations for next while I’m home. You can bet I’ll add a new check to be sure I don’t transpose my dates in the future.

It’s a small world…

2009-04-07T09:09:00.004-04:00

I really never think about Canada being its own country. I know it... But I just never really think of them being another country because there are so many similarities. When your there you feel like you are in the US except when they get on politics and start talking Prime Ministers and all that.

I did notice a few differences of the words they use. I’m a horrible speller and when I catch a word that’s misspelled you know something is wrong. This week I was reading documents with some obvious spelling differences:

Favourite –vs- Favorite
Centre –vs- Center
Chequing –vs- Checking

These were just a few of the differences I noticed. They also have a much more polite way to refer to the toilet calling it the “Wash Room”. Doesn’t that sound really nice? Much better than the English version of Loo.

One of the things that impressed me the most last week was the variety of people from around the world. It’s really amazing how small the world is there in Toronto. It’s truly a melting pot with people from every corner of the earth.

To give you some idea there were four people I worked with last week that have family around the world. One has two daughters in England, another has a husband from South Africa, another has a child in college in Australia and another has a wife in India waiting to come to Canada.

Conference calls can be a challenge at times when you have a heavy Indian accent talking to someone who primary language is Canadian French and a southern fella trying to keep up. Thank god I have co-workers to bail me out here and there.

My meals last week included American, Indian, Chinese, Italian and Cajun food. I didn’t have time to eat my way all the way around the world... But I gave it a darn good shot. Of course you know my favorite meal was a nice steak and twice baked potato at the Keg Restaurant.

The type of food I found missing was Mexican Restaurants (one of my favorite – or should I say favourite meals). I’m sure they are there but I just didn’t see them on every corner like at home.

I find it truly refreshing to meet people from around the globe. We all have a story to tell from our lives. That’s the beauty of the blogs I’ve started reading this year. We are all telling our stories from different viewpoints from all over the world.

This past week there were several blogs I read that made me smile, laugh, choke up and even a tear come to my eyes. I read about: a crazy co-worker (we all have them, but I think this one takes the prize); a special child who gave hair to Locks of Love; a company lay-off; a remodel project going on in Mexico (which had a funny, funny picture of a Cat sprawled out taking a nap with a Doberman); pictures from New England and another teaser that is telling me about a friends trip to Norway.

The jet age and the internet have shrunk our world. We can read things instantly from any corner of the globe, and there are not too many places over an 18 hour flight. I’ve memorized international phone numbers of friends (who knew I'd ever have to do that).

When I was 20 I would have never believed what I see and take for granted today. Who knows what the children of today will see in their lifetime.

Spring Fever Continues

2009-04-05T16:21:00.006-04:00

I thought I’d share a few photos of what the South looks like this time of year. When I first moved here 14 years back I was so amazed at the trees and flowers that bloomed in the spring. Over the years I have not been as appreciative of the beauty here as I was my first few years. I guess my trip to Toronto when it was so cold this year made me appreciate home that much more.

The tree below is a Cherry tree near my mailbox. It’s so beautiful when the sunlight is on all the blooms. And it doesn't hurt to have the "Carolina Blue" skies in the background either.

The azalea below is in my front yard to the right of my stairs. It’s starting to be crowded out by another bush. I think this year I may need to do some pruning to make sure it does better next year. The bright red blooms on this bush are wonderful.

This little dogwood started growing in my dirt driveway a few years back. I have this love for the dogwood trees here and I couldn’t just dig it up and let it die. The dogwood has passed its prime for the blooming but it’s still great to see a small twig I planted in the ground make it into a real tree.

I have enjoyed my short weekend home. I got in around 8PM on Friday and I head out to the airport at 5AM tomorrow. It’s off to California again. I am flying into John Wayne Airport (Santa Ana). This is a great little airport and you don’t have to deal with the hustle and bustle of the LAX airport.

My Last Full Day in Toronto

2009-04-02T23:05:00.003-04:00

I ended up working much later than I planned today so I didn’t make it to downtown before the sun was going down. But I forced myself to go even though I knew it would be getting dark when I got there.

I went to the top of the CN Tower. The first level of the tower is 114 stories where there are three levels. The bottom level has a glass floor in a section where you can see all the way to the ground. I really wasn’t sure if I could walk on it, but I was actually able to do it. Considering I can’t climb a ladder or walk on a roof without freaking out I thought I did quite well.

I took the extra elevator up to the Sky Pod which is 1465 feet or 147 stories up. This is much higher than the Sears Tower where they take you to the 103 floor. And it’s higher than the World Trade Towers were in NYC. I’ve been to the top of both of those and neither were quite this high. Too bad I didn’t get there before the sun went down. They say you can see the curvature of the earth from up there. All I saw was a city that went on and on in the distance.

I took several pictures of the downtown area from the top of the tower. The one below is the best of what I got. Maybe someday I'll learn how to take good pictures after dark.

Once I got out of the tower I headed back to where I am staying up in the Richmond Hill area and had a nice dinner. I’ll write more about the trip over the weekend or next week. I have had several ideas of things to write about from up here and just have not had time to write them.

This Weeks Daily Drive…

2009-04-01T15:34:00.002-04:00

I am still in the Toronto area and I have not made it downtown to the CN Tower yet. I doubt I’ll make it tonight since I’m tired. Last night I worked until 9:30 PM and started again this morning at 7:30 AM. I hope to get downtown tomorrow and see this building. I hear they have a glass floor at the top and you can see to the ground. Not sure I could handle walking on that floor with my fear of heights. But I am able to fly, stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon and take a Hot Air Balloon ride. So maybe I can.

I don’t have anything really interesting to tell everyone. So I decided I’d take a picture of a Cathedral that I pass everyday on my way to work. It’s called “Cathedral Town” and it’s located on the 404 North between Richmond Hill and New Market Ontario.

This building is quite imressive to see on the side of the road. And to think this is NEW construction that has not opened yet.

Welcome to Toronto!

2009-03-30T22:04:00.005-04:00

Well my last trip to Toronto is what started my writing of the blog. It was my experience with the Mini-Cooper, Hertz and Cold, Cold weather. It was one of the posts I enjoyed writing the most. And once I was able to look back and laugh I was really glad I wrote it down.

This trip has had some similarities and many differences.

The differences…
1) I got a SUV (GMC Envoy) instead of a roller-skate (Mini-Cooper)
2) I could see the ground (NO SNOW)

The similarities…
1) The Immigration process is still nerve wracking. I entered and some familiar questions are asked…

a) What’s the purpose of your trip? Business
b) What company do you work for?
c) Who are you working with?
d) Do you have work papers?
e) Are you here as a consultant? NO
f) What are you here doing? Supporting a go-live

For those not familiar with going back and forth between the US and Canada for work. It’s frowned upon to use the word Consultant. He tried to trick me this week into saying that’s what I was here for and I knew better. I was so grateful I made it through without any hassle. Again, it’s one of my worst fears traveling on business – Immigrations. It never bothers me for pleasure.

2) I sail through customs since I have nothing to declare.

3) Hertz still has no cars ready when I get here. I have to wait for them to bring me a car. What a pain – they never have enough cars at Hertz in Toronto. If you travel to this area consider this a warning, if you don’t want to wait choose another rental car agency.

4) Traffic - Very Heavy Traffic...

My drive takes me out of the Toronto Pearson Airport on 409 East to 401 East to 404 North. If you have ever been to this area you know how big these interstates are. If you are not from the area these roads are HUGE and CONGESTED.

They have what they call collectors and express lanes. Every three exits there is an entrance and exit from the express lanes. There are signs that tell you if the collector or express lanes are moving good or slow. The answer today in Five O'Clock traffic was... Slow, Very Slow.

I am always amazed at how much traffic there is here. Where the 401 and 400 cross there were 8 lanes going both directions. It reminds me of Atlanta where I-75 & I-85 join to go downtown.

I thought with all this traffic I’d look-up some statistics about Toronto and post them.

Toronto Stats:

Greater Toronto Area – 5,555,912 (2006)

Toronto is part of what they call the “Golden Horseshoe” which wraps around the end of Lake Ontario. This area has an inner and outer ring, but the population in this surrounding area is 8.1 million people roughly 25% of the population of Canada.

Toronto is the 5th most populous municipality in North America.

The diversity of the people is shown with 49% of the population being born outside Canada.

I hope I get time this week to get out and get some pictures. I really want to go downtown and see the CN tower.

I was not kidnapped, or abducted by aliens…

2009-03-30T11:23:00.000-04:00

I know it’s been a while since I have written. I know several people have asked if I was abducted by aliens or kidnapped. I hate to report those are just vicious rumors. Now that I’m back on the road I’ll try to dream up something to write about. .

I had a great two weeks working from home office. It was a very nice break to get off the road and get some of the tasks off my plate that I never have time to do when I’m on the road.

This week I am headed NORTH to Toronto, Ontario. The weather is not going to be the balmy 70’s I’ve had at home but it won’t be like it was last time I was there. The coldest they predicted was for today with 30 degrees and the warmest on Thursday of 51 degrees. Hopefully the 30 was this morning and I’ll miss that all the other lows are mid to upper 30’s.

The past few weeks we did get some things done around the house (YEE HAW). Our new bedroom has the drywall installed, finished and painted as of this weekend. We put the door up and it will be ready for carpet next week. I’ll be glad to see that room finished where we can move the bed from the old room to the new room. Then we take on that room.

Spring Fever

2009-03-24T16:53:00.002-04:00

Hey there everyone. Sorry I haven’t written much this week. I have had a raging case of Spring Fever the past two weeks. I have been working from home and when it’s time to get off work I am outta here.

The past two days I’ve taken a walk with my neighbor. Last night we walked around the neighborhood and today we walked about 2 miles through the park that backs up to my house. The trees are in bloom and I have the doors open at the house.

Next week I’m heading north again – Toronto, Ontario. I hope the weather is nice there next week. Other than my trip in January I have not been there to visit. I hope to get out and about next week in the evenings. If any of you have suggestions send them along.

Saturday Ramblings

2009-03-21T16:16:00.001-04:00

I don’t have anything to say, so why am I here? I just wanted to give you a few warnings.

If you ever want to have a flood of traffic to your blog from countries around the world make a post like I made on the Pennsylvania town I made the other day. It was so funny I went from readers in 4 countries to 9 within a few minutes. I assume a few of them did not get what they were looking for, but if they did I’d have to say Welcome.

The next thing is beware of Facebook. It’s addictive. I was sent a link by a friend from South Texas and I finally broke down and created a profile. Within a few hours people started finding me and inviting me to their Facebook pages. In roughly a week I have connected with people I have not heard from in years (some as many as 27 years).

It’s been great seeing pictures of old friends on Facebook. But know once you sign up it’s as bad as E-Bay and you will spend days in front of your computer and all of a sudden wake up and wonder what happened to your week.

I guess now that it’s Mid-Day on Saturday I might want to go do something fun like take a shower.

Intercourse, PA

2009-03-20T12:25:00.007-04:00

I have a ton of funny stories from my travels over the years. It’s not uncommon that I will work with people for a long time and never see them face to face. It’s the beauty of being able to work from home office.

Years back I was assigned an account in Amish area in Pennsylvania. I was meeting a project manager I had never met before named Jennifer. We actually met in the Cincinnati airport and flew into Harrisburg, PA together. That was our first meeting although we had worked with each other for months on e-mail and phone calls.

I had heard so much about Amish cooking and quilts. When I go to a new area I like to get out and see things, and Jennifer was game for about anything too.

So that night when we checked into the Hilton Garden Inn in Lancaster, PA we asked for suggestions for places to eat Amish food. They kindly told us about a place called “Good and Plenty”. The place was “family style” meaning when enough people show up to fill a table you are all seated together. The only decision you make is your drink.

Jennifer was a good 10 years younger than me and I was just under 40 at the time. She was reading the directions as I was driving. Jennifer started chuckling and saying this must be a typo. I asked her what she meant and she said we were to drive to the exit for “Bird in Hand” and “Intercourse”.

I agreed with her and that we needed to let the hotel know about this typo when we got back. How embarrassing not to catch a typo like this. About five miles later there was the sign as big as could be - Bird in Hand / Intercourse. Of course we both thought what a strange name for a street. Someone had a warped sense of humor.

We had our dinner and it was really good down home cooking. After dinner I wanted to go look at some of the quilts I had heard so much about. The lady behind the cash register was in her late 70’s or maybe even early 80’s. I thought who better to tell me where to find good quilts. Right?

Jennifer was standing behind me when I asked and this little old lady for help. The lady replied that she had a “brochure on intercourse” she could give me. Jennifer could not contain herself all I heard was the clicking of her high heel shoes on the tile floor heading out the door. As the door was closing I heard her roaring laughing. I’m surprised she could keep herself standing when she was laughing that hard.

Of course she left me there to hold a straight face and try to have a conversation with this little old lady. All that kept crossing my mind was “lady I don’t need a brochure on intercourse, I have that one figured out”.

Come to find out there is a town named “Intercourse, PA”. If you have ever seen the movie “Witness” with Harrison Ford you have seen the town on the big screen. It’s a quaint little town and yes they had some really good quilts.

It’s one thing to have a good friend with you when you have these type conversations. But to have someone you barely know with you it just makes it quite a challenge to maintain your composure. Least to say Jennifer and I became fast friends after this since we had about the funniest story from the road that year.

I really enjoyed my time there in the Amish country. I learned a lot about the Amish and since our implementation lasted 9 months. I got to see the area in all the seasons. It was fun to see the horse and buggies and the people working the fields. The farms were so beautiful and the houses were always kept in perfect condition.

I took my mom there on one of my visits and we took a hot air balloon ride over the Amish farms. It was the first time I had been in a hot air balloon and the view from above was spectacular. I would highly recommend a hot air balloon ride to anyone and a visit to this area of the country. It was a most wonderful place to visit.

What’s this? A Life…

2009-03-18T17:14:00.002-04:00

This week I am working from home office and I even lucked out enough to get next week home too. It’s really strange being home since I am generally out running cross country every week.

Look at what I missed this week.

1) Packing my suitcase (twice)
2) Getting up at 2:45 AM to leave for the airport (twice)
3) Change time zones (body and watch)
4) Short connections at the Atlanta Airport
5) Sleeping in a strange bed
6) Working out of my laptop bag
7) Putting on a Shirt and Tie
8) Ironing my shirts that got wrinked on the trip
9) Waking up early and staying up late to do normal office work

I forgot how nice it was to work at my desk. The girls (cat and dog) are so glad to have me here. They are right back in the swing with the cat sleeping in the inbox and the dog watching my feet to be sure they don’t go somewhere without her.

I couldn’t pick a better few weeks to be home. The spring season is my favorite in the Carolinas. The trees start blooming in the following order Bradford Pear, Cherry then Dogwoods. The flowers start with Daffodils, Tulips, Azaleas, Jasmine and Wisteria. Over the next month anyone with allergies will have a tough time, but the smell in the air will be so sweet.

So if I don’t write as much this week… It’s because I found a life at home!

What’s in the iPod?

2009-03-17T08:12:00.001-04:00

Today the song playing in my iPod is “American Soldier” by Toby Keith. If you want to hear the song and see the video you can find it on youtube.

The reason this song is playing is because I have a cousin and a friend heading to the Middle East today. It doesn’t matter if you are for or against the wars when you have someone that close to you heading to a war zone you experience a little pride and a lot of fear.

Both of these young men are a lot younger than I am (one is young enough to be a son). When I see these young men and women in the airport in Atlanta I am reminded many of the soldiers in the fields are the children of my generation. I know how hard it is to see a relative or friend go, I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a mother or father of one of these young men or women.

Today is not going to be as Happy of a St. Patrick’s Day as next year when I hope to report they are home safe and sound.

What’s in the iPod?

2009-03-16T07:38:00.001-04:00

If you have been following my blog you can tell my music selections are all over the board from pop to country. I like just about anything that’s pleasant or that the words mean something. I have well over 4 days worth of music in the iPod and I just put it on songs and let it randomize them. Over the weekend I heard a song that took me way back to the summer between my 2nd and 3rd grade years.

This song was popular in 1972. Charlie Pride was just starting to make it big in Country music. It was a big deal because he was a black man and other than Ray Charles no black man had success in country music.

He had several songs on the charts that year “Kiss an Angel Good Morning” and “Is Anybody Going to San Antonio or Phoenix Arizona”. It was the latter of the songs that brought back these memories for me. I remember we had this 8-Track tape and we played it on our trip from Newport, ARK to Los Angeles, CA. And our route took us through Texas and Arizona.

I can’t recall if we made one or two trips that summer. I know that we left Newport and moved to California that summer. My Aunt Jeanette had just had her second child (Chad) that April. She brought my cousin David who was a few months older than me and he went with us on our trip to California. We saw so much going through the desert southwest including my first memories of the Grand Canyon. We collected rocks along the way and when we got to California we took those rocks and built a wishing well in my grandmother’s back yard.

We had a lot of fun in a camper on a Ford pick-up. It was the kind that had the bed over the cab so we could sit above the drivers and watch where we were going while laying in bed.

While we were in California we got to go to Disneyland. We got to buy fresh cherries and were warned not to eat too many at a time because they would give you the runs. I think that diarrhea threat was to keep us from eating them all at one sitting and let me tell you it didn’t work. David and I ate them all (probably several pounds) and we did not get diarrhea. So much for trying to scare a child, that one didn’t work.

We went from there up to Northern California (Sacramento area) to see my Great Uncle Clarence and Great Aunt Mandy. We got to go fishing on the Sacramento River. We left there to go through the Sequoia’s where the trees are so big you can drive a car through them and the age is measured in thousands of years.

We continued on to Reno, NV. I remember that we couldn’t go in the casinos but we could go through them to get to the restaurants. The slot machines were using real coins and the silver dollars had pictures of the moon on the back of them. I found one of those silver dollars this year that I figure my grandmother gave me.

I remember when we left Newport for the last time. There was a bridge over the White River and my dad told me to look back and remember it because I might never see it again. He was right 37 years have passed and I’ve never been back to that town. And I can’t say I’d have a reason to since it was just one of the many stops in our life.

Some of my memories of our house in Newport are of a levy behind our house. On the other side was a huge cotton field. I had a small mini-bike and I’d go ride all over those fields. I would play on the levy in the backyard for hours.

We didn’t have a lot of money but I never knew it. As far as I was concerned we had everything anyone could want. I find it amazing how rich I thought we were. We may not have had a ton of money but I was rich in the experiences my parents gave me. I could not have asked for more than what we had. We didn’t have Cable TV, DVD Players, Internet, Gameboy’s, etc.. Other than cable TV the rest were not available. I had to go outside and play and make my own fun. It was great!

The Job

2009-03-13T06:50:00.000-04:00

I’ve been a business traveler for over 10 years now. Sometimes it seems more like 20 and other times it seems like I just started. When I started traveling I had no clue this would be the perfect career for me. It was one of those just landing in the right place and the realization of “Wow this is what I was meant to do”.

I have landed in my spot and realized it several times in my 30 years of working. My first job was at 14 in a factory making 5 gallon plastic buckets. It was a great way to keep me off the streets and out of trouble (except for the starting to smoke cigarettes part).

I have had some great mentors along the way. Finding the right job is only part of what it takes. Recognizing and utilizing a mentor is what really makes things happen. I have been fortunate enough to have many mentors in my life personally and professionally. The belief they have shown in my abilities and the doors they have opened for me will never be forgotten.

The thing about the consultant role is you go places you would have never picked to visit. You meet people that become friends you didn’t expect. I have been to places I never knew existed and I’ve been to places I would not have picked to visit that became fast favorites. And best of all I have friends all over the place that I’ve made along the way.

Each of the places holds a special place in my heart now. Many of the places I would have never went to had it not been assigned to me. In the future I’ll write about these favorite places and my trips to them.

I have been writing primarily about the Portland area over the past few weeks. The places will change up a little the next few months. I will be going to Canada, California and even better working from home a few weeks. I’m sure I’ll dig up old war stories during the weeks from home.

5 Days in Portland/Vancouver

2009-03-12T11:24:00.013-04:00

This week I have had Stefan with me on my trip to Portland. As I’ve said in a past blog he goes out touring and then tells me about all the great things he has seen. A lot of times he will take me to the best spots of the day after I get off work.

This week we hiked to the top of Multnomah Falls just east of Portland. That was our Sunday trip. The falls are beautiful and I have posted pictures of it before but I never get tired of seeing the falls.

Some times the things Stefan sees I don’t get to see because they are so far away. He went to the Oregon Coast on Tuesday. He was telling me how beautiful the drive was and I’m so glad he got pictures. The trees are so beautiful with the snow on them.

When he got to the coast he went to Cannon Beach. Haystack rock is located here and back in the late 80’s I would go camping on the beach there with some friends of mine that lived in Seattle. He was amazed at the beauty of the Oregon Coast. I told him he has only seen a sliver of what Oregon Coast has to offer. Other areas are the Sand Dunes that are a must see.

I got some great ideas from someone I don’t even know that is following my blog. Beck told me that we needed to go to Pittock Mansion in Portland. Stefan went during the day when he could tour the house and he said its “Move in Ready”. He really loved it and told me about the view. He knew I could not tour the mansion but wanted me to see the view. I have pictures of the Mansion and the view of Portland and Mt. Hood from the Mansion grounds.

Pittock Mansion

View from Pittock Mansion

You could also see Mt. St. Helens from the mansion.

Beck - Thank you for such great ideas what to see this week.

**IT Happens 2

2009-03-11T08:36:00.000-04:00

I thought everyone would like to know the outcome from my post yesterday.

The Hilton has bent over backwards trying to make up for our little event. I think they have taken it more serious than I did. Yesterday when I got home from work there was a nice basket of snacks and an ice bucket full of beer in the room. Of course I don’t drink so the beer did me no good but Stefan had one.

There was a card apologizing for the event and telling me they had credited me the nights stay. A very nice gesture, but since my expenses are paid it didn’t help me other than make me loose a few Hilton Points for this week.

There was a coupon for a free meal for two at the restaurant in the lobby (which is in the category of Ruth Chris). The meal we had for two was over $125.00. My meals are paid for since I’m here on business and the tip alone was what I generally spend on a meal.

I told Stefan that I needed to remember this trick. If you need a free meal toss some dog poop in your room and report it. Of course that conversation went downhill really fast with a bunch of laughing along the way. His only concerns included how do you collect the specimen, get it through security at the airport, etc.. As you can tell we gave it way more thought than it deserved…

Again, it’s one of those events you just have to laugh off and move on.

**IT Happens

2009-03-10T09:16:00.002-04:00

Well this week I have another one of those funny experiences from the road that I will forget in time.

I’m staying at my favorite Hilton, in my favorite corner room overlooking the park this week. I was very happy to find they had assigned me to my room when I arrived.

We had a long flight from the east coast and we went to Multnomah Falls and hiked to the top of the falls (1 mile hike going 700 feet to the top). We were pretty tired when we got here and just crashed.

Yesterday morning I woke up at my normal 5AM and started my day reading e-mails and getting ready. I ran down to get breakfast (to-go) and came back to the room. The chair was not close enough to the table so I moved it a little bit for comfort.

Stefan was at the desk on the computer and he looked at me and asked if that was a leaf on the floor next to me or a turd? Now mind you neither of those really look alike to me, and sure enough I look down and there is a present someone’s little animal left us.

Well I will spare everyone reading this the picture I took. But I did not spare the person at the front desk from seeing it. I certainly didn’t want to be hit with a pet cleaning fee when my pets are at home in South Carolina. Of course the front desk person was mortified. I wasn’t pitching a fit, just stating facts. They know I’m a good customer since I have stayed here 7-8 times since September.

Last night when I got home from touring Portland with Stefan there as a voice mail that they had drinks and snacks they wanted to deliver to our room. Of course at that time of night I am not interested in room service.

Really they should clean the carpets (that’s what the pet fee’s are supposed to be for). It reminds me why I wear socks in my hotel rooms.

I had to laugh it off. When we got home Stefan said I should report to the front desk that someone stole my turd from my room. Or even better report another one that was left overnight. I had a good laugh and decided “It Happens” and just let go of it.

Sunday Ramblings

2009-03-09T08:09:00.005-04:00

I’m back on the road to Portland today. This week will be different since I am bringing Stefan along with me. Today he is getting to experience the long journey from South Carolina to Oregon that I’ve been doing almost weekly the past few months.

So far I have watched a movie “Blood Diamond” which is 2 ¼ hours (great movie); taken a nap for 1 ½ hours; I’ve been listening to music over half an hour. This trip just seems to get longer each week. This week I will be on the plane a total of 5 ¾ hours. I am looking at the moving map and we are still over Montana and 1 ½ hours from touch down.

I have brought my scout “Stefan” to find new areas of the Portland area for me to explore. As I wrote last week he goes out and finds all the neatest things and then takes me to see them. This is his first trip to the Pacific Northwest. The weather is going to be chilly and wet the first few days and clear the last few days. So he’ll get the whole Portland experience. I hope he gets to go see some of the cool bridges from Jackie’s blog.

I let him have my favorite seat (1A) I talked about in a past blog. He will be on the side of the plane that has the best view of Mount Hood when we arrive in Portland. I took his seat (my second favorite – Exit Row Window). There is nobody in the middle seat so I have been able to sprawl out more than in a first class seat and with fewer distractions from the flight attendants offering me another beverage. I know they mean well but my bladder is only so big.

This week will be one of the few weeks that I don’t go home to see some new project completed at the house. A few weeks back I came home to see the new fireplace that Stefan built in the downstairs den area.

The remodel really started as moving a door and has morphed into a complete updating of the house (kitchen, floors, bathrooms, laundry room, pouring a concrete driveway, moving walls in the basement to make more rooms). Least to say the cost and time under construction has exceeded what the initial plans were. I know it’s going to be worth it when it’s over. Right now I’m just wondering if it will ever be over. I figure we will be under construction at least another 6-9 months because I’m on the pay as you go plan.

Time Change

2009-03-07T10:38:00.000-05:00

My weekends at home are short enough without having to take an hour away from me for a time change. I just got home last night from California and I fly out tomorrow morning at 6AM heading to Portland. Needless to say with this time change my 6AM flight just became a 5AM flight to my body.

I know they started the time change years back for the farmers so they would have more daylight to work in the fields.

The time changes get confusing for those of us who travel. There are several states (Indiana, Arizona and Hawaii) that don’t change times. So if you fly through Phoenix you might be on Mountain Time or Pacific depending on the time of year. And to make it even better Europe, Mexico and the United States can’t even agree on a set date that everyone changes the clocks. So Cancun can be on Central Time except a few short weeks when they end up on Mountain or Eastern time.

I just wish they would split the difference and keep us on the same time all year. Move our clocks 30 minutes between the two and call it quits. I know the programming changes and updates to computer systems would be huge to do this. But it would be done and over with.

Oh well I guess my simple mind doesn’t grasp the real need for this. So I’m going to go enjoy what’s left of my shorter weekend.

What’s in the iPod

2009-03-04T23:36:00.016-05:00

I have decided to have a standing “What’s in the iPod” blog. Since the songs prompt me of things to write about or remind me of things from the past. This week I was listening to “Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine” by Tom T Hall.

The song talks about advice he got from an older gentleman in a bar. The old man says there are only three things in the world worth a solitary dime (Old Dogs, Children and Watermelon Wine). I really like the line “Old dog’s care about you even when you make mistakes”. This certainly describes a good dog (old or young).

We have a wonderful dog named Sheeot. Of course she does not think of herself as a dog so much as a princess.

She will be 12 years old this summer and she is still as active as a puppy. She may only weigh 11-12 pounds but she fills the house with laughter, love and playfulness. We are glad that she let’s us share the house with her (she’s kind in that way). She even let us bring home a cat and didn’t kick us out.

I really miss my home office days when I had the cat on my desk in the inbox and Sheeot keeping my feet warm under the desk. They both know when to speak and when to be quiet. For some reason they always sense when I’m on the phone (often better than humans do). Sheeot has been my co-worker for 5 years now. She has supported many conference calls in her days.

No matter what time I come home, or leave she is at the door to greet me or see me off. She is so happy to see me when I walk in the door, she wags her nub of a tail so much it the whole body shakes. Who could ask for a better greeting than that?

She loves playing ball and heaven forbid you have a water hose she is game to catch the water in her mouth. One of her favorite things is to go for a ride in the car. She doesn’t like long distance trips as much as a short one to the store and back.

When I take her with me she always gets special attention. At the drive-thru Cash & Dash gas station she gets a doggy biscuit, at the bank drive-thru she gets a treat. And if you dare take her to Burger King, Hardees or McDonalds she always finds a way to get a freebie.

I guess when you’re that cute life has special advantages. She’s such a special animal we wish we could clone her, but we know there will never be another like her.

Sweet Scents

2009-03-04T23:23:00.008-05:00

This week I am in California for my last visit at the client site here. I really enjoy California because of the mild winters. The climate here in Southern California is so mild things that bloom once a year back home will bloom 4-6 times a year here.

I can tell California has had rain since I was last here. Generally the hills are covered with dry grasses. This week every mountain is covered with beautiful green grasses.

The flowers are in bloom and one of my favorite scents is in the air… Citrus trees in bloom.

In the parking lot where I park there are several varieties of citrus trees from lemons, limes, grapefruit and several types of oranges. It’s so nice to be greeted in the morning with the sweet smell of these trees on my way in from the parking lot.

This will be one of the things I will miss about my trips to this area. I’m sure I’ll be back in California again for another client sometime. Until then I’ll have to just depend on my memories. Or hope for a Florida account!

Hidden Jewels…

2009-03-04T00:36:00.002-05:00

Sometimes on my trips I find hidden jewels. This year I have been traveling to the Riverside/Ontario California area. During the summer I brought Stefan out while I was working and he does the touring and then comes back and tells me all the neat things he saw. It’s like having a scout go out and then take you to only the best.

On his trip he found a beautiful old motel in downtown Riverside and he wanted to be sure I saw it. The hotel is called “The Mission Inn” and it’s just beautiful. It has great restaurants and they decorated up beautifully at Christmas. They have original oil paintings in the lobby. It’s one of the old style motels.

I couldn’t afford to stay there and our corporate policy keeps us in the Marriott or Hilton chains mostly. I really wish I’d have stayed at this place at least once. I’ve heard it’s fantastic. Maybe I’ll come out and stay on a vacation someday.

Here are some pics I found on the internet of this place. I have a few in my camera but they just are not as good as the ones below.

Remember when...

2009-03-02T17:54:00.007-05:00

My trip this week takes me from Myrtle Beach, SC to Ontario, California. It’s one of those weeks where you bounce across the country stopping in multiple cities. Today’s route will take me from Myrtle Beach to Atlanta to Salt Lake City to Ontario California. I could have done a direct flight and arrived at 9:45 PM tonight or take three flights and get to the destination by mid-day.

I’m writing this blog on the flight from Atlanta to Salt Lake City. I was watching the safety video and one of the items they mentioned was that Smoking was not allowed on this flight. It’s been so long since smoking was allowed I wondered why they even felt it necessary to mention it anymore. It made me think about the topic for this blog – remember when.

I have been traveling for business for over 10 years. Long before I traveled for work I was fortunate enough to travel for pleasure. My family has always been scattered across the country so I have been boarding planes since I was a small child. And it must be in my blood because I can’t imagine not traveling.

I remember years back when I was a kid flying was something you would dress up for. You would not consider going on an airplane in flip flops and shorts (not that I haven’t done it since). You actually dressed up for the occasion. Some people today dress up too much for the occasion with all the bracelets, metal belts, jewelry, boots and all the things that make security a joy.

I remember when they implemented and stopped asking the two security questions:
1) Did you pack your own bags?
2) Have your bags been out of your control since you packed them?

I always wondered what they would do if I said “No – my mom packed my bags” or that my bags had only been out of my possession while the airlines had them. Those questions were just stupid and why they ever thought they were a good idea just boggles my mind. Of course it's the FAA and the folks that run the airlines that came up with this brilliant security measure.

I do remember when there were smoking sections on airplanes. They were always in the back rows of First Class and the back of the airplane, generally the last 2-3 rows. And for a part of my life I was a smoker and was darn glad they had them. I remember when they stopped allowing smoking on flights less than 2 hours. I’d book my flights to make sure I had that my flight was 2:05 in duration or longer.

They even announced the cost of the fine if you tampered with the smoke detectors in the bathroom. I often thought about just writing a check so I could have my cigarette. I’m sure there were other smokers on the plane that would have pooled money with me. Heck there were times I’d have considered hanging on to the wing outside if I could have had a smoke.

Eventually the government forced the airlines to stop allowing smoking all together on airplanes (which was a good move). I would book my flights through airports that allowed smoking so I could smoke between flights. I knew all airports and if they allowed smoking. Funny the things addictions will make us do. I am proud to say it’s been 7.5 years since I quit smoking.

I remember when the meals on the planes were free. The options were “Beef or Chicken” and they were actually decent meals served with silverware. Now the options are limited and unless you are in First Class you pay for the meals. And even if you pay for them they are not that good anyway.

Our travel agent sends out a newsletter and it has a humor section. Last month this one stood out because I could see me having this conversation.

“Overheard on a Flight”
The flight attendant was asking the passenger in front of me would you like to have breakfast with us this morning.
The passenger asked what are my choices?
The flight attendant replied: “Yes or No”

Some airlines are charging for everything from baggage, pillows, blankets, water and cokes. Ryan Air (Europe’s Southwest) is said to be looking into charging to use the toilet (loo as they call it). Please don’t let US Airways hear this they might start.

I stopped flying US Airways because they started charging for any and everything. They recently announced they were going to stop charging for beverages. Last year they also decided to start awarding actual mileage credit for frequent flyer miles flown and omit the 500 mile minimum. They rescinded that decision a few months later and credited all these folks with the minimum credit the other airlines give.

It’s too bad because they have already lost my business and I had over a million miles with them at one point. I’ll use up my points but unless I absolutely have to I won’t purchase a ticket from them again. It’s really sad because at one time I thought US Airways was the best airline in the industry. That changed with the America West Merger, and I can't say for the better.

I just have to realize things change.

The pictures below are from my trip today...

Leaving Salt Lake City, UT

Flying in over Big Bear & Lake Arrowhead area in California.

Remodel

2009-03-02T05:19:00.004-05:00

Well everyone... Today's blog has nothing to do with travel. Instead it has to do with what's going on at the house while I'm gone traveling and on occasions when I'm home. It's the remodel of the house.

Stefan is doing 99% the work. He has rebuilt my kitchen including creating a pantry out of space that was not well used before. He has resurfaced the counters, built custom cabinets and is currently adding the backsplash. He will be re-building my stovetop island and we will insert a new oven.

The remodel project started with simply enclosing a door and has transformed in to framing in new rooms in the house. I will be glad when it’s over. It seems to take so long while you are in the middle of the project.

Over the weekend we hung sheetrock in a room. It was amazing in a few hours how much a room can be transformed. I didn’t get good pictures to share with you today but maybe in the next week or so I can post some of those.

Until then, here are a few of the kitchen.

Kitchen Cabinets and counter:

Kitchen

The pantry is well stocked. I love it, it's a walk in with shevling from floor to ceiling. There is a window so it's not so enclosed you feel like your in a box. I think we figured it at 50 sq feet. It's huge.

What a beautiful morning…

2009-02-28T12:52:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a travel day. I was headed home from Portland, OR again. When I left it was about 30 degrees so we had to be de-iced before leaving. This delay worked in our favor since it gave the Sun a few more minutes to come up. The view was spectacular. I was on the right side of the plane looking out over Washington State. The mountains I get to see on that side are Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and in the distance I am told is Mount Rainer which is south of Seattle. The mountains were so pretty with the pinks tones during the sunrise.

I will include a few pictures I took. They don’t come out as well since I was taking the picture through the window and the flash on the camera kept going off. I guess I need to learn how to use this camera.

Rainer, St. Helens & Adams

Mount St. Helens - I know this because of the flat top.

Mt. Adams

I had a very productive week. Some weeks are more rewarding than others and this was one of those weeks. I had to work my way through a software build scenario for a department I was not familiar with using features I had never used before. There was a lot of reading, testing and building going on in the evenings. I was awake 21 hours Monday working over 12 of those hours. Tuesday was an 18 hour day, Wednesday and Thursday were whimpy 12 hour days. Friday I spent 14 hours flying, connecting and driving home.

People often think the life of a business traveler is glamorous. I have to say there are certainly many perks, but there are many weeks that are like this one where you work double the hours of a typical job. Your body is run through the ringer. It’s not uncommon that we don’t sleep well, are awake very long periods of time, change 2-3 time zones, have poor dietary options.

I try my best to have a positive attitude. A long time ago I was really down about how hard my life was as a traveler on my way home one week. I took that time to reflect on the good parts of the job.

* How many people get to see the sunny side of the clouds twice a week?
* I get to eat a good and even great restaurants and it’s paid for.
* I stay in nice motels most weeks (I have had some bad ones too).
* I get to drive a wide variety of new cars each week.

Another benefit is that I don’t get caught up in office politics since I’m generally in and out. And if someone starts getting to me I remind myself that by the end of the week I’m on an airplane on the way home. I call it my countdown clock. Way back when I started this I would juggle 6-9 clients at a time so by the time I’d get back I was over anything that was tough from the previous trip.

It was then I figured just how much a positive attitude toward your job makes. I always remind myself how lucky I am to have a job I enjoy. Not everyone has that.

The Only Child

2009-02-26T09:42:00.002-05:00

I have a lot of friends and co-workers who only have one child. I am often asked what it’s like to be an only child. These friends often worry that they are not being fair to the child by not giving them a brother or sister.

Being an only child I can tell you it’s not all that bad. The only child will generally grow up faster because they are always in the company of adults. My mom and dad filled in for a brother or sister by playing games and spending time with me. Because of this I was much closer to my parents. I never had to deal with sibling rivalries.

I did get to be a kid by playing with my cousins and neighbor kids so not having a sibling simply meant I got my own room, my own toys. I had all of my parent’s attention, encouragement, support and time.

If the truth were told if I had a brother or sister I’d have probably been forced to eat or kill them. I was never one for sharing and it’s a running joke to this day that I’ve never had to share and I’m not going to start now.

There are so many questions I am asked when people find out I’m an only child. Like what are you going to do when you get old? What about if a parent gets ill? What if you get ill? The answers to all these questions are… You just deal with it. I don’t have children but I have a partner, family and friends. With that combination who needs a brother or sister.

So many people think only children are spoiled. That generalization is simply not true or fair. I know a lot of only children that had to earn their way in life just like big families. My parents gave me what they could but they also didn’t spoil me by showering me with gifts from guilt for having an only child.

I can really say I appreciate what my parents did when they raised me. I didn’t come with an instruction manual. I know my mom looked for it a few times to figure out how to shut off the mouth I had in my teens. The good part for her was that she always knew it was me when something had been done. She didn’t have to figure out which child it was. That part I could have done without… The taking ownership for what I did.

One of the ladies I am working with out here has a daughter who’s an only child. Our conversation is what brought up this topic. We have talked about her daughter and what a little lady she is at 10. They live in a small town up the Columbia River and hearing about this town reminded me of my youth.

When I was young the world was a different place. You didn’t think about people stealing children. I had freedoms kids don’t have these days. At the ripe old age of nine I would take my bicycle and ride it all over town in Spring Hill, LA.

I made my rounds in town, I had stops where I could get cookies, play with dogs and visit everyone. And strange enough it generally was not children I stopped to visit. My mom never worried about me, she knew the route and how to find me (even without a cell phone). I knew when I had to be home and I’d plan my route to be there on-time.

One of my stops was to see my Aunt Jo Ann who was a RN and worked at the hospital there. She drove the 20-30 miles down from her home in Arkansas. I had her work schedule down and I’d show up and get a piece of bubble gum and say hello to her. I’d ride my bike several miles and walk in that hospital just like I owned it (some things just never change). All my aunts are special in their own way. Jo Ann was the one that would take a pack of kids to the Ice Capades, Swimming or even to the state fair. She was awesome and that piece of bubble gum was worth the ride.

There are so many of these memories of my youth I could write a book. And I guess over time with this blog I’ll have a good start.

For those of you with only children don’t worry about it. They probably like it.