7 posts tagged “travel”
just can't wait to get on the road again...
or NOT
Tomorrow I go to lovely Bentonville, Arkansas to visit a client. Luckily, we get to take the company jet, so it shouldn't be too bad. Then on Monday I'm off to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit another client. I hate traveling back-to-back! Hopefully this will be it for awhile, but I have a feeling that things are just starting to pick-up again.
I should be in bed because I have to get up bright and early (5:30am) tomorrow to catch a flight to Cincinnati. Yes, I'm going back there again. It's starting to feel like my second home. Bentonville would have to be my third home. Sad eh? I would much rather it be Jamaica or Fiji. On a positive note, I get to fly in the company jet this time!
Last Friday I was Bentonville, AR on business. Our company is lucky enough to have a private jet, so if we have enough people that need to travel, we take the private jet instead of flying commercially. This was one of those times.
So, we were sitting at the private airport waiting to leave. If you remember from my previous post, the pilot wanted to "wait the snow storm out" prior to flying back home. I've always trusted his judgment and knew he'd never fly if it wasn't safe. He'd rather get us all back in one piece even if it meant spending the entire evening in lovely Bentonville, AR. Not to mention, he's the husband of a colleague that was on the plane with me.
Departure time was supposed to be 4:30pm.
5:30pm - weather was rolling through our hometown
6:30pm - still a no go. weather continued rolling across our flight path.
7:00pm - another plane lands to refuel. two siblings - twins around 19 and two parents around 45 or so. I hear them say they are headed to a state north of where we are going. i think to myself..oh, they're stuck here too. they must've landed to ride out the storm.
7:30pm - group of four leaves on their plane. I wonder to myself...they must have a similar flight path to ours, I wonder why they are leaving.
8:30pm - weather has passed so we get to depart.
Anyway...here's the conversation I had yesterday with a colleague
C: "Do you remember the plane that stopped to refuel in AR?"
Me: "Yes, why?"
C: "They didn't make it."
Me: "What?! It crashed?"
C: "Yes, it's so sad. All five of them died. They were so young. Our friend at the airport told me today when I was there."
Me: speechless
It's crazy...isn't it? You never know what life will bring.
Me..in the birthplace of Wal-Mart.
Nate..not.
This is the first night I've had to spend away from Nate. I'm traveling on business, so I haven't seen him since I dropped him off at daycare this morning. I really miss his smiling face and his nighttime "I'm gonna get you" giggles.
On the other hand, daddy is getting to spend some quality time with him. This is his first time being alone with Nate overnight, so hopefully they both find a groove.
As a bonus, maybe I'll get a full nights sleep! Probably not since I'm not in my own bed, but I can hope...right?
We went to visit my family for the holidays, which is about a four hour drive from here. Every year on Christmas Day, my mom's siblings, their children, and their children's children (about 30 or so people) go to my aunt and uncle's log home in the country.
We have a pot luck style lunch where the host makes the main dish (turkey, stuffing, ham) and everyone else brings a side dish or dessert. There are two main reasons I go home for the holidays. You would think it would be to see all my relatives that I only get to visit with once or twice a year, but really it's: 1) my aunts scalloped potatoes and 2) my sister's sugar cookies :) hehe
I stood in line and ate a sugar cookie for an appetizer, then I filled my plate(s) with turkey, stuffing, scalloped potatoes, corn, rolls, and lasagna. Dessert consisted of Charlie Brown cake, gooey butter pumpkin bar, blackberry cobbler, and more sugar cookies. I probably gained 10 pounds, but it was all worth it! Yum!
After our bellies are full, we usually just sit around and visit. Some people participate in the men's & women's grab bag gift exchange. You purchase a $10 gift, wrap it, and throw it in a pile in the center of the floor. On the count of 3 everyone dives to grab a gift.
It was Nate's first Christmas, so most people in my family met him for the first time. He was passed around and fought over. I barely got to hold him all day!
We had a great time, but as the saying goes...there's no place like home!
Since I love travel so much I decided to start posting pictures of interesting things from my past travels. The first one will be dedicated to El Castillo in Chichen Itza, Mexico. It was built by the Mayan Civilization. We visited there in 2005 with a group of friends.
The structure was magnificent up close. There are 365 total steps representing a calendar year - each of the four stairways contain 91 steps and the top platform totals 365. Climbing it was indescribable! I've heard rumors they were going to stop allowing visitors to climb it, but I don't know if that's true or not.
The steps were VERY steep and we were on the side where there was nothing to hold on to while climbing up. They would never allow you to do this in the U.S. without ruining the experience with a safety harness or something due to liability. I
Traveling is a true passion of mine. I love to see new places and experience different cultures. If I had unlimited income, I'd travel the world and meet all kinds of interesting people. I'm just thankful that my income allows me to travel at least once a year.
My favorite place so far is definately Jamaica. I LOVE the people, the beautiful scenery, the food, and the laid-back attitude. It's the one place I've been where time doesn't matter and everything is "No Problem". Most people either fall in love with it and consider it their second home. If you haven't been there, I'd highly recommend it.
The next trip I take will probably be inside the U.S. since my son is so young. Now I just need to decide where. I've seen some of the West Coast and most of the Midwest:
San Francisco, Napa Valley and Monterey, CA
Seattle, WA
Phoenix, AZ
Las Vegas, NV
Denver and Telluride, CO
Salt Lake City, UT
Minneapolis, MN
Chicago, IL
Dallas and San Antonio, TX
Telluride was one in a million by the way, but that story could take up a whole page!
The only place I haven't been so far is the East Coast. I wonder what the best city to visit would be. Any suggestions?
