I went to Derrick Story's Sonoma Coast Photo Workshop which was such fun. Derrick is a terrifically nice person and he puts a huge amount of effort into making the workshops great.  It flowed beautifully without being totally exhausting.  I loved it!

The people who attended were so talented and interesting, it was fantastic to meet them. If photography is your thing and you can manage to get out there, I highly recommend it!

One of the secondary reasons I did the workshop was an excuse to get a vacation in. My husband and I haven't taken a real vacation in years. We have done family trips which are fine, but sometimes it takes an extra push to move out of that particular type of trip. This was perfect. We had not been to California before and there was the Wine Country and San Francisco to take a peek at, both of which are completely different than our usual daily lives. Perfect!

Here's a bit of what I found while tooling about Northern California.

- if the car rental place gives you a Fiat 500 because that's all they have... you will talk to a lot of people. Everyone wants to know about it.  I was wondering if my husband would fit - he did - but he had to duck quite a bit to get in the door and thus banged his head a few times. Us + luggage = a somewhat tight squeeze. heh.  It drove very well though. Not a bad little car and very light on gas. It does draw attention.  Hilarious. 

- I am not a big fan of winery hopping. One can move between wineries, but if you're driving, the fun stops pretty quick - give me a nice wine bar and a hotel within walking distance - way way more fun!!!

- that said Korbel does an excellent tour and Champagne tasting. Their "Natural" label is really very good indeed and turned out to be my favorite, not too sweet, of the 5. (yes 5) types. There is quite a bit of history on display. The first man they hired to make champagne insisted on having his own darkroom as he was an amateur photographer! So they have many photos from back in the day - fascinating stuff. They also do a garden tour. The gardens around the original house have rose bushes that are over 100 years old!

- they grow roses near vineyards because... if there is a mildew problem, it will strike the roses first and alert the vineyard owners to take steps to keep it from hitting the grape vines! That is a wine fact. (as James May would say in his show James May's Road Trip - where he tours wine country to find a good wine for the average person in Britain - excellent show when one can find it on BBC)

- I was delighted at how well the people of N Cali drive. It was so restful after MA. They tend to be rather sane on the roads and I knew what they were going to do! How odd is that. Also on the twisty roads I was shocked to find they actually stay in their lanes!!!! Wow!

- SF itself is much like NYC or Chicago. People watching is incredibly fun in the city itself but they do have 1000% more tourists than I've ever seen in any one location.

- I tried White Zinfandel for the first (and last) time. Holy crap!!! People drink that stuff??? I had never had it before.  Our hotel bar had a very pricey wine list, White Zin was the least expensive thing by far (which should have been a huge red flag). Now I know - run away - run far - run fast! What an awful sickly sweet glass of not quite wine. GAK!!!

- OTOH I did find a new wine I haven't seen out here in the East. I must look for it here. It's called Geyerhof Gruner Veltliner from Austria.  It was a lovely tart wine that went beautifully with food. The bar tender at The Slanted Door recommended it - they were out of the Sauvignon Blanc I wanted to drink. (Yes, I know, the restaurant is on the Embarcadero, which simply screams "tourist trap" but it was most excellent - especially for a late afternoon lunch!)

- all the above being said, I could not live in N. Cali because I seem to be allergic to it. My hayfever was really annoying while I was there. I was taking Claritin like mad and it made no difference.  Who knew!  I was always told that drier climates were much better for hayfever sufferers.  Not so for me!!! Thank heaven I never thought to move there. A vacation I can handle, living there would be miserable.  Strange.

When I can manage to get the rest of the pics up on my computer, I will likely be posting more photos here.  At the moment I think I need a break from photography software though... the Apple meltdown of the RawCamera.bundle was a bit too much after a long trip. 

And thus endeth a vacation.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 07:54 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 876 words, total size 5 kb.

I'm back.  I took an actual vacation.  It involved cameras but also this



and this



and this



And even this



And that's just from the iphone.  heh.

More later. It's taken me 2 entire days to get some stuff back to normal... including Aperture (my photo software) that Apple updated and managed to break in the process... rolling back is a royal pain. Good grief!

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 71 words, total size 1 kb.

I went to Chicago this last weekend.  When I am more awake I shall be enlarging upon these notes I jotted on my ipod in evernote.

***

-- Tons of ppl traveling today
-- Dogs out in force sniffing
-- Ppl with huge strollers.
-- Rain. Lots of rain
-- Strange worker dude walking the airport flirting
-- Love TripIt pro - even noted gate change
-- Bumpy takeoff
-- Lots of kindles the big ones are huge!
-- I realize it's a badge of honor to some to lose yourself in reading - but it's more than a little annoying when I have to keep tapping your arm to get your attention for the flt attendant
-- It's hard to make plans with 3 ppl using txt only. Especially when one of you is not familiar with the city
-- Sbux close to hotel - win
-- long fur coat + 70 yrs old +  Uggs = fail
-- Sunday morning in the city is when all dog owners walk their dogs to sbux when they get coffee. Have counted at least 6 dogs outside the door.
-- When train doors open they always say doors closing.
-- Two German guys riding train taking video out window. Cute.
-- What is it with ppl who drive caddy's.
-- Not one really great Oscar gown? Really?
-- Midway is packed
-- What's with ppl blocking the moving walk ways
-- My daughter never slouched. It seems she was unique among children.
-- Want to smack the mother of the boys sitting behind me on the plane. She should not be allowed to travel alone with children.

***

Make of it what you will. More later.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 12:00 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 288 words, total size 2 kb.

1 I think the list speaks for itself; no translation needed. 

Hope you had a good trip regardless of your fellow travelers.

Posted by: pam at March 01, 2011 08:44 AM (i3Kno)

2 Thanks for the TripIt Pro mention - we have a lot of travels planned this year, and that will come in awfully handy. And I'll second Pam's comment

Posted by: Julie at March 01, 2011 12:29 PM (xVdHr)

3 Sounds like it was a swell trip.  Oy.

Posted by: Jim - PRS at March 02, 2011 02:27 AM (7oTWc)

4 It is my experience that most parents traveling (flying) with kids under the age of 19 should be smacked and not allowed to travel with said kids. Erg. welcome back

Posted by: patti at March 02, 2011 11:19 AM (GSKiD)

5 Oddly enough there were a number of kids on the plane - all of them seemed to be well behaved.  These boys weren't "bad" they were boys being boys. 

The mother however was a real piece of work.  You know - if your only threat is "I'm going to tell your father when we get home"  you might as well hang it up - you've lost the battle and the kids run the show.

She was even idiotic enough to call the flight attendant over to yell at them.  Nothing shrieks "I have no control over them" louder than having a total stranger come over to yell at your kids. 

They were hyper, they were wiggly, they were rather boisterously playing their video games and they were kicking the back of the seat.  Everything else was not a problem, it was the seat kicking that was making me nuts.  But I couldn't even move to tell them because the guy sitting next to me was so large I had no room to maneuver.  Good grief.

Posted by: Teresa at March 04, 2011 12:18 AM (xE2iU)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Yes, I've been gone... How could you tell?  I've barely been able to post lately because of work and then I leave town with the intention of staying offline.  I was mostly successful.

Of course the travel days are blog fodder of the highest caliber. I need to travel more just to have something to blog.

We met a young woman (maybe early 30's) who has flown so little, she thought when they said "turn off your electronics" they meant cell phone and laptop - she was a bit embarrassed when they stopped by her seat and told her that included her ipod too. 

In the seats behind us, my husband overheard a woman tell the person next to her "Planes have an easier time flying through white clouds than through gray ones". 

But even more fun was when our plane pulled in to the gate.  We look outside and see a couple of police cars - lights on - down on the tarmac.  That's a new one. No actual police in evidence... that's because they were all in the jetway - about 8 of them.  Turns out they were there to arrest someone on the plane.  Definitely a new one.  

Had no idea.  There was no uproar during the flight.  I even missed them walking the perp out of the plane because naturally I had made a mad dash to the restroom as soon as I got into the terminal. I did manage to catch some of it when they stopped in the gate area across from the restrooms to cuff him and (one assumes) read him his rights.  He was either very drunk or very high... but quiet. He could barely walk a straight line.  So three cops led him away, the others got on bicycles and pedaled down the terminal.  Heh.  (who knew cops rode bikes in airports)

Nothing nearly so entertaining happened on the way home.  We had a completely disabled/very sick person on the first leg of the flight.  This meant we were delayed for about an hour while they got this person on the plane and then tended to (looked like a "her" but I couldn't be 100% sure). 

In the seat in front of us was a woman who was late 60's early 70's.  It was a full flight and this being Southwest Airlines she had taken an aisle seat, then proceeded to put the tray table down for the seat next to hers and put stuff on it!  That didn't last long, but after being delayed it just added extra time while people waited for her to move her stuff so they could sit.  (naturally she stuck to her aisle seat like glue and they had to crawl over her).

Twice during the flight she got up and went to the restroom at the front of the plane.  The first time worked well for her - she actually found it.  The second time she made it to the bulkhead closets where the flight attendants keep their stuff.  The closet is about 1 foot wide. (even though she was a tiny woman, she could not have fit in there)  She looked at the door for about 20 seconds, examined the latch that kept it closed very carefully, looked around the back and saw the exit door.  Then she opened the closet, saw it was not the restroom, closed it again.  Looked again toward the front of the plane and realized it was a bit farther on.

As we were leaving the plane I found she spoke no English at all.  My tip for the day... if you are going to travel in a country where you don't speak the language, at least be able to say - "my suitcase is the one with... (Insert description here)".  The poor guy who was trying to help her thought she was pointing to the cane someone had stuck up in the bin.

The last leg of the flight had entertainment provided by an elderly man who appeared to have early Parkinsons or something of that sort. He sat in the very first row where he could continually badger the flight attendants about when we would arrive.  (I don't know what exactly he was going to do if he didn't get the answer he wanted... jump out the door to get there faster?).

There was some turbulence near the end of the flight. The flight attendants and the captain announced - about 5 times each - that all electronics had to be put away, seats needed to be upright, tray tables up.  The two people in front of us decided the annoying instructions did not pertain to them.  The flight attendant had to ask them (very nicely and apologetically) three more times, could they please shut the computers off and stow them.  Also could they please put their tray tables up and could she please put her seat upright instead of reclined.  Personally I would have smacked them and said "listen up idiots" but that's why I'm not a flight attendant.

Luckily the turbulence turned out to be less than expected.  That's a good thing.  However, if these two had gotten hurt, you can bet they'd sue the airline into bankruptcy. 

I'll only touch briefly on the guy behind us traveling with two near teens... as we were landing, he was trying to point out various landmarks. When he saw it had been raining his amazement knew no bounds.  He was simply astounded that it had rained and there was water on the streets.  Even though he lives in Providence, this quirk of the weather to dump water on the ground was pronounced an incredible thing.

Ah the joys of flying. 

Oh... where did we go?  Texas.  Austin/San Antonio.  More on this tomorrow. 

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:05 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
Post contains 969 words, total size 5 kb.

So I'm finally back from the big Midwest tour. 

The rest is below the fold so you can skip it if you are bored by traveler's tales. 

more...

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:21 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 977 words, total size 6 kb.

1 Glad you're back safely & in one piece. Rest well, Teresa.

Posted by: Rev. Paul at March 12, 2010 01:13 AM (k85eb)

2 Raccoons in the attic are some bad bad juju.  They are vicious when cornered.  Last SAT night I had to shoot a possum that went after Stretch and me, and was looking at the Juju Woman....had no choice.  It was relentless.  I gave it a chance to run.

http://badbadjuju.com/2010/03/death-on-the-stretchengeti/

Sweet Dreams.

Posted by: Yabu at March 12, 2010 09:32 AM (VxNeS)

3 T: Glad you made it back from your adventures. Do you know why raccoons have masks? So you can tell them apart from politicians.

Posted by: MGA at March 12, 2010 11:37 PM (6gnil)

4 Sleep soundly - no bats (errr - racoons) in your belfry (errr - attic )

Posted by: patti at March 13, 2010 11:46 AM (ykXWv)

5 It was awesome having you here!!  And FYI - watched one of the post oscar fashion reviews this morning - they hated *everything* that we did...  Hahsahaha - we are experts!

Posted by: Richmond at March 13, 2010 04:56 PM (oNUit)

6 Now if only we could get them to PAY us for our opinions... HA!

Posted by: Teresa at March 13, 2010 09:58 PM (ZCuP9)

7 Travel, raccoons, fashion of the stars, eyelashes, and family.
Now I have a migraine.    

Posted by: JihadGene at March 14, 2010 10:26 AM (KNnpz)

8 JG - you need to head on out to Rich's when we do the Oscar party.  Nothing more fun than picking apart the fashions.  It's hilarious and will help with any migraine

Posted by: Teresa at March 14, 2010 02:29 PM (ZCuP9)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Well, here I am at the airport waiting for my flight.  Joy.  It's snowing lightly.  Let's hope that's not enough to stop traffic. 

I always get to the airport early.  I'd far rather get to the gate early than dash in at the last minute.  Not that I like sitting in the airport, but I'm always paranoid about some ridiculous thing causing me to miss a flight.  I guess if I flew more it wouldn't bother me so much - but I doubt it.  It's one of those weird quirks. 

Good thing about getting here a bit early, I was able to get some work done and now I don't have to worry about it.  That's a good thing.  However this waiting area is playing some sort of cartoon for kids.  There are no kids, but hey there "might be" some kids so they have cartoons.  If they were good cartoons it would be one thing, but from what I'm hearing it doesn't sound very good, not funny.  Why couldn't they play looney toons? 

In other news... I put on the wrong pair of socks this morning.  Unfortunately these are a pair that tends to slip down as I walk.  Very annoying.  First order of business may be buying some new socks while I'm in Chicago. (because when you think "shopping in Chicago" you think socks - right?)  Of course I did bring more socks, but it looks as if it won't be enough since I now remember I pulled out 2 pair of these yesterday and one is packed.  Ho-hum. 

I keep forgetting how the trackpad on this laptop works.  There's a special area to swipe to make the page scroll.  I am always reverting to the Apple method (the same method used on my netbook) of a 2 finger swipe.  I have to do that about 10 times before I remember how this trackpad works.  I need new braincells.

Now off to check work mail then maybe get some reading in.  The excitement never ends.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:20 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 339 words, total size 2 kb.

I am headed to the Midwest on Thursday.  Going to stop in Chicago and see the kids, make a detour up to Wisconsin, then head to St. Louis to see my mom and sister and one of my good friends from back in my college days.

I call this the great Midwest loop.  I'm still trying to decide if I'm going to go with all carry-on luggage or if I'm going to check a bag.  I hate checking bags, so it's a conundrum - this is a much longer trip than my usual 4 day weekend jaunts. 

In the meantime, I have work to get done.  I have to make lists... lots and lots of lists so I don't forget anything vital. 

I leave in 2 days. 

My head just may explode.

Stay tuned.
 

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:46 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 142 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Have fun, T...I'll miss ya!

Posted by: Erica at March 02, 2010 12:27 PM (4zKm7)

2 Feh...I used the wrong blog in my linkie thing.

Posted by: Erica at March 02, 2010 12:27 PM (4zKm7)

3 In laws used to live in Joliet - love the lake front of Chicago - have lots of Irish music friends there. One of my oldest and dearest friends lives in Milwaukee - Most of my husband's aunts/uncles and cousins live in St Louis - Haven't done that loop in years now, but used to do it every year. Safe travels - lovely visiting for you

Posted by: patti at March 02, 2010 12:28 PM (ykXWv)

4 A friend in St. Louis once confided his secret for airline travel: two Excedrins and a Bud Lite.  Said he doesn't remember flying, just take-offs and landings.

Safe travels, Teresa.

Posted by: Rev. Paul at March 02, 2010 01:48 PM (0DZhf)

5 Please take my roommate to Wisconsin with you. Please.

Posted by: Da Goddess at March 02, 2010 04:17 PM (7NJrO)

6 Thanks for coming up to play!! 

Posted by: Richmond at March 13, 2010 04:52 PM (oNUit)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Possibly tomorrow. 

I'm off for a one night jaunt to Cleveland again.  Just like last year.  It's some face time - people I work with only over the phone and email - and this, while inconvenient as far as the travel goes, is a good thing. 

Luckily for me I am NOT flying out of Logan this weekend as once again the Prez has decided to grace the city with his presence.  I'm hoping for only a short airspace delay going to the Providence airport rather than the total airport shut down that accompanies AF-1 landing.

We shall see.  It's all blog fodder folks. 

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:15 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 107 words, total size 1 kb.

Yes I've been gone for a while, why do you ask? 

We headed to a wedding this last weekend and combined it with some family time. 

Here are a few things I jotted down while sitting on the plane today. 

- "electronics off" does mean everyone - what a shock to the woman who missed all THREE announcements asking that electronic devices be turned off during take off. When the flight attendant stopped directly next to her and specifically asked one more time - I can see how it might be confusing enough for her to think they were referring to her seat back and not the iphone in her hand.

- the "security wallet" that you wear on a string around your neck with your driver's license front and center for all to see... makes you look like you are AWOL from your kindergarten group even if you are pushing 75.

- no, you aren't allowed to hang your coats on the tray table latch, even if it does look like a miniature coat hanger.

- If you remove your tall boots during the flight, consider putting them back on again just before landing rather than at the point where you notice the people in the row directly in front of you leaving.  At this point in your life, it shouldn't be a surprise to find your shoes do not magically reattach themselves to your feet without help.

-  a plaid coat that ends just above the knee is a mistake of epic proportions, especially when paired with wide leg jeans that go all the way to the floor.   The larger the size, the bigger the mistake.

- purple shoes?  Really?

- airports should be petitioned to show ESPN rather than CNN.  The level of discourse on ESPN far eclipses CNN on all fronts.

- airport announcements that tell people to use a kleenex when coughing or sneezing and then to wash your hands afterward - note to airport officials... idiots won't listen to you (see the woman with the iphone) and those who already know this will simply be driven insane by the repetition. 

That's all for now.  If I can scrape enough time together, I do have some pictures.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:05 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 374 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Clearly the work of a keen, analytical mind - meaning you probably shouldn't travel with the great unwashed masses ... it'll just make you crazy.

People who watch DVDs on personal players with ear buds probably shouldn't laugh out loud or talk back to the screen, either. And for heaven's sake, wear something below the waist other than sleep shorts and a thong!

I'm done now.  Please return all seat backs and stewardesses to their original, upright position.

Posted by: Rev. Paul at October 19, 2009 10:34 PM (ZU8BU)

2 This almost reads like a Memo. I like it I think you covered it well. Oh, and if, because of overbooking and rebooking to herd people together to maximize space, you find yourself with someone in the center seat, don't be a prick and take the armrest as well. That person has little enough room as it is.

Posted by: rsm at October 19, 2009 10:50 PM (4SUrv)

3 Rev Paul - I do wish I had the cash to do private jets.  I'd certainly do it and to hell with people who thought I was snobby.  heh.

RSM - I was in a center seat this time, luckily my husband was in the aisle seat and I could lean on him.

Posted by: Teresa at October 20, 2009 08:33 PM (ZCuP9)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

The Apollo 11 mission blasted off for the moon.  Here's a bit of what was going on today at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

So where were you when it all went up (so to speak)?  I was glued to the television watching every moment.

This weekend, in honor of the momentous anniversary, I will be watching The Dish. I can still remember all the chatter between NASA and the astronauts when I hear it in the movie.   I still think the entire world stood still and held its collective breath as Neil Armstrong climbed down that ladder.

There has never been anything like it before or since.  To this day, it's still difficult to fathom the enormity of the undertaking and the incredible accomplishments of those engineers and astronauts. 

Thank you to all who made that moment possible.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:02 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
Post contains 144 words, total size 1 kb.

Taking a vacation... should I tempt the travel gods?

I have been considering... the problem is with a huge number of choices, I'm not sure where we should go.  The list of places I haven't been is endless. 

Maybe I should get out a map and throw a dart. (of  course they would have to be "safety darts" since I'm quite sure they'll end up somewhere far from the map I'm aiming at)  Under consideration... San Diego, Hawaii, Arizona (specifically the Grand Canyon area), Ireland, Japan, and Alaska.  These are in no particular order.

I am not a sun worshiper.  Being a translucent American (thank you Rich for the wonderful term), sitting on the beach baking in the sun does nothing for me.   If I go somewhere warm, it would need to have things for me to do and see (and photograph) while I'm there.  A flat sandy beach is rather dull after the first couple of hours.

I like cities, but I also like scenery.  I had thought of a trip that combined San Diego then on to Hawaii - to break it up - since we live soooo far East.  Or Ireland is way closer than Hawaii. Japan would be incredibly interesting.  Of course Alaska has scenery to beat scenery - but not so much city.  Grand Canyon... everyone should see it, but how long would we want to stay?  What else is out there? 

This is why I can't make up my mind.  Of course with the economy the way it is - I've put off thinking of a vacation for a while to be sure we had an income.  However, it's time to get out and do something different.  See something new.

Anyone got any safety darts and a map? 

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 07:10 PM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
Post contains 295 words, total size 2 kb.

1 Jellystone?

Posted by: Craig at June 04, 2009 11:12 PM (Rc4D4)

2 If staying in the continental US, the Grand Canyon can't be beat for its sheer breathtaking glory.  And Vegas is a short hop from there, if you're so inclined.

Or Ireland.  I've always wanted to visit the 'motherland'.  heh.

Oh, I saw a movie a few nights ago and the scenery was so gorgeous I actually googled to find out where it was filmed.  Canada!  BC, I think.  I'd no idea it was that beautiful!

Posted by: Pam at June 05, 2009 09:00 AM (l6NIn)

3 Shoal Bay East...Anguilla, BWI

Trust me on this.

Posted by: Sam at June 05, 2009 11:21 AM (kN++T)

4

If you want Alaska + city, think Anchorage.  Population: 283,000. Most modern amenities, big-name stores and shops.  Surrounded by six mountain ranges (closest are only 3 miles away).  Guides: me & the Mrs., to offer suggestions & welcome you to our part of the planet.  Just sayin'.

Posted by: Rev. Paul at June 05, 2009 01:53 PM (0DZhf)

5

If time and money were no object I'd go to Alaska and spend a month or two. My wife won't let me. She says I'd never come back.

I'm a translucent American too. 31 years in south Florida and I still hate the beach and the ocean and the human waste that retires here from the northeast.

Have fun. Post us some pictures when you come back.

Joe

 

Posted by: Assrot at June 05, 2009 03:41 PM (aDmuQ)

6 The Grand Canyon is completely breath taking. We were there for only a couple of nights, but wished we could have stayed longer. There is really no describing how amazing it is, you really have to just see it. Before we went, I was all like "What's the big deal?!" But the second I saw it, I was awe struck.

The best thing would be to stay at one of the lodges that is on the edge of the canyon. I think there are three or four. But they need to be reserved wayyyy in advance. However, in this economy, you might get lucky. If you google around, the lodges are pretty easy to find.

My other suggestion would be San Diego. Balboa Park there is ripe for photography. I've never actually been to the park, but I have friends that live there who are photography buffs. There's tons of great photog opportunities. I think there's even a group that offers photog tours at night.

One last suggestion, Los Angeles....specifically Playa del Rey.  Playa is a really cool little beach community. It's where I live, so I'm biased! But it is very centrally located to just about every thing. It's 5 minutes to LAX, and a good jumping off point to all things that SoCal is known for. There is also a fabulous bed and breakfast place here: http://www.innatplayadelrey.com/ . If you decide to come out here, let me know and I can give you a list of "must see's."

Happy vacation!

Posted by: DogsDontPurr at June 05, 2009 04:35 PM (1KC4A)

7 If you come to San Diego, we can visit and then we can call Marcie and visit with her. And then, and then, and then...   There's so much to see and do here that doesn't involve the beach. The Zoo, the Wild Animal Park, Balboa Park, Old Poway Park, Ramona, Julian, the missions, the...well, everything! And seriously, you could so meet up with more bloggers while you're in SoCal. Tammi isn't too far away. Also, depending on WHEN you're here, you might run into even more. Oh, and why don't we figure out when and for how long and tempt others to come visit at the same time? It could be so fun. So, so, sooooooo fun.   But, if you decide on Alaska, I know people there...

Posted by: Da Goddess at June 06, 2009 03:25 AM (k1Isu)

8 I just went to Ireland in April. Given your love of stone walls and all things green, you and your camera would be in heaven there. I still haven't finished posting all the pix I took there!

Posted by: Omnibus Driver at June 06, 2009 08:52 AM (Vm5DW)

9 LOL - see my problem... y'all have just given me reasons to go to every place on my list.

Posted by: Teresa at June 06, 2009 10:54 AM (ybEr8)

10 SAN DIEGO!   You had two votes for us.   lol

Posted by: Da Goddess at June 06, 2009 07:12 PM (k1Isu)

11  If you decide to try Arizona you could easily spend a few months. There is the Grand Canyon but don't start there. Fly into Phoenix and rent a car with real good air conditioning as the daytime temp will top 110 without any trouble. Now drive away from the Grand Canyon, down to Tombstone. Spend a day or two there and then duck down to Bisbee for a day.

 Slide back up to Phoenix for some citified life and then go up the hill to Flagstaff and thence to the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert. That's worth a day, maybe two. Now up to the Grand Canyon.

 From there, slide north into Utah for a trip through Monument Valley. If you have time left go up to Salt Lake City or back to Phoenix and go see Joanie in San Diego for the rest of your trip.

Posted by: Peter at June 07, 2009 12:15 AM (rKei9)

12

My Dad and Mom swear that Yellowstone National Park in Yellowstone is the most amazing place ever.  Seriously, consider it one day... we are.

My personal best vacation ever was in Maine.  We flew into Bangor, went to Bar Harbor and stayed in bed and breakfasts all the way down until we hit Portland.  We were in Camden, Castine, Kennebunk, and we just shopped, hiked, and had a blast.  We went the first week in September when the kids were back in school (we didn't have kids) so that it wouldn't be crowded and yet not too cold. Acadia National Park is beautiful.   If my husband were really into the outdoors as I am, and liked to run and hike like I do, we would have hiked all over.  As it was though, we did some, and it was absolutely breathtaking.

I want to go to S. Dakota in the spring or fall and see Mount Rushmore and the park there.  I'm obviously very much into the outdoors end of vacations...

When my folks were in Wyoming, they met a European couple there.  They were a few years older than my folks and said that America has done such a great job preserving our land for National Parks. I guess Europe has failed in comparison.  Keeping that in mind, I would be happy to visit every National Park and Historic site in America.  That includes the Grand Canyon and all those wests.  (Yosemite is gorgeous.) 

Posted by: Bou at June 07, 2009 11:42 AM (vkUMO)

13 That should have read Yellowstone National Park in WYOMING.  That's what I get for not proofing... dork that I am.

Posted by: Bou at June 07, 2009 11:43 AM (vkUMO)

14

What Peter said!  Also in AZ- go to Jerome...a quaint little 100 + year old town that is now known for it's shops & scenery- oh, and a man named Churchill once stayed in Jerome, I believe.

There's a winery, museum, abandoned gold mine, mansion, etc.  All pretty impressive for America's most vertical town (30' incline, 1-mile high with a 50 mile view) and largest ghost town.

But then you should also visit Sedona (an artists colony with the most excellent fudge shop!) and Prescott.

http://www.azjerome.com/

Posted by: Rave at June 08, 2009 08:43 AM (Jh0RL)

15 LOL - OMG you all are killing me... I'll need an entire year of vacation to get to all of it.  Thank you though - great great suggestions all of them!  

Posted by: Teresa at June 08, 2009 08:22 PM (ZtdpJ)

16 I would do what Chevy Chase did. Go to Wally World!

Posted by: JihadGene at June 09, 2009 01:15 PM (PC4IT)

17 JG - Um... no.  ROFLMAO

Posted by: Teresa at June 09, 2009 01:34 PM (ZtdpJ)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Back in the airport - in Cleveland.  Way early for my flight, but it's been snowing here, so we didn't know how long anything would take. 

Had to resort to soda for caffeine this morning since the stupid "coffee shop" here in the airport has no mocha... geeze.  Of course the chick at the counter very snottily said "this isn't Starbucks" and I said "Yes I know that"  (I'm pretty sure she didn't quite realize how I meant that comment)

It has stopped snowing... so maybe I'll get out today.  I'm typing this on my Eeepc which does manage linebreaks - unlike when I post from my bb.  

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 11:03 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 112 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Ohhhh I hate the Cleveland airport.  I'm so sorry. May you escape sooner rather than later.

And I feel sorry for anyone the messes with you today. No Starbucks?!?!  Yeah....they better tread lightly.....

Posted by: Tammi at January 18, 2009 11:44 AM (xN6Ui)

2

Oh, shit!  That can only mean one thing!  ArchNemesis Captain Epilog has escaped from his mild-mannered ^(hah!) corrupt secret identity as Fat POS County Commissioner Jimbo DiMora and had not only inhaled all the Amy Joy doughnuts ^{(and all other brands, too)} in the county but has also slurped up all the coffee to go with it! 

Congrats to Captain Epilog and his co-Democrat liberal screwups on another humiliation for good old Cleveland.  Sorry 'bout that, Theresa. 

Now I'm going to camp out in the basement and guard my stash of instant.

Posted by: Cappy at January 18, 2009 11:49 AM (Uewwn)

3 Well, managed to get out and wasn't too delayed.   Other than the snotty coffee place, the airport wasn't too hideous.  If I had been really delayed, I could've gone back through the underground tunnel to hit Max and Erma's for food.  But since all was mostly on time, I got a bagel instead.

Then got my Starbucks when I got to Providence.   I may live.  Not sure. LOL.

Posted by: Teresa at January 18, 2009 05:34 PM (ybEr8)

4 There are worse places to be stuck than the airport in Cleveland. As one who was born there and who has flown out of that airport many times (and whose father helped build that damn thing), I have been through many airports and that was definitely not the worst of the worst. DIA sucks more.

Posted by: Da Goddess at January 19, 2009 12:48 AM (e8/Ag)

5 OK Goddess, you know what's next.  East Side or West Side?

Posted by: Cappy at January 19, 2009 09:46 AM (Uewwn)

6

Ok, Cappy.  I was born in Canton, Ohio, and raised in Lyndhurst on the East Side, then moved to Lakewood on the West Side in time for first grade.  Then attended John Carroll University on the East Side, then lived in Cleveland Heights on the East Side, then moved  back to Lakewood, and now live in Westlake on the far West Side.  Both sides of town have good and bad points.    The East Side has University Circle and the Cleveland Orchestra, and all the wonderful museums.  The West Side has lots of quirky neighborhoods with wonderful restaurants and little bars and unique ethnics foods and drinks.  Now, if we could just find a way to renew and refresh the DOWNTOWN area.......especially the dreary Euclid Avenue corridor.....sigh.

Posted by: Mary at January 20, 2009 01:02 AM (3k4VW)

7 Well, other than the fact that I was really grumpy over not having my coffee that day, I was pleasantly surprised by the Cleveland area.  Specifically the Cleveland Heights area and the University area both of which were very nice. 

Posted by: Teresa at January 20, 2009 05:48 PM (ybEr8)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

I'm off and way for a one night trip to... Cleveland. It's for work of course although it's a social get together. Thus I am once again tempting the travel gods to wreak some havoc. I'm sure the entire world will know if we end up in the drink, but I have my bb so I too could do on scene reportage. Even now I'm trying to prewrite some blog comments in my head. (Naturally I would forget all of it in a real emergency... But it gives me something to do while I wait) Of course, I now have very few readers - most having jumped to facebook -. don't find it worth the extra time to stop by to read my scribbles, much less comment. So to those who have stuck with my blogging, I thank you. (Thought I should say that before boarding the plane - just in case)*** *** this post makes me laugh even more than my cows on Mars post.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 01:38 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
Post contains 168 words, total size 1 kb.

1 I don't find blogging-indulging and Facebook to be mutually exclusive, unless FB gets all jealous.  Then I just have to be sneaky.

Posted by: LeeAnn at January 17, 2009 02:17 PM (ayhdB)

2 comment comment comment. I'll find you wherever you go.

Posted by: rsm at January 18, 2009 08:11 AM (Aqlo+)

3 I still stroll through the roll every now and again.  Just not as much as I used to.  FB has nothing to do with it, even though, I have an account there, I just ain't into cookie cutter social activities.    If you ever hit Columbus, holla at me.

Posted by: RedNeck at January 21, 2009 07:21 PM (zVAJL)

4 'neck I'll remember that if I'm ever in Columbus. 

Posted by: Teresa at January 21, 2009 11:09 PM (ybEr8)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

As most everyone knows, the travel gods don't like me too much.  We'll see how this trip goes. 

We ended up with an extra day leeway, not only because of the weekend (specifically Sunday being a day when Catholics do not usually hold funerals) but also because my father will be buried at Jefferson Barracks Military Cemetery and they were the determining factor.  They have 5 other funerals the same day as my father's!

So they gave us the burial time and my sister worked back from there.  In other words they are booked solid - I never would have thought that would be the case, but it's another indication of how many WW2/Korean War/Vietnam War vets we are losing as time goes on.

So, tomorrow we are flying to Chicago and driving south - no layovers.  My hope is, getting there late afternoon Sunday and driving OUT of Chicago, we won't hit too many snags in traffic.  As long as the weather isn't bad down south, it should be an easy drive.  Of course we've had our driving weather issues over the years - one was a particularly bad ice storm going on in Springfield, IL... clear would be good even if it's cold.

Today there is just a bit of the snow thing going on in Chicago I know that would have hung us up if not canceled flights entirely. 

Today I'm trying to finish up all the reservations, do wash, get all the junk I need for a longer than normal trip (my trips are generally in the 2 night range so I'm not quite used to carrying more stuff).

I know I will forget something... I just hope it's not something important.  I've got plane, car, hotel covered - that means it will be in the packing.  Now back to making my list.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 12:54 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
Post contains 309 words, total size 2 kb.

1

Safe & delay free travels!!  I'll be thinking of you.  You'd better check that list twice.  These are the times when our brains develop holes.

Posted by: Joey at December 06, 2008 02:58 PM (C2OXX)

2

I checked your site yesterday, but it was before you posted about your father.  I am so sorry for your loss.  There is nothing like a father-daughter relationship.

Travel safely...

Posted by: Sarah at December 06, 2008 04:03 PM (TWet1)

3

I wouldn't worry too much about what you may or may not forget.  It's been my experience that IF you forget something, it was either not important or easily purchasable.

*hugs* again.

Have a safe trip.

Posted by: Rave at December 06, 2008 08:27 PM (EnApd)

4 Thank you all.  Rave - I'm not too worried except for things that are clothing that I might not be able to find in my size once I'm on the road.  Bath stuff, etc is all easily doable from the local Walgreens.

Posted by: Teresa at December 06, 2008 08:53 PM (mMa3+)

5 Man oh man...  I do so hope travel goes smoothly this time...

Posted by: Richmond at December 06, 2008 09:04 PM (S7nwl)

6

If ever you were to be granted an uneventful trip, I hope this is it.  May the Travel Gods shine upon you while you travel.

I'm just so sorry for all of this.  Know you are in my thoughts...

Posted by: Bou at December 07, 2008 03:18 PM (PyX9Z)

7 Condolences to you on the loss of your father, and hopes for a safe trip.

Posted by: Cappy at December 08, 2008 02:19 PM (AFsBF)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Weather... Of course. Hour and a half wait so far. We'll see.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 10:37 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 13 words, total size 1 kb.

First - thnx for the comments. It's difficult to answer on this bb keyboard. No probes were evident on the surreal bus ride (amnesia???). There was a lady on the bus who seems to have never seen morning traffic before. (An alien???) Oh yeah, because it's morning - I forgot to take the liquid pack out of my bag. TSA never said a word. Have I really gone back in time. Weird!

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 09:22 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 76 words, total size 1 kb.

Here are 2 new ways to part you from your money while you're on the move.

Delta Air to have Wi-Fi access on domestic flights

I can't even get my wi-fi to work properly in airports. I can't imagine the nightmare of trying to keep a connection in the air!  And $9.95 for a less than 3 hour flight?  If you account for take off and landing, plus the time it takes to haul out the computer and get it connected... you might possibly get an entire half hour on line... or not.

Then we find out:

TSA to allow laptops to stay in approved bags

Yes, you have to buy a special bag.  It would be worth it if you travel a lot.  I don't, so this holds no appeal for me at all. I'll keep my money and haul out the notebook.  *sigh*

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 10:04 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
Post contains 152 words, total size 1 kb.

1 Sort of still on topic, I just read yesterday that an AA flight out of LaGuardia lost two of its engines upon takeoff and had to make an emergency landing at JFK...it was considered a "Level 2" emergency, "Level 3 being an actual crash.

T...after my own experiences with American Airlines, and the dreck what I have been reading in the news about them lately, plus the explosion in the fuselage on the Qantas flight a week or so back, I don't think the whole Wi-Fi / bag check thing will even matter to me, because I'm not sure I even ever want to set foot on an airplane ever again.

Honestly, the whole thing scares the caca out of me.

Posted by: Erica at August 06, 2008 08:59 AM (OQDyt)

2 E - I don't worry about crashing.  It's a quick way to make an exit 

Posted by: Teresa at August 06, 2008 09:31 AM (mMa3+)

Hide Comments | Add Comment

Because it's so fun to look at the way my life progresses through airports.

Up at 6:45.  I keep forgetting St. Louis is so friggin' small and the traffic (outside the times when there's a car accident) actually moves. 

At the airport and through security by 9:30 after not rushing to check out of the hotel, stopping for coffee and returning the rental car.  But the flight isn't until 11:20 - ho-hum.  The flight leaves on time - Hurray!

Get to Louisville immediately see my flight to "Providence" is marked delayed from 3:45 to 5:15.  It's only now that I find out my flight is not direct to Providence. Silly me.  This is the first time I've flown Southwest.  Now I know - they do these short hops and stops.  This plane was headed to Baltimore first (something that was not quite mentioned on my itinerary when I made the reservations or I would certainly have opted for a different flight).

We finally got off the ground headed to BWI at 5:30.  We pull in at the gate - the Baltimore passengers get off, the Providence passengers get on.  They close the door, we push back and... stop.

Ten minutes later the captain gets on the intercom and tells us, they aren't allowing any take offs and landings due to weather so we're going to deplane. 

Out into the terminal.  Grab a bite to eat, get a Starbucks to stay awake. And wait.  And wait.

The Southwest peeps did a pretty good job with very little information. The Captain kept coming out to give us weather updates.  There is of course nothing they can do about the weather.   West bound cleared up first and they started allowing those flights to leave, but Northeast had to sit longer. 

About 9:30  they asked everyone to get back on the plane - there "might" be a window of time between storms to get out. We all got on the plane and waited... Then the Captain had to tell us his allotted time to work was nearly up.  He was trying to find out if they had another crew available. 

They did.  New crew gets on and we wait...

At 11:15pm we finally took off.  Got to Providence at 12:30am.  Got home at 1:45am.

I must say the crew at Southwest Airline was very good about the whole mess.   They did their level best to keep us up to date on the situation.  The flight attendants were exhausted, but persevered to the end with a smile. 

I certainly will fly their airline again, although I will very carefully check times and see what flights go where before I accept an itinerary.  For me, any stop is always fraught with the possibility of long delays.  As it is, I should have flown into and out of Midway and driven to St. Louis. I know that would have worked much better.  Or at least if I got stuck... there were more options.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 05:38 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
Post contains 498 words, total size 3 kb.

New crew. Maybe we'll get to leave soon... The new captain thinks so. Should I hold my breath???

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 10:02 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.

Still @ BWI. It's POURING rain & lightining like mad. Still, they haven't cancelled anything yet. We shall see. Now back to using my data plan instead of paying for internet. heh.

Posted by: Teresa in Travel at 08:15 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 39 words, total size 1 kb.