Whirlwind

Well this indeed has been the month of many places for me. It started with a weekend in Miami and some very welcome warm weather and time to just sit on the beach and relax. Then it was off to Fort Lauderdale and the ridiculously big hotel room. It was nice but far too big for practical purposes. Then it was a drive to Albany. Then back on plane to Charlotte ahead of the giant blizzard that clobbered DC the first time. Three hours in the car driving in the driving rain brought me to South Carolina to spend a weekend with my Grandparents. I got to catch up on some sleep, was so well fed (soup, carrot cake pancakes, the peanut butter cup brownies) and had a great time chatting with my grandparents. I had such a good time that it was so hard to say goodbye and head back to Charlotte for my meeting.

Then it was off to Dallas. This was a good trip but it was filled with more drama than the other legs of my trip. My trip to this point had me in places with unseasonably cold temperatures. Dallas took the cake with snow. Lots of snow.

It did speed up my training a bit as all of us had planes to catch. After my flight got canceled, I did manage to get on an earlier flight. The last minute decision to grab lunch for the plane proved to be so very wise as it took almost 4 hours to fly the normally 35 minute flight.

Luckily my flight home from Austin was only 20 minutes delayed. It was so nice to land and to have a weekend at home for once. I actually managed to be a bit domestic and cook. I also was able to catch up with friends and resume my social life for a bit.

My next trip was to Detroit. That flight was delayed (and I still have no idea why) which got me to town late. It was a mad rush to get things done and I finally got checked into my room at 7pm that night. And what a room. Soft jazz in the bathroom. Faux fireplace roaring on the tv. Mood lighting. Given I was holding 4 laptops and had work to do, the mood was totally lost on me. And it took me forever to find the light switch! The only other drama for Detroit was the delicious, but extremely hot, cauliflower soup that I burned the roof of my mouth with. I should have eaten that first bite more slowly but I was starving and I hadn't eaten lunch. I paid for my carelessness for the next four days.

My final trip was to Portland. I was thrilled to be spending the weekend with my friend and enjoying some warm weather for once. It was sunny and almost 60 degrees out. We had spa day and got pampered. After a month on planes, my poor skin didn't know if it was coming or going. Shopping, eating, talking until the wee hours of the morning and walking along the beach were all a nice respite from all the hard work I had been doing.

The beach was beautiful and so unlike the beaches here in New England.


My final training went well and the long lunch with my friend before I headed to the airport was a delight. We went to one of my favorite places and splurged on the side of fries with our sandwiches and dessert! We also discussed our love of the salt water taffy we had bought at the beach. It was so good but neither one of us could stop eating it!

It was such a good trip that even the grueling 4 hour flight delay home did not dampen the fun. I arrived home later than expected and to a winter storm that was dumping rain after dumping a bunch of snow. Getting back in to the swing of things was tough as my body had adjusted to being on the West coast. I did get myself caught up on sleep this weekend and am ready to head into a new month ready to go.