New Orleans

Susie, Jen, Laura, and I came to New Orleans yesterday for SHRM. I have been here once before but it was quite awhile ago and involved my family and 2 SUVs pulling pop-up campers. Probably not a typical New Orleans experience!

We are staying in the Royal Sonesta right on Burban Street. The hotel is gorgeous! Beautiful chandeliers, antique tv stands and desks (or great fakes). But take a step out the door and it's another world. It's almost how I might imagine France before the Revolution....people eating cake in beautiful elegance inside while those outside wander through smelly streets in front of offensive darkness outside. While there are many many differences in this little analogy- the one that sticks out the most to me is that those on the outside seem happy to be there. Happy to produce shirts mocking the sanctity of marriage because they sell and happy to lure anyone who will listen into their beer soaked dens.

It's really a terrible place on Bourbon street. I would advise anyone traveling through here to avoid it.

On a more positive note there are a few bright spots. Here are a few

• Cafe du Monde- only 5 menu options but the beignets are amazing.
• We stumbled upon a wonderful dress boutique having a 50% off sale. Great fun with the girls!
• Decatour street is actually quite nice- good food and some nice shops. It is more how one might picture a good part of New Orleans. Also a bonus- there is much less of a trash/who knows what else smell in this area!
• Cute masks of all different colors! Makes for some super fun pics and an inexpensive and decorative souvenir.
• Unique jazz music- many talented musicians performing.

That's all I have for now. We are enjoying our time learning, shopping, and spending time with co-workers/friends so that's a positive.

Thank-you to God for protection and Bonne Nuit!

Boston Pictures

Boston

This week I traveled to Boston for the ASHA convention. I was caught off guard during the landing process as it looked as though were were going to literally land ON THE WATER! I was wondering if we had those airboat floatation devices when suddenly we crossed onto solid ground and came to a stop. It's quite an experience.

From what I have seen Boston is actually a really nice city. It's clean, the fall colors are beautiful, and it has a very intellectual atmosphere. The buildings are very distinguished and elegant.

I've also had some great food while here. :)

However. It is quite cold. I dressed for the occasion with a wool coat and a hat and scarf and gloves but still had to stop by Starbucks for some internal warmth before heading back to my hotel after dinner.

My hotel was built in the 1920's and is really lovely. As I write this I'm sitting in the huge lobby with Christmas decorations and chandeliers and even a live piano performance. It's called the Boston Park Plaza Hotel if anyone wants to check it out next time you are in Boston!

Vegas

Last Thursday I went to Las Vegas for a Convention. It was neat to see the hotels and their different themes and attractions, but the best part of the trip was that I got to spend several days with my cousin Carrie. She lives in California so she took a short flight to LV and spent the weekend with me. It was fun. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Here are some thoughts on LV for those of you that might travel there

• Stay on the Strip if possible! The convention put us in a hotel that was “on the strip” but not really. We had to take a shuttle that could easily fill up leaving you waiting an hour for the next shuttle.
• If you want to have breakfast at one of the nice hotels, get there early! We arrived to Paris at 10:35 and the line was so long that we weren’t able to get to pay before breakfast ended at 11:00. Don’t feel too sorry for us though. We had some super yummy fruit tartes at a café nearby.
• I highly recommend the crepes and tartes in Paris. Very authentic. Very good.
• If you have extra time, you may want to rent a car and check out Red Rock National Park is less than an hour away and it looked like a great way to spend an afternoon.

Wishing to travel

My travel season is about to start again. I'm looking forward to seeing my cousin in October and my family for my brother's fall break. But that's all the way in October. I know it will come sooner than I think. I just feel like I need an escape from my daily life right now. I need a vacation. But the relaxing, rejuvinating kind. I want to sit on a beach for hours with nothing to do at night but have a nice dinner and chat with friends. Or maybe take a trip to the mountains and do some hiking followed by a nice soak in the hot tub.

I just want to relax somewhere beautiful. Like a retreat. Yes, I need a retreat. That sounds nice.

Boulder Colorado

I love this town. I had a really nice evening there Wednesday on Pearl Street. This street dates back to the early 1900's and is very "cool" place to be on a summer evening. It's really close to a college so there are lots of young people around. I saw a string trio, a dijurido trio, and an outdoor concert. I was able to go back to Boulder this morning and enjoyed a very beautiful hike in Chautauqua park. The air is so fresh. The flowers are beautiful. And the mountains are breathtaking. :) Here are a few pictures.

Warning to United Airlines Passengers

Your flight just might be delayed! Somehow I was lucky enough to fly United last week and this week again. Apparently they had some huge computer glitch last week that literally grounded their planes. My flight to Washington last week was amazingly not delayed, but the couple sitting next to me had been trying to get to Las Vegas for hours. My flight back to Orlando was delayed 1.5 hours. Now, I find myself up early at the airport and my flight is delayed again! It's only for 30 min so far, so that's alright. But I did find it somewhat disturbing that out of the 7 United flights on the departure board this morning FIVE were either delayed or canceled. This is not a good trend!!!