Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - Travel Back to Charlotte

Didn't have too great a night sleep, again. I had asked housekeeping to try to do something with the lumps in my bed, and they didn't do anything, so when I crawled into bed and discovered all the lumps again, I got back up, stripped the bed, and found the offending lumps, and learned the reason was because the corners on the bed liner (which was covering an uncomfortable, non-breathing plastic mattress cover) had completely melted on one side, which accounted for the lumps. I had to call down and have housekeeping bring another one, which turned out to be even worse! Very disappointed in this hotel! In any event, fortunately, my flight was scheduled for late in the day, so I once again didn't get much sleep overnight, but finally got into a deep sleep around dawn, so at least got a few hours before having to get up and pack. Had an uneventful but comfortable flight home, a tiring drive back to the farm, happy reunions with Hubby and animals, and brief evening before crashing to bed.

Monday, April 29, 2013 - Keynote in Baltimore

What a terrible night! This turned out to be the worst night I've had in a long time, if that's possible. There were creases in the layers below the sheets that formed welts on my body, the sheets were flat and wouldn't stay in place, so they were constantly bunching up and creating lumps, which woke me up practically every hour. I kept trying to smooth them out, but it was impossible, and the sheets were really rough, too. Then the alarm clock went off at 3:30, and I punched every button I could feel in the dark, hoping I had shut it off permanently, but worrying that it would come on again. Just managed to drift off to sleep when all of a sudden, the TV came on at 4:12 am! I had to scramble to find the remote, and because I hadn't even turned it on the night before, I didn't know which was the power button, so I had to struggle with that for a minute. I was still worried about the alarm clock, so I decided to turn the light on and straighten that out, then went back to bed, waiting a long time to get back to sleep, but finally did, and fell into a very deep sleep until 9:00. Good thing my event wasn't until the afternoon!!! If I had had to get up to do a training session at my usual time, I would have been a real mess! I took my time getting out of bed and getting ready, but before noon I headed downstairs to join my group for lunch. I sat through a couple of presentations before they split into plenary sessions, so I went up to my room again for a little while. Finally, it was time. Came downstairs, made a few lighting changes on the stage, and performed my 90 minute keynote speech/training to a quiet crowd of 150 engineers, but they received me well and seemed to enjoy themselves. Afterward, several came up to me to speak with me, then we headed out to a cocktail party with heavy hors d'oeuvres that substituted for dinner (which was fine with me!), before we headed to the company's entertainment section (called the Mike & Mike Show), which was a series of team exercises that were very entertaining, and in some cases, quite a workout! Very fun, and a great break fro the stress I've been dealing with for many weeks now. Headed up to the room, looking forward to a better night sleep.

Sunday April 28, 2013 - Travel to Baltimore

Spent the morning packing and getting my outline for my speech in order, then headed out to the airport around noon. We had decided since it was for such a short time it didn't make sense for Hubby to drive all the way to the airport and back, so I just took the van. Because it was raining cats and dogs (my favorite weather for flying... NOT!) I decided to valet the van, since it was only for two days. Even so, the valet wasn't completely under cover, so I had to run through the rain to the curb anyway. Checked in my carryon so I wouldn't have to bother with it, and before I knew it, I was once again sitting in first class on another flight. Seems like that's been a constant this year, being on a plane! Anyway, it's a very short flight, so a snack and a cup of hot tea was about all I had time for. Caught the hotel shuttle to the Westin BWI, missing Hubby all the way, arriving in time to get my pick of rooms. I ended up in a corner room at the end of a quiet hall, which boded well, and after settling in, headed downstairs to the restaurant for a lovely bowl of crab soup, though I had to wait for bread and butter to go with it, as the soup was getting colder all the while. Spent the evening working on my speech and reading. Didn't even bother to turn on the TV, just wanted to appreciate the quiet I had in the room, yeah! I miss Hubby being with me, though, we're not apart often, and we never like it when we are. At least I had my old phone turned on for him, and we spoke throughout the day anyway. Looking forward to getting this job finished and back to him!

Saturday, April 27, 2013 - Shopping and Rest Day

Had to run out and do some shopping, then tried to relax at least rest of the day, since I have to fly out again tomorrow. Worked on my script a bit, as I only have 90 minutes to speak, and figuring out what to cut out is the hardest thing to do! Managed to pare it down to a manageable script that should do just fine.

Friday, April 26, 2013 - Laundry and Rest Day

With a quick turnaround for me, I spent the day catching up on laundry and trying my best to rest, though computer work, as always, was the priority. It was great to be on my own bed, but I had a lousy night for some reason, just kept waking up every couple of hours, though I did manage to get back to sleep eventually. So much anxiety these days, with so much still to do!

Thursday, April 25, 2013 - Travel Back to Charlotte Day

Had to get up fairly early, enjoying the hotel's free breakfast before heading out to SFO, first to drop off our cute Jeep by 8:30, then catching our flight, which, fortunately, was pretty much on time. Thank goodness we decided to fly first class this time, it's just something we've decided we need to do from now on, or certainly whenever possible, especially for these long jaunts. We've just reached a point in our lives where we just want to enjoy ourselves a bit, and flying is so dang hard these days, especially cross-country, so it's a nice way to treat ourselves a little, even when it's on our dime, like this time. Anyway, it was a nice flight, the lunch was okay but not great (some kind of barbecued chicken with corn and other flavors of the southwest, not my favorite), and we arrived on time, having made up for a late start. I grabbed the shuttle out to the parking lot and picked up the van, then picked up Hubby and headed back to the farm, arriving about 8:00, just as it was getting dark. We are SO ready to sleep in our own bed!!!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - Rest Day

Once again worked ourselves over the past two days into exhaustion, so we spent the day resting in our hotel room and preparing for our trip back to the east coast tomorrow.

Sunday, April 21, 2013 - Rest, Laundry and Dinner Day

I was glad to see that LaQuinta also had a guest laundry, which happened to be next to the pool, so I bought some detergent and fabric softener from the front desk, got on my bathing suit, and headed out to do laundry, sunbathe and read. Finished in pretty short order, then headed back up to the room. We had dinner planned with one of our clients who would be attending our workshop tomorrow, and met him at a place called Pizza Antica in an area in Santa Clara called Santana Row, a popular shopping area with the feel of a small town Main Street, only with all the big chain stores. Had a fabulous evening with our new friend, gave him a ride back to his hotel, then headed back to ours, in bed early in order to be up bright and early for our THIRD job since we arrived in San Francisco. We really crammed them in this time!

Saturday, April 20, 2013 - Shopping and Sun Day

Slept so late we missed the free breakfast downstairs, so we headed out around brunchtime to a place called Hobee's, which had a spectacular menu which was very well executed. Came back to the hotel and truly indulged ourselves by sitting out by the pool for awhile, though the water was a bit too cool to do anything than briefly plunk myself into to cool off, which took half a second, then back out under the warm California sun. Brunch was so late and so filling we didn't need anything else but a few snacks for the rest of the day. A nice relaxing day which we really needed, and the beds are more comfortable here. We've had the window open to let the cool night air in, and so we could turn off the A/C, but then we hear the noise from the parking lot below, which isn't bad, just enough to make me have to wear earplugs. I honestly don't know how people can stand to live in all this noise, but I suppose they get used to it after awhile. I guess I must have, too, at some earlier point in my life, but it certainly isn't my preference!

Friday, April 19, 2013 - Work and Transfer to San Jose Day

Got up early to work with another team of presenters, then observed about half of their afternoon presentation before leaving the hotel. We hired their town car, with a very nice driver, to take us to the car rental place at the San Francisco airport, where I picked up my "Wild Card" car from Thrify, which turned out to be a really neat white Jeep! Four wheel drive and everything, it was perfect for me, just high enough to be above most of the freeway traffic, and much more like what I'm used to driving anyway. Great choice for me, Thrifty! Headed down to San Jose where we were booked at a LaQuinta near the San Jose airport. Because of some budgetary restrictions from our next client (a not-for-profit), and because apparently there is some kind of event going on as all the usual prices have been doubled at most hotels, we were compelled to stay here, and at first, we were quite hesitant, as the outside looked barely better than a common motel, but as soon as we entered the lobby, that impression changed dramatically. Despite it's humble exterior the interior had obviously been completely redone, and everything was done on a very high quality level. The front desk greeted us warmly and helped me find a suitably quiet room. My biggest concern was the wall-type A/C unit, but it was new and relatively quiet, plus there were windows I could actually open, which will be great at night, since the nights are still cool here. We moved in and were settled down quickly enough, then headed out to a grocery store for some essentials, grabbing an early dinner at the Royal Chinese restaurant nearby, before we had a relaxing evening in the hotel. The only drawback here is that it is under the flight path of the San Jose airport, which fortunately isn't too busy. The last flight out is a bit after 11:00, though the first flights are promptly at 6:30 am. Can't wait to get back into the peace and quiet of the woods!

Thursday, April 18, 2013 - Observer and Work Day

Our next job is to work with a few presenters and to observe a few others at an event being held by some old friends of ours. Spent the morning observing and a couple of hours in the afternoon working with a team of presenters for their presentation tomorrow. Enjoyed a nice dinner with the group before heading back to our room for another night of hard sleep.

Wednesday, April 17, 2013 - Trip to Alcatraz

Having completed the first of our three west coast jobs, Hubby and I decided to become tourists today. We started with breakfast across from the hotel at the Golden Gate, an unpretentious second floor restaurant that had no crowd (unlike a couple of others we passed on the way here), but the food was certainly palatable and reasonably well-priced. From there, we headed down a few blocks, made a quick stop to check on something at the Macy's Chanel boutique, then walked down to pick up a trolley bus (as opposed to a trolley car, which we would do later in the day), which took us to Pier 33 where the Alcatraz ferries were running. After standing in a line forever (apparently because the two groups in front of us hadn't decided what they wanted to do, and apparently had to have every last tour option explained to them), we finally got our tickets (in under a minute), then stood in line waiting to board the boat, getting our pictures taken in from of the Alcatraz matte that has become a popular way for some concessionaire to make money, then headed out. Juast as we went, I received a phone call from my Tennessee UPS driver, saying he had a package for me! Seems my order from Horse.com had been sent to the billing address instead of the shipping address as I had instructed, so I had to text him the new address, and he quickly diverted it for me, thank goodness. Now I'm worried about the second package, which was being sent separately, darn it! Can't imagine they're going to send that one to the right address now! Anyway, we had just about arrived at the Alcatraz dock by the time I got off the phone. We disembarked and headed down to an area on the dock where there was a female Park Ranger explaining some of the history and all of the rules of being on "The Rock." Because it was a long uphill slog from the docks to the prison, we took the assistance bus to the top, which had switchbacks as sharp as anything we've seen on a horse trail, before picking up our headsets for the audio tour. Fascinating, frightening, depressing, and the palpable tensions of ghosts full of angst, we spent several hours wandering the prison and the grounds. It's incredible that there are places you can go where you can feel the emotions the predominate there, like the Vietnam Memorial in DC, where the sense of tragedy, waste and mourning are tangible. It took us awhile to identify that emotion here, and eventually realized it was mostly hatred and anger. The gardens provided a small respite and the wildlife sanctuary full of birds also lightened the atmosphere somewhat. Glad we did it, not sure I'd ever want to do it again, though. Ferried back to the mainland and walked down to Pier 66 where there is a wharf full of restaurants and souvenir shops, a typical tourist trap, but we found a nice place for a quick early dinner before walking to the trolley car stop, which then (for a rather exhorbitant fee) took us up over the hill and back down to the hotel, stopping right outside. Once again we joined our friends for drinks at the manager's wine reception, before heading back to our room, knowing it would be a short time till the morning, and the hard bed wasn't going to help much!

Sunday, April 14, 2013 - Rest Day at Sir Francis Drake Hotel

Had a hard time winding down from the late night, but slept as late as possible trying to make up for lost time. Not easy, considering how hard the bed was. I went downstairs to find out about changing rooms, and was told a room had already been chosen, it was just a matter of cleaning. It was on the 15th floor (out of 20), so it bodes well to be a better room. They also mentioned that anything higher might have some noise from their famous (and loud) Starlight Room club on the 21st floor, so I guess it will be a superior room. After getting that cleared up, with the understanding the room would be ready by 2:30, we took a walk out to find brunch and a store to buy some essential sundries. Kitty-corner across the street from the hotel was an old-fashioned diner where we went for a late brunch, before retiring back to the room to wait for our new room to be ready. We discovered there wasn't any movie channels on the TV, just basic cable, so we watched a Sunday morning show before we finally called down at 2:30, and was told the room was ready (they hadn't called yet, though, but now it was ready). We grabbed our already-packed bags, I ran downstairs for the key, then ran up to the room to check it out. The desk had told me the bellhop had already moved our suitcases (which I found hard to believe, as I had just left Hubby moments before, but they insisted), so I wasn't sure what to expect when I got to the 15th floor. Turns out Hubby and luggage weren't there (surprise, surprise), but the room was much larger and quite nice, though the bed was just as hard. I went back down to 3 to help Hubby get everything moved, and before long, we were tucked away in our new and expansive room. Out the window, we even had a view of a horse and a palm tree, reminding us of Florida! Okay, so they were plastic, so what? It was still a better view than we had from the third floor! After we settled in, we headed down to the lobby for the manager's reception (free wine), ran into our friends again, then went to check out the meeting room we would be using for the next two days. Everything looked good, just one or two minor adjustments, so we headed up to try to, at last, get some rest!

Saturday, April 13, 2013 - Fly to San Francisco

Woke up bright and early, spent the day packing and preparing, giving final instructions to our hosts for taking care of the animals, then headed off to the airport. The flight was scheduled for 4:40, but by the time we reached the airport, that had been delayed about a half hour. Then it was delayed again, and again. By the time we took off, it was 6:45, more than a two hour delay. It turned out to have nothing to do with the weather, instead it had to do with the San Francisco airport being short a runway, and flights were being held at the point of origin until they could schedule their arrival! I had hoped to reach SF before the sun went down, or at least just as it was doing so, but by the time we arrived we were incredibly late. We grabbed a cab to the hotel, which was the Sir Francis Drake downtown, and it was almost midnight by the time we arrived. Unfortunately, the desk hadn't held a room for us (I thought I had left instructions for the catering person to do that, but I didn't follow up), and the hotel was nearly sold out, so we were stuck with a tiny little room on the third floor that was so small, we had to climb over our suitcase to get to the bathroom! Clearly the old servants quarters or something, it definitely had the feel of "steerage." They've promised to move us tomorrow, but I hate having to spend the day waiting to move, then moving. It really cuts into the "rest" day we had planned, but we can't possibly stay in this cramped little room for a week! We ran into some friends (who we're scheduled to work with in the latter part of the week) in the lobby at 12:15 a.m. (there flight was late as well), said hellos and goodnights, then headed back up to our room to try to get some sleep. Bed is hard as a rock!!

Friday, April 12, 2013 - Paperwork Day

Spent the day in the usual way before flying off somewhere, finishing off as much paperwork and computer stuff as possible, and doing our best to relax, which isn't easy with so many things to do in preparation for a long trip to the west coast. Fortunately, it's a late afternoon flight, so we'll have plenty of time to pack tomorrow. Hubby did take one quick trip to town to run an errand, but the rest of the day was spent holed up in the RV. Went to bed early, trying to make some deposits in our sleep bank!

Thursday, April 11, 2013 - Travel Day to Charlotte Stables

Another early morning, headed out, stopped to pick up a quick breakfast just before getting on I-77, then headed north to our next location. We had time, so we took a side trip to Kings Mountain. This is a horse camp I've had on my radar for some time, but haven't had a chance to check out. We've been considering coming here between jobs, but after seeing it, we decided it wouldn't work this trip, mainly because it is so deep in the woods (which we normally like) that we wouldn't be able to get a satellite dish (which Hubby wants while I take a short trip for another job at Baltimore for a few days). Cell phone signal is here, but not by much either. So we're glad we checked it out, now we just need an alternative for the week between jobs we have upcoming. We headed back out to the DCT Farms in Bessemer City, and were warmly greeted by owner Jena and her handyman (and ex-husband) Wade. Had a little trouble negotiating the low limbs coming in the driveway, but Wade climbed on top and kept them from scraping anything off the roof. Once up to the barn, they had already cut some limbs off another big tree in order to make a space for us, and we were grateful. It's a perfect spot, with some shade and some sun, excellent for a satellite dish, had a good cell phone signal, and is less than 30 minutes from the airport (not the mention, the price is right!) We got settled in, the horses have their own paddock (though there was a bit of a ruckus with the horses in the paddock next door at feeding time), and the dogs even got to know Jena's pack, and started to fit in nicely. Overall, it looks like it will be a great place for all concerned!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013 - Ride Day at Mill Creek

We couldn't pass up the chance to ride here, so we saddled up the horses, on an absolutely perfect day, and headed out for just a short ride, our last for at least a few weeks, possibly even longer! Headed out on the yellow trail, then took the blue cutoff to get us to the Palmetto Trail. Parts of this loop are gorgeous, and some have been ravaged by fires and logging, but overall the trails here are really good, especially for some cantering and even galloping, because there are some nice long stretches. It was a lovely 2 hour ride, just what we needed, since Hubby hasn't been riding much, and he needs to get back into shape for it. That may take awhile considering our upcoming schedule. Enjoyed the day, though, before returning to do some prep work to leave. At least I got the laundry done, we'll be ready to pack on Friday!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 - Laundry Day

Tried to rest a little today, mostly did laundry and computer work. Still trying to get used to this new Splendide machine, which both washes and dries in the same machine, but takes so much longer! I washed and hung out to dry, though, the weather was perfect for fresh air! Also spent some time on the computer getting some work done, and had to run out nearly 10 miles to find a cell phone signal good enough to use for my internet, so it wasn't very relaxing for me. Spent almost two hours away from camp doing that work. Can't wait till we get back on the road when we DON'T have a bunch of jobs coming up! Love the work, just really need to take a break pretty soon!

Monday, April 8, 2013 - Travel Day to Mill Creek

A long day today, started early and finished, well, not as late as some days, but late enough. Fortunately it was mostly freeway here, so it was easy on the horses, albeit long. No trouble getting over the Florida border (they are sticklers for having all the right paperwork, whether you are coming or going), and the rest of the trip was, fortunately, uneventful. Arrived at Mill Creek a little after 3:00, got everyone settled in, including satellite dish, but about 4:00. A nice relaxing evening, though we're all tired from the long day of driving.

Sunday, April 7, 2013 - Rest and Prep Day

Tried to rest today, a nice relaxing day, and also to get ready to leave tomorrow. Having left South Florida so late, we don't have much time to hang about, we need to get farther north asap. Changed our plans a bit, decided to head straight up to Mill Creek Park in South Carolina, so that I can get some laundry done before we fly out for almost two weeks in San Francisco. At Mill Creek, we can get electric and water for just $10/night, and it's only a few hours from Charlotte, so even though tomorrow will be a long day, we'll only have short days after this. Plus we like the trails at Mill Creek, they're a bit more interesting than here.

Saturday, April 6, 2013 - Ride Day at Welaka State Forest

Had a so-so night sleep, a leisurely morning, then finally saddled up and headed out at around 2:00. There's only one "real" trail here, the Sandhills Trail, but then there's a number of firebreaks that cut back and forth along the forest. Not a terribly interesting trail, typical Florida, though a few rises in the grade here and there made for a slightly more interesting ride than we've had in a while. Horses were definitely raring to go, though, having been cooped up in a box stall for the last two days, although this morning I did put them out on their anchors for a while. Got lots of canters in, they were ready! We followed the trail as described in the maps, and which they claimed was 6.5 miles long, but according to my GPS was barely 5 miles. They also claim over 18 miles of trails, and I suppose if you went down every fire road and fire break you might be able to come up with that, but it's not a very interesting forest, though I guess it was a good re-entry into the trail riding life-style. Enjoyed it nonetheless, "no hour on the back of a horse is ever wasted!"

Friday, April 5, 2013 - Lazy Day

Didn't do much today, either. Worked mostly on updating my blog, which was unbelievably behind, with whole chunks I just completely didn't do, primarily because all of the days seemed to blur together into a very mundane existence. All those days without riding, or moving to a new location, just all seem too boring to bother to report on. Anyway, we're getting the rest we need before we tackle a very busy month ahead!

Thursday, April 4, 2013 - Wonderfully Quiet Day!

Spent the day doing very little except reading, sleeping in our recliners, and then solving a few logistical challenges with our upcoming schedule. Really felt like we crashed, just like after a strenuous event, so it's great that it rained a good part of the day, providing the perfect atmosphere for that we need right now.

Wednesday, Apr. 3, 2013- Finally Moving On!!

Got up with the alarm nice and early at the crack of dawn, finished packing up, said our goodbyes (although Audrey was still sound asleep, so I didn't wake her) and headed out. A quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, and another at Tractor Supply in Fort Pierce to pick up a few things, got hay at Deep Creek Stables, finally moving on to Welaka State Forest Equestrian Area, our destination for the weekend. Arrived, selected a spot from the empty camping area, then within 10 minutes felt the sprinkling of rain, which we had planned everything to work around. Quickly got the horses in their covered stalls (perfect considering the forecast rain), got the hay covered up, the satellite dish up, and before we knew it, we were settled in for the evening. We both fell asleep in our recliners, obviously a release from much pent-up anxiety over the last few weeks and months, got the horses fed and bedded down, had a relaxing evening of TV, before calling it a night, with great anticipation of a quiet night with a deep sleep, the first of (hopefully) a few before our work schedule gets REALLY busy.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013 - Airport Pickup, Lunch, Ride with Niece, Stick Shift Lesson

 Borrowed Jeff's Bronco to pickup Brother Glenn and Niece Audrey at the airport, with a few errands along the way, including putting gas in the truck, which was almost empty (and the gas gauge didn't work, so we were guessing by the odometer), then we stopped at a little place called Lucky's near the house for a late lunch. Although Audrey hadn't slept at all the night before, she was anxious to go riding anyway, so we saddled up and headed out just before 5:00. Ran into Jeff coming home from work, he still wasn't ready to commit to dinner plans, so we didn't know if we were going out or cooking in... sigh. Anyway, I took Audrey along the same path I had gone with Jeff on Sunday, down the canal (which Audrey did brilliantly, even though she is a very inexperienced rider, doing everything exactly as I told her). Along the way, Apollo spooked in the same place he had spooked on Sunday with Jeff, and I discovered why.  There was a small herd of cows across the canal!  Nothing a quarter horse should be getting excited about, but then again, he doesn't see many cows close up.  We took a break at the pavilion where she climbed the big cypress, then we headed back home, arriving right around 7:00, expecting to have dinner either ready to be prepared or everyone ready to jump into vehicles and head out. Unfortunately, my two brother couldn't resist going out for a few cocktails, so they were nowhere to be seen when we got back. Having had a late lunch, Audrey said she was fine, but I had to feed Hubby, which I promptly did. Only because I discovered the only dinner plans were to prepare dinner whenever they got home, which was likely to be hours (which it was). Meanwhile, Audrey persuaded me (easily : -) to give her stick shift lessons on Jeff's Lawn vehicle, not exactly a Gator, but kind of like that, something he got from a golf course maintenance crew.  We took a long ride around the neighborhood, and she did really well, only getting the shifter stuck a couple of times (which it does on me, too!), and managed to make some smooth transitions by the time we got done.  Didn't quite get the hang of double-clutching, but that's a pretty advanced concept that will come with time. Anyway, Audrey was practically asleep (and ended up going to be before dinner anyway) by the time the boys got home, and since I had already fed myself and Hubby, it wasn't exactly the family dinner I had hoped it would be. Oh, well, we can't have everything, can we? It was a pretty good day, especially since we have our departure tomorrow to look forward to!!