It is the first of September and summer is officially over, at least in our neck of the woods. School has been in session for a month, the children have settled into their routines of school, homework, activities. Soon the leaves will start changing on the trees and (hopefully) cooler temperatures will invade North Georgia. Oh, Fall - Nature's Paint Explosion. How I love the crisp air and clear smells that define my favorite season.
Soon it will be Apple Festival time, and the Fair will come to town. We will take part in traditions born long ago and carried on today for reasons vastly different from their original meanings. The Fall Fair was a time to come together, to celebrate a success harvest to provide food during the coming winter and to fellowship before the cold and snow kept everyone confined and apart. Today we go to the fair to eat cotton candy and ride the rides. Oh how the times have changed.
This summer went by faster than anticipated. I can barely remember the Fourth of July, it seems more than just two months ago. Helpful Hubby and I didn't take a formal vacation, preferring to steal days here and there along the way to run off to the lake or just hand around the house. That, I have decided was the wrong thing. The act of booking a vacation and planning where to go and what to do is cathartic. Without that wholesale clearance process that accompanies a vacation our brains begin to clog with useless, out-dated information.
Europeans as a whole take the entire month of August as vacation. Why can't Americans get away with the same thing? Because after ten days the men would drive us all crazy! Maybe the better policy would be three vacations a year - one with your family, one by yourself or with friends and one with your significant other only.
Sounds like a plan to me!
Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vacations. Show all posts
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Mr. Clean or Strickolean?
We just returned from a cruise vacation in Mexico. We took our kids and our son's girlfriend. For the most part it was a fabulous vacation. We made some fabulous new friends at our table during dinner and had some memorable conversations. However, there were a few flies in the ointment.
1 - Rain in LA and San Diego happens occasionally. They do not have a good highway system out there. The roads are not gently beamed to let the water flow away. Instead it just lays on the road and causes massive flooding. It took us six hours to drive down to San Diego, normal drive time is two hours.
2 - The last time I took a trip from San Diego (four years ago), it was in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. This trip was 50's during the days and 30's at night. Everyone was bundled like a snow blizzard in Atlanta. Even the first day headed south was cool. They closed the ceiling of the pool deck is was so cool. Even in Puerta Vallarta it was only 68. Four years ago it was in the 80s.
3 - Don't always take the early seating options for the dining room. We never got to see the sun set in the West. Also, eating at 6pm guarantees you will be starving again before midnight and will need to order room service. This took approximately one hour each time we ordered. What sounded good at 10pm isn't so wonderful at 11pm.
4 - Driving to LAX from San Diego has a toll road. Be prepared to ante up $5 for the toll. On the plus side, it is a beautiful drive, with the Pacific on one side and sweeping vistas inland to the mountains. I wouldn't ever live in California, but it sure is a beautiful place to visit.
5 - Don't drink the water or eat the lettuce in Mexico. It might not be infected, but do you really feel lucky?
All in all it was a fabulous vacation. The weather was warm, the food was plentiful and the time all to short. Once again we found our slice of heaven on a secluded beach in Puerta Vallarta. But that is a tale for another day.
1 - Rain in LA and San Diego happens occasionally. They do not have a good highway system out there. The roads are not gently beamed to let the water flow away. Instead it just lays on the road and causes massive flooding. It took us six hours to drive down to San Diego, normal drive time is two hours.
2 - The last time I took a trip from San Diego (four years ago), it was in the 70's during the day and 50's at night. This trip was 50's during the days and 30's at night. Everyone was bundled like a snow blizzard in Atlanta. Even the first day headed south was cool. They closed the ceiling of the pool deck is was so cool. Even in Puerta Vallarta it was only 68. Four years ago it was in the 80s.
3 - Don't always take the early seating options for the dining room. We never got to see the sun set in the West. Also, eating at 6pm guarantees you will be starving again before midnight and will need to order room service. This took approximately one hour each time we ordered. What sounded good at 10pm isn't so wonderful at 11pm.
4 - Driving to LAX from San Diego has a toll road. Be prepared to ante up $5 for the toll. On the plus side, it is a beautiful drive, with the Pacific on one side and sweeping vistas inland to the mountains. I wouldn't ever live in California, but it sure is a beautiful place to visit.
5 - Don't drink the water or eat the lettuce in Mexico. It might not be infected, but do you really feel lucky?
All in all it was a fabulous vacation. The weather was warm, the food was plentiful and the time all to short. Once again we found our slice of heaven on a secluded beach in Puerta Vallarta. But that is a tale for another day.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Yes, I know... it's been a long time!
Wow.
I knew it had been a long time since I blogged, but May? I really thought it had only been a few weeks. Time flies when I work too much. So, a quick recap...
June and July were work, work, work. We had a big July 4Th event which actually went rather well. So well, Steve and I decided to take two weeks vacation. After a lot of back and forth we decided to go out to the Pacific Northwest and drive down the coast.
Just as we got heavy into the planning phase, Steve's mother died. Very unexpected and very painful. Steve originally wanted to cancel everything, but I think his mother would not have wanted us to stop our plans because of her death. We made some alternate arrangements and here we are.
Flying into Seattle, we spent the first day wandering the city with friends. Did some of the regular tourist stuff, like the Space Needle, but also wandered into small stalls in the Pike Place Market for infused oils and vinegar and marvelous breads. Had lunch in a little out of the beaten path restaurant and ate the most incredible White truffle chicken salad I have ever had. The sun came out in the afternoon and we continued to wander the waterfront.
Second day was spent picking up the rental car, finishing up Seattle (we tried to find the Deadliest Catch fleet to no avail) and then to Mt. Rainer National Park. The volcano played peek-a-boo all day, but we saw awesome giant redwoods and cedar at the Garden of the Patriarchs. Then we headed to Portland and family!
I knew it had been a long time since I blogged, but May? I really thought it had only been a few weeks. Time flies when I work too much. So, a quick recap...
June and July were work, work, work. We had a big July 4Th event which actually went rather well. So well, Steve and I decided to take two weeks vacation. After a lot of back and forth we decided to go out to the Pacific Northwest and drive down the coast.
Just as we got heavy into the planning phase, Steve's mother died. Very unexpected and very painful. Steve originally wanted to cancel everything, but I think his mother would not have wanted us to stop our plans because of her death. We made some alternate arrangements and here we are.
Flying into Seattle, we spent the first day wandering the city with friends. Did some of the regular tourist stuff, like the Space Needle, but also wandered into small stalls in the Pike Place Market for infused oils and vinegar and marvelous breads. Had lunch in a little out of the beaten path restaurant and ate the most incredible White truffle chicken salad I have ever had. The sun came out in the afternoon and we continued to wander the waterfront.
Second day was spent picking up the rental car, finishing up Seattle (we tried to find the Deadliest Catch fleet to no avail) and then to Mt. Rainer National Park. The volcano played peek-a-boo all day, but we saw awesome giant redwoods and cedar at the Garden of the Patriarchs. Then we headed to Portland and family!
Monday, April 5, 2010
Home Again, Home Again...
OK - I am officially tired!
We arrived at Dulles yesterday afternoon at 6pm for a 7:30pm flight home to Atlanta. Travelling with my mother is hard. she is almost 90 and requires a wheelchair through the airport. When we finally got to the gate -
SURPRISE!
The flight which was supposed to leave before us (6:40pm) from Dulles to Orlando was delayed for a 'mechanical problem'. The actual problem? A broken pilot seat. So the good people at Air Tran decided to give them the plane we were supposed to leave on to Atlanta at 7:30. Which meant we had to wait for the last flight from Atlanta to arrive. At 11:10pm. Which was three and a half hours from when we checked into the gate.
Now, wait a minute.
My father worked for United for almost 40 years. I know about delays. But I have never travelled with a 90 year old woman before. I wanted to get my mother home. It was a hard weekend for her, physically, and I just wanted to get her home. So a long delay did not sit well with me. But it really didn't sit well with others who were booked on our flight.
You see, there were no other flights out of Dulles last night by any airlines. So anyone who had a connecting flight they were trying to make in Atlanta was SOL. They could either fly out late with us and sleep in the Atlanta airport until another flight was available or stay at a hotel in D.C. and leave out the next morning. Needless to say, there was much unhappiness at gate b67 last night.
On the plus side? The plane landed in D.C. at 11:10pm. We rolled away from the gate at 11:25pm. The pilot floored it and we rolled to the gate in the ATL at 1am. That has to be a record for a commercial flight. I think he was as ready to get home as the rest of us. We dropped my mother off at 1:35am then headed for Woodstock. I finally got in bed at 3am.
Next time I think I'll take United.
We arrived at Dulles yesterday afternoon at 6pm for a 7:30pm flight home to Atlanta. Travelling with my mother is hard. she is almost 90 and requires a wheelchair through the airport. When we finally got to the gate -
SURPRISE!
The flight which was supposed to leave before us (6:40pm) from Dulles to Orlando was delayed for a 'mechanical problem'. The actual problem? A broken pilot seat. So the good people at Air Tran decided to give them the plane we were supposed to leave on to Atlanta at 7:30. Which meant we had to wait for the last flight from Atlanta to arrive. At 11:10pm. Which was three and a half hours from when we checked into the gate.
Now, wait a minute.
My father worked for United for almost 40 years. I know about delays. But I have never travelled with a 90 year old woman before. I wanted to get my mother home. It was a hard weekend for her, physically, and I just wanted to get her home. So a long delay did not sit well with me. But it really didn't sit well with others who were booked on our flight.
You see, there were no other flights out of Dulles last night by any airlines. So anyone who had a connecting flight they were trying to make in Atlanta was SOL. They could either fly out late with us and sleep in the Atlanta airport until another flight was available or stay at a hotel in D.C. and leave out the next morning. Needless to say, there was much unhappiness at gate b67 last night.
On the plus side? The plane landed in D.C. at 11:10pm. We rolled away from the gate at 11:25pm. The pilot floored it and we rolled to the gate in the ATL at 1am. That has to be a record for a commercial flight. I think he was as ready to get home as the rest of us. We dropped my mother off at 1:35am then headed for Woodstock. I finally got in bed at 3am.
Next time I think I'll take United.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)