Las Vegas Baby

Posted on January 26, 2015January 26, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Then Saturday 1/17 rolled around. Another conference behind me. Prior to the conference work had been pretty slow. Of course when you make plans anything that can go wrong will and sure enough, the Monday before we left for San Diego work went nuts. I went from zero to 60 in less than 30 seconds. It was like we were in the height of our busy season.

This meant that some things trickled into the conference time. There was no way to avoid it but it caused me no little amount of stress. One side said ignore the work and the other demanded it get done. It was like having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other but it wasn’t my conscience, it was two different factions of co-workers. I was glad to leave San Diego and work behind for a short break in Las Vegas.

Other than changing planes in Vegas on the way to someplace else, I hadn’t been there in years! Boy has Vegas changed! But I’m jumping ahead.

I took a short hop on Southwest ( about 1 hour) to get from San Diego to Las Vegas. Once I had phone service again Joe (JR) and I began texting back and forth. He was on his way to meet me from Florida on a greyhound bus. It was neck and neck as to who would get there first. It probably would have been a tie except my shuttle went right by my stop and let me off at another hotel/casino nearby.

Lugging my 2 bags and winter coat I started trudging my way back to the LINQ. Being the klutz that I am I was due for a fall and sure enough it came on the escalator at Harrad’s Casino as I rushed to get to my hotel.

I dropped the handle of my roller bag. I thought it was on the escalator with me but it was hung up at the top. When I realized what had happened I tried to scramble back up the down escalator (In case you didn’t know, that’s a big No No). Anyway, I tripped and fell on the moving escalator. Two other patrons helped me up and a nice lady with a camera brought my bag down to me. As the saying goes …Boy was my face red!

The 2 gentlemen that had helped me up took my bags and escorted me to the registration desk at my hotel. (I think they were afraid to leave me on my own) They were so nice. They refused a tip and they insisted it hadn’t been out of their way. I’ve seldom, if ever, been on the receiving side of such kindness. Whoever you are, Thank you!

Needless to say, Joe got there first. 🙂

San Diego

Posted on January 24, 2015January 24, 2015 by Dusty Roads

I’m Back! I didn’t expect to be gone quite so long.

Last week was our annual company meeting. I was in San Diego at the company’s expense from Wednesday 1/14- Saturday 1/17. Actually Wednesday was a travel day. I deliberately took an early morning flight because I wanted a chance to see a little of San Diego.

Last year we had the meeting in San Diego too but a winter storm on the east coast delayed my flight so much that it was quite late when I got there. Once the meetings start there’s no time for sight seeing. You are busy from 9 am to midnight.

This year the weather was cold but clear and I had a 5 am flight. I was arriving in San Diego at 11:30 am and would have the afternoon to do some sight-seeing…or so I hoped.

The best laid plans of mice and men can go astray and seems like that applies to my plans too. I guess I should be glad I’m not an army general.

My flights were pleasant and uneventful. I was flying Southwest Airlines and I used their early bird check in so I didn’t have to worry about checking in to get the best seating. It’s $12.95 but it was money well spent. I got great seating. I was also wearing a warm sweater because it was very cold , about 9 degrees, when I left to go to the airport. Sometimes the cabins are a bit cold when you hit 30,000 ft.

We made good time and landed in Chicago ahead of schedule. I had time to grab some breakfast before the 2nd leg of my journey. Chicago to San Diego was smooth too and once again we landed early. Unfortunately we landed without my luggage. 🙁

San Diego was sunny and warm with a sea breeze. A sweater was definitely out of place and by the time I caught the shuttle to the hotel I was in full melt down mode. I checked into my room and settled down to wait for news of my wayward bags. Southwest assured me they weren’t lost just delayed. The best I could do was hang out around the hotel and wait. I needed a change of clothes before I could go exploring.

The call finally came at 4 pm. My bags had made it to the airport and would be delivered to me no later than 8 pm. So much for any sight-seeing. I guess San Diego will have to wait for another year.

Vacation Planning

Posted on January 14, 2015January 14, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Ever wonder how I come up with my ideas for vacation? A former co-worker said she couldn’t imagine the things I’ve done and plan to do! Poor thing must not have much of an imagination because if anything, I have too many things I want to see and do.

I thought of this because my most recent issue of “Vacations” just arrived. What’s the Headline title? 83 Great Escapes for 2015! 83! Imagine that. If I were even interested in half it would take more than 1 year!

So lets see if there’s anything interesting on the list.

How about a tour of Costa Rica where you can visit a cloud forest, a volcano or a coral sea reef?

Back on the Big Island of Hawaii we could snorkel with the Manta Rays on the Kona side of the Island.

Or a river cruise up the Amazon.

Train ride…The Rocky Mountaineer crosses the Canadian Rockies with 5 routes to choose from. A Globus (that’s a tour company) offers a nine day trip from Denver to New Mexico and Colorado. Along the way you ride vintage railroads including the Durango & Silverton and the Pike’s Peak Cog Railroad!

Galapagos made their list and it’s on mine too. Some day I’ll get there!

For photographers…face off with a Bengal tiger or catch colorful clouds of butterflies. Natural Habitat Adventures helps capture these moments.

I don’t know who I was talking to recently but they said they had been to Alaska and to Yellowstone and they saw more bear at Yellowstone than they did in Alaska.

Another place I get ideas is from the news. This morning NECN (our local news station) ran a short story about an ice castle in New Hampshire. The castle is an acre in size and features tunnels, archways, an ice slide, glacial waterfalls and colored lights.

I want to see this! It’s a hike up to Lincoln NH. I vacationed there once and to appreciate the lights I’m guessing you go at night. More research is needed. I will keep you posted!

So I get vacation ideas everywhere, from a chance conversation to a 60 second news bite. A magazine cover might catch my eye or a story in AAA Horizons. The ideas are endless!

Another Box Down

Posted on December 4, 2014December 4, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Believe it or not I’m still emptying boxes and sorting what to put where in the kitchen. I emptied another box today. Only 2 more to go. Whew!

The new over the range microwave came today. Now I have another big box in my living room. Rocky did the inspection.

I hope I can get my electrician to come out this weekend. I’m not sure what to do with the old microwave. I won’t throw away a perfectly good one. Maybe I can find someone who would like it.

I ordered some “wall art” today to go on the soffit area of the kitchen. It says “Many have eaten here…few have died. ” If I get sick of it I can peel it off and put something new up there.

In other news, my sister and I are booked for the River Walk to French Quarter Amtrak vacation. It’s booked for October 2015 so we qualified for an early booking discount. The discount was $300.00 so I used $140.00 of it to upgrade from coach to “roomette”. It’s not a bedroom but it has seats that convert to beds in case we want to nap. Plus all 3 meals on the train is included.

We’ll fly into San Antonio and then have the rest of that day to explore. The next 2 days is all San Antonio which includes a tour.

On day 4 we have to catch the train at 6:30 am! We won’t get into New Orleans until 10 PM. so no sight seeing then but there should be some great scenery as the train travels from Texas to Louisiana. Day 5 & 6 we’ll be in New Orleans and we fly home on Day 7. How much we can explore will depend on what flight we get out.

In a previous post I mentioned that I didn’t see any singles rates. Well I asked and was told there aren’t any. If you are single and want to go on the trip you pay double! I’ve heard of singles penalties but I thought paying double was a thing of the past. Guess I was wrong. Now I’m really glad my sister agreed to come along. I’ll have good company and a fun traveling companion and it saves me $$$.

What about a Rail Vacation?

Posted on November 29, 2014November 29, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I’m just sitting here while the tile guy grouts the tiles. He has his radio on for music to work by. Good station. Music to sing along to 🙂 (Maggie May, City of New Orleans, etc. I never was any good with titles of songs)

The problem is I can’t get anything done with him in the kitchen. I can’t finish unpacking boxes so I can’t clean because the boxes are everywhere . The cats are enjoying them..the boxes that is.

I’d be embarrassed to take a nap so I am playing on the computer.

I have many , many errands to run but doesn’t look like he’s going to be done anytime soon. I guess I’ll be really busy tomorrow.

Having spare time online can be very expensive. I ordered some heavy winter clothes online. I hope they fit. I am justifying the purchase because I really need some warm outdoor clothes. I want to be warm if I go out looking for wildlife to photograph. A good example are the snowy owls of Duxbury Beach.

I’ve gone over there a couple of times only to be beat back by the cold wind off the ocean. Every winter the snowies migrate down from the Arctic. Some are just passing through but some stick around. The Snowies that detour to Logan Airport are trapped and released on Duxbury beach so usually it’s a good spot to find them. Most of my photographer friends have had success getting shots but I always let the cold get to me. Maybe now I’ll be able to stay warm long enough to get my shot.

Having just spent way too much money I moved on to other internet searches. When my AAA magazine arrived there was an article about Amtrak Vacations. Using the article as my guide I found the website and the brochure. Some of the trips sound like cruises on land! And they are priced accordingly still the idea intrigues me. Have any of you been on an Amtrak Vacation?

I found one that was pretty reasonably priced and had departure dates that would work with my schedule. Called “Riverwalk to the French Quarter”. 7 days for about $1200.00 per person. It starts in San Antonio where you tour the Alamo and get to visit the River walk. Then you board the train for the trip to New Orleans. So now I just have to be sure I have someone to share the trip with. I didn’t see any single rates.

We’ll see if my sister is willing to give it a try.