Cincinnati

Oh boy! Have I been busy! After my disastrous site in San Diego, work sent me to Cincinnati. Let me tell you, there is a big difference between California and Ohio! I'd never been to The Buckeye State - still not too clear on what a buckeye is- so I was actually looking forward to this trip.



My hotel was a swanky little number in the heart of downtown called The Cincinnatian Hotel. It is a historic property, built in 1882, and was once the tallest building in Cincinnati. Today the site is surrounded by skyscrapers, but the charm of days gone by is still ever present. I don't often get to stay in hotels like this, so I took full advantage of all my amenities!

As I mentioned at the start of the blog, I stayed pretty busy while in The Queen City. Thanks in part to work, and part due to the close proximity of Indianapolis and Fort Knox. On my first weekend in town, my new friend, Stephanie, invited me out to watch Michigan State play in a playoff game down at her favorite bar - RP McMurphy's. I had so much fun! Plus, the Spartans won, so everyone was in a festive mood! That Saturday, Steph picked me up from the hotel and drove me around Mt. Adams then we grabbed a late lunch/early dinner. It was so nice to have someone from the site take the time to show me around and get me out of the building. As much as I enjoy playing "Dora the Explorer" when I'm somewhere new, that experience is so much better when shared. Sunday was spent just doing a little exploring on my own. I walked over the Purple People Bridge into Kentucky to check out the little town of Newport, and then back to Ohio for a stroll along the river.

That Wednesday, I decided on a whim to attend the Michael Buble' concert. I was so glad I did! I have been a fan for years, but to see/hear him in person is a real delight! I highly recommend it, should you be presented with the opportunity. That weekend my friend Amy from Indianapolis drove down for a visit. She and I last saw one another in 2008 when we met in NYC for my birthday, so I was thrilled when my trip worked out with her schedule. On Friday night, we went to an amazing steakhouse called The Precinct. It was the best steak I've ever had, hands down! We didn't even have room to finish off our shared piece of Opera cake (which says a lot for those of you who know how much I love dessert)! On Saturday morning we dined on room service (Amy's first experience at this treat!) before heading to Fountain Square where we participated in a 5K walk to benefit the American Heart Association. We then decided we deserved pedicures to refresh our feet and threw in manicures just because it was fun! At the recommendation of my concierge, we found a cute local place called Zip's Cafe for dinner then headed to The Cheesecake Factory for dessert! It was a fantastic weekend!

After another long week of work, I was ready to get out of dodge for a bit, so I took off after work on Friday to the Circle City (AKA Indianapolis). I accepted an offer from Mark who works for the property to use his vehicle rather than rent a car, and man was that nice! He is an IT person, so wouldn't you know his car had more bells and whistles than any band in the nation? I was in heaven! I even called Mom to talk about this fancy smancy car I was driving that didn't even have a key. Yep, I was spoiled and was loving every minute! After a slight delay due to a call from work, I made it to Amy's house just shy of midnight. We stayed up gabbing into the wee hours of the morning while enjoying a tasty treat of chips, dip and red velvet cupcakes. Amy learned only the week before of my fondness for red velvet, and I could tell she was tickled by my enthusiasm. She even had a little Easter basket waiting for me overflowing with goodies! Yes, I am aware that I'm spoiled by my friends, but at least I admit it, right? That weekend also happened to be Final Four, so I rode in to work with Amy and then visited with a few old friends at the Westin before heading inside to watch the games. I know, I know... most of you probably have no idea why I'd want to go, but there were actually many reasons I attended. 1. I played basketball, have always liked it, just seldom get to attend games. 2. The Michigan State Spartans were playing, and I felt like I should continue to show support to my new friend's alma mater. 3. It was being held in the Lucas Oil Stadium, and I left Indy before getting to go inside, so I was curious. 4. It was the FINAL FOUR! and lastly 5. When in Rome... So for the first game, I rooted for the Spartans, and although they didn't win, I was still pleased with how well they played. In game 2 of the evening I was pulling for Duke. Most people would believe that was because, well, it's Duke, but my reasoning was far more... ummmmm... shall we say "girlie"? That's because I actually had the opportunity last fall to visit the Duke campus and simply fell in love with it's beauty. Especially the gardens! So, yeah, I cheered for Duke because the campus is pretty. Maybe if I'd been to West Virginia, I would have thought their campus was prettier and cheered for them.... After a quick round of good-byes to my friends from CSC and my friends at the Westin, I loaded up my (Mark's) car, and headed back to Cincy.

On Easter Sunday, after doing a little work, my friend Emily came up from Fort Knox with her little family. Emily is an Army friend with whom I'm in constant contact, but rarely get to see, so we were both elated to be in the same area (you know, for me that means anywhere within a 3 hour radius). Emily, Chris (her new hubby), Trevor (her son), and I went to the lovely Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens for a few hours then out to dinner at P.F. Chang's and then dessert at, you guessed it, The Cheesecake Factory. Emily and Chris recently wed, so I asked the waitress to write congratulations on their plates, and she took it one step further and had them feed one another the first bites. It was very cute, and I was able to score some brownie points to boot! They are expecting their first child together in the fall, and have asked me to be the Godmother. I was touched beyond words. Little Squishy (total term of affection) will definitely be spoiled rotten if I have my way!

My remaining days in Cincinnati were boring by comparison. Although I was in town for Opening Day (the Reds if you weren't sure), I was too busy working to enjoy the festivities. I departed for home on Friday; ready to go, and oddly not at the same time. I was very impressed with this city and hope to return soon. I loved all the bridges that span the Ohio River, the way it has all the amenities of a big city without feeling like a big city, and the fact that it is home to Macy's, Inc. (AKA the Mother ship).

Hooray for Hollywood!

The weekend after Mom came to California, Betsy flew out for a visit. On Friday night after I finished working we decided to go on a bike ride with some people from work (sorry, no pictures). We rented bikes and then joined the group in Balboa Park. There were a few hundred people there! The ride was called Critical Mass it is held on the last Friday of the month all around the country. After riding through the park, then downtown, along the bay, and through the airport, we managed to find ourselves separated from our group. We stopped near an apartment complex where some other "bikers" were resting and we asked them for directions back to the park then called the others to see where they where. Turned out that 2 of them had gone back to the hotel and the other was already back at the park. We took the guys up on their offer to accompany us back to the park and we enjoyed all of the conversations (and the company) the whole 6.5 miles back.

On Saturday we rented a car and headed to Hollywood! The drive took longer than expected due to a constant downpour of rain, but we were determined. After getting the "long way" directions that took us through Pasadena and past the Rose Bowl, we finally made it to Los Angeles hoping to catch a tour at one of the studios. It was we after got to Paramount Studios that we found out they don't do tours on the weekend. Never ones to miss the opportunity to explore, we decided to drive over to Hollywood BLVD and take in the sites. We saw several "stars" along the way; even had our pictures made with some!

We took a tour of homes that took us through the Hollywood Hills, Beverly Hills, and Bel Aire. Due to inclimate weather, we were in a van for the tour, so Betsy took diligent notes and we were able to return the next day to get pictures of some that really held our interests. The whole ride, my thoughts were replaying the "I Love Lucy" episode where she does a tour of homes in Hollywood and gets trapped inside one. More on those later...

After the tour, and in part due to our inability to fully appreciate it, we decide that we would stay the night in La La Land so that we could continue the adventure on Sunday. We entered the Hollywood Highland Hotel and Hostel right on Hollywood BLVD and turned over our plastic in exchange for linen. It was a little, ummmmm, different from the places I normally stay, but it was a cheap bed and we were together. After getting all checked in, we headed over to the Kodak Theater area for a quick dinner and then a movie at the one and only Grauman's Chinese Theater! It was very cool.

We grabbed some necessities at the local CVS and headed back to our home away from home to call it a night sometime after midnight. I'm still not sure how all of our trips together in California have us spending the night somewhere else unexpectedly and needing to purchase so many essentials, but I'm detecting a trend.... Obviously we survived, and quite honestly it wasn't that bad, but we slept very lightly and in all of our clothes - Betsy even slept with her boots on the bed!

On Sunday, we enjoyed Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, a quick breakfast at Starbucks, and one last stroll down the boulevard. The Oscar's were to be held the following Sunday and the whole street was a buzz with the preparation. Betsy and I got to have our picture made with one of the statues! Such a great opportunity, one of those right place/right times kind of things. At one point during our walk, I was too busy looking up at the Hollywood sign to notice the huge curb in my path and quite literally left my mark on the sidewalk. Although I ended up with some pretty good bruises to my knees, hands and pride, they were nothing that time didn't heal. Got a great picture out of it though (see picture at beginning of blog)!

Once back on the road, we went to "Any Street, USA" (it's actually Orange Grove Street) which is home to many of the homes used for movies. Our favorite was the "Father of the Bride" house. It would have been great to be able to tour the inside, just to see how much was real, but since it is a private residence, we couldn't do that. We cruised the Sunset Strip on into Beverly Hills where I got to see Lucille Ball's former residence located on Roxbury street! Now that's a house I really would have LOVED to see inside! We made our way over to Bel Aire and snapped a picture of the "Fresh Prince" house, complete with the jockey statue out front. Then we cruised on over to Greystone Mansion - the largest home ever built in Beverly Hills and site of many movie scenes including Nicolas Cage's house from "National Treasure", Wayne Manor in the Batman movies, and home to the Green Goblin in "Spiderman" just to name a few. The mansion and grounds are now a public park. Look it up if you get a chance, it carries a very full history.

We dined on Rodeo Drive after some very pathetic window shopping up and down the street. With the restaurant was located just steps from Tiffany & Co., so we thought it only fitting to enjoy an adult beverage called Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was a delicious mix of champagne, orange juice and Chambord. From our table we had a great view of the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. If you are a fan of "Pretty Woman", it's that hotel!

Are you tired yet? We sure where, but we weren't quite finished... After lunch, we jumped onto Santa Monica BLVD and headed west to the infamous Santa Monica Pier. I love seeing someplace on TV or in a movie and then having the opportunity to see it "for real". We took our pictures at the end of the line on Route 66, then watched as a sailboat floated in front of the sun just as it was setting - gorgeous!!! We road the Ferris Wheel and strolled through the little amusement park before finally deciding to head back to San Diego.

I, unfortunately, had to work Monday morning, but I was able to take a break and see Betsy off. I'm so lucky that my best friend is able (and willing!) to come see me on some of my work trips. Despite the problems I had on the job this time, I was able to escape some the the insanity through Mom & Betsy's visits and my friend Melissa who "rescued" me frequently.

I've got sunshine....

I'm currently working in San Diego, California. I will end up being at this hotel for a little over a month, and because of that I actually get time off on this site. I was here last summer and made a new friend, Melissa, who graciously rescued me from my hotel my first weekend here. We went to dinner one night at a place called Phil's that's known for its B-B-Q. When I was here previously, we tried to go eat there, but the lines were always just too long. After that, we went to see Avatar in 3-D. Not sure what it is about Melissa and 3-D movies, but last time I was here we saw Up! in 3-D. She's officially my 3-D movie buddy ;) On Saturday, I visited the local farmer's market and then she and her friend Bree joined me in my area (my hotel is in Little Italy) for the Carnevale. It ended up being a bust, where basically the waiting times for all of the restaurants were twice their normal times, but it was still fun to get out with the girls. After finally getting to eat dinner, we then left Little Italy and met up with Bree's friends Aimee and Tony for a little bowling. I did not win, but it sure was nice to do "normal" stuff for a change. On Single's Awareness Day Melissa picked me up for a late lunch then we headed to her house to watch a movie. I really like having her here; I hadn't realized how much I miss having friends around.

I was able to use some of my airline miles to fly Mom out to California for a long weekend. This was the first time she has been to any of my sites and to say I was thrilled would be a huge understatement! Melissa and I picked her up from the airport and took her to dinner while we had dessert. Later, Mom and I went for a walk around Little Italy before the rain sent us heading for the hotel. On Saturday morning Melissa picked us up and the 3 of us WENT TO DISNEYLAND!!! The drive took us about an hour and a half and I think I enjoyed watching Mom take in the views more than the drive! We got to Disneyland right at 10 and met up with a friend of Melissa's who used his pass to let us in for FREE. Awesome, right? Turns out our passes also happened to be good for the California Adventure Park. It just kept getting better!


We immediately tried on "ear" hats for a picture and then we were off! Melissa has been to the park many times and has a vast amount of knowledge on all things Disney. It was so perfect to have her with us! We saw several characters throughout the park and managed to take pictures with a few (I got autographs too!). I think about the only ride we missed was the Tea Cups, and that was based on a mutual agreement. I loved the Finding Nemo ride; Mom loved the movie, and as soon as she saw Dory, she yelled, "It's Dory!" Half the people in the submarine turned to look at us, and we all just giggled. I love my mom's ability to be herself and not worry about what others think. When I grow up I want to be just like her.


I think my favorite part of the day was when we rode the Hollywood Tower of Terror. Melissa isn't a fan of the ride, so she sat out enjoying the day while we rode. If you've never riden it, the ride simulates an elevator and goes up and down the elevator shaft (it's tons of fun, but I don't want to ruin it for anyone!). The whole time we were in motion, Mom kept screaming, "I hate this ride! I hate this ride!" sounded just like a little girl. When it was over she looked at me, totally serious, and said, "Wanna go again?!" Geez! That woman, I tell ya! =0)



We ended up staying until closing time, and try as I did, I couldn't keep my eyes open all the way home. Mom and Melissa had a good laugh at my expense when they tried to ask me questions, but I was so sleepy that I just kind of mumbled and then kept rambling. Overall, it was a fantastic day!


On Sunday, we slept in late and then headed to Balboa Park. We walked for hours, touring the park and exploring the various cultural museums. They have one area that contains several small cottages that each represent a different country. You can go into them and receive information about that country as well as sample some local fare. Most of the volunteers that work the cottages were very informative and natives of their represented countries. Balboa Park is also home to the San Diego Zoo. We were at the gate, ready to purchase tickets, when the rain came pouring down. We took that as a clue to not go to the zoo (I mean, all those smelly animals? Wet? Really? I think not!). We ended up leaving the park and going down to the bay just in time for sunset. We walked around downtown, did a little shopping, then grabbed some sushi for dinner and caught a movie. Another great day!


Mom left on Monday, and I had to work, but we managed to escape for lunch and another quick trip to the bay. I truly enjoyed Mom's visit, and hope to accummulate enough miles to bring Dad to one of my sites soon.

Fasten your seatbelts... it's another whirlwind tour!

1,000 apologies for taking a month off between blogs. It was not my intent when I started this for that to happen, but .... All I can say is that I'll try to do better. Before I get to my current trip, I want to share a little bit about my previous trips for 2010. Please bear with me, and I will try to get through them as quickly as possible.

My first trip of 2010 led me to the gorgeous Mohonk Mountain House Resort located in New Paltz, NY. Both my day trip to NYC and my day trip to Boston were made possible thanks to this trip. While I'd never heard of New Paltz or Mohonk, that wasn't surprising to me because I've been to several places I've never heard of thanks to this job. What was surprising to me was how fabulous this place was hidden among the Catskills! I felt like I was stepping into a winter wonderland and back in time to the late 1800s. Mohonk Mountain House is owned and still operated by the Smiley family. I had the pleasure of meeting one Smiley while on property and he loved to talk about his family's legacy. The resort is situated in such a manner that from one side you overlook the Catskill Mountain range and from the other you can see Mohonk Lake the top of the Shawangunk Ridge. Everything was under a blanket of snow that was refreshed throughout my stay. I loved it! One of the nice perks of my job is that I have the opportunities to experience winter without having to live in a wintry climate. I think the snow is beautiful, and hope to never become jaded by the work that is involved in shoveling and the like to miss the simple beauty of it. There was not enough time to participate in all the activities MMH offers it's guests, but I was able to hike to the top of the ridge one day and watch the sunset. Coming back down, I appreciated the softly glowing lights that illuminated the property and guided me to my temporary home. The shear size reminded me of the Hogwarts School from the Harry Potter novels. I could go on and on, but you can read the website if you're interested instead http://www.mohonk.com/.

From Mohonk I went to TEXAS! And that is all the excitement I had from that site. I worked support at the hotel on the Sam Houston State University Campus. Yep, that means overnights with college kids. Not much going on for the property, and the employees all had homework, so it was pretty boring for me. The rooms were nice though. They are currently undergoing much renovation and it is being done well. If you are ever in the neighborhood, they are clean and cheap too!

After SHSU, I went to Durham, NC. I was there for a follow up visit and it is such a sweet site. I first worked at the Brookwood Inn back in September and was there for support (picture is from website, sorry but I didn't take any this trip). The site seemed to better appreciate my presence than that of my colleague, and it was I who they requested return. This was my first follow up site, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but when I walked into those front doors it felt just like I'd never left. There truly is something to be said for Southern hospitality. This was just as all those winter storms hit the East coast, the property was surrounded by snow and ice, and I was so busy that this was my first (and only thus far) property to not leave throughout my entire stay. I didn't step one foot outside the building until I caught my cab to leave. Fortunately, I'd been there before and knew what I was missing. I decided I'll just have to go back when the weather is behaving so that I can play. If you ever happen to travel to Durham, NC, I suggest you stop by. The people are friendly, the tea is sweet, and they serve warm cookies every evening.

On a side note, when I arrived at the Raleigh/Durham airport, I spotted an NBA plane. I didn't notice any team affiliation, so I wasn't quite sure what players to seek out. Turns out Larry Bird was just strolling through the terminal. I couldn't reach my camera in time to snatch a picture of Mr. Bird, but I did get one of the plane.