FWIS3

Here begins the first of four weekends I'll be traveling.
Today I'm taking the kids (while MrPi stays home) to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. I get this afternoon and Monday off.
Next week I'm heading to MI for a wedding. I'm leaving Friday night at 7pm and get back at about 2pm Sunday. Short visit but I am so looking forward to it! No kids!

The next Friday true vacation starts. I'll get a whole 6 days off with two weekends in between. MrPi and I are taking the kids to the north shore of Lake Superior for an extended weekend, then coming back home and sending the kids to day care for acouple days so we can have a staycation, then heading out for another extended weekend at a MrPi family reunion in Madison WI.

Punkin... you sound like Fisher and I. Fisher is taking back two of the grandkids to Washington tomorrow, leaving me home with the Poe (while SonOBrite toils at the fair, which runs through the 28th), then hopefully, we can schedule his driving test so that he can take that before we leave on the 1st for the trip to Buffalo/Florida. We get back from that on the 15th of August, are running away from home again on the weekend of the 23rd for my birthday (to Reno, free rooms, can't pass that up!) and then school starts for SonOBrite and I on the 26th... Both of us are going to do the culinary program... he's going to do the savory thing, I'll do pastry....

First trip: Maryland was wonderful. I spent 2.5 days with just my parents, sis, broinlaw, niece, nephew, and the kids. I also visited my old stomping grounds and caught up with coworkers. Nice and low key. The flights were pretty tough with just me flying solo with Buster and Russter, but they went about how I expected and the most important part is I got thorough them!

Now it's on to Michigan for a wedding. It's a college friend, and my college roommate will also be attending. She lives in Portland OR and it's been 3 years since I've seen her! We are both going without kids. The wedding is up in the thumb, and we are coming from separate parts of the state, so we are meeting in Frankenmuth for lunch.

Trip #2 went very well. I got to see my best friend and college roommate whom I haven't seen in 3 years! She lives in Portland OR and we've each had a kid since last time so travel is limited. We're going to plan a families vacation soon. But for this trip it was like time hadn't passed at all! I also got to see two other college friends, along with the bride, whom I haven't seen in 4 or more years.

The wedding reception was on the lawn of the bride's family home. And of course, it poured right when everyone was traveling from the church to the reception. I got in the tent before the downpour, but many people didn't! Umbrellas kept the bridal party relatively dry, though. After the 20 minute downpour, it rained on and off all night, but the tent held up very well. No leaks. Other than it being a little humid, you wouldn't know it was raining outside.

Now I'm back for a jam-packed 4 day workweek (1.5 down) when I have three major deadlines, then off for a real vacation!

Don't forget to eat, and breathe.

Two big submissions in, one to go! It's due tomorrow and it's the smallest of the three. Then time to wrap up all the little details and head out of here.

Have fun!

Four trips down, one to go....

Our vacation (trips 3 and 4) was very nice. There were moments I wanted to strangle the kids, but they weren't doing anything out of the ordinary for their ages. They just got cabin fever if we stayed in the hotel for more than 15 minutes!

The 3 days at home with the kids at day care in between the two vacations were WONDERFUL! I did a little work on a couple of the days, but MrPi and I made sure not to make big to-do lists to fill all the days. We got a few things done but otherwise had a leisurely time.

The last trip is an added one, and this time it's for work. I'll be leaving for Cleveland (hi swift!) on Monday, my 5th trip one month to the day after I left for my first one. I counted and of the 36 days encompassing these trips I'll have been gone for 18 of them.

This trip is an all-expenses paid workshop at the NASA Glenn Research Center and Great Lakes Science Center. Not complaining at all.....

What's wonderful, though, is this is my first Friday in 5 weeks that I'm not packing up and leaving, and my first weekend sleeping in my own bed!

Ah Cleveland, the old stomping grounds!

GLSC is awesome. If you have time tho btw you can run across the street to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

Rommie wrote:Ah Cleveland, the old stomping grounds!

GLSC is awesome. If you have time tho btw you can run across the street to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

I've been there twice.

I'm not sure we will have any free time, though. We had to sign a "contract" that we wouldn't be bringing our family along so we could focus on business! But I'm glad it's at GLSC because at least we'll be able to spend some time there. I visited that once, but not for very long.

pumpkinpi wrote:The last trip is an added one, and this time it's for work. I'll be leaving for Cleveland (hi swift!) on Monday, my 5th trip one month to the day after I left for my first one. I counted and of the 36 days encompassing these trips I'll have been gone for 18 of them.

This trip is an all-expenses paid workshop at the NASA Glenn Research Center and Great Lakes Science Center. Not complaining at all.....

pp,

I'd love to get the chance to buy you a coffee, a beer, or dinner. My schedule next week isn't too bad, but the hook-up would probably need to be in the evening or on Thursday, which I am already taking off from work for other reasons. I am game to travel to other parts of town to do so.

But if you can't, I completely understand. I suspect that the workshop has you on a tight schedule.

I would also recommend, if you have time, to visit the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and you might particularly want to check out The Shafran Planetarium, which had a big upgrade in 2010. The museum however is not very close to either Glenn or GLSC - Glenn is westside, right by the airport, GLSC is downtown, CMNH is eastside (Rommie's old stomping ground near Case).

pumpkinpi wrote: But I'm glad it's at GLSC because at least we'll be able to spend some time there. I visited that once, but not for very long.

A year or two ago, SLSC and Glenn made a deal that moved the NASA visitors' center from on campus at Glenn to the GLSC, so I suspect that is why part of the workshop is there.

Please feel free to ask me any questions about Cleveland, either here or by PM.

Swift wrote:pp,

I'd love to get the chance to buy you a coffee, a beer, or dinner. My schedule next week isn't too bad, but the hook-up would probably need to be in the evening or on Thursday, which I am already taking off from work for other reasons. I am game to travel to other parts of town to do so.

But if you can't, I completely understand. I suspect that the workshop has you on a tight schedule.

That might be possible. I don't have all the details of my schedule yet, but from what I know it's pretty tightly arranged. The workshop ends sometime late Thursday afternoon, but my flight doesn't leave until 9pm. They have a shuttle to the airport arranged for me (and other attendees) but I'm sure I could find the way there myself. I'll be in touch over pm once I know more details! And it would definitely be a beer, since I won't have to drive!

Swift wrote:I would also recommend, if you have time, to visit the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and you might particularly want to check out The Shafran Planetarium, which had a big upgrade in 2010. The museum however is not very close to either Glenn or GLSC - Glenn is westside, right by the airport, GLSC is downtown, CMNH is eastside (Rommie's old stomping ground near Case).

Ive been to CMNH, but it was years ago--for a planetarium conference, no less. I believe it was before the first Venus Transit. Yes, actually, I remember that it was October 2003 because that was when there was a humongous solar storm during the last solar max, so all of us planetarium geeks had telescopes out to look at the activity on the Sun. Anyway, I don't know if a trip there is in the cards for this conference.

Gee, nobody (other than Brite/Fisher, and that's only because that entity has family there) ever comes to Eastern Washington. Unfortunately, even if they did any time before the Yule season, I am going to be working 60-80 hour weeks getting ready for new tenants in the data center, so I wouldn't have time to visit anyway...

I anticipate exploring E Washington a great deal in the not too distant future.

Pumpkin, sounds like you've had a great time. I like hearing about people's travels.

Eastern Washington is..... different.

Looks like here but with actual hills too.