Call Corner: December 2009

If you remember...but won't hold it against you if you don't...in August I said to stay tune for me to post more about my travels, well I figure since it is almost the end of 2009...I probably should finally get to that post. Here is my travel log/diary from June until the present.

June saw me in lots of different places. I visited the beautiful island of Oahu. I love Hawaii. It is so gorgeous. This time I came in a day early and soaked up some sun. I actually soaked up so much that I had to buy some Aloe and soothe my poor skin. It was gorgeous and I fell asleep by the water...thus the sun burn.

It is just so gorgeous...it always takes my breath away. This trip was with my boss, Gary Hunnel and of course the sales rep Liz. Gary had never been to Pearl Harbor, so she took us and I got this picture. Pearl Harbor is such a special place. There had recently been a Pearl Harbor survivor that had passed away. He had been buried at sea, with those that lost their lives that Dec. 7th day. It's always a spiritual experience visiting there.

I came home from Hawaii, only to turn around and go to our companies Sales meeting in St. Paul, MN. Big difference...Hawaii - Minnesota. I think I would rather have had out meeting in Hawaii. It wasn't in Decemeber...so that was good. Besides meetings and morning the loss of Michael Jackson (he died the 2nd day of our meetings) we went to a baseball game. It was a minor league team, but it was lots of fun. This team is know for all the side shows. People running around doing crazy things. We had fun.

We also went to this cool part by the Art Museum. It had the most amazing art. Here are my co-workers and I in the park.

This cherry on a spoon was the highlight of the park. It was amazing.

Next my travels took me to Washington DC. I love this city. It is so full of history and great things to do. I was there for a big show, where we were announcing a new product. Although I had to work long, hard hours I found some time to spend on the mall and as always it didn't disappoint.

The interesting part of the trip came when my co-worker and I went to the front of the White House. I was surprised by the number of people just "hanging" about outside, waving signs and such. As we were walking away I heard someone yell, "Mr. President." I turned around and at the front door of the White House was President Obama. He had actually answered his door. The crowd went wild. I told my co-worker, but he didn't believe me, until he turned around and saw it for himself. He then booked it to the front and started to climb up on the gate. Yes you heard me right, he started to climb on the gate. I heard the police say, "Hey you, get down" and then they started to head toward him. I was pretty sure I was going to have to bail him out of jail that night. Luckily he got down and we walked away. Didn't get a picture of the President (that's ok...not a fan - I want a President, not a celebrity!), but here is the White House before the celebrity came out to wave to his fan club.

I spent a week in July at home. Let me just say there is nothing like home, but it didn't last long. I scurried off to Utah. I got to attend my cousin Ben's wedding reception. I enjoyed spending time with my family and I still can't believe that little Ben is married. Good thing he found a sweet wife. I also did some work while I was in Utah. It was interesting to get to go meet with BYU. Gosh I love that University. You walk on campus and there is just this feeling. Maybe all people feel that way when they go visit "their" university...I know I do.

It gives me warm fuzzies I tell ya!

I spent the first week of August in Anchorage, Alaska. What a beautiful place! I don' know if I would like it in the winter, but August was beautiful. It was also nice to get to spend some time with my cousin Mitch and his new bride Natalie. They were a great host and hostess. Besides working with a few districts, I got to do a lot of sight seeing too. Mitch took me out to a glacier. We took a boat out to it and it was amazing. We then hiked to a snow cave. Seeing as I was sure that the cave would come crashing down while I was in it, I wasn't brave enough to actually hike into the cave, but Mitch did.

Mitch and Natalie took me to this chocolate place, where they had the World's Largest Chocolate fountain. It took everything in my power not to dip my head in or just dive in completely. Yummy!

I also stopped by to see the Anchorage temple. It was such a cute little temple. I was sad that I didn't get to go in. It always makes me smile to see the Angel Moroni.

There were 2 things that I really wanted to see while in Alaska. The first one was wildlife. A moose would have been nice...maybe a bear. NOPE. I saw mountain goats hiking up the mountain as I drove down the road. Look close and you can see 2 white mountain goats.

The other thing I wanted to see was Sarah Palin. Sadly I got there right as she resigned as Governor...but I thought that might actually work in my favor, as I was going to Wasilla to work with the school district. My co-worker and I drove through Wasilla and we looked hard, but Sarah Palin was no where to be seen. Dang it! Good thing I got to see my cousins, otherwise I might have been disappointed in this Alaska trip! Just kidding...it was another gorgeous state to add to my growing list.

I went back to Utah, where I got to meet my cousin Brooke's new baby girl Meg. She is gorgeous and I loved holding her. She was still so fresh and I could tell how much her 3 big brothers love her. Gosh I wish I lived closer.

I also took an overnight trip to Nebraska. Nice place, but not really camera worthy.

I spent part of September in Arizona. I was lucky enough to get to spend an evening with my bestfriend, Kim. We always have a good time together. I was there for my regional meeting, so it was fun to see everyone from the Western region. We went to a Diamond Backs baseball game. We sat in the fly ball zone. I never have known a game to have so many fly balls. I spent the whole time ducking and covering my head to avoid brain damage! It was such an amazing stadium...so big. My friend/co-worker, Ann and I went all the way to the top of the stadium...to get the real view. It was amazing.

I spent the first part of October on vacation in South Carolina with my nieces, nephews and family for Kate's baptism. Ros posted earlier about our adventures this week. I was glad I got to go.

Well, I spent 2 days in Kansas. As I was taking off and snapping an "illegal" picture from the airplane, I thought...I'm not in Kansas anymore! :)

The last part of October and the first part of November I went to Denver and Vale, Colorado. It was beautiful, but I wasn't a big fan of the early snow they received. Seriously Denver shut down...really shouldn't they be use to the snow and have it down how to handle it. The Denver Convention Center has a big blue bear looking in the window. This is a picture, from my hotel room window.

After the cold in Colorado, I headed back to Hawaii. This was such a fun trip. I met up with my co-worker Deb. She is great and we had such a nice time. We spent a day on Oahu and then went to the Big Island of Hawaii. It was their rainy season...so it rained a lot, but we didn't let that stop us. We took Vetern's Day to see as much of the big island as we could. We drove up to an active volcano near Hilo. We went to some beautiful waterfalls and of course we fit in some shopping. We both wanted to take home some volcanic rocks, but the locals are so supersitious about that...so in fairness to their traditions and legends we left them behind. We heard some really scary stories about the bad luck people have had who take rocks off the island. Seeing as we both had to fly across a huge ocean to get home...we weren't willing to risk the bad luck. I didn't get to spend anytime on the beach and the rain/humidity made my hair a mess...no matter what I did, but I still love Hawaii. It was nice to get to see a different island.

A day trip to Dallas and a day trip to Austin ended my travel for the year. I thought you'd like to see a pile of all my hotel keys for this year. I counted them and there were well over 50...yikes!