11 posts tagged “trip”
What are you most looking forward to this weekend?
PACKING!!11!! w00t!
I'm feeling pretty good about being ahead of the game this time. When I was booking my flight out to Detroit where I'm meeting up with MomH, I thought about flying out tomorrow so I could see the family for a day and a half. As much as that would be, I'm really really glad I have all weekend to wrap everything up.
I'm headed out tonight to the fun that is First Friday, where thousands of people descend on dowtown Phoenix for one of the country's largest art walks. It's full of crazy fun artists, musicians, street performers and a stop at some of the coolest new bars and restaurants around. I usually get asked by First Friday newbies to give my patented AmyH Tour. I know a lot of the artists and the spaces and can give more background than you would get wandering around on your own. I really should start my own tour service one of these days.
So here's the rest of my weekend:
Saturday:
7:30 a.m. Hair appointment
11:30 a.m. Baby Shower
afternoon - return books to library, stop by bookstore for Rick Steves' travel book (I've been reading an old copy and must have it for the trip), clean house, create currency conversion cheat sheets, print out addresses.
Hoodies - if you want a postcard - PM with an address! Sometimes I'm good about sending them out, sometimes I just buy them and send them when I get home. But I promise to try and be good! I heart postcards, both sending and recieving. See? (I have a new, naked fridge right now. I'm going to start fresh with new cards so feel free to send any my way as well!)
The rest of the time will be spent getting my crap together and lovin' on Elvis. No last minute running around in the foreseeable future!
Except for today at work. Yikes - I forgot I had meetings all day Gotta run!
I stopped by REI on the way home to buy the cool shoes I saw on their website. Yay! They were there and in stock! Nice brown leather lace-ups, very Euro looking and ready to hit some cobblestone streets.
But what was this? Green suede shoes? My heart lept.
I tried on both pairs. I walked around in both pairs. I stared at the pairs. I couldn't bear to choose one pair.
All attempts at rhyming aside, I just couldn't decide. After spending a seeming eternity struggling over the decision, I decided to not decide. Or to decide for both. I figured I needed more casual out and about shoes when the weather turns cold/chilly/under 75 degrees. I only have two other pairs of closed-toe non-sneaker casual shoes - brown and black leather in the exact same style. I guess I had a hard time deciding then, too (about six years ago). They aren't good for long walks, hence my shopping trip.
I blew my shoe budget for the next two years. I can't believe I actually bought something - ANYTHING - that wasn't on clearance. I better go on my trip soon or won't have any money left to spend while I'm there.
Good thing George W. is sending me a big chunk of change any day now. It's more fun to ignore the national debt when you have shoes the color of money. :-P
I think I did everything I needed to last week, which really came down to finishing my leadership application. Done and turned in. Whew. One monkey off my back.
Now I'm getting down to crunch time with work and with trip preparation. I'm set with clothes after a trip to Target. My current wardrobe is woefully inadequate for casual out and about clothes. It's 90% suits/work outfits and heels, 7% workout gear and 3% other stuff. It's also hard packing for anything other than really hot or really cold. So I'm going in lots of layers and now just need a good pair of city strolling shoes that don't scream "AMERICAN TOURIST".
So here goes my list for the week:
1. Confirm cat-watchers
2. Alert credit/bank cards to my itinerary. It would suck to have my cards shut down while away. This is something I highly recommend anyone doing if you are going to be traveling. Although I didn't have a problem buying tequila in Tijuana one morning and wine in the San Diego vicinity that same afternoon. Hmm. Maybe they recognize a pattern with me.
3. Buy baby shower gifts. Should have done this during my Target trip. Duh
4. Hold on mail and newspapers.
5. Read up on travel books, decide if I need to buy a book for Vienna/Poland. I have my Prague and Budapest guidebooks already.
6. Check out exchange rate info and create cheat sheets for each country. These are vital to international shoppers/hagglers like my mother and me.
7. Go to REI and buy shoes.
I know there's a lot more I need to do, but I feel like I'm ahead of the game by getting the clothes part done and out of the way. Despite having my helper provide Feline Assistance, of course.
Birthday greetings go out to the most lovely, BrownAmazon.
And what has the Birthday Girl won, just for being swanktastic? You, yes you, will leave the snow and the cold Canadian winter behind when you visit -
SUNNY ARIZONA!!
Your stay will include lodging at the quaint and charming Casa de Amy, where you will be greeted by the host kitty, Mr. Elvis.
Activities include:
Horseback Riding, Arizona Style!
Some of the best Mexican cuisine you may have ever tried!
New Age Wonders in Spectacular Settings!
World-renowned vistas!
A day at one of the Southwest's premier spas!
It's all yours and it's less than a week away. Pack your bags and get ready to soak up the sun!
Before I get into my real post - has anyone noticed their comment options are getting automatically/mistakenly shut off? In my ohsogreat Napkin Chicken post, I noticed no one was saying anything other than under the nekkid chicken picture. Then I saw there was no option for commenting on the post and upon further discovery "nobody" was allowed to comment. Huh. This is the third time that's happened to me in the last week. Because I KNOW everyone wants to say something about everything I write.
Moving on - to Eastern Europe! Apparently no one but Mom and me want to visit Croatia in March or early May. Screw those lame people. Now we're going to Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Warsaw and Krakow (Krakow! Krakow! Two direct hits!).
I've already been to Vienna but only spent a day there, back during my college days. I had just spent a week in Berlin, where I was accosted in the women's shower room by a guy off the street, pickpocketed and generally sick of the big cities. The best part of Vienna was hanging around with a hot guy from Pitt and running into a group of Australians.
Leo was their leader and convinced me to meet up with his group, a group of college kids on a pilgramage to see the pope up in Poland. Not to go with them, but to be their German translator so they could have some fun at a local Biergarten. Later that evening I waited for them in the lobby of their hotel until they snuck out from under the watchful eyes of their priest. We hit the town and tore it up. Good times! I should find those pictures.
I crashed that night in the girls' room but they had to be up and out by 5:00 a.m. They gave me the name of the priest in case the hotel questioned me (security always on the lookout for sneaky backpackers) and I went back to bed. If you've ever spent time backpacking through Europe, sleeping on trains and staying in youth hostels, you know that a hotel bed and a real shower are wonderful treats.
After freshening up, I tried to leave but security was watching me pretty closely when I stepped out of the elevator. Since I didn't want to just walk out, I plopped down in the lobby, looked at my watch and read a magazine until Herr Guard was called away. Then I walked calmly out of the hotel and straight to the train stop across the road and I was on my way to Salzburg.
Where I partied with a crazy group of Tasmanians. Those Down Under types are teh bomb.
I'm back in warm Phoenix! w00t!
That's not nearly as exciting as the news - which you all know by now, I'm sure - that I met some of teh coolest peeps on the East Coast. I'm not just saying that because it was freaking cold, but in the words of my mother, the darling MomH, "What a really neat group of people."
Mom was more curious than concerned about meeting up with my "internet friends" and asked a lot of questions about how we all met online and I did a lot of repeat explaining. She's a great sport and looked forward to meeting everyone.
I heart my 'hoodies.
I have plenty of pics and stories about my trip ($20 opera tix at the Met, MomH tying one on, cheering on NYC Marathoners, etc.) but let's get down to what you want to hear about first, our meet-ups.
First on the itinerary was the most adorable Dora, who rallied from feeling icky to meet up with us for CHEEZBURGERS!!!111!! in Queens.
After CHEEZBURGERS!!11, we headed down to another Irish Pub where two men were having a typical Irish conversation. I couldn't tell if the one was yelling at another or just giving him a hard time. It went a little like this:
"Fookin' bloody fook ya fooker fook fook."
We stood there a while being entertained until we were noticed and the ranter abruptly stopped, held the door open and said, "Pardon us, ladies". We proceeded to the bar where Dora ordered an authentic Hot Toddy to help with her cold and I thought that sounded like a great preventative strategy.
I noticed Irish eyes were smiling on me and I must say, I can see why Dora likes her Irish bars so much. For the record, I can strike up a conversation with anyone. When a cute guy looks at me from across the room, I freak. Really. But I'm on vacation and I have nothing to lose so I look back (oooh, big step, I know) and when we leave he gives me a very friendly 'hello'. I turned as I walked out the door and he was still checking me out.
I giggled like a schoolgirl. Tee hee hee!
Dora walked us to the train stop and we had big hugs all around. Yay!
Next up - Cranky met us out for dinner on Friday night. She is just as super cool in person as you think she is. She even brought along a present for my Elvis, an Elvis Kitty pillowcase (sans pillow for ease of packing):
We had a lovely, low-key dinner at a Philly institution, Franks (or was it Ralph's? I already forgot). We must not have scared her off too bad, because she still wanted to hang with us on Saturday. I mean, Mom and I didn't scare Cranky, not Cranky and I scaring Mom.
Cranky picked us up from the art museum and we were off to pick up Cap'n from the side of the road.
Cranky: "He said he was wearing a brown coat and is front of the Natural History Museum."
MomH: "You mean you don't know what he looks like?"
AmyH: "Well, we've seen one picture from when he was in Chicago."
MomH: "Oh." *amused little laugh at the seeming absurdity of it all*
Cranky: "There he is!"
We pull over and he jumps in her car.
Amy: "Hey"
Cranky: "Hey"
Cap'n: "Hey"
MomH to Cap'n: "Do you think you know these two people or do you always jump in cars that slow down?"
Cap'n: "Yeah, everyone gives everybody else rides in Philly. It's a friendly town."
With Cranky driving, Cappy navigating and MomH as the parking spot finder savant, we made our way to South Philly for cheesesteaks! w00t!
Mom, Cranky and I ordered ours with Provolone (Provie) and Cappy had his 'wit whiz'. As much as I like to live like a local, I just couldn't bring myself to consuming the glory that is Cheeze Whiz.
We spent the rest of the day checking out historical sites like the Old City Tavern, where I was hoping to have a beer with a fake Ben Franklin. No faux Benny, but it was good to get of the cold and warm up with a hot mixture of cider and spirits.
Mom and I had a great trip and most of that is due to all the wonderful people we met and spent time with. Teh peeps made this trip extra special and I can't wait to meet up with everyone again - and to meet up with those I haven't yet!
Cheers to the hood!
I was all set to FINALLY do my post-trip report, focusing a great deal on the whackjob of our group, but I'm pooped. Plus, my computer takes forever to upload photos so I ran out steam while waiting for them move from my hard drive to here. Wah wah wah, I know.
So here are a few pics I hope will tide you over.
We hiked down a little way on Bright Angel Trail when we ran into a few locals:
And can we please take a moment to reflect on the public works program that made the trail system what it is today.
Thanks, guys. Much appreciated.
It's hard to put into words how lovely the Canyon is. It changes with the light and the time of year. Many photographers through the years try to capture its glory and expanse. No matter how hard anyone tries, you just can't do it justice.
More later... promise! (If you can't wait, there are more pictures in my photo file.)
And always remember, peeps - be careful out there.
I'm back from a wonderful week in Northern Arizona. I'll give you all the rest of the scoop and share pics with you soon. Work somehow piled up while I was gone so now I have to hunker down and be productive.
A quick overview - one of the women who came, a co-worker of a friend of my friend's, not only should have been eaten by wolves long ago, but I can't understand how she even makes it out of her house on a daily basis. More on her later when I have time to do her insanity justice.
When I wasn't keeping myself from pushing her off a cliff, all seven of the crew had a wonderful time. The Grand Canyon was just as spectacular as the last time I saw it. Sedona opened itself up as more than the schlocky t-shirt and trinket gift shop haven I've come to expect. We did plenty of hiking, spa-ing, partaking of local cuisine, and lounging about. Some of the girls had psychic readings done, bought crystals and I lead everyone on a Vortex tour. No one said they felt as if they were communing with the earth spirits, but the views were incredible.
The trip made me realize I don't get up to the north country as much as I should. Arizona is a beautiful state with so much to do and experience. I also found out how much I knew about the place. I felt like I needed a microphone for the minivan as I was constantly saying, "and to your right, you will see..." At the Canyon, I wanted a little flag to wave so I could keep my group together. I didn't lose anyone and everyone appreciated what we ended up calling, "Amy's Taste of Arizona Tour".
More to come, promise!
p.s. I probably won't be able to catch up as well as I would like, so if I missed something muy importante, let me know! :-)
I know, it takes me forever to post vacation pics.
Here are some sights and signs of Seattle, including the flight board typo at Sky Harbor Airport.
I FINALLY developed the film from my APS camera. I dropped off two rolls and did my usual 'old roll of film surprise' viewing. It's almost like reaching into a grab bag and unwrapping memories. "Oh, Guatemala! Chicago! The family in Michigan! Weddings!"
On the second roll were the panorama and other odd sized shots from my Vietnam trip. Enjoy!
(The little black spots in this pic are birds.)
