Tag Archives: travel

Montreal is cold

Personal,

Last week is was off to Montreal for another week traveling for work. It went ok but would have preferred to have more time than a few days of testing on my piece of the software. But that’s the way it goes.

The week was going as expected until Wednesday evening. We went to an Italian restruant in a small strip mall not far from the hotel, it had a movie theater and a number of choices to eat at. After finishing we came out to the car and a window was broken. A co-worker had is laptop bag taken, minus the laptop, but his passport was in it. So it was off to the nearist station, as the police will not come to you for that, to file a report. Then it was on to the rental car agency at the airport to pick up a new vehicle. We were back to the hotel by 10:30pm. Of all the nights I wanted to get to bed before 1:00am wasn’t thinking it would include a trip to the police station.

Yes it was cold there too, average temp was around 5. It snowed a couple nights and we got to see a bit of it being removed. They clear it with huge snow blowers, front end loaders and dump trucks then haul it off the island. You can really tell a difference between the locals and visitors on the road. If you don’t drive in the stuff very much you get a little rusty. Not to mention the traffic flow is crazy. On many major streets, around the airport at least, their are no left turns. That makes it easy for us visiting to get lost.. but their were only a couple U-Turns for the 6 days.

It’s good to be back home, now I just got to catch up on everything.

Fun in Charlotte

Personal,

This week I was in Charlotte, NC installing beta software for a customer. It has been a while since I’ve been out on the road and this will probably continue for a bit. I had forgotten how long a day can be when you’re face to face and only have moments to multi-task. Two 17 hour days and one 16 hour day, with a 14 hour day thrown in the middle, left me ready to head home. I did get to see some friends (Juan & Jan) while there but couldn’t get to Raliegh to see the others (Chip & Beth). Of course Raliegh isn’t really on the way but it was a good opportunity to try and return a gas grill of their’s. Of course if things hand gone better and I could have turned those days into 8 or 10 hours it would have been more realistic. But that’s the way it goes.

The last time I went to Charlotte it was on a bad u-joint in the truck, not much pull going through the mountains, but this time no problems. Only some wind to deal with and a little rain. Good to be home … next week should be busy with follow up and trying to get ready for Montreal on the 9th. Yes another trip, another beta. Joy !!!!

Breckenridge weekend

Personal,

This past weekend we headed to Breckenridge, CO for a little R & R and some boarding for me. We got in late on Thursday evening as my sister and her family were already at the condo… they came in on new years day. Friday morning it was out to the slopes by 8:30, we had scheduled a private boarding lesson with the resorts Ski and Ride Program. It was just the three of us myself, brother in law and my nephew. It was a good day and well worth it, even though I had to take a conference call for about an hour in the morning. That evening we headed to the Breckenridge Brewery for dinner, nice atmosphere and good eats.

Saturday it was just two of us on the slopes as the others had enough already. So armed with new knowledge on boarding I took off to the blues, after a one shot down the greens, to hone my skills. We headed over to Peak7 in hopes it wouldn’t be a busy and get some protection from the wind. It didin’t take long for me to realize my technique needed a bit of work. A few runs and a few spills later I was ready for lunch and maybe calling it a day. So we headed over to the base of Peak8 and I knew when I got there I was done. Problem being we had to get over to Peak9, that’s where the condo was. So one last run up the Mercury lift and over to Peak9 base, I’ve never been so fatigued before … ever !!!.

Sunday morning came soon enough and we all headed back to Denver. Their was a big storm coming and it was reported to start at 12:00am on Sunday but it didn’t start snowing till 6:00am. By the time we left at about 10:00am their was already 4 to 5 inches on the ground and the prediction was 1 to 2 feet. Traffic from Denver on I70 was packed with skiers coming up to take advantage of the new snow. I’m sure if you live out there your use to the conditions I remember back in IL it could get bad but that’s been a few years. We did at least take some picks on the way back, here’s the feed. We visited with some friends and watched the Titans playoff game, then it was off to the airport for a late flight. Back home at 1:00am Monday, made for a short day yesterday.

A good quick trip none the less and the cold I caught on Saturday has left just as quickly as it came on, which is good as I’ve got a bit of hockey this week.

Traveling

Personal,

Work called last Sunday with a last minute trip to Portaland, OR. Off on Tuesday back on Thursday, quick trip but necessary. I met up with a couple others from the office in Dallas, TX on Tuesday afternoon and we made our way to Portland. We stayed close to the airport so their wasn’t much of a drive after we landed. Wednesday morning was somewhat eventful as we weaved through traffic and almost saw a bicycler get run over. Portland is well suited for those that want to bike to work but this was a little on the “to close” for comfort front.

An all day session on Wednesday and then it was back on a plane Thursday. A little diversion into Lubbuck as they had bad weather in Dallas which closed the airport for about a half hour so I was late connecting and getting into to Nashville. That put me home about two hours later than expected getting home but at least my flight from Dallas wasn’t canceled. I herd others were.

Ready for the extended weekend and will hopefully get some golf in as well as some hockey. It’s been two weeks since league play stopped so it’s time to get back on the ice.

Hawaii – day 9.. the end

Personal,
The last day

Thursday we leave this afternoon at 4:45 and another beautiful day. I think I slept the latest, finally getting aclimated to the time change. A few hours on the beach and then some shoping before heading to the airport. The flight home will be shorter, 6 and a half hours versus 8 plus, at least to Dallas. Home before lunch and will pick up the dogs, as I’m sure they think they’ve been in jail for the last week. The kenel is nice but nothing like home….. and speaking of a home we’ll be looking for a new one right away.