Well since my last post life has gotten…..interesting. I’m going to do a few posts that recap the
last 5 yrs in various ways. This is
mostly for me since I doubt that anyone is going to read this since it’s been 5
yrs since I updated this. My last post I
just started my job on the Catastrophe Team at work. I was on my way to AZ for my first
“deployment” which is what we call the trips when we are on the road for up to
23 days a month. My description on my last post said “some” field work. That quickly became full time field work, Since then for work I’ve been to Arizona,
California, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Illinois,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana,
Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Maine, North Carolina and
South Carolina for work. And the states
I haven’t actually worked in I’ve likely driven through. The last 2 years of work have been basically
back to back trips, with me being home for an average of 5 days a month. I was getting very burnt out on being on the
road so much, and I was getting very burnt out!
I managed to stay home between Christmas and the beginning of March this
year, and then from the end of March until the end of this month I’ve been home
doing a fellowship with our logistics department (the people who deploy the
adjusters to work claims). I’ll be back
on the road in the middle of June, and after about 4 months at home I’m finally
to the point where the thought of being back on a roof looking at hail damage
doesn’t make me want to curl up in the fetal position!
Here are a few photos from my work travels over the last few years.
This particular trip to the North East I was in Philly, on some (infrequent) free time I made it to the Rocky Statue, had some delicious Philly Cheesesteaks, soaked up some culture in the touristy part of the city and met up with some friends!
On a trip out to either NY or PA I was able to stop and see Niagara Falls, I had to drive 18 hours in 1 day in order to make it from KC to Buffalo NY in order for it to work out! It was totally worth it to see the falls first thing in the morning before continuing my drive!
I was in South Carolina for my 30th birthday. Spencer knew I was bummed about being away from friends and family so he rearranged his work schedule so he could spend a few days with me! It was a good break for him, he got to visit several local breweries and relax, and it was (I think) eye opening for him to see the hours I worked some days, and how gross and sweaty I came back to the hotel. Normally when we talk on the phone I've showered and had a chance to decompress and order some sushi. I think he had a rose colored glasses view of my work until this trip!
When I was working in Chicago IL, my hotel was LITERALLY behind the arena where Lady A was playing. They are one of my favorite bands and it was awesome to be able to walk over and see the show!
On a training trip to Michigan 2 yrs ago (during the Polar Voretx) some co-workers and I went up North and saw the ice caves, we walked about 1/2 mile out onto the frozen lake. It was one of the coolest things I've seen.
On my way to Wyoming for a trip I stopped to see Mt. Rushmore. One of my favorite things about 2 day drives is that there is usually something fun to see on the way if you time it right!
On that last post in 2011 I mentioned I was heading to AZ, I spent my day off with my Grandparents. They lived about 2 hours from where I was working, we went to my FAVORITE Mexican restaurant. This chicken is outside the place, and I've taken photos with it since I was in Jr. High.
Grandparents first selfie! Papa was having a hard time, we eventually figured it out, but I like this first attempt.
Not everything I see on the road is fun. This makes sense since the reason I get deployed is because of bad weather. This photo and the next one are from the tornado that hit Moore, OK a few years ago. This was a really hard storm to work, there were a lot of deaths and the amount of destruction was really overwhelming.
When you think that this was a home less than 72 hours before I took this photo its just overwhelming.
On my last trip to South Carolina I noticed a trend with the signs I saw around the areas I was working.....
I got to play tourist at the Alamo in 2012!
I spent a 3 week trip in the North East last year, around this time of year. It was one of the only trips in almost 5 years where I was not very busy, like at all. Over Memorial Day weekend I had no claims. I was less than 2 hours from Boston and decided I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get there. I ended up meeting up with a friend who was living there, she and her son were getting ready to join her hubby back in the KC area, so it was their last weekend in town. We road the Swan Boats, saw the ducklings and I got to throw some tea in the harbor and recreate one of the defining moments in our country's history! Another day I went into town I did the Freedom Trail and saw a lot of the other historical sites around the city.
Swan Boats
Ducklings!
Harbor tour while I was in Boston
At the end of that trip to the NE I got moved to Portland Maine, Spencer came up to visit (the combo of me not being very busy and it being a GORGEOUS time of year to be there made it a necessity). We took a whale watching trip one day when I finished up early, didn't see any whales but it was really pretty!
Some amazing coast line in Maine
On my way home from that trip my flight got cancelled once I landed outside of NYC. I was stranded overnight, so the only thing I could think to do was to get into the city and wander around. This is from the top of the Empire State Building. I've only been to NYC once before, and that was for a flight layover in the summer of 2000. One of these days I'd like to spend more than 12 hours at once there!
These are just a few of the thousands of photos I've taken on the road. There have been times I've cried because I missed my husband and friends and dog and my own bed. There have been times where I've found a view like this to work from and I wouldn't want to have any other job. We'll see what the next year has for me when it comes to work and life (and maybe some balance between the two?)!
The next posts will catch up what we've been up to in regards to travel over the last few years. Thanks to the extra money I've made travelling and the fact we get to keep our hotel points we've taken some fantastic trips!
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