Our (first) Trip of a Lifetime Part 1

Because of my extensive work travel I’ve also accumulated a LOT of hotel points, which has allowed Spence and I to travel quite a bit.  We did a 20 day trip to Europe and visited London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Prague, Munich in 2012. 

When I started on the Catastrophe Team (Cat Team) Spencer and I quickly realized that this job was going to afford us some cushion in our monthly budget.  Spencer had never been out of the country, other than our Mexican trip when we first started dating, so we decided that we'd celebrate having all our credit cards paid off by taking a European trip!  I spent from January to the day we left in September planning, revising, researching and organizing our trip in all its detail.  We flew into London, then onto Paris for a day, Rome for 3 days, Venice overnight, Prague for a few days, Munich and then back to London for a night before we flew back to the states. 

We flew into London and spent a few days wandering around the city.  We walked to the top of St. Pauls (starting our tradition of always trying to get to the highest point in a city we can walk or take an elevator to) and did the hop on hop off bus to get an overview of the city.  We were pretty jet lagged and so it was an early night!  The next day we did the Hop on Hop off , a Jack the Ripper walking tour and went to Euston Tap for some beverages.  The last day in England we did a day trip outside the city to Bath, Lacock (used in a lot of the Harry Potter movies-- very exciting for us) and to Stonehenge.  We bought a tour that allowed us to go into the inner circle of the henge, to this day its one of my favorite things we've done on a trip!

On the plane leaving from KC!

Iconic London view

 Selfie at Stonehenge, we had a blast this day and got to see so many cool sites.

 

 At the Roman Baths

 

Inside the henge, getting to see it so close instead of from the outer area where tourists are usually restricted to was incredible.

 

I believe I took this from the Hop On Hop Off bus one day

 

 One of the views from the Eye

 

 We had to take a selfie on the Tube, because, tourists!

 

They very helpfully try to keep you from dying while crossing the street

 

 St. Pauls, we climbed to the top of the dome to catch some amazing views of the city

 

London Eye, we stayed at the hotel right behind it on our way back through the city.

 

 

 

After London was a quick overnight to Paris.  I'd been to Paris a few times before and Spencer didn't really have anything that he "had" to see there.  In addition Spencer really wanted to stay in a hostel on this trip.  I agreed as long as it was only for 1 night, so we stayed at a hostel in Paris.  We did a free walking tour with Sandemans, the first of many on our European trips.  We actually ended up doing the free city tour and the Montmartre tour with them later that night and then spent the evening drinking with new friends in the bar from the movie Amalie.   The next day we got up (after a long night out and then a mix up when it turned out that someone had moved my stuff off the bed in our hostel room and we had to turn on lights and wake up the other 2 people in the room).  I felt bad for the other 2 people in our room, Spencer's snoring is legendary and after a few drinks its like a freight train.  We dropped our bags off at the airport (or train station, I can't remember) and spent the afternoon and early evening wandering around the city.  We walked along the Seine and to the Eiffel Tower, we took a river tour as well and on the way out of town we grabbed a few crepes (a necessity for me being in Paris).

 

 Before our walking tour we stopped and saw the Louvre, but didn't make it in due to time constraints

 First glimpse of the Eiffel Tower!

 During our tour of Montmartre

 

 Spence sleeping (he was the only one sleeping at that point) in our hostel.

 Outside of Notre Dame

 

 On the "Love Bridge" we totally added a lock to the bridge, even though I know they go through and remove them and toss them.

 

 

 

 Nothing says Paris like the glass pyramids!

 

 When I was in Paris in 2004 I got up at dawn and went walking, I took a picture of this same statue with the sun rising behind it, the shadows and the way the light shone through the space between her arm and the sword is one of my favorites from that trip.

 On our river tour!

 

Before the river tour began

 

I think this was one of our last shots in the City of Love, we had a great 36 hours in Paris, Spencer even said he would want to go back at some point.  High praise since he didn't really want to go the first time!



 

 

After our day and a half in Paris we took a flight to Rome for 3 days.  Rome was one of Spencer's favorite stops on the trip, at least partially because we had some down time to just relax and wander around the city.  We booked a tour into the underground portion of the Coliseum and then got to up to the higher levels that not everyone gets to access.  We also did a tour of the Sistine Chapel before it was open to the general public, this made a world of difference.  The 2 times I'd seen it before it was crammed with people and it was really hard to spend enough time to really appreciate the magnitude of the chapel.  This tour also gave us early access to the rest of the museum before it was open and it was fantastic to see it all so empty instead of teeming with people. That same day we also went all the way to the top of St Peters (again with the highest views we can find), a total of 320 steps after the elevators stop working. The rest of the days in Rome we walked all around, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, the Forum, Trajans Column, Mouth of Truth, Capitoline Musuem, Borghese Gardens, Piazza Navonna  etc.  

Mouth of Truth

 As you walk up the stairs at St. Peters the walls start to curve along with the dome, it gets a little trippy if you aren't careful!

Spanish Steps

 

 

 One of the best meals we had all trip, this is a little alley about 3 minutes from Trevi Fountain.

 Outside the Vatican after our tour

 View from the top of St. Peters, amazing view of the city

 On our early morning tour of the Vatican and St. Peters, normally this area is crowded and its difficult to keep with your group.  We didn't have that issue on our tour!

 The murals on the way to the top of St. Peters

Trevi Fountain

Outside the Coliseum

 Up on the 3rd level of the Coliseum during our tour

Doing our Rick Steves audio guide of the Forum

 

 

 

One of the last views of Rome, we took an overnight train to Venice from Rome. 

 

The next post will continue our European Adventure!



5 years later.....almost.

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!

 

Some scenery photos from my last trip to Wyoming.  This trip got extended due to the fact that it kept snowing!  I was literally snowed into my hotel for over a day at one point.

 

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!

A very long day of travel.....

I recently took a new job at work that involves some field work.  I started my first trip today and its a drive to Phoenix.  I made it to Albuquerque NM and documented my trip along the way.....

I left at 530am, so the first thing I was actually able to see was the sunrise. I was driving through the Flint Hills in KS. 

This just made me giggle as I was driving through Oklahoma City, OK.  I handled total loss auto claims for about 3 years, the last year I handled commercial vehicles. Just in case you were wondering spray painting "commercial vehicle" on your van does not make it a commercial vehicle.

I *love* windmills, I was excited to see them in all 4 of the states I drove through today! (this one is in OK)

I don't know why, but hand soap in a condiment dispenser also induced giggles.  Hence, photo.

(in my defense, this is about 9 hours into the 13 hour drive)

Texas windmills~

Isn't Texas awesome down I40?   This pretty much sums up the view for a lot of the day...

Hey wait we have hills!

Last state of the day, I am not kidding when I tell you I have never been so excited to see a welcome sign.

I drove next to the 3M race car for about an hour.  I swear I was being *super* careful as I snapped these!

First view of the mountains as I got close to Albuquerque NM.

Just in case we forgot what the view looked like for most of the day......zzzzzzzzz

So excited to be in the hotel.  SO. EXCITED. (hey look am I writing the blog?)

This is what sheer exhaustion looks like after 13 hours in the car and no make up.  It is a testament to my mental state that this is being posted, I feel like I'm very freckly today (is that a word?)

Recap of random things from this summer....

So this summer we had a lot of things to fill our time.  

We went on a float trip with some friends, on the way down we stopped at Osceola MO to sample the cheeses!

We went to a KU football game, and sat in the student section. I realized that I am getting too old for a massive collection of drunk college students crammed into the stands.

And we also celebrated my birthday with dinner at the Melting Pot.  Yummo!

Happy AXO Founders Day!

I'm a sorority girl.  It's not usually my opening when I meet new people.  I seem to constantly be surrounded by this stereotype of the "sorority girl" as this vapid, shallow party girl, who isn't very smart and is more than a little slutty.  Weirdly enough, this was not the stereotype I had of the Greek system growing up.  Most of the women on my mothers side of the family were involved in the Greek system, and trust me when say those women are not shallow, vapid, dumb or slutty.  I can remember growing up that my grandma would have her sorority sisters over for alumnae meetings, I was always so curious about what they were doing that I wasn't allowed to be  part of!  I remember Nana sitting me down and explaining what a sorority was and that there are some secrets that only the people involved know.  Talk about exciting to a 6 year old. 

When I decided on the college I was going to attend I remember my mom and I going to take one last campus tour.  Our guide was a member of Alpha Chi Omega, and I remember talking to her about recruitment and the different houses on campus that I could possibly join.  My mom and I talked a lot about whether or not I wanted to go through recruitment, she encouraged me to go through, at the very least she pointed out, it would be a very good way to meet people my first week on campus. 

I decided to sign up and go into it with an open mind, I wasn't against sororities per say, but the response from my high school friends was less than enthusiastic when I mentioned it.  They mentioned the stereotype listed above that is, well, less than flattering.  I went through the week, the parties, the conversations, the "get to know you" questions and I became more and more convinced that Greek life was for me.  I joined Alpha Chi Omega and I can honestly say it was a fantastic decision.

I was, and have been, amazed ever since then about the high caliber of women I have associate myself with upon joining Alpha Chi.  The ladies in my pledge class are a diverse group of women, nurses, teachers, attorneys, doctors, stay at home moms, accountants etc.  In college they were athletes, national merit scholars, student government representatives, campus hosts and involved in almost every aspect of campus life.  I have been incredibly blessed by my involvement in the Greek system, and Alpha Chi Omega specifically.  I'm glad that I was able to look past what the media, and pop culture tells us that a typical "sorority" girl is, and find out for myself what a group of real strong women they really are. 

Today is our founders day, and I'm so glad that in 1885 7 women got together and founded this incredibly organization that I am lucky enough to be a part of!