Archive for travel

Vegas, Baby….

{ November 20, 2008 @ 5:53 am } · { travel }
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So next week B and I are going to Vegas.  Yay!

Well, actually, next week B and I are going to Vegas with my mom, step-dad, and sister.  So not exactly a romantic getaway, but still I’m really looking forward to it.  The whole week, no work.  Aaahhhhhhh. 

Anyway, B booked our flights months ago.  He had some miles leftover from when he used to travel frequently for work, so he booked both of our flights.  I was happy, because it meant I didn’t have to pay for it.  But last week he decided he wanted to see if he could change our flights around.  Wanted to arrive in Vegas earlier and leave earlier. 

Fine.  I don’t really care.  Except he told me that he might change our 6:00 p.m. flight out of Vegas to 6:00 a.m..  Whoa…..slow down there, dude.  I am NOT a morning person.  Not even a little.  B well knows this.  So I started whining, bitching, pissing and moaning.  At length.  But then I ended it by telling him, well, I would NEVER do that on my own, but you paid for the flight, so do whatever you need to do.

CLEARLY I didn’t mean it.

Anyway, he went ahead and booked the 6:00 a.m. flight.  Ugh.  It pissed me off, not just because I’m too lazy to get my ass out of bed to be at the airport by 4:00 a.m., but because he totally disregarded what I said.  We discussed it together, I said how much I HATED the idea, and he totally ignored me and did his own thing.  I told him I was unhappy about it (several times) and he told me “oh, you’ll be fine.” 

The next day I was still stewing about it at work, so I sent him an email.  Told him I really was mad about it because I felt that he didn’t listen to me.  If he doesn’t want my opinion, then he shouldn’t ask for it.  I have to deal with that crap all day long at work, I don’t need it in my personal life.  B is not my boss. 

So he called me after work and said he was sorry that I was upset about it.  He didn’t mean to ignore me, he just wanted us to get back early (as opposed to our other flight that was to get in at midnight) so that we would have time to go the next day to get a Christmas tree together.  We had already figured out that that was the only day we would have to do that together.  He thought it would be something fun for us to do together, and wanted us to have enough time to get it, put it up, and decorate it.

Oh.

Then he went on to say that he just wanted to concentrate on the vacation.  He has been to Vegas a number of times, but always for work, and he is really looking forward to being there with me, and showing me around, and just spending all that time together in general.

Oh.

Well, there went all my good arguments out the window.  But for sure I will be a total bitch the morning of the early flight. 

Anyway, I’m definitely looking forward to it.  I am always happy to get away and I have never been to Vegas, so it should a good time.  Any suggestions?

Picture this

{ August 14, 2008 @ 2:32 am } · { pictures, travel }
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As promised, here is some pictures from my trip. 

We’ll start with the cabin:

Looks spacious, no?   Obviously it was pretty tiny, but it was clean and well-kept and was definitely adequate.  After all, you shouldn’t be spending that much time in your room anyway, right?  My only complaint was that the water smelled like metal.  And had too much color.  I prefer my water clear, I can be funny that way.

Next is a picture of part of the resort, as seen from a boat on the lake:

It’s cute, right?

Here’s one I took of the lake:

B was fishing and I took a book down to read while he did so.  At that time in the evening the lake was very calm and peaceful.  It was a nice place to sit.  Well, until the bugs came anyway.  And come they did.  But I’m trying to keep this post positive, so I’ll say nothing more about the bugs.  And the bites.

Lastly, I have a picture of the first fish caught by B this year.  This was long after I had abandoned the dock for a bonfire with some other guests because of the aforementioned bugs.  But I left B with strict instructions to call me over to get a picture when he caught something, no matter how small.  He caught his fish and proudly started calling my name, and I rushed over.  Without further ado, here it is:

Yep.  There it is.  Can you see it?  It is the shiny thing on the left side of the picture.  If you could see B’s face, he has a big old smile on it.  Triumphant, showing off his first catch of the year.

Yeah.  So one of the guests asked me why we weren’t married yet.  I told him, seriously, a fish like that is not going to feed the two of us and a family.  His food gatherer skills need some work.  Once I see some improvement, then we can talk.

Well, there you have it.  Now don’t you all hate on me because of my fabulous vacation.  Jealousy is so unbecoming, folks. 

All kidding aside, we did have a nice time and it was a wonderful opportunity to spend some quality time together, which we don’t normally get nearly enough of.  And the other guests and the resort owners were very nice and fun.  And my friends told me how very proud of me they were – that I had managed to brave the wild without being a pain in the ass.  Geez, they must think I’m a total priss. 

Clearly they are wrong.

I lived

{ August 12, 2008 @ 3:23 am } · { travel }
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So against all odds I survived a week in the northwoods wilderness. 

And I hate to admit it, but…….it wasn’t that bad.

Yep.  I almost liked it. 

There was no 5-star hotel, no room service, no waiter keeping me constantly supplied with boat drinks while I lazed on the beach.  No clear cerulean blue waters, no balmy salty air, no evenings of dressing up for  fancy dinners.

But there was sun, (a little bit of) sand, nice people, and my boy.  Unlimited leisure time, no calls from clients (or my boss), no traffic, and nice views.    Books to read, kayaks to….I can’t think of the word…..kayak in, boat rides to take. 

So it was a nice time.  I didn’t get attacked by any bears or snakes, and in fact, I didn’t even see any.  Which makes all that time I spent reading up on what to do during bear attacks seem like a waste, but I guess one can never be too prepared.

B’s family.   They are not that great at conversation, and although they are nice, they don’t seem all that interested in me.  The invited me places while B was golfing a couple of times, and I went with, but much of the time with them I spent quiet, just listening to their conversations.

B’s family knew most of the people at the resort, as many of the same people have been coming the same week for years and years (I’m talking between 15-30 years for most of these folks).  But B and I met a new couple there, Paul and Sarah.  They were there with their grandchild.  And the first night we met them we spent about an hour talking with them about various topics, and in that amount of time they asked and learned more about me than B’s parents have in all the time we’ve spent together.  It’s not that they are disinterested in me, they just don’t necessarily chat like other people.  I wish they did. 

Anyway.

I survived, and our relationship survived.  And believe me, among my family and friends, there was some doubt as to whether I could behave well enough in the Northwoods for an entire week such that B would want to continue seeing me.  Oh thee of little faith.  I was a model citizen, a delight to be around. 

Ok, that may be going a little far.  But I tried to assimilate as much as I could.  One night after coming back from dinner B decided to go fishing for a little while off the dock.  There was still some daylight, so I decided to go down and sit with him and do some reading.  Once it got too dark (and boring), I joined Sarah and Paul at their bonfire.  Paul asked if it was my first time there and I said, yes, my boyfriend’s family has been coming here for 25 years, but this is my first year.  And I told him that I had been nervous about it, because I’m not exactly the original wilderness girl.  He said, sarcastically, “really, I would never have known because you definitely have the wardrobe down.”  Evidently a sundress, cardigan, and jewelry is not the thing to wear while down fishing off the dock.  Hmm.  Live and learn, I guess. 

Despite that, while I was finishing packing up in the cabin, I heard Paul say good-bye to B.  And he told B that he’s a really lucky guy, because I’m a great girl - smart, pretty, and witty.  I sure did like that Paul.

I know I promised (to Kara) pictures, and I’ll try to do that in my next post.  I didn’t get many good pictures, but I can at least give you an idea of the place.

This, that and the other

{ July 29, 2008 @ 3:13 am } · { travel, worries }
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So I really don’t have much to write about tonight, but I’m trying anyway. 

I’m trying to get stuff together for the trip up north.  This is a high-maintenance trip!  Normally when I go on vacay I just have to worry about what I’m going to wear and toiletries.  Which, believe me, the way I pack is plenty. 

But for this trip we need food, drinks, towels, all manner of dishware (disposable, of course), hand and dish soap, lawn chairs, on and on and on.  I started making a pile in the corner of my living room of stuff I’m taking.  So far it is pretty little because I’m not trying that hard yet.

Any good insect repellent ideas, folks?  I really really hate bug spray.  I don’t like the way it smells or feels on my skin.  But also I don’t like mosquito bites (or west nile disease for that matter), so I’ve got to come up with something. 

And bears?  Whaddya think – run or play dead?  I’m not a fast runner by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m also not a good actress, so I’m sort of weighing my options right now.    Just want to be ready.   

Is it just me, or did summer nights used to be warm and balmy?  The summer nights this year have been cool.  I don’t like that.  But it will be nice in the northwoods considering the no air conditioning issue.  

Kara – I appreciate the optimism, but I’m not sure “romantic” is really the word.  And yes, I will take plenty of pictures of the “resort” and anything else you all might find interesting and I’ll do a post when I get back.

The Great Outdoors

{ July 25, 2008 @ 4:58 am } · { relationships, travel }
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So a couple of months ago B asked me to go on vacation with him the first week of August.  Who doesn’t love vacation, right?

Well, this is not exactly the vacation of my dreams for a number of reasons.  But I should start of by saying that this is B’s family vacation.  The SAME EXACT vacation his family has been taking for 25 years.  Um, yeah.  Folks?  There are a lot of places to see, it might be time to expand your horizons.  Anyway, they like it I guess.   B’s brother and his family don’t go anymore because the kids are too busy, so this year it will just be me, B, and his folks.  For an entire week.  In Wisconsin. 

Yeah.

Now, if any of you are from WI, or like to visit WI or whatever, I don’t mean to be offensive.  It’s just that camping is not my cup of tea.  I know there are beautiful places in WI – Lake Geneva, Door County, etc.  We will not be going to those places.  No.  We will be, near as I can tell, in the middle of nowhere.  And it is just that it is not exactly the type of vacation that I typically like (read:  tropical). 

At first I tried to be polite about it to B – pretending that I thought it sounded fun.  So I would casually ask, “so, what do you do when you go up there?”   And he would tell me that he would fish and golf.  Hmmm.  Then I’d say, “well, what am I going to be doing up there?”  And the only answer he has ever given me is “relax”. 

Listen, I can relax.  I have absolutely no problem laying around.  I do it in my house ALL the time.  I don’t mind doing it on vacation either.  It’s just that I’m normally doing it on the beach, the beautiful ocean in front of me, sipping boat drinks.  This is not going to be like that. 

As the trip gets closer, I’ve gotten more aggressive with my questioning (/whining).  I’ve been trying to find activities that we can do to fill the time?  Is there white-water rafting?  No.  Do you guys have a boat?  No.  Um, is there shopping?  No.  Uh, is there any festivals around?  No. 

But never fear, dear readers.  Since I was whining, B called his mom and asked what she and his aunt (who goes there with them) would be doing during the week.  Turns out they will be going to several craft fairs during the week, and guess what?!  I am invited to go with!  So that’s what I get for my bitching.  Note to self:  next time just shut up and take some books to read.

I keep saying, I’m sorry babe, but I’m not a camper.  And he gets annoyed with me and keeps telling me, “It is not camping, [J],” in his best crabby voice.  And I know that it’s not – we’ll have a cabin at the “resort” with electricity and running water.  But no air conditioning.  And it is all wildernessy.  I don’t hunt, I don’t fish.

He says, oh, you can fish.  Why don’t you want to fish?  Well, there’s a couple of reasons.  I don’t like to touch fish, I don’t like to eat fish, I don’t like to smell fish, I don’t like to clean fish, I don’ t like to touch worms, I don’t like to touch minnows, I don’t like to touch any other kind of bait, I don’t like to throw fish back in the water with hook holes in their mouths, I don’t like to sit still and quiet for hours on end hoping for a bite. 

Yeah, so I don’t like to fish.

So I’m not exactly looking forward to this trip like I normally would a vacation.  And our cabin?  Is right by Ma and Pa’s.  With the windows open.  So yeah, evening extracurriculars will probably be kept to a minimum. 

Also?  I don’t think I have any appropriate clothing.  I’m pretty sure the first day I walk out in heels the others are going to be all “why did you bring this broad up here?”

All of that being said, I’m actually (finally) starting to look forward to it.  For one, I won’t have to hear my boss’s voice for an entire week.  Ahhhhhhh.  Secondly, of course I’m happy to spend some real time with B.  He and I have such a good time together and there is never nearly enough of it, so that’s great.  And there is a possibility that I’m picturing this place all wrong, right?  Maybe there is more to do than I think.  I’m hoping so.  But I went to Borders tonight and stocked up on some reading material just the same. 

Oh, the things we do for love.

Weekend in Review

{ May 28, 2008 @ 1:32 am } · { baseball, dating, family, love, relationships, travel }
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I love a long weekend.

It was hard to go back to work today, but on the other hand, tomorrow is already Wednesday, and that’s not so bad. 

I had a nice holiday weekend.  On Saturday B and I went to see my boys play with my friend and her husband.  It was a nice day at the ballpark, but the game was kind of boring.  My Sox didn’t score at all and the Angels only scored twice.  But we had a good time. 

Here’s my favorite player:

On Sunday morning B and I went to his parents’ place, which is about 2 hours away, out in the sticks.  Prior to this weekend I hadn’t spent much time with his parents at all (we’re talking hours, total), so I was a little nervous.  We were staying the night and coming home on Monday.

It was kind of awkward.  B’s parents are kind of…….boring.  I hate to say that, I really do.  They are very nice people, but really.  Even conversation was challenging.  They don’t play games, cards, nothing.  We basically just sat around looking at each other for much of the time.  I was really trying to make conversation, but it wasn’t easy.  Now I understand why B doesn’t go visit for more than one day at a time. 

Also, I find the whole morning routine a little awkward when staying with someone new.  I didn’t end up going out and visiting with his parents while I had bed head and morning breath, because B got up and into the shower, and then I got up when he was done and took a shower.  But, being a girl, I took quite a while to get ready (I’m not a wash-and-go kind of girl), and I felt bad that they were all waiting on me.  But I am who I am, I guess, and that much hasn’t changed in 30 years, and I don’t think it will now. 

On Saturday B and I were talking about our jobs when B mentioned that he might apply for a certain job that is about 30 miles north of where he lives (which is about 40 miles north of where I live).  He said that he would probably want to move a little farther north, and talked about an area in which one of his friends lives.  But, he said, he would probably have to get a roommate.

“You don’t want a roommate,” I said, “do you?”

“Well….it could be you.”

Oh.  Well.  Hmmm…..

I told him that it could be me, but not while I still have the job that I have, because it would be too much of a commute.

Something to think about for the future, I guess.  It would be a big step, though.  To go from seeing each other only on the weekends to living together.  I usually think about moving up there closer when I get a new job (not that I’ve been doing much to make that happen), but still having my own space and ease into it. 

It is all in the timing, I guess, how every thing works out.  Depends on when he gets a new job, when I get a new job, or he gets a new place, because me moving into his current condo is not an option.  I would never fit.  So we’ll see.

On the other hand, I’m not getting any younger, so maybe I need to quit easing and start moving things along. 

Oh, and I got a new bedding set that I think is really pretty:

So now I’m going to have to paint my bedroom again, because that is not going to look too pretty with my blue walls. But it is so clean and fresh and just a lot less busy than my old comforter. And that makes me happy.

Baseball, Flights, and Losers

{ May 1, 2008 @ 4:50 am } · { baseball, dating, family, goals, love, random thoughts, relationships, travel }
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So B and I took Friday off and went to DC for a long weekend. My mom, stepdad and sister live there, so we stayed with them. B planned the weekend because his Cubs were playing the Nats at their new stadium, so my mom got tickets through work for Friday and Saturday nights’ games.  Initially my mom had just gotten tickets for the Saturday game.  I had already told B, no, we are not going to both games – there are plenty of other things to do in DC, but my mom was really worried the game on Saturday would get rained out, so she got tickets for Friday so poor little B wouldn’t have to go an entire trip with no baseball.

Following is a bit of conversation between my mom and I at the game.  Keep in mind that my sister and I played softball for years, so she is not new to softball/baseball games.  But it has been a long time.  Here you go:

(Mom was complaining that baseball games are boring, and one of the Nats just got the first home run of the game):

Mom:  Oh, FINALLY somebody got a home run.

Me:  Mom, it is only the bottom of the first inning.

Mom:  Still, I’ve been waiting forever.  Hockey is way more exciting than this.

(And here, in about the 3rd or 4th inning):

Mom:  Hey, [J], how long are the halfs?

Me:  Huh?  Ma, this is not being timed.  

Mom:  No, I mean, when is halftime?

Me:  Are you new or something?  This is BASEBALL, there is no halftime. 

Mom:  Oh, that’s right.  This really doesn’t move as fast as hockey.

Me:  Mother, enough about the hockey already!

 

Anyway, we had a good time.  This is the first time that B and my family have been able to spend any real time in each others’ company (and now that I think about it, it is also the most consecutive time he has ever spent in MY company).  I think it went well.  B is very easygoing, and he is easy to please.  The weather is beautiful, so we were able to do some sightseeing, which I’ve done before, but it is always nice to do again.   Also we did some Wii playing (tennis and bowling), and I’m ashamed to say that I am too out of shape even to play the Wii.  My tennis arm hurt for a couple of days, which is pretty pathetic for a girl who was the captain of and the top seeded player on her tennis team.  But hey, I’m not as young as I used to be.  What can you do.

B and I had some tense moments at the airport.  As I’ve mentioned before, we have very different traveling styles.  B is a nervous flier, and he likes to be at the airport at least 2 hours early.  I, on the other hand, prefer to go at the last minute (partly because I don’t want to sit there and wait and partly because I’m just always late, everywhere I go).  Usually when we travel, I just go along with B’s plan, because both times we have flown, he has paid for my flight with his miles, so I feel like I should accommodate him. 

But on Sunday afternoon, I was just running behind, and as I was trying to get ready, he kept telling me, “babe, we really need to go”.  The second time (as I was packing), I said, “what the hell do you think I’m doing here, just fucking around?”  And I didn’t use my nicest voice.  So I was kind of irritated.  When we got to the airport, through security, and sitting on the tram to take us to the other side of the airport to the gate, I told him “[f]or the record (we attorneys are always concerned about “the record”), I have never missed a flight.  Not ever.”  He, in turn, told me “I just don’t like to cut it close….for the record.”  He didn’t use his nicest voice either.    So I silent treatmented him for a while (I know, so mature).  I don’t think he minded.

But by the time we got on the plane, we were both over it.

In other news, B and I and my Mom and Stepdad decided to have a Biggest Loser Couples Edition competition between the four of us.  All of us would like to lose some weight and just be healthier in general, and wanted to have an incentive to do so.  So tomorrow it begins and it ends on Labor Day.  I’m not so much looking forward to it, but being a little slimmer for summer would not be a bad thing.  Today I lived it up and I had a burrito for lunch (and the other half for dinner) and then walked uptown for some Cold Stone.  Mmmmmmm. 

So now I’m trying to dream up some healthy meals to cook.  This is tricky, since I’m not crazy about a lot of vegetables.  I’m better than I used to be, but still not that great.  If any of you have ideas, I’d love to hear them. 

Hopefully this competition won’t cause problems for B and I.  Already he told me that he thinks I’m the weakest link (note – I just read through this post about 3 times before I realized I had that written as “linkest weak”) ,  because I don’t work out regularly like he does.  I asked him what was so great about working out 4-5 times a week and never losing any weight (like he does)?  How does that make him better than me?  But I think it will be ok.  He and I like to cook together on the weekends when I’m there, so we can work on making healthier choices and think of some fun physical activities to do together (besides the obvious, of course).   And if we win, we’ll have a little more cash in our pockets!  I’m ready to bring my A-game, and hopefully B is too.   

Anyway, Happy Thursday!