Traveling on My Mind

As much as I love winter and snow, lately my mind as been on traveling...in warmer weather! Maybe its because two weeks ago I was supposed to go to Lexington, KY on business. My supervisor was meeting me in Charlotte where we were to connect to our Lexington flight. I knew there was a big snowstorm headed for Salem but figured if I miss one, big deal. Had a good flight to Charlotte and met my boss who flew in from DC. She had been watching the weather while waiting for me to arrive and there was a huge ice storm covering KY! We keep checking the weather on-line and on the airport televisions - it didn't look good. We boarded our flight and sure enough about 20 minutes later they announced it was cancelled. So we said ' what do we do, try go get there or not?'. I called our contact in KY and was told that the state had just been officially shut down due to the ice storm, which was covering 5-6 inches of snow that fell the night before. We were able to catch flights back home that evening. I got back in time to get ready for our latest snowstorm while my boss was battling freezing rain down in DC. We didn't get the 18 inches of snow forecast but we did get about 8 inchs before we got ice on top of it. The storm had followed me home! Then our temperatures plummeted and we've had two more snows since. It's warming up today to almost 40 then it will get colder again. Happy New England Winter.

I'm off to Arkansas on business Monday for a week where it will be in the 50s! That will feel like summer compared to our winter. My parents live in Louisiana about 5 hours south of Little Rock so will take about six days and drive down to visit them. By that time I will be nice and warm and spoiled by their weather. Then I'll come back to winter. It's OK - I'd be upset if I didn't. In March I get to go to beautiful (it may be, I'm not sure but I know it's small) Columbia, SC for a week. I'll spend St. Patrick's Day in the south - it's been 21 years since I did that. In May I go to San Francisco (yes!) for six days. In June I will probably go to Nashville for a week (no country music lover here). This is all for work with the side trip to my parents thrown in. I have even more work travel scheduled later in the year.

But I've been looking at what I'm going to do for vacation this year. I am planning to go to Florida for five days in April to meet some old friends who will be visiting there from Cincy. I also have friends who moved from Salem to Melbourne to escape our winters in the area and I'll stop in to see how they're doing.

I've decided to treat myself to five days on St. Kitts in the Caribbean. Never been there, don't know a thing about it except it is warm with a beach and a beautiful warm ocean. I have reservations at the Marriott Royal Beach Club and Casino for Memorial Day week. Thank you Marriott Rewards! A beach loving girlfriend is going to accompany me. I don't care if there's nothing there to do but drink and soak up the sun. I'll bring plenty of sunscreen!

The big thrill this week was a call from a girlfriend in NC. We have gotten together for a week together for the past three years (since she retired and moved south). Instead of doing a beach vacation, she asked if I'd like to go to Europe. Well, that was a hard decision! NOT! Heck yes! I've only been to Ireland six times and never gotten across the Irish sea! We're going to fly to London and then tour England and Scotland in September! I am so thrilled! The price is decent and I get to fly on British Airways, which is supposed to be luxurious no matter what class you are seated in. I think they had beds or first class, but I won't be there. It doesn't matter - I'm going away - to new places!

Remember this is my year for discovery and health! I'm trying my best to take care of the health so here's the discovery and adventure! Yippee!! I pray this all comes about. I am so ecstatic!

I think it must be the cocooning I do because it is so cold (though I've out more this past two weeks than normal when it was single digits or lower), but I feel like I have so much to look forward to now. I even bought tickets to two concerts already - Springsteen in April an Jimmy Buffett in June! Come on U2 and announce a tour with our new CD next month! I am ready!

Now if I just could get over that next hurdle - finding friends close to home to hang with. I dearly love my friends all over the world but it would be nice to have a couple really close here to get together with. I'm even considering the possibility that I might want to meet a guy one of these days. I still ache for Charlie but my life is still here on this earth and I don't want to be alone. There I finally said it! Big revelation - I've been beating around it since I decided to start this blog.

While I have travel on my mind, I need to go pack up for Arkansas. Monday morning will be here soon enough.

Peace to all!