New York, New York - At Last, At Last!

Two weeks ago Amy, my friend and co-worker at American Ambulance, and I rented a lovely little red Jeep Liberty from Enterprise, piled three teenage girls in the back, and made the 2-1/2 hour trek to New York City from Norwich. For weeks Amanda, Cate, and Darci had been looking forward to our trip to the city and the Mindless Self Indulgence concert at Terminal 5. To say that it was all they seemed to talk about would be a drastic understatement! They were excited while Amy and I were probably borderline crazy but no matter what we were all looking forward to a good time.

I hadn't driven down to the city since my friend MizCyn had come out to visit in the Spring of 2002 but I was up to the challenge and actually looking forward to it. Amy had brought along her handy-dandy GPS and stuck it on the front windshield so we had no fear of taking a wrong turn or missing the closest Dunkin Donuts should the need arise for coffee! Bigify the picture to see what I mean!

The drive down was uneventful and we made good time arriving in Manhattan just a little after noon. I had planned out our garage destination using a convenient online system with Icon Parking and - except for the usual Manhattan traffic clogging up the roadways - we had no problems finding our garage with the hotel directly across from it.

After checking in at the hotel and our fantastic experience with Willie the desk clerk, we hiked a couple of blocks down to Times Square where lunch was in order. I had kind of wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe but everyone else wanted Planet Hollywood so that's where we went. I've been to the Hard Rock before and there's one here at Foxwoods Casino so no big deal; I was up for something new! Our waiter, Angel, was almost as friendly as Willie and made our lunch experience very pleasant indeed. So far we were batting 1,000 with the friendliness of New Yorkers!

Following lunch we made our way back to the hotel where the girls wanted to get ready for the concert early so that they could go sit outside of the venue in line with all of the other MSI fans in order to get a good spot in the pit. Amy and I decided that we would get them settled there and then head up to Columbus Circle in search of a David Off store and cigars for Dennis, the paramedic who so graciously allows me to use some of his pictures from time to time. The venue and Columbus Circle were quite close and we kept in touch with the girls via cell phone so everyone was happy.

Following the acquisition of a couple of fine cigars, Amy and I caught the subway back to the venue and made our way up to the VIP area with Cate who opted out of being in the middle of the pit with a lot of other crazed people. I'd have to say that was a smart move on her part as she's a tiny thing and surely would have been crushed in the sea of humanity that was writhing below us! I kept in touch with Amanda via cell phone text messages to make sure that she and Darci were doing okay in between attending to my designated videographer duties.

The concert was everything the girls hoped it would be and after getting the chance to meet up with the band members afterwards we caught a taxi back to our hotel and then walked to an all-night pizza joint for a very late supper before calling it a night.

The next morning we moved the car to another garage closer to the theater district (for a reduced price) and then we hailed another cab to take us out to Battery Park so that Cate could get a glimpse of the Statute of Liberty and Ellis Island. By that time Amy had gotten really good at hailing taxis and caught a nice mini-van for our trip. Sadly it wasn't Ben Bailey and The Cash Cab but our driver was very nice nonetheless!

Our drive down the West Side Highway took us directly past Ground Zero and the site of the former World Trade Towers. As we crossed under the white foot bridge that was seen in so many pictures following 9/11 and I looked towards the construction site where those two magnificent towers once stood, it's hard to describe how I felt. A tingling sensation started in my feet and traveled all the way to the top of my head leaving me feeling cold and numb in its wake. I had no desire whatsoever to snap a picture of the cranes that worked diligently at the site of the memorial that will eventually take the place of the two buildings that once towered over lower Manhattan. I was filled with an overwhelming sense of dismay that human beings could have done such a thing to each other as I wiped away a tear and looked the other way. Amy later told me that what she felt was angry but I didn't feel that - just an overwhelming sadness. I'm in no hurry to go back there again.

Arriving at Battery Park we walked around a bit while lines and lines of tourists circled all around Castle Clinton and the pathways lining the park awaiting their turn to board one of the ferries heading out to Liberty and Ellis Islands. The day had become hot and humid and a haze hung over the harbor making it hard to see either island from the shore but Cate was glad to have gotten a view of Lady Liberty standing with her torch held high. While we were there I took the opportunity to show Amanda a name inscribed on one of the granite walls of the World War II Memorial that faces out to sea and honors those soldiers, sailors, and airmen who died in the Atlantic Ocean. The first time I saw the name William E. Orlomoski inscribed on this stone I was quite surprised as there is no way that there's an Orlomoski somewhere who isn't related. It's not exactly what one would call a common name! Pvt Orlomoski was a member of the Air Corps and hailed from Illinois where I know my father's father came from but beyond that, I'm still not sure who this veteran was who died defending our nation during World War II. Someday I hope to find out.

After one last look at a skyline that was definitely missing something we jumped into another taxi to make our way back up to the theater district as it was getting close to curtain time for Mary Poppins. Amy had really lucked out on scoring tickets for the show and even though we were at the very top of the balcony in the very back row we had a good view of the stage and the girls absolutely loved the play. It was Cate's very first Broadway show and she was absolutely enthralled; Amanda had seen Beauty and the Beast on Broadway years earlier when her father and I were still married and we took the girls down to see it so this was her second Broadway show but she enjoyed jit every bit as much as Cate did.

The play more closely follows the book rather than the Disney movie that many are familiar with and that I remembered going to see at the drive-in with my parents years and years and years ago when it first came out but the cast was fantastic and the sets were beautiful and eye-poppingly colorful. The highlight of the play had to be when the character of Burt tap-danced to "Step In Time" up the side of the stage wall, across the top upside down, and then down the other side! Cables or no cables there is no way I'd have ever done such a thing were I in his tap shoes! Nor would I have flown out into the audience and up into the ceiling like Mary Poppins herself did at the end of the play!

One thing I wanted to point out about this particular picture is that I did not use a flash when I took it (no flash photography is allowed in the theater) and you might notice that there are quite a few orbs floating around in it. Somehow it didn't surprise me when they showed up as The New Amsterdam Theater was originally built in 1903 and is the oldest surviving Broadway venue. It was the home of the original Ziegfield Follies so no doubt has seen many an actor and actress come and go. Renovations began on the theater in 1993 and it officially reopened in 1997 with Disney's The Lion King which played there until 2006 when it moved to another theater and Mary Poppins opened. Disney spared no expense in renovating the theater and it is absolutely gorgeous. Were I a Broadway ghost it would be the place I'd choose to haunt!

After the play we retrieved our rental car and pointed it north out of the city and back to Connecticut. In the backseat were three very tired but happy teens who had just had the chance to do more in two days than a lot of people do in an entire summer. In the front were two adults we were quite happy to have survived a weekend in New York with three teenagers and were heading home with their sanity intact! All in all, a fine time was had by all!

Believe it or not, this slideshow is still just part of the pictures I took! See now why it took me so long to get this post together?!? I gotta start going easier on that shutter button!

A Thought on Vacations

So ... ya know how it is when you go on a vacation and once you come back from that vacation the one thing you really want more than anything is a vacation to recover from your vacation so you then you find yourself looking for all sorts of vacation deals so that you can, in fact, take another vacation? Yeah ... that's about where I'm at right now! I haven't even done an "official" post about my last mini-vacation to New York City and I'm ready to go on another!

NOT that I can afford a vacation, mind you, at least not financially but trust me, mentally - I could really use one! Of course with Jamie flying in Thursday night I'm thinking "Good luck with that, old woman!"

Sigh ... anyone got a time share they aren't using that they want to donate to a worthy cause??

So ... This One Time on Vacation ...

As you'll all remember, I recently got to go spend some time in California visiting a good friend of mine as well as having the chance to meet two bloggers whose blogs I have read and loved for quite some time. It was a great vacation and a great time - except maybe for that part where I got stopped by the California Highway Patrol Officer in San Francisco for making an illegal left turn! Thank goodness she took pity on an out-of-state tourist and didn't issue me a ticket for a sign that neither myself or Cyndi saw. As a matter of fact, we went back and looked again and there was no sign so how was I supposed to know that either I turned right to go over the Golden Gate Bridge or I would get pulled over by the police cruiser that was behind me? Cyndi thought it was quite hilarious herself but I have to admit that I was totally appalled as I consider myself to be a good driver and there's also that whole former police dispatcher part of me that was mortified that I was being pulled over. Add on the fact that I'm a Virgo and Virgos don't get pulled over!

Other than that we had a good time driving through the City By the Bay and checking out Fisherman's Wharf, the Presidio, the Museum of Fine Arts. and even Coit Tower. There really are so many things to do in San Francisco that we could have spent a lot longer there if a) it hadn't been so windy and chilly and b) I'd been able to find a place to park! Maybe next time I'm out that way, we'll try one of the sightseeing tours instead and let someone else do the driving. Chances are good that a tour bus driver would know that whole "no left turn" thing and wouldn't get pulled over or, if he or she did, I wouldn't be the one to be mortified!

When the time comes, I'm going to check out Trusted Tours & Attractions as they offer some great tours of bigger cities and take all the guesswork out of trying to figure out the best places to go. So many people are afraid to be seen as tourists by the locals but the way I look at, that's not a bad thing. Being a tourist can be fun and isn't that part of the reason we go on vacation? To be tourists somewhere new?

If you're kicking around the thought of a vacation but aren't sure where you want to go, try signing up for the Trusted Travels eNewsletter so that you can get all the latest news on great places to go and things to do when you get there. And if you sign up before next Saturday, May 31st, you can enter to win a $150 iTunes gift card which would give you the chance to download a lot of great music to take on that great vacation.

Perhaps next I'll check out some great Things to do in New York City and maybe take a trip down there this summer. It's only a bit over two hours away, I know my way around, and if I get arrested for any traffic violations down there it will be easier to call someone for help to bail me out!

Looking for Something to Do This Summer?

With summer fast approaching and gas prices fast rising, people are probably in a quandary about what to do for their summer vacations this year. No doubt a lot of people are looking to do something closer to home that would be more affordable as well as not cost the entire vacation budget to get to.

If you live in Southeastern Texas or close by, I'd like to suggest a trip to Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas - a small town about 2 hours east of Houston. The museum, a vision of its founders H.J. Lutcher Stark and his mother Miriam Lutcher Stark, houses one of the nation’s most significant collections of American Western art. The museum opened on November 29th, 1978, and continues to acquire new works of art today adding to one of the finest collections of 19th and 20th century Western American art and artifacts in the country.

Lutcher Stark always had a passion for the arts and began building his collection as an undergraduate at the University of Texas. In 1943 he married Nelda Childers and together they continued to build their collection of art, furniture, and decorative items with an emphasis on the American West. In 1961 they founded the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation to enrich the quality of life in Southeast Texas through education and the arts and it was this foundation that opened the Stark Museum of Art after Lutcher Stark's death in 1965.


Their current exhibition, Celebrate Shangri La, runs through June 28th and features artistic representations of flora and fauna found in the newly opened Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange. The exhibit vividly portrays plants, birds and animals through the works of art by artists such as Dorothy Doughty and John James Audubon as well as many nineteenth century rare books with important natural history illustrations.

In August the Stark Museum of Art will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a special exhibition that highlights treasures from their Western Art, American Indian Art, Decorative Art, and Rare Book and Art collections as well as works that have not been previously exhibited. This exhibit will run through the end of October after which a new exhibit for the holiday season will open on November 20th and run through January 6th.

If I lived near Orange, Texas or was going to be passing through I'd definitely want to check out the Stark Museum. Wouldn't you?

And Just Like That, It's Time to Go!

Monday was my last full day on the Left Coast and it was another beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the San Joaquin Valley in the mid 80's. I can't believe that it's time to go already but tomorrow is my return to my real life and today was the last day to enjoy my vacation. Cyndi and I set out mid-morning in search of a few things for me to bring back with me and ended up out in the middle of Lodi grape country tasting a little more olive oil and even some mustard.

From there we went back to Stockton and, because it was Cinco de Mayo and you can't not have Mexican food on that day!, we stopped off at another favorite Mexican restaurant - Miguel's. This restaurant was actually the very first Mexican restaurant I ever dined at in Stockton way back in 1980 when I made my very first visit out here with my first husband.

This time I ordered a chicken taco and enchilada and a chili relleno - things I hadn't had yet while I was here and, of course, some guacamole to go along with it. I know it looks like a big brown mess on the plate but it sure was good (though not as good as the food at Cancun in my own humble opinion!).

After gorging ourselves, Cyndi and I then went to spend some time visiting with Grandma Edith before we did a little more exploring around Stockton. As Cyndi put it, she saw more of her own city while I was here than she has in ages but I think that's a good thing as Stockton has made a lot of positive changes and I don't view it with the same cynical view that she does. Of course, I'm not a native Stocktonian so that probably accounts for a lot of it!

I need to quit procrastinating and get things packed for an early departure tomorrow morning but when I get back to the Right Coast, I've got plenty more pictures to share from my much-needed and much-enjoyed vacation. I'd promise to post one of myself and Cyndi but, idiots that we are, we neglected to take one so I'm hoping Zane has one from our night out at Cancun that Sandee can forward to me! Well, it's either that or I'm going to have to come back again soon to get a picture!

California Cruising on a Sunday Afternoon

With no particular agenda and nowhere special we wanted to go, Cyndi and I set out Sunday morning I pointed the car in a westerly direction to see where the road might take us ...

We crossed the first span of the Bay Bridge in Oakland

Then crossed the second half of the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.

This was our view of San Francisco from the Bay Bridge and the clouds were looking a little ominous!

Buildings in San Francisco can certainly make a person feel small!

We drove past Pier 29 near Fisherman's Wharf

Before stopping to take a picture of Alcatraz, aka "The Rock", in the middle of San Francisco Bay

And then taking in the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the marina.

This was my very first time ever driving over the Golden Gate Bridge.

After crossing through Marin County into Sonoma County, we stopped in to do some olive oil tasting.

The Olive Press had some very tasty olive oils!

Continuing on we drove past vineyards in the Napa Valley

And of course I stopped to take a closer picture of the grapevines!

Turning down Route 12 towards Rio Vista, we saw windmills outside of Fairfield

While the clouds and blue sky were lovely on our way back to Stockton.

One picture I don't have is of the California Highway Patrol Officer who pulled me over in San Francisco for making an illegal left turn even though she was very nice and didn't give me a ticket. She said that it was marked for "no left turn" but neither Cyndi or I saw that posted and after the unexpected traffic stop, we backtracked to the intersection and still didn't see a sign anywhere! Oh well, guess it's all part of the California experience though I have to say that's most definitely a first for me!

Chasing the Echoes of My Past

Palm Trees near the Stockton Channel

The past few days in Stockton have been a time of meeting new friends and reconnecting with parts of my past that, to be perfectly honest, I never thought I'd see again. It's been an opportunity to see how much has changed in this city I used to call home and how much has also stayed the same over the years. As I told Cyndi when we were driving around on Friday, she probably can't see the changes as much as I can as she's lived here all of her life and sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, as the saying goes.

In the past few days I've seen a Stockton that has grown way beyond the northern boundaries that I used to dispatch to and a downtown that has been attempting a revitalization that is quite impressive compared to what it used to be. It boggles my mind a bit to know that I used to know pretty much every street in this city as I'm sure I'd be totally lost behind a dispatch console here now. Still - as I drove around both Friday and Saturday, I saw so much that was still so familiar to me and I found myself actually missing being a part of this community whether Forbes has ranked it as the second most miserable city in the country or not.

My former home on Lincoln Street

One of the places I made a point of going by was the house I used to rent from April of 1984 to late 1985. As I sat across the street in my rental car and looked at it, I was flooded with so many memories of my time there but I have to say that they were almost all entirely good. My parents came out from Connecticut to visit me when I lived in that house, I had the best roommate ever named Scott when I lived in that house, I had many a conversation over a cup of coffee with Cyndi in that house, my son Michael started kindergarten at the school across the street from that house ... It was a good house in a good neighborhood and Michael and I had been happy there. Too bad my landlord sold it and I had to move elsewhere!

After reminiscing on Lincoln Street for a little while I then drove over to visit Grandma Edith, who had no idea that I was in California. I wanted to surprise her and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I did! At 85 years old the poor dear has pretty lousy eyesight so she had no clue it was me at the front door that her little dog Precious was barking so furiously at. When she asked if she could help me I said, "Well I certainly didn't come 3,000 miles to be barked at!" "Linda??" she asked incredulously before she opened the door and gave me a big grandmotherly hug. We spent a lovely afternoon together and she made sure to take me around to all of her neighbors and introduce me as her granddaughter even though technically I hadn't been that for a very long time ever since her grandson and I had ended our marriage while he went out to chase single women. Grandma Edith is as good as they get, though, and I will always consider her to be my grandmother no matter what. When I left I promised her that I'd be back on Monday and would bring Cyndi with me as she's met Cyndi before and really likes her.

Grandma Edith and Precious

Before coming back to my hotel, I decided to drive around Stockton a little more and take some pictures. It was a beautiful day with temperatures in the high 70's - low 80's and the sun was shining brightly in the sky. Considering that it was raining and in the 50's back home in Connecticut I was planning on taking full advantage of the beautiful weather! I've put together a slideshow and placed it at the end of this post if you'd like to see a little bit of Stockton.

Once I finished traipsing around town it was time to head back to the Courtyard Marriott and consider doing some laundry. Yep, I'm in California on a Saturday night and I'm in my hotel doing laundry - what is wrong with me?!? Prior to that, though, I needed to consider what to get for dinner as I'd rather neglected to eat all day. Hmm, what to get that I couldn't get back home that wasn't Mexican? Carl's Jr? In n' Out Burger? Manny's California Fresh? No ... wait ... I knew just the place - Jack in the Box for an ultimate cheeseburger and seasoned curly fries!

A burger you can't get in Connecticut!

I brought my cousin Amy's favorite California cuisine back to the hotel with me and as I took it out and - of course - took a picture for you, my readers, I decided that I wasn't even going to think about the calorie and fat count of such a delicacy as that would certainly suck all of the treat out of eating it. After all, they don't call it an ultimate cheeseburger for nothing and the fries aren't half bad either!

I'm not quite positive yet where our adventures will take us today (I'm pretty sure it won't be to the poker tables in Tahoe or Jackson!) but Cyndi and I will be back on the road and exploring somewhere in California. No matter where it is, though, rest assured that there will be a post with plenty of pictures! In the meantime, I hope enjoy these -

My Journey West

After a lot of anticipation and more nerves than were probably necessary, Amanda and I finally started out for New Jersey Wednesday afternoon around 3:45 when we began our trek down the Connecticut Turnpike from Norwich to Marlton and the home of her friend Darcy. Traffic was typical for I95 in Connecticut (way too much of it!) but it flowed along quite nicely until just about the New York border when the word "delay" first came into play for the trip. As we crawled along in traffic outside of Stamford, Amanda decided to take a couple of cell phone pictures - one of which is this one. And no, I wasn't driving sideways!

We finally arrived at Darcy's house almost 230 miles later and with only one wrong turn along the way. Not bad I'd say! I got to meet Darcy's family who had graciously offered to let me stay there and drive me to the airport in Philadelphia the next morning rather than having to pay parking fees. Darcy lives with her mother, father, grandmother, and her 9-year old brother Dylan who is a special needs child who is confined to a wheelchair and has his father's beautiful curly hair. After a late dinner of pizza, salad, and strawberry shortcake I crawled into bed with the alarm set for the un-Godly hour of 5:30 in order to get to the airport on time.

Darcy's mom got me to the Philadelphia airport in plenty of time and despite what I had heard, going through security really wasn't too bad. I chatted with another lady in line who was going to Los Angeles for 11 days and it turned out that she sat across the aisle from me on the very same flight I was going on! Unfortunately I got seated on the aisle for the first leg of my flight and not only that but it was the row in front of the emergency exits so the seats didn't recline. Argh! On the good side, though, there was no one in the middle seat so the guy by the window and I lucked out there as the plane was pretty packed.

We pushed back from the gate at exactly 8:00 when our flight was due to leave and then sat in line for almost 45 minutes while 14 other planes took off ahead of us. This would be the second time the word "delay" came into use. As I sat there listening to my iPod and trying not to think about windsheer and the risk of too many planes taking off one right after the other I wasn't too nervous as I figured from here on in it was up to the skills of the flight crew and God to get us to Denver safely. As a matter of fact, I nodded off I was so relaxed!

Take-off, which is the part of flying I hate the most, turned out to be so smooth I barely knew that we were in the air (especially not being in the window seat) and the remainder of the flight was quite smooth with the exception of some bumpy air over what I think might have been Kansas. As we approached Denver with almost all of our time spent waiting to take off made up, the Captain announced that it was snowing there. Huh? Snow? In May? (I guess people in Denver have no use for pool toys yet!) I hadn't listened to any weather reports so that was quite the surprise to me. We landed with no problems at all and I unboarded the plane into the airport only to find out that the plane for the rest of my trip was the one I had just gotten off of! I had enough time to stretch my legs, send a couple of text messages, and take a few pictures before getting back on board.

Again, we pushed back from the gate right on time and that's when the word "delay" came into play for the third time when we had to wait to be de-iced before take-off. The Captain explained the whole procedure and told us that it was going to be anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour before we would even get to the de-icing pads. This time I was lucky enough to be in a window seat in row #1 right behind the bulkhead and again there was no one seated between myself and the guy on the aisle (who was a little strange, I might add). My camera was in the bag in the overhead compartments so I couldn't get to it but I used my cell phone to take the picture of the planes next to us being de-iced. It isn't the best quality but I still thought it was definitely a "blogging moment". After an hour and 15 minutes we finally taxied out to the runway for our turn to take off but I really didn't mind the delay as I figured better safe than sorry, especially when it comes to being in an airplane!

Once we climbed to our cruising altitude of 36,000 feet the clouds were merely fluffy puffs of cotton below us and even though I was bit disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to see the Rocky Mountains, I still loved the view from my window as I surveyed the clouds below us and the blue sky above us. Even though I'm not real keen on the take-off part of flying, once we're in the sky I absolutely love it as there is nothing like looking at your world from a high altitude and marveling at the beauty of it.

Having criss-crossed the country numerous times over the course of my life I've got a pretty decent grasp on the geography and had a pretty good idea of what we were flying over based on what I could see below me such as the Great Salt Lake and Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. I was delighted when we flew past Lake Tahoe, one of my most favorite places in the country. It might be kind of hard to tell from that altitude but it really is gorgeous!

We finally landed at Sacramento Airport a good hour plus behind schedule but the sun was shining, the temperatures were in the 70's, and it was beautiful. After waiting for my bag to appear (apparently it was the first on in Philly and the last off in Sacramento!), I made my way over to the Hertz counter where I found a pretty metallic blue Mazda 3 5-door waiting for me. Considering I drive a Mazda at home - though a sportier version - I should have no trouble driving this car at all.

My hour drive from Sacramento to Stockton was uneventful, which was good as it was now a full 12-hours after I had started out in the morning and I was starting to feel just a little bit tired around the edges. Upon arriving at my hotel the guy at the front desk was extremely friendly and curious as to what on earth would bring me to Stockton for a vacation? Good question I suppose as I'm guessing a lot of people don't vacation in Stockton! I told him that I was here for friends and Mexican food and he said that sounded like reason enough and wished me a great stay after giving me a cookie and the key to an absolutely fantastic room.

The Courtyard Marriott is just as nice as I remember it from my March 2002 stay and I couldn't be happier with my room which, with a posted rate of $199 a night on the door, is a real steal at only $50 a night! It's roomy, comfortable, has a glorious king-size bed with six pillows, free internet access, and the shower alone was more than worth the 3,000 mile journey! Ah, now this is a vacation!!

Cyndi is on her way over shortly and once she gets here we plan on going by the Stockton Cemetery to pay our respects at our friend Timmy's grave (Timmy is one of the police officers I used to work with who was killed in the Line of Duty in February of 1990) and I always try to get by his grave when I am out here. After that, it's lunch somewhere with food I can't get in Connecticut and then tonight I'm going to be meeting up with Sandee of Comedy Plus and her hubby Zane and Katherine of Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness and her significant other at my beloved Cancun Mexican Restaurant. The place may never be the same! I'll keep you posted and I promise pictures! Now - on to the fun!

Eureka! I've Arrived!

Quick post tonight because I am what one might call totally worn out after my jaunt across the country with Stretch over there to the left that started with the drive from Connecticut to New Jersey after work yesterday afternoon and ended with my landing in Sacramento this afternoon. I at least wanted to post tonight and say that I am safely in California and ensconced in a really great hotel room with a bed that has a mattress that I'm sure I'm going to absolutely love in just about ten minutes or so just as soon as I hit the publish key on this and call it a night!

I've got lots of pictures and stories to tell already so am going to try to get a post put up tomorrow morning while waiting for Cyndi to take care of a few things before we get together to get caught up on the last six years (or as much of it as we haven't kept ourselves informed of via telephone that is!).

One of the highlights of tomorrow is also going to be dinner with Sandee and Katherine and I'm really looking forward to that and meeting two more bloggers in person! I get the feeling Cyndi is in for a quite a shock ... as is Sandee's husband and Katherine's Teamster! I'll let you know but for now, that bed is calling and it's been a long couple of days!

An Attack of Nerves

I am a bit of a nervous wreck right at the moment.

I'm not sure if it's because I haven't flown in close to six years and I have to get on a plane Thursday morning or if it's because I have to drive down to Philadelphia the night before I do it and there's all that New York traffic to deal with or if it's because it's time to go to bed and I have to work tomorrow before we leave and I'm still not done packing! Maybe it's a combination of all that? Maybe it's really that I'm not nervous so much as that I'm anxious? Maybe I'm just suffering from major league disorganization and disbelief that I'm actually flying back out to California? Hmm, I bet that's probably what it is!

The last time I left California in September of 2002 it was via Amtrak rather than a plane and, as the train pulled out of the station in Sacramento, I decided that I would most likely never return. I'd had my heart broken way too many times in the San Joaquin Valley (starting with the announcement by my first husband in 1981 that there were "too many single women available" for him to be a husband and father) and as much as I love Cyndi and Grandma Edith, it seemed like it was just too painful for me to ever be in Stockton again. Of course, as they say, time heals all wounds (or is that wounds all heels? I wonder how my first ex is doing?) and I've had close to six years to fall back, regroup, and rethink that decision.

Despite the memories of love gone wrong in Stockton, I lived there for quite some time and have many other happier memories that shouldn't be shut away behind a closed door that could never be opened again. Besides, I have the best friend in the world who has put up with my nonsense for over twenty years living there and a grandmother who loves me and still calls me her granddaughter long after the marriage to her grandson ended. If those aren't reasons enough to put the past behind me and get on a plane, then I don't know what are.

Add on the fact that this trip gives me the chance to meet some new friends that I have made through blogging and there is no reason at all for me to be nervous about getting on that plane Thursday morning no matter the fact that there are butterflies doing figure-eights in my stomach right now!

Of course, maybe the biggest problem here is that I haven't had a vacation in years and I've forgotten how to take one? I can tell you that I've sure forgotten how to pack for one (I'm afraid that either Amanda or I will forget our ipods or worse!) so I guess I'd best go finish that now and quit with the procrastinating. Talk to you later - from the West Coast!

Getting the Right Fortune

Every other Thursday is the day that we all look forward to at work the most - payday! The money may not stay in my checking account long before it makes its way into someone else's coffers but for at least one day every other week, I have a little money which means I can splurge a bit and maybe order lunch out rather than eat whatever unappealing food stuffs I might have brought from home (and that's the end of my financial reporting).

I wasn't the only one in that mindset today as out of the six of us in the room, four decided that Chinese food sounded pretty good for lunch. Renee had leftover barbecued ribs that she brought in from home that smelled divine so I can fully understand why she choose to pass on the Chinese; had I brought something more appetizing than a leftover piece of chicken and a stale pita pocket, I might have opted out also but the lure of the MSG was calling so I figured why not?

Along with our entrees, the take-out place had of course tossed in a handful of fortune cookies as what's Chinese food without a fortune cookie? The little pile of cookies sat between Wayne and myself on the counter at the dispatch console so when I finished my very tasty Moo Goo Gai Pan, I grabbed a fortune cookie out of the pile, cracked it open, and got a fortune that said this -

Well, how do you like that? It's true! I guess I grabbed the right cookie! This time next week I'll be out in California and probably groaning because I ate one too many chile rellenos but that's okay because I won't have to go to work in the morning like I do tomorrow and not having to go to work is definitely a vacation no matter how you look at it!

Of course, that's not until next week so for now, I'm going to bed a bit early as my day off tomorrow is not my day off tomorrow and it's back to work for me for a little extra overtime ... sigh ... I'll catch up to everyone a little later on - I promise!

Left to My Own Devices

Amanda is on Spring Break from Norwich Free Academy this week but rather than spend it hanging around the house and being bored while I put in my standard 40+ hours at work, she boarded a southbound Amtrak train yesterday afternoon and is spending the week hanging out with her friend Darcy (aka "Toast") in New Jersey.

This is her second trip on Amtrak down to Philadelphia as she went down the first time over President's Day Weekend (Darcy's Mom has sent her tickets both times so who I am to deny her the chance to actually go do something fun?) so she's now a seasoned veteran when it comes to train travel. Her train left yesterday afternoon at 1:17 and we had some time to kill while waiting for it to arrive so took some pictures that I've put together in a little slideshow. Hopefully you can read the text I inserted with each picture!

Way back when I was much younger (not that much older than Amanda is now) and was stationed at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey I used to take the train back and forth to Connecticut myself so in some small way (very small way!), it's sort of like reliving a bit of my past. The neat thing now as opposed to way back when, though, is that Amanda can keep in touch with me via cell phone the whole way down and I don't have to worry about wondering how she is en route to her "week of fun". Sometimes there is a lot to be said for modern technology!

Anyway, it appears that I have an entire week to myself for a change and even though it's going to be pretty quiet around the old hacienda, I think I'm going to enjoy it - well, when I'm not at work that is!

Speaking of work, this week is National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week here in the good ole' US of A so if you get the chance - tell a dispatcher thank you! - it makes us feel so much better about the generally thankless job that we do! Celebrations at work this week will include some sort of edible treat every day, the chance to wear civilian clothes rather than my uniform, and tomorrow I'll be attending a Dispatch Conference in Cromwell with my Monday dispatch partner, Wayne. It's always great to get together with the other crazies in my chosen profession and compare horror stories notes! Plus it means I get a break from my usual 16-hour marathon shift - woohoo!

As a shout-out to one of my brothers and sisters with a headset, if you get the chance please pop over to The Life of a Father of Five and surprise him with a thank you - he's not only Dad to five but a 911 Police and Fire Dispatcher in Minnesota. I'm sure he'd be thrilled with a comment or two (I know I would be!).

Everyone have a great week - I'm going to go see what sort of trouble I can get into by myself!

Westward Bound

I haven't been on an airplane since one of my dispatch partners, Jen, and I flew down to Orlando two years ago to attend the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch Navigator Conference in Orlando, Florida. Prior to that I hadn't been on a plane since September of 2002 and, frankly, that's been okay by me. It's not that flying scares me or anything like that - even though the take-offs do tend to make my palms sweat a tiny bit but once we're past that I'm generally okay - it's more that it's gotten more and more uncomfortable over the years and, frankly, I miss airline food. There - I've said it - I actually liked the food that they used to serve in-flight and now you're darned lucky if you get a miniature packet of peanuts and a can of soda! Still, there are some occasions that call for actually sucking it up and getting on a plane as it would take too long to get there via automobile and with the rising cost of gas, it's probably just as cheap to fly these days anyway!

That said, it appears that I shall be boarding a plane in just a little less than three short weeks and winging my way to a place I honestly never thought I would go to again ... California. More specifically that would be Stockton, California - the second most miserable city in the country (according to the statistics I quoted in this post) that also just happens to be the hometown of my BFF Miz Cyn. As a matter of fact, it is my BFF MC who provided me the plane ticket to return to a place I thought I would never return to in this lifetime and when your BFF requests the honor of your presence and provides you with the means to get there, how can you say no?

For those not familiar with Stockton or the Barkleys of the Big Valley (you did know that the TV series The Big Valley was set in Stockton, right?) - it's the 13th largest city in California located approximately 80 miles east of San Francisco and 40 miles south of Sacramento in the Central Valley, which is a major agricultural region. I called Stockton home from 1981 until 1987 and took my first job as a 911 dispatcher with the Police Department there in 1984. I still have ties to the region in the form of not only my BFF MC but also with my former grandmother-in-law from my first marriage, who isn't getting any younger and if I hope to see her again on this side of life then it's probably a good idea I get out there to visit her now. Quite the compelling reason for getting on a plane and traveling roughly 3,000 miles.

There are, of course, other compelling reasons which were discussed at great length prior to my agreeing to this trip. Other than really wanting to see Cyndi, whom I have not seen since mid-2003 even though we have kept in constant contact via telephone over the years, I figure it's high time we had another picture taken together as the only one I have is this one from 1986 when we both worked at SPD.

No, no - this isn't an outtake from Charlie's Angels even though we have the hair for it - this was taken on the day our "dispatch team" worked it's last shift together before they scattered us to various schedules in the dispatch center thereby ruining a really good thing. For those who haven't seen this picture yet, Cyndi is the one in the sweater (she was pregnant with her third child, Daniel, at the time and didn't have to wear a uniform) and I'm the one in the middle with the really wavy almost-blonde hair. The others are Chris with her arm around me, Kathy to the right, and our shift supervisor, Dianne, who was kneeling in front of a cake. As much as I like this picture, it's over 20 years old and my hair will never look like that again so it's time for a new picture. Unless we want to do some fancy PhotoShop cutting and pasting, that is going to require Cyndi and I both being in the same place at the same time.

Which brings us to another compelling reason for me to go ... as much as Cyndi would love to hop on a plane and come back East for a visit so that we could take a picture here, her husband insists that it's my turn to go West as Cyndi made the last two trips. Jeff has a valid point but we're not looking at it exactly the same way that he is. By our sneaky calculations, we figure that if I fly out there now then the next visit is Cyndi's and she'll be able to justify a trip East to explore New York City and Gettysburg. Devious, aren't we?

The third compelling reason has to do with the fact that I've not been able to get decent Mexican food since my last visit to California. This may not seem like much of a compelling reason to a lot of you but - trust me - when you've experienced authentic Mexican food then the likes of Taco Bell just is not going to do it! I blame part of this reason squarely on my dispatch partner Jen, whom I mentioned above, as she loves to watch the Food Network and I have had to suffer through innumerable hours of watching Guy Fieri chow down on some fantastic looking Mexican food on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. A girl can only take so much and then something's gotta give! I'll admit it - I'm weak! - but ever since Cyndi and I started discussing a potential trip I've been able to practically taste the quesadilla and beef enchilada in the #12 combinación plato at the Cancun Mexican Restaurant that I've been jonesing for since I was last out that way! Some memories just die harder than others!

Then there is one more compelling reason for me to board a plane, sit in a cramped seat with a tiny bag of peanuts, and lose three hours due to the time zone changes in the process - if I am ever going to get Cyndi to start writing a blog, I need to try to convince her in person. I'm not sure I have the ability to do that on my own (Cyndi can be danged stubborn) so I'm planning on recruiting the likes of several other top-notch bloggers like Sandee of Comedy Plus who lives mere miles from Stockton, Katherine of Wading Through My Stream of Consciousness who could hop over the mountains from Santa Cruz to join in, and the ever Amazing Gracie of Echoes of Grace who lives the furthest but I think I can encourage to be there for this "round table discussion" . I figure that between the four of us, maybe we can make a dent in Cyndi's hard Irish skull and get her to use some of those writing talents she has languishing away. Resistance will be futile! At least that's my hope! Plus I get to meet some more totally cool bloggers in the process and that alone makes it worth the really, really long trip! Anyone else going to be close by that wants to join us?

Of course, even though there were many compelling reasons to say "yes" to this trip, there were several compelling hesitations also. What would I do with Amanda while I was gone for almost a week? Would I be able to get the time off from work? How would my back handle an 8-hour plane ride? Where would I stay when I got out there? As it turns out, during the time that I am going to be in California (May 1st to the 6th), Amanda will be staying with her friend Darcy outside of Philadelphia as that's the weekend of the big Bamboozle concert that she's been looking forward to for months. As a matter of fact, I will be driving down there and flying out of Philadelphia while leaving my car with Darcy's family so Amanda won't miss me in the least. As for getting the time off of work, my co-workers were more than willing to cover my shifts for me so that I could take some much needed time off (some of them are placing bets as to whether I'll actually be back or not but I can assure them this is a short trip only and I'm not going out for any job interviews!). My back has been doing better lately and with a change of planes in Denver, I think I can handle the flight as long as I get up and stretch occasionally while cruising high above the clouds (after being sure to tell the flight attendants why I'm getting up so much!) plus I've read some great tips from other back-pain sufferers that I'm going to try. I might be a bit stiff when I get off the plane in Sacramento but I think I'll be okay.

My biggest hesitation in finally saying "yes" to this trip was one of logistics as to where I would stay while I was out there. As much as I love Cyndi, her house is out of the question as she has way too many cats for my allergies to even allow me to walk into it for any length of time, never mind actually stay there. My former grandmother-in-law lives in a very small house so that was out of the question, too. That left me with finding decent accommodations that I could afford that also wouldn't put me in one of the more undesirable parts of the city. For that I turned to my old friend William Shatner and Price-Line where I negotiated a fantastic deal at the Courtyard Marriott for a fraction of the normal cost. I named my own price and they accepted it at a savings of almost 70%! To say that you couldn't beat that deal with a stick might be a bit of an understatement so how could I possibly say no? Well, I couldn't ... especially considering they required I enter a credit card number before they negotiated the price!

I was a little hesitant on the whole "name your own price" thing as I had no idea which hotel in the area I might end up with and I knew for sure that there were several in Stockton that I had no desire to stay at whatsoever but I thought it might be worth the chance if it could save me some money. I was especially afraid of finding out that my "winning bid" put me at the La Quinta Inn which, even though it's a decent enough hotel, is the one I stayed at the last time I was in Stockton and it had the worst mattress ever! Add on the fact that there are "ghosts" there and it was not high on my list of places I wanted to stay. I was quite delighted when I found out that my offer was accepted at the Courtyard Marriott as I have stayed there in the past also and found it to have absolutely wonderful accommodations plus there is the added benefit of free WiFi! Surely you didn't think I'd go to California for a week and not take my laptop so that I could blog did you?? Heck no! Have blog - will travel!

All in all, even though I'm a bit nervous about it, I'm quite looking forward to this trip. I haven' t had a vacation in years (taking the girls out to Kentucky in 2004 to live in their new home doesn't count in my book) and I really do need a break from work before I burn out completely. Granted, I've got the Beach House in September to look forward to but considering my stress levels lately, I think I need a little something-something a little sooner.

Good food plus good friends has got to equal good times even if it's in the second most miserable city in the country - right?? I mean, it's not like I'm going to Detroit which is the most miserable city in the country!

Something to Get Excited About

Even though I only live about an hour away from the beaches in Rhode Island (the next state over to the right if you're facing Maine!), I've only actually been to one of them once. If you've got some time to kill and want to read the post, I blogged about it way back on July 26th, 2006. The girls and I had a great time with our friend Paula even though I ended up getting a nasty sunburn on my feet which turned into a nasty case of cellulitis (a common, potentially serious bacterial skin infection) that put me out of work and on crutches for a few days. Despite the end results we had a wonderful time and I've often wondered why it is I don't get to the beaches in Rhode Island more often.

After some initial planning and then more planning and much discussion via emails and IMs, it now appears that I'm going to get the chance to not only visit another beach in Rhode Island this year but also spend a week at a house right on the beach in Matunuck. That's the place in the picture above - doesn't it look nice? It has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a beautiful deck overlooking the ocean, and all the comforts of home minus sheets and pillowcases and a few other things that are easily brought along. It has room for eight people and comes complete with eight lawn chairs for sitting out on that lovely deck and sipping a cocktail or two while someone else grills up some steaks on the barbecue grill that's provided.

Sounds just perfect, doesn't it? Yes! Yes it does and what makes it even more perfect is that I'm going to be spending the week after my 50th birthday right there on the beach with some of the best friends a gal can make via the Internet - Morgen @ It's a Blog Eat Blog World, Callie Ann @ Scrappin' With Life, Kai @ The Buzz Queen, Mags @ Ms. Maggie Moo Talks 2 U, and my very favorite cheeky blogger from across the pond - Claire @ A Little Piece of Me. I have to tell you that I am totally psyched for this vacation and can't wait until September even though that seems like I'm rushing headlong even faster to hitting that half century mark that so many of us dread.

Okay, so I bet you're wondering right now how on earth it is that someone from Connecticut has managed to hook up with a Canadian, a Brit, an Oregonian, and a Michiganite along with a former fellow Nutmegger to plan a week on the beach in Rhode Island of all places, aren't you? Well, we've decided to blame this one squarely on Mo and The Mo Show as that's how we all seemed to hook up. During after-show IM sessions, we were all bemoaning the fact that we needed a vacation, that we'd all like to meet, and that it would be cool to do something BIG for my 50th birthday and somehow we ended up planning a week at one of the most relaxing places we could think of. You've got to admit, that deck does look relaxing, doesn't it?

As most of you know, Mags and Mo and I all got together last September when Mo took the train down from Michigan to spend a weekend exploring bits of Connecticut and Rhode Island and we had a GREAT time! The three of us know what to expect from each other but as for the other three - Callie Ann, Claire, and Kai - we only know each other via the pages of our blogs and IMs and emails but getting to know each other is going to be half the fun of this trip. Mags has promised to create some fantastic meals for us, Claire wants to go exploring the countryside, Callie Ann has a marvelous sense of humor, Kai can bring some moose steaks and tales of the Canadian wilds, Morgen is just one of the nicest guys ever, and me - well, I'm not sure what I offer to the mix but I'll try to think of something by September!

With sunsets like this one, how can this not be a fantastic trip and week well spent away from the stress and pressure of 911 calls and medical emergencies? What better way to spend the week after my 50th birthday? I can't think of one and I'm sure that we'll all have tales to tell - though now that I think about it, I don't believe the house has an internet connection. Oops!

So, how many of you are jealous and wish you were going, too??

Ah, To Be Somewhere Warmer Right Now!

As we here in New England bid a fond adieu to January and step into February in the hopes that winter may soon be over (despite what that pesky groundhog might have done this past Saturday!), the thought occurs to me that I could really use a nice vacation to someplace sunny and warm. I'd love to jump on a flight to Cyprus and just get away for awhile but alas ... I can't afford it for starters and have no time available to take off from work even if I did.

However, if the opportunity presented itself I'd just love to go spend some time in the Mediterranean. After all Cyprus has been pretty popular for the last 9000 years with Romans, Phoenicians, Persians, Greeks, Assyrians, Egyptians and Byzantines who all ruled there as well as vacationed there so it's got to be quite the place! There are ancient vineyards, castles, monasteries and, best of all, hot Mediterranean sun! I could have history and warmth, too - what more could a cold New England girl want?

Hot Mediterranean sun - now that just s