Day one sightseeing in SF!

Tuesday -
We have the privilege of being on this trip due to my participation in the AONE fellowship. My days this week will be filled with meetings and listening to presentations and speakers. The boys, however, will be free to roam the city!
Today, was a great day for me- connecting and networking with fellow nurse managers and leaders. Getting education on being a better coach and mentor was this mornings fun. The afternoon was filled with interesting information on how the boards of nursing function within the scope of nursing overall. Great insight.
The first day sightseeing for the boys required a quick stop at Goodwill. It seems as though we missed the Internet reference to the awful weather in downtown San Fransisco. It is in the 50's and 60's - windy and damp! Not sure the shorts and short- sleeve shirts I packed are sufficient. I did pack a couple of pants for the boys and a light jacket for the plane ride, but I was prepared for this weather. Burr! And I hate the cold! :(
Hunter was quite amazed at Chinatown! He had never seen so many Asia people. quite an experience. And then there was all the walking. The Streets of San Fransisco has a much appreciated meaning now - not just cops in a TV show chasing bad guys! Walker was a trooper though. He kept up with his big brother and dad every step of the way.
We joined that afternoon at the hotel pool and hot tub! We then dressed and rode the "train" as Walker put it. It is the subway - the Bart. An interesting journey to a Mexican Food - hole in the wall- joint. Typical of a Tim place to eat. It was unique and interesting. The food was good - just tacos and burritos were offered. Walker about fell asleep at the table, but rallied again as we returned to the Hotel. AS usual, I'm the first to slumber. It was 845pm - still a little light outside, but my internal clock said otherwise. We all had a good day!

A day of travel

Whew! My body says it is midnight, but the clock on the bedside table says 9pm. Three hours difference from the East coast to the west is something to think about. The boys seem to still be feeling the excitement of today and Tim has not slept but one hour - he worked this weekend, Sat and Sun night, getting home this am at 0800. And then our big day!
Up at 5am, each kids room cleaned, clothes put away, then clothes packed, a few toys packed, items to pass the time on the plane and in the hotel room. Tim is up, clothes packed, the fumbling for all the techno gadgets - Garmin, GPS for his Geo-caching, I-Touch, I-pods, portable DVD, laptops, Game Boys, Nintendo DS, plugs for everything, batteries, cameras and so on! We really are a techno dependant family! (I did throw in a magazine or two, a coloring book and a book for Hunter - just in case, of course.) At exactly 11:45am, I looked at my empty suitcase and decided I better throw in a few items for me. You would think that we would be better organized since we have known about this trip for months. Na! What is the fun in no pressure or deadlines? Nonetheless, we were locking our door at 12:20pm and away we went.
The Charlotte airport leaves something to be desired. Not my favorite. Going through the security check was an adventure. Everyones' shoes, Tim's belt, hat, wallet, pocket items, three computers, the DVD player, a 3 year old, an 11 year old curious fellow and then the bag check. It seems as though a Power Ranger toy was suspicous of a gun. Oh well. I'm glad they are looking for things! Timing was great. To the Bathroom, to the gate, early boarding, and then 10 questions about are we flying in the sky yet? Fortunately, a three hour nap allowed us to entertain Walker for only 2.5 hours. :) We arrived safely to SF. A $42 cab ride for all four us and four pieces of luggage and 8 smaller carry on items, the Marriott was a welcome destination. We ordered room service pizza and salad and the day was complete! San Fransisco --here come the Martins!

Vacation time!!

Preparing for a family vacation is quite a job! Work is always busy - getting everything organized and followed up on. You'd think that that would help the return to work go smoother, but unfortunately for me, the work will be placed on my desk, waiting for my return. Ahh! And then there is the planning the trip, the weather, the clothing, what all we will need for each section of the journey. And then there is the preparing for everything to be covered at home - the farm, the dogs, the fish, the plants and the list goes on. Makes you wonder if going on a vacation is really worth it. THe definition of a vacation is a leave of absence for rest or recreation. Hmm? Preparing for the vacation is definetely enough work to make you want to relax. Nonetheless, the weekend was spent cleaning and washing and getting the house organized, just to start the packing process. I'm tired! REady for a vacation. :)

Summer VBS

After a busy, yet not feeling so productive day at work, we settled in for a nice end of the week presentation at Vacation Bible School. The theme was Boomerang Express with a hint of Australia throughout the week. Nancy (sis-in-law) did a great job, as always, with the decorations, arts and crafts and the helping with organization of the week. The men of the church were drenched with sweat as they helped cook hot dogs and hamburgers after the closing ceremony. Everyone enjoyed the gathering and fellowship. The nice thing about summer VBS is that it draws out the children and people in the community. The children played and laughed. The adults enjoyed the summer evening while catching up on each others happenings. Great fun tonight!

Thursday, April 16th

Today started with a long, beautiful walk along the Riverwalk! So relaxing and invigorating.
Great speaker sessions at the conference and have been getting lots of goodies at the exhibit hall.
My afternoon was found driving home to see my dad and mom and Danielle. My dad looks great! Seems stronger and quite spry! Sally seems to be adjusting to retirement life and enjoying it! Danielle looked great. The Texas air seems to be good for her. She's working two job - McDonald's part -time and at the theater. Homecook Carne Guisada was great. Returned to my room after 11pm, so I was quickly to bed! Its been a good day.!

Another day in paradise - called Texas!

This is day two of my Texas trip - however, day one of the AONE conference. Up early at 0530 (I actually got to sleep an hour later than usual - NC it would be 0630). Got a little work done on the computer, a smidgen of homework and nothing on my project other than thoughts. I headed to the workout room here at the Hotel. (By the way - the Marriott Riverwalk is wonderful. Nice facility, great location! Nice view from the 18th Floor!) My goal was to climb on the treadmill and refresh my brain and muscles about excercise. My how things have changed. Remember my earlier blog about not being very technologically advanced - well, the latest and greatest treadmill was out of my league. It had lots of buttons with arrows and dots - but no words. There was a touch screen that once I figured out how to get the thing started I struggled with the turtle pace of 0.5 mph to it quickly jumped to 5 mph (sprint mode). I quickly figured out what that button meant. There was a port for an iPod. one for headphones. and one for something else, probably a Blackberry (who wants to work when they are excercising? That is work enough! And then, the most impressive thing was the TV screen. No longer would you have to stare out into the world and allow your mind to wonder, relax, contemplate the day and find a way to obtain world peace. No! That's not the philosophy these days. I guess the idea would be to find something to occupy the time so you don't feel the muscles ache and the sweat pour. Great concept - I think? So, as I fiddled with the arrows and buttons, mainly for curiousity, I found all kinds of channels for the TV. Then I accidentally pulled a string (not a stop button, but a real piece of string) and went into a dead stop. There was no curly button for undo like on the computer. So, I finally get started again. Once more trying to get out of the snail pace, the very touchy, sensitive touch screen created a "curse" button when it about threw my off, yet again. Nevertheless, my 6 minutes on this fancy new contraption made me realize that fresh Texas air and the beautiful scenery better suited my safety and walking desire. It is now daylight, so off I go! Two miles later, it was back to the room and another gadget to play with.
The iPod. I still have lots to learn, but getting there.
The opening session for this conference was great. Myself and the other 30 nurse managers selected for this years Fellowship were recognized. The speaker gave a great talk - mostly from his book, I suspect - The Spider and The STarfish - guess I'll have to buy it. Not sure when I would read it, but sounds interesting. Another hour long session after his and then back to the room. We then all met again for the President of AONE's welcome reception. We enjoyed being together (Its called Networking if your in the business world, Fellowship if your in church, Hanging out if your a teenager, Partying if your in college, but for old folks like me, when it gets 10pm, its called visiting and goodnight.) We shared a few laughs, danced a few songs and had fun. I was fast asleep by 11pm! Another great day!

Day One - Texas trip

April 14th - My first day of my Texas trip. Up at 0500, busy packing, cleaning and getting the boys ready for their adventure. Saying bye to all three of my boys as the deposited me at the airport was bittersweet. A week away seems forever. Seeing Danielle, my family and breathing the Texas air will just have to be good medicine. Flight went well, without interruption and chaos. "I can see miles and miles of Texas" - yee ha! The weather is sunny and in the 80's. I had a little burger at Whataburger - a favorite hamburger chain of Tim's when we visit. I then stopped at an HEB Plus.
Wow! It is the Texas food store chains version of Wal-mart. Imagine....loud, very loud Hispanic music playing as you enter this huge store with groceries and all kinds of stuff. There were people everywhere. Welcome to the city! Whew! I survived this adventure and joined Jerry and Leesa at her house. A peaceful ranch style home out in the county. Beautiful. I finally got to meet Blake and Bailey! They are so precious. We then enjoyed some Mexican food - Tim would have loved the simple, family owned Restaurant out in the middle of nowhere.
Great food! Even better was the company! Day one- fun and happiness abounds.