August Break!

It's funny to write this post about August knowing that it'll go live right after Christmas.  Hopefully I'll never fall this far behind on the updating ever again!

Immediately after our first August event in Pensacola, we had a bit of a break.  L, D and I were allowed to head back to Seattle for three glorious days off before our New Orleans event.  It was the first time I took home my "big" suitcase since I first flew out in June to Tampa!  Normally, for the brief trips back to Seattle I just left it downrange in the trailer, but this would be my big chance to take it home and sort it out for the final August runs that were to come!

The funny thing is, as the only girl on the trip, I actually had the least amount of "luggage"!  I was the only one who had a suitcase that was qualified as a carry-on; everyone else had the big full-size bags.  Plus we all had our backpacks, of course, for the day-to-day hauling and road trips and quick flights back to the West Coast, but still, I was pretty amused that I was the one with the least amount of baggage!

(I do believe I was also the only one without cowboy boots, but that's another story...)

So I traveled all summer with a backpack (well, one died halfway through summer so I replaced it with a Jansport in Charlotte) and a roller-bag of carryon size.  Hurrah for packing cubes and rolling clothing and only two pairs of shoes all summer.  I have glorious tan lines from them, by the way - sandal lines from my Chacos and a nice ankle tan from my work shoes (black sneakers).  Oh well.

My glorious tan lines...

Back in Seattle I had enough time for laundry, playing with the kitties, going on a date or two with Matt, and even sneaking some Christmas shopping in there because it was a perfect gift that I couldn't pass up.  Plus, I got to use my kitchen for the first time in ages and cook myself a meal!  You don't miss home-cooked meals until you can't get them...

Oswald is not amused by tan lines.

One thing I did manage to do while I was home was to check something off of my "Summer Ideas" list.  You see, back when this job first started I wasn't sure how much time I'd be at home compared to on the road - I thought I'd have lots of days in Seattle between events.  (Ha.  Ahahahahaha.)  So I compiled a list of things to do over the summer that would keep me occupied without spending much money - a poor girl's guide to not being bored all summer long, basically.  The list ran the range of activities, from video games I wanted to replay to books I wanted to read to places in Seattle that I wanted to visit.

One of the items on the list was to have a picnic at the Anti-Aircraft Park on Cougar Mountain, which is actually just a few miles up the mountain from where my school is.  We'd done a day of service there with the students last May, and I thought it'd be fun to have a picnic there.  So when I went up to visit school and say hi to everyone while I was in town, I took some food along with me and managed to have a little picnic in the middle of the day.  Not too bad, even if I was pressed for time and couldn't really hike any of the trails!

Go past my school about three miles, and the road turns into this.  Keep going another mile, and you're there!

But three days goes quickly, and pretty soon it was time to pack my backpack for a quick jaunt to our next event, New Orleans.  Luckily it was a short event, as you'll see, so I'd be coming back into Seattle again afterwards - no need for the carryon roller!
-Beth

Trip 16: Pensacola, Florida

It was another long driving day from Memphis to Pensacola, but we managed to get there in a single day.  J and L took the truck and trailer ahead the same night as our Memphis event to be able to do some set-up earlier, but R, D and I followed in the Tahoe the next day.  It was a fun drive down, but a quieter one than usual - normally, we're all fairly social in the car and chat the whole drive down, but for this drive, we were doing work on our laptops for a good deal of it and reading backlogs of papers.

We stopped for lunch in Mississippi at a little family-run gas station and I bought homemade fried chicken and cornbread for lunch, which was amazingly southern and tasty and far better than the Jolly Rancher flavored sodas that we decided to try with them.  Also, did you know that there is a camouflaged themed energy drink brand?  Me neither.  Welcome to the South!

I finished catching up on world news somewhere around Mobile, Alabama, right about when the freeway turned into a huge long freeway bridge over water which took us into Florida.

It was seriously miles long, and actually pretty cool to drive across.  It was fairly obvious when we reached Pensacola:

Airplanes and fighter jets everywhere!  It's very much a military town; we saw a lot of personnel at the hotel where we stayed, coming in or leaving on orders.  We were about five miles down the road from the Air Force Base (and almost accidentally found ourselves on base when we tried to take the Tahoe to get a car wash!).

Once we arrived in town and threw all our things at the hotel, we went over to the site for the upcoming event.  It was held at a high school proud to be the home of Emmitt Smith, so of course we got out our football again and played some catch before we started what set up we could in the dark.

There's currently some debate over whether Springfield or Pensacola was our hottest event of the year - I personally vote for Springfield, but I'm in the minority as the others seem to think Pensacola was worse.  It was certainly muggier!  But by now, we were at least smart when it came to the heat and kept out of it as much as we could in the tent shade and by dumping ice onto each other.  I was smart and kept plenty hydrated - no making the same mistake as New York!

I was also cheerful because right after the event ended, I'd get to head to the airport and fly back to Seattle for three whole days before our next event in New Orleans.  So I didn't mind resetting all our alligator dummies in the heat when I knew home was coming up soon!

After the event, it was back to the hotel for quick showers in the rooms of those who were staying, and then D, L and I were ferried to the airport for our flight back to Seattle.  It was the end of our longest trip downrange: we were back working in Seattle for just under 24 hours around July 11th, but other than that we were downrange July 5th to August 3rd.  It was our longest trip out, and all of us were glad for the three upcoming days we'd have off at home before our next round started!

-Beth

July Trip Recap!

Time for a recap of July, now that I've (finally!) finished recounting my many adventures!

States visited in July: 21!
(some of these were visited more than once, but each only counts the first time!)

1. Washington
2. Virginia
3. Maryland
4. New York
5. New Jersey
6. Delaware
7. Pennsylvania
8. North Carolina
9. Tennessee
10. Kentucky
11. Indiana
12. Illinois
13. Wisconsin
14. Minnesota
15. Iowa
16. Nebraska
17. Missouri
18. Arkansas
19. Mississippi
20. Alabama
21. Florida

Miles driven in July (estimate!): 3,387 miles.

1. Roanoke to Baltimore, 278 miles.
2. Islandia, NY to Charlotte, 678 miles.
3. Charlotte to Indianapolis, 584 miles.
4. Indianapolis to Springfield, 208 miles.
5. Springfield to Minneapolis, 531 miles.
6. Minneapolis to Omaha, 378 miles.
7. Omaha to Memphis, 730 miles (lots of flooding detours).

Miles flown in July: 7,547 miles.

1. Seattle to Roanoke via Philadelphia, 2,681 miles.
2. Baltimore to Seattle via Minneapolis, 2,323 miles.
3. Seattle to NYC via Cincinnati, 2,543 miles.

Total miles traveled in July: 10,934 miles. (Just barely beat out June!)

Nights spent in hotels: 27.

Nights spent at home: 2.

Nights spent in the air: 2. (Baltimore to Seattle and Seattle to NYC)

Wow... for such a busy month, I expected a lot more miles in July!  Still, it just barely beat out June and I'm a little disappointed, especially since I doubt August will match it.  Oh well... Still, bragging rights!

-Beth  

Trip 15: Memphis, Tennessee

The drive from Nebraska to Tennessee was slated to take us two days, and we decided to put as much time behind us the first day as we could.  After doing a bit of vehicular repair on the Tahoe (where I was once again the one with smallest hands holding fiddly bits inside tight spaces), we all loaded up the cars and headed southeast.

We passed an awful lot of Civil War heritage sites and listened to an awful lot of country music, but the truth is, it was a really long drive.  I was with L in the truck and trailer for the whole of it - we basically turned on the radio and left it there the whole way to keep us sane through flooding detours.  It was a little exciting, but in a sad way - we had to take quite a few detours because the Missouri River had flooded so badly.  So instead of driving along the highways staring at corn, we drove along country roads and stared at corn!  The main highway was closed for over fifty miles, so it was a long detour.

We left the hotel at 10:30 in the morning - a really late start, for us - and drove as long as our log hours would let us.  We stopped somewhere in Missouri for the night; my journal doesn't even have the city name because we weren't really sure where we were!

We found a hotel at 9:45 that night, pulled in, walked across the street to Denny's for dinner, and basically collapsed.  The detours meant we were further behind than expected (again!), so we left early the next morning to finish out the drive.  We reached Memphis around 4 in the afternoon - and wow, we were back in the heat again!  It was the last day of July and really felt like those sultry southern days you always hear about in songs.... oppressively hot the instant you step outside.

Of course, being the bright girl I am, I decided to go for a walk and explore the mall near our hotel to do some grocery resupplying at Target and the dollar store there.  I may have splurged on a slushie for the walk back, but I assure you it was for a good cause!  I talked with a security guard in the parking lot on the way back - an older gentleman who seemed a bit bored and told me all about the printing company he ran back in the seventies and eighties "before computers and printers wrecked the business".  Very southern, very friendly!

D, L and I found a Japanese buffet just across the parking lot for our hotel, and I have to say, it was the highlight of Memphis.  Sushi and hot food and dessert and we went back there for I think every dinner we spent in town.  Mmm, tasty!

We had one day off in Memphis - the first of August - and then it was event time!  All of us used the day for laundry and lounging around; I did a lot of reading and catching up on emails.  So we were somewhat rested for work.  It was a later event for us - 5am - but by the time we reached the site it was already ridiculously hot (are you sensing a theme?).  It wasn't as bad as Springfield, but it was definitely the second-hottest event we'd run, so we were really feeling it.

If there were any doubt that I'd end the summer with a spectacular farmer's tan it was dispelled!

Still, it was a great event - the local police came out with their anti-drunk-driving example car, and gave a great talk at the end of the event, and we managed to get everything packed up without collapsing.  Then it was back to the hotel for packing up - the next day would be off to Pensacola, Florida, our last event of this run and our first event in August!

-Beth

Trip 14: Omaha, Nebraska

We left Minnesota on July 27, and thus ended our nice midsummer rest period.  From there, it was on to our next event in Omaha, Nebraska - but to get there we had to drive straight through Iowa.  Not to be unkind to Iowa, but it was not our most exciting trip ever!

L made me drive after a while, as he was really sick of seeing corn!  He napped, and every time he napped he would wake up, see more corn, be unhappy about not being out of it yet, and go back to sleep.

I thought I had some pictures, but searching my files, it looks like not.  Sorry!

Still, as drives go, it wasn't bad at all.  We reached Nebraska about two hours later than planned due to all our detours, checked into our hotel, and lazed about for the rest of the night in recovery.  Our hotel was right across the street from where the event would be, which was really nice - we were able to run all our errands the next day, do some minor vehicle cleaning and repairs, and still have enough time to explore the city and do some shopping (I was on the lookout for Underarmor shirts based off D's recommendations, and found two in Omaha - I was not disappointed!).

The free day before the event also gave the city time to recover from the huge storm that had rolled in the night before - there were lots of trees down and a few power outages.  It gave us a bit of a relief from the heat and humidity... and all the bugs!  There were lots, and I bought a bug-off clip for my belt at a sports store.  It worked fairly well and I was impressed by it!

It was another early morning media event (3:30am out of the hotel!), but the event went great and thanks to my new bug-off clip, I remained bug-bite free.  Hurrah!  For once I wasn't eaten alive!  R, D, L and I celebrated a successful day by meeting up at Red Lobster for dinner, which was great fun.  Lots of stories, laughter, and biscuits.  I tried lobster for the first time ever and discovered that it is quite tasty... though of course I'm sure the butter helped!

The next day saw the beginning of our two-day drive to Memphis, Tennessee...

-Beth

Home Again Home Again....

So several people have asked recently why I seemingly abandoned the blog halfway through August.  There are two reasons, really: firstly, a request from higher-ups that I found eminently reasonable, and secondly, things got really, really busy!

Now that the summer is truly one for the books (and then some... it's been months!), I'm okay to go back and finish out my August recaps and hopefully restart the blog a bit.  While there are no upcoming trips in my future, I don't think you'll mind too much if I chat more about what I'm up to here in Seattle, will you?

So stay tuned for a July recap (six months after the fact!), my last month of on-the-road, and an August recap as well.  I might even add in what's been happening since I returned to town before I kick off my regular life again!  Suffice to say that the really, really busy is hopefully a thing of the past.  Hurrah!  Free time again!

So until I get proper posts up again, here's a picture to tide you over: my view from school in the morning.  In other words, why I've been really busy lately!

-Beth

Trip 13: Minneapolis, Minnesota

After a fantastic drive through Wisconsin, we arrived for our long stay in Minneapolis - we arrived on July 22, and we didn't leave until July 27... our longest stay anywhere, and it wound up being Minnesota!  I was originally scheduled to fly home and have a bit of a break, but due to various circumstances, the company decided it would be better to keep me downrange.  I missed not going home, of course, but they were very good about trying to give me as much time off as possible in Minnesota.

We jumped hotels almost every night in Minneapolis - I guess there were lots of events going on that weekend, and so finding a place to stay proved a little more difficult than anticipated.

We visited the Mall of America on our first day in town.  It's absolutely huge!  Seriously, I think it has more parking than Disneyland, and the entire center of the mall is filled with rides and rollercoasters.  We wandered the mall for a few hours and were just overwhelmed by all of it - hundreds of people, and three levels filled with more shops than I had ever heard of.  I did take advantage of it and bought myself jeans that fit, though, so I guess I can say I've officially shopped at America's largest mall!  (And second-largest, back in Philadelphia's King of Prussia Mall, where I bought sunscreen and chapstick.)

Other than visiting the Mall, the only other activity I did in Minneapolis was to begin being trained on driving the truck and trailer.  This meant that I did some class time, some hitch training, and some behind-the-wheel training, as well as training on how to log my hours in compliance with all the trucker laws.  Sounds fun, doesn't it?

We had the full weekend off before the event, and none of us really realized how tired we had been until the event rolled around and everything just went insanely smoothly.  Three am wake-up calls don't seem so bad when you're full up on sleep!  We could all really notice the difference in how we felt at the end of the event since we had so much time to recover before it, and it was really nice to have that break in Minnesota to sleep in for a few days without any work or stress to interrupt it.

Our site at 4 am.

At 4:30 am, it's nice to be alert enough to appreciate the sunrise!

 For all the bouncing hotels, the truck and trailer training, and the fact that we did have an event to run, it almost felt like Minnesota was "time off".  The usual trifecta of laundry, letters, and grocery shopping was achieved without feeling rushed for time.  Plus, I got a call from friends in Spokane announcing their engagement, so despite the crazy freeway systems in Minneapolis, I really enjoyed Minnesota!

Also, we stayed in Minnetonka, a suburb of Minneapolis, in Minnesota, near Minnehaha Creek.  If, like me, you were curious about what on earth that minne in all those words means, the answer is: water.  It's an old Dakota word.  And it makes sense, as Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes (with 12 in Minneapolis alone!).

After how restful Minneapolis was, it was a bit hard to leave.  Still, we left the day after the event to drive south to the furthest west we've been all tour: Omaha, Nebraska.  Of course, we had to drive through Iowa to get there, and as L lamented, it was about 380 straight miles of corn...

-Beth