Wisconsin Is So Chill

Wow, after another 12-hour travel day, landing in Wisconsin tonight took my breath away. Not the normal beauty of the Dairy State – but the quite chilly temperature! And it's going to get down into the 30s tonight? Can I go back??

Actually, I'm good not going back. Ever probably. I mean I saw and did the 3 things I really wanted to if free time allowed – ride a street car, see the Golden Gate Bridge, and tour Alcatraz. Beyond that, had a fact-filled and fun-filled conference (with personal appearances by SNL comedians Colin Jost and Amy Poehler). People will be jealous they aren't in marketing! 

I have so many pictures to get through, but I'll share a few from our after-conference trip to see the Golden Gate Bridge. It worked out perfectly because the other days of the week it was foggy or cloudy and we couldn't see the whole bridge.

It turned out to be a great view. I liked this view better than a straight-on end-to-end because that would be a long, skinny picture. This way we were up close and could see the actual orange color too. But wait, could we get closer?

Like ON it? Oh yes, it's a thing! For pedestrians and cyclists.

And yes, I faced my fear of heights (and sharks below) and walked out far enough I was definitely above ocean waters only – not land. Uff da! The trick? Look out, not down!

But yes it was cool to see it, experience it, and marvel at the construction of what is close to a 90-year-old structure. Just glad I didn't feel any swaying in the suspension bridge!

From there, we grabbed early dinner yesterday since our alarms were going off at 3:15 a.m. today for a 3:50 Uber ride to the airport for a 6 a.m. flight.

So long day, glad to be home, and especially glad hubby turned on my electric mattress pad hours ago! So good to home again.

Hello, September

I'll admit there are very few things I like about the transition from August to September. But I do love that Pumpkin Spice Lattes everywhere and Pumpkin Pie Blizzards at DQ are back in the picture. It's also nice to turn the page on the family calendar.

When I sensed a bit of a theme – purple vs green & gold – I took action. First I took care of all my dead or close to dead hanging basket flowers. P.S. There may be a shallow grave out in the woods to the east!

Then I found ourselves some purple and yellow Vikings mums for the front deck. Success.

Most of the rest of the day was pretty laid back – as Labor Day should be. Jim got together with a few high school buddies. And I found a few minutes with Mr. Deck Chair.

But mostly I was packing for my work trip to San Francisco this week. Gotta leave my house by 6:30 a.m. tomorrow and I'll be back sometime Saturday night. I hope I can share some highlights in between, but don't count on it. It will be the typing each letter on my phone type of blogging. But I'll try.

Hope you had a non-laborious Labor Day, too. Let's carry this relaxation vibe into the entire week!

Back at the Homestead

What a whirlwind of a week! I thought I'd be sharing highlights each day of my time in San Diego. But to be honest, I was exhausted trying to live on West Coast time while my body was mentally and physically 2 hours away in Central Time.

First of all, about the amazing marketing conference. It was good and I learned some exciting things. I've been to the San Diego Convention Center before – remember when I was there for Comic Con and met Erik Estrada? – but I forgot how massive the place is. And very interestingly designed.

You know how I love me some architecture pictures. This was coming down the escalator at the right moment and seeing the other escalators off in the distance.

For the conference, the final keynote was an interesting coincidence.

On the plane ride out, I just happened to finally watch the Barbie movie (worth seeing!). And it turns out actress Issa Rae – "president of BarbieLand" – was our final speaker! 

How interesting! Most times, we have no idea how hard people work – or what obstacles they must hurdle – to get where they are today. Probably like most of us. We're just not that famous!

In the evening hours, after grabbing a bite to eat, I could explore a little bit. But kept it close to my hotel since the sun sets there early, too, at this time of year.

Fun fact: The bar where the filmed the "Great Balls of Fire" piano scene in Top Gun was not even a half block from my hotel!

Piano is still there!

And plenty of memorabilia.

Also, service men and women have found it a place to hang their hats. Pretty cool.

Also, just a block or two in the other direction is the USS Midway Museum on the Navy Pier and some interesting statues.

The Unconditional Surrender statue – based on the iconic photograph – was pretty cool to see.

Especially when there was a couple replicating the pose while I was there! Gives you a sense of how tall the statue is, too!

In that same park, they also had a statue scene of Bob Hope entertaining the troops. If you're too young to know, you missed out!

Very well done!

Of course, I also had a chance to catch the sunset there before booking it back to my hotel before I got dark. Glad it was so close!

Yesterday was a super long travel day...

Leaving the marinas of the Pacific Coast...

To flying over snow-capped mountains...

To the beautiful fall colors of the Midwest!

Due to some delays and fun travel headaches, I didn't get back home 'til almost 11 p.m. last night. Glad to be home same and sound! 

And in the Central Time Zone. If you know, you know!

West Coast Work Vibes

This is my sunset view of the San Diego Harbor from my 9th floor hotel room. That's how I ended my day.

I started it with a 4 a.m. alarm to get up to Mosinee for a pre-7 a.m. flight. I get so anxious about getting up in time for airport trips that I had the worst time trying to sleep. 

Highlights from there...

Got to ride in the exit row for that 45-minute flight to the Twin Cities. That's like first class for short people! Had a 3-hour layover in Minneapolis, where a guy waiting in the gate area fell out of his chair and I got to witness a medical emergency. Close to empathy fainting but I stayed upright.

In the world of crazy coincidences, I got an exit row for the 3+ flight to San Diego. Poor 6-foot guy next to me was a bit cramped up but he didn't believe in trading seats (aka breaking the rules). His loss. I enjoyed a luxury viewing of the Barbie movie. Sorry I didn't see it sooner. Much better than I'd expect.

After landing in San Diego, my coworker Scott and I checked into our hotel by the harbor, then walked over the the Convention Center (where our conference is the next few days) to pick up our badges, etc. Our other coworker Jenn (on a different flight and different hotel) met us there and, with a free afternoon ahead of us, we proceeded to the San Diego Zoo.

Naturally, I have a ton of pictures that for some reason aren't uploading. So I'll share later this week. Got home, er back to hotel, from there and I'm exhausted. It like past 9 p.m. in my real life and they're just airing Wheel of Fortune. 

I might have to watch recordings of The Voice when I get home. My body isn't in sync with the West Coast work (or play) vibes. I'll keep you posted.

Enjoy your week!

Polar Opposites

One of my formerly favorite nephews and I Snapchat pretty regularly. Why do I say "formerly"? Well imagine getting this lovely view...

After waking up to this? Not nice. (Even though he knows his family back home in South Dakota is experiencing the same Polar Vortex fun.) Yes, I'm purely jealous. And yes, of course, he's still on my favorites list. But only after he just snapped this followup picture to me...

I can be a predictable pushover to please, that's for sure! Plus, despite the fact I am crabby and still suffering from this lingering cold, I have new hair!

Goodbye holiday glitter and silver bells and what not. Just back to my normal "false coloring" self and I am smiling. And yes, my hair artist also knows I'm a predictable pushover to please!

Hope you found something pleasing in your life today!

West Coast Vibes

What a whirlwind of a work week. I mean I say that often, but at least this time there was some scenery. Our Marketing 6-Pack flew out at 7 a.m. Monday from Mosinee to San Diego. Our mission was almost impossible. Capturing two customer testimonial videos in 2 1/2 days – when normally that's what we need for just one.

But you know what's motivating? Palm trees! Whether it's Florida, Texas, Arizona, or California, they always put me in a good mood.

I mean a productive mood. This was a work trip after all! We seriously were pretty busy with the two clients from Monday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon, but we did have a few hours in the evening to see a little bit of southern California – which, like Wisconsin, was going through a bit of a heat wave.

On Monday night, we went out to get dinner and stopped by the Sunset Cliffs area by the Pacific Ocean on the way...

A prickly Mickey Mouse out there!

It was very scenic. And we couldn't find a parking place anywhere near the dozens of restaurants, so we ate back at the hotel in San Diego-Mission Valley. 

On Tuesday, after we were done videoing our client, we all went to lunch. As soon as I saw one of the guys had a Porsche, I called shot-gun!

I mean it wasn't a sport Porsche Cayenne, but who cares? When would I ever be able to ride in one?

 

Naturally I called Carter the minute we hit the highway to remind him what a cool mom he has. And that the Porsh-a has a bit more pick-up than our Hondas! Pretty cool.

And frankly, you needed pick-up and super brakes for the crazy San Diego traffic. Yes, small-town Midwestern folks, that's 5 lanes each direction. Uff da. I was glad I didn't have to drive one of our two mini-van rentals. Being navigator was stressful enough!

After a successful day Tuesday, we took our client out to eat on Coronado Island, across the San Diego bay.

It required traversing a very long and very high bridge so I distracted myself snapping pictures of the harbor out my window.

Peohie's was a pretty nice place, right on the water. We could see naval ships and the entire San Diego skyline.

And watch the sun set. It was spectacular.

Basically, I felt like I was part of the Top Gun movie and I couldn't get enough of it!

This is the bridge we crossed – with the gorgeous almost full moon!

Let me impress my new friends with a close-up from my phone! 

Pretty cool, eh?

Of course, there were a few not-so-cool places. Like the neighborhood where we needed to get through a prison-looking gate. And the fact there was a homeless encampment in the trees and shrubs outside our hotel. It's not all Hollywood on the West Coast!

After we wrapped all the work up Wednesday, we headed down to the famous Gaslamp District for dinner. I kept calling it the Gaslight District, but I'm sure that has an entirely different meaning.

Pretty cool area. After dinner, we ended up at a Coin-Op Arcade for our entertainment. Fun times.

Time definitely went fast! And just when I was getting used to Pacific Time, it was over. We met in the lobby Thursday morning before 8 a.m. to head to the airport. Kind of sad when one whole day was basically traveling!

Had a layover in Minnesota. Hello, Twins Territory! And actually was able to start my Fantasy Football draft before boarding. Only got a few picks in and the rest was the dreaded auto-draft, which got me 3 kickers and no backup QB. Uff da.

Sunset was gorgeous as we left Minnesota.

Then that Blue Moon – which looked more like a Harvest Moon – guided us into Wisconsin. 

Today it was tough to get up on Central Time and work. Thankfully from home since I didn't get around to taking a shower until lunchtime! Might take me one more day to switch my West Coast vibes to Midwest vibes. Thank goodness for the long weekend.

Have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day Weekend!!