The 2010 Found Money Project

I've always wondered how much money I make from picking up coins off the ground. Well, this year I found out. The grand total of money I found for 2010 is $31.02. This includes one wheat penny, and after some spot checking, wheat pennies can be worth about $.03.

I should mention this includes a one-time haul of $20 from a $20 bill I found blowing in the Price Chopper parking lot. As it blew past me, I stepped on it and looked around to see if anyone was chasing it. No one was evident and I couldn't tell where it might have come from. Alas, I had to keep it. So perhaps this year was not a representative sample.

In other news from 2010, which does not warrant its own post, I have now flossed my teeth for 364 days in a row. This is probably more times than I have flossed in the rest of my life. How's that for great achievements?

Happy end of 2010 to everyone!

I Am Ungrateful for this Gift

Well folks, it's been awhile since something happened worth reporting, but now it has! I have the day off today, and I enjoyed sleeping in a little bit. I woke up at my usual time when it was still dark and then fell back to sleep. When I woke up later after the sun was up, I noticed I had been sleeping next to a dead mouse. I was horrified and ran downstairs until I could figure out what to do with it.

While I was standing in the kitchen cogitating, I look out the window and see a deer wandering around the yard. As you do.

I went back upstairs and Riley was sitting on the floor next to the bed. I worked it so I could wrap up the whole comforter, take it outside, and leave it there (the mouse, not the comforter). When I came back in, both Bailey and Riley were wandering around the bed, presumably looking for the mouse.

I guess I should be thankful it wasn't worse (like something even more disgusting) and though it is the season of thanks, I am not thankful for this gift.

Australia - The Home Update

To complete the saga, here's the rest of the story. I made it until about 8:30 last night and then fell asleep. I woke up a few times and then woke up at midnight when the luggage delivery guy called to tell me he was bringing my suitcase. Luckily, he offered to leave it on the porch if I would leave my receipt so I didn't have to sign for it. I'm not sure how late he came, but when I woke up again at 3:45, it was there.

I looked through it this morning and it had definitely been searched, but no idea what caught their attention. Everything was still there.

For being so tired with so little sleep, I thought I would sleep better, but I only slept a few hours at a time. Then I had trouble going back to sleep. Hopefully in a few days!

Australia Take 2 - Part 3

Friday, August 20, 2010

I left my apartment earlier than necessary to walk to the office. I thought it would take more time at the supermarket, but it didn’t and I was too early to get into the office. I sat on a bench outside waiting either for 8:30 or someone I knew who could let me in. If I was here any longer I would definitely need a swipe card, and a cell phone.

At 8:30, I made it upstairs and had an email from my client about doing lunch again. I waited for him downstairs but he never showed. I went back up and ate my lunch I brought (again not expecting it to work out with my client). Around 12:30 I called mom and dad but no one answered. I figured the number was showing up as unavailable so I left a long rambling message giving them time to pick up the phone but didn’t wait long enough. Mom texted me to say they were indeed home and I called back.

Just after lunch I emailed out the draft of the learning plan to the client, so I’ve accomplished what I came here to do.


Friday evening, I had hokkein noodles from Stir Crazy and ate at my apartment. I felt like I should go do something since I was in Sydney and all, but I wasn’t up for much. I settled for walking down by Luna Park to try some night shots of the bridge since I have a different camera and the tiny tripod this time. They didn’t turn out much better than any I took before. Either dark or blurry. I did take a video which looks very clear, so I need to figure out how to get the pictures to look like that.

I walked along down by Jeffreys St Wharf and then up through the park. It was really windy and pretty cool, even with my jacket and sweatshirt on. I did play a little with the self timer and took some cheesy pictures of myself, but the cold got to me and I went back upstairs.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Today is election day! The general consensus is it will be a hung Parliament when the counting is done. I’ve been studying up on Australian government so I can understand a little bit better.

I had lots of shopping to do but most places don’t open until 10:00. I waited until about 8:30, then walked across the bridge. I must blend in okay because the guard that stands in the middle of the bridge asked me if I knew where you could vote in Kirribilli. The weather was really great – bright and sunny and about 65 degrees in the sun.



When I got across to the Rocks, I stopped and got a donut at a café, then walked up to the Royal Botanic Gardens a bit. There tulips are starting to bloom, and there were quite a few flowers blooming. I was a little wigged out when I read there were eels in the pond. I went searching and found the heard of cockatoos I’ve met before. I walked along the water to Bennelong Point and around the Opera House. Once you come around that curve, the winds pick up massively and it was quite cold.

I did some souvenir shopping at the shops near the opera house, then headed to get a bus to Paddington Market. When I got there, I thought I knew right where the Wild Island coffee place was. Of course they weren’t there and I couldn’t find them anywhere, so I wasn’t able to get mom’s Blue Mountain coffee, or even anything similar.

I headed back to the Rocks Market to see if I could find some there but no luck. I did by myself a tiny kangaroo with a tinier joey and a Tasmanian devil. My next stop was Paddy’s Market via a bus up George Street, but I didn’t have much luck there, and the crowds were making me crazy. I walked down through Harbourside and ate lunch at McDonald’s there. I was browsing the stores when I realized that was one place I knew I could come back in the evening if I wanted to.

I decided the best transportation was the ferry back to Circular Quay. By this point I was carrying around a lot of stuff and since the ferry ride from Milson’s Point is only 5 minutes, I figured I’d hop off at Milson’s Point, drop off the stuff, then catch the next ferry in 30 minutes. I held up my end of the deal and was back down at the wharf in time, but of course the ferry was 45 minutes late. I never would have stopped there if I had known!

When I finally got back to Circular Quay, I bought myself a sweatshirt and made a last sweep through for souvenirs. Then I took the train to Coles to get something to make for dinner and headed back to watch election results. My feet were in some serious pain. I did wear my pedometer, but apparently it resets when it gets past 19,999 steps. I usually average about 2000 steps per mile, so that means I logged somewhere around 10 miles of walking!

Despite my studying the two-party preferred voting, I still had trouble understanding what I was hearing in the results. I did recognize Maxine McKew’s name, after she defeated John Howard (then prime minister) in 2007 to take his seat. She lost her seat this time around.

After dinner, I made my best attempt to get everything packed. I bought a few bulky things so even though I had eaten most of my food, I was leaving with way more volume than I came with. Due to trackwork on the airport line, buses were replacing trains to the airport, so I opted for a taxi. I booked my taxi online for the morning and went to bed with the news still predicting a hung Parliament.

Sunday, August 22, 2010
I woke up to the same news as the night before – no winner declared yet. I had booked my taxi to come at 7:30, thinking that would give me plenty of time. The taxi driver was even a bit early and after being carefully not to lock myself out of my apartment or the lobby, since I had to leave the keys behind, we were off for the airport.

We made good time until just before we reached the airport turnoff, where traffic ground to a halt. It ended up taking 20 minutes from that point, so the whole journey was nearly an hour, instead of about 20-25 minutes. It also cost me $80, which the taxi driver said was the highest fare he’d ever had to the airport. Lucky me. He was a little chatty, which was okay, but a lot of what he said I wasn’t sure how to respond to. He started talking about the war, and then drew a comparison between George W. and Hitler. Nice.

When I finally got to the airport, there were only two counters open for all the passengers checking in for the flight. It took forever to get up to the line. I never know what causes people to take so long at the counter, because I was there about two minutes. After waiting through Customs and security, I barely had time to get to the gate. I had hoped to do a little shopping as I still had about $30 AUD I didn’t want to take back, but I didn’t have enough time.

I did get my water bottles filled up this time. They actually recognize that people need to do this and the drinking fountains have special faucets (for lack of a better word) to fill the bottles. This time the plane was completely full, but I did have an aisle seat.

The flight going over is definitely easier, because it night and your body wants to sleep. This time it was 10:30 in the morning, and I wasn’t tired at all. I didn’t sleep the entire way, and pretty much ran out of movies and TV to watch by the time we landed in LA at 6:30 a.m.

My bag was meant to be checked all the way through, but you have to claim your bags to go through Customs. As I was waiting at the baggage carousel, I heard my name paged over the intercom. The lady who made the page was about ten feet from me so I went over to her. She said that my bag was not on the flight but was coming on a flight arriving at 9:30 a.m., after my flight to Denver. She said they had pulled it out for security reasons and it delayed it, but that it was cleared and on the next flight. I went ahead through Customs and out to the terminal.

I definitely picked the wrong security line because, from the time I had all my stuff in the bins waiting on the rollers until it actually went through was at least 15 minutes. They kept running the same bag through several times, and then they would just stare at the x-ray screen. Open the bag people! By this point I was getting really irritable and I was hot and hungry but managed to get through without angering any TSA personnel.

I grabbed a Cinnabon for breakfast (?) and then exchanged my remaining Australian dollars. I had given all the smaller coins to the UNICEF donation on the airplane, but I still had a few dollar coins. They wouldn’t exchange them so I made it home with three one dollar coins for next time. Better than the $47 I’ve had for the past three years.

I boarded my flight to Denver at 9:00. This flight was also full, and I think I might have slept for about 30 minutes or so. In Denver, I had about an hour between flights, and then took the polar bear plane (also packed) home to KC where dad was waiting.

When I went to the Frontier baggage office to explain, the lady kept telling me she had conflicting information on which flight my bag was on, that it was possibly on my flight. I didn’t see how that was possible since it hadn’t even landed in LA by the time I took off. Finally, after watching all the bags coming off the carousel, she took pity on me and went ahead and took the information to have the bag delivered. When she asked me when I last saw the bag and I said at the Sydney ticket counter, she asked why I hadn’t taken it through Customs, that they didn’t like it when you aren’t there to take the bags through yourself. Umm, yeah, then put it on the plane with me. I don’t like it when the bag isn’t there either! Of course I did almost wish this had happened on the way out so I didn’t have to haul it around Sydney all morning. That worked out well for us in Paris!

By the time dad and I got home without the luggage, it was about 5:00 p.m., or 8:00 a.m. Monday morning in Sydney, so I had officially been travelling for over 24 hours and awake for longer. It is 6:30 p.m. as I write this and I’m not sure whether to go to sleep or not now that I’ve been up so long. The luggage is supposed to be delivered tonight, and I’ll have to take the call and then sign for the bag.

Australia Take 2 - Part 2

This post has all the boring week days combined.

Monday, August 16, 2010

On Monday, I awoke before the sun, around 3:00 I think, but managed to drift close to sleep until 6ish, when the sun started coming up. Since I had forgotten my badge, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get into the office until 8:30. I waited until 8:15 or so and took the train to North Sydney. Once I finally found the building, I think it would be nearly as quick to walk up from Milson’s Point.

I ran into Michelle in the lobby and she got me to where I was supposed to be going. The girl I was supposed to do the workshop with was out sick so I was pretty much alone in the office. It was very quiet there. The view is pretty good, and you can see part of the bridge. I’ll have to get a tour of the office when I go back on Thursday.

I spent the morning working and getting prepped for the workshop and getting everything printed out. In the afternoon, our project manager and I took a taxi to Macquarie Hospital for a pre-workshop meeting with the client’s learning coordinator and project director.

Afterwards, our project manager and I walked down to get a taxi and the taxi stopped and let him out on the way back to Milsons Point. I had leftover lasagna for dinner and managed to stay awake until 8:00. My only entertainment was a quick train ride to Woolworths to get some lunch fixins.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

I thought I had cancelled all the meetings on my calendar, but apparently not. I was awakened at 11:45 p.m and 2:45 a.m by my calendar reminders. It’s just a short vibrate, but enough to wake me up I guess. I had to sleep with the bat phone right next to me because there is no clock and I was using it for an alarm clock. Luckily I went straight back to sleep until 5:30 or so.

It was pretty breezy in the morning, only 46 degrees. I was glad for my jacket but wished I had thought to bring gloves. I had to catch a train at 7:15 a.m. to Hornsby, where someone picked me up at the train station. The room we were meeting in at Hornsby Hospital was part of the old emergency department so was a unique space. Also a bit chilly so we had a few space heaters.

Since my co-facilitator was still sick, I was on my own for the workshop. It was a large group but I think it went okay. The workshops make for long days and I was relieved when it was over and I was back at the train station again. The train from Hornsby is about 40 minutes into the city.

When I got back to Milsons Point, it was already dark. I went to the Mad Italian Café and got a pizza for dinner and pretty much ate the whole thing. Very yummy. After dinner I set out to Darling Harbour, walking across the bridge. I was hoping to take the ferry but the Milsons Point wharf is closed right now and I wasn’t sure the schedule was the same from Jefferys Street Wharf.

I didn’t have too much luck shopping, and I headed back to Town Hall to catch the train. I stopped at Woolies to buy some Tim Tams to take back to the office and then headed home. This time I didn’t go to bed until nearly 9:30.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

I slept straight through the night with no phantom calendar reminders to wake me up, and I didn’t wake up until 5:20, then managed to sleep until 6:00. It was a little bit cloudy this
morning so the sun wasn’t quite so blazing in the windows.

I caught the same train to Hornsby and between Hornsby and the next to last stop, the train stopped and sat on the tracks for about 15 minutes. They made an announcement but of course you couldn’t hear or understand what they said. I tried to text my ride to let her know, but I wasn’t sure whether I needed the area code or not. I must have because she said she didn’t get it.

Eventually the train got going again and pulled into the station. I certainly could have walked faster! Luckily she didn’t give up on me and was waiting in the car park and we went to Hornsby Hospital.

I think the rest of the workshop was pretty uneventful. I did manage to get them out early, around 3:00, which was nice. I took the train home and was back by 4:15. I went back to the train station and caught the train to Circular Quay, then walked along George Street to Town Hall. I stopped and bought licorice along the way, and then had an orange Fanta and salt and vinegar chicken tenders from Woolies for dinner. I was back at my apartment by 6:00 and spent the next two hours working to catch up on email from the past two days.

The national election here is on Saturday, and pretty much everybody says they are tired of hearing about it. I remember the election from last time, and that I thought it strange it was on a Saturday. But I suppose it makes sense – much easier for everyone to make it to vote, especially since voting is compulsory.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

This morning I opted to walk up to the office in North Sydney rather than take the train. Of course it was freakishly warm this morning and I was carrying the leftover workshop materials and was quite hot by the time I arrived. I had to wait to go in until 8:30 as that is when reception is open and someone could let me in.

Mike asked me to call him so I got on a call with him. He wanted to ask if I would be willing to stay two more weeks because my colleague was likely too sick to go to Queensland. She hadn’t turned up in the office yet, although I was expecting her. When I said I couldn’t do two weeks, he asked if I could do one. I turned him down on that, too, because it’s just too much to keep up with all the health conference work, plus arrangements I’ve made at home and all.

My colleague did turn up in the office around 11:00. She had gone to the doctor and thought she would be in much sooner. One of my clients had asked on Wednesday if I wanted to grab lunch, but without a phone it was hard to get in touch with him. He did finally text one of my co-workers to say he couldn’t make it and we rescheduled for tomorrow. Planning for just this scenario, I had brought my lunch!

The afternoon was uneventful. I did a call with a client in Queensland about a project they have coming up. I won’t be doing the work but needed to do the kickoff call.

After work I headed into the city and met Alison for dinner. We ate at a pizza place in the Rocks that I had been to before. It was great to catch up with her. Afterwards I walked home across the bridge. For all the walking I did into the city, I hardly ever walked the other, towards Milsons Point. Thursday night was the first night I slept on a normal schedule.

Australia Take 2 - Part 1

My blog is turning into a bit of a travelogue since that seems to be all I've posted lately. I'm going to break the Australia trip up into a few different posts since it is a bit long. I added a few pictures, although i didn't take very many. I pretty much took everything last time!

Friday, August 13, 2010
Mom dropped me off at the airport about 12:30, and the temperature was around 100 degrees. The good news was the agent was able to check my bag all the way to Sydney. Last time I had to pick it up and recheck in LA. Both my flight from Kansas City and my flight from Denver to LA where uneventful. It was 75 degrees in Denver, and 65 degrees in LA. Both planes were packed but not too long. On the first leg, we had Jack the rabbit on our tale, and the pilot said it was one of the most popular planes. I didn’t see the animal on the second plane. As I was sitting on the plane waiting to take off in KC, I realized one thing I forgot – my badge. They had tried to set it up so my security card would work in the office here, but now we’ll never know. I’ll have to wait until 8:30 when reception opens to get in on Monday. Hopefully that’s the most critical thing I forgot because I can live without it.

I had more time in Denver than expected but found an outlet and was able to use my computer. I wanted to save my battery not knowing what the next 24 hours would hold.

In LA, I got checked in for my Sydney flight around 6:30 and then had about 3 hours to kill. I ate dinner at McDonald’s as the choices were limited. I’m glad I ate before going in the terminal past security because there is nothing back there. I bought my two liter bottles of water and hung out waiting to board.

The plane was a new Airbus 380, although I didn’t notice anything dramatically different from the747. I think the TV screen was a little bigger and was a touch screen. I watched almost all of Shrek 4 before we ever took off. About an hour in I realized we hadn’t even moved from the gate. Eventually we got underway. I had an aisle seat with no one in the middle, which was fabulous. The window guy only got up one time that I’m aware of, and it was after I was already up.

Sunday, August 15, 2010
I slept restlessly for about 6 hours and then watched Leap Year, Date Night, and Hot Tub Time Machine, none of which go on my favorites list. I woke up once when it got a little bumpy and heard the captain tell all passengers and crew to take their seats immediately. It must have smoothed out pretty quicly. The sun was coming up just as we were landing in Sydney, although it was on the other side of the plane. They do have skycams, like a webcam, on the tail of the plane so you can see the plane landing.

Customs was no problem, and I had to wait in the quarantine line because of my food but she waved me on through without checking anything. It was only about 7:30 a.m. when I got out into the terminal. I went outside for a minute and it was about 55 degrees at that point. Sitting there near the Arrivals gate I was reminded of all the time I spent greeting others’ flights when they came to visit.

Very strange being back here. I can’t quite describe the feeling. It’s weird to me that a place so far away is so familiar to me, definitely the city I know the best besides Kansas City. Everywhere I look are memories, and I think what I’m feeling is still just proud of myself that I came here in the first place. That I made a life here from nothing. I don’t think I really thought when I left that I’d have the chance to come back.

So while it is all familiar, I still have the urge to go and see all the places again. Even when I bought a Diet Coke at the airport and it cost $4.80, it felt familiar. I had about 3 hours to kill until I could drop my suitcase off and I was limited on what I could do while lugging around 50 pounds. The best thing I could think of was to take the train to Circular Quay and find a bench there where I could park until 11:00. I bought a train ticket (a weekly one so I’m free to go anywhere I want for seven days). As I was walking from the train station looking for a bench, I noticed the Manly ferry was leaving in about 3 minutes. Since I’ve already bought my weekly train pass, it is good on ferries and I spontaneously hopped on. I figured that way I could see some things, mostly sitting down, and not have to worry so much about my luggage. And there is a bathroom and free wifi on this ferry! I sent mom and dad and email from the ferry.


I turned around at Manly and came right back on the ferry. From there I found a bench in Circular Quay where I could sit with my luggage and watch the seagulls. It was in the sun so it was warmer. It was right by where mom, dad, and I ate muffins and had all those seagulls around on the morning we went out to Watson’s Bay. It was bright and sunny and didn’t look a bit like rain.

At 10:45, I took the train to Wynyard and then got the train to Milson’s Point to drop my bags off at 11:00 at the Milson Apartments. The office is usually closed on Sunday but the manager had emailed to say she would be in to meet the cleaners and could watch my bags. When I got there, she gave me the good news that my apartment was ready and took me on up. It is on the eleventh floor but on the opposite side of the building from last time, the side facing the bridge (which I can’t see) and the old office. I do have a nice view of Kirribilli. It is a little smaller than last time but still better than a regular hotel room. The fridge is a mini fridge in a cabinet near the kitchenette, while in the kitchenette is a washer/dryer in one. The dishwasher is in a drawer, and it has a combination microwave and oven.

It’s still a great deal and they even offer broadband internet now. She said it was in such demand, they had to figure out a way to do it. When she let me into my apartment, there was extremely loud music coming from next door. She said those people were supposed to be moving out today after getting a one-week extension, so we’ll see if it gets quieter.

I took a shower and headed back out. As I walked outside, it started raining so I went back up to get my umbrella. Then I did my favorite walk ever, across the bridge into the city, my old commute. I went to the Rocks market, which was crowded, and then just as it started to pour, I got in line at Pancakes on the Rocks. I even heard thunder, which I hardly ever heard here. I had to wait about 20 minutes to get in, but it was yummy. I splurged and got an orange Fanta ice cream soda. I drank more orange Fanta when I lived here than the rest of my life total.

I took just long enough to eat that the rain had stopped when I left. I bought a tiny Harbour bridge in the market and then walked from there to go by my apartment. A lady asked me where the Australian Hotel was and I told her, although my street names were a little rusty, and she says “You’re American!” I guess she was surprised. I couldn’t go in my lobby without a key card, but I went into the entryway where the mailboxes are. Pretty weird! There is now a Nando’s chicken restaurant directly across the street, which would have been nice.

I walked down to Darling Harbour and across the Pyrmont bridge. I went through Harbourside and waved hello to the other Pancakes on the Rocks. By the way, there is still a sign up at the original Pancakes on the Rocks saying the Darling Harbour location is now open. True, but it opened while I lived here so that is old news.


I walked through Darling Harbour down where we had seen the didgeridoo show. I was a little confused until I realized they had closed that entire side behind Tumbalong Park. There used to be an arcade, McDonald’s, and some shops. And the pond with the paddleboats. All of that is walled off for redevelopment.

I walked quickly through Paddy’s Market but it was super crowded as always. From there I walked up George Street and then bought some groceries at Woolworths. It was only 3:30 but my feet had had enough for awhile so I took the train from Town Hall back to Milsons Point.

The ferry terminal at Milsons Point is closed for renovations, so I can’t take the ferry from here to Darling Harbour like I had planned. It is now 4:30 and I am sitting in my apartment listening to the loud music from next door. I did managed to get the internet to work. The great thing is I can use it anywhere in the city, not just at home, although not sure how much need I’ll having being here just a week.

I cooked my lasagna and garlic bread and started watching Up. By 6:00 it was completely dark. At 7:00, I decided I couldn’t stay awake a minute longer and went to bed.

Day 5: Traveling Home

Saturday, July 17, 2010

I was up at 6:00 to head to the airport for my 7:55 flight. Since I was only 5 minutes from the airport, I figured I had plenty of time. When I got in the car, the gas needle was not on full, even though I had only driven about one mile from the gas station. So I stopped, again, and put $2.50 of gas in. Then I drove to the rental car return. It took the guy a while to check me in, and then I didn’t count on having to take a shuttle bus to the terminal. By the time I got to check in my luggage, the alarm went off that I was a late check in and they couldn’t guarantee my baggage would be on my flight.

The line for security was pretty long as well, and I had just enough time to buy a Diet Dr. Pepper and walk on the plane. There were two kids on that flight flying unaccompanied, and I could hear the boy in front on me. He ordered coffee with six creams, which made me smile. He was probably about 10. When we were walking off the plane, he said to the flight attendant, “Look how many things I can do with my tongue!” Fun times!

My flight leaving St. Louis was also expected to depart on time, and probably five minutes early. Once everyone was boarded, the gate agent asked if anyone knew Sean Johnson. No one did. Apparently he was a passenger we were waiting on. Luckily he came within about 10 minutes so we were still on time. He was probably weirded out because when he got on the plane, everybody said, “Hi Sean!” and greeted him as he walked to the back of the plane.

All my flights were on time and I walked into my door at 12:45 p.m. With 3 hotel nights, airfare, and airport parking all on points, it was a pretty affordable trip. Too bad about that $250 rental car fee for a one-way rental.

The stats:
• States visited: 8 if you count Missouri and Kansas
• Miles driven: 1073
• License plates seen: 44, including 2 Canadian provinces and Washington, DC
• Total cost of gas: $82.45
• Tolls: $15
• Food: $52.42 (no wonder I never spend all my per diem!)

Day 4: Delaware

Friday, July 16, 2010

I woke up in time to check in for my flight on Friday, but my internet was slow and by the time I checked in at two minutes late at 7:57, I was already A60! I left the ants to their hotel and headed a little bit north to Pennsylvania to get my Delaware sign picture. I was much closer to the border than I thought so had to turn around. I used my tripod again to get the Delaware picture, but Pennsylvania sign was in a bush on the wrong side of the street. I got it, but not my best as I am barely in the corner of the photo.

That area, Brandywine Valley, has some really huge houses, and it also where the Winterthur Mansion and Grounds are. I drove by where it was but wasn’t too interested in stopping.

I headed instead to the Brandywine Zoo in Wilmington, which is the only zoo in Delaware. The lady asked for my zip code when I bought my ticket, and when I gave it to her, she said I must be from far away. I told her Kansas City, and she said she’s always amazed how many people from all over find their tiny zoo.

It was a pretty small zoo, and it was also 100 degrees. Luckily most of it was well shaded. My favorite part was the golden handed tamarins. They are very small.

After the zoo, I headed to New Castle, DE, and parked near the wharf. I walked back to see the court house and the streets and buildings from the 1600s, but again it was really, really hot and there wasn’t much to do there so I got back in the car. I had lunch at Arby’s, and the sign out front was pretty funny. It said “In Need of Management.”

Mom texted me to see if I felt the earthquake. I hadn't even heard about it and must have slept through it.

I was heading south along the coast, intending to go to the beaches in Dover, but about halfway there I decided I didn’t want to so I turned around and went back to Wilmington. I had read about the Wilmington Riverfront, but after I finally found a place to park, it turned out not to be very interesting. It was well landscaped but not shady, and other than a few restaurants, I couldn’t tell there was anything to do.

At this point, it was only about 2:00 and I had the rest of the day to fill. So I did what I used to do frequently when I traveled – I went to a book store. I drove back east to Christiana Mall and spent about an hour and a half in Barnes and Noble. It was air conditioned and I didn’t have to be in the car! Around 4:00, I headed to Baltimore and went a different way that only required $2 in tolls to go in the tunnel.

I checked in at the hotel, TownePlace Suites at BWI, and then took myself to Panera for dinner. I haven’t had that much fast food in a year and was ready for something different. I stopped to get gas for the final time (I thought) and then went back to the hotel to watch Shrek the Third. I liked this hotel for being very environmentally friendly, and they even had reserved parking for hybrid vehicles.

Day 3: Shenandoah National Park

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Thursday was Shenandoah National Park day. The drive from my hotel was only about 15 minutes, and I entered the park around 9:00, at the southern point where Skyline Drive through the park meets the Blue Ridge Parkway. There was not much traffic heading north so I had the road to myself. I stopped by a few overlooks, and headed first to the Blackrock Summit Trail.

The trail was about one mile round trip and follow part of the Appalachian Trail. I did manage to freak myself out pretty well after I read that there are rattlesnakes in the rocks you have to climb to reach the Summit. I decided I could see just about as well from where I was and did not climb the rocks.

When I got back to the car, I headed to Big Run Overlook. Just after passing, I saw a black bear cross the road behind my car. That is my first confirmed bear sighting, and I was glad to be seeing it from the car and not while I was hiking!

I stopped at the Big Meadows camp store and then headed on to my next hike, Dark Hollow Falls. It is supposed to be the most accessible waterfall in the park. On the where to the falls, you have to walk down some pretty steep areas, and I was already dreading coming back up. I much prefer to do the Up part first.

The falls were not particularly impressive this time of year. Not enough rain I guess, and I opted not to hike further down to the Lower Falls. It was already a beast of a climb back up and I was huffing and puffing. I decided I really don’t like to hike up hill!

For my third and final hike, I opted for the Limberlost Trail, which is much more level in elevation, given it is handicapped accessible. It was a leisurely loop trail, with no one sight that it is based around. It was mostly shady and I liked it.

I stopped at Skyland next, at the highest point in the park, and browsed the gift shop. There was a talk going on about bears, but I had already missed most of it so went on my way. It was already about 1:45 at this point, so I figured I’d stop at one or two more overlooks but head on to the north end of the park. Many of the overlooks were closed for rehabilitation thanks to the Recovery Act, and there was the requisite road construction as well. Skyline Drive was lane for awhile so we were stopped about 15 minutes waiting for the oncoming traffic to come by.

After I exited the park, I decided I couldn’t resist being 20 miles from West Virginia without a picture so I headed that way. Unfortunately, when I got to WV, the sign had been stolen and was just an empty post. At this point I was frustrated and just gave up, knowing I was still about 3 hours from Newark, DE. I told the GPS to take me to the hotel in Delaware and off we went.

Well, turns out I did end up crossing into West Virginia since the GPS took me north to I-70. I pulled over on the highway and used my tripod and self-timer to take a picture. It was awesome! So much better than trying to take it of myself. And I can even set the camera to take 3 shots, in case I made a face, which I frequently do.

I was also able to use the tripod to get Maryland, but I had to get out on the passenger side of the car due to traffic. After dinner at Wendy’s and $9 in tolls, I made it into Delaware, my 48th state. I didn’t stop to take the picture because it was right after the toll booth and I was just tired of being in the car so went on to the hotel.

The Fairfield Inn in Newark was not my favorite hotel, but it was adequate. Except for then ants in the room! Luckily all I had to do here was sleep. I did turn on the bat phone so I could be set to check in for my flight in the morning and 205 work emails came in unbidden. I quickly turned it off.

Day 2: Hatteras Island and Virginia

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Wednesday morning dawned very ominous looking as I got up and got on the road. The free breakfast at the hotel was surprisingly adequate so I didn’t have to stop anywhere. I headed south on the beach road and got to about mile post 50 and it started POURING. There was no place to stop so I just kept going until I got to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, my destination.

It was by then only sprinkling, but when I got into the visitor center, I learned the lighthouse was close due to thunder. Once they hear thunder, they close it and won’t let anybody climb up until 30 minutes after they last heard thunder to avoid people get struck by lightning. Since it was still thundering, I figured it wasn’t going to be anytime soon. With a break in the rain, I drove to the spot about 3000 feet away where the lighthouse used to be until they moved it in 1999. erosion had made it too close to the beach.

With that excursion foiled, I headed further south until I reached the end of Hatteras Island. It wasn’t possible to go any further without taking a ferry, which I wasn’t sure I had time to do. So I parked the car near the ferry and got out in another monsoon. I decided there was nothing to be done, put on my raincoat and umbrella, and walked out on the wharf to watch the ferry go out. Then I did a little browsing in the shops nearby and bought a Christmas ornament.

Around 11, I headed back north the way I had come and stopped to do some souvenir shopping. I ate lunch at Subway and then got back in the car. The Seashore is all protected and was a pretty cool drive when it wasn’t raining so hard I couldn’t see. There is a bridge you cross that has seagulls and pelicans hovering in mid-air near the edge, watching the water. You want to look at them but you can’t take your eyes off the road.

I did not stop at the Bodie Lighthouse as it was all shrouded for restoration, but I did glimpse it from the road. I headed north to Virginia, and had to run across the street to get the picture this time. In the background are more ominous skies, which opened up almost immediately after I got to the car. I bought ice cream for myself and gas for the car, then settled in for the remaining 6 hour drive to Waynesboro, VA. At least it finally stopped raining. About 20 miles out, I got into the Blue Ridge Mountains and the scenery changed.

I arrived at the Residence Inn about 7:00. The hotel was pretty new and really nice. They were even having a cookout so I got free burgers for dinner. I did manage to lock myself out of my room within 5 minutes of arriving. Out of practice, I guess.

Since I had been sitting all afternoon, I figured I needed some exercise so I went swimming. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in a pool.

Today I only added 6 states to my license plate game for a total of 33.

Day 1: North Carolina

Since Mary Grace is still waiting for the Europe trip travelogue (and it's still on my to-do list 9 months later) I figured I'd better type up this one ASAP. As before, each day will be its own post. I may add some photos later, but I'd rather go ahead and get this posted. Here is the journal from my trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks, Shenandoah National Park, and Delaware. Why? Because I've never been to Delaware :)

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

On Tuesday morning, I awoke to find Bailey had snugly packed herself during the night and was ready to go in my suitcase. My flight to Chicago was oversold but on time. Since they were only offering the face value of your ticket as a voucher, I did not volunteer to take a later flight. (My ticket was free). My flight to Norfolk was also on time, and the only eventful thing was when the top on my water bottle popped open and started spilling on my foot and backpack. Too much pressure I guess.

As I was walking through the airport, I caught the announcement on the news that George Steinbrenner had died of a heart attack. I feel like I frequently find out people have died in the airport. But as mom pointed out, I’m frequently in airports.

I got my rental car, a blue Chevy Aveo, which probably had no idea what kind of trip it was in for, and we headed off for North Carolina. It took about 20 minutes to get to the border, and then I had my 47th state. There was no place to pull over near the sign, so I had to park and walk back and take a self portrait. It started raining as I was driving, which pretty much set the tone for my NC leg.

I made it to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills about 5:00, which was perfect since they close at 6:00. It was hot and muggy but not raining when I got out of the car, still wearing jeans from traveling. The visitor center wasn’t much, but I walked out to the field that showed where they took off from and where each of the flights landed, including the longest one. Then I went up to the memorial, which is on a hill that’s pretty much made of sand. Once I’d seen it, it was time to head to the hotel and food.

I found my room at the Rodeway Inn in Nags Head, which was exceptionally adequate for my purposes. I had dinner and ice cream at Fatboyz next to the hotel, then walked across the street to the beach. It was cloudy but not raining and starting to cool down a little.

I walked along the beach and then watched a couple guys with metal detectors searching the sand. One started digging a pretty big hole, but I couldn’t tell if he found anything.

I made it back to my hotel room to find it so humid all my paper was curling on the edges. Luckily I was tired enough that I was able to sleep easily enough.

So far I have seen 27 state license plates and 2 Canadian provinces.

Disruptions

I am on vacation, and I did not plan to get up early today. Several forces united to thwart my plans. First, Bailey got her head caught in a plastic bag around 4:30. She proceeded to paw at the bag until I got up and freed her. I lured both of them downstairs and "let" them go play in the garage.

About 20 minutes later, after I had fallen back to sleep, the low battery alarm on the carbon monoxide detector went off. It is right next to my bed, and it beeps until you take the battery out. I don't know why that battery drains so fast, since the thing is plugged into the wall. I left it in pieces on the floor and went back to sleep.

Finally about 6:00, I woke up to find Boo (a squirrel who lives in my yard) standing on his hind legs, looking in the bedroom door, and tapping on the window. Not sure what he wanted, but at least everyone was in the garage or it would have been a wild time.

Alas, my early morning was not as restless as planned.

The Reverse Bucket List

As I've been preparing for my trip, I thought of a few things for my bucket list. As I was browsing the interwebs looking for more cool things to put on my list, I came across lots of things that people had on theirs' that I had already done.

So I had the idea to make a list of all the cool things I've already done or have happened to me as a way of reflecting on the successes and opportunities I've already had. Kinda like a gratuity journal on a grander scale. Turns out I've had more fun thinking of things for the list I've already done than what I want to do. Now, there are probably lots more places I've been that could be added, but I tried not to go over the top in that category. So, here's what I've come up with so far, in no particular order.

1. See a platypus in the wild.
2. Go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef.
3. Be in a parade.
4. Learn a second language.
5. Be in a wedding.
6. Attend a Final Four.
7. Live in another country.
8. Swim in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico.
9. See a show on Broadway.
10. Be on TV.
11. Get a master's degree.
12. Own my own house.
13. Go backpacking in the mountains.
14. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
15. Be in a circus.
16. Swim with stingrays in the Caribbean.
17. Go to an authentic Hawaiian luau.
18. Play three musical instruments.
19. Be a camp counselor.
20. Be president of an organization.
21. Go skiing.
22. Win an award.
23. Meet Bob Dole.
24. Go on a cross country bus trip.
25. Get Mickey Mouse ears with my name on them.
26. Learn to hang drywall.
27. Go to Europe.
    
28. Tile a bathroom.
29. Sleep outside under the stars.
30. Give a sermon.
31. Page in the Kansas Senate.
32. Ride an elephant.
33. Go zip lining.
34. Tour a brewery.
35. See a moose.
    
36. Travel by ferry.
37. Go water tubing.
38. Fly first class.
39. Read the Bible all the way through.
40. See a drive-in movie.
41. Visit the National Football Hall of Fame.
42. Take ice skating lessons.
43. Learn archery.
44. Have a white Christmas.
45. Go to a Monday Night Football game.
46. See the Penguin Parade on Philip Island.
    

I keep thinking of more things to add, and it's been a lot fun reflecting on all these things. It just goes to show that life happens when you're making other plans!

Green Day

Not as in When I Come Around and 21 Guns fame, but as in small environmental footprint day. I had to work from home today and I had the opportunity to air dry my laundry on the deck. After work I decided to make it a no-driving day and walk to the library to pick up a book I had on hold. Well, when I got there, there were 5 books waiting for me that I hadn't received notices for yet, and one of them turned out to be a large coffee table book! I opted to only take a few that would fit in my bag and pick the others up tomorrow. Go figure!

Happy Birthday Bailey!

While many things Bailey does have been captured on this blog, and while she often has more adventures than Riley, she rarely allows herself to be photographed during these adventures so I don't have much to share.








Nonetheless, I am one day late in recognizing Bailey's birthday, which was yesterday. Happy Birthday Bailey!

Happy Birthday Riley!

Today I am featuring Riley, and things Riley does, because it is her birthday!

Happy Winter, I Mean Spring!

Spring is here! And so is a good 8 inches of snow, with more on the way. I went out to take a few pictures because I could see this crazy snowdrift from the window and wanted to check it out. It doesn't look nearly as dramatic in the pictures as real life.



It is reassuring to know this snow won't last forever like all the others. So if I skip shoveling the drive, it won't still be there in three weeks!

Seasonal Weather Irony

Spring is Coming

After 18 months of winter, I do believe spring is actually coming. While I do enjoy snow, I also really enjoy spring and am glad it is coming. You have to pay very close attention to all the trees and see them changing. Here is how I know spring is coming:

• There are baseball scores on my dashboard.
• I was able to walk at lunch for the first time since December.
• There are hurdles out on the track at the park.
• The seasonal nursery by my house is getting set up.
• I saw a bug on my windshield. I don't particularly like bugs, but you don't see them in the winter.
  
• It is light in the morning when I wake up, although not for long.
  
• There are almost no piles of snow left.
• I have daffodils peeking up and one crocus.

I probably have more, but that's it for now.

Trying Something Drastic

I've changed my Outlook notifications at work so that it doesn't tell me every time I have a new email. Before, that stupid envelope would pop up and I couldn't resist going to see what it was. Now I don't know I have new email unless I check. And I only think to check when I'm actually between tasks. Which means I don't constantly interrupt myself to go look, forget was I was doing, move on to something else, and have lots of unfinished things at the end of the day.

There are productivity gurus who say you should only check your email twice a day, but that sounds like heresy in the culture I work in. We'll see how long before somebody freaks out that I didn't respond to a message within five minutes.

Guess I Lost Money

Right now Cerner stock is showing as having dropped about $16 million. Hmmmm.

They Say

Yesterday at work I was wearing black pants and a teal dress shirt with black sweater. I was talking to a friend of mine at my desk and my screen saver came on. It had the same teal and black color scheme and she mentioned I matched my computer screen. She said, "Well, they do say if you spend a lot of time together, you start to look alike." I definitely spend enough time with my laptop!

The Wait is Over...

Final pictures are here! I haven't picked out a shower curtain yet, but pretty much everything else is done! The cabinets, fixtures, lights and toilet went it this past weekend.


Monday I took my first shower without plastic in nearly two months! It was a little like getting a cast off. They tell you its okay, but it still feels weird and you're a little afraid something will go wrong. So far so good!

The bathroom is small so it is hard to get good pictures, but you get the idea.

Major Phase Complete

I've gotten a little behind on updating photos of the bathroom remodel, although I confess the project was stalled for several weeks because I couldn't commit to which tile I wanted. But we are cruising now. Last weekend, Dad and I tiled the floor: