Category / Travel

by admin

Vacation Recap – Arizona Part 2

cbrWhen we left of yesterday, the conference had come to an end and we had travelled to the airport to pick up the rental car.  Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that, from the time we got in line at the rental car facility to the time we drove away, would take an hour and a half.  That left little time for the day’s activity: a trip to Camelback Ranch in Glendale to watch the White Sox take on the visiting A’s.  Sadly, the White Sox would fall once again, and, due to an extreme lack of shade that seems to be due to the stadium’s orientation, we left early despite having wonderful seats just a few rows behind home plate.  After the game, we headed to the new hotel, which was quite a step down from the Phoenician resort, but Allstate was no longer picking up the tab, and enjoyed a nice swim to cool down.

Sunday had nothing really planned, so, after checking out a few fliers in the hotel, we decided to take a lake cruise along Lake Pleasant.  There were a lot of mountainous views and some educational talks about the history of the man-made lake and the Phoenix area in general.  Following the cruise, we returned to the hotel for another swim.

Monday saw the trip winding down and, again, there were no specific plans.  After hearing good things from some fellow travellers, we decided to go to the Heard Museum, which claims to be one of the premier Native American museums in the United States.  If this is true, it does not speak well of our nation’s collection of history regarding it’s native people.  After about a half hour, the decision was made to cut bait.  Next, we returned to a time-tested activity: baseball!  We headed to Chase Field, home of the Diamondbacks, for a tour.

chasefield-poolThe tour took us all around Chase Field, including a look into the famous pool out in left field, and then up to the suite level, and, finally, into the visitor’s clubhouse and then the Diamonback’s dugout.  All in all, a good way to spend an afternoon and I certainly hope to return one day to catch a game.  Hopefully, from the pool.

Following the tour, and a quick lunch at the TGIFridays overlooking the playing field, we returned to the hotel where I met up with a co-worker who recently moved out to Arizona.  This was followed by one last trip to the pool and then, sadly, it was time to return home.

Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful, unlike last year’s disaster.  The weather even cooperated somewhat, with temperatures in the upper 50s, so there wasn’t such a tremendous let down from the 90s we saw for a week.

by admin

Vacation Recap – Arizona Part 1

0Z9A0170Three weeks ago, this year’s Reach for the Stars trip started off just as last year’s ended: with a flight delay.  Thankfully, this time the delay was only a little over an hour, so we made it to Arizona early in the afternoon on Wednesday.  Rather than take part of the pool or some other activity at the lovely Phoenician  resort, my travel companion decided a nap was in order, so I got to start an exciting book prior to the evenings activity, dinner on the quad of the resort.

Thursday was the day of the company sponsored activity, and I chose a rafting trip down the Lower Salt River.  After some trepidation followed by reassurances that the rafting was rather low key, a last minute audible was made to attend said trip, and I must say it was the right decision.  To give the day a water theme, we did finally hit the pool once we got back to the resort.  That night was the gala dinner, where we got to shake hands with the big boss man.

sloan

Friday, my own personal plans for the trip started in force.  March in Arizona means spring training, and the Cubs were doing battle against the White Sox this fine day at their newly re-christened facility in Mesa.  There were a few other folks from the resort who were also headed to the game, so we shared the cost of a car and commuted together.  The Cubs managed to get the best of their former teammate Jeff Samardzija on this day.  Following the game, we returned to the resort in time to head out to the night’s farewell dinner, which was held offsite at a ranch of some sort.  A good old fashioned ho-down was on tap.

The conference came to an end on Saturday, but things were just starting for me.  In the morning, we checked out of the resort and caught a shuttle to the airport, where a rental car was waiting with out name on it.  Little did we know that waiting was the key word.  But that we will cover tomorrow, in part 2 of this little adventure.

by admin

Heading To The Desert

phoenician-resortAs discussed back in December, I won another free trip, this time to Arizona, from work due to my continuing outstanding awesomeness.  Well, the time has come to cash in and today I will be heading out to the southwest, leaving the Chicago spring behind.  I’ll be spending the next three days at the beautiful Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale, before heading to Phoenix and the comforts of a Hampton Inn for another three.  Hopefully, unlike last year, I won’t come down with something and be sick for most of the trip.

Plans for the trip include my first foray in to the Cactus League, including trips to both the newly re-chsitened Sloan Park and Camelback Ranch.  Beyond that, I will be playing things by ear, hopefully enjoying some downtime in the sun.

by jim

Spring Training In The Desert

phoenician-resortLast year, I found out that I had won a trip to San Diego as part of the recognition program at work.  On Monday, I learned that I was once again selected as a winner.  On Tuesday, I learned the destination: Scottsdale, Arizona and the Phoenician, a luxury collection resort.  So next March, I will be heading to the desert for some warmth and relaxation.

After checking out the website for the resort, my first search was for interesting things to do in the area.  Cubs Park in Mesa is a mere 9 miles away, while Camelback Ranch is about a 28 mile trip.  Come January, I should get more information on the trip, including specific dates and itinerary, so I’ll get to see what my opportunity is to catch some spring training ball.

by admin

Vacation Recap: Los Angeles

dodgerstadium

We left off yesterday with me in a rental car leaving San Diego behind and heading towards the city of Angels.  The plan was to stop at Dodger Stadium on the way to my hotel and take in an afternoon matchup between the Dodgers and the Giants.  I’d given myself 3 hours to make the 2 hour drive so I would have time to get to the stadium and acclimate myself before the game started.  Trip Issue #3!  Things were smooth sailing until I got closer to LA, when traffic started to swell.  All told, the 2 hour drive ended up taking closer to 4, and I arrived in my seat during the 4th inning, by which time the Dodgers had fallen far behind.  One Dodger Dog later and many Giant home runs later, the game was over and I found my way to Glendale and the local Hilton, which would be my home for the next 4 days.

Saturday night, in search of a nice dinner, I headed out for a drive and decided to just wing it.  Somehow I ended up driving through Griffith Park and seeing some of the sights, but I didn’t find anything interesting as far as food went.  Eventually I ended up back at the hotel, where I caught the end of the Wisconsin loss in the NCAA tournament along with a tasty hamburger at the hotel bar.

muppet_starsSunday was the only day I didn’t have anything specific planned, so, after a morning walk to the local Starbucks for a nice breakfast, I headed down to Hollywood to check out the Walk of Fame and to get a good look at the famous Hollywood sign.  To be honest, the Walk of Fame was mostly creepy, other than the block or so around Hollywood and Highland, where Jimmy Kimmel’s theater is located.  I tracked down all of the Muppet-related stars and a few others of interest, including Ricardo Montalban, Mister Rogers, and George Takei. Continue reading →

by admin

Vacation Recap: San Diego

SanDiegoThe long-awaited trip to San Diego got off to a rocky start when illness struck 2 days before I was supposed to leave.  So, I was a bit shaky when the car arrived to take me to the airport at 3:30 on a Wednesday morning.  For some reason, a 6 AM flight didn’t seem like a ridiculous idea back in January when I booked it.  So, feeling a little queasy, I boarded the plane heading to Denver.  Which also seemed like a good idea back on the cold January day.

After landing in Denver, the connecting flight to San Diego was close enough that I got off one plane and got right on the other.  Another quick 2 1/2 hour jaunt and we landed in beautiful San Diego around 10 AM.  A quick bus ride later and we arrived at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.  While we checked in to the hotel and got all of our conference information, our luggage was supposed to be delivered to our rooms.  So imagine my surprise when later that morning, I got a call from someone in the other tower of the hotel saying my luggage had made it to her room.  Not a huge deal, but issue #1 of the trip.

After getting the luggage situation worked out, I ventured out to reacquaint myself with the city.  It had been almost 10 years since my last visit, so I tried to retrace some of the steps from my previous visits.  First was a walk past the convention center, where I had attended a comic con or 3.  Next stop was PETCO Park, which is just up the street from the convention center.  When I first found out the dates of this trip, the first thing I checked was the Padres schedule.  Unfortunately, a game wasn’t in the cards this time, but I did get a look in to the stadium thanks to their open center field concourse.  From there, I headed off to Horton Plaza, looking to try and grab something for lunch.  This is where I ran into a little trouble because, for the life of me, I couldn’t find it.  I eventually had to resort to looking it up on my phone to see how to get there.  I guess 10 years really is a long time.

Wednesday night was the big gala event on the USS Midway.  Due to the chilly (for southern California) weather, we were moved from the flight deck down below, but still had access to roam the retired aircraft carrier.  Both before and after dinner, groups of the winners were called up to shake hands and get their picture taken with Suren and their AVP.  It was a nice way to wind down the first day in San Diego.

Continue reading →

by jim

California Love

SanDiegoAs discussed back in December, I won a free trip to San Diego from work due to my outstanding awesomeness.  Well, the time has come to cash in and today I will be heading out to southern California, with a quick stop in Denver first, leaving the cold of the so-called Chicago spring behind.  I’ll be spending the next three days in beautiful San Diego, before heading up to Los Angeles for another four.  And, of course, I’ve come down with something so I will likely be sick for most of the trip.

The San Diego portion of the trip should be mostly relaxing, with plenty of time spent by the pool with a book.  I have more activities planned for Los Angeles, including a Dodgers game, a trip to Warner Brothers for a studio tour, and a double dose of Chris Hardwick with a stand up set at NerdMelt and a trip to a taping of @Midnight.  Given the horrible winter and the cold spring (to date), this is a good time to get away.

by admin

California Dreamin’

SanDiegoLast year, the new CIO at my company started a new program where the top point recipients from our internal employee recognition tool were rewarded with a trip to Disney World.  Last week, they announced this year’s winners will be heading to San Diego next spring and today, the list of winners was released.  Surprisingly, my name was on the list, so, come next April, I will be headed on an all-expense paid trip to SoCal for, well, something.  Details will be provided in January, so who knows what the itinerary will be or how much free time we will have to traverse one of my favorite cities in this country.

Of course, my first reaction after finding out about the trip was “I wonder if the Padres are in town.”  Sadly, the answer is no.  My second thought was that after a winter that is already hitting single digits, a trip to the warm embrace of California will be very welcome.

by admin

Vacation Recap: Hollywood Studios

hollywood-studios-iconAfter spending Saturday morning at Animal Kingdom, we headed over to Hollywood Studios to finish off the day.  Our first ride was The Great Movie Ride, followed by the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show.  And then, the skies opened up and a torrential rain fell.  The next hour or so was spent hiding out under cover, until time was running out for our Fast Passes for Star Tours.  We braved the elements to head over to Star Wars land for the ride, which, of course, broke down as we were seated.  After switching to a different car and experiencing all that C3PO had to offer, we headed over to the MuppetVision 3D show before a long wait for dinner at Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano.

After dinner, the rains were still coming, which put the evening’s Fantasmic! show in doubt.  While waiting for that, we went on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror… twice.  As the rain died down, Fantasmic! went off without a hitch and it was time to call it a day.

Sunday featured a return trip to the park, where we finished off most of the rides, including the Studio Backlot Tour, a showing of Walt Disney: One Man’s Dream, and the final ride of the trip, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith.  The kids got to meet Phineas and Ferb and Ralph & Vanellope, while we all enjoyed the end of Star Wars weekend by meeting Darth Vader.  As the night drew closer, the kids stayed to enjoy a Toy Story ride while I went back to the hotel to enjoy the pool one last time.

by admin

Vacation Recap: Animal Kingdom

AnimalKingdomDay 4 of the Disney World vacation started at Animal Kingdom.  Our first ride of the day was the Kilimanjaro Safari, where we saw many of the animals of Africa in their not-so-native habitat.  That was followed up with another character breakfast at Tusker House Restaurant.  The rest of the morning was spent, in no particular order, on DINOSAUR, Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain, Kali River Rapids, and Primeval Whirl.

After a little more than half a day, we bid farewell to the Animal Kingdom and headed over to Hollywood Studios for the remainder of our trip.