Oh Canada!

This week I headed to visit a customer in Canada. Luckily, it is still summer and the weather was the best I have ever had there, warm 70's during the day with just dips of 40's in the evening. The site is in a small town trapped between cattle farms between Calgary and Edmonton in the Alberta province. As soon as you leave from the airport and head out on the highway, the smell of cattle is ripe in the air. Not a smell I am especially fond of, but the scenery is picturesque. You can see the Rocky Mountains right outside of town still capped with snow even in August. I did a little driving around near the old Olympic area and could see the ski jump still standing proudly. These days the Olympic focus has shifted to Vancouver from Calgary since they are the host city of next years Winter Games.

In talking with people around here, they notice quickly I was American. Questions were flying about the economy and what was happening over the border despite the amount of info they seem to already know about us. To them, they are in limbo because we are in limbo. They are waiting for us to rebound so their economy can rebound. I know the rest of the world has always watched us but in these bad times, I did not realize that the rest of the world is waiting for us to bring them back too. I had one man tell me that "your president is kinda the ruler of the world except the rest of us have no say in who he is". Interesting perspective. All I could offer them in comfort was it is difficult right now, but don't believe everything you see on TV. For the American media system, if things are good and bad, life or death, they will always tell you the bad and the death in greater length than any instance of good or life. For me, I just want to hear all the good life stuff.

AHH What a vacation!

The last few weeks I have been fortunate enough to not have to be away from home so much. But that also means that business is bad this quarter. No big surprise and I am just lucky to still be employed. Since we had the down time, my husband and I decided to go on vacation. The summer getaways are always sunny and at some beach. This year, we headed down to Aruba for the week. We had never been there before and let me say I will be going back. The beaches were with soft sands and clean. The island is so much cleaner than most places we have been and the people are so welcoming.

As for things to do, the choices are endless. Since we are Harley people, we decided to take a motorcycle tour around the island. This was 4 wheelers that we drove on and mostly off road to see the tourist sites like the Natural Bridge and the Natural Pool. We could ride 2 per bike so I sat in the back and took loads of pictures as my husband tried his best to hit top speed since they did not care what we did on the streets. I just held on.

Besides the island tours, Aruba has tons of opportunities for snorkeling and diving. I am not much for open waters, but we did out to the German merchant ship site Anguilla that sank during WWII. It is a big draw around there for diving. The island has also bought old airplanes and ships that have been sunk all around the coastline for diving and the water is so clear.

The week was up way too fast and we returned home only to be welcomed by the rains. Looking forward to the next Aruba romp.

Safe at home

The good and the bad of this economy is that work has slowed down and allowed me to remain at home for a bit. Glad to wake up in my own bed for more than just a weekend. I finally get to finish up the list of things I have been wanting to do and it only helps that the weather in warm enough to be outside. It has finally stopped raining for a few days and the grass has never been greener. The vegetable garden is well on its way to the big bounty I look forward to harvesting. On a whim, I planted some giant pumpkin seeds and already we have the littlest of pumpkins. Hopefully, it gets to be as large as the packages states because 400 pounds would be awesome to have sitting in the side yard as you drive by the house. Oh the expressions and conversations that pumpkins would bring.

I thought by now I would have cabin fever but that has not been the case. Painting, gardening, and sitting alone with my thoughts has calmed me and made me a bit hesitant to the next trip I have to take. No idea what that trip will take me, but I have thought of one just for myself. A quick trip up to Kings Island would make for a great weekend all just for me.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

For the past three weeks, I have been driving all thru the southern states wondering if this rain will stop. The past few years have been hard for these places with a constant drought. I have seen the lakes receding and watch the yards and landscapes turn brown. I think these days are over. The grass around here has never been greener from my perspective. Passing over Lake Norman in North Carolina a few years back, I noticed the level had nearly disappeared. It has filled back up over the time since but I would wonder if this rain is going to flood it over its banks. This summer I don't believe the south is going to have any water restrictions if this pace of rain cheaps up.

As my vision thru this windshield has been distorted by the constant sight of the windshield wiper flying back and forth, I wonder about my own car. I wonder if I am going to need pontoons under the chassis if these waters keep rising. Wonder if anyone is selling that kit on the internet yet.

Why am I still in this car?

With the economy where it is, I have sure seen my fair share of a slowdown. It has been a few weeks since I had to run all over but last week I had to do just that. Another beckoning to Alabama and I was on my way. Passed thru Nashville and Huntsville down to a little spot just outside of Birmingham. While there, another customer had an electrical emergency sending me back into the car and driving another 4 hours south to just outside of Montgomery. All these miles..Whew.

Luckily, I went straight to the plant and in about a half an hour got them going again only to see another bout of car riding in my future. Figured the best thing for me was to stay the night and start fresh the next morning. Driving thru Alabama does show how polar the scenery can be. The billboards around Huntsville are plastered with government contractors and space stuff. Nearing Birmingham, the commercial side is a smorgasbord of industry. Montgomery is proud of their Hyundai manufacturing facility. But between these bigger cities boasts a slower pace and a nod to the past. There is plenty of open space and lots of acreage along both sides of I-65. You just don't see all the tight fit neighborhoods. People have there own space and enjoy it. These days that is a commodity worth investing in.

From Texas to Indiana to home

For the last few weeks, I have been fortunate to be able to be home instead of running all over the country working. This year I was able to actually see the daffodils and now the tulips bloom in the front garden. I have not been able to witness that for quite a few years. Just a small part of Spring that I have really missed. While I have been home, I did make two quick trips out of the house for some quick consultations. I was able to travel down to Texas and take a drive thru the town of Lindale. I had never been there before, but they were very proud of the hometown hero, Miranda Lambert. I recognized the name on a billboard but had never heard of the town. Right in the middle of town sits a shop devoted to Miranda and I suspect you could get any type of memorabilia you wanted in there. I did not stop to take a peek since I would only be wasting their time.

As for my most recent trip, I packed up the car and drove to Indiana for a few days last week. The drive from my place to Richmond, Indiana is an easy drive through the lower part of Ohio and into eastern Indiana. Richmond has quite a bit of old and historic homes and buildings which I love to drive around and ogle. This trip was dampened by a blast of spring snow. The weather was merely cold but did not impede any views of the architecture I wanted to see. I have been to Richmond on many occasions and tend to stick with the same restaurants. I like to eat at local places and try to stay away from the national chains if at all possible. My favorite place for dinner in Richmond is The Old Richmond Inn. Not sure of the history of this place, but the staff is the same each time I visit. The menu is full of anything you could imagine from ribs, seafood, pasta, whatever. I love seafood and the special was a portabello mushroom stuffed with crab and topped with scallops. I could not have asked for a better selection. It was gigantic and I could not eat it all and it tasted fantastic. Topped off with a glass of wine and I was done for the evening. Usually, I save room for a piece of their chocolate cake, but not this time. I guess I could have gotten it to go, but I'd rather just save it for the next time.

My neighbor has a castle...

I decided to take a break from flying this week and do some good ole fashioned driving. I needed to spend some time at a location just outside of Birmingham and with the short notice the flight was ridiculously expensive. So packed up the car and headed south. I figured I could break up the drive by stopping to see some family in Nashville since I was driving right through on my way.

This trip clocked over 8 hours of driving and 3 states before I finally go to my destination. But not before passing some interesting sites. I have driven through Lexington, Kentucky before but never on the way that this trip took. I never expected to see a stone castle with turrets and everything just planted on the side of the road. This was just down the street from the horse track and near the private plane airport. Now this castle looked to be still under construction, but will definitely be awe inspiring and maybe a tourist trap when completed. My niece would have loved to see it, so I dragged out my camera, pulled over, and snapped a shot hoping to remind her that fairy tales do exist in this world. I was a bit smitten with the place since it was so different than today's cookie cutter subdivisions across this great land. This was new and meticulously thought out. I wondered what the inside would look like. Would it be decorated to match the days of old or would they bring the inside into the 21st century with modern furniture, etc. Only time will tell and I hope this place will give tours.

My work in Alabama was complete and turned back toward the house. I passed the castle once again and gave it a smile this time instead of the wide eyed expression from the first pass. I could only hope that a family gets to move in and let their children experience being real princes or princesses in such a fantastic place.

After getting a bit curious able this mammoth place, I did a little searching on the internet. Turns out this place has quite a history. It was built, but never quite completed by the original owner who recently passed away. The current owner has refurbished it and turned it in to an exclusive bed and breakfast. They even have private events there. It is now called Post Castle after the curent owners. Glad to see it is used and what construction I saw must just be maintenance or new additions. Glad to hear all that is not being wasted.