FWA LGB PSP - Johnny Appleseed, the Queen and Desert

Starting the day in Wabash, IN and just before leaving the airport, I did stop by Johnny Appleseed's grave site in Fort Wayne, IN which was interesting. (It was on the AVIS map afterall.) After a long flight to LAX and a drive to end up on Long Beach, CA, I found myself on Ocean Boulevard taking in the quiet sites of the evening on a walk to see the Queen Mary's lights http://www.queenmary.com/over the water. After a fun filled day on Thursday of riding in LA with Marjorie (How many U-Turns? that's why Scott had his own car...) from Long Beach to Rosemead, then on to Palm Desert, CA with one quick stop at an outlet mall in Cabazon, we met customers for dinner at Pacifica in Palm Desert.

Oh - you want more to the story? We were talking with the customer how dangerous it would be to have the bank so close to fabulous shopping that lunch can get quite expensive. Bottom line - Marjorie had a rather expensive lunch with a great find at an estate jewelry store in Palm Desert after a whirlwind tour of demos the prior days. Well deserved and stunning pieces!

PHX PDX FWA - Steaming Suits in Shower

Well, the last couple weeks has been a blur of the usual travel, work, travel, work in Portland, OR, Phoenix, AZ, and now from Chicago to Fort Wayne, Indiana to end up tonight in lovely Wabash, Indiana at the Holiday Inn Express across from the WalMart, Burger King and McDonalds. Translation: "No there isn't a Starbucks here", but there is a cute drive up booth advertising "Gourmet Coffee" in the grocery store parking lot next door. Rod, Dave and I did find a great Mexican restaurant Mi Puebla I highly recommend! Very authentic quality food.
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I'm sure most of you seasoned travelers have turned on the shower, put a suit or article of clothing to steam a little to get the wrinkles out. I did the same tonight, mostly closed the door to the bathroom to hold in the steam. Somehow, the door to the bathroom shut itself when I opened the door to the hallway to put the DND sign on door. I checked email, then went to retrieve my suit and poof - the door to the bathroom was LOCKED. Who on earth puts a lock on the inside door of a bathroom in a hotel room? Amazingly, here in Wabash, IN, they do and the new gal at the front desk had NO idea how to unlock, no key, etc. After 20 minutes have now gone by, there is water dripping quite heavily on the top of the door - you get the picture? This is so not good.

The owner comes after another 10 minutes (a very nice Indian man, he lives somewhere in the hotel ....) Basically, he uses a long screw driver, and pops the lock - a credit card might have done, but it didn't work for me. I have mopped the bathroom and now hung my suit which is WET to dry,and hoping my powder make up dries by morning - 6 hours away :) Maybe I'll take the effort next time to put up the silly ironing board with the ugly silver cover on it next time!

SDF - German Food & Muhammad Ali

After 20 hours of NYC, I arrived in Louisville, KY and drove to Jasper, IN for about 24 hours of KY and IN. Dining was a unique evening experience at the Schnitzelbank Restaurant, opened in 1961. They have gained an international reputation for their authentic German and American cuisine. You must open both links, musical delights! http://www.schnitzelbank.com/ Glockenspiel: percussion, musical instrument, consisting of a series of metal bars tuned to a chromatic scale and mounted in two rows. It is played by a pair of knobbed beaters and produces a high-pitched, bell-like soundhttp://www.schnitzelbank.com/sb_glockenspiel.htm

With no Starbucks in this very German Catholic community, I found the alternative in SoZo where immediately the locals recognized I was not from there, and proceeded to quiz me on who, what, where, when, why as I walked in the door, not even ordering yet.....reminds me of my home town in Iowa :) I passed, and did get a great triple skinny Sahara dry cappuccino.

At the conclusion of the demo, I found a river path along the Potako River. It flows generally west, passing through Patoka Lake, where it is impounded for flood control. Downstream from the reservoir it flows in a highly meandering course, making large oxbows as it flows past Jasper, then westward across Pike and Gibson counties. I walked on the path for 2 miles before my drive to Louisville, KY to catch my 8pm plane to Denver.

In Louisville, Kentucky, the Ohio River was more than bank full, hence the Riverwalk was underwater and would have required a kayak to maneuver instead of normal tennis shoes. Last week, I was told, I could not have parked in the lower two levels of the parking garage, too much water!
I wandered around town, then toured the Muhammad Ali Center . Very delightful, inspiring and moving exhibits and along with personal growth and art center. Growing up, I recall much history of Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali. My Dad was a fan, and I became one too. I got his autograph and "met" him in Chicago at his home long ago.

In addition, Louisville is prepping for the upcoming 134th Kentucky Derby. And I am on to PDX after a brief overnight in DEN.

LGA - TimesSquare & Cockroaches

While waiting for a cab at Laguardia, I thought of Kimberly, and her story of being stranded at LGA with her bags locked in a cab, she and the cab driver standing on the curb trying to figure out how to open the cab.....luck was with me - all I had to do was ride in a VanCab from LGA to Manhattan. Whew :) Diane and I had a fabulous time Sunday evening while dining, star gazing and seeing the lights of Times Square before our meeting Monday. We dined at BlueFin restaurant in the W in Times Square. While Times Square is not known for it's dining experience, this one hits the mark with rave reviews. Few New Yorkers would argue that while tourists can be annoying, nothing is quite as entertaining as watching them try read a subway map while gawking at the Naked Cowboy. (You are on your own to YouTube this or Google it.....I dare you.)

Naked Cowboy sues M&M for $6M 2/18/08 http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/02/13/the-naked-cowboy-sues-the-naked-mm/?mod=googlenews_wsj


After dinner, we did the Times Square walk, shopping and star gazing. We saw SpiderMan, the Silver Man, Diane Sawyer, Diane Bargar, and we think Kathy of Regis and Kathy..... The following morning, the best star sighting was Rupert Jee of Hello Deli, smoking a cig around the corner from The Dave Letterman Show. I ventured out early to walk from 8th and 48th to Central Park and back. Yes, it was cold and early! Diane saw a very diplomatic diplomat and I on my prop jet to KY, saw a tall, thin blond getting out of a car approaching the TRUMP jet - who other than Ivanka could it be?
Diane and I were at 5th Ave and 50th Street for the appointment on the 11th floor of the building above Sak's 5th Avenue on Monday. Our presentation was to a highly sophisticated set of business prospects in a modern office setting...until..........the friggin' COCKROACH zipped through the floor of the conference room presentation and interrupted the demonstration! I give credit, as the three women in the room including me - no screams. The prospect, near the woman who got sideswiped by the cockroach, kept his cool and waiting, aimed and squashed the invader with his foot (invader was half the size of the man's foot I swear) and promptly walked out to get a paper towel to remove the invader - and, of course, the show MUST go on!

That's a new one for the demo books.............. :) On to Jasper, IN - more tomorrow - that was enough for 20 hours of NYC :)

DEN - South Valley Mtn Bike Ride

After catching up on paperwork all weekend (taxes, expense reports, canoe guide schedule upcoming), Sarabeth and I rode the first mountain bike ride of the season at South Valley Trail in Littleton, CO. It was a great day, about 58 degrees and sunny here in Colorado.
The ride was modified a bit, due to the Elk Migration (which closed part of the park). We rode about 8 miles and enjoyed the weather!

History Lesson: South Valley's rock spires and outcroppings of Fountain and Lyons formations provided critical shelter for early native Americans and creates a beautiful and dramatic back-ground for all of us who visit the park today. For over 10,000 years, hunter-gatherers migrated through the Front Range area, wintering in the Hogback Valley of Southeastern Jefferson County. There is evidence that South Valley was occupied by hunter-gatherers 7,500 years before the Pyramids of Egypt were built!

SYR EUG - Snow & Silent Movies

Here is the recap of Syracuse to Ithaca (Cayuga Lake of the Finger Lakes) continuing on to Eugene, OR via Portland, OR. (Luckily I got out of Pittsburgh, PA to write this part :) In Syracuse, I met up with Laura, where we ventured over to Ithaca, NY (Home of Cornell University and lots of the braintrustafarians). As we drove down the highway, Laura yells "SNOW". My immediate reaction is "are we going to hit a snow bank or something, why yell?" Laura lives in Gainesville, FL - hence the reaction. I pulled over on the side of the highway so she could snap a fabulous picture of the "ski hill with snow" :) It's called "Labrador Mountain" (aka Lab Hill). I'm going to hold my Colorado ski based commentary at this point :)
After the demo, Diane, Laura and I were able to go to a viewing platform in town (that would be the Hilton Garden Inn with a window view at the end of a hallway) to see Cayuga Lake, and a view of Cornell on the ridge - very pretty, very old and quite a revitalized college town I have to mention. We reviewed our day's work at Kilpatrick's Publick House. The founder, Brendan Kilpatrick, heard Ithaca, NY was the center of the industry for silent movies so moved here to find his fame! Historic and blogworthy link: http://www.kilpatrickspub.com/

After arriving in Syracuse, I got on the earlier delayed plane to Chicago, where in Chicago on way to Denver, I got on a later plane as my 777 (mine!) was being fixed - lucky me :)

On Thursday, I turned my trip from DEN to PDX to EUG into a day trip to Eugene, OR. At the end of the day, I drove EUG to PDX to catch the last plane to DEN - whew! In the morning, barely awake, I met Mike from Boulder, on his way to Portland. Anyone who slaps down a package of Emergen-C to match my pack is immediately ranked in the "worthy, he gets it" category :) Mike is an empathetic and extensive business traveler, who is soon to earn fame and fortune with one of his ideas to ease the pain for business travelers. Stay tuned for an update on Mike's progress!!! It will be bloggable!

PIT SYR EUG - The Pittsburgh Part

My view out the window of the downtown Marriott in Pittsburgh, PA revealed the sign "Van Halen rescheduled to April 30 from my arrival, March 31". This is also the home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and other teams I'm sure.

As a business traveler, there is nothing more desolate than being the last flight to go out of an airport at night, such as my experience this week in Pittsburgh, PA. Arriving at the airport at about 5pm, with a plane departure bumped from Pittsburgh to Syracuse from 8:05pm to 9:15pm, I called my worldwide traveler partner and expert, Kimberly, to inquire "what's the best hint for passing time in Pittsburgh airport". Alas, she had great hints for Tampa and Detroit delays, but had not had the recent forture to hang in Pittsburgh.

My discovery - The Hyatt. Connected via long series of moving sidewalks, The Hyatt is an exceptional travelers hangout. I approached the front desk and said "someone at the airport said there was a Starbucks here. Where is it?" The front desk said "we brew Starbucks coffee here, but no retail outlet". Ok. I walk around, scoping the place out. I wonder into the conference room area, pick up a "free" bottle of water and some Lemonhead candies for the Tobacco company conference in play. (I'm sure others have permanently borrowed water from my company's conferences, right?) http://pittsburghairport.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/index.jsp

I walk back to the front desk, and ask the nice lady, "How much would it cost for me to use your fitness center for an hour or so?". She promptly offers "here, just let me get you a room key - have fun" :) WOW, that rocks! I went up, changed clothes, used the treadmill for 50 minutes, did some streching, changed clothes and went down to Olives, the restaurant/bar. There I have a nice glass of wine, ordered the most fabulous crab cake appetizer that was seriously 2 inches thick, and a to die for spinach/parmesean cake salad. I used the free wifi to work, and at 8pm wandered back to the airport.

At this point, upon arrival at my gate for my 9:15pm departure, the "sign" moved to 10:40pm departure.........As I sit and write the blog since I have so much time, the departure is yet delayed again, but I've been assured "this flight is going". Looks like a 1am arrival night :) By the way, did I mention that all the airport stores (tax free shopping on clothes in Pittsburgh CLOSE at 8:30pm? Did I mention that? All 120 stores -closed.)

SJU - Ummo-Argentian Grill

Exploding onto the restaurant scene on Ashford Avenue, in the Condado area of San Juan, Puerto Rico is the new Ummo - Argentinian Grill. This gorgeous new restaurant is a feast for the palate and the other four senses as well. Enjoy the warm contemporary setting indoors, to watch the masters work the grill, or dine al fresco on one of many beautiful San Juan nights.

Joined for a late evening of wine, food, friends and heavenly warm weather, Kimberly and Steve and I enjoyed time at Ummo. We had such a fabulous time, I have not the words to write about it in this blog :)

Enjoy the warm contemporary setting indoors, to watch the masters work the grill, or dine al fresco on one of many beautiful San Juan nights. The Ummo – Argentinian Grill is located at 1351 Ashford Avenue, San Juan.
Tel: (787) 722-1700.