7 states (and 9 cities) in 4 days!

So I decided to take a day off (since I worked last weekend) to see my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew in Shreveport, LA. My brother is working on a movie there (more on that in later posts). Thanks to Marriott hotels, Southwest Airlines, and Hertz rental car, I made it through a very busy weekend! I flew from Philadelphia to Kansas City (with a stop in Chicago) and changed planes to head to Dallas. Then I rented a car and headed east to Shreveport. On Saturday we drove south to Natchitoches, where my grandfather grew up, and where they filmed "Steel Magnolias". Sunday I drove back to Dallas, and hopped a flight back to Philly, with stops in St. Louis and Columbus. Whew!

The downside of Southwest, as you can see, is that your "direct" flight may actually involve stops along the way (hence my flight from Dallas to Philadelphia that took 5 hours). The upside is that you can change seats at each stop, so I managed to make my way up from row 15 to row 6 by the time it was all over.

Oh, and I wanted to get this for the gal who sat next to me on the plane on Leg 1. It was available in my SkyMall magazine in the seat back:

She was VERY sleepy, but her head kept flopping around like a rag doll. I thought she was going to crash into me a few times, and her hair kept whacking me. I'm glad she got off in St. Louis.

I went all the way to Chicago...

...and didn't even take pictures!

Actually, I was there on business, so for the most part there was no reason to take pix. But I spend an extra night there and had some time to see the sights, then realized I didn't bring my camera. So I bought a disposable one at one of the many Walgreens that dot almost every corner of downtown Chicago. Unfortunately I didn't use up the film and it will take a while to process the pictures anyway, so you'll have to take my word for it that Chicago is GREAT. I got to see my friend Michelle for a relaxing dinner, and I got to walk the Magnificent Mile and a good chunk of the Loop. Oh, and the meeting was good too ;)

Travel talk

Travel is on my mind a lot lately, since I'm spending some time criss-crossing the country in April. My company is sending me to a meeting in Chicago, then I'm heading to see family in Louisiana. I can't wait!

I've already done a bit of travel so far this year, and the summer is already getting booked up. My good friend Irene just turned 40 in March, and happened to be in LA for the big day. A couple of us met her there to celebrate. We spent a day at the Getty Museum, a trip I highly recommend for someone who wants to experience some culture and some beautiful outdoor gardens. It's only $8 per car to park, and the rest of the museum is free. What a deal.

Caving to peer pressure

Everyone else has a blog, why can't I?

This is a random one, since hubby and I have so many interests, any one of which could be at the forefront from day to day. The weather's getting warm, so there may be some gardening stuff, I'm in full knitting/crocheting mode since everyone's having kids, I've been playing a lot of piano lately, and I have some travel coming up. So we'll see how this goes.