Vacation Days 5 and 6 - South Padre Island

This is truly a relaxing vacation.   Not much going on, so no reason to do a blog post everyday.

So Sunday, which is the first full day on South Padre Island, we slept in until about 10.   Then we lazed around, walked on the beach for a bit, and took a nap for an hour or so.   We then got up, cleaned up, and went out to Pirates Landing for Dinner.   I got Kim to get a drink so we could get the free glass.  I was driving, so I couldn't have the drink.  The meal was good.   I had the shrimp and fish platter, she had the shrimp basket.   We then came back to the condo and relaxed for the evening.

Monday, today, I got up around 8am, and Kim got up a little after that.   She went back to bed for a couple hours, and I took a nap for an hour.    After waking up from that, I actually threw on the running shoes and did a slow jog for a bit.   It felt good, but I can tell that I am waaaaaaaaaaaay out of shape.   Ran just over half an hour and walked back that distance on the beach.   Came back and relaxed until mid afternoon.   Then cleaned up and went out for a drive.   We drove north on the main road until it stopped at the sand dunes.  It was kinda cool to see all the dunes and shrubs.  We then turned around, washed the car, and then had pizza.   The pizza was good, although it could have been left in the oven maybe two minutes longer to make it perfect.   Now we are back in the room relaxing for the evening.

I plan on getting up tomorrow morning early to see the sunrise.  Our balcony looks over the gulf, so I am sure it will be an awesome sight.   Dinner tomorrow night is at a place called Louis' that is supposed to be a really good buffet.   I think I am going to also try and get out for exercise again.   Who knows, maybe this will turn into a regular thing again.  Maybe.

~Swenny

Day 3 and 4 - Dallas to Harlingen, Harlingen to South Padre Island

So I forgot to do a post yesterday on Day 3, and Day 4 is about done, so I am going to combine them both.

I woke up at 3am in Dallas and couldn't get back to sleep as I thought about how terrible rush hour was going to be if I got a late start.   So I woke up, did my normal morning stuff, loaded the car and got on the road at 4:45am.  Yeah, my normal stuff takes a bit, but I like it, so bite me.   Traffic through Dallas was great.   I didn't see anything because it was dark out, but it was smooth.

I drive on down to Austin and have to stop for gas.  Also, I hit rush hour traffic there, as it was about 7:30am.   I keep seeing $1.79 for gas as I drive by, but then I have to stop and fill up.  Of course, I find the most expensive gas in Austin at $1.86 per gallon.   Still cheaper than home, but really?   Anyway, I fill up and drive through.  The weather was a drizzly rain, so I didn't stop as I got into San Antonio.  Why look at the Alamo in the rain, right?

So I got to Harlingen around 2pm and check in at 2:30 or so.   Right before that, I eat at this nearby place.  I got a mushroom and garlic po boy.   Now I thought it would have beef with the mushroom and garlic.   I was wrong.   Really not that good.   I get settled in the room, doze for about 45 minutes before Kim calls.  She is on her way to the airport and her flight is on schedule.  It is about 6pm now, so I relax in the room, but can't get back to sleep.   I check on her flight around 8pm, and she is running ahead, so I decide to head out early.  

I got her as she came in, and since she had zero bags (because they were in the car with me), she didn't need to go through baggage claim.   We stopped at Whataburger for some food, and then got back to the room to sleep.

We slept in, enjoyed the free breakfast at the hotel, and then left around 11am.   Drove to Sams Club to check it out/pick up a couple items.   Then we drove to South Padre Island.   We got here at the condo around 1pm and they let us check in early, which was very cool.   We loaded up most of the stuff on a cart and went up to our room on the ninth floor.

It is a quaint 2 bedroom condo with a balcony that looks over the Gulf of Mexico.  You can easily hear the waves crashing in and the sea gulls crying out.   We got settled and then went to Dirty Al's for lunch.  We had shrimp and calamari and the shrimp was awesome.  The calamari was OK, but we will be back again.   We hit up Walmart and HEB (the local grocery chain) for some groceries and such and got back to the room now.  

So now it is time to relax and really start the vacation.   Not sure what our plans are for tomorrow, but really, we don't need any plans.

~Swenny

Day Two - KC to Dallas

This stretch was pretty much straight driving.   Fortunately the weather was good for driving.  There were some sights that I saw while driving, and it was interesting to see oil wells pumping.   They first showed up in Kansas, and Oklahoma obviously have a bunch.

My only complaint about the drive was when I was in Kansas, there is a toll on the road in Kansas that starts north of Witchita about 60 miles, and goes to close to the border with Oklahoma.   Now if there is one way to deter stopping and seeing some sights, it is set up a toll road where you have to pay to get off of it, and then pay to get back on it.

I saw a couple casinos in Kansas, a bunch in Oklahoma, and then one big one at the border with TX and OK.   By then, it was getting dark, the weather was starting an annoying drizzle that isn't enough for wipers regularly, but just enough to have to use them.  Also, there is a bunch of construction going, and I had to watch for my exit.  So I didn't really pay too much attention to my surroundings as I got to my hotel.

The room is really nice.  A big king sized bed and a nice TV.    Not that I plan on using the TV, as I am going to pass out early tonight.   I went out to go to Blooms Candy store, as they are supposed to have a ton of different flavors of, similar to the huge candy store in Jordan, MN.   I was a little disappointed when I got there.   They had a bunch, but it wasn't as big as I expected.   I randomly picked up 8 different flavors.   Then I picked up subway for dinner and went back to the room to wind down for the night.

The next leg is on to Harligen.   I may stop in Austin to meet one of my coworkers, and the account team there.  Depends on what time I am passing through.  Googlemaps has the trip at 8 hours though, so I may just blow through to make sure I get there.  I know I plan on getting up super early here and on the road to try and miss rush hour traffic here in Dallas.

Wish me luck, and until next time!!

~Swenny

Day One - Ordeals

So after the trouble with the car, I get up early to get everything together.  I know I won't get the car first thing in the morning, but I am hoping by 10, or maybe 11.   Not my luck.   I get picked up around 12, get the car, load it up, and get on the freeway at 1pm.   So much for looking around Kansas City in the day.

So the car.   It is a nice car.  Leather seats, lots of bells and whistles, and so far, good gas mileage.  The poor point is that it has a tiny trunk space.    One of the reasons we got the car was so we could take a bunch of stuff with us instead of buying it down there.   Also, it makes it easier for Kim to fly, as she doesn't have a ton of luggage.   Well, I got less than half of our stuff in the trunk.  One large suitcase, one bag, a couple cases of Angry Orchard, and a couple of pillows.   That is all I could get in the trunk.   Everything else went in the back seat or in the front seat (that was the cooler with my snacks and such for travel).

The trip itself was OK.   I had a couple unscheduled stops, but overall, it wasn't too bad.   I am listening to the Life of Ceasar podcast that I subscribe to via iTunes.   I highly recommend it if you want to have some fun while learning.   I plan on listening to more as I continue my drive.

So I got to Kansas City around 8pm.   Super nice hotel and I am up on the 20th floor.  It is a good view.  I decide to eat at the hotel, as I am tired and don't feel like wandering the streets.   The steak was good, but I probably should have gone out.   Now I am about to head off to bed and rest up for the next leg of the trip to Dallas.   I will take some pictures before I go.  I do have the puck with and plan on getting some puck pictures while vacationing.

~Swenny

Vacation - The Beginning.....

So it has been a while again, but I probably will blog semi-frequently again as I track My vacation.  I have done this for the last couple of major trips I have been on, and it is helpful to remember things later.  Because I have a bad memory at times and this will help.

So the plan is to drive down from home here in St Paul, MN down to South Padre, TX.  I have three days to get to Harligen, where Kim is flying in to meet me Friday night, and on Saturday, we check into the condo at South Padre and spend a week on the beach.   No dogs, as they get to stay home with the brother in law.

So I have things planned out.   Pick up the car Tuesday night after work, head out early Wednesday morning to KC.  Stop and see the WWI museum and stay the night at a nice hotel.   Thursday, head out to Dallas and stay the night there.  And then Harligen on Friday night.   Sounds simple right?

Well, right off the bat, issues.   We had reserved the car with Hertz a couple weeks ago.   Went out there, and then I look at the confirmation.   We had set it up for Wednesday, not Tuesday!!!   Not good, but mistakes happen.  So the guy is really nice.  He doesn't have a full sized car for us, and all he has is a dinky little two seater.   I am not taking that down to South Padre and back.  He talks us into upgrading to a nice Buick Lacrosse.   It needs an oil change and to be cleaned up, but he will have his guys do that first thing in the morning, and they will pick me up.  

So hopefully, I will be on the road to KC around noon.   This means I will have to do the Museum on the way back.  But that is OK, as I have more time to get back than I have to get down there.   So this change of plans means I get into KC in the evening, probably around 6pm or so.   I will check in and then probably find a good steak place to eat and enjoy.   Then I should be back on schedule to get to Dallas.

That is it for now.  I figure I will blog tomorrow night to talk about the car, the road trip to KC, and whatever I wind up doing before heading to bed.

Hope you enjoyed this, and if not, oh well.  This is more for me and my memories.

~Swenny

Back....after a long long time.

It has been a long long time since I wrote on here.  I look back at the posts from over five years ago and it brings back memories.   Many good, some OK.  But that was the purpose of the blog at that time.   To try and retain those memories.

But now, five years later, after I found this blog again after being reminded by someone a little while back, I think I want to do something with it once again.   I know there have been a lot of changes in my life since my last post.

Obviously I am back from deployment.  I came home to a new house that my wife had found for us.  We also had a new addition of a dog to our group.  Keisha our husky is gorgeous, but has her moments.  We have lost two of our dogs since then.   Lacy passed away after a tumor burst inside of her.  That was hard as it was so sudden.  Ali passed away after nearly 16 years of life.   Pretty good considering she had three litters in her life.   We have the addition of Sophie, who is part Bernard, part Pyrenees.  She is just over two, and still a pain in the rear.

I am still working with AT&T, and I still love my job.   Every now and then I think about trying something else within the company, but then I look at the perks I currently have and realize that I got it good.

I have retired from the Army.   That was in January of 2012 when I hit 20 years of service and got the heck out of dodge.   Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the people I was with and had many experiences I will remember for the rest of my life.  Or at least until I lose my memory completely.  But there was also enough crap and stuff that I am glad I am out of it.  

Not sure what else to bring up here for now, so I will leave it at that.   I hope to use this forum to put down thoughts and maybe topics that I just feel like putting out there.  

I don't know if anyone is even going to read this, but I don't think that is the important part.  The important part is to put things down now so I have the memories down the road.   Just like the posts originally on this blog from five years ago.

So have a good day, and thank you for reading.

Time

You ever think about time?

Time is an amazing concept. We track it with our clocks, and definitions. No matter how we define it, it is the perception of time that can make 2 minutes seem like ten, and two hours seem like ten minutes. They days seem to drag individually, but time flies by the weeks. As always, it is determined by what is going on around you. There is the saying, a watched pot never boils. We know that it will eventually, but when you sit there and watch it, it takes forever. But if you look away and start doing something else, then you turn back and the pot is boiling over. Weird, don't you think?

I don't really know why I am talking about this, but it has been a long time since I have posted. I could talk about things going on here in Iraq, but then again, I can't for 'security' reasons. So, I don't. But the time concept comes into play greatly here. It seems like we have been here a long long time. The days sometimes drag, the shift drags on and you wonder if you can stay awake another couple of hours. At least when working the overnight shift. Then there are times where you look at the calendar and say 'holy crap it is December!'.

Time is getting short here, that is true. But sometimes the days still seem long. I can't wait until I get on that plane to go back to the States, knowing that a few days later, I will be on another plane home. Home to my wife, my family, and my friends. It seems like only yesterday, I left home to start this deployment. Funny how time goes by, isn't it?