Summer 2006 went by in the blink of an eye! As a kid growing up, September always meant the BEGINNING of having to wake up at the crack of dawn, eating those dreaded school lunches and having to do homework!  It sucked! 

 

As an adult . . . September now means we have Labor Day off and a long weekend to look forward to!  My . . . how time changes things!

 

I'm usually out of town on Labor Day Weekend, but this year it's different.  I had to chose between paying the higher holiday rate for a hotel and tackling the holiday crowds and traffic or stay home, save $500, spend quality time working on my trip and trying to find those inflatable hangers that I found so useful on my trip last year . . .  Decisions ... decisions!  What's a girl to do?

 

I've decided to run to the bank to deposit $500 into my Travel account and later rummage through my drawers to find those darn hangers!  

 

This month's picture of a crepe vendor in Paris is one of my favorites.  The guy was so cute and nice and he made a dang good crepe!  This picture got me to thinking about stuff . . . Italy is known for their Gelato . . . France for their Crepes . . . Switzerland for their Swiss Chocolate!  So then what would the USA be known for?  . . . our hamburgers and hotdogs?  Eck!  Well, maybe for our homemade apple pie!  Yes, much better!

 

You know sometimes when I decide to post a blog it’s based upon some profound topic about what’s going on in my life or around the world.  . . . and then sometimes . . . NOT!

 

Have a safe, fun and long Labor Day Weekend everyone!

 

 

I can't believe we're nearing the end of summer 2006.  To celebrate the wind down, I attended the last South Bay AVP Tour last weekend .  It was Awesome!

 

The weather was perfect!  It seems that everything converged on Manhattan Beach during the past two weekends.  It was the Pier to Pier race, a giant sandcastle competition and then the Manhattan Beach AVP tour. 

 

After a very nice ride to the Marina Bridge and back, I stopped to enjoy the matches.  Met my friends who reminded me to load up on sun block.  So they slapped a packet of lotion on my arms and face.  There’s nothing like having good friends to watch your back when you need it.

 

Well, the good news is that I have a lot to look forward to at the end of the year.  I have a very nice vacation planned to somewhere new and unfamiliar and then I’m going to end the year with running in my 4^th Half Marathon in Vegas.  And that's not all.  I get to be a part of an attempt to set a Guinness book of World Record for the most number of Santas gathered in one location on Saturday, December 9, 2006.  Where you ask?  In Vegas Baby!

 

Life is SWEET again!

 

 

I woke up this morning to the sounds of hate and fear!  Of course, I’m speaking of the thwarted terror attack on several airlines from the UK to several major cities in the United States.  It makes me sad that people can have so much hate that they are willing to kill a lot of innocent people . . . men, women, children. 

 

Travel Boards are a buzz with the chaos caused to travelers at this time.  No liquids of any sort are being allowed in most if not all international and domestic flights. 

 

My trip isn’t until November 6, 2006 and I hope that everything will all work out by then. I was getting all worked up at the possibility of not being able to hand carry my camera and other electronic equipment for my trip.  Something that I would not be pleased about.  Your typical selfish whining!  Then I was speaking with a co-worker who is expected to travel in October  to visit her daughter living in London.  She gets pretty anxious when flying and basically put it into perspective for me.  She said that this was probably the best time for her to fly because she knew that it was going to be safe!   Keeping people safe is far more important than my need to bring my IPOD on the plane with me. 

 

I am so thankful that the planned attacks were thwarted by the authorities and no one was killed!  These are definitely strange times that we live in. 

 

 

After this recent heatwave in California I was inspired by this month's picture of the month.  A cool refreshing single scoop of delicious gelato from Verona, Italy!!!!

 

DANG  .  .  .  I miss Italy!!!