Okay, it's time to catch up on the last 7 months of the People I've Seen, the Places I've been and the things I do. If you don't know what that garble is all about you will have to ask my children. Shortly, after our Nine Mile excursion all heck broke loose for me and business.
First, it was time to travel to sunny San Diego. Only one problem, it rained the two and half days I was there. This trip entailed meeting with a peer group in construction. Great meeting and great people. It was fun to go to dinner with them each evening. One quick story. We had determined to meet on the roof top bar at the hotel one evening to go to dinner. I was one of the first ones there and the roof top was packed with a private party. After finding our peer group host, he offered to buy me a "drink". I accepted and we walked over to the bar. When the bar tender asked me what I wanted and I replied " A Coke", the man standing nearby leaned over to me and said: "Sir, I wouldn't say that very loud here." He then informed me that the private party was a Police Chief Convention and the work "coke" is taken very seriously.
It was fun to look out of my hotel room and see the Padre Stadium just kitty corner from us. I'll be attending more of these meetings and seeing lots of new places hopefully.
Approximately, two weeks after San Diego, I hog tied Cheryl and we caught a flight with a few individuals that I work with and went to Hawaii. It was extremely difficult for Cheryl to make time for this trip, but I sure appreciated her arranging her schedule to accompany me. She struggled getting ready for the trip, life is pretty busy now that we are Empty Nester's, and as you can see it was a whirl wind getting ready. This trip was a "Business Trip" too; if you can believe it.
A little Polynesian Culture, a little surfing, a little swimming, a little snorkeling, a little exploring, and a little...lota of good food. Oh yea, I forgot and a lot of business meetings. This was a great opportunity for me to bond with those that I work with since becoming the president of the company in January.
Can't beat a business trip that captures everything from spectacular scenery to fun times with good people. This was our second trip to Hawaii and it was fun to relax and to capture each and every moment. Our only disappointment was not to be able to see any of the Hawaii Five O Task force. We even went to their headquarters but no "book'm Dano"
As our Hawaii trip ended it was time to think about what April, May and June was going to bring for me.
April it was time to start laying out a plan for improvement at work. Task Teams were created, assignments were made and strategies adopted. Stockholders and board meetings were conducted and held.
May, brought continued streamlining and growth at work. Hired two additional project managers and driving accountability. Cheryl had a biopsy that was an ordeal to accomplish and shook our faith in the medical field. Do they really know what is going on??
As May came to a close it was time to dive head first into national and local politics, family affairs, and more benchmarking. Washington DC was first on the agenda, as I flew back to meet with our Utah Representatives and urge, plead, and beg them to pass a Highway Trust Bill. It's only been extended now for nearly 1000 days. Washington is always a great place to visit and accomplish business. This trip broadened my contacts within the construction industry as I was able to meet a number of associates that have great knowledge and experience
Cohoes Falls, New York was my next destination. Now one might ask why Cohoes, New York. Well I was in Washington DC and my business had concluded and Cheryl had abandoned me two weeks earlier. So it was time to hunt her down and bring her home.
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Oh yea, and I wanted to see our new grandson and his older brothers. So I caught a plane at 10pm in Washington and flew up to Albany New York where Cheryl picked up to stay for the weekend with John and Rachel.
Gabe and Porter are growing up quickly. I was amazed at (despite Rachel's proclaimed animal behaviors ) how big they are now and their confidence. We had a great weekend as we played with the boys, held Quentin and Rachel played tour host.
We got the grand tour of Cohoes, Troy, and Albany. Even ventured out with Quentin on a "Duck Tour" and cruised the Albany River.
On Saturday, we slipped across the border into Massachusetts and visited Norman Rockwell's home town of Stockbridge, This will be a memorable trip as we were able to see his studio and a lot of his art work. Thanks Rachel for being a great host. We had lots of fun.
Well June has now come and almost gone. But there are still places to go, people to see, and things to do.
Another business trip takes me to the great city of Boston, Massachusetts. As you can see business life is difficult. This was a very serious benchmark meeting that we had as we cruised the Boston Harbor. Great weather and good friends on a boat. Couldn/t ask for more. Cheryl did accompany me on this trip but I'm sorry to say this was the boys night out.
Cheryl and I took an afternoon, and visited Fenway Baseball Stadium - the home that Babe built. Wow talk about some history. To stop and think of all the greats, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio,Ted Williams and others that played in stadium This rekindled my love for the game and it was awesome to be in the stadium. Too bad the Red Sox's had away games all week.
Saturday, we arranged for a bus tour that took us up the coast into New Hampshire and Main. Nubble Lighthouse was a favorite stop and the wind was strong enough to see why the light house was so important to the shipping industry. No way to get out to the island other than to swim, fly or ride the small cable man basket. Tradition in the town is that a bride will spend one week before her wedding here alone
Continuing a few miles up the coast we decided to have lunch with some friends, George and Barbara at their Kennebunkport, Maine home. Oops, ...I guess we forgot to let them know we were coming and the Secret Service just would not believe us that we were close and good friends. Maybe next time. Note the flag is flying and his boat was just parked to the left of the pic. Yup, George is there.
Well as you can see the first six months of the year have come and gone. I have seen a lot of people, been a lot of places and done a lot of things. Just liven our dream.
So while celebrating Father's Day we all decided to go to the rodeo on Wednesday evening. Taylor & Amanda, Amanda's family, and Philip & Jenny all gathered for the evening. Our young aspiring cowboys & cowgirls were focused on the events of the evening. They were as entertaining to watch as the rodeo itself
