Walking our tails off!

Last weekend, and again this weekend, the weather has been absolutely perfect! Last Saturday, the girls and I had a "lie in" [we slept in late] after a busy week for me. I got back from the States and immediately started traveling. Day trips to-and-from London after a cross-continental flight didn't give me much time to adjust to the time zone.

So after we got up, had a little breakfast and a few diet Cokes, we headed for the coastal trail. Now mind you, the last time I was on the trail, it was right before I left for the States. It was sunny at my house. Weather expected to be good, so Allie and I headed for a long run. It's the only place I could think of that we could run 6 or 7 miles without competing with cars. Before we got to the seafront, however, the weather changed and it started to rain ... sideways. We made it a little over six miles, but running in wet shoes is really not my favorite. And I was bruised .. my hip ... my heel ... yuck!

But I digress. Last Saturday, we headed out at 11:00am. We walked down to the Lake Grounds, then the picnic grounds and stopped at The Windmill for lunch. Well, lunch for me anyway. Great pub on the water. Guess I was testing the water, so to speak. The weather held, so we headed down to the trail.

It had been raining a lot, so the springs were running. The dogs had plenty of water and places to rest. We had a nice walk, great weather, and there were very few people. I kept thinking that when I saw the Clevedon Golf Course, that would be a good place to turn around. Well, apparently [and actually, now that I think about it] we were on the lower trail, below the golf course and the filed of horses between the trail and the seaside. I was below the field of horses. So, we missed it.

Next thing I knew, I heard a woman coming up behind us on her mobile [cell phone]. She was calling a friend, saying that the walk was taking her longer than she thought and she would call again when she could see the Clevedon pier. Clevedon pier? I had never seen it, on foot or from a car. Seemed like a good enough reason to keep going.

I didn't have my camera with me, so I'll have to go back ... by car and take some pictures. Clevedon is bigger than Portishead. There is a LOT more going on on the sea front, restaurants, pubs, a lake to learn sea kayaking, a beach area, gazebos, multiple place to get ice cream, and so on. And the pier. It's a happening place, especially on a nice day.

It was nearly 3:00 and I was feeling a little guilty that the dogs were probably emaciated. I went into a Morrison's a bought a diet Coke, some Pringles, and two can's of dog food. We went out to the parade grounds, grabbed a seat on a dead-end stair case, and I poured the food out on the steps for the dogs.

After our rest, we headed back to Portishead. My next door neighbors were getting worried. They knew we had left for a walk. We got home after 5:30. According to Lawrence & Kathy, that we a 15-mile loop!

Minn-e-SO-ta ... still feels like home

On Thursday, I packed up in the afternoon and headed for Minnesota. This is when my schedule really got crazy. I arrived in time for dinner with Kara and Kathy, two former students from St. Thomas. Kara is a VP of HR and Kathy is a partner at a law firm. Wow! A lot accomplished in a short period of time [I guess it has been 16 years since I left there!]. I got a hotel and went to bed for 2.5 hours and then got up at 1:00 am [now Central time] to write a presentation. At 2:00 I met with the CFO to review and from 3:00-4:30, I presented to the senior team in London. It was 9:00am their time. I went back to bed until 7:00. Got up, showered and then had another meeting, 8:00-9:00 with two colleagues in London. Then back to the presentation and worksheets, revising them and sending them off to my colleagues in London before COP [close of play] Friday ... which is 5:00pm their time, 11:00am my time. Then off!

I spent the weekend with Kimmers and family. Kimmers and Matt had their fourth boy in June, Henry, all under the age of 7! Amazing. They are nothing short of entertaining.

I got to sleep in Will's room and bed. The first night he stayed at his grandparents'. The second night he was asking his dad for his sleeping bag. What a trooper! My favourite story about Will was Kimmers finding him the previous week on the outside of the railing on their deck with his Indiana Jones hat, leather jacket and whip with a rope tied around his waist and to the railing and he was getting ready to jump to swing like Indiana Jones! And he was signing the theme song [you have to hear it in your head], da, da da da, da ta-dah...

Alex had a close call the weekend before at Minnehaha Falls. It was Adventure Day for the Corbett family. Alex ran ahead on the hike and suddenly found himself sliding off of the trail and falling 12 feet below to the rocks. He is okay with a couple of big strawberries on his arm and leg. I asked him what happened, and he said, "I fell off of a cliff."

Charlie is busy keeping up with his two older brothers and also seems to be forging out his own identity. Every-once-in-a-while, he steals away to a different room for some "awone time".

Friday night, my friend Baynes hosted a cocktail party for a "Looney Reuney" gathering. A few fun facts about Baynes. He has a great flat / condo in International Market Square in Minneapolis. He said this was the third time he was using his oven [think I've been there all three times], and when he opened his very posh/nice freezer that was nearly empty, I found the appliance owners and installation manuals in the freezer drawer. Guess he'll know where they are when he needs them!

Party attenders included recently married Susan and Eric; Sue [minus Ron, who was working]; Heidi [minus Barry; forget why, but he was missed]; Mo [looking fabulous] and Scott; Kimmers, Matt and Henry; and of course, Baynes, the host. It was great to catch up.

Saturday was a meeting over lunch with my financial planner [markets are down and everybody's losing; don't retire this year], then catching up with Kimmers and spending a little time at the mall. Much of my trip was spent acquiring "stuff". Clothes. M&Ms. Clothes. Shoes. Clothes. Don't think I can afford to come back for a while! We had dinner with all of her men and then headed out for a girls-only evening to see the newly released movie, "The Women". An all-star cast and the first time I've seen a movie in a theatre in at least 18 months.

Sunday, I had coffee in the morning with Shaunnie. Great to catch up on her recent trip "home" in Hahn, Germany with her husband, Rick. Looks like a place I definitely need to visit. I spent the day in St. Paul. Visit to the Bibelot and Creative Kidstuff. A Summit Pale Ale and Walleye fingers basket at The Tavern on Grand. I went to Linda and Dave's for dinner as they [literally] poured out of the car after spending the weekend in Grand Marais. http://grandmarais.com/

Biggest change I noticed for them was that the couch had been moved in the living room against the wall to make more space for Irish dancing. Leah, and her brother, Ryan [the mime] are both into the art.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lueJtwkrnHE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9imU_EQLW8

I started my journey back to the UK on Sunday night. It was easy to sleep on my short [6 hour] flight after the busy two weeks I had!

US Visit continued ...

I actually have photos of the bonfire. I guess I forgot and didn't load them in the last post. I'll add a few here. I do not have any pictures of the Riverboat ride I took with Dan, Diana, Brian, Katie and Sean. It was so calm and the day was so warm, it nearly rocked me to sleep. Had I had a hammock, I would have been out for sure! All-in-all, it was a beautiful summer day in Louisville.

I'll plug one more restaurant, Varanese on Frankfort. It had just opened when I was leaving town. I managed to get there twice before I left, and it is very good. The chef and owner is John Varanese. http://varanese.com/chefvaranese.php If you find yourself in Louisville, I recommend this place. He converted what was essentially a dive bar that was a converted gas station and garage.

I had the chance this week to visit with more friends. I had dinner at Jyl's house where I was the instant playmate for Carsyn who called me, "Turry". She was not really happy with me trying to talk to Jyl or Damon, or spend any time with her new baby brother, Jack!

I introduced Varanese to Martha [in from Cincy and getting ready for a trip to France], Jyl, Laura [in from Indianapolis] and Susan [in from South Florida]. I got to play games at Rhonda and Cassidy's. Mind you, I lost at Shrek Monopoly but kicked butt at Red/Yellow/Green dice [it would be red/amber/green in the UK].

Kentucky is good!

I'm still tired, but the visit to the US is going well! Since Labor Day, I have been in Louisville, working from two continents with five hours time zone difference.

I have been balancing my days with the a.m. dedicated to things happening in the UK, and the afternoon and evening dedicated to getting to doctors or dentist appointments and then dinners, of course. I have been making my rounds to all of my favourite places to eat. In fact, I picked up my rental car on Tuesday and drove to Chick-Fil-A lunch. Definitely not something I can get in the UK.

Let me plug some of my favourite restaurants. Chick-Fil-A and Panera Bread Company for lunch. Check. For riverside dining, Captain's Quarters and Eva Mae's Creekside. Check. Check! I still need to visit some of haunts on Frankfort Avenue. I'll start that tonight.

Friends I have been able to see include:

• Rhonda [former staff member]
• Nancy & Lisa[team members from Houston ... immediately after the Astros swept the Cards. Lucky me!]
• Leslie [friend and colleague from Denver]
• Sandra for a second [team member from Atlanta]
• Traci & Cheryl [critical part of the former TTCP team]
• Sarah, James and Sophia [we got rained out from boating, so we made up by visiting the new location for Napa Valley Grill and Wick's pizza]
• Mary Therese, Michael, Jackson and Samantha [Jackson has a very cool scar to share!]
• Jyl, Damon, Carsyn and Jack [my first time meeting Jack, now nearly six months]

My brother, Dan, and his family [Diana, Brian, Katie and Sean] came to Louisville for the weekend. We met on Saturday night for a swim [in a very cold pool], bar-be-qued steaks and a bonfire. On Sunday, we played tourists and went to the Falls of the Ohio State Park to look for fossils, had lunch and then took a ride on the Belle of Louisville, a steam-powered river boat. It was the perfect day for it ... if I had a hammock, I would have been asleep!

I am in Louisville this week until Thursday with a more-of-the-same schedule. In fact, started today with 415am telecon. By lunch, I will have put in seven hours and I'm headed to downtown for lunch. That's it for now!

Visiting the US

Let me just begin by saying that I am EXHAUSTED! Forget the time zone differences. I have been running around like a crazy person.

I got to St. Louis on Saturday night, landing at 900pm and made my way to my brother's house. It was an 18-hour journey. Funny thing happened on the way to the airport. I called for a taxi to pick me up at my house and take me to the train station. I asked the driver [that I always use] to "meet me at nine". At 906, he still wasn't there and he lives down the street, so I rang him up and asked if he was coming to get me. He said, "yes, I have you at half-nine". Little bit of a language barrier.

Anyway, I made to the train station in time, got to London Paddington, then to Heathrow Express ... that had signaling problems, so we sat stationary on the tracks for 30 minutes. It's only a 15-min train ride! Got the Heathrow, and then had to take a train to terminal 4 ... 28 more minutes before it will arrive. They were boarding the plane when I arrived at the airport. I was fast tracked through security [thank God for gold status] and got on the plane. Nice.

Waking up Sunday morning, I had a rental car, so I did what any American expat would do during business hours: I headed to Target! I loaded up on plain M&Ms [every variation but plain in UK], Crest toothpaste [no longer sold in UK], and T-shirts. I forgot to get Ziplocks. None of those in the UK, either, so guess I'll have to go back.

Later that day, my brother, Mike, had a bar-be-que at his house to celebrate Erin's 13th birthday. I can't believe she is 13. This only means that the rest of us are getting older, you know. It was a hot August day in St. Louis, so I had the chance to thaw out from the bloody British weather. My nieces and nephews helped with that. We played Frisbee, basketball, whiffle ball, badminton, volleyball, and I rode a scooter ... with my nephew. I think there are photos of this, but I don't have it.

On Monday, Mike, Lynn and I headed out for lunch at a cool pub on the South side and went to REI. In REI, I stocked up on first layer wicking t-shirts, some new Smartwool socks, a new travel dog bowl, and most importantly, Goretex pants! I heard a quote on BBC Radio 2 last week: there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes! I am working to remedy that!

Monday night, I hitched a ride with my friend James back to St. Louis. Sarah, James and their daughter, Sophia were in Oklahoma City for the long weekend, and heading back through St. Louis on their way to Kentucky. Whilst in Kentucky, I am staying with them, so it was nice to have a ride ... with just one slight problem. Sophia didn't like the drive down, so Sarah decided the two of them would fly back to Louisville. And James needed to get back a day early for work, so he picked me up around dinner time on Monday. I was so jet lagged that there was no way for me to help James drive, safely. We made it to Louisville at almost 100am and I crashed immediately. I had a 415am teleconference with my colleagues in London.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll update on my week in Louisville in the next edition.