Active August: Travel Updates

After a relatively quiet July, our August was very active! Mostly work-related travel for both Mr. E and me, although he did spend some time with family and friends as well, and we ended the month with a Labor Day long weekend visit to Montreal and Quebec (that's a different blog post... with pictures... coming soon!).

August 6-11: Mr. E to Chicago & Miami

Since I telecommute on Tuesdays, I was able to drop off Mr. E at the airport for his early afternoon flight to Chicago. He spent one night there and then headed south to Miami for several days for work before returning to Chicago for the weekend to see family and friends.

August 10-13: ASAE Conference in Columbus, OH

I drove myself to the airport on Saturday morning to meet up with my co-worker for the flight to Columbus for the ASAE Annual Meeting. Unfortunately, our connecting flight in Phoenix was delayed by almost 3 hours, but we made do with the temporary Escape Lounge to bide the time.

Mr. E and I both have a fond spot in our hearts for Columbus, as we took several trips there together back during grad school. And I proposed to him in that State Capitol building! We haven't been back for quite awhile, so I enjoyed getting to re-know the city and see all of the new development. The opening night reception was outdoors at the Science Museum, and the design feature different neighborhoods of Columbus each with their own unique food and drink offerings. Very clever and very fun, and I particularly appreciated the non-meat based offerings.

I unexpectedly ran into people I know from other organizations (GPA, NVPCA), which was a lovely surprise. And I also managed to connect up the very first night with A, formerly of ACU and a partner of CPCA, who is now working at ASAE. So great to see her and feel a connection to my "past life" in the health center world! I'm missing some of that right now...

All of our travel back to Sac was uneventful, and Mr. E picked me up on Tuesday evening at the airport since he had arrived home on Sunday night and found the car at the airport where I'd left it for him.

August 18-20: CalSAE AMC Retreat in Temecula

I had an early afternoon Sunday departure to San Diego with my boss for the AMC Retreat in Temecula, about 1 hour from the Ontario airport. The program was at the lovely South Coast Winery Resort & Spa, and the host venue put on a very good show for all of our guests.

On Sunday evening, I met up with A, J, and A at a restaurant in Old Town Temecula, and it was so wonderful to catch up on life with them and see how big A is growing. She's like a real little person now!

I had a beautiful swim in the large outdoor pool on Monday morning amidst the fog and slightly cloudy sky, and the Retreat began with lunch and continued through the afternoon. Our evening started with a tour and tasting of the nearby Carter Estate Winery and finished with an al fresco dinner on the elevated deck of the South Coast restaurant, overlooking the vineyards.

The retreat ended after lunch on Tuesday, so we headed back to the airport and spend our wait time in the Escape Lounge. I'm such a fan of these new airport lounges that are accessible to anyone for a small fee! Mr. E picked me up again at the airport in the evening.

August 28-29: CalSAE San Diego Member Forum & SoCal LevelUp

My co-worker B and I set off on Wednesday morning for the San Diego Member Forum, which was hosted by the San Diego Dental Society. The gathering was relatively small, but everyone who attended was very engaged and seemed to appreciate the facilitated discussion and networking opportunity.

We then drove about 90 minutes to the Newport Beach to the Renaissance hotel, where we stayed overnight in anticipation of our SoCal LevelUp event the next day. Our rooms were quite large and lovely -- top floor on the corners with great views in each direction and huge balconies. The proximity to the airport made things a bit noisy, however, when the floor-to-ceiling balcony doors were open!

The hotel offered a free airport shuttle, which was very convenient, so I was able to use that form of transportation since my co-worker was taking a later flight. I needed to be on the earlier flight in order to get home in time for our long weekend travel plans to Canada! More on that later...