October: Month o' Travel (Part 2)

Week of Oct. 20: Back-to-Back Conferences + Family Visit (ORD > ATL > BOS)

On Tuesday (aka Calypso Day -- miss you, my baby girl cat!), I had a late morning flight to Atlanta for the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) annual conference, which was at the Marriott Marquis in downtown Atlanta. 

I was pleasantly surprised that my room was ready when I checked after taking the MARTA public transit from the airport to the hotel, so I could get organized a bit before going to the afternoon Learning Circle sessions. I met up with my colleague, IN, at the 2-Year College group, which always provides a lively and interesting conversation. After the early evening reception, I found a nearby spot for sushi for dinner and then spent some time on homework before going to bed.

I took advantage of the lovely and large indoor / outdoor pool to swim laps on Wednesday morning before attending the keynote session. Then IN and I co-presented a Breakout session about our Finish Line Scholars program. We opted for different pre-lunch sessions, and I skipped the secondary Learning Circle opportunity to get more homework done. In the afternoon, I was part of a 4-person Ignite session focused on innovation in different aspects of scholarship programs, so I got to talk about our Educating for Change Scholarship and the innovative partnerships that came together to create and launch the program. I lingered for a bit at the second evening reception and then turned in at a reasonable time in anticipation of my morning flight the next day.

I was up early to fit in my workout on Thursday before my morning flight to Boston for the American Translators Association (ATA) annual conference. I was on Jet Blue, which I haven't flown for quite some time, and I appreciated how their seat-back welcome screen was very customized to the destination! 

Attending the ATA was an opportunity for me to make some new connections in the language industry and meet up with my peers and faculty from the NYU SPS MSTI program. I was lucky again to have my room ready when I checked in at the Westin Boston Seaport after taking the Silver Line public transit bus from Logan airport to the hotel. My room was on a relatively low floor but still had a good view of the planes from the nearby airport.

Since there weren't any sessions earlier in the day that interested me, I decided to take advantage of the time to make a visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, one of my (and mom's) favorite spots. I always enjoy wandering through the amazing Italianate style building surrounding the open internal courtyard, and I got to see the lingering traces of the annual chrysanthemums along with many of my other favorite art works, including the portraits of Isabella herself.

I returned to the hotel in time for the mid-afternoon AFTI Board meeting. Coincidentally, the first person I had seen when picking up my registration info earlier in the day was C, my former professor and the President of the AFTI Board who is the one who got me involved with AFTI's fundraising and strategic planning efforts. I was also spotted by my peer, A, in the hotel gift shop when she recognized my purple hair! For dinner later on, I opted for takeout from MJ O'Connor's Pub, an independent restaurant co-located with the hotel, and got a yummy shrimp salad bowl with all of the necessary accommodation for my dietary restrictions.

On Friday, I attended the annual members meeting and made a great connection with D, who very kindly offered to follow up with additional guidance and recommendations about my plans to focus on project management. After the morning sessions, I joined other MSTI students and faculty at the Exhibit Hall for a group photo and then met up with another former professor, E, for lunch at the hotel cafe. That evening was the annual game night to benefit AFTI, so I joined a small group of other volunteers at 7pm to get everything ready for the 9pm event. Too late for me to participate in the games themselves!

I had arranged for a late check-out on Saturday so was able to enjoy my workout and the morning sessions without feeling rushed to pack up. I decided to try a different route for my morning walk this time and ended up strolling by the Children's Museum with its iconic Hood milk bottle outside -- a true landmark from my childhood! I also appreciated the ocean view projected on the enormous screen in the hotel lobby (not sure if it's a live stream from an actual MA beach or not).

There weren't any mid-day sessions that appealed to me, so after I checked out, I left my bags with the concierge and walked to the nearby Institute of Contemporary Art, stopping for lunch along the way. I really enjoyed all of the exhibitions, as well as the view over Boston Harbor from the galleries and from the ground-floor cafe, where I sipped on a late-afternoon Americano before returning to the conference hotel.

The final sessions I attended were about transcreation (presented by former professor E) and AFTI (led by the same group as at the Board meeting). I had arranged for transportation by Key Limo to go to my Aunt M's house in Sharon for the evening, so I met up with the driver outside the hotel and arrived at her lovely and inviting home just after 6pm. She had ordered takeout from a local Chinese restaurant, and we got to enjoy the vegetarian meal and some quality conversation followed by tea and an early bedtime. Fine with me at that point after such a full week!

On Sunday morning, my Aunt hosted brunch for me and my cousins R and E. R was only able to stop by for a bit, but E came over earlier and we had a nice walk together to pick up coffee at a little cafe nearby. We also managed to connect with J and family via FaceTime for a quick group chat. Then Key Limo came to pick me up at noon to take me to the airport for my return flight to Chicago. The timing was better this weekend for me to take the Pace Pulse bus home, and it was so nice to be welcomed by Mr. E and the kitties after being away for nearly a week!

Week of Oct. 27: Fostering Family Connections in CO

I had a bit more time to unpack and do laundry and enjoy being home in Evanston before the next trip. I got to attend my Better Off Read book club on Wednesday evening to discuss How to Hide an Empire, which prompted some quite lively conversations with the group. Then Mr. E and I headed to Denver on Thursday afternoon for the Halloween weekend. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Downtown, right across from the Convention Center and our favorite blue bear statue.

We took advantage of the full breakfast each morning and the manager's receptions each evening, which was one of the factors that had influenced our decision about which hotel to choose this time around. On Friday, we both worked for most of the day and then headed to A's house in Littleton to meet up with her and the boys for a DIY taco dinner and trick-or-treating. Always fun to get to be part of that experience, especially since A let me wear the unicorn onesie to match my unicorn headband! R was away for the weekend at a friend's wedding in Lexington, KY, so it was a smaller family gathering than usual (although we did spot him briefly at the airport on Sunday afternoon as we were leaving and he was arriving!).

On Saturday, Mr. E went to visit his cousins in Centennial while I camped out in the lovely hotel lobby with huge floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the mountains to do MSTI and LTCC homework. I was able to Camille Pissarro exhibition, which was really intriguing. I managed to find a couple of kitty items at the gift shop (measuring spoons, tote bag). Mr. E and I then met up with A and the boys at the Yard House near the Sheraton Hotel, which was about a 10-minute walk for us from the Embassy Suites. The restaurant was able to accommodate dietary restrictions for both A and me, which was great. 

We had just enough time on Sunday morning to grab breakfast at the hotel before going back to the airport to return the rental car and catch our flight home to Evanston. And I managed to fit the unicorn onesie into my carry-on bag! Phew! We got home in the late afternoon and were able to spend time with the kitties (needed to reassure Louis XIV in particular as he had been exhibiting some odd behavior while we were away and X was taking care of them). I also swapped out the holiday decorations, putting away Halloween and pulling out Thanksgiving, since we had changed months and also pushed back the clocks on Saturday night. 

Made it to November! All of the travel went well, and it was all for good reasons, but I'm glad that I'll be home for almost all of this month and can settle in to enjoy the end of fall and beginning of winter here in Evanston.