Alesia Kaye Travels

Down Time

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 12:47:53 -0400

Twenty thousand miles later and following a successful rescue trip of my son from Canada - I may have some down time. At least as far as travel goes.

Today I take my husband to the airport as he is headed to Michigan for about a month and then I attack the storage unit.

Hopefully I will find time to go thru & edit all the photos but to be honest with everyone it may have to wait till the first of the new year. There is a strong possibility that a move to the Southwest is in our immediate future and that will have to take priority. Once all plans are finalized I’ll be able to update here.

Have a good one!

Postponed

Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:07:34 -0400

All updates will have to wait - have to make an emergency trip back up to Washington State.

Cya

Hotel Hell

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 20:02:41 -0400

“Hotel Hell” just started on television - haven’t caught an episode yet since we’ve been on the road since June. Since my husband is a Hotel Consultant - it seems pretty relevant as we have been dealing with our own version of “Hotel Hell” for years - but never like this summer….

~ Alesia

Returned...

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 16:10:27 -0400

Got back from Martha’s Vineyard late last night. Will update photos and info when I get a chance. For the record - road trip to the Vineyard from theMmidwest and back in 6 days - a little much ;)

Martha's Vineyard

Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:08:33 -0400

Still on the island - three meetings lined up today and then we are scheduled to catch the ferry back to Woods Hole. I probably won’t be able to update about the trip until we are back at our mother’s house - but I am trying to grab as many pics with my iPhone as I can while I’m here and I’ll share those when the trip is over.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

It’s good to be back in Boston. It’s even better...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 16:47:54 -0400

It’s good to be back in Boston. It’s even better being off of I-90!!

Stopped for the night in the Finger Lakes region of NY and am enjoying the best bath of my life....

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:55:58 -0400

Stopped for the night in the Finger Lakes region of NY and am enjoying the best bath of my life.

Is it a huge garden tub in a luxury suite? NO.

Is it a large tub with tons of jets to make my water bubble, you ask? NO.

What is it that makes it so perfect?

The fact that I was exhausted and sweaty and wanted it so badly is what makes it perfect.

After all abstinence is the best aphrodisiac and hunger the best appetizer.

It’s all ALWAYS relevant.

On the Road (again)...

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 05:30:54 -0400

So our summer road trip which is a basically a business trip that we’ve decided to have some fun on, has turned into officially a “Coast to Coast” trip.

The call came through Saturday night and plans were confirmed on Sunday that ended up sending us to Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. We left yesterday (it was a quick packing situation as we were already planning to head to Florida today) and spent last night on the Indiana / Ohio border.

Hitting the road again in a few hours and I’ll grab some photos with the iPhone as we travel.

I feel a little odd as my mother talked me into leaving both the dog and cat with her while we make this fast trip so now for the first time in almost 30 years I have no kids and no pets with me as I travel. Very odd sensation - almost like going back in time and doing those old “road trips” I made as a kid all over again.

It’s really strange to repeat an event in your life that makes you realize how different a person you have become. Almost like going back in time to look in the mirror and see who you will be in the future. Very strange…

New Travel Orders...

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 22:33:41 -0400

New travel plans being formed now. At this point I’m not sure if we are heading to the Deep South or way back up to the North East. Should have things finalized tomorrow. Haven’t even managed to get the photos from Texas up yet since I’ve been visiting family, maybe I’ll have some downtime on the road and get that finished.

Updates within the next couple of days. Very curious to see which direction we head.

Visiting Family...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 09:04:16 -0400

I’m currently back in Southern Illinois checking in on my mother & family. We have a few “down days” before we have to decide on “What Now?” so we thought we would spend it visiting our folks. Today we rest and then this week we get the car checked out again (over 8,000 miles put on her in the last few weeks - WOW) and make our future plans!!

I’m going to take a few days off from here but I may be updating my regular “arts” tumblr while relaxing and catching up on the news - other than that, it’s simply “do nothing” for a while.

Talk to y’all soon!!!

Visited Poetry, Texas today…

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 22:49:43 -0400

Visited Poetry, Texas today…

Life is a Tangible Experience

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:45:00 -0400

I originally attempted to post this yesterday via my iPhone and my mobile app says it posted - but alas, I have yet to find it on my actual tumblr so I’m re-posting. I apologize in advance if it’s on here 2 or 3 times in various locations - I’ll try to keep an eye out for it and remove any duplicates once they appear.

————————-

With this highly techno world we now live in, I must say that this “road trip” we have been on has been a welcome change.

We have made an effort while traveling to reconnect face-to-face with far flung friends and relatives. This has been so much more rewarding than a silly virtual “poke”.

I have been fortunate to meet cousins children whom I had only seen in photographs before this trip and to be astonished at their personalities.

My husband met up with an old business associate that had become a friends and was able to share a warm hand shake while asking “How have you been” and looking the man in the eye.

We have made countless new friends and found proof that there truly are GOOD people out there across our country and indeed the world. Proof of this is in the generous nature of the people in Vancouver with whom my son has now formed lasting friendships.

The online world is great - but it has it’s place.

The real world, full of beauty that can not be captured electronically and must be experienced, is still out there. As are hugs to be shared, handshakes to be offered and lives to be lived.

I am so thankful we decided to do this and highly encourage all of you to go out today and make at least one new friend or meet up with an old one. Go visit a distant relative or simply go for a walk in the park.

Experience your world … Not just the one some software programmer or web designer made for you.

Nothing replaces a tangible experience … go have one.

~ Alesia

Mayor's Back to School Fair

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:37:12 -0400

Mayor's Back to School Fair:

The Mayor’s Back to School Fair is a collaborative effort between the City of Dallas, Dallas area schools, public health departments, state agencies, non-profit organizations, corporations and hundreds of volunteers.

Together, we help economically disadvantaged children start off the new school year with many of their school-related needs met in a ‘one-stop destination.’

…

First time I’ve seen an event like this. Seems like a great idea on the surface but I don’t know many of the details - just caught the story on the local news. It’s a big deal here and there are TONS of people getting ready to participate.

I wanted to share it here because I thought it might be a good model or inspiration for other communities to learn from. I at least really like the concept - but as I said, I don’t have the details yet. If you think it’s something you would like to start in your community, take a look at the website to learn more about it and then get out there and get something organized.

It doesn’t take an “important” person to get something accomplished, just one that cares enough to do the work.

If any of you are planning a trip to the Dallas area be sure to...

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 07:11:14 -0400

If any of you are planning a trip to the Dallas area be sure to bring along a couple of needed items.

First off - sunscreen. Not only is it WICKED HOT around here but the sun is so strong that it feels as though it will cook you within about 5 minutes. I’m a redhead so I’m more sensitive than many others are - but don’t let that make you think you don’t need the protection. Believe me - EVERYONE needs to be protected from this sun & heat. Wear light colored & lightweight clothes, have lots of water with you and always use that sunscreen. And for goodness sake - don’t leave anyone - including pets - in a closed car for any period of time. It’s just not worth it!!

The second thing you should be sure to bring with you is bug spray - and the hardcore “will always work” kind. (We use Deep Woods Off for this type of stuff). Apparently there is an outbreak of West Nile Virus in this area and it’s a record breaker. Again - just not worth it to take chances. Dallas is spraying for mosquitoes but with the record heat this year so many places around the country are experiencing record numbers of insects - protect yourself & your kids from those that are dangerous.

Otherwise - Dallas is a great place, as long as you find an air conditioned location :) No clue how long this heat will last, but I don’t see much of a break coming anytime soon.

More info on the West Nile outbreak at WFAA

Made it to Texas safely… Busy day today so I will update when I have some downtime AND a...

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:06:12 -0400

Made it to Texas safely… Busy day today so I will update when I have some downtime AND a decent internet connection.

Another early start today. This time it was brought on by an A/C unit that decided it had had ENOUGH...

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 06:48:11 -0400

Another early start today. This time it was brought on by an A/C unit that decided it had had ENOUGH and attempted suicide. Fortunately the condition was not permanent but alas, the damage was already done and I was awake for the day.

Hitting the road soon!! Next stop - TEXAS!

We decided to call it a day once we got well into Kansas. This...

Sun, 29 Jul 2012 20:42:32 -0400

We decided to call it a day once we got well into Kansas. This will leave us with an eight to ten hour drive tomorrow, which I was hoping to avoid, but with the pets along for the ride we have to stop when they’ve had all they can take. They reached that point earlier today and were vocal about letting us know that fact.

We are now in the land of “heat & drought”.

The photo above was on I-70 as you entered Kansas from Colorado. The same sign had a rotating message that also asked drivers to not “discard cigarettes” - which terrified me. To think that the prevention of wildfires partially depended upon drivers not being slobs with their lit cigarettes was a bit unnerving.

It has been absolutely heartbreaking to see so many acres of corn totally dried up and it is a strange site to see one field, which has irrigation, doing somewhat well sitting next to a field without irrigation. It’s like night and day sitting side by side. Check the Drought Monitor Map for Kansas here.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to drive through Oklahoma City and the forecast high is 104 with a heat index of 110 - I’m not looking forward to that part of the trip.

I have a lot more to say on some of the sites we saw today but it will have to wait until we get to our destination and I have some time to rest while my husband deals with his meetings. In the meantime I’m going to try my best to get this hotel’s air conditioning to work and relax with some Olympic television.

Night all….

~Alesia

Stopping for the night in Wyoming. I am WAY too tired to even...

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 21:53:48 -0400

Stopping for the night in Wyoming. I am WAY too tired to even think of editing any photos or doing more than this for a blog entry.

Have a great night everyone and perhaps I’ll do a quick update in the morning - just hoping it’s not at 4am again!!

~Alesia

A benefit of an early start is beautiful sunrises.

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 10:16:21 -0400

A benefit of an early start is beautiful sunrises.

Yesterday was spent travelling from the Wenatchee Valley of...

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 07:49:00 -0400

Yesterday was spent travelling from the Wenatchee Valley of Washington to the Idaho border. Today we continue to head East and then turn South towards Denver. Not really sure how far we will make it because it was one of those nights where my body had no clue what time zone we were in and decided to wake up at 3:50 local time (whatever the hell that is).

As a result I have no idea how far I’ll make it today, may have to stop after only 4 or 5 hours or I may just keep going for a full 15. It wouldn’t be the first time! LOL

Take care everyone and I’ll check in as I’m able!!!

Safe travels…

~ Alesia

All Photos taken with an iPhone 4 - usually mounted on my dash. This one was while travelling through Oregon.