Who knew about Omaha?

One of my favorite layovers late in my first year of flying was Omaha, Nebraska. Who would have thought? The town is sooo cute. Just across the river and down the street from our hotel is Old Town, with cobble stone streets and brick buildings. Even though it was November, the weather was beautiful and the sun was shining, so I enjoyed the chilly walk. I went to Upstream Brewery for chili and a local beer before walking north of Old Town in search of some cool, old buildings I'd seen on the map. I ended up walking probably 10 miles that day... seeing an old school, a museum, and a beautiful Christmas tree in the train station before the sun started setting and I headed back to the hotel. I hear that we don't layover there anymore, so I'm sure the experience wouldn't be the same if I picked up a trip there now, but I'm glad I went when I did.

Pittsburg Time

One of our layovers on our first line month was Pittsburg. We stayed near the airport, unfortunately, but we had plenty of time to Uber downtown and explore. First we went  to a park where the rivers meet with a huge, cool fountain then to Market Square - a cute, little area with restaurants, shops, and a park in the middle. After eating lunch at a sandwich shop with GIGANTIC portions (I had tuna with the french fries INSIDE - the restaurants signature thing), we went to a candy store. We decided to wander around town some more and found ourselves at a cool apartment building that had once been an old train station with a beautiful domed entrance. Once the sun started setting, it didn't feel the safest to be wandering around, so we Uber'd back and relaxed the rest of the night at the hotel.

September's BA Trip

At the end of last September, I was blessed with the opportunity to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina again. After sitting around on-call all day, I finally got called for the all-nighter, 10plus hour flight. This trip, my crew wasn't nearly as great as the time before, so I was left to enjoy the layover alone, but that was just fine with me. I was determined to find a Messi jersey for my nephew, so I shopped and shopped and when I finally found one, they only accepted cash, so I ran back to my hotel room to try to exchange money and failed... which was frustrating... maybe someday I'll get that jersey. I ran down to the waterfront, which was so vibrant and lively I felt overwhelmed with a sense of community. People were everywhere having picnics, listening to music, playing soccer. I could have wandered around all day over there, making me fall even more in love with Bueno Aires. The weather was beautiful - a little chillier, which was great for exercising. When I was finally heading black to the U.S., I discovered one of most romantic songs during my crew rest, too: Birdy's Shadow. All in all, an unexpected (and kind of unwanted) but incredibly successful trip to Argentina.

St. Patty's at O'tooles

I can thank the Crew Scheduling gods for sending me to Chicago St. Patrick's Day weekend. It was perfect timing, because Dustin had just flown from San Fransisco to Chicago that morning to bartender at O'tooles for the holiday, so after a quick nap at the hotel, I walked over to O'tooles to see him and have a St. Patty's beer. From there we went to a bar up the street and slept over at Dan's apartment. In the morning Dustin & I grabbed breakfast before I headed back to the hotel to get ready for my flight to Denver. It was great to see the green river and celebrate one of my favorite holidays at O'tooles for maybe the last time.

GM17

Just one month ago, I was in the Upper Peninsula enjoying GM 17 - Girls Weekend 2017 in Grand Marias, Michigan. We had 8 girls in attendance this year - 4 from the east side and 4 from the west side - and we spent 4 days and 3 nights enjoying the winter wonderland together. Luckily, on the drive up there wasn't much snow, so we made it safely and were able to watch the snow fall from the warmth of the house while playing Cards Against Humanity and tie-dying matching purple sweatshirts. (I had given each girl a gift bag with bailey's minis, bottled water, biscoff cookies, GM17 mix CD, and a white zip-up for dying.) Once the Lake Superior Brewing Company opened, we headed over both Friday & Saturday night for cheese breadsticks, parmesan popcorn, and drinks. The first night we got snowmobile rides from the table sitting next to us. The second night we had a dance party at the new Grand Marias Tavern up the street where DJ Robert took all our requests. There were lots of mimosas, mixed drinks, and beer all weekend, one attempt to walk to the waterfall (which was quickly shot down by the insane wind on the beach), one fight between dirtbags at the bar, a few new friends made (shoutout to bartender Brandie), and lots of naps & laughter.

Panamanian Day

Panama City was one of my favorite layovers of 2015, which came late in the year. We ended up losing our #4 and picked up a newly hired flight attendant in MIA before heading to Panama. (After a short mishap attempting to leave Miami, when a main cabin passenger decided to alert us to the fact that she had boarded the wrong plane in an effort to go to Panama City, Florida ...not Panama City, Panama, making us slightly delayed and semi-irritated.) But when we finally landed the weather was beautiful and the ocean views were amazing from our hotel room, it was all worth the passenger headache in Florida. (I was actually the #1 on this trip, so I had looked up the hotel in advance to make sure I knew what rooms overlooked the ocean for sunrise &sunset.)

The crew decided to all meet in the lobby and go out on the town in Panama City. We went down the main drag along the water toward town and checked out the bars & restaurants as we went. The buses were probably my favorite part. There were all covered in colorful graffiti and blasted loud music and people hung out the windows cat-calling us gringo-girl wandering down the side of the road. We finally settled on one with an indoor, outdoor vibe and basic bar food. We ordered a bucket of beers and a bunch of appetizers and hunkered down into a table by the door. We talked to the new-hire about what to expect with the job and tried to be cheerful considering her frustration toward not getting a DFW base out of training.

Afterwords, we went back near the hotel where we wandered around a convention center across the street that featured a huge, beautiful globe sculpture. Since it was the holiday season, we also got to enjoy the epic Christmas tree in the hotel lobby. The next day, we had enough time to wake up and have baked goods & coffee before heading back to the airport. The Panama Canal was way too far away, but maybe with a longer layover, I would have liked to check that out.

Sint Maarten 30th

For his 30th birthday, I took Erik to the Sonesta Maho all-inclusive beach resort in Sint Maarten - one of the places he mentioned ages ago as a top destination on his list. Getting down there was a little risky. The day before, our flight oversold and we ended up having to take jump seats to Miami, but we got seats together to Sint Maarten and we were able to have a great view landing on the island. From the airport, we walked to our resort, which was actually really fun and convenient - tromping around the streets with our backpack/duffel bag.

The first night, we just did the "airport beach thing," which is what SXM is known for. The planes take off and land right over the top of you! Erik was more excited than me about that part, but I quickly got into it (though we never did stand behind a plane at take off to get blasted with sand... that didn't look fun at all). We also had dinner at one of the restaurants and had a beautiful view of the beach & sunset and we were able to watch more airplanes. We went to a resort bar after dinner, where we were served LOTS of delicious drinks before stumbling back to our room.

On the second day, we got on a quirky little "bus" that took us to Philipsburgh - the island capital and the cruise ship port - for only a couple dollars. We did some shopping and walked along the beach there before heading back to our resort on the other side of the island. After a quick lunch, we went out to jump around in the waves (well, he jumped around... I just got beat up and knocked over). Then we had dinner and went to the famous Sunset Beach Bar for a drink.

The next morning, we flew out, so we walked back to the airport and did some souvenir shopping. We found a really cool tile and some magnets for his dad and our fridge. When we got to Miami we found that our flight was delayed by 3plus hours, so we hunkered down in a quiet spot near Starbucks and waited- only to realize that our flight time had been pushed back up and we had to sprint through the airport to grab our jump seats back to DFW.

Though we were both exhausted and my hair was full of sand still, we met Erik's dad for dinner and gabbed about our trip before finally making it home.

Kona Weekend

I was able to check another state off my list this past weekend when I was sent to Kona, Hawaii on call! The flight was delayed by 6ish hours, so the actual day leading up to my journey was a bit irritating, but eventually I made it.

My goodness, it was beautiful. The first night we got in, one of my crew members asked if I wanted to get a St. Patrick's Day beer, so we wandered down this little strip of shops and bars with outdoor patios overlooking the ocean to find a good spot. We settled on a place called Humpy's with a huge wraparound, second-floor deck and each got a Kona Brewing Company beer, before heading to bed after the long day.

The next morning I woke up to see the sunrise then took a nap before going for a long walk around town right next to the ocean. I did some souvenir shopping and found an ornament for our Christmas tree and a magnet for our fridge. Then I headed to lunch with a crew member at Kona Brewing Company, where we both enjoyed a pineapple IPA and some chips with hummus & guacamole.

It was a quick trip, but the weather was incredible, the town felt so laid back, the beach was beautiful, and the people were friendly. I was able to tackle the business class galley on a wide-body plane for the first time and I certainly can't complain about a last-minute, unexpected trip to Hawaii!

Guess who's back

A lot has changed since my last post in 2014.

First, I became a flight attendant. Specifically, 2 years and 1 month ago, I started my 6 week flight attendant training. It was probably around this time that I did my first "work trip," so I've been flying for 2 years.

I officially moved to Texas. Specifically, the Dallas Forth Worth Metroplex. The original plan was Chicago. "I'll bide my time in DFW until I can move to ORD with Joe." I said. Well, obviously things have changed and that option is out.

I met the love of my life. Specifically, on a reserve assignment with a long San Antonio layover. I feel incredibly happy and blessed.

I've traveled internationally. Specifically, London, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Paris, Panama City, San Juan, Guatemala City, Sint Maarten.

I've traveled domestically. Specifically, 38 out of 50 states.

I've read a 118 books. I ran a half marathon. I sent lots of greeting cards. I got rid of 80% of my wardrobe. I moved in & out of 6 different "homes." My oldest brother was diagnosed with brain cancer. My middle brother moved to San Fransisco.

I discovered a lot about myself... but I'm still finding more every day.