Soprano Sommerreise 2013: Depart LA, Arrive Orlando

On Monday morning I got up early to pack and my shuttle picked me up at 7:00--met a dude on the shuttle that we picked up on the USC campus (wow, nice place! Wouldn't mind working THERE!) who is a swim coach who was working with some athletes who were doing the Olympic trials the next day in Omaha. I saw some of the trials on TV in Orlando but have no idea who he was working with. He was from Newfoundland, Canada, and even he had heard about the political debacle in Wisconsin!) despite my worries, got to LAX before 8:00, and since I had checked in and paid for my bag online, I was at the gate in less than 30 minutes. THEN, the flight was full so they were offering to check additional bags for free. SO, I gave them my heavy carry on and didn't have to worry about getting it up into the overhead bins. I hate having to ask someone to help me with that. Uneventful flight, despite Tropical Storm Debby--sat with a family with little kids. 5 year old daughter, 2 year old boy--girl looked kind of like me, and it reminded me of going to Disneyland the first time when I was a kid with my mom and little brother. Long time ago, folks. Slept some, read some of "Inside of a Dog" by Alexandra Horowitz that my friend Nichole gave me on the way to the airport (she drove me from EC to MSP- thanks Nichole!) and arrived to the heat and humidity of Orlando. My luggage made it, my shuttle picked me up immediately, and as soon as I walked into the hotel (shuttle driver nice, and we had a good convo about non-Disney things to do in Orlando. Not many options) I saw Scott McCoy and his wife immediately. It was some of the simplest travel I've had in a long time.

Yuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A glimpse of the USC campus...

LAX, and didn't see a single celebrity

They give you either sparkling apple juice or champagne when you check in- the cool desk person, Sarah, gave me both! Yum! Nice big room, huge bed, lots of towels, good view of the pool--much different than LA, although the weather here is horrible. It rains, it stops, it rains, it stops. Hot, humid. Ug. I plan to spend most of my time inside--good thing, because there isn't much to do here that isn't Theme Park related. Watched TV for the first time in 3 weeks and fell asleep early.

Tuesday morning the board meeting started at 8:30. We had a lunch break-the hotel catered a lunch for us and it was yummy! Lots of avocado on the salad!- and we went until 5:30. We clipped along at a good pace, so we didn't have to meet in the evening. The board meeting was very interesting--organized, good energy, people with good ideas who could disagree with each other without malice. Whoa. I definitely took some notes! Coffee and snacks were provided throughout the day, and Dick Sjoerdsma and I shared our love of Wimbledon and took sneak peaks at the TV whenever we could! I got sick in the afternoon and had to go lay down for a while, but recovered enough to go out to dinner to some steak house with Don Simonson (NATS Pres), Kathy Duax (Pres Elect), Dick S. (Editor), Allen Henderson (Exec. director) and his son, and Lloyd Mims (sec/treas). I sat next to and across from steaks, but just had to eat a plain baked potato because I didn't trust my tummy. Also, sweet tea! Something I love about the south!

Had good conversation and headed back to the hotel by 8:30. Watched TV and caught up on blogging. Up late!!!!

Wednesday morning began again at 8:30 with board meetings. We talked about Student NATS today, which is going to be my responsibility, and I got a list of good ideas and asked for more feedback that anyone had. I ate lunch-again from the hotel and very yummy-with Mary Day, the outgoing VP of SNATS and she shared her files and some ideas with me. It's a big job, and it needs to be put online which will make everything much easier. I also sat with Patty Weis, our regional governor, and Scott McCoy and we shared some good laughs. Then, I asked Allen Henderson for funding to attend the annual SNATS Symposium held at Indiana University in January--that is a very active chapter, and I want to see up close and personal what they are doing there. It will also give me a chance to see Mrs. H! The afternoon meeting dealt with things in the "Parking Lot"-issues that came up throughout the meetings but that didn't fit with the current topic-and a few of them were hot button issues. People were very courteous to each other, but we couldn't really come to an agreement on things- people need more time to think. Upon completion, I came back up to my room and am lying down. Gonna take it easy tonight, read a book, take some notes for SNATS, and do some reflecting on SongFest. I compiled the previous blog entry today, picking out some of my favorite pictures and it is so great to look back on everything I did and the new friends I made. I am very happy.