My Kind of Work Trip

 

Jeff moving to Oakland Schools was the best move in so many ways- he gets paid better, he is much closer to home (even services my district so if I ever have a VI student like I have in the past, we'd work together) and... He gets to go on cool work trips every other year. This was his first trip and because it is in summer- I tagged along (of course we had to pay for my flight and my food but...)

Our morning started out interesting. Once we thought about it, the last time I was on a plane was my cousin's second wedding and Jeff's last time on a plane was her first so it has definitely been a bit. With 4 kids and teacher salaries- we can't really afford this ease of travel. What we learned was that Jeff didn't have a "Real ID" so he had to go through all these extra steps to get on the plane. It was a headache- and then there was an issue when he went through so needless to say- he was having a drink in the airport!

But once that nonsense was over, the flight was quick and easy. We went to Louisville and it wasn't even an hour flight! There were moments I felt a little queezy (I am not a heights person) but it was OK. I still liked peeking out the window and I loved reading my kindle so all was good!

When we got there we took a Lyft to our hotel (another first for us) and set out to explore downtown! Our hotel was nice and bonus it was the same place that all of Jeff's classes/presentations/ whatever you want to call them, would be.

Our first night we walked down to the river and just looked around. We ate at a Joe's Crab Shack and it was yummy. I had a cocktail that was MUCH too sweet but I figured I should do cocktails on this trip so that's what I did.

Each day after Jeff was done with his stuff, we were able to go out and explore. We were told we HAD to do the Louisville Slugger tour and it was really cool. We got to see how bats were made and read up on some history and as a former ball player and daughter of one of the biggest fans of the game, this was a really cool stop that we both really liked.

We had great food each day! We ate at Bearnos for pizza and beer (so good), Bob Dylan's Restaurant Last Refuge (so cool and yummy), Spaghetti Factory (another winner), and the hotel restaurant which was just "meh." One of our dinners was that sundae you see above from Ehler's. We had no idea that they would be that big. I don't think I was able to finish a third of mine but it was really good!

Another fun thing we were able to do was the Mega Cavern Walking Tour. It was actually really cool and we learned a lot. There was a fall-out shelter down there and they actually had an ambulance and other things from back then still there. We both agreed that this was a highlight.

I also scheduled my first uber (I had been in them before but not scheduled them) and I REALLY loved our driver. She had a whole snack shop set up in her car and was super friendly and chatty (which I love) she had some Michigan Roots too. 

We of course had LOTS of people who told us where we "must" go but unfortunately we weren't there too long but we did get a lof of things in. Danny was the one who recommended Dylan's restaurant. The wait staff was really cool and we got to look around and see where they have concerts and stuff. Where we sat was pretty intimate.

We also had a friend recommend not only a place but also a cocktail they "still think about" so we went to the Buzzard's Roost and I showed the bartender a picture of my friend's drink and though they said they weren't currently on the menu they had what it needed so whipped me one up. Another girl at the bar saw my drink, and ordered one too! It was soooooo good! Not as sweet as it looks. Jeff did a bourbon flight. I am not a bourbon girl but I put some to my lips and that was enough. 

Each night I felt like we ended in our hotel lobby for drinks and cards. It was a great place to people watch and there were SO MANY CUTE DOGS!!! The only probably is they were all working so I couldn't talk with them but it sure was nice. I did go up and introduce myself to one dog's owner because she had a WMU shirt on. She was from Texas but WMU has a great VI program (which is where Jeff went).

Another fun trip we took was on the Bella Sunset Cruise. Before the ride, we were looking for a place to eat in 4th Street but there was some crazy LOUD concert going on with not our kind of music so we had to look elsewhere. The probably was it started pouring like crazy! You can tell from our boat pictures that it cleared up nicely.

As we were walking up to the boat we heard the most annoying sounds ever. We thought it was kazoos but it was actually the organ from the boat that WE WERE GOING ON!! Thankfully he only played a few songs (and watching him was actually quite cool because the keys to the organ were so small). They played great music during the cruise, and it was so nice watching the sun set over the bridges.

I thought that I would have explored more on my own but I didn't really. Oddly enough I started running again and between that and my reading, I felt pretty busy. I ran five or ten miles (which blows my mind) each day we were there. I haven't been running in years and was so excited when I could do it (run straight). I'm slower (miles in the 10s and 11s) but the fact that I did it at all felt amazing and I know it's something I'm going to keep up. I read like crazy so I just read my kindle on the treadmill. It was perfection! And speaking of reading- our room was PERFECT for me as you can see!

I'm already looking forward to Jeff's next trip! Our return flight home was easy and I couldn't wait to get back to the kids and the pups!