Topics

I don't feel the urge to write about travel. That should be obvious from how little I've written. I'm wondering if I should just blog on general topics, and stop trying to be so creative. Just write.

What do you think?

Road Trip

Talks are back on with my friend Jeff about a road trip to hit a few more states I've not visited. (I've not looked back through my posts, but I've probably mentioned this before.) The real challenge is money. I've been living paycheck to paycheck lately. I haven't done that in a very long time. I was actually hoping for the buyout of my house so I could relieve that debt, as well as the extra money the raise would have brought in.

I noticed the people across the street have started moving things back in to their townhouse. It has been on the market for around nine months. I don't know where they have been living, but apparently the cost of two places was too much, and they are back.

But back to the topic...

Of the continental U.S., I still need to visit Louisiana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. I would like to hit a few of these this summer on a road trip. Obviously, Louisiana will not be able to be made in a trip that will hit the other states. From Kansas City, I could see easily getting Wyoming and Montana, and maybe even shooting over to Idaho. North Dakota is not on any reasonable paths for those states, though I might make an exception. (Vacation time, however, may negate that.)

That reminds me... Jeff is leaving today for Georgia. He is going to hike 70 miles of the Appalachian Trail. He started on it before, but became ill and had to quit. He is hoping to give another try at "thru-hiking" it next year, once he checks his finances. I hope his are better than mine. Of course, he's an accountant.

Well, this has been a stream-of-consciousness entry...

Portland Deal Fell Through

Well, reader, I decided not to take the position in Portland. The hiring manager made a promise about the relocation package that he was not authorized to make. Though they would pay my moving costs, he promised the company would buy my house if it didn't sell in 90 days. That was not in the official offer letter. I told them, in this market with 6 other homes on my block already on the market, that I just can't take the position without that.

It's not all bad. I have been stressed about that, but now I shall focus on writing again.

30° Further West

Nothing's official yet, and I've been waiting to write until then. But HR drags slowly these days.

I have unofficially been offered a position at a sister company within the umbrella of my current employer. Once it becomes official, I will move to the Portland, Oregon area in the next couple months. I love Portland. It is one of my favorite cities. My brother lived there for a number of years, so I'm pretty familiar with it.

I had the opportunity to fly up there for five days for work recently. I looked over the new office and talked to some of the contractors putting it together to make sure the telecommunications infrastructure is being put together as we require it. I also had the opportunity to talk to a realtor and get a better idea where I would like to live. Well, at least narrow the list to about three or four neighborhoods.

I hope to post something official soon..

Big Changes

Changes are ahead for the Ambassador. I will write more as things become finalized. Here is a hint:

Holiday Travel Forecast

The AAA has released estimates for the holiday season this year. Although they expect an increase over last year, they are predicting it will be only a slight increase. They expect the number of people who will fly or drive more than 50 miles this year will increase by only 0.7 percent over last year. They will be paying 16 percent more on airfare this year, and an average of 70 cents more per gallon of gasoline.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

A Plan

Jeff and I discussed our options for this summer, and neither one of us can really afford to fly to Europe right now. Instead, we are going to go camping. I said I have always wanted to see Glacier National Park, and then I saw something on TV about Grand Teton. He asked if I've ever seen Mt. Rushmore, which I haven't. So... we may drive up from Kansas City, see Mount Rushmore, then move on to Grand Teton, and up to Glacier National Park.