Adventures Await

Today the long awaited BER letter arrived....my list of locations for seminars next year.

Being my fourth year of this BER adventure means I'm returning to some places. I even know some of the hotels I'll probably be staying at.

Old Favorites:

Burlington, VT--one of the prettiest places in the country....but I'll be there for a second dreary November visit. The hotel looks out on the lake, there are lots of cool shops in this college town, and there's a nearby restaurant where you can get lobster rolls! Last time it rained and we couldn't see the lake. We arrived after the shops closed and couldn't shop on our way out because we had a long drive to Portland ahead. I see that this year I'm driving in from Portland, so once again we'll miss the shops! Oh, well, I probably don't need a thick Vermont sweater or Vermont Teddy Bear anyway.

Portland, Maine---Ken and I loved this city while on vacation. When I returned with BER two years ago I was looking forward to lobster and ocean and cute shops. Not to be! We were at a crummy Holiday Inn in a strip mall far from water. "Dinner" was a soggy tuna sandwich from the grocery store in the shopping center because there was NO restaurant open at the ghastly late hour we arrived (maybe 9:00 p.m.)

The seminar in Portland was notable, however, as I had a dog as a participant! Seems a woman was training an assist dog that was sitting under the table--unknown to me. As part of one of my audience participation stunts, I tossed a koosh ball at her. She missed and it landed on the dog...who handled this disturbance pretty well considering. I'm a little more careful about the recipients of my ball tossing these days.

If I'm again in that crummy hotel, again miss a lobster dinner, and again have a four-legged participant...Portland still has a WONDERFUL perk. In the tiny Portland airport there is a Maine tourist shop and it carries Moose Mania calendars. Life will be good if I can have my fourth year in a row with my happy Moose calendar! (Two bought in Minneapolis, two in Portland)

Providence, R.I: Maybe this trip I'll actually SET FOOT in Rhode Island. On our family trip to Boston and Cape Cod we drove through Rhode Island fully intending to stop, get out of the car, and STAND ON Rhode Island (the necessary step to claim official "I've been to...." status.) Unfortunately, we blinked and were out of the state. Last Spring I returned with BER...except we actually stayed in Seaconk, MA which is located a few feet from Providence. Once again, I didn't actually set foot in the state. Maybe this time!

In Providence (AKA Seaconk) we stay at the Johnson and Wales Inn which is quite interesting. It's totally run by students at the famous hospitality school there. It's an interesting building with places where you have to go up a level to go down two levels. I'm also told it has a ghost. Oooooooooooooo,,,,

The rest of the repeats are not inspiring. Various midwest and various upstate New York and New Jersey sites. Boston, Seattle and Portland,OR are cool, but all are mid-week, so not much chance to see anything. The three new places will be interesting: Edmonton and Calgary in Canada and San Jose, CA.

Of course, I was hoping they'd send me mostly to places I had not yet been - maybe the south in February? Maybe Hawaii? Maybe Texas in March? Maybe a Monday or Friday to "stay over" in Maryland near my niece, or Denver near my brother and sister-in-law, maybe South Carolina near friend Donna, maybe San Antonio near brother-in-law Bill, maybe Boise near sister-in-law Kris, maybe Florida near Mickey Mouse!

But maybe they're on to something. Maybe BER knows that Newark will be the new "in" destination, that New Hampshire will be sunny and warm in November, that Minneapolis will be snow free and balmy in February, and that we'll stay in the North End above an Italian restaurant in Boston.

A girl can dream, can't she?