Ready, Set, Go: Holiday Plans

I promise I've turned the corner and I'm back to more consistent writing. It's been a crazy few weeks and sadly this whole blogging thing had to take the backseat. But I'm back to loads of travel and hopefully wild adventures and it all starts tomorrow!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be in Hawaii, Dominican Republic and the continental US. (I get that Hawaii is part of the US, but it doesn't really feel that way.....) And I can't wait. I think all these trips will get me into the holiday spirit and I'll arrive back to Belgium on December 16th ready to relax and enjoy the beauty of Gent at Christmas time. Europe all decorated for the holidays is truly one of my favorite places and times on Earth. I'm already in the holiday season just thinking about it!

It all begins super early tomorrow. I need to be out of the apartment by 4am to make it to the airport on time. And I'll be closing up the apartment for a few weeks, so I need to get the fridged cleaned out, laundry washed, trash dumped, bills paid, bags packed, doctors visited, and etc today. As I'm working my way through this big list, I just keep reminding myself, "I'll be in Hawaii tomorrow!"

I've never been to Hawaii before and I'm incredibly excited. It just seems so majestic and stunning. We are going for a Friendsgiving and the biggest problem is how short my time there will be (I know.....not a real problem). I arrive quite late on Tuesday and have to fly out on Sunday. In those four full days, I plan to be out under the sun, in a bathing suit and hopefully with a fishing rod in my hand as much as possible.

Following Hawaii, I head to the Dominican Republic to take part in an amazing service project before traveling to Atlanta for a week-long training camp. I've bookended the end of this trip with a little family time that I plan to spend with my sister, who is one of my most favorite people on Earth and truly serves as my rock. 

Ready, Set, GO!

Growing Up Prep

I went to a small, southern all-girls boarding school for high school (except freshman year). The first year had a steep learning curve both academically and socially.  As a tomboy since birth, being around 115 girls 24/7 took some adjusting... So did all the hugging.

I went to Chatham Hall and my graduating class was 26 girls. It was situated in the middle of tobacco field Virginia where the most exciting things were the really terrible Italian restaurant, Sunday food trips to Walmart and the occasional journey to Danville for a movie and IHOP.

Unlike all but three other girls, I got to leave campus twice a day and go to the neighboring boys school for swim practice. When it wasn't swim season, I played field hockey, lacrosse or soccer....and rode a horse or two. Sports kept me fairly sane in this environment. 

I haven't stayed in touch with many people since the day I graduated. Social media makes it a little easier but it's been almost 20 years and my interest has waned. I've never been to a class reunion and I'm not sure if I ever will.

A small Chatham Hall reunion. This might be as close as I ever get.

So when Mari said she was getting married, I knew I had to go. She was one of my best friends in high school and someone I've stayed in touch with over the years, despite us both hopping around the globe. Luckily, it was at the point in the season where I could actually disappear for about 40 hours. So I jumped on a plane from Brussels, had a slightly ungodly layover in Prague and landed in JFK. Got picked up and a few hours later landed in New Haven, Connecticut. Home of Yale. 

Mari and I probably senior year of high school (I think taken 1998). At Chatham, you are put on either the gold team or purple team within a day or two of school starting. It has a legacy component to it. We were obviously both gold.

When I accepted my invitation, I had no idea who would be at this wedding. I assumed Mari, similar to me, wouldn't have stayed in touch with many people from high school. I planned to fly in on Saturday and back to Europe on Monday. I knew one of our shared best friend's, Andrew, would be there, so I immediately roped Andrew into being my pseudo date. 

Turns out I knew a total of five people at the wedding, including the bride. I'd met maybe four others randomly back in high school. Aside from Mari and Andrew, I hadn't seen any of those people in twenty years. Two others I've at least stayed in touch with via social media, but that was it. What impressed and amazed me was how quickly that core group of us fell back in step. It felt nice to be me...to know I'm still the same me. And everyone else was basically the same too. Sure, there are various career paths, babies and partners now, but everyone else was who they were when we were all semi-angsty teenagers. 

Could Andrew and I look any more New England yuppie?! I wish I could claim this was planned.

It was a super fast trip and one that left me wrecked with jetlag, but I'm really glad I went. I had more fun with these five people than I anticipated. The exit was fairly uneventful with an Amtrak train ride to Newark Airport in New Jersey, a flight to Amsterdam, a quick connector flight to Brussels, a train and then a tram and I was home in Gent. 

Spending Time in the US

There is something so easy about going back to the US. Everywhere takes credit cards, everyone speaks English, hotel rooms are sizeable, ice is readily available. The list goes on and on but these things typically appeal to me only in small quantities. After months on the road, when I go back to the States for a few days or weeks, it is always so nice. I don't worry about stress and headaches nearly as much as I do on other trips. I simply know everything will work; that's just how it goes in the US.

I headed directly from the Tour of Denmark over to the States for the Tour of Utah. Initially, I thought it was for less than a week (a whole other blog post to come on that....) and that felt too short. I knew I would be fighting jet lag the entire time but felt lucky to do any of it.  This is a race I absolutely adore.

Even my job is different in America. Everyone is friendlier. Funny enough, even the exact same people who I race with in Europe are nicer when they hit US soil. I haven't figured out why but it really does make a difference in my job. I enjoy the pleasantries that are exchanged in the parking lots, press rooms, hotel buffets and out on course. People ask each other about their days and there are parking lot beers enjoyed between teams.

Another highlight is the food. Race food - especially when we are in California, Utah or Colorado - is incredible. These are states that embrace eating local. At races, typically teams, riders and staff eat together in a big hotel conference room, buffet style. This means A LOT of overcooked chicken, pasta and rice. It gets redundant at best. When we go to these US races, the food quality goes up several notches. There will be black beans and salsa, kale and even the occasional apple pie. 

I have a slew of food issues all related to health issues. I  try to minimize the attention my health issues play on my life. It is something I have to deal with, so I do, and then I move on with life. They definitely don't define me, but they do make eating while traveling pretty dynamic. Currently, I'm eating gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free and banana-free all based on inflammation in my blood work (I was diagnosed with celiacs off an intestinal biopsy nearly 15 years ago but I decided to ignore it.) I've been eating this way for almost six months and my blood work shows it is helping. Finding foods that fit my diet while on the road, especially outside of the US, is extremely challenging. The US seems to be the land of food disorders because I feel like I can find gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free everything. And I love it. My obsession this race was lettuce wrapped sandwiches from Jimmy Johns and I have no shame in admitting it.

I'm Alive!

What a crazy, crazy month. I completely got lost in work, travel and adulting.  I have been meaning to post, but life got in the way. 

Here are the travels of the past six weeks:

• Delta and KLM: BRU-->AMS-->SFO (May 5th)--all went easy, peasy
• United: SFO-->SNA (Orange County) (May 9th) -- smooth
• Driving: Whole state of California (May 15-May 22) -- loved my rental Dodge Charger!
• Delta: SMF-->LAX-->AUS (May 23rd) -- super early, but good
• Delta: AUS-->ATL-->GSO (Greensboro) (May 25th) --sad to leave Austin
• Driving: Winston-Salem, NC-->Blacksburg, VA (May 29th) -- sick and slept the whole way
• Driving: Blacksburg, VA-->Ashburn, VA (June 2nd) -- caught up on phone calls
• Driving: Ashburn, VA-->Philly, PA (June 4th) -- listened to great tunes (mainly country)
• Driving: Philly, PA-->Blacksburg, VA (June 5th) -- terrible thunderstorms caused delays
• Driving: Blacksburg, VA-->Ashburn, VA (June 8th) -- caught up on work phone calls
• Driving: Ashburn, VA-->Blacksburg (June 9th) -- finally done driving!
• Set to fly back to Belgium on June 13th --so ready to get home

Had a great month working on my tan. 

I started in Santa Rosa and then flew down to Orange County for meetings and a work photo shoot. By May 15, I started driving the state of California. Each day,  I was working about 15 hours a day with approximately 6-7 hours of driving. Stops included San Diego, Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, Lake Tahoe, Folsom, Santa Rosa (again) and Sacramento.

By Sac, I was exhausted... and sick. The worst. I already had a flight to stop through Austin for two days to see my best friend from grad school.  We had an amazing time catching up and I was so excited to meet her adorable boys. Luckily, they put up with my weak voice and annoying cough.

Onto Winston-Salem for US nationals. By that Sunday, I crashed and wound up in urgent care getting antibiotics, steroids and prescription cough syrup. They all were godsends and I started to bounce back fairly quickly.

While I had meds, I still didn't get to slow down much until today. Over the past 1.5 week, I drove to DC, Philly, back to Blacksburg, back to DC and back to Blacksburg again. But the DC trips were thrilling because I bought a condo! I feel like a super adult. 

My new condo... That I never plan to live in.

Now I am puppy sitting. Not just puppy sitting, but also dog, horse, cat and chicken sitting. I get on a plane Monday....I'm ready.

My favorite kind of office mate.

“I’m ready to sleep in my own bed... ”