Back from one trip ....

... and onto another.

Well I guess technically I was back from two trips and I literally am on the plane for my next. October and November are turning into travel month. Florida, Texas, California, Switzerland, Ottawa, Ottawa again and then Tennessee - all in a matter of 6 weeks.

That being said I am not complaining, especially after last weeks initial trip. Grant it I did have to leave earlier than planned due to having to get to Dallas for meetings but I did have a fun few days. Laura's sister, Lisa, has vacationed twice a year for the last 7 or 8 years in a little place called Seaside which is on the Florida panhandle. As you can guess it is on the Gulf and quiet nice. Large beautiful homes and white beaches. This trip she invited Laura and I and Laura's younger sister, Leslie, and her family came in from Australia as well as Laura's mom, from Texas, also were in Seaside. (Pic on the left is Laura's Mom, Lisa, Laura and Leslie) Lisa's daughters were coming in a few days after we left so we did not get to see them this time but we will on Thanksgiving.

The trip was great. Lisa had a wonderful little house with a great kitchen just a short walk from the beach and from some great little shops that included the requisite coffee shop. The shops had galleries along with your regular clothing and jewelery and beach wear stuff. In some cases the art was on display in wonderfully manicured gardens.

We did take great advantage of the beach. Not excessive but every day for a couple of hours of walking, swimming or playing with the kids, who were a whole lot of fun. Gracie, quite the little cutie, loved to play in the sand and the water, and would always want to involve her mom who is on her way to number 3 (woo hoo!). Daniel, Gracie's big brother, loved to get in the water, whether swimming or body surfing or just playing in the waves - he would stay in there forever but we did find time to play on the beach with some airplanes we got for them.

In the evenings we would try to catch the sunset from the beach but a little cloud cover in the evenings kept the sunsets elusive for us, so instead we enjoyed the glass of wine on the beach and then a great meal. It was hard leaving Seaside. Not only was the few days off fun but the company was great and the wine and food matched. I look forward to Thanksgiving in Nashville to see most of the Bell family again.

So for now I am off to San Francisco for a couple of days then back to race Sunday before I fly off to Zurich Sunday evening. What a busy few weeks - but worth every second.

.... cu