This picture is not exactly representative of the two different groups I saw that morning. The 8AM group was entirely made up of over 65 students. One couple had brought in their desktop Mac and were working together with their instructor. Now sharing a computer is just not in my thought process. For a number of years Gene and I shared my laptop when we traveled together, but we rarely do that any longer. We usually travel with two laptops. I am not sure how you would negotiate who gets to use the computer when.

In the 9AM group which I was attending there was a father and his teenage daughter who is being home schooled. However, I was the youngest of the other attendees. Again in this group there was a retired couple with their desktop Mac. There was more than one occasion when there seemed to be some dispute within the couple as to how they were going to set up different areas of their system.

I have to say this may have been the quickest hour ever. I thinking I’m booking back-to-back sessions next time. There is still much to learn and master.

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I wish this book had been written when I was 20 instead of 62.  I was hooked by the middle of the Ten Myths About The Lives of Women at the beginning of the book.  Some of these I knew, some applied to me and some didn’t, but I see them everyday in the lives of the women I know and meet.  Marcus makes it so clear for you to find your strongest life by using the the online "The Strong Life Test for Women".  Each woman should take the test immediately upon ordering the book.  You will have some idea of what your focus should be as you read the book.

In a phone conversation with a colleague a few weeks ago, I said I was at a time in my life when I was trying to decide what to do when I grow up.  He laughed and thought I should really be thinking about retirement.  The timing of this book is so appropriate.  I like what I do, but I am assessing how I move to doing what I love to do.

I really like the "What to Take Away" at the end of each chapter.  A great way to focus on the points of the chapter.  Marcus has provided the tools for me to reassess where I am, where I am going.  I rarely write in a book or mark important information.  That is not the case here.  There are notes, earmarked pages, and post it notes.  I intend to use this book as a reference for planning my future.

Every young woman in my family will be receiving a copy of this book shortly.

Thank you Marcus.

There was a really slow start to Friday morning.  The day on Grouse Mountain had taken its toll on my body.  But there are still things to see and do and they include lunch and shopping on Granville Island.  Granville Island was once an industrial manufacturing area, but is now a major tourist destination, providing amenities such as a public market, a large marina, a hotel, the Emily Carr University of Art and Design (named in honor of the artist), various theaters including the Arts Club Theatre Company and Carousel Theatre, and various shopping areas clustered around the one industrial outpost remaining, a cement plant.

Some of the cement trucks have great pictures on their tanks.  One has a bunch of asparagus with a blue rubber band around them, another on large strawberry.  Our pictures contain the one with a strawberry and one with bows. The island is very popular with tourists and locals alike.

We took a cab from our hotel and arrived around 11AM.  It was just beginning to get crowded.  Most of the shops are occupied by artisans.  There are jewelry makers, weavers, sculptors and much more.  I really enjoying seeing all types of craftsmanship and visiting with the artist when they are present.

In addition to these shops there are also kiosks for artists in the public market.  Wow what a public market, great fresh produce, beautiful flowers, wonderfully fresh fish, meats from many different countries and much, much more.  To bad I didn’t have a place to cook that evening.  We also encountered children feeding the geese and pigeon’s at a park at the water’s edge.  There was a wooden boat show in progress.  Gene also observed the process of a sail boat being moved into the water from land.

At lunch we found a small local place, Tony’s Fish & Oyster Cafe.  Probably would seat 20 people at the most.  I had never before seen salmon as a choice of fish for fish & chips.  I have never before thought of fried salmon.  Oh my!  It was excellent.  Having had fried food for lunch I thought it best we walk around a bit more.

Finally worn out we headed for the cab stand and headed back to our hotel.  I really was into vacation mode and not wanting to head back to the real world, but home did sound good.  Something about one’s own bed and shower.  Another wonderful day documented for "The Glamour of the Road".

Enjoy our pictures

I do not like suspension bridges.  Never have, don’t think I ever will.  However, this is part of the deal if you are going to "do" Grouse Mountain.  Sometimes you just have to "suck it up" so you don’t miss life.  We decided to do a 6 hour tour for Grouse Mountain which included a Capilano Salmon  Hatchery, The Skyride, other entertainment and a ride back to Vancouver on the SeaBus.

Tours are not usually our style, and as usual we didn’t have time to do all that we would have liked, but it was still an eventful day and a great time being out in nature on a gorgeous day.

You will need to check out our pictures to see that I actually did cross the suspension bridge.  The biggest issue is keeping my balance on something that is in constant movement.  Of course, there is also the issue that once you have crossed the bridge, you must cross back if you want to leave the mountain.  Gene checked out the other bridges that were mounted in the tree tops.  He said they were pretty cool.

After our visit to suspension bridge it was a ride up the side of the mountain in The Skyride.  What awesome views.  I used to not like these things either, but I have gotten better about them over the years.The other activities that we enjoyed while on the mountain were the Birds in Motion which were birds of prey.  Always fun to what these creatures up close.  Gene went to see the bears while I just enjoyed the gorgeous day for awhile.  We had lunch and returned down the mountain on The Skyride.

Now it was off to the SeaBus for our 12 minute ride across Vancouver Harbour.  These vessels cross the harbor every 15 minutes during the day.  There was a mixture of commuters and tourists on this transport.  You may also bring your bicycle on board and there were those with their hiking equipment.  It was a beautiful, smooth ride across the harbor.  Back to our hotel to make the difficult decision about where to have dinner.  We chose the Mill Marine Bistro.  We ate outside adjacent to a large park where an evening soccer game was being played, people were running, picnicking, bicycling, relaxing and enjoying the wonderful evening.  What a great end to another great day on "The Glamour of the Road".

Enjoy our photos

Enjoy the Skyride videos

While browsing through the tourist sites for Vancouver I happened upon the Deeley Motorcycle Exhibition.  Now motorcycles are not my thing but I am not the only person on this vacation.  My husband Gene has been riding motorcycles since he was 14 years old.  He loves the history of motorcycles.  The current exhibition is focused on the rise and fall of the British motorcycle industry.

On Wednesday morning we took a cab to Trev Deely Motorcycles where this exhibition is housed.  Our ride to our destination proved to be interesting.  I say you haven’t seen a city until you have been in the roughest part.  On our trip east on Hastings Street, we traveled through what is known as the roughest area of Vancouver.  This area is described in Wikipedia as "The area is noted for a high incidence of poverty, drug use, sex trade, crime, as well as a history of community activism."

Gene thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition and wished there had been more.  The guy manning the exhibition that day was an old motorcycle dude also and they had a great conversation about everything motorcycle.  I took entertainment, my Kindle and BlackBerry.  Once you have walked through and looked at each motorcycle, what else is there?  I know he thinks the same thing when I am in a gallery or jewelry store.

Gene found out that we were just a few blocks from a Vancouver SkyTrain station.  So when we left the exhibition we set off on our trek to the SkyTrain station.  Once we arrived we couldn’t quite decide the best place for our destination station or where to transfer.  I am impressed with the help available via the phone adjacent to the ticketing machine.  The gentlemen patiently answered my questions and gave me clear instructions on best destination and transfer.  Vancouver is the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.  They have been gearing up for this and extending and improving the SkyTrain has been part of this process.  We had a great ride and saw the city from a different perspective.

Late lunch in downtown Vancouver and walk back to our hotel. That evening we checked out the Elephant & Castle Pub & Restaurant for dinner.  Good food, great wait staff and fun just spending time together.  Another great day for "The Glamour of the Road".

Enjoy Gene’s Photos

While in

Our last morning in Victoria we visited the Miniature World Victoria.  A history of Canada in miniature along with some whimsical doll houses and fairy tales.  Lunch as Sam’s Deli, great pastrami, and last looks around the inner harbor.

Now for those of us that fly all the time this plane check-in, boarding, flying and luggage retrieval is just too cool. No security check.  Be there at least 10 minutes before departure.  Heavy luggage was taken earlier and waiting for us when we arrived in Vancouver.  Carry on luggage was handed to the pilot as you boarded and he stowed it behind a curtain at the rear of the plane.  Flight information and safety announcements were made by the pilot at our boarding door while he was standing outside the plane.  We could have electronic devices except for cell phones on during take off.  (Thank goodness, how else were we going to get pictures and videos?)  Your carry on luggage is handed to you after you deplane.  You retrieve your previously delivered luggage at the check-in desk and it is taken to a van that is waiting to take you to your hotel.

It was just a great adventure and I know that at least one of my friends is jealous based on a Tweet I received.  However, he has taken off from and landed on an aircraft carrier.  I am probably more jealous.  Anyway, this day turned out to be another great day for “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enjoy photos of Victoria

Miniature World Photos

Watch Take Off & Landing Videos

Photos from Seaplane

This day was all about Butchart Gardens. Gene and I rented a car for the day and drove out the the gardens.  It was a beautiful, clear day with temps in the mid 60s to low 70s.  We spent several hours taking in the sights, sounds and fragrances of the gardens.  The best description I can offer is in the pictures.

On our way back into town we stopped at Craigdarroch Castle.  There are a few pictures at the end of our photos.  The Castle is undergoing renovation so it was difficult to get really good photos.

It was a perfect day for “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enjoy our photos

Yesterday was a really long travel day.  Once we arrived in Vancouver, we took a bus to the ferry for an 1 1/2 hour ride and then the bus continued on into Victoria.  The ferry ride was great.  This entire area of the northwest is just incredible.  It was late afternoon, clear and sunny and just wonderful.

The next wonderful surprise for us was when we arrived at our hotel.  The Marriott Victoria Inner Harbour upgraded us to a corner suite with a harbor view.  It was a fabulous view and a very beautiful and comfortable room. What a great way to start a vacation.

So our first full day begins a little slowly.  Our plan today is to spend time at the inner harbor area and around that area of downtown.  So off we go.  We did both the inner harbor tour and the gorge cruise on these cool little boats called Victoria Harbour Ferry.  On Sunday morning they do a Ferry ballet to the music of “The Blue Danube Waltz”.  It was really cool.  A whole group of our photos show the ballet formations.  After these two boat tours we found lunch and worked our way back to our hotel through the streets of Victoria.

The streets, restaurants and shops were all very busy with both tourists and locals.  There are around 80,000 residents in the downtown area.  Victoria is a very vital and active downtown area.  This was a wonderful day in our trek on “The Glamour of the Road”.

Enjoy our pictures

See the Copper Cowgirl Video

Each year, Gene and I trek to wherever the I-CAN meeting of amazing kids is being held.  This year it was in St. Petersburg, FL.  It was hot and muggy during the day, but the bay breezes in the evening made eating on the patio of the restaurants along the bay very enjoyable.  St. Pete as the locals call it is what I consider the right-size city.  The locals know each other, there are neat and interesting things to do and it is close enough to the big city if you need an airport or something you can’t get locally.  St. Pete is rich in the arts.  Among other things It is home to the Salvador Dali Museum, which we have previously visited and it is amazing.

Our days here consisted of resting, visiting with long time friends and making new friends.  We ventured out each day to find local places for some good and some wonderful meals.  Our hotel was on the edge of downtown and close to the bay so this gave us a lot of options.  On Saturday morning we ventured back into downtown to find breakfast.  When we parked we noticed an area that had been set up as a small art festival.  So after breakfast, with our coffee in hand, we explored what the various artists had to offer.  The Saturday event is actually larger than this artist area.  This has been a long time event in which the merchants of downtown St. Pete offer special discounts for those individuals that show up in their pajamas to shop.  There were a number of folks out in their pajamas.  Very fun.

On our way back to our hotel we discovered a grouping of red chairs.  We had left the hotel without the camera.  We went back to the hotel, Gene got the camera and went back to take pictures.  Once we returned home we investigated the significance of the chair further.  You will find an article about them here.  They are a result of a sculpture’s service on a jury.

You will find this very interesting. 

Our time in St. Pete was fun, but it was time to move on to Vail, CO and HIGH-TECC and the next stop on The Glamour of the Road.

Enjoy our pictures.

Yesterday, just for grins because it was my birthday, I read my horoscope.  See Leo.  The “Visit exotic location this week” made me laugh out loud.  My planned business trip this week is to Hobbs, NM.

I lived in Hobbs in 1968 and left in January 1969.  I did not return for 38 years.  That should give you a clue about my desire to visit.  I have been back a few times in the past few years.  First for my uncle’s funeral and this is my second visit for business.

Not much has changed.  The town is a bit larger, but it is still flat, no trees and when the wind blows so does dirt.  They must have had rain recently as the weeds on the sides of the roads are green.

I decided that I needed to keep a positive attitude and look for the exotic side of Hobbs during my visit.  This evening as I ventured off to have dinner I chose a New Mexican restaurant.  If you have never eaten New Mexican food you don’t know what you are missing.  New Mexican cooking is about their chilies and spices.  It is not like any other Mexican or Latin food you have ever eaten.  I am sure that in the next couple of days I will find reasons to eat more of their wonderful food.

I also really like the people in the agency that I work with in Hobbs.  Thus, it is not as bad as I always think it is going to be.  When you travel it is important to look at the glass has half full and be on the lookout for people and things of interest.  If I find anything else exotic in Hobbs, I will let you know.  Always looking for The Glamour of The Road.