Me

KC-area native and proud Jayhawk. Here I share personal stories, photos and videos. If you're looking for a post from my previous website, I still aggregate my content on Tumblr.

 

Latest pics & video

www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing items in a set called Midwest Gaelic Classic. Make your own badge here.

Search
Categories

Entries in travel (5)

Friday
Mar262010

I went to Canada, eh

Fancy meeting you here. Come to my blog often?

Really?

Because, as you can tell, lately I don't.

The past seven months have been bonkers. Between our jobs (I had lots on my plate with basketball and the Free State Social and Jake is now the videographer for the Wizards), owning a home through this craptastic winter and our responsibilities to the dog's health... It's seriously almost April? April?

Anyway, I suppose it's time for a quick update.

I went to Toronto this week for work. My boss Jane and I were asked to do a workshop on social media for the CBC's documentary unit. It was a successful couple of days for everyone involved, I think. Here is a Twitter list of their docs team - they're a very cool group of folks, so I suggest you follow along.

Toronto is a really lovely city, for those of you who haven't been. I got to eat at Wayne Gretzky's restaurant (those are his hockey sticks in the photo!) and had a random dinner at Czehoski with one of my childhood best friends.

Cara is an engineer based out of KC, but is helping design a power plant in Niagara Falls, so she drove up on Tuesday evening to catch up. Funny - we grew up next door to each other, our houses are five minutes apart and we haven't seen each other since Christmas, yet we found three hours to hang out on coincidental international business trips. Sing it with me... It's a small world after all.

Well, it's Friday at 5 p.m. and there isn't enough Coors Light in the world. Catch y'all in a month or so!

Monday
Nov022009

A weekend in Oklahoma City

The Yadrich family and I went to OKC this past weekend for a wedding. The groom was one of Jake and Tony's best friends growing up in Piper. Since I've got bronchitis, I spent most of my time in a Benadryl/Delsym-induced coma (or watching AMC's Halloween marathon or yelling at the KU game) at the Hilton Garden Inn. However, the 10 waking hours I was out of bed were a lot of fun.

There isn't a lot to say about the wedding, since I didn't know either the bride or the groom (a wee bit awkward). BUT the food included meatballs and egg rolls and the bartenders were pouring drinks on the heavy side. We had a lot of friends who were there, so it added up to a total sh*t show about 90 minutes into the party.

After the reception we went to a bar near the hotel called Club Rodeo. Holy sh*t you guys, this place had live bull riding. Unfortunately, I missed the live bulls on Friday (coma), but Jake said a cowboy practically got stomped in the chute. Just like the Garth Brooks song (It's bulls and blood, it's dust and mud...) Don't judge me.

This night at Club Rodeo they were holding the Halloween costume contest. The prize was $2,000. A guy dressed as Edward Scissorhands won, and he deserved it. Second place went to a guy pretending to f**k a sheep and third place went to a guy dressed as Randy "Macho Man" Savage.

In my opinion, the winner should've been the pregnant lady I saw dressed as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. She was at least in her second trimester, dropping it on the dance floor in a smoky bar and taking pictures with random guys' hands on her belly. I can't make it up. Someone reserve that kid a chair in the Behavioral Disorders room at his future elementary school.

There was also a guy dressed as Tyrone Biggums. He was a white man wearing full black face and had a bag of powdered sugar that he kept throwing at his nose and saying "Is this the free crack giveaway?!" See photo.

I would say "Only in OKC!" but I feel like you could see this same thing in Kansas, depending on your location.

After last call our cabs didn't show up, so we started a mile walk back to the hotel. Can't remember who, but someone stopped in the Wyndham and asked if they could drive us back to the Hilton in their hotel van. They did! We dropped the driver $15 and went to sleep.

The end.

Tuesday
Sep152009

I want to go back to Las Vegas

... But I guess that might end up with me being broke and homeless.

Jake and I had a fantastic vacation. We stayed four days and nights at the Luxor. It wasn't the swankiest joint in town, but it got the job done. Honestly, I'd recommend it, because you get what you pay for. I didn't feel like we overpaid for anything. We're not the kind of people who enjoy paying a crap-ton of money for anything, so don't expect any stories about seeing celebrities at LAX or Body English (though there is a celeb sighting involved!)

Also, I'm without digital camera currently, so the only pictures you get to see are from my iPhone. Enjoy.

Thursday

After we checked in, McAfee (Jake's friend) took us to some party for his company (Las Vegas Sun) on the roof of Mandalay Bay. The view alone was pretty bad ass.

There were two free booze options: Foster's (Australian for beer) and some blue fruity drink.

I went with the blue fruity drink to avoid liver abuse less than three hours into our vacation. It was kind of like drinking Red Bull with added sugar. Apparently there was booze in there, too, because three (or five?) little blue drinks into the party I was ready for a chicken sandwich.

So, we all went to McDonald's which I think cost me $25. Details are hazy.

Then McAfee and Jake fed me some fruity booze again and, boy, by that time I was ready to gamble. I changed out a $100 at what I thought was a $10/minimum table on the casino floor. Right when Jake and I sat down they raise the minimum to $15. Stupids.

My dealer, Bea, turned out to be OK, though, and I finally made it to sleep around 2 a.m. $60 richer.

Friday

Drinking usually leads to a hangover, and that was definitely the case for Jake and me.

We went to the Pyramid Cafe b/c we had a coupon (there were a lot of coupons on this trip). I straight up murdered a cheeseburger while Jake ate a glorious breakfast of starches and meats.

Basically we spent the whole day doing a combination of three things: eating, sleeping, and losing money on video poker.

That night McAfee took us to Red Rock Casino to see the self-proclaimed #1 yacht rock band in America, the Knights of Monte Carlo. All I'm going to say about that is if you ever get a chance to see the perform, you better go. Awesome music, great show and a group of really nice guys.

Saturday

Football bets. KU was the only school that came through in the end, but we put $50 on the Jayhawks so we made our money back on that one game. (Screw you, Notre Dame.)

This was the day I also went to the spa for a massage (coupon!) and did some browsing in the shops. Seirously, who the f**k let Ed Hardy have any kind of merchandise line?

At night, McAfee took us to his part of town. Henderson, Nev. is where all of the normal people live in Vegas. It's kinda like JoCo except more khaki b/c there isn't grass... just beige rocks.

We played Beatles Rock Band and went to amazing local bar where a lot of Travis Barker look-a-likes hang out. LOLs!

When McAfee dropped us off at the Luxor, Criss Angel was walking out of the hotel with some sparkly groupies.

Swear. To. God.

I needed to shower after experiencing his douchiness aura. It made me unclean.

Sunday

One of the greatest days in my entire life. We splurged on a pool cabana.

The cabana included the following: ceiling fan, four day beds, table/chairs, fridge stocked w/ water, juice, and fruit; mist machine; and a flat-screen plasma that had the DirectTV sports package. Every single NFL game was available for our viewing pleasure.

We were outside from 9:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cabana reservation was easily the best idea I've ever had.

Half drunk and happy from winning money on the Chiefs' loss (so glad Baltimore went for the TD), we went to some Irish pub for chicken fingers and headed to Fremont Street, where I proceeded to close out the trip by winning serious ca$h on more blackjack at the Golden Nugget.

I was unshowered and smelled of chlorine in a track jacket, jeans, and no-makeup...

At one point I looked around and realized "I'm not the worst dressed person in this room."

So that's it. Vegas for WM in a blog post.

Look for some goodies coming from the Journal-World in the next few weeks. I've already got some fun projects on my plate that I get to share with you all when they're done!

Thursday
Jul302009

Video Interview: Southwest Airlines

A lot of people in the social media industry know that Southwest Airlines has a top-notch Web presence. They're not focused on the cash that social media may bring in, but on creating positive interactions with their customers and giving them all the information they need - along with fun information about the company.

I talked with Christi Day, who manages their Twitter and Facebook accounts (along with some other networks) about what life is like working for Southwest.

Part 1: Focuses on the company's social media strategy.

Part 2: Focuses on Christi's daily schedule and responsibilities.

Friday
Jul032009

America's Top 10 Healthiest Beaches & Lakes

Perusing through CNN.com today, I found an article titled America's healthiest beach & lake getaways. See if you notice something odd about this list:

  1. Tybee Island, Georgia
  2. Coronado, California
  3. Monterey, California
  4. Osage Beach, Missouri
  5. Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
  6. Zephyr Cove, Nevada
  7. Bonita Springs, Florida
  8. Wailea, Hawaii
  9. Kelleys Island, Ohio
  10. Provincetown, Massachusetts

Yep, that's the Ozarks at No. 4.

Healthy isn't really the adjective I would use to describe the Ozarks. Dirty, vomit-covered, smelly, sweaty, expensive... but not healthy. I wonder if Health.com they did their research the day after someone fished a dead body, a dozen thongs, a bottle of Jager, and some dignity out of Party Cove.

I guess the judges also forgot about the elevated levels of E. coli bacteria found in the lake last summer.

Here's the excerpt:

Osage Beach is on the Lake of the Ozarks, the most popular summer-vacay spot in the Midwest. But you won't feel crowded: The lake has 1,150 miles of shoreline. The free public beach at Lake of the Ozarks State Park in Osage Beach stood out for its fishing, kayaking and sailing, and its scenic backdrop of rolling hills and limestone bluffs. "The view is so spectacular, you won't want to leave," judge Howes says.

If you do manage to pry yourself from the park, you can play a round of golf, pick up fresh fruit at one of the many roadside stands or check out nearby Spa Shikia at the Lodge of Four Seasons.

Stay here: Bringing the kids? Tan-Tar-A Resort (starting at $100 per night) has two golf courses, an indoor water park, Jet Ski and paddleboat rentals, plus horseback riding. A great B&B alternative is The Inn at Harbour Ridge (starting at $109 per night), where you can swim or fish right off their dock.

If the Ozarks are at No. 4, I'm hesitant to ever visit No. 5-10.

You crack me up, CNN.