TraverseTrip 6: The Voyage Home
BlogHer has been enthralling, exciting, exhilirating, and exhausting. But we are ready to go home to our families. We have another two and a half days or so before that happens.
Today, we checked out of the Marriott San Diego and headed for Sacramento – the first leg of our trip back to Vancouver.
What we learned on this leg of the journey:
- Sacramento is really FUCKING FAR from San Diego.
- No, really. It’s FAR FAR AWAY.
- There are a lot of DOUCHECANOES on the I-5
- We all are some foul-mouthed wimmens when toddlers are around (well, one of us is foul-mouthed anyways, because she doesn’t have a toddler)
- Also, I happen to have a blinding grasp of the obvious.
- It is possible for OnStar to give you the wrong directions (or we got lost again and it wasn’t our fault).
But every mile driven gets us closer to our homes, and those who love us. Foul-mouthed or not.
Disclaimer: as always, I am grateful to General Motors Canada for sponsoring me and three others with a car, gas money and hotels from Vancouver to San Diego and back for BlogHer ’11.
Overheard: TraverseTrip Day Whatever
Me: She’s playing with her new toy.
Tracey: what? I have to check my email before bed to see if I won the Galaxy.
Alexis: Galaxy? How do you win the whole Milky Way and stuff?
BlogHer has been wonderful, exhilirating and terrifying all at once. I have met bloggers I have read for years, and bloggers who I have never heard of and they are all equally fabulous.
I will have more to say later once I am less tired and can organize my thoughts a bit, but that will be at least a week. We have two and a half days back to Vancouver from San Diego to the conclusion of TraverseTrip. So you’ll get two and a half days of random tweets, laughter and comments from us.
In the meantime, go over to Alexis’ blog - she’s celebrating 18 years of sobriety. Give her some love.
Disclaimer: GM Canada provided us with a Chevrolet Traverse, gas money and hotel rooms to San Diego and back to Vancouver. I paid for my ticket to BlogHer and hotel room myself.
TraverseTrip Day 3: We find out GPS is a handy device, spend far too much money and reach our destination
Yesterday, we got up in Valencia, California, had breakfast and went to find a Starbucks.
We got lost, despite directions and had to use GPS to find it.
Once we were in the parking lot for it.
Yes, you read that correctly: we used GPS to find a Starbucks in a Mall Parking lot.
After that we were on our way and Tracey gave us directions to the outlets outside of San Diego and we went shopping.
I had a couple of goals: I desperately needed a bra fitting so I got that done and OMG – so much better.
Then I joined Tracey, Alexis and Karen back at Jones New York (and blew past all the pretty clothes because I was not going to spend gobs of money on clothes).
Apparently shoes were another matter though. We stopped at the Salvatore Ferragamo outlet. Keep in mind it was an outlet so the prices were severely discounted. SEVERELY. I walked in the store and the sales guy got my number right away.
He brought out these:
And I had to buy them; they had my name on them:
Then we drove to San Diego where we finally got to the hotel. Amber met us out front and filmed us arriving.
We settled in, registered, and then headed to the Canadian Embassy Party. I went to a couple of other parties and even dropped by Queerology which was fantastic fun.
Disclaimer: GM Canada provided us with a car, related costs and hotels from Vancouver to San Diego and back. I paid for my hotel at BlogHer, my ticket and my shoes myself.
Overheard: TraverseTrip Day 2, or this pretty much sums it up
Tracey: So, how much further do we have to go?
Karen: We have to take exit 172.
[crickets]
Nicole: How’s that for a non-answer?
Alexis: Yeah, I like eggs!
Disclaimer: I have been up since 6am and driven for hours and hours and there are loud people in the pool outside my hotel room. Also, GM is sponsoring Tracey, Alexis, Karen and myself with a Chevy Traverse, gas and hotels to BlogHer’11 and back. I am paying for the hotel at and ticket to BlogHer myself.
TraverseTrip Day 1: By the numbers
Bloggers in the traverse: 4
Bags stuffed in the back: too many (this is what happens when you combine Food Revolution, a social media conference, and 4 women)
Kids missed: 4
Partners missed: 4 (presumably)
US sim cards bought on AT&T: 1
Trader Joe’s Visited: 1
Noms created by the Director of Noms: yum. Who knows? They were all eaten.
Vomiting: 0
Kilometers put on the brand new Chevy Traverse: 1000 (give or take)
Days left to San Diego: 2.
Laughs had: too many to count.
Disclaimer: I have drunk wine, been up since 6am and driven for hours and hours. Also, GM is sponsoring Tracey, Alexis, Karen and myself with a Chevy Traverse, gas and hotels to BlogHer’11 and back. I am paying for the hotel at and ticket to BlogHer myself.
T-1 day to #TraverseTrip and a winner!
First things first: Alissa won my giveaway of the cable! She also gets a drink, but anyone who entered is welcome to join us (I can’t afford to buy for all you, mind). Or anyone who wants to can join us, for that matter. She had possibly my favourite comment about tech dislikes too:
Hopefully we can all remember that at BlogHer.
As you well know by now, Karen, Tracey, Alexis and I are travelling to BlogHer in a Chevy Traverse kindly provided by GM Canada.
On Saturday, the Poptart and I drove out to Horseshoe Bay to pick up Karen and son so they could grab the Traverse. We zipped out to Carter GM in Burnaby where we were presented with the key to a pretty, dark blue Traverse. You can read all about it in Karen’s post here.
He’s purdy. In response to Alexis’ question about what to name him, I said:
So everyone meet George:
I mean, George:
(Photo courtesy of Karen).
I’d drool over either of them. Or both.
In Which I desperately need help from the packing mavens for my trip to BlogHer
The countdown is on to BlogHer’11 and. On August 2, Alexis, Karen, Tracey and I make a run for the border – probably at some obscene hour of the morning. I’ve taken care of a lot of stuff on my to do list, but I still have to pack.
I hate packing. I am a chronic overpacker. And I kind of resolved to take the minimum amount of stuff (and bags) along. Then my friend Marilyn came over for a bit the other week and said, “Make sure you bring a duffel bag for all the swag you’re going to get.”
Seriously? That much crap? So I might bring Darren’s old baseball bag (after I febreeze the crap out of it mind you) or just a suitcase. Plus I’ll need a daybag because I don’t plan on lugging my bag into the hotel every night on the way down.
So far, my clothing packing list contains:
- Underwear: I am certain you can never have enough underwear along;
- bras
- Toiletries (shaving stuff, hairbrush, toothpaste, toothbrush only)
- One dress
- 3 pairs of pantyhose
- 4 pairs of capris (one of which I’ll be wearing)
- 1 pair of slacks (it’s San Diego. In August. It will be HOT. I don’t think I’ll need more than 1 pair)
- 3 pairs of shoes (one of which I’ll be wearing)
- 6 t-shirts
- Running gear: cap, sports bra, yoga pants, runners (contained in the 3 pairs of shoes above)
- 2 long-sleeved cotton shirts
- A swimsuit
- Makeup bag
- 4 pairs of socks
- two skirts and a pair of cycling shorts (what? they’re to prevent chafing)
- 2 pairs pajamas
This is quite possibly the shortest packing list I’ve ever had for a week away. And it still looks like too much to me. So packing mavens, where can I cut back?
BlogHer Update and a Giveaway!
So as my committed three or four readers know, I am going to BlogHer ’11 with Karen, Tracey and Alexis. We’re going in a brand spanking new Chevy Traverse, kindly supplied by General Motors. Last week, Tracey, Alexis and I took off to Carter GM in Burnaby to look at a traverse to make sure it has all the stuff we need, like space for our crap necessities in life like clothes and of course, appropriate spots for our technology.
I’m going to leave the clothes packing for now – I’m still trying to figure out which suitcase to take and how much to pack. Ask Alexis about the time she went to Paris in the middle of winter for a few weeks and took only a carryon. I may have to pay her to pack for me. What I’m focusing on is the technology side. With four of us packed into a car going to a social media conference, you can bet there’s going to be a lot of technology that we’ll want to use along the way and while we’re there.
I’m mentally tallying up the technology I know we’ll be bringing along and I count:
- 4 laptops or similar (with requisite cables, adapter bricks, etc)
- 4 cameras (at least two of them are SLRs) and requisite cables, batteries, memory, etc.
- At least two pocket video cameras
- 4 cel phones
- Various other paraphernalia (ipods, etc)
And in addition to this, because I have an absolute fear of running out of power and storage for pictures, video, etc, I am bringing:
- Extra laptop battery
- 2 small power bars or perhaps 1 large
- Memory cards
- External hard drive (just a small 100 gb one)
- 2 jump drives for fast storage
- Battery backup
- Rechargeable batteries
- Battery charger
- E-book reader (at least 1 if not two)
- 12V adapter that plugs into a cigarette lighter/power outlet in the car
- Cigarette lighter USB adapter
- USB expander (because I only have two USB ports on my computer)
- USB A/C power adapter (or is that D/C – the one you plug into the wall?)
The Traverse at least, has 3 power outlets, so lots of places to plug in.The problem as I see it, is the cables. Cables are the bane of my existence. Too many cables get tangled up.
Every single one of those devices (the ebook reader, cameras, cel phone, ipod, etc) has a cable that’s used for charging and data transfer. And every one has a different cable because some of them are proprietary (damn you iPod) and others take USB, others Mini USB, and still others Micro USB. I used to schlep each of those on my way to and from work because I schlep that need different cables to charge and transfer data.
(What? I commute a long way to work. I need my entertainment)
Plus all the other stuff like back up power, laptop, etc. But there’s not a lot I can do about that. And then one day, the skies cleared and angels sang because Darren brought this home:
This? Makes my geek heart sing. It’s a mini USB that plugs into a micro USB that plugs into an iPod end. But you can only charge one device at a time (which is okay). And if you go cheap on the ebook reader like I did, you’ll have to get your in-house tech support to bend a mini USB cable adapt a cable to it because the one it came with keeps falling out.
I think it’ll come in really handy on the road trip down to San Diego. Hopefully there won’t be hair pulling and fighting over it.
And hey, since this is my very first BlogHer conference, how about a giveaway? I’m going to give away one of those cables to one lucky reader. Leave a comment letting me know what you hate most about all the technology we schlep around these days and you’ll be entered to win. Contest closes July 31, 2011.
The catch: you have to meet me at BlogHer to get it (so you have to be in the San Diego area between August 4 and 6). And if you’re indulging, I’ll even buy you an adult drink.
If you want to buy one, you can get them through NCIX locally in Vancouver and online. They come in black or white and you can even get a model with a power pack attached.
Disclaimer: General Motors is sponsoring us for the trip down, including vehicle, insurance, gas and hotels on the way to BlogHer and back. I am paying for the cable myself.
BlogHer Bucket List Update: Nostalgia
Growing up, my family always had Big Old American Cars – mostly of the General Motors variety. I remember the Pontiac Station wagon, and I learned how to drive on a Ford LTD II (which was an uber comfortable ride, but really, you could pitch a tent on the hood). Although we drive Hondas now, I have a soft spot for Big Old American Cars and the companies that manufacture them.
My first car was a 1978 electric-green Chevette.
When I was 17, my dad bought it for all of $800 from a little old lady who only drove it to the corner store and back every day. It was a bare-bones basic car: automatic transmission and all of 78000 kms on it when we got it in the mid 90s. We had to rip out the seats and replace them because her dogs basically lived in there and they were smelly, especially when it rained. I loved that car and the only reason I got rid of it was because it wouldn’t pass aircare any more. It sported a bumper sticker on the back that Sunshine gave me: “It’s not a car! It’s a spaceship from Mars!” My parents ended up selling it to someone who lived outside the lower mainland who drove it for many more years.
My first “new” car was a 1996 Chevrolet Cavalier.
I bought it because it was purple (I have my priorities). It was a lease car before I bought it and it served me well for 11 years before I got my Honda Fit. It was barely passing aircare any more and was getting to the point where I had to take it in for more than preventative maintenance. I traded it in, and I expect the folks over at Marv Jones Honda fixed it up, because I swear, I saw it driving around out in Mission a few weeks later. I get a little nostalgic about American cars, Chevrolets in particular.
If you’ll recall, item 4 on the BlogHer Bucket List was:
4. Find someone or a company to sponsor at least part of the costs OR start earning some sort of income from the blog to cover or partially cover the costs.
I am so excited about this I am practically vibrating.
Karen, Alexis, Tracey and I will be roadtripping to BlogHer’11 in San Diego.
The great folks at General Motors Canada will be generously providing us with a 2011 Chevrolet Traverse to get there!. You’ll be able to follow along on all of our blogs plus Wet Coast Women, and on Twitter by following the hashtag #traversetrip.
And while the trip itself will be fun, I am looking forward to seeing what the new Chevrolets look and feel like (and possibly convince Darren to go back to GM for our next cars).
BlogHer Bucket List: A 6 step plan
Item number one on my BlogHer Bucket list was:
- Lose at least 2 dress sizes
The plan so far might seem pretty loosey goosey (omg I’m starting to sound like my mother) but here it is:
1. Just say no
To the office snacks, that is. We often have extra food left over from receptions and coworkers will come and deposit really fattening stuff for us to munch on. So I’ll make a couple of batches of Katie’s Muffins, use the sandwich method to prepare lunches and that should keep me going with the goal of bringing all my own food to the office.
2. Fill up on veggies
My caveat to item 1 is that I can have office snacks if they’re veggies, and sometimes if they’re fruit (honestly, fruit doesn’t do a whole lot for me unless it’s berries or exotic fruits). But no dip. I work across the street from a veggie market so it’s not a problem to get fresh fruits and vegetables. So I’ll fill up on veggies before having my main meal. Except breakfast and veggies will be included in the breakfast.
3. Eat breakfast within an hour of getting up
For those of you who have followed WeightWatchers, you’re familiar with this. Eat within an hour of getting up to jumpstart your metabolism (and the milk in my coffee doesn’t count!). I’m pretty bad at breakfast so every couple of days, I’m going to mix up a batch of green smoothie and have that within an hour of getting up. Because I’m up at half past dark (only when it’s the middle of summer though – the rest of the time it’s still dark), I usually have a second breakfast around 10 or 11 am which is a breakfast wrap (that I will be making myself either on the weekend or at work in the microwave).
For the week I’ve been doing pretty well at having a piece of toast with peanut butter and marmalade within an hour of getting up. This keeps me going until 10 or 11 and then I have my wrap (an egg scrambled with quinoa, veggies and a bit of cheese).
4. Make sure I have a protein at every meal
I find that for me, protein is key to not feeling hungry, so I need something really solid at every meal even if it’s just a bit of protein in my salad.
5. Do something exercise-like every day
This is the hard one for me. Like I said, I’m lazy and I have a real problem sticking to an exercise program even if it’s the 30 day shred. So I’m going to change it up. When it’s nice at work, I’ll go for a long brisk walk – there’s a loop along the seawall I can do that’s about 5km (Google says 6, but I’ll call it 5). When it’s not nice, it’s an exercise video.
On weekends, when we take the poptart out, have her dad come along to the pool so I can go for a swim afterwards or do an exercise video while she’s napping. We’ve moved the Wii down to the office so I can use that there too. I also have a bunch of apps (100 pushups, 100 situps, etc) for my iPod Touch so I will do those as a last resort.
For the last few days, I’ve restarted doing the 30 day shred at work. For me, it’s a matter of just getting off my ample ass and Doing It Already. I have decided I just Do Not Care anymore and keep my stinky workout clothes in my desk with a fabric softener sheet.
6. Friday evening to Saturday evening is free
Except for eating breakfast within an hour of getting up and doing something exercise-like on Saturdays. I can have wine, I can have sweets, I can have potato chips and cream cheese (nature’s perfect food, you see).
