Orange You Glad (Orlando, FL)

It was all sun, all fun on a recent trip to Orlando.

I was delighted to find out that I would be flying with Y.P., one of the women I befriended while in {flight attendant training}. She's originally from Russia, so she has this adorable accent, and her personality is so bubbly and positive, its a pleasure to work with her. We joined up with B.O., who graduated in the class previous and was equally fun to be around. She had lived in Orlando since she was 19, so we relied on her for directions when we decided to go on our Floridian adventure.

We saw an upside down building, rode a trolley, stopped for ice cream, and admired stone animals and towering fountains. We even briefly considered going to {Downtown Disney} (rides, restaurants and sites similar to Disney but without having to pay to get in to admission) but decided we wanted to have some pool time. We stayed at {this} fabulous resort hotel which had multiple restaurants and a giant pool. I was a goon and forgot to bring my bathing suit, but YP lent me some black shorts, and I just jumped in wearing those and my black bra. Nobody noticed and it was so totally worth it! The water is perfect this time of year, and we all spent a good hour sunbathing and splashing around. I, being unable to tan, doused myself in a good SPF 55 before hitting the diving board. Good times ensued.

We were rather sad to leave Vacation Heaven, but we had a great time and enjoyed each other's company. YP and the First Officer (who was from Sweden) talked about how many languages each of them knew, and the process of becoming an American Citizen. I felt slightly guilty that I can only speak English competently and Spanish rather poorly. Time to brush up on my {duolingo}, I guess!

[caption id="attachment_635" align="alignnone" width="640"] YP, BO, EW and I on the flight back to Charlotte. Good times![/caption]

Below are a bunch of pictures from the hotel, our day jaunt around Orlando and us generally just being silly. Click on the smaller images to view the full-sized photos. Enjoy!

[gallery ids="627,626,625,624,623,621,620,619,622,618,617,614,613,598,597,596,612,610,608,607,606,605,604,603,602,600,599"]

California Dreaming (Los Angeles, CA)

I went on a short trip to sunny LA this past week, and had a lovely time.  I call this post California Dreaming (as opposed to California exploring, eating, drinking or sun bathing) because unfortunately, my 12 hour layover wasn't long enough to get to do anything more than dream about the famed City of Angels (maybe another post) but I did get to enjoy myself with my sweet quirky crew and a very comfortable hotel. Check out my pictures!

 

[caption id="attachment_559" align="alignnone" width="642"] I got called at 5 AM to go on this quick trip with these 2 lovely ladies. We posed for this pic and I promised I'd post it. The day after, I go to LA![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_560" align="alignnone" width="642"] My crew on the trip to LA. I was the newbie on board among seasoned flight attendants, and they were happy to share stories and smiles with me along the way.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_569" align="alignnone" width="642"] An unusual sight—there were guards with oozies at the LAX airport. I'd never seen this before. Fortunately, they didn't seem too terribly worried about a bad guy running their way.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_564" align="alignnone" width="642"] Our hotel for the short Los Angeles overnight (less than 15 hours). The Holiday Inn Airport![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_563" align="alignnone" width="642"] My room: very comfortable and spacious. It almost seemed like a small apartment rather than a single person hotel room.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_566" align="alignnone" width="642"] See what I mean, this room is huge![/caption]

[caption id="attachment_567" align="alignnone" width="642"] the bed pillows were labeled soft and firm, which is helpful because some times its difficult to tell. I like a good soft pillow, and this made it easy to decide which one I wanted rather than hunting for the right pillow (if there even was variety!)[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_562" align="alignnone" width="642"] the bathroom was clean, bright and spacious as well. Generous number of towels and shampoo/soap, which is nice because often times my rooms only have 1 or two of each, tops.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_568" align="alignnone" width="642"] I'm a big fan of the Citrus Mint shampoo/soap/conditioner/etc by Bath and Body Works. Such a fresh scent, and its like a little bit of aromatherapy away from home.[/caption]

 

Tally-ho Tampa! (Tampa, FL)

If you live on the eastern end of the US, chances are this is what it looks like outside your door:

[caption id="attachment_421" align="alignnone" width="650"] the rain down in Charlotte NC[/caption]

In the South, our summers are filled with beautiful sunny mornings, and rainy, dark afternoons/evenings. Its just one of those things. Unfortunately, this often results in flight delays. Aint nobody got time for that!

About the only thing you can do when this happens is go run off somewhere sunny and precipitation-free. Dreary days lead to a bleak mood, and this is no bueno! It's summer! Time to have fun!

This week that delightful getaway happened to be Tampa, Florida.
The Florida flights are usually filled with vacation-hyper children, parents wrangling them, and old people. Lots and lots of old people.
This time around, pretty much everyone was asleep on our way down to the bay (which makes a flight attendant's job a breeze) and we made it to our hotel with plenty of leftover energy to get out and enjoy ourselves.

The first thing I did was check in to my hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which is a very comfortable hotel, and conveniently close to the airport.

[caption id="attachment_424" align="alignnone" width="698"] Image courtesy of Hilton Garden Inn[/caption]

My room sported a comfortable king sized bed, a flat-screen tv, a fridge, microwave and desk area. As all flight attendants who pack their own temperature sensitive food are aware—a room with a fridge and microwave is a huge blessing. Its a very kind consideration for these amenities to be provided by the hotel, so props to Hilton Tampa!

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignnone" width="642"] My king sized bed[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_416" align="alignnone" width="642"] The room came with a microwave and mini-fridge—a very nice touch that not all value hotels offer[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_417" align="alignnone" width="642"] My nice comfy little desk and chair[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_413" align="alignnone" width="642"] my vanity area[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_414" align="alignnone" width="642"] The soap was conveniently labeled for the body part it was best suited for[/caption]

 

Within walking distance were some strip malls, including a Target, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Macy's. I decided to bypass the shopping and went straight for the nearest beach. Tampa's beaches have beautiful white sand and blue-green ocean. In this July heat, the water feels amazing to just soak and swim around in.  Remind yourself that you deserve this vacation, and life is too short not to abscond somewhere beautiful for awhile.

[caption id="attachment_428" align="alignnone" width="800"] Ahhhhh yesss[/caption]