A Turtle and a Dolly

You might be looking at this photo thinking "A turtle and a dolly...what the &#%*??? Welcome to my Sunday morning.

A brief summation to get you up to speed: Epic storms all night in Austin. 11+ inches of rainfall. Waterfront living. Approximately 4 ft rise in water level. One lost turtle. Three determined strangers. Oh, and one dolly.

So this morning I spotted a turtle crossing the road. Well, not quite a main road, but very close and still a very busy driveway into the apartment complex next door. I pass him by (for simplicity's sake, I'll assume its a "he"), trying to convince myself that he'd find his way back to the water. Which in my estimation, is about 50 yards in the opposite direction. You know, let nature take its course and all that.

After about 5 minutes of shuffling around in my house, my curiosity got the best of me. I kept picturing that terrified looking turtle encountering a car driven by someone preoccupied with an incoming text message. I couldn't live with that on my conscience. Mission accepted, Mother Nature.

I grab my umbrella, walk next door and discover a couple afflicted with a similar case of curiosity. The dude (we introduced ourselves, but I'm terrible with names) was about to pick the turtle up. This seemed like a simple solution to our problem, however, we quickly discovered that: a) the turtle was quite a hefty creature and b) the turtle was actually an alligator snapping turtle who was very scared and very pissed to be so far from home. Crap.

After several minutes of trying to herd the turtle back to the water with our umbrellas - and seeing a snapping turtle actually snap - we determined that the poor thing would probably die of a heart attack before we escorted him even 5 feet. Nope, this wouldn't work...we needed something to carry him with. Like a dolly. The dude decides to check if the 7-11 across the street has one.

Now take just a second here to imagine yourself walking into 7-11 and asking the cashier if you can take their dolly so you can wheel a lost turtle back to its home. Yeah, that actually happened. And shockingly, he succeeded. He comes back, dolly in tow, the turtle hops back on, hitches a ride and wishes us well as he saunters back into his liquid world.

Not so much. It turns out that getting a large, angry snapping turtle on the small metal shelf of a dolly is no easy feat. We had him on for a second but when we tilted to push, the turtle would slide and get a limb caught, or he'd snap at us and get his head stuck under one of the bars. So pushing was out of the picture. This wasn't going to be so easy.

At this point we're all soaked, the couple starts losing steam and I sense that they are about to call it a day. I quickly suggest that if we can get the turtle fully on the dolly shelf, we could each take a side and carry it down to the water. And by some miracle, the turtle cooperated while we did exactly that. Staying far enough away that it couldn't snap its head and have a chunk of leg for breakfast, we carried the turtle and the dolly approximately 50 yards back down to the flooded riverbank.

There were a few more obstacles in its path and I did have to pull a post or two out of the ground (shhhh!) for it to swim around, but the turtle made it back home. We watched as he took a little breather before swimming away. I'd like to say it was a way of him tipping his hat before riding off into the sunset, but I'm retty sure our helping hands would still wind up with missing fingers if we got too close.

The dolly got returned (with more strange looks), I said goodbye to my fellow turtle whisperers and walked home in soggy shoes practicing my turtle call just in case I ever need it again. 

Why not Rome?

I just read today that an 11-year old boy was able to sneak on a flight to Rome from Manchester. Can't say I've never wished to do the same thing. I wonder how many of us at one point have looked up in the sky and wished we were on a plane going anywhere?

bliss

completely alone on a secluded beach,

only the sand flies to keep me occupied. not another soul.

the ocean waves talk to me. 

calming. calling.

white sand. turquoise clouds on the horizon. 

the sea is a brilliant mix of blues and greens I've never seen before. 

almost florescent.

the colors practically beg me to jump in and explore what lies beneath the surface. 

instead I sit. 

on the fluffy white sand. soft as a pillow. 

and take it all in.

A slice of Humble Pie served up in Atlanta

POW!...
Just when I started thinking my morning was getting complicated, I get smacked in the face with a dose of reality.

I'll start from the beginning (nutshell version)...
Heading to LAX. Early dawn flight. Worked late. Procrastinated packing. No sleep. Flying standby. Reservation issue. VERY rude United employee. Delta cures all, but 6 hour delay.

And here's where the life lesson comes in...
I managed to sleep the entire leg from Austin to Atlanta and woke up to the plane landing (abruptly jerking me out of snooze-ville). Still groggy, I started thinking back to that rude employee and cursing the fact that I missed my non-stop and now have to spend 6 more hours on a plane. Then my neighbor lifts the window shade and we see it. The American flag with a soldier in full uniform waiting next to it. And it hits us. That soldier is waiting for a body. A soldier's body that has been below us this entire flight.

I'm instantly humbled when I think about the family and friends who will receive that body later today. Suddenly those 6 hours stuck on a plane feel more like a gift rather than an inconvenience. Heck, even the screaming baby two rows behind me doesn't sound as ear piercing.

OK Travel Gods, I hear you and I'm listening, ever thankful. Life is good. :)

Hello Sunshine!

After an unusually cold winter (even here in TX), Spring has finally sprung!

Nature calls as snow falls

Ahem...I don't know how else to put this, but nature called this morning at approximately 3am. Normally this is not blog-worthy news, however, today was not our typical Austin morning. As most of you already know, Mother Nature has been flexing her winter muscles, leaving a large portion of the country under arctic layers of snow, sleet and ice. Austin has been seeing freezing temperatures for the past week, and was now supposedly facing a chance of snow. That's right...SNOW. In TEXAS! I didn't think it was possible, but despite my doubts, I peeked out my curtains to take a look.

You can probably imagine my surprise when my eyes met a sight I thought I'd never see here. A thin, fluffy, white blanket already covered the lawn in front of my apartment and tiny snowflakes continued to fall from the sky. Being a SoCal native, this is quite a rare sight for me to witness. Snow is something I prefer to experience in photos, on facebook, while I'm soaking up the sun by the pool. Heck, I even considered ditching all my winter clothes before I headed  out here - surely I wouldn't need them down in the Lonestar State!

It was 3am so the city was still sleeping, and even though I didn't want to accept it, I had to appreciate the magic of the moment. Embracing my enchantment, I layered up, grabbed the camera and opened the door. The frigid air bit through my long johns, searing straight through to my bones, but I was on a mission. Even my cat, Cooper, caught a whiff of curiosity. He put one of his California kitty paws in the snow (ok, so I might have "helped" him) and quickly b-lined it back to the front door. After a few more minutes I realized he was right. My paws were practically frozen too. Satisfied that I has captured the moment, I went back inside and turned the heater up to a more comfortable 75 degrees.

Snow Day!

More "Thai", Less "River" Please



Pei Wei's Thai River Noodles

Call me a sucker for marketing campaigns, but when I stood in front of the Pei Wei menu boards, thinking about my options, I couldn’t resist the call of the Thai River Noodles. It was their newest dish and the digital display practically plucked me from my place in Texas and transported me to a busy street in Bangkok. I closed my eyes and could see the crowded sidewalks, feel the tropical air and smell the exotic spices and sauces in nearby restaurants.

Meanwhile, back in the USA…

As I order the noodles with tofu and vegetables, I’m informed that they just ran out of Chinese broccoli and will substitute with “regular” broccoli. “That’s fine”, I say, but secretly I wonder if my surprise trip to Thailand is about to come to an abrupt end. Hoping for the best, I sit down and feel a rush of excitement when my plate is placed in front of me.

Visually, the dish is impressive. The portion size could feed a family of four, and bright vegetables contrast beautifully against the bed of noodles. The broccoli, the carrots, the red peppers all look fresh and the noodles appear to have been perfectly cooked. I grab my chopsticks, dive in and take my first bite. Expecting to be taken right back to my dream of Bangkok, I was disappointed to find that my taste buds were stuck in Texas. The first word that came to mind was BLAND. Second, DRY. Everything tasted the same and the tofu was overcooked. Convinced that I must be missing something, I took another bite. This time I dug around for some red pepper flakes, praying that would kick things up a notch. No such luck. It was a little spicier, but I had to be honest. There were hints of soy in what little sauce was at the bottom of the bowl, but this dish simply didn’t taste like it had any real Asian influence.

To make matters worse, after a few more bites, I discovered a hair hidden in my noodles. My appetite was lost immediately and, while the manager was very apologetic and did everything he could to remedy the situation, I don’t think I’ll be ordering the Thai River Noodles again.




UPS cleans the mess!

Well folks, I'm happy to announce that the seemingly endless saga of "The Disappearing 29-foot Trailer" has come to a close. It has been just under 6 weeks since I packed my life up in a UPS Freight truck and sent it on its way to Austin, only to be told that my shipment had been "misrouted". A week and a half (and 2-3 phone calls a day) into the confusion, the truck was located in Columbus, OH and, five days after that, pulled into my driveway. Most of you have already witnessed the horror I discovered when I stepped on the truck, but if not, see my previous blog. In a nutshell, it looked as though the trailer had done a few somersaults with my stuff inside.

In a state of shock, I salvaged what I could and prepared myself for battle with the claims department. I pulled out the big guns for this one and asked my friend Stacey (who is an expert consumer rights advocate) to help me draft a letter and find executive email addresses - thanks Stacey! I tweeted, I blogged, I facebooked my photos and did whatever I could to get the attention of UPS. Something must have worked because not too long after all of that, I was contacted by the UPS Freight Claims Director who promised to personally look into my case and keep me informed. Based on my experience over the past 3 weeks, however, I was skeptical. I figured that was what he told everyone and that I'd never hear from him again.

Proving me wrong, and true to his word, the Claims Director (we'll call him "John") got back to me and explained that my shipment somehow did not get logged when it left CA. That's why it was sent to Ohio where it was unloaded (which was not supposed to happen either) and, instead of someone owning up to it, they threw it back on the trailer and shipped it off to Texas. John assured me that the mistakes had been recognized and the people involved had been written up. He also said that UPS was going to offer a good faith settlement to replace what was damaged and waive the shipping fees - very generous since their contractual liability was only $100!

All in all, while the experience was not one I'd like to repeat, I think it ended on a positive note. I believe that everything happens for a reason - I haven't quite figured out the lesson in this one yet - but I do feel that the outcome was fair. I got an explanation, an apology and a reimbursement check. Now it's time to put this behind me and settle into my new place. Who knows, maybe those pesky road pirates simply thought I needed to beef up my camping skills!

UPS Fright, I mean Freight

As most of you have heard by now, all of my belongings were "misrouted" by UPS Freight. For the last 2 weeks I have been calling 3 times a day wondering how a 29 foot trailer could be missing. Well, my stuff was finally returned to me today and this is the condition I received it in. I will be blogging about the experience soon!

UPS Fright...I mean, Freight

Life...in a box

As I'm standing in my driveway watching the 29' freight truck drive off, Texas-bound, I'm hit with a wave of anxiety. Oh crap, practically everything I own just got packed up (Tetris-style) into a 4x8x9' space and driven away by a total stranger. What if it gets lost? What if the truck crashes? What if road pirates hijack it and find my Mace Widow purple neon light saber? Surely the ransom demand will be far to great for this humble girl-on-the-move. Even my cats seem to sense that their prized scratching post is hitting the road... they are sitting next to me also watching the truck disappear.

Deep breath Amy, calm down. Everything is gonna be fine. It's all part of the "moving out-of-state experience". Oh yeah, did I mention I'm moving to Austin?

Disclaimer - photo taken from Google Images

Plumeria Pride

I've been waiting for over a year now, but it's worth it. My plumeria is blooming!

My Belize adventure to be featured on Adventuregirl.com

One day, in the spirit of adventure as always, I decided I would make it my mission to get my blog a little more attention. Soon after that, one of my favorite Tweeters that I follow (@adventuregirl) announced that she was looking for writers to contribute content. Amazed at how life always seems present opportunities to those who ask, I jumped at the chance. I sent her my Belize posting and she loved it! Adventuregirl said she will not only be featuring it on her site, she will also announce on Twitter to her 1 million + followers! Just goes to show how opportunity + initiative = success!

Rain rain go away...but the rainbows can stay.

As most if you know, it's raining in Southern California this weekend. I know, big bummer...but it does offer some beautiful scenery that we Cali folk aren't usually accustomed to. Take, for example this shot of a full rainbow I snapped on the freeway (don't worry, I wasn't driving) this morning. This was about the third one I spotted and was finally able to get a good picture. I guess a little weather isn't so bad afterall. :)

Don't tempt F8, that text can w8

To all Daily Travelers,

I just caught up on my Oprah episodes on dvr and had to blog about her show on Texting while Driving. I am ashamed to admit that I am guilty of doing this, probably more often than I want to admit. My phone is always in the center console, easily accessible in case anyone needs to contact me while I'm driving.

What I didn't realize, or maybe just pretended not to realize, is that you are basically the equivalent (if not, worse) of a drunk driver if you text while driving. Oprah used her show to feature families that had lost loved ones and put some cocky people who thought they could handle it to a driving test. On average, their response rates were about 20 feet slower than normal. Twenty feet. That's the difference between slamming into a stopped car, a pedestrian, or a child on a bike (as the show revealed).

I don't want to guilt everyone into doing this, you obviously have to make the decision for yourself, but stop and think about it. If your eyes are not on the road, how can you possibly be alert to your surroundings? You're putting yourself, your passengers and everyone on the road in unnecessary danger and for what...to tell your friend that you'll be there in 10 minutes? Unless you're the President of the United States on your way to push the nuclear bomb button or something, who can't simply wait the 10 minutes?

Ok, feel a ranting coming on so I'll just say this. I know it won't be easy, but I'm going to try. I hope all of my friends and family do the same because it just isn't worth it.

If you want to watch the Oprah "texting while driving" episode, click here.