Donkey goes to the USA - part 1: (New Jersey and) San Francisco
Back in February, I was off on another work trip, this time to a conference in San Francisco, coming back via Boulder, Colorado for a seminar. Donkey was the lucky toy who got to come with me this time.
She was very pleased to meet the horse at Heathrow.
And she likes looking at the planes before we got on the plane.
On the plane she was very (very!) impressed with the selection of in-flight movies.
We were planning on arriving into Newark and then flying up to Buffalo for the weekend to spend time with family, but unfortunately Buffalo was fog-bound. So they cancelled my flight. After I'd waited for eight hours. And then I got told that the earliest they could get me to Buffalo was Monday morning (when I needed to be at my conference in San Francisco).
Thankfully I have cousins who live in New Jersey, and they rescued me. Unfortunately, my luggage stayed lost in the depths of Newark airport. I finally got it back on the Tues night.
It was a lovely bright sunny morning on the Saturday, and the world seemed a nicer place after some sleep. (I was very grumpy after having my flight cancelled and my suitcase lost, and getting to my cousin's house very late!) There was loads of snow on the ground too, which donkey was very impressed by as she'd not seen snow before.
We spent most of the day at a swim meet, because my first-cousin-once-removed A was racing. She did very well.
Donkey was very impressed with the trophies, especially the gold baseball glove. (I had to explain that that trophy was for baseball, not swimming)
On Sunday I flew to San Francisco, and then had to do some shopping because my suitcase went to Buffalo and I needed clothes to wear.
We had dinner in an old fashioned diner which was connected to my hotel.
Southern fried chicken - yum! Donkey liked the coleslaw.
In the hotel, Donkey climbed right to the top of the pillows.
The opening night of the conference had a reception in the Starlight Rooms. Donkey was very impressed with the view.
She wasn't so keen on the crowds of people though - it turns out she's a bit shy.
My hotel was about 30 minutes walk away from the conference hotel, which meant I saw some really cool graffiti art.
This one was my favourite - a peacock!
We walked past a mosque...
... and the Hotel California. I hope the guests there manage to check out and leave alright.
Tiger graffiti. (Or maybe a mural - it was too detailed and big to have been done on the sly)
Donkey was very impressed by this piledriver.
And these feather butterflies were hanging in the ground floor window of an office block.
A water fountain - very impressive!
If I remember right, this is Market Street.
And here are some Chinese dolls in a shop window.
The conference had lots of food. Donkey especially appreciated the apples.
And thought the conference venue was very grand.
Though not as grand as the conference dinner venue, with its mural...
... and art deco architecture...
...and shiny door. (For me and my poor feet, the conference dinner was distinctly lacking in chairs, especially as we'd been standing up for the previous 2 hours at the poster session...)
After the conference finished, I went with a friend to find some dinner. We wound up in a traditional American bar first.
And then had a very nice dinner in a very nice restaurant (which looked a bit Parisian to me)
Donkey approved of the menu.
The hotel was a rare American one which did breakfast included. It was grand, even if breakfast was limited to bagels, yoghurt, juice and coffee.
My room didn't have much of a view, unfortunately.
We had a bit of time before flying out to have a wander around San Francisco. In a bookshop I saw this wall of Monopolies.
There was a market in the UN plaza.
And I think this is City Hall.
We rounded off the trip to San Francisco with noodles and tempura at the airport, before flying out to Denver for the final leg of the trip.
She was very pleased to meet the horse at Heathrow.
And she likes looking at the planes before we got on the plane.
On the plane she was very (very!) impressed with the selection of in-flight movies.
We were planning on arriving into Newark and then flying up to Buffalo for the weekend to spend time with family, but unfortunately Buffalo was fog-bound. So they cancelled my flight. After I'd waited for eight hours. And then I got told that the earliest they could get me to Buffalo was Monday morning (when I needed to be at my conference in San Francisco).
Thankfully I have cousins who live in New Jersey, and they rescued me. Unfortunately, my luggage stayed lost in the depths of Newark airport. I finally got it back on the Tues night.
It was a lovely bright sunny morning on the Saturday, and the world seemed a nicer place after some sleep. (I was very grumpy after having my flight cancelled and my suitcase lost, and getting to my cousin's house very late!) There was loads of snow on the ground too, which donkey was very impressed by as she'd not seen snow before.
We spent most of the day at a swim meet, because my first-cousin-once-removed A was racing. She did very well.
Donkey was very impressed with the trophies, especially the gold baseball glove. (I had to explain that that trophy was for baseball, not swimming)
On Sunday I flew to San Francisco, and then had to do some shopping because my suitcase went to Buffalo and I needed clothes to wear.
We had dinner in an old fashioned diner which was connected to my hotel.
Southern fried chicken - yum! Donkey liked the coleslaw.
In the hotel, Donkey climbed right to the top of the pillows.
The opening night of the conference had a reception in the Starlight Rooms. Donkey was very impressed with the view.
She wasn't so keen on the crowds of people though - it turns out she's a bit shy.
My hotel was about 30 minutes walk away from the conference hotel, which meant I saw some really cool graffiti art.
This one was my favourite - a peacock!
We walked past a mosque...
... and the Hotel California. I hope the guests there manage to check out and leave alright.
Tiger graffiti. (Or maybe a mural - it was too detailed and big to have been done on the sly)
Donkey was very impressed by this piledriver.
And these feather butterflies were hanging in the ground floor window of an office block.
A water fountain - very impressive!
If I remember right, this is Market Street.
And here are some Chinese dolls in a shop window.
The conference had lots of food. Donkey especially appreciated the apples.
And thought the conference venue was very grand.
Though not as grand as the conference dinner venue, with its mural...
... and art deco architecture...
...and shiny door. (For me and my poor feet, the conference dinner was distinctly lacking in chairs, especially as we'd been standing up for the previous 2 hours at the poster session...)
After the conference finished, I went with a friend to find some dinner. We wound up in a traditional American bar first.
And then had a very nice dinner in a very nice restaurant (which looked a bit Parisian to me)
Donkey approved of the menu.
The hotel was a rare American one which did breakfast included. It was grand, even if breakfast was limited to bagels, yoghurt, juice and coffee.
My room didn't have much of a view, unfortunately.
We had a bit of time before flying out to have a wander around San Francisco. In a bookshop I saw this wall of Monopolies.
There was a market in the UN plaza.
And I think this is City Hall.
We rounded off the trip to San Francisco with noodles and tempura at the airport, before flying out to Denver for the final leg of the trip.