All Work and No Play (Huntsville Trip)

Well so much for a fun-filled weekend in Huntsville. Most of it was spent either staring at the beautiful scenery from the glass window of the hotel room/ tour van OR peeling Vivian off the floor from her crying fits. (In her small defense, she developed a cold before we left and was not feeling well).

I was sent to Huntsville by my employer to check out hotels and meeting space for the conferences, training and other events we host throughout the year. We have four major conferences a year plus regional training and, unfortunately, I'm responsible for planning and marketing all of these events -- from the setup of the room, to the food that's ordered, to the entertainment used, to writing the scripts of the moderators and creating the PowerPoints of the event, to raising money through sponsorships, to coordinating exhibitors, creating the theme and designing a brochure and program, and the list goes on. A little stressful at times, to say the least!!! Anyway, that's what brought me to Huntsville.


Our family was happy to go. Sure it's not easy to travel with a toddler, but any excuse to get out of Montgomery and head to the prettiest, cleanest and most technologically advanced part of this state (in my opinion) is a plus in our book.


So off we went Thursday afternoon when Kirk left work. Viv started with a runny nose and lots of sneezing that morning so it was bad karma from the beginning. We hit Birmingham traffic right around the 5 o'clock peak. Nice! Viv was screaming and crying every few minutes. She DID NOT want to be strapped into the seat and her little nose was a leaky faucet. Finally I climbed in the back with her and entertained her as best as I could. After an hour of us both being frustrated, I pulled out the portable DVD player and Elmo entertained her the rest of the way.


We arrived at our destination, the Westin Hotel, after 7 p.m. It was a beautiful hotel right next to an outdoor shopping center and a variety of restaurants. I was nervous though. The hotel didn't seem conducive to a toddler and was also a bit fancy for my taste. But it was free, paid for by the Huntsville Convention and Visitor's Bureau who was happy to court me in hopes that our association will bring their city the business. Vivian fell asleep around 8:00 p.m. and since our dwelling place was just one big room, we had to turn the lights off and go to sleep as well.


The next morning my busy day began. I toured five hotels and one convention center between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Kirk and Viv joined me for breakfast at our second hotel stop. Then they took off for an hour's visit to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day and I was so jealous to not be with them.


Kirk and Viv had a whole day to themselves while I was working:




I had to smile and pretend that I liked each hotel when in reality some of their outdated carpet and ugly decorated rooms would make the roaches scatter about if they would even choose to stay there overnight. I did have lunch at a Ruth's Chris Steak House though. Mmmm, steak salad! (sorry, no table sweepers! it was inside a hotel so it was not the usual upscale employees from stand-alone establishments).


My feet were hurting by the end of the day from all the walking I did at each location. By 3:30 p.m. I was ready to see Kirk and Vivian but my tour still included a stop at the Monte Sano State Park and its view from the top overlooking the city and finally, the Burritt Museum.


Views from Monte Sano State Park:








This is by far, (again, my opinion only) the most beautiful city in Alabama and maybe the only one I could see myself possibly residing in permanently. Everything around the area is clean. Traffic wasn't heavy and the scenery was wonderful. Why couldn't Kirk and Vivi have been with me at the top of that mountain? They were stuck in the hotel room though as Kirk didn't want to deal with her extreme elevator fears until I returned.


Finally I did return around 5:00 p.m. My tour and business had ended. We were all starving. As we drove around the Bridge Street shopping center next to our hotel, everything seemed too crowded and overpriced. So we opted for my friend Jill Comb's recommendation, La Alameda Mexican Restaurant instead. Great choice Jill, thanks. It wasn't crowded. The food was good and fast and we sat in a secluded booth where no one could hear Vivian whine. After dinner, we walked around Bridge Street watching all the prom-goers take photos in their gowns that revealed way too much cleavage for 16-year olds.


A snap shot of the Bridge Street outdoor shopping center:





Back at the hotel courtyard we let Vivian walk (well, run) around. We found an outdoor bar and each ordered a drink. Kirk and I took turns chasing her around while the other sat and enjoyed the drink (so it was mostly me running after her). I purposely kept her up past 8p.m. in hopes to tire her out. It was still another restless night for all of us though with her stuffiness, coughing and moaning. Poor girl!


Viv running around the Westin courtyard:




This morning her mood was the worst yet. So we gathered up our things and said, it's time to go. No attaction visits for us today. No Space and Rocket Museum. No Sci-Quest. No Early Works Museum for us. Montgomery, here we come, like it or not. And we left. After a quick stop into Cracker Barrell, we were on our way, three hours of road time.

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Perhaps the only highlight of the trip for me was meeting the American Flag designer while touring the Embassy Suites downtown on Friday afternoon. I spotted this man wearing an American flag shirt sitting at a table with flags scattered about. The man was Robert Heft, (well, a 17-year old boy at the time) who designed the current U.S. flag being used and flown today. He was selling autographed flags to promote patriotism so of course I had to buy one, well two of them actually. I shook his hand and took a photo with him. He has spent his life traveling with people like Bob Hope to meet soldiers and spread American spirit. By law he is the only person permitted to write on an American flag since he is the artist of its design. So I met a man who changed history and purchased two souvenirs for family members.


Meeting Mr. U.S. Flag Designer:




Other than that chance meeting, it was all work and no play! I didn't get to visit any of the attractions like I had hoped. Oh well, when you have a toddler who is sick, all you can do is try to take care of her. So good bye Huntsville. Maybe I'll see you again someday.


I would have been even more disappointed if I hadn't found a surprise package waiting for me when I arrived at our home. Thanks Erin M for the wonderful caramel brownies you sent! (You're so sweet and they are so dang tasty, like an "orgasm in the mouth!" LOL) That was just what I needed after a hectic and stressful trip. Back to reality now....