Today we set off to do a tour of the Bronx on the hop on hop off bus. Unfortunately my tummy bug returned so I decided it would be wise to get off the bus. Annamaree continued on her own and got to see Yankee Stadium. I am getting to be an expert on where the toilets (or restrooms as they are called here) are. I even went into a hotel today but you needed your hotel room card to open the door. I managed to get a guy coming out of the gents to open the ladies door for me! I walked back to the hotel and rested up waiting for Annamaree to return.
When she did we walked down to Times Square to see if we could get some discount tickets for a Broadway show. There was a long queue and when we checked with the guy behinds to make sure we were in the right queue, it turned out he was from Melbourne and was travelling for nine months having just finished his studies. We had a good chat as we moved along the line. I really wanted to see Lion King but there were no discount tickets as it is very popular. We ended up getting tickets to The Jersey Boys which were 40% off.
As the show didn't start till 7pm we went and checked out Radio City Music Hall and the Rockefeller Centre as we will be doing tours there before we leave New York. We had dinner on the concourse level of the Rockefeller Centre where there a lots of restaurants and casual eateries. We had a look in Lego Land and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art shop where Annamaree did some shopping.
We then walked to the theatre between Broadway and 8th Avenue to see the Jersey Boys. It was a great show and more meaningful now that we have seen New Jersey.
Then another walk back to the motel.
Tomorrow we are off to see the Statue of Liberty so an earlier start than the last few days.
Cheers
Roz
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
New York Day 5
I forgot to mention in my previous post that when we were walking past the Crown Plaza last night there were lots of police cars and police in helmets, body armour and with machine guns. We think that they were there for a politician but not sure who as we didn't see them come out. As the police escort left, one of the two police on motorbikes dropped his bike and had trouble picking it up. Rather embarrassing for the poor chap.
Today we walked to Central Park as it is only two blocks from our hotel. It is so strange to have this beautiful park in the midst of all this traffic and hustle and bustle. The park is in central Manhatton and is 843 acres of grass, rocky outcroppings and ponds. There are tennis courts, baseball diamonds, lots of playgrounds, miniature golf and in winter there is an ice skating rink. There is also a memorial to John Lennon there called Strawberry Fields as the Dakota Building where he was shot is just over the road. We stopped at a little kiosk just outside the park for a coffee. Over the road is the Trump World Tower.
We then got on the hop on hop off bus and took the Uptown Route which took us through the upper west side and past the American Museum of Natural History, the Lincoln Centre, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, and Grant's Tomb. Then into Harlem past the famous Apollo Theatre where a lot of famous African/American talents were discovered - Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jackson Five and many more. We also saw the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum - amazing buildings. We got off the bus at Central Park South and Fifth Avenue and had lunch at the Food Court (very upmarket) in the Plaza Hotel.
Then we got back on the bus with the intent of doing the Bronx tour but I wasn't feeling well so hopped off and went back to the motel. I didn't know that Annamaree had been told that it was too late to do the Bronx tour so she caught the bus back to the motel and was concerned that I wasn't there but I had walked the 24 blocks back so it took me a while to do that. Rested for the rest of the day so that I am right for tomorrow.
Till then
Roz
Today we walked to Central Park as it is only two blocks from our hotel. It is so strange to have this beautiful park in the midst of all this traffic and hustle and bustle. The park is in central Manhatton and is 843 acres of grass, rocky outcroppings and ponds. There are tennis courts, baseball diamonds, lots of playgrounds, miniature golf and in winter there is an ice skating rink. There is also a memorial to John Lennon there called Strawberry Fields as the Dakota Building where he was shot is just over the road. We stopped at a little kiosk just outside the park for a coffee. Over the road is the Trump World Tower.
We then got on the hop on hop off bus and took the Uptown Route which took us through the upper west side and past the American Museum of Natural History, the Lincoln Centre, the Cathedral of St John the Divine, and Grant's Tomb. Then into Harlem past the famous Apollo Theatre where a lot of famous African/American talents were discovered - Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Jackson Five and many more. We also saw the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum - amazing buildings. We got off the bus at Central Park South and Fifth Avenue and had lunch at the Food Court (very upmarket) in the Plaza Hotel.
Then we got back on the bus with the intent of doing the Bronx tour but I wasn't feeling well so hopped off and went back to the motel. I didn't know that Annamaree had been told that it was too late to do the Bronx tour so she caught the bus back to the motel and was concerned that I wasn't there but I had walked the 24 blocks back so it took me a while to do that. Rested for the rest of the day so that I am right for tomorrow.
Till then
Roz
Monday, July 29, 2013
New York Day 4
This morning we caught the subway for the first time. There is a station on the corner of our block on 57 West and we took the R line to Rector Street and walked around to the 9/11 Memorial. We had to queue up and go through security and then we were let in (we were the first tour of the morning). There are two big rectangular reflection pools representing the twin towers, one is for the first responders and emergency service people who died and the other is for the citizens who died. There is a wide ledge around the pools and all the names of those who died are etched into it. The water is a cascade and falls into a void. The pools are in the footprints of the buildings. It is very beautiful and a lovely memorial. There is also a special tree there called the Hope Tree which was on the original site and was just a stump after 9/11. It was nursed back to health and planted in the memorial garden but was then nearly wiped out by Hurricane Sandy. It survived and is growing again.
We walked to Battery Point where a lot of the tour boats leave from. As we walked along we saw some squirrels, they were so cute. After a break at the Clinton Fort,we walked along further to catch the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry is free and there were huge crowds. Once the doors open there is a mad scramble to get to the upper decks and get a spot on the rail. I managed to get one and fantastic views of the city, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We caught the next ferry back as we have a tour of the Statue of Liberty on another day. We had lunch in the ferry terminal and then caught the hop on hop off bus to Pier 17. There are lots of shops and eating places here and we also went on a Circle line cruise which was great. It was Abigail new boat and was air conditioned which we were thankful for as it was a very hot and humid day. We went up the Hudson River and up to the Statue of Liberty and back again. There was commentary as well so it was really Interesting.
We had our photo taken when we were boards g and as we got off it was ready. It turned out okay so we bought the set. We both then had a massage to relieve the aching bones.
Then on to the hop on hop off bus and home to recharge the camera battery. I had a bit of a nanna nap and when I woke up we went out to dinner. We went to 9th Avenue which is a bit like Lygon Street in Melbourne with restaurants and eateries up both sides. We ended up eating at a Thai restaurant.
We then walked to Times Square and went to the Disney Store and the M & M store. So many people out and about, there is a real atmosphere in this city.
We were both exhausted so we walked home.
Cheers for now.
Roz
We walked to Battery Point where a lot of the tour boats leave from. As we walked along we saw some squirrels, they were so cute. After a break at the Clinton Fort,we walked along further to catch the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry is free and there were huge crowds. Once the doors open there is a mad scramble to get to the upper decks and get a spot on the rail. I managed to get one and fantastic views of the city, Brooklyn, New Jersey, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. We caught the next ferry back as we have a tour of the Statue of Liberty on another day. We had lunch in the ferry terminal and then caught the hop on hop off bus to Pier 17. There are lots of shops and eating places here and we also went on a Circle line cruise which was great. It was Abigail new boat and was air conditioned which we were thankful for as it was a very hot and humid day. We went up the Hudson River and up to the Statue of Liberty and back again. There was commentary as well so it was really Interesting.
We had our photo taken when we were boards g and as we got off it was ready. It turned out okay so we bought the set. We both then had a massage to relieve the aching bones.
Then on to the hop on hop off bus and home to recharge the camera battery. I had a bit of a nanna nap and when I woke up we went out to dinner. We went to 9th Avenue which is a bit like Lygon Street in Melbourne with restaurants and eateries up both sides. We ended up eating at a Thai restaurant.
We then walked to Times Square and went to the Disney Store and the M & M store. So many people out and about, there is a real atmosphere in this city.
We were both exhausted so we walked home.
Cheers for now.
Roz
Sunday, July 28, 2013
New York Day 3
Bit of a sleep in today, didn't get up till 8:30am.
We caught the hop on hop off bus to the Empire State Building. Even though there were lots of people, the lines moved very quickly. When you enter you are given a gadget like a remote control that you hold up to your ear and you listen to a commentary. The first lift took us to the 80th floor and then we had to catch another lift to go to the 86th floor. They quickly take your picture in front of a backdrop and you hardly have time to smile!
Once on the 86th floor you go outside to the observatory deck. There are numbers at different points and the commentary tells you what you are looking at and a bit of the history. The views were magnificent and you could really see where it all fitted in. Even though it was a bit hazy, the views were still amazing. You could see all the way to Queens and Brooklyn, the mighty Hudson River and all the skyscrapers in Manhatton. It was spectacular.
Then we went to Macy's which is the largest store in the world. It is a full city block and one floor is just shoes from every designer you can think of. Annamaree had a bit of a shopping spree buying some clothes for herself and her grandchildren. I sat outside in an area with seating while she was shopping and watched the world go by. There are lots of street vendors that sell all sorts of things like hot dogs, pretzels, different foods, drinks, bags, pictures and lots more.
We then wanted to do the Pink bus that takes you to the west side but after waiting for an hour and a half we gave up and caught the hop on hop off bus home but it seemed to take forever. It also started to rain so we didn't go on the top level although many did and were given a poncho to try and stay dry.
We bought some soup and bread rolls for tea from the market over the road for tea.
In the morning we are off to see the 9/11 memorial.
Cheers
Roz
We caught the hop on hop off bus to the Empire State Building. Even though there were lots of people, the lines moved very quickly. When you enter you are given a gadget like a remote control that you hold up to your ear and you listen to a commentary. The first lift took us to the 80th floor and then we had to catch another lift to go to the 86th floor. They quickly take your picture in front of a backdrop and you hardly have time to smile!
Once on the 86th floor you go outside to the observatory deck. There are numbers at different points and the commentary tells you what you are looking at and a bit of the history. The views were magnificent and you could really see where it all fitted in. Even though it was a bit hazy, the views were still amazing. You could see all the way to Queens and Brooklyn, the mighty Hudson River and all the skyscrapers in Manhatton. It was spectacular.
Then we went to Macy's which is the largest store in the world. It is a full city block and one floor is just shoes from every designer you can think of. Annamaree had a bit of a shopping spree buying some clothes for herself and her grandchildren. I sat outside in an area with seating while she was shopping and watched the world go by. There are lots of street vendors that sell all sorts of things like hot dogs, pretzels, different foods, drinks, bags, pictures and lots more.
We then wanted to do the Pink bus that takes you to the west side but after waiting for an hour and a half we gave up and caught the hop on hop off bus home but it seemed to take forever. It also started to rain so we didn't go on the top level although many did and were given a poncho to try and stay dry.
We bought some soup and bread rolls for tea from the market over the road for tea.
In the morning we are off to see the 9/11 memorial.
Cheers
Roz
Saturday, July 27, 2013
New York Day 2 continued......
After the camera charged and we had called our families, we ventured out again.
We walked down 7th Avenue towards Times Square and on to Broadway. There were so many people in the streets and the restaurants were busy. We had a look in a Christmas Shop which had every Christmas decoration you could think of including hot dogs and coke cans! We also popped into all the luggage shops to price suitcases as I need another one. Found a Samsonite at a good price so organised to call back after dinner.
We had dinner in a Brasserie. Annamaree had Ricotta Ravioli and I had a Chicken Club Sandwich.
Then we called into the M&M shop but it was so busy we decided to visit it another time. We then went back to the luggage shop and I bought my suitcase and Annamaree bought a carry on case with wheels. Back at the hotel I tried to call Lauren on Viber but all I heard was her hello so we ended up texting instead. I washed my clothes from today, and am about to pop into bed to watch a movie.
Love to all
Roz
We walked down 7th Avenue towards Times Square and on to Broadway. There were so many people in the streets and the restaurants were busy. We had a look in a Christmas Shop which had every Christmas decoration you could think of including hot dogs and coke cans! We also popped into all the luggage shops to price suitcases as I need another one. Found a Samsonite at a good price so organised to call back after dinner.
We had dinner in a Brasserie. Annamaree had Ricotta Ravioli and I had a Chicken Club Sandwich.
Then we called into the M&M shop but it was so busy we decided to visit it another time. We then went back to the luggage shop and I bought my suitcase and Annamaree bought a carry on case with wheels. Back at the hotel I tried to call Lauren on Viber but all I heard was her hello so we ended up texting instead. I washed my clothes from today, and am about to pop into bed to watch a movie.
Love to all
Roz
New York Day 2
This morning we purchased a 5 day pass for the hop on hop off bus (Gray Line) which also gives us entry into lots of attractions. Before we caught the bus we went to an AT&T store as I wanted to get a data sim. They couldn't open my phone (it has a Liteproof cover on it). I was going to ring Peter to find out how to take it off and then realised it was 1am back home so thought better of it. I ended up getting a really cheap smart phone.
We then walked through Time Square which was just amazing. There are video screens everywhere and the traffic is crazy. We caught the bus and did the uptown loop going past Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, up Broadway, past Pier 5 and got off at Chinatown. There were little stalls set up everywhere mostly selling the same things, jewellery, scarves, bags, perfumes and much more.
We stopped at McDonalds for lunch so we could use the toilets and there was a long queue for the ladies. There were signs everywhere that said you could only stay for 30 minutes and they were so busy.
We then wandered back to where we had to catch the bus and went to the Wrangler Store. I would have liked to take photos but you weren't allowed.
Back on the bus and we saw the United Nations Building, Central Park with all the horse and carriages. Unfortunately the battery in my camera went flat so we decided to go back to the hotel to recharge it and have a rest.
We will be going out again shortly.
Hugs from New York.
Roz
We then walked through Time Square which was just amazing. There are video screens everywhere and the traffic is crazy. We caught the bus and did the uptown loop going past Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, up Broadway, past Pier 5 and got off at Chinatown. There were little stalls set up everywhere mostly selling the same things, jewellery, scarves, bags, perfumes and much more.
We stopped at McDonalds for lunch so we could use the toilets and there was a long queue for the ladies. There were signs everywhere that said you could only stay for 30 minutes and they were so busy.
We then wandered back to where we had to catch the bus and went to the Wrangler Store. I would have liked to take photos but you weren't allowed.
Back on the bus and we saw the United Nations Building, Central Park with all the horse and carriages. Unfortunately the battery in my camera went flat so we decided to go back to the hotel to recharge it and have a rest.
We will be going out again shortly.
Hugs from New York.
Roz
New York Day 1
When we got back from our final dinner my last pillow present was on the bed. It was a lovely book on Utah with a personal message from Shelli inside. It is very heavy so will try and post it home.
Friday morning we boarded the bus for the last time to go to the Salt Lake City international airport for our trip to New York. We had to say goodbye to the others at the airport as they were taking different flights, some going home and some travelling further. The flight took about 3hrs 30mins and we took a yellow cab to our hotel, The Salisbury on 57 West Street.
We lost 2 hours due to the time difference and got to our motel about 6pm. It is certainly not the St Regis but is very comfortable and we are only a few blocks from Central Park and Time Square. We had Spaghetti and Meatballs for tea at an Italian Restaurant next to the hotel.
After dinner we went to the market over the road to get cereal for breakfast, milk and fruit. The city is busy, noisy (sirens everywhere) but it has a real excitement. I would hate to be driving here, the drivers seem to sit on their horns constantly.
Tomorrow we are going to get on the hop on hop off bus.
Cheers
Roz
Friday morning we boarded the bus for the last time to go to the Salt Lake City international airport for our trip to New York. We had to say goodbye to the others at the airport as they were taking different flights, some going home and some travelling further. The flight took about 3hrs 30mins and we took a yellow cab to our hotel, The Salisbury on 57 West Street.
We lost 2 hours due to the time difference and got to our motel about 6pm. It is certainly not the St Regis but is very comfortable and we are only a few blocks from Central Park and Time Square. We had Spaghetti and Meatballs for tea at an Italian Restaurant next to the hotel.
After dinner we went to the market over the road to get cereal for breakfast, milk and fruit. The city is busy, noisy (sirens everywhere) but it has a real excitement. I would hate to be driving here, the drivers seem to sit on their horns constantly.
Tomorrow we are going to get on the hop on hop off bus.
Cheers
Roz
Friday, July 26, 2013
St Regis Deer Park - Day 5 continued
Sorry for the abrupt end on my last post, I ran out of room!
After nibbles drinks and lots of photos, we moved to the stables where there were beautifully set tables. There were tables in the stalls, a long table down the middle and a couple at the end just outside. Table by table we went to the buffet. The food was amazing (are you sick of that word yet?). It was all Utah produce, trout, beef and delicious salads, one contained goats cheese and lots of berries.
There was demountable toilets and they were incredible, they looked like a bathroom that would be in your home! Very posh!
After dinner we moved to what looked like a big round yard that had a roof and wooden floor. There were hay bales all around with covers and cushions and a couple of braziers that were lit. Here we could get dessert, either Flaming Doughnuts with ice-cream or S'mores. For the S'mores, you put a square of home made marshmallow on a toasting fork until it starts to melt and then you scrape it onto a sweet biscuit and add chocolate. You then put another biscuit on top and eat. It is a bit messy but yummy!
Then the band started and there were some amazing line dancers who did a demonstration and then taught us each dance. It was a lot of fun but you got very hot.
I got to talk to the owner who said the property was 200 acres only big enough to be an expensive hobby. They have 20 Angus cows, horses and ducks. There were a couple of foals and they were so cute. They hold a lot of functions there and a lot of weddings.
Sadly all too soon it was time to board the buses back to the hotel. Tanya gave me a quick trim, handy to have your hairdresser on the same trip, and then we packed our bags ready for our 7:45am departure in the morning. New York here we come!
After nibbles drinks and lots of photos, we moved to the stables where there were beautifully set tables. There were tables in the stalls, a long table down the middle and a couple at the end just outside. Table by table we went to the buffet. The food was amazing (are you sick of that word yet?). It was all Utah produce, trout, beef and delicious salads, one contained goats cheese and lots of berries.
There was demountable toilets and they were incredible, they looked like a bathroom that would be in your home! Very posh!
After dinner we moved to what looked like a big round yard that had a roof and wooden floor. There were hay bales all around with covers and cushions and a couple of braziers that were lit. Here we could get dessert, either Flaming Doughnuts with ice-cream or S'mores. For the S'mores, you put a square of home made marshmallow on a toasting fork until it starts to melt and then you scrape it onto a sweet biscuit and add chocolate. You then put another biscuit on top and eat. It is a bit messy but yummy!
Then the band started and there were some amazing line dancers who did a demonstration and then taught us each dance. It was a lot of fun but you got very hot.
I got to talk to the owner who said the property was 200 acres only big enough to be an expensive hobby. They have 20 Angus cows, horses and ducks. There were a couple of foals and they were so cute. They hold a lot of functions there and a lot of weddings.
Sadly all too soon it was time to board the buses back to the hotel. Tanya gave me a quick trim, handy to have your hairdresser on the same trip, and then we packed our bags ready for our 7:45am departure in the morning. New York here we come!
St Regis Deer Park - Day 5
Today is our final day of our Grand Vacation as we all head off tomorrow. Some to home and some like us are extending our holiday.
After breakfast this morning I had to pack my box that SU is sending home for me. They gave us the box and we can have up to 12 lbs ((that's pounds not kilos!). On my first pack I was over so I had to take some things out. Then for customs you have to list every item in the box, the value and the weight. Kelly from the home office helped me with this and I was the first one to have my box done.
Then Annamaree and I rode the chairlift. It was only $22 for as many times as you want to ride it for the day. There is some mountain bike competition here today so they were sending their bikes up on the chair lift and catching it themselves to the top and then riding down the mountain. The guys operating the chair lift were very good and slowed it right down for us. We. Went half way up the mountain and then got off and walked to the other chairlift that took you to the top. The scenery was breathtaking. We got off at the top and took some photos and got talking to this elderly couple who had just walked up the mountain and were about to walk back down! They have a second home in Deer Valley and do the walk quite often. We rode the chairlift down and the round trip just over an hour. We passed some people we know from the trip going the other way so we took each other's photo. I hope the photos come out okay.
Then we took the shuttle into Redstone as we both wanted to send some stuff home. I couldn't get all my convention and grand vacation gifts in the free box so wanted to send the rest home. It cost $78. We then went and had lunch at the Pub and Grub. There were so many televisions and they were all turned onto a different sports channel. Then we had a quick look in Michael's Art and Craft store and it was much better than the one in Salt Lake City. I wished I had more time to look around but my wallet is glad I didn't. We then caught the shuttle back to the motel. We filled our lolly boxes back up for the next trip and mingled with everyone in the gathering place. I also picked my swaps up and they are amazing.
We then went to our room and re-packed our suitcases ready for tomorrow. We had to be in the foyer at 5pm wearing jeans, comfy shoes and a light jacket as our final dinner was to be outside and it was a surprise. We all piled into the buses and headed off in a direction we hadn't been before. We went through Heber City then into Heber Valley and finally we arrived at our destination - a ranch. When we pulled up there were tables set up with lots of cheeses and crackers and drinks.
After breakfast this morning I had to pack my box that SU is sending home for me. They gave us the box and we can have up to 12 lbs ((that's pounds not kilos!). On my first pack I was over so I had to take some things out. Then for customs you have to list every item in the box, the value and the weight. Kelly from the home office helped me with this and I was the first one to have my box done.
Then Annamaree and I rode the chairlift. It was only $22 for as many times as you want to ride it for the day. There is some mountain bike competition here today so they were sending their bikes up on the chair lift and catching it themselves to the top and then riding down the mountain. The guys operating the chair lift were very good and slowed it right down for us. We. Went half way up the mountain and then got off and walked to the other chairlift that took you to the top. The scenery was breathtaking. We got off at the top and took some photos and got talking to this elderly couple who had just walked up the mountain and were about to walk back down! They have a second home in Deer Valley and do the walk quite often. We rode the chairlift down and the round trip just over an hour. We passed some people we know from the trip going the other way so we took each other's photo. I hope the photos come out okay.
Then we took the shuttle into Redstone as we both wanted to send some stuff home. I couldn't get all my convention and grand vacation gifts in the free box so wanted to send the rest home. It cost $78. We then went and had lunch at the Pub and Grub. There were so many televisions and they were all turned onto a different sports channel. Then we had a quick look in Michael's Art and Craft store and it was much better than the one in Salt Lake City. I wished I had more time to look around but my wallet is glad I didn't. We then caught the shuttle back to the motel. We filled our lolly boxes back up for the next trip and mingled with everyone in the gathering place. I also picked my swaps up and they are amazing.
We then went to our room and re-packed our suitcases ready for tomorrow. We had to be in the foyer at 5pm wearing jeans, comfy shoes and a light jacket as our final dinner was to be outside and it was a surprise. We all piled into the buses and headed off in a direction we hadn't been before. We went through Heber City then into Heber Valley and finally we arrived at our destination - a ranch. When we pulled up there were tables set up with lots of cheeses and crackers and drinks.
Thursday, July 25, 2013
St Regis Day 4 - Kanab continued
After lunch we were taken to a park that Shelli's husband Sterling's father had built for the town when Sterling was a little boy. When Stirling's dad died about 5 years ago, Shelli and Stirling redesigned the park and added a water play area. It is now a beautiful park and as a result the town then built a swimming pool next door. Under the swings and climbing frames is the shredded rubber from the SU manufacturing facility. It is so soft and bouncy that no child will hurt themselves if they fall. The park is a great legacy to Stirling's dad and a fiNe example of the good work that SU does for the community.
Then it was back on the buses for the return trip to the St George airport. On the way we played Bingo and Angie, the events manager from the Home Office, was the bingo caller. The prizes were SU products and I won a glue pen and silicon mat and Annamaree won some window sheets. It certainly made the time pass quickly.
We boarded the plane and expected to be on our very quickly, not so. Apparently the airport wasn't equipped with something they needed to put in their flight plan so there we sat. The plane had been on the Tarmac all day in 38 to 40 degree heat so was already quite hot. We ended up on the plane on the Tarmac for one hour 15 minutes with no air conditioning. It was so hot. Eventually the hostesses brought some iced water around, and then some snacks. One English lady had to be moved to a cooler seat as she was badly affected by the heat. Just when it was about to get ugly with frustrated passengers wanting to get off the plane we were able to take off. We were so relieved to get back to Salt Lake City and we had great views of the great Salt Lake after which it was named,
When we disembarked the plane we had to go to the.baggage area and pick up one dinner to eat on the bus or take back to the hotel. As usual the boxes were beautifully packaged. There was a big box decorated with ribbon that had chicken, salad, roast vegetable salad and cornbread. In a separate box was a cupcake,
Once back to the motel at around 8:30pm we did some washing and hit the sack. It was a very long day. Forgot to mention that my pillow gift was lots of items from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue - a stamp set and punch, some tags, 2 rolls of ribbon and two other items that I can't name yet.
Cheers Roz
Then it was back on the buses for the return trip to the St George airport. On the way we played Bingo and Angie, the events manager from the Home Office, was the bingo caller. The prizes were SU products and I won a glue pen and silicon mat and Annamaree won some window sheets. It certainly made the time pass quickly.
We boarded the plane and expected to be on our very quickly, not so. Apparently the airport wasn't equipped with something they needed to put in their flight plan so there we sat. The plane had been on the Tarmac all day in 38 to 40 degree heat so was already quite hot. We ended up on the plane on the Tarmac for one hour 15 minutes with no air conditioning. It was so hot. Eventually the hostesses brought some iced water around, and then some snacks. One English lady had to be moved to a cooler seat as she was badly affected by the heat. Just when it was about to get ugly with frustrated passengers wanting to get off the plane we were able to take off. We were so relieved to get back to Salt Lake City and we had great views of the great Salt Lake after which it was named,
When we disembarked the plane we had to go to the.baggage area and pick up one dinner to eat on the bus or take back to the hotel. As usual the boxes were beautifully packaged. There was a big box decorated with ribbon that had chicken, salad, roast vegetable salad and cornbread. In a separate box was a cupcake,
Once back to the motel at around 8:30pm we did some washing and hit the sack. It was a very long day. Forgot to mention that my pillow gift was lots of items from the upcoming Holiday Catalogue - a stamp set and punch, some tags, 2 rolls of ribbon and two other items that I can't name yet.
Cheers Roz
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
St Regis - Day 4 Kanab
What an amazing adventure we had today. Breakfast at 4:30am then at 5:40am we boarded the buses (4 big coaches) and set off for Salt Lake International Airport. We checked in at 7am and boarded a 757 jet that SU had chartered to fly us to St George Utah which is in the bottom left hand corner of Utah. Flying domestically in the US is the same as flying internationally. We had to show our passport, not take more than 3oz of liquid, take our shoes off and have a body scan. We were quite the celebrities when we arrived as the jet was the biggest plane that had ever landed at St George so the press were there to take photos. The flight was about 45 minutes.
Then we boarded the coaches for the 1hour 30 minute drive to Kanab where the SU manufacturing facility is. The scenery was amazing and when we were told that most of the western movies were filmed here you could recognise the scenery. Along the way we went through Colorado City where the polygamists live. We also had a focus group on the bus where we were told about a new product SU is thinking of introducing. We had to give our opinions so that decisions can be made. Sorry but we are sworn to secrecy!
When we arrived at Kanab at the SU Manufactoring Facility, all the employees lined the pavement out front and gave us a very warm welcome. We then went inside and were treated to an American BBQ. The food was great and there was Creme Brûlée, Angel Food Cupcakes and a Chocolate Silk Pie for dessert.
Then we split into groups to do a tour. It was amazing. We saw how the rubber comes in, how the moulds are made, saw the moulds being baked, taken out and cooled and packed as stamp sets. We even got to have a go ourselves. We also saw stamp pads being made. The foam pads are inked up in a machine that looks likea big mix master and they are glued in with a special glue. We also saw the ink refills being filled and labelled as well as the card stock being cut with a huge electric guillotine and being shrink wrapped. There is also a machine that shreds the waste rubber which is used for playgrounds under swings. SU used to be the biggest employer in Kanab but are now the 3rd largest and most of the employees have been there in excess of 10 years.
Will finish this post in the morning as I am bone tired, will explain more in my next post.
Cheers
Roz
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
st Regis Deer Park - Day 3
Today we caught buses to go to Stampin' Up's home office in Riverton. When we arrived the entire staff lined the stairs and balconies and clapped and cheered until everyone of us were in the building and then some. It was very emotional and welcoming. We were then split into groups and given a tour of the building including the warehouse. My favourite part was the Legacy Room where the history of SU was displayed as well as areas set up as rooms and decorated with SU products.
It was amazing to see the orders being picked, packed and shipped. After the tour we were given lunch which was four different types of pizza a tossed salad and cupcakes. They were also mixing soft drinks but I stuck with water.
After lunch the guests were whisked off for a game of bowls. The achieving demonstrators remained at the home office and did some make and takes. We were given a bag that had a pack of notecards and envelopes, 6 rolls of washi tape, a pack of 12x12 gold card stock and the hostess set "Perfectly You" which we used for the make and takes. After that Shannon West gave us a demonstration of a new product and then we were given the product and time to play with it. Then the guests returned and we were bussed into City Creek Shopping Centre in Salt Lake City where we could have dinner and shop. As we left the home office the achieving demonstrators were given a stamp with their initial and "Handmade by" so mine was R and underneath Handmade by Roz. So thoughtful and generous.
Annamaree and I had dinner at the Cheesecake Company. I had a grilled salmon and veggies and Annamaree had Creole Shrimp. We both had a Mojito to drink as well. We wanted to catch the 6:30pm bus back to the hotel so we didn't do any shopping.
We have an early start tomorrow as we are going to the manufacturing plant in Kanab which involves a flight and a 2 hour bus trip.
Cheers
Roz
It was amazing to see the orders being picked, packed and shipped. After the tour we were given lunch which was four different types of pizza a tossed salad and cupcakes. They were also mixing soft drinks but I stuck with water.
After lunch the guests were whisked off for a game of bowls. The achieving demonstrators remained at the home office and did some make and takes. We were given a bag that had a pack of notecards and envelopes, 6 rolls of washi tape, a pack of 12x12 gold card stock and the hostess set "Perfectly You" which we used for the make and takes. After that Shannon West gave us a demonstration of a new product and then we were given the product and time to play with it. Then the guests returned and we were bussed into City Creek Shopping Centre in Salt Lake City where we could have dinner and shop. As we left the home office the achieving demonstrators were given a stamp with their initial and "Handmade by" so mine was R and underneath Handmade by Roz. So thoughtful and generous.
Annamaree and I had dinner at the Cheesecake Company. I had a grilled salmon and veggies and Annamaree had Creole Shrimp. We both had a Mojito to drink as well. We wanted to catch the 6:30pm bus back to the hotel so we didn't do any shopping.
We have an early start tomorrow as we are going to the manufacturing plant in Kanab which involves a flight and a 2 hour bus trip.
Cheers
Roz
Monday, July 22, 2013
St Regis Deer Park - Day 2
This morning we had breakfast out on one of the decks in an area just for SU. There was muesli, yoghurt, juices, tea and coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon and sweet pastries. We sat near Teresa and Tanya from Canberra and then Ann Craig from Canberra came to sit with us and then Rich Jutkins from SU home office. After breakfast we rode the Funicular down and back up. There are two lines and two automatic gondolas. You just press a button to call for one to come. There were amazing views from the gondola.
SU had arranged hourly shuttle buses (free) to take us to the shopping centres or to Olympic park. Some went for the adventurous activities, the luge, the zip line and white water rafting. I couldn't do any of those because of my arm, at least that's my excuse! So Annamaree and I caught the shuttle to the Tanger Shopping Outlet. We were given some coupons for discounts at the shops and some were 25% but mostly 20% even off reduced items. I bought a black leather shoulder bag and a wheelie cabin bag. The bag was $120 and I got it for $41 and the cabin bag was $38. It is the sort with four wheels so you can push it along upright. Annamaree bought some lovely tops, 3/4 pants, some shoes and some little surprises for her grandchildren.
We caught the shuttle back to the hotel, did some washing and had a rest. Then we caught the Funicular down to the ski park and we were going to go for a ride on the gondola (chair lift) but it was too late to do a return trip so we will do that on Thursday instead. We caught the Funicular back to the hotel.
There is a full on day tomorrow so we decided to rest and watch a movie. I had a nana nap and then decided to have a bath. The bath is really deep and the bathroom mirror turns into a TV and you can watch different channels to the other room. It was lovely and relaxing.
We were watching another movie and my pillow gift arrived. It was another burlap bag and inside was a packet of Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper, a roll of Pistachio Pudding stretch ruffle trim, Window Frames Collection Framelits, Boutique Details embellishments and two stamp sets: Lots of Thanks and Lovely Romance. How spoilt am I!
Till tomorrow
Roz
SU had arranged hourly shuttle buses (free) to take us to the shopping centres or to Olympic park. Some went for the adventurous activities, the luge, the zip line and white water rafting. I couldn't do any of those because of my arm, at least that's my excuse! So Annamaree and I caught the shuttle to the Tanger Shopping Outlet. We were given some coupons for discounts at the shops and some were 25% but mostly 20% even off reduced items. I bought a black leather shoulder bag and a wheelie cabin bag. The bag was $120 and I got it for $41 and the cabin bag was $38. It is the sort with four wheels so you can push it along upright. Annamaree bought some lovely tops, 3/4 pants, some shoes and some little surprises for her grandchildren.
We caught the shuttle back to the hotel, did some washing and had a rest. Then we caught the Funicular down to the ski park and we were going to go for a ride on the gondola (chair lift) but it was too late to do a return trip so we will do that on Thursday instead. We caught the Funicular back to the hotel.
There is a full on day tomorrow so we decided to rest and watch a movie. I had a nana nap and then decided to have a bath. The bath is really deep and the bathroom mirror turns into a TV and you can watch different channels to the other room. It was lovely and relaxing.
We were watching another movie and my pillow gift arrived. It was another burlap bag and inside was a packet of Venetian Romance Designer Series Paper, a roll of Pistachio Pudding stretch ruffle trim, Window Frames Collection Framelits, Boutique Details embellishments and two stamp sets: Lots of Thanks and Lovely Romance. How spoilt am I!
Till tomorrow
Roz
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Day 1 continued.......
I couldn't fit any more on the previous post so here is the rest.
After we said goodnight to everyone we went back to the room and there was a pillow gift on my bed. It was a burlap sack with a tag that said "Happy Day". When I opened it there were two black hoody's, one for me and one for Annamaree. They had the SU logo and a lovely pattern in white that was in a small area on the side and back. What a lovely surprise.
Tomorrow is a rest day but there are shuttles for us to go to the different shopping areas, could be dangerous!
Cheers
Roz
After we said goodnight to everyone we went back to the room and there was a pillow gift on my bed. It was a burlap sack with a tag that said "Happy Day". When I opened it there were two black hoody's, one for me and one for Annamaree. They had the SU logo and a lovely pattern in white that was in a small area on the side and back. What a lovely surprise.
Tomorrow is a rest day but there are shuttles for us to go to the different shopping areas, could be dangerous!
Cheers
Roz
St Regis Deer Park, Day 1
Got to sleep in this morning as we were leaving for the St Regis at Deer Park and we didn't have to be at the convention centre till 11am. Quite a few of us met in the foyer and pulled our suitcases in a convoy to where the buses were waiting for us. Then it was about an hour trip, leaving Salt Lake City, travelling on some amazing freeways and climbing up a windy road to Park City past the Winter Olympics site and onto Deer Valley.
When we arrived at the motel it was just amazing. A beautiful building and the staff were lined up out the front to greet us. We went in and got our room key and went up to the room and our mouths dropped to the floor. The room was huge with a little entrance foyer then opened up to a big room with two queen sized beds, a comfortable big armchair with foot stool, a desk and a fireplace! The bathroom too is huge. We could hold a party in the shower, it is so big and there is a huge bath as well and two hand basins. There is a separate toilet and it has a telephone in it and the most amazing thing is the huge mirror in the bathroom becomes a Tv So you can watch it from the bath! Stampin' Up! Had left a little basket of goodies on my bed and it contained two cookies, two bed rolls with butter and a knife and a packet of trail mix (nuts etc).
We then went down to the hospitality area which SU had set up for us. We picked up our name tags and were given two containers for us to collect candies from around the rooms to take to our rooms for later. There were so many different sorts of candy and they were in huge glass containers with silver scoops. As they were taken, the SU staff refilled them.
In a separate room there were 3 sorts of flavoured popcorn, a variety of finger sandwiches, fruit kebabs with flavoured yoghurt, soft drinks and tea and coffee. You just helped yourself and they kept bringing more out.
I got to play a game where you put a big token in one of six slots and where it landed on the bottom determined what prize you got. I won a container of Old Olive Simply Styled Embellishments which are little bows on paper clips, so cute! achievers get to play a game every day to win a prize.
It was free time this afternoon so we sat around chatting to people we hadn't met and some we had. Dinner was at 7:30pm so we glammed up a bit and went down to the terrace.
A clear marquee had been set up with rows of tables with flower tablecloths and glass jars full of roses all down the middle of the tables and decorated with our chevron ribbon. At the end of each table was a framed flag for each country so there was Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Germany. Each setting had the cutlery in one of our chevron paper sacks with some chevron ribbon and there was a box of chocolates decorated with the chevron paper sack paper, linen thread and one of the crocheted flowers that were in the tablecloth. There was also a little tag attached that said "sweet".
The menu was Smoked Tomato and Creme Fraiche Soup; a salad of baby spinach, frisée Gorgonzola dolce toasted walnuts with pancetta dressing. Main was buffet style with char grilled chicken breasts with sweet pea ravioli with pea tendrils and sweet corn sauce, Angus sirloin with polenta and veal jus. Dessert was strawberry tart with cassis cream, white chocolate terrine, dark chocolate custard and raspberries and manjari chocolate cremeux. It was delicious.
When we arrived at the motel it was just amazing. A beautiful building and the staff were lined up out the front to greet us. We went in and got our room key and went up to the room and our mouths dropped to the floor. The room was huge with a little entrance foyer then opened up to a big room with two queen sized beds, a comfortable big armchair with foot stool, a desk and a fireplace! The bathroom too is huge. We could hold a party in the shower, it is so big and there is a huge bath as well and two hand basins. There is a separate toilet and it has a telephone in it and the most amazing thing is the huge mirror in the bathroom becomes a Tv So you can watch it from the bath! Stampin' Up! Had left a little basket of goodies on my bed and it contained two cookies, two bed rolls with butter and a knife and a packet of trail mix (nuts etc).
We then went down to the hospitality area which SU had set up for us. We picked up our name tags and were given two containers for us to collect candies from around the rooms to take to our rooms for later. There were so many different sorts of candy and they were in huge glass containers with silver scoops. As they were taken, the SU staff refilled them.
In a separate room there were 3 sorts of flavoured popcorn, a variety of finger sandwiches, fruit kebabs with flavoured yoghurt, soft drinks and tea and coffee. You just helped yourself and they kept bringing more out.
I got to play a game where you put a big token in one of six slots and where it landed on the bottom determined what prize you got. I won a container of Old Olive Simply Styled Embellishments which are little bows on paper clips, so cute! achievers get to play a game every day to win a prize.
It was free time this afternoon so we sat around chatting to people we hadn't met and some we had. Dinner was at 7:30pm so we glammed up a bit and went down to the terrace.
A clear marquee had been set up with rows of tables with flower tablecloths and glass jars full of roses all down the middle of the tables and decorated with our chevron ribbon. At the end of each table was a framed flag for each country so there was Australia, New Zealand, England, France and Germany. Each setting had the cutlery in one of our chevron paper sacks with some chevron ribbon and there was a box of chocolates decorated with the chevron paper sack paper, linen thread and one of the crocheted flowers that were in the tablecloth. There was also a little tag attached that said "sweet".
The menu was Smoked Tomato and Creme Fraiche Soup; a salad of baby spinach, frisée Gorgonzola dolce toasted walnuts with pancetta dressing. Main was buffet style with char grilled chicken breasts with sweet pea ravioli with pea tendrils and sweet corn sauce, Angus sirloin with polenta and veal jus. Dessert was strawberry tart with cassis cream, white chocolate terrine, dark chocolate custard and raspberries and manjari chocolate cremeux. It was delicious.
Last day of convention
Another amazing day at convention. I did three classes today - Building a Thriving Business, Turning Contacts into Customers and Marketing your Stampin' Up Business. Got to see the lovely Bonnie Thurber do a presentation today and as usual we laughed all the way through it. She has had a knee replacement and calls it Clyde because when she was introduced to people she was always asked where's Clyde. Her boyfriend Max was there as well. Another all attendee giveaway of a new stamp set. Thank goodness SU is paying for us to send a box of stuff home!
At the very end, some fireworks went off and then we heard these bangs and silver streamers and strips came floating down from the roof. It was amazing.
Annamaree and I went to a lovely Italian Restaurant foe dinner and learnt that over here, entree is the main meal and appetiser is what they call entree. We both had chicken stuffed with prosciutto and sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious. It came with mashed potatoes and vegetables as well as a green salad and a yummy warm bread roll. Food is quite cheap here. It was a fancy restaurant and only cost us $21 each.
Then we went to Harmon's and got a few things, not sure if I have told you about Harmon's. it is an amazing store on two levels. the bottom level is a huge grocery store with a bakery, self serve food like in the clubs back home, a chemist, huge deli and fruit and veg. The next level has some takeaway food areas, a post office and a cooking school which also sells lots of cooking accessories.
Had to repack my bags as we are leaving for St Regis at Deer Valley at 11 am this morning. Looking forward to less people as it will only be the Grand Vacation achieves and their guest from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Germany.
Bye for now, off to get a little more shut eye,
roz
At the very end, some fireworks went off and then we heard these bangs and silver streamers and strips came floating down from the roof. It was amazing.
Annamaree and I went to a lovely Italian Restaurant foe dinner and learnt that over here, entree is the main meal and appetiser is what they call entree. We both had chicken stuffed with prosciutto and sun dried tomatoes. It was delicious. It came with mashed potatoes and vegetables as well as a green salad and a yummy warm bread roll. Food is quite cheap here. It was a fancy restaurant and only cost us $21 each.
Then we went to Harmon's and got a few things, not sure if I have told you about Harmon's. it is an amazing store on two levels. the bottom level is a huge grocery store with a bakery, self serve food like in the clubs back home, a chemist, huge deli and fruit and veg. The next level has some takeaway food areas, a post office and a cooking school which also sells lots of cooking accessories.
Had to repack my bags as we are leaving for St Regis at Deer Valley at 11 am this morning. Looking forward to less people as it will only be the Grand Vacation achieves and their guest from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Germany.
Bye for now, off to get a little more shut eye,
roz
Friday, July 19, 2013
Day 2 continued.........
After a bit of a rest we got into our glad rags had an early tea at the restaurant next door and headed back to the Awards Night. It was very similar to our Awards Night just bigger. They also recognise the outgoing and incoming Advisory Board, the 10 top Artisan AWard winners who will be on the next design team and the top 100 demonstrators (20 Canadian) who will be going to the Founders Circle Retreat. They also announced that the 2015 Grand Vacation would be to.............HAWAII! This will be for the South Pacific demonstrators too.
We then moved to the Gathering Place for the 25th Anniversary Party. There was a live band, gymnasts doing manoeuvres on long strips of material hanging from the roof, male dancers and lots of lovely desserts that went very quickly. There were also lots of games you could play and photo opportunities but again the queues were very long. We also got 6 rolls of washi tape. We sat with a group of ladies from the US who were friends but lived all over the US. Everyone has been so friendly.
Last day of convention is tomorrow and I am looking forward to going on the Grand Vacation where there won't be so many people.
Night for now
Roz
We then moved to the Gathering Place for the 25th Anniversary Party. There was a live band, gymnasts doing manoeuvres on long strips of material hanging from the roof, male dancers and lots of lovely desserts that went very quickly. There were also lots of games you could play and photo opportunities but again the queues were very long. We also got 6 rolls of washi tape. We sat with a group of ladies from the US who were friends but lived all over the US. Everyone has been so friendly.
Last day of convention is tomorrow and I am looking forward to going on the Grand Vacation where there won't be so many people.
Night for now
Roz
Convention Day 2
I got a good night's sleep last night so was feeling much better today. Back to convention for day 2. Shelli's daughter Sarah opened up the Session and then Shelli did her 25 projects for the 25th anniversary. They were different to the ones she showed at the Australian convention and some were using some fabulous products that I can't talk about yet, but very exciting. No luck in Prize Patrol today but we did get a giveaway of a not yet released product. Shannon West demonstrated as did Pam Morgan again showing some new products.
After the general session we had a quick bite of lunch and then we separated as I wanted to do some business classes that didn't interest Annamaree. I did "five projects that generate sales", "five tools that boost your business" and a mini class called Thankful Sack where we stamped on one of the mini muslin bags from the Holiday Catalogue.
Then there was an arranged get together for the international demonstrators to meet some of the well known US demonstrators. I met Becky Roberts, Dawn Olchovski, Tamil White, Mary Fish, Frenchie and others. It was so great to meet them in the flesh and they were so lovely.
Still long queues for most things so I took photos of the boards until my battery died. Did manage to get the free Paper Pumpkin set as the line had died down.
Back at the motel cooling off before we go back for the award's night.
Cheers
Roz
After the general session we had a quick bite of lunch and then we separated as I wanted to do some business classes that didn't interest Annamaree. I did "five projects that generate sales", "five tools that boost your business" and a mini class called Thankful Sack where we stamped on one of the mini muslin bags from the Holiday Catalogue.
Then there was an arranged get together for the international demonstrators to meet some of the well known US demonstrators. I met Becky Roberts, Dawn Olchovski, Tamil White, Mary Fish, Frenchie and others. It was so great to meet them in the flesh and they were so lovely.
Still long queues for most things so I took photos of the boards until my battery died. Did manage to get the free Paper Pumpkin set as the line had died down.
Back at the motel cooling off before we go back for the award's night.
Cheers
Roz
Convention Day 1
It was a big day today. We went to the convention centre first thing to pick up our t-shirt and name tags. Lots of demonstrators were lined up to do a tour of the Stampin' Up! Home office. We will be doing that as part of the Grand Vacation which will be a much smaller group so didn't do the convention tour.
Then we did a 4 hour bus tour of Salt Lake City with City Sights. We saw all the places of note including a tour of the magnificent State Capital Building which has the most amazing marble inside and has the largest single piece marble pillars in the world. There were amazing views from this building particularly of the awesome Wasatch Mountains which look more like a painting and have a lot of character. We stopped at the Lion House for lunch. After lunch we went to Temple Square and went to the Tabernacle and saw the organ recital on the huge pipe organ which has over 11,000 pipes.
After a quick cool down at the motel we caught a taxi to Walmart. Couldn't come to the US and not go to Walmart! And yes those emails you see of people in Walmart are all true! Then we caught a cap to Michael's art and craft store which was in the outer suburbs. It has an amazing array of all types of craft items but for me it did't live up to all the hype. Annamaree bought a few things and could have gone crazy as we had a 25% discount voucher.
Then we called a cab as the time had got away and the fist session of convention started at 5:30 with doors opening at 5pm. The cab company said there was a 20 minute wait so I was getting quite anxious. The cab finally came and did a great job of getting us back quickly.
Shelli opened convention and it was being streamed live around the world. She brought her whole family on stage and it was great to see them in person and not in the catalogue. We were given our convention bag with the make and take stamp sets in them. The poor staff were run off their feet getting the bags to 6,000 demonstrators. One of the all attendee giveaways was the Tags 4 You stamp set out of the holiday catalogue. No luck in Prize Patrol today but lots of lovely product was given away.
After the general session we went to the Gathering Place for the Stampin' Up! expo. There you could visit the Demonstrator Resource Centre, Memento Mall (where you could try on the hoody and paint your nails in the new In Colours), product playground, watch demonstrations in booths, two of them were Sharlene Meyer from New Zealand and Vanessa Webb from Australia, and helping out on a service project by packing birthday packs for a children's hospital. We also set a Guiness World record for sending the most cards from the one location. We had to bring a card with us to send.
There was also a Recognition Room set up for those who had won an a award. There were lounges and tables set up, free drinks and a photo opportunity. It was a nice place to have a bit of quiet time.
Unfortunately with so many people there, there were long queues so I spent most of my time looking at the display boards. Annamaree and I lost each other for a while and found each other some time later in the ladies!
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Roz
Then we did a 4 hour bus tour of Salt Lake City with City Sights. We saw all the places of note including a tour of the magnificent State Capital Building which has the most amazing marble inside and has the largest single piece marble pillars in the world. There were amazing views from this building particularly of the awesome Wasatch Mountains which look more like a painting and have a lot of character. We stopped at the Lion House for lunch. After lunch we went to Temple Square and went to the Tabernacle and saw the organ recital on the huge pipe organ which has over 11,000 pipes.
After a quick cool down at the motel we caught a taxi to Walmart. Couldn't come to the US and not go to Walmart! And yes those emails you see of people in Walmart are all true! Then we caught a cap to Michael's art and craft store which was in the outer suburbs. It has an amazing array of all types of craft items but for me it did't live up to all the hype. Annamaree bought a few things and could have gone crazy as we had a 25% discount voucher.
Then we called a cab as the time had got away and the fist session of convention started at 5:30 with doors opening at 5pm. The cab company said there was a 20 minute wait so I was getting quite anxious. The cab finally came and did a great job of getting us back quickly.
Shelli opened convention and it was being streamed live around the world. She brought her whole family on stage and it was great to see them in person and not in the catalogue. We were given our convention bag with the make and take stamp sets in them. The poor staff were run off their feet getting the bags to 6,000 demonstrators. One of the all attendee giveaways was the Tags 4 You stamp set out of the holiday catalogue. No luck in Prize Patrol today but lots of lovely product was given away.
After the general session we went to the Gathering Place for the Stampin' Up! expo. There you could visit the Demonstrator Resource Centre, Memento Mall (where you could try on the hoody and paint your nails in the new In Colours), product playground, watch demonstrations in booths, two of them were Sharlene Meyer from New Zealand and Vanessa Webb from Australia, and helping out on a service project by packing birthday packs for a children's hospital. We also set a Guiness World record for sending the most cards from the one location. We had to bring a card with us to send.
There was also a Recognition Room set up for those who had won an a award. There were lounges and tables set up, free drinks and a photo opportunity. It was a nice place to have a bit of quiet time.
Unfortunately with so many people there, there were long queues so I spent most of my time looking at the display boards. Annamaree and I lost each other for a while and found each other some time later in the ladies!
Looking forward to tomorrow.
Roz
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Salt Lake City 17/7/13
Got up this morning, had breakfast and then bought an all day ticket for the tray which is a great tram system and the trams are spotless.
We caught the blue line tram and went to a big shopping centre. It was really hot even though it was only early. We went to an AT&T shop as Annamaree was having trouble sending texts and I wanted to get a phone and activate a SIM card. We were sitting on a lounge waiting to be served when two more salesman came out. I asked them if they were serving and they said "sorry Ma'am we're not allowed to serve alcohol here". We were in stitches and had to explain that we were waiting for someone to help us. They were very lovely and spent lots of time getting Annamaree's phone and tablet going.
That wasn't the only issues Annamaree was having. She had bought a load and go card from the Post Office before she left but it wasn't working. After numerous tries and two phone calls to Australia she finally got it to work. She was very relieved.
We caught the tram to a shopping centre called Smith's and I bought a hat and we had a nice chicken salad at Wendy's. Annamaree,s big toe was very painful so she went back to the motel and I had alook around City Creek shopping centre. Some of the shops there were Macy's, Nordstroms, Tiffany, Michael Kors and lots more. I bought a pair of walking sandals which are very comfortable.
I caught the tram back to the motel. Annamaree's toe was a bit better so we went back to City Creek and Harmon's and got some postcards and stamps. I went for a walk around Temple Square, sat in the place where the Morman Tabernacle Choir sings and listened to music from an amazing pipe organ. The temple building is amazing and the grounds are perfectly manicured. On the way back I saw a seven seated push bike. I asked the guy if I could take a photo. He said I could and also said I could get on and he would take my photo, which he did.
We met up with some more demonstrators- Jenny Cass, Patrice from New Zealand, Debbie Yeomans, Linda Higgins and Vanessa Webb.
Annamaree and I went to dinner at an eatery next door, JB's Family Restaurant. We both had salmon.
Then back to the motel to do our washing. While we were in the laundry Narelle Hodges popped in. She had already been to Las Vegas so had plenty of tips and suggestions for us. She also told us there was a Michael Store here in SLC so we might be off there tomorrow.
I can't work out how to get my photos from my iPad onto here so you will have to wait for those.
Nighty night
Roz
We caught the blue line tram and went to a big shopping centre. It was really hot even though it was only early. We went to an AT&T shop as Annamaree was having trouble sending texts and I wanted to get a phone and activate a SIM card. We were sitting on a lounge waiting to be served when two more salesman came out. I asked them if they were serving and they said "sorry Ma'am we're not allowed to serve alcohol here". We were in stitches and had to explain that we were waiting for someone to help us. They were very lovely and spent lots of time getting Annamaree's phone and tablet going.
That wasn't the only issues Annamaree was having. She had bought a load and go card from the Post Office before she left but it wasn't working. After numerous tries and two phone calls to Australia she finally got it to work. She was very relieved.
We caught the tram to a shopping centre called Smith's and I bought a hat and we had a nice chicken salad at Wendy's. Annamaree,s big toe was very painful so she went back to the motel and I had alook around City Creek shopping centre. Some of the shops there were Macy's, Nordstroms, Tiffany, Michael Kors and lots more. I bought a pair of walking sandals which are very comfortable.
I caught the tram back to the motel. Annamaree's toe was a bit better so we went back to City Creek and Harmon's and got some postcards and stamps. I went for a walk around Temple Square, sat in the place where the Morman Tabernacle Choir sings and listened to music from an amazing pipe organ. The temple building is amazing and the grounds are perfectly manicured. On the way back I saw a seven seated push bike. I asked the guy if I could take a photo. He said I could and also said I could get on and he would take my photo, which he did.
We met up with some more demonstrators- Jenny Cass, Patrice from New Zealand, Debbie Yeomans, Linda Higgins and Vanessa Webb.
Annamaree and I went to dinner at an eatery next door, JB's Family Restaurant. We both had salmon.
Then back to the motel to do our washing. While we were in the laundry Narelle Hodges popped in. She had already been to Las Vegas so had plenty of tips and suggestions for us. She also told us there was a Michael Store here in SLC so we might be off there tomorrow.
I can't work out how to get my photos from my iPad onto here so you will have to wait for those.
Nighty night
Roz
Canberra to Salt Lake City
Early start to the day, had to catch a 6:30am flight from Canberra to Melbourne. Even though our flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles didn't leave till 11am I didn't want to risk being delayed by possible fog so took the first flight out. When we got to Melbourne we went straight to the international terminal which is in the same building so we only had to go up the escalator. We had breakfast and filled in some time looking in the shops.
When we boarded we were in the middle row of three seats with another person but after take off we moved to two empty rows of three so we could lie down to sleep. We were lucky that the plane wasn''t too full. It was a really good flight with just a couple of spots of turbulence. There was plenty of leg room and toilets and they were very clean (you need to fly Virgin next time Fran). Lunch was a choice of roast chicken, Massaman Curry or a vegetarian dish. I chose the chicken and roast vegetables and it was delicious and came with a bread roll, a salad and a piece of chocolate cake (which I didn't eat).
There were lots of inflight entertainment, movies, tv shows, games, music all of which you viewed on a screen that was on the back of the seat in front. I had brought a book to read so did that instead but Annamaree watched 3 movies. We also met up with Simone and Juliana who are also on the incentive trip. We did get some sleep until the captain announced that we had to sit up and put our seat belts on. Then he told the crew to do the same. We were a bit concerned because there was no explanation but it turned out to be some strong turbulence we were flying through.
Some flight stats: air speed 900 kph; altitude 37,000 ft; total distance 12,788 kms, flight time 14 hrs.
We arrived in Los Angeles at 8:30am and went through the first customs where they checked our passports and customs declaration and then scanned the fingers on both hands. We then had to collect our cases and take them through customs. No problem except we got told next time to wait until called over as we both went over together. We then rechecked our bags in for the next flight. I couldn't believe how quickly we got through customs as I had booked a later flight to Salt Lake City to allow plenty of time.
We then walked down to Terminal 5 (about a 5 minute walk) to catch our flight to Salt Lake City. This was the longest queue we had seen so far but it moved fairly quickly. We had to take our shoes off and have a full body scan. The plane was pretty crowded and we were hot and tired so it wasn't a pleasant flight but 2 hours later we arrived in Salt Lake City and we ran into lots of demonstrators at the airport. We caught a shuttle bus to our motel, the Salt Plaza. The mountains around SLC are spectacular and despite the heat there were still some small pockets of snow.
We checked in and then walked down to the City Creek shopping centre and then to Harmon's to get some groceries. It is an amazing shop. We had dinner in the food hall at City Creek and then walked home in the rain. We looked a bit like drowned rats by the time we got there. As we got to the motel we met up with Teresa Dabrowski and Shannon West from the SU home office here in SLC.
We were pretty exhausted after the flights so had an early night.
Roz
When we boarded we were in the middle row of three seats with another person but after take off we moved to two empty rows of three so we could lie down to sleep. We were lucky that the plane wasn''t too full. It was a really good flight with just a couple of spots of turbulence. There was plenty of leg room and toilets and they were very clean (you need to fly Virgin next time Fran). Lunch was a choice of roast chicken, Massaman Curry or a vegetarian dish. I chose the chicken and roast vegetables and it was delicious and came with a bread roll, a salad and a piece of chocolate cake (which I didn't eat).
There were lots of inflight entertainment, movies, tv shows, games, music all of which you viewed on a screen that was on the back of the seat in front. I had brought a book to read so did that instead but Annamaree watched 3 movies. We also met up with Simone and Juliana who are also on the incentive trip. We did get some sleep until the captain announced that we had to sit up and put our seat belts on. Then he told the crew to do the same. We were a bit concerned because there was no explanation but it turned out to be some strong turbulence we were flying through.
Some flight stats: air speed 900 kph; altitude 37,000 ft; total distance 12,788 kms, flight time 14 hrs.
We arrived in Los Angeles at 8:30am and went through the first customs where they checked our passports and customs declaration and then scanned the fingers on both hands. We then had to collect our cases and take them through customs. No problem except we got told next time to wait until called over as we both went over together. We then rechecked our bags in for the next flight. I couldn't believe how quickly we got through customs as I had booked a later flight to Salt Lake City to allow plenty of time.
We then walked down to Terminal 5 (about a 5 minute walk) to catch our flight to Salt Lake City. This was the longest queue we had seen so far but it moved fairly quickly. We had to take our shoes off and have a full body scan. The plane was pretty crowded and we were hot and tired so it wasn't a pleasant flight but 2 hours later we arrived in Salt Lake City and we ran into lots of demonstrators at the airport. We caught a shuttle bus to our motel, the Salt Plaza. The mountains around SLC are spectacular and despite the heat there were still some small pockets of snow.
We checked in and then walked down to the City Creek shopping centre and then to Harmon's to get some groceries. It is an amazing shop. We had dinner in the food hall at City Creek and then walked home in the rain. We looked a bit like drowned rats by the time we got there. As we got to the motel we met up with Teresa Dabrowski and Shannon West from the SU home office here in SLC.
We were pretty exhausted after the flights so had an early night.
Roz
Monday, July 15, 2013
The Adventure Begins......
Early start this morning, up at 4am, shower and last minute packing. Got to the airport at 5:30am and Annamaree joined me shortly after. Great flight to Melbourne, cloudy all the way. The international terminal is in the same building so just had to catch the escalator up. We had an express check in card for Velocity members so it was great to walk past the very long regular queue and go straight to the customs counter. Bought a couple of Aussie souvenirs for some SU people and had bereakfast. Just filling in time now till we catch the next flight to Los Angeles. We have to collect our bags in LA to go through customs and then check them in again for the flight to Salt Lake City. We are both very excited and can't wait to get there. Peter, I forgot my hat so will have to buy another one for my collection! Don't laugh Lauren!
Till next time
Roz
Till next time
Roz
One more sleep!
Only one more sleep before I set off on my adventure to the USA. Thanks to Stampin' Up!®, my downline and customers, I earned the annual incentive trip, known as the Grand Vacation, to Utah USA. In addition to the 6 days at St Regis Deer Valley, Stampin' Up!® (SU) has also paid for us to attend the North American SU Convention in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately Peter couldn't come (the trip falls right when calving and lambing is happening), Lauren is in Western Australia so I get to go with my friend, Annamaree.
We have extended our holiday and when we leave Salt Lake City we will be going to New York, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, driving to Los Angeles and also Anaheim for Disneyland.
All up we will be away 6 weeks.
Looking forward to sharing my fantastic holiday with you all.
cheers
Roz
We have extended our holiday and when we leave Salt Lake City we will be going to New York, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, San Francisco, driving to Los Angeles and also Anaheim for Disneyland.
All up we will be away 6 weeks.
Looking forward to sharing my fantastic holiday with you all.
cheers
Roz
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