17th May 2012 - 23rd May 2012 - Briefly Back in USA
Back in San Francisco
Finally back in San Francisco after a whirlwind few days and much traveling! After my lovely side-trip to Santa Domingo, I actually settled down into a bit of a routine in Punta Cana - 2 swims per day, lying on the beach in the morning, 3 meals, afternoons with my computer preparing for our presentation in New Jersey. It was a good combination of work and rest. The resort had many different areas to choose from, and I found the Adults Only Resort to be much more conducive to whiling away the days in peace and tranquility - one of the restaurants there was wonderfully open to the beach and sea breezes, so I would settle in there at a table with my computer for the afternoon, looking up every now and then to take in the fabulous blue water and feel the sun and the breeze on my face. What an office!! The hours slipped by and the work was easily done. A couple of momentous dinners also in this restaurant which became a bit more upmarket in the evenings - the chefs there did an amazing lobster, so I had it 2 nights in a row!!What a treat it was...and so simply cooked on the char-grill only.Finally, after 10 days, it was time to leave my little beach oasis. First stop was Philadelphia (King of Prussia, PA to be exact) where I was doing a review of data management systems for a client. That was a bit of a long day - flew to Philly, rented a car, and drove to King of Prussia. It would have been fine, except for the fact that I was on a really tight time schedule - my computer power cable was giving me great grief and I desperately needed to get a new one as soon as I landed back in the US so I could continue my work on a tight deadline - I now know it is a common thing for the lead to break in a certain place - tricks for young players. So, with literally 10 minutes to spare before closing time, I dived into the Apple store in the King of Prussia Mall. Now, what an experience that it!! This Mall is said to be the biggest in America - not what you want when you are seeking one tiny little store last minute!! What a place - there are hotels actually attached to this Mall - it is a holiday destination in itself...... At 10pm, starving to death, I headed to Joe's Crab Shack, again in the Mall carpark and just across from my hotel - another experience!! The crabs are brought in great big aluminium buckets, with a 2nd one for the scraps. I had a lovely time and really relaxed with a glass of wine, 2 types of crab, and some prawns too. A perfect end to a hectic day. The next morning, did my meeting in King of P. and then I was meeting the Medical monitor in his home town in Yardley, Pennsylvania. This all made sense as it was along the drive to New York, my next stop. A kind of an interesting fellow - spends every 3 months either in US or Israel and certainly a little more eccentric that I was expecting - he arrived on his bicycle and suggested that we meet at Starbucks, but a clever guy all the same. After our meeting, he decided to take me on a walk around historic Yardley, with its 2 sets of traffic lights. I have to admit it was very interesting - he showed me a canal built over the river (very odd) and we walked along the tow path which was where the horses walked to pull the barges bringing the coal to all the villages along the way to Philadelphia. A lovely little break in the sun and a very different kind of meeting. Back into the car, and I drove through beautiful Pennsylvania with its stone buildings and farmland, to Hilary's place in New York, where I was spending the weekend. In between my work preparations, we managed to have a wonderfully relaxing time just hanging out, doing not very much. We talked and laughed and talked some more - on Saturday, had manicures and pedicures then added neck massages and reflexology foot massages on too. And for the 2 of us, it all cost $100. Not something that I treat myself to very often, but my nails were in dire need of help after all the sun, surf and sand of Dominica. Home for a fabulous relaxing dinner. All too soon, it was time to leave again and I headed for Bridgewater - my old haunt. We had a successful meeting presentation after many months preparation and on Tuesday, I drove to JFK to pick up the Virgin flight back here to SF. I chose to do the 90 minute drive to JFK as the flight to SF is over 6 hours and I wanted to be comfortable - so far Virgin is the only airline that makes this trip a little bearable. They have seat-back TV screens, so I ended up watching 5 episodes in a row of Law & Order as USA channel had a marathon - certainly helped to pass the time of the flight..... Now, back in SF, I have house guests from my Airbnb adventure. It is working out pretty well and is a welcome source of income and so easy, really, especially as they tend to spend all their time out of the house. 10 days here in SF, then Chicago for ASCO, then home to Oz!!! Talk soon Deborah
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