Work Trip to Daytona Beach

Quick aside: I realized that my last post might have been two depressing when I lost two followers shortly after posting it...so, my apologies if I upset anyone.

One thing I love about my job most days is the fact that it gives me the chance to travel to parts of the country that I wouldn't have normally seen on my own.  Sometimes this is a really good thing (Colorado) and other times not that great of a thing (Kutztown, PA - nothing wrong with the town per se, just no gluten-free options readily available).

This week my sister, who is one of my direct supervisors (and an avid reader of my blog, hi Meg!), and I traveled to Daytona Beach, Florida to meet with a client about some training materials we've been working on over the last few months.  First I traveled to Boston so we could catch our flight out of Logan the next day.  Megan still had a little bit of work to do on recording her voice for tutorials, but she looked pretty awesome with her headset:

The next morning we took the T to Logan and flew out to Daytona Beach Before you ask, let's get a picture of the huge eyesore racetrack out of the way:

We were fortunate enough to get our company rate at a really nice resort right on the beach.  The view from my room:

We didn't have to work until the following day so of course, we immediately went to the beach:

That night we found a restaurant that had an entire gluten-free menu.  I ordered some chicken dish and edamame, plus a flourless brownie sundae (and the obligatory martini...don't judge me)!

It was a really busy few days so I didn't get a ton of pictures until we were ready to leave:

We got in to Megan's apartment a little after midnight and crashed.  I woke up early to catch the train to Portland and drove home to my darling husband and beastie beast.

A lot of people tell me how envious they are of my job, and while I do enjoy the perks of consulting (money, travel, airline miles, sometimes working from home) it can be a little grueling to be away from your comfort zone for long stretches of time.  2011 has been a pretty calm year, but in 2010 I was traveling to and from Cleveland, and then Houston, for pretty much the entire year (coming home on weekends, of course).  I had some great experiences and met some great people, but my heart ached for home. Regardless, at the end of the day I'm really lucky to have a job (thanks Meg!) that allows me so much freedom and so many great benefits.  For now it's perfect, and I can't wait to see what I'll be working on next.

Also, for anyone who is wondering, I would not necessarily recommend Daytona Beach as a vacation spot if you're looking for a lot of fun things to do.  No offense to people who live there, but some parts are pretty ugly and there isn't a ton going on, at least that we could find.  It took us a long time to find a decent supermarket that actually had an "all natural" section or any gluten-free items at all (thanks Publix!). However, if you just want to beach it, which tends to be my and Rob's inclination while on vacations, I personally think it's a great spot to go.  The beach was positively deserted (though I'm sure it isn't during Daytona 500 time), and there were lots of nice resorts directly on the beach, some of them pretty decently priced.  And if you eat gluten-free like me, the Bonefish Grill and BJ's Restaurant both have gluten-free menus and there's always a Carrabba's if you're desperate.

Please keep me in your thoughts on Sunday as I have to photograph a wedding in Portland, where Irene is supposed to hit Maine the hardest.

Final note (for reals this time): this was another break where I brought my point-and-shoot instead of my Nikon.  I find that when I bring my Nikon I spend too much time getting the right pictures instead of just living in the moment.   I didn't want any pressure on myself and I don't want photography to be a chore.

Have a great weekend!