14 Ağustos 2012 Salı
Even Monsters Hibernate
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Winter is here, and it is cold outside. I am working down in Elgin, Il and winter is in full force here. Yesterday the windchills were reaching -15 F, and earlier this week we were hit with 8" of snow. My hotel is on the outer edge of town and surrounded by farm feilds. Every evening I take my dog for a walk in the feilds and we found this combine hibernating in the feild for the winter.
Hotel Tips
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I don't have an accurate count, but I am guessing that I spend over 200 nights a year in a hotel. I have been in a lot of different hotels, some nice and others that are not so nice. Since I pretty much sleep in hotel beds more then I sleep in my own bed I have learned a thing or two about hotel life.
The first thing I want to share is that before you go to sleep at night you should always lock your door! Not just shut the door tight, but turn the deadbolt and use the chain. It doesn't matter if you are staying in the crappy motel that had the only vacant room in the city, or if you are staying in a five star Hilton. Lock your door!
Most hotels now use key cards to open doors. I always thought that would be enough of a security measure to keep other people out of my room, how many people are going to get a card programed for my room? It took me awhile but I learned that just the key card lock isn't always enough.
It was a Friday night, probably around midnight and I was asleep because I had to work the next morning. I woke up to the light in my room being turned on, and I looked towards the door and there is some random guy standing in my room. Once he saw me sit up in the bed he immediately started apologizing and said that the front desk told him that he was staying in that room and he had no idea that I was in there. Before I woke up enough to realize what had just happened the guy who was just standing in my room was gone. I am pretty sure I scared this stranger more then he scared me.
I am lucky that I look scary enough when I wake up to make strangers turn and run away. I was also lucky that this guy was not breaking into my room to rob me and steal all my stuff. But this foreigner to my hotel room made me realize that I need to be a bit more careful while staying in hotels. This could have happened to anyone in any hotel, it just takes the person at the front desk to make a little mistake.
I am defiantly not trying to scare people out of staying in hotels. I still feel very comfortable sleeping in hotels the majority of the year. I just want to share my experience with others, and help them avoid the situation I was in. And if you are fortunate enough to look like me when you wake up, and make intruders run for the hills, then locking your hotel room door shouldn't be a worry for you!
The first thing I want to share is that before you go to sleep at night you should always lock your door! Not just shut the door tight, but turn the deadbolt and use the chain. It doesn't matter if you are staying in the crappy motel that had the only vacant room in the city, or if you are staying in a five star Hilton. Lock your door!
Most hotels now use key cards to open doors. I always thought that would be enough of a security measure to keep other people out of my room, how many people are going to get a card programed for my room? It took me awhile but I learned that just the key card lock isn't always enough.
It was a Friday night, probably around midnight and I was asleep because I had to work the next morning. I woke up to the light in my room being turned on, and I looked towards the door and there is some random guy standing in my room. Once he saw me sit up in the bed he immediately started apologizing and said that the front desk told him that he was staying in that room and he had no idea that I was in there. Before I woke up enough to realize what had just happened the guy who was just standing in my room was gone. I am pretty sure I scared this stranger more then he scared me.
I am lucky that I look scary enough when I wake up to make strangers turn and run away. I was also lucky that this guy was not breaking into my room to rob me and steal all my stuff. But this foreigner to my hotel room made me realize that I need to be a bit more careful while staying in hotels. This could have happened to anyone in any hotel, it just takes the person at the front desk to make a little mistake.
I am defiantly not trying to scare people out of staying in hotels. I still feel very comfortable sleeping in hotels the majority of the year. I just want to share my experience with others, and help them avoid the situation I was in. And if you are fortunate enough to look like me when you wake up, and make intruders run for the hills, then locking your hotel room door shouldn't be a worry for you!
Plywood, Fake Snow, and Skyscrapers
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If anyone has been to Illinois you know that there isn't much for big or little hills in this state. Despite the lack of vertical ground in Chicago they still have snowboarding competitions here. The other weekend I went with a co-worker to check out a snowboarding competition going on in Grant Park, which is in downtown Chicago. They built a plywood platform, threw on some man made snow, added a few rails and boxes, found some local youngsters, and put on a competition. Here is an idea of what it is like to snowboard in downtown Chi town.
A little tail slide action.
A veiw of the skyscrapers in the background
A little tail slide action.
Break a Bat, Plant a Tree
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I haven't been traveling too much lately, and have been working in front of the computer for the last month or so. Therefore I havent had much time to take photos, or get in the mindset of writing about traveling.
I did come across this article about trees and the Minnesota Twins that I wanted to share. The Twins plan to plant 100 trees in Minnesota State Parks for every bat a Twins pitcher breaks.
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4266:minnesota-twins-to-plant-100-trees-for-every-bat-broken-this-season&catid=71:sponsorships&Itemid=164
"The Twins claim that on average, a team breaks one bat every game. That would result in 16,200 new trees planted on Minnesota state parks and trails as a result of Break a Bat, Plant a Tree."
I think this is a great program, and I hope more teams start doing things like this.
I did come across this article about trees and the Minnesota Twins that I wanted to share. The Twins plan to plant 100 trees in Minnesota State Parks for every bat a Twins pitcher breaks.
http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4266:minnesota-twins-to-plant-100-trees-for-every-bat-broken-this-season&catid=71:sponsorships&Itemid=164
"The Twins claim that on average, a team breaks one bat every game. That would result in 16,200 new trees planted on Minnesota state parks and trails as a result of Break a Bat, Plant a Tree."
I think this is a great program, and I hope more teams start doing things like this.
Burlington, Iowa
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When I was first told I was going to be working in Burlington, Iowa I did not get too excited. But, I became pleasantly surprised after spending a few weeks there. I spent the month of July, and most recently, two weeks in January in Burlington inspecting all of their trees. Burlington is located in southeast Iowa on the Mississippi River.
The biggest surprise of Burlington was the restaurants. You have to do some searching to get to the good stuff, but once you get past the fast food and typical chain restaurants there are some really good places to eat. My three favorite restaurants were the Bistro, Mister Motos Cafe, and Shokai. The Bistro was a small little french restaurant with amazing food. Mr Motos only serves pizza, but it was the best damn pizza I have ever had, and they have a great beer selection. The biggest surprise for me was Shokai, which is a sushi restaurant, they have some of the best sushi I have had. Shokai was nicknamed by my crew as the "Hidden Gem" of Burlington because it is located in a rundown strip mall on the edge of town, and they have no sign out front. If someone had not told us about Shokai we would have never found it.
Another surprise of Burlington is that it is home to the World's Crookedest Alley, Snake Alley. I could spew out some facts about Snake Alley, but it would be easier just for you to look it up on Wikipedia!
My personal favorite surprise was the discovery that Burlington is the birthplace of Aldo Leopold. I learned allot about Aldo in college and read his most famous book "A Sand County Almanac" Aldo is a naturalist, philosopher, and author. I found this plaque in his honor at the end of a dead end street overlooking the Mississippi River.
If you ever find yourself heading to Burlington, Iowa let me know and I can give you all the recommendations you need.
The biggest surprise of Burlington was the restaurants. You have to do some searching to get to the good stuff, but once you get past the fast food and typical chain restaurants there are some really good places to eat. My three favorite restaurants were the Bistro, Mister Motos Cafe, and Shokai. The Bistro was a small little french restaurant with amazing food. Mr Motos only serves pizza, but it was the best damn pizza I have ever had, and they have a great beer selection. The biggest surprise for me was Shokai, which is a sushi restaurant, they have some of the best sushi I have had. Shokai was nicknamed by my crew as the "Hidden Gem" of Burlington because it is located in a rundown strip mall on the edge of town, and they have no sign out front. If someone had not told us about Shokai we would have never found it.
Another surprise of Burlington is that it is home to the World's Crookedest Alley, Snake Alley. I could spew out some facts about Snake Alley, but it would be easier just for you to look it up on Wikipedia!
My personal favorite surprise was the discovery that Burlington is the birthplace of Aldo Leopold. I learned allot about Aldo in college and read his most famous book "A Sand County Almanac" Aldo is a naturalist, philosopher, and author. I found this plaque in his honor at the end of a dead end street overlooking the Mississippi River.
If you ever find yourself heading to Burlington, Iowa let me know and I can give you all the recommendations you need.
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