Honeymoon - Day 4

We managed to get out of bed and have ourselves dressed in time for the 5:45am shuttle to see the sunrise. The walk to the bus stop was nice since there were very few people out, and the stars were still twinkling beautifully in the dark early morning sky. The bus was on time, and as soon as we boarded the driver reminded us that there would be another bus in 30 minutes that would still get us to Hopi Point in time to see the sunrise. He didn't have to tell us twice. In the sub-freezing temperatures, it was an easy decision to head to our hotel room and rest for a while (and also add a couple layers of clothing) and then head back to the bus stop for the 6:15 shuttle.

The sky was already beginning to lighten by the time we headed back to catch the 6:15. There were about a dozen people on the shuttle out to Hopi Point. All of us had the same idea to see a hopefully-beautiful sunrise. We had plenty of time to scout locations before the sun officially rose at 6:45am. I caught shots of not only the east sky, but also the sun hitting the rock formations of the canyon to the west. The dramatic early morning light interacted beautifully with the reds, browns, and yellows of the cliffs and plateaus.



At around 7:15 we caught a shuttle back to the lodge to eat some breakfast. Kate had a nice rounded meal of eggs, sausage, potatoes, and an English muffin. I had oatmeal (with brown sugar and raisins, of course) and some of Kate's meal.

The van for the helicopter tour picked us up from the lodge right on time. It was about a 20-minute ride back to the airport, and we picked up another couple along the way. When we got to the airport and checked in, we sat for a safety video that reviewed many of "the important safety features of the aircraft and the emergency procedures in the unlikely event of an emergency." It sounded a lot like the standard commercial airline pre-flight safety demo. As we were entering the video viewing area, we bumped into the British couple we had spent a good hour speaking with the previous night at dinner. We formally re-introduced ourselves, since we had forgotten to get their names the night before. As it turned out, Andy and Sue had booked their helicopter tour months earlier, and we were to be on the same 30-minute tour over the canyon today.

Kate and I were handed our helicopter boarding cards – mine was #1 and hers was #2. By the luck of the draw (and for weights and balances reasons), I got to sit in the front of the helicopter next to the pilot. It was the best seat in the house, and I think the other passengers were jealous. Our pilot was Liz, who grew up in Grand Canyon. She shared with us that her parents were teachers at the school located on the Park grounds. The flight took us over the Kaibab Forest and then over the North Rim of the Canyon. It was awe-inspiring. The aerial view from the helicopter allowed us to see parts of the park you just can't see from the scenic lookouts on the South Rim. It was a smooth half-hour ride, and we really enjoyed it. While it was one of the more expensive activities during the trip, we viewed it as a honeymoon indulgence.



Once we were safely on the ground at the airport, we took the obligatory swing through the gift shop. We did not buy the cheesy pre-flight picture (for a whopping $20). In fact, it may have been the only gift shop we visited during the trip that we didn't walk away with some tchochke. The memories of the flight and the gorgeous pictures I took were enough.



Sue and Andy (the nice British couple) were headed back to the park and offered us a lift. We enjoyed nice conversation with them on the 20-minute ride. They dropped us off at Bright Angel Lodge, which we had managed to miss on our previous time at the rim.

We dined at the Arizona Room, which offers a wonderful view of the canyon. The food was decent, though just slightly overpriced as everything is in the park. I'm still trying to figure out what was in my "fruit salad," but it was sweet and edible nonetheless.

After lunch Kate and I caught the free shuttle bus to Shrine of the Ages. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we agreed to split for a while so we could each pursue individual activities. Kate found a beautiful picnic area to relax and read a book (True Evil by Greg Iles – she loved it). I wanted to get another view of the canyon, so I walked the 0.4 mile access trail to the Rim Trail. Along the walk the path was somewhat desolate. I stopped to enjoy tall pine trees contrasted against the beautiful blue sky. It was eerily silent with only an occasional bird chirp to disturb the silence. Once on the Rim Trail, I hiked another half-mile east, taking many pictures along the way.

Afterwards, Kate and I met up and returned to the Bright Angel Lodge to visit their Fountain, where we each got a yummy ice cream cone. My scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough immediately jumped off the cone when we exited the shop, but Kate was sweet enough to go back in and get me a replacement cone. We then sat in the shade and enjoyed the Rim view of the canyon.

Soon enough it was time to head back to the train depot for the return trip to Williams. The train ride back was wonderful. Our train attendant, Robert, graciously took our picture before we departed from the Canyon. On the trip back, we were victims of a train robbery! This staged "robbery" is the train's way of collecting tips for the cowboy performers, while making the passengers smile as they open their wallets. I was able to get a shot of one of the bandits on horseback, as well as when they stormed our car. One of the funnier, unscheduled moments on the train trip back was the brakeman leaning on one of the wall-mounted club tables, which proceeded to snap off its mount. As one of the passengers excitedly cried out, "Well, it is his job to break stuff."

Once back at Williams, we quickly grabbed our bag, hit the restrooms, and headed back out on the road. Our itinerary called for us to spend the night in Gallup, New Mexico, a 3+ hour drive from the Railway. Although we had originally agreed to split the driving, Kate was tired so I was the one behind the wheel for this leg of the trip. We decided to stop for dinner along the way, which turned out to severely limit our options. We eventually hit the swingin' town of Holbrook, AZ, which boasted a long strip of several tasty fast food choices. The decision was difficult, but we decided to enjoy a "thirdmeal" at Taco Bell. Mmmm – the best I can say is that neither of us suffered gastrointestinal distress. We arrived at the Hampton Inn & Suites in Gallup, NM around 11 pm MDT and collapsed into bed, exhausted.

Honeymoon - Day 3

The train depot was filled with activity in the morning as people prepared to board. We were lucky enough to run into the Marshall and one of the "Cataract Creek Gang" on the train platform. They graciously posed for a picture before they headed off to their Wild West shootout performance.



We boarded the Max Biegert luxury train car, which was the last car of the train. The car has a long and storied history, and was renovated a few years ago and renamed after Max (of Max and Thelma, the namesake of the restaurant in Williams), the former owner of the Grand Canyon Railway. The observation platform was a bonus on this car, and allowed us to take some great landscape shots as the train rolled along. Our train was pulled by a diesel locomotive, which was expected, but still somewhat of a disappointment given all of the great pictures of this train being pulled by a steam locomotive.

We weren't the only newlyweds on the Max Biegert car. Julie and Dennis got married the same day as us in Dallas. They were taking the term "road trip" to the maximum -- they had already driven 1100 miles on their honeymoon when we caught up with them.

Our Grand Canyon Railway car attendant, Carol, made us comfortable with excellent service and entertaining stories. Entertainment was also provided by Barry the fiddle player. After playing a few songs, Barry asked for a volunteer to assist. Kate wasn't bashful to offer my services.



The train ride to the canyon seemed to fly by. Before we knew it, we were pulling into the Grand Canyon Rail Depot. We bid Carol a fond farewell and dropped my backpack at the depot so we wouldn't have to lug it around the canyon. We boarded a Harveycar (bus) for the "Freedom" rim tour, which was also included in our package. Our guide, Eric, was entertaining and informative. We stopped at three viewing points, all of which offered spectacular views of the canyon.

After the tour we stopped back at the train depot to pick up our boxed lunches, which were also included in the Freedom tour package. It was a plain but passable turkey sandwich on a hamburger roll. We sat ourselves on seats on the porch of the swanky El Tovar hotel and enjoyed the view while chowing down.

We made our way to the Maswik lodge where we got the key for our room. The Maswik complex is large, and our room was in an out-building at the far end in the Mesquite building. We really didn't know what to expect when we opened the door, and were greeted with a pleasant surprise when the room was really very nice considering the surroundings. It was a plain room with a layout almost identical to the room we had at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel. Most importantly, it was clean. The bathroom and vanity area looked brand new. An added bonus was that the one small suitcase we had checked at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel was waiting for us at our Maswik Lodge room. Talk about service!

After getting settled in our guest room, our next priority was figuring out the logistics of seeing the sunset at the Canyon rim. The free shuttles made it easy to reach a beautiful vista in time for the sunset. With a full moon rising and a beautiful sunset, it made for some gorgeous pictures.



Following the sunset, we made our way back to Maswik Lodge for dinner. We had originally booked a reservation at El Tovar, but we decided that our 8:45pm reservation would be too late. After all, our bodies would think it was nearly midnight, which is a bit too late for a late meal. So, instead of El Tovar we enjoyed comfort food at the cafeteria at Maswik Lodge. The wide array of food choices made it tough to decide. Kate ended up with a nice looking plate of pasta and meatballs. I had a hot turkey platter and mashed potatoes. Towards the end of our meal, a nice British couple joined our table. We all shared great conversation for about an hour covering a wide array of topics including the oppression of the Native American population, which is apparently not discussed much outside of the US.

We headed to bed at a reasonable hour in anticipation of getting up the next morning to see the sunrise.

Honeymoon - Day 2

When we checked into The Buttes, Kate mentioned that we were on our honeymoon and the desk manager was nice enough to throw in a complimentary pass to the breakfast buffet.

We started our day with omelets and fresh fruit. Kate was so fond of the raspberries that the staff had to refill the bowl after our first pass through the buffet line. We dined outside overlooking the resort property and pool area.

Our hotel package included our accommodations and two 50-minute spa treatments.Kate and I each elected to have massages. It was nice to have all of the stresses from the wedding weekend kneaded away by the capable hands of the spa staff.

We hit the road shortly after our spa treatments, headed towards Williams, Arizona and the Grand Canyon Railway depot. On our way out of town, we did our obligatory stop at a Target store to pick up some necessary supplies such as cereal for snacking.

Our other stop (which was also somewhat obligatory based on Kate's new-found hobby) was at the Mad Scrappers. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable, and the store had lots of great products. Kate could have spent a lot more time and money there without Scott's helpful intervention.We were disappointed, though, that the sushi place that is planning to open in the same shopping center was nothing more than an empty storefront.We settled for lunch at Subway (eat fresh!) and hit the road.

After 160 miles in three hours (yeah 75 mph speed limit), we arrived safely at the Grand Canyon Railway depot in Williams, Arizona. We checked into the hotel and went to the ticket window to pick up our packet of tickets. It had been months since we booked the train package, so it was a surprise as to what was included.As it turned out, we not only got a hotel room in Williams, and one in the Grand Canyon, but we also got food vouchers for the on-property restaurant, Max and Thelma's. Recalling the many other traveler reviews (and Scott's previous experience at Max and Thelma's from 2001), we opted to cash in the food vouchers for a credit at the gift shop. We quickly spent our new-found souvenir money on a t-shirt, a charm for Kate's bracelet, and other assorted goodies.

To end our evening, we headed into Williams' downtown district along historic Route 66. Rod's Steakhouse is an institution, and we stopped there for dinner. The service at Rod's was excellent, and the décor was appropriately kitschy. While the steaks (New York strip and Sirloin) weren't the best cuts we had ever had, Kate got a great souvenir menu for her scrapbook, and we snapped some cute pictures with their cow mascot statue outside.




We tried to get online from the Grand Canyon Hotel, but were foiled by their not-so-hot spot.Apparently there are a couple of hotels in Williams that offer free WiFi, but we weren't so desperate to get online that we had to resort to stealing another hotel's bandwidth.

Honeymoon - Day 1

Our honeymoon began with a direct USAirways flight from PHL to PHX. As expected, we did not take off on time. I can't remember the last time I actually departed as scheduled. This delay wasn't so bad, and we were off the ground about 40 minutes late.

Once in the air, the flight to Phoenix was relatively uneventful. Kate was fascinated by the gentleman next to her on the aisle who consumed six (yes, six!) mini-bottles of Chardonnay and then proceeded to work a bit on his laptop and then nap. He snored, as was to be expected with that much alcohol in his system.

We had originally booked a mid-size car with Alamo. At the desk agent's suggestion, we upgraded from the scrawny four-cylinder power of something like a Nissan Sentra to a powerful Dodge Charger with a gutsy V6 under the hood. It was about $9 per day additional, but it made all the difference in the world climbing the hills of I-40 and I-25. In the end, it still got 24 mpg, which isn't bad for such a powerful engine.

Once we had our wheels in Phoenix, we proceeded to Kate's favorite gourmet restaurant, In-N-Out Burger. Kate and I had become acquainted with In-N-Out on our trip to Los Angeles in January. While most couples on their honeymoon dine in five star restaurants, all Kate wanted was a "double double animal style" for our first official vacation meal.







Our night in Phoenix was spent at The Buttes, a Marriott resort. Built into the side of a butte, the resort features beautiful scenery, two pools, three whirlpools, and an on-site spa. While it was a bit cool outside (high 70s) to take advantage of the pools at night, we did partake in one of the whirlpools. Overlooking the lights of the city of Phoenix from a warm, bubbly whirlpool was a great ending to our first day on the road.

We are married!

It's official, Kate and I are married. We tied the knot aboard the Strasburg Railroad on Saturday, October 20, at around 7:30pm. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner with close friends and family immediately after the ceremony at the Iron Horse Inn in Strasburg.

More pictures to come, but this is one of a very tired Scott and Kate when we got back to our hotel room at around 2am. It was an exciting but very long day.

Procrastinating from doing wedding stuff...

This is an oldie but goodie that I found in the Savett archives today. As a 3rd-year graduate student at Clemson, I attended the Gordon Research Conference on Ion-Containing Polymers at Colby-Sawyer College in New Hampshire in June 1997. I have fond memories of the trip and the conference.

The only person I've kept track of pictured here is my graduate research advisor, Steve Creager, standing in the middle of the back row. Later that year the man standing to Steve's right in the picture, Tom Zawodzinski, would become my mentor during my stint at Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1997-1998.

 

Wedding Shower for Kate

Today I had the honor of attending the bridal shower that Kate's colleagues at Prudential held for her. It was a fun time, and there was LOTS of yummy food.

I got to use my new camera for the first time. The camera is Kate's "groom's gift" to me. Since we are headed out on a scenery-intense honeymoon, she wanted to ensure that I knew how to use the Canon SD850IS before we hit the road.

 

Boston Marriott Cambridge has an insect problem

I have kept quiet about this problem for long enough. I tried to settle it in a discrete manner, but the Marriott Corporation apparently doesn't care enough about their customers to make the situation right.

I checked in to the Boston Marriott Cambridge on Monday, June 11 and checked out on Thursday, June 14. Beginning on the morning of Tuesday, June 12, I noticed small welts on both legs, but especially on my left leg. By the time I checked out on June 14 I had more than 40 welts up and down my left leg and about 20 on my right leg. These bites were caused by insects in one of the beds in room 1604 of the Boston Marriott Cambridge.







On June 20 I was back in Cambridge and contacted the Boston Marriott Cambridge, who put me in touch with the head of housekeeping. She, in turn, contacted the security department so I could file a report. I offered to meet with both departments in person since I was in town, but neither of them felt it necessary to do so. Both of them were apologetic and professional. They said they would look into the issue and would block off the room so no other guest would potentially suffer the same fate as me.

The following day, June 21, I was contacted by Keith Shevlin of Marriott Claims Services. He told me that Ecolab was going to inspect the room for any evidence of infestation. That inspection apparently happened that same day. I subsequently asked Mr. Shevlin for a copy of the Ecolab report, which he tells me he cannot release as part of “Marriott corporate policy.” That was the end of my communication with Mr. Shevlin, as he concluded that the matter was closed.

The most I have gotten from Mr. Shevlin is a form letter written by his assistant. In his response he didn't even get my last name or town correct. Good attention to detail, eh?




Hoping that somebody at Marriott's corporate offices has a brain, I wrote to their President of North American Lodging, Robert McMarthy. You can see his liason's response below:





Considering that I'm visiting Boston two weeks every month, Marriott is doing everything they can to lose a good chunk of business. I had spent over $7600 in lodging at Marriott hotels in Boston in April, May, and June. I am now boycotting all Marriott hotels in the Boston area, shifting my business to Hilton, which seems to appreciate my business. While they are certainly not as convenient as the Marriott or Residence Inn in Cambridge, the DoubleTree hotels in the area Boston are quite nice. I don't mind the "T" commute each morning and evening. It certainly beats having to slather on hydrocortisone cream for 60 insect bites.

New Orleans in 2007

I've had the weekend and a few days to recover from my trip to New Orleans. I had last been to New Orleans in March 2000 at Pittcon when I was about to graduate from Clemson and was actively seeking a job.

The French Quarter hasn't seemed to change much from what I remember from 2000. Of course, I wasn't there as a sightseer seven years ago. My goal in March 2000 was to spend as little time as possible in New Orleans and get back to Clemson to finish my research and dissertation writing.




About the only place that I saw direct evidence of the Katrina destruction was along the Interstate (I-10) where some of the sound barriers had a clear demarcation of how high the water went. Indirect evidence was seen in parts of the town outside of the French Quarter where many shops and stores were shuttered. What were once active neighborhoods seemed to have their lifeblood sucked out of them.

I did not see the Lower 9th Ward, which is where the majority of the devastation happened in 2005. There were guides offering tours of the afflicted areas, but we did not partake.

One fun thing that we did do was ride the Steamer Natchez on the Mississippi. The entire Thermo Fisher Scientific group enjoyed dinner and a relaxing cruise after a long day of meetings.




Speaking of meeting with people, I also got a chance to sit down with Tulane EMS. It had been seven years since I stopped by. Considering that the group's recruitment cycle was set back by a full semester as a result of Katrina, TEMS continues to be a strong campus EMS organization with lots of promise. They tell me they are looking to replace one of their ambulances, which was practically new when I visited in 2000. That makes me feel sorta old. Thanks to Shaun, Chris, Danny, Austin, and Diana for a fun dinner and great conversation.




No Savett trip would be complete without a major travel hassle. It doesn't matter which airline, I recently seem to have a problem in at least one direction (if not both). Thanks to USAirways for the latest misadventure. My direct flight from New Orleans to Philadelphia on Friday afternoon was canceled due to mechanical issues with the plane. The next direct flight, which was scheduled to depart just 90 minutes after mine, was consequently swamped with people from my flight. It seems that it didn't really matter where people were heading, the airline felt compelled to put them on that plane. For example, I was told by a highly reliable source (my colleague, Ian) that at least one of the passengers on that flight was trying to get to Charlotte (not Philly). Since he arrived in Philadelphia after the last flight to Charlotte had already left, the airline had to put him up in a hotel for the night. On the other hand, I was trying to get to Philadelphia, but was re-booked on a flight to Charlotte, where I had to connect to a flight to Philadelphia. Now I'm not a logistical planner, but I would think that the airline should have swapped our tickets. Everybody would have been happier, and I would have been forced to sit in Terminal A of the New Orleans Airport for 5 hours. By the way, there is no wireless broadband Internet in Terminal A at the New Orleans Airport. Perhaps Web access would have made the time pass more quickly.