Steppesister
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- Dec 27, 2013
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The ABC's of a FALL Trip with Friends, Food, Wine, and a Conference
Welcome, One and All to Steppe’s 16th Trip Report under this User Name! There were countless others a million years ago when I wrote as All7ofUs… almost 20 years of travel-blogging. Quite a milestone and there’s been a lot of “life’ under the bridge since then.
A new adventure awaits! Beginning in just under 6 weeks, this girl’s headed back into The Bubble where loads of fun awaits! This time however, I’m doing something I never thought I’d ever be part of. I’d always heard of conferences at Disney; I even have loads of friends who do Disney conferences regularly, but now it’s my turn to see what that’s all about. Devoting (3) half-days to medical Continuing Ed. lectures is a fairly small price to pay for loads of extra time of play. But I’ll get to that soon…
First, let me give the quick and dirty introduction of myself. I’m Liesa, an APRN here in Bowling Green, Kentucky- Home of the beautiful Corvette, fast horses, and expensive bourbon. Oh, sure we have meth and Mountain Dew Mouth here in our “hollers” too, but let’s focus on the good, shall we? Like bluegrass music and all the caves and rolling hills your little heart might desire. Ok, fine, and the occasional tornado.
I have 5 pretty great kids and 7 super cute grandbabies. They are scattered to the wind for the most part and I don’t get to see any of them nearly as much as I’d like. None really enjoy Disney so finding travel partners who like to go there has been tough lately. Until now.
Again, I’ll get to that shortly.
When I’m not at work as a Family Medicine Provider, I enjoy photography, writing (obviously), sipping coffee with friends, strategy board gaming, fine dining, and traveling. If you’re interested in destination TR’s other than Disney, but Disney-inspired, I have ones on a grand tour of Italy and Greece, Bali and Australia, and a currently ongoing one of a 16-day safari to Tanzania and Zanzibar (links in my siggie). The next big overseas extravaganza is likely going to be a circuit road trip through Central Europe, but let’s tackle October’s trip first, shall we?
Let's talk more about the WHO...
ME:
Also joining me is LORI:
We don't know each other well yet, but the times we've had coffee have been very sweet. Also joining me is LORI:
Another beautiful friend who gets to join briefly is Kari, here on the DIS now and then as @Malia78 She'll be coming off of a cruise I believe but will swing through and hang out for a bit on the 19th and 20th. We've traveled together several times and I just love her to pieces!
KARI and I:
CAROLINE, here on the DIS as @disneyAndi14 , is also joining me, but not until Wednesday the 22nd. Here is a photo of her and myself (and a couple of other super amazing nurses) from the EPIC trip a few years back (she's on the far right in white):
(Isn't she cute?!)
Speaking of October, I should share a few details of The When before I dish out more over the next few weekends. Please note: I only really “DIS” on the weekends anymore as my job is fairly all-consuming and exhausting. And between now and this trip, I’ll be gone for at least one of them for a wedding. All that to say, here’s the first installment of this little ol’ TR to get us started.
This trip will start in the middle of the night on Sunday, October 19th. Literally. At 2:00 AM, Lori, my NP colleague who is joining me for the conference portion, is picking me up for our trek to Nashville for our 5:30AM flight. UGH. But know what that buys us? A whole day in a park before the conference starts!
The conference portion is from Monday-Thursday (won't be attending those Thursday sessions on-site). Since the conference lectures are available for 30 days afterwards, I’ll play hooky for most of it and hit the parks instead. I’ll share the juicy details of my BFP (Big Fat Plan) in another chapter. Generally, we’ll listen remotely at the pool or at another resort from 7:30-11:15, and the last 2 or 3 sessions from home or later in the evenings if we're not too pooped. In case there are any NPs out there who might be interested in the conference itself, or anyone else interested in what I'll be up to M-W morning, here is the link.
The 2nd portion of my trip was actually planned first. I’d missed some DISFriend time last December due to my dad’s passing and wanted desperately to have a chance at a re-do. When I found out that Caroline, @disneyAndi14 , was going to be there in the Fall, we started planning this trip together. Then I remembered my company re-imburses up to $2,000 for conference expenses and gives me 40 hours paid as well. HECK YES, I’m going to use that!! So, I found one that fortuitously backs up right against what I’d already booked!! HUZZAH!! And viola, just like that, a week’s pay at one of my favorite places and 3 free nights to boot!! CEU's aren't cheap so I'm super happy my contract gets me those for free!
If Caroline would like to chime in and make her own introduction, it’d be wonderful! Otherwise, she is just returning from her own Aug/Sept trip, and you can read about that on her thread that I’m sure she’ll start soon. Kari, if you're reading, the floor is yours too!
There will be other characters that make an appearance during the trip, folks who were on the Boards a million years ago but have since moved on. I’ll wait to share who they are for the actual TR.
So, to recap:
The WHO- Yours Truly: Lori, my fellow NP; Caroline (@disneyandi ), my beautiful, fun-loving DISFriend; and a smattering of others that are also truly wonderful, amazing friends.
The WHEN: October 19th-27th- Conference 20th-23rd; Disney Parks 23rd-27th. The conference actually runs through Thursday morning, but I'll listen to the Thursday sessions at home over the following few weeks after I get home.
19-21- With Lori and Karilynn
22-27- With Caroline
The WHY: Because I love Disney and found a way to extend my trip by 4 days with only paying extra for OOP food and park tickets.
The WHERE and the HOW coming to a chapter near you soon!
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