Thinktank and trip home
On Tuesday, June 6 we headed for Orange New Jersey for the 2006 Thinktank at Seton Hall. The trip went pretty well - but it was a bit of a shock to see how rough the area was after all of the quaint places we had seen.
After the experience with the hotel in Portland, I went in and asked to see the room at the Grand Wilshire Hotel (the only hotel I saw in Orange). What a shock when it was beautiful! It was easily the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in. My ideal bedroom at home would be decorated just like it was. When I went back out to the front desk to sign in, two men had come in. They were Swiss and having problems with their reservation - so I waited behind them for quite a while. I noticed one had an Educause backpack - so I asked if they were there for the Thinktank. They said they were and we exchanged cards. One was taller - Immo - and he said he remembered me from a previous Thinktank - and he looked familiar to me too. He said he had a similar job to mine. The smaller man was Wolfgang - and his English was more difficult to understand - but he had a warm friendly look and said he was an administrator at their school. They had no car, so they ended up driving back and forth with us for the rest of the Thinktank. Denny and I both enjoyed getting to know them.
The actual Thinktank was wonderful. It's getting to be almost like a reunion as you see so many of the same people each year. I enjoyed all of the sessions and had a nice tour of the helpdesk area. The weather was still miserable until the last day - cold and wet. The Seton Hall campus is not attractive like Clemson - but it's a bit better than the rest of Orange.
The first night there was a band, drinks, and dinner. The band and drinks were nice - but the dinner was just 'okay'. It was one of my favorites - lamb chops - but a bit overcooked. They had posted a price of $75 for a guest so I was expecting something really fabulous. Denny was supposed to come - but it was cold and wet and too far for him to walk to get from the parking garage. After the dinner, we did meet the Swiss guys in the bar at the hotel for a drink.
The second night we all boarded buses for New York. We went on a harbor cruise. It was so beautiful! We saw the Statue of Liberty from up close. They had dinner and drinks on the boat too. It was really fun.
I did my presentation on Friday and then we left for home.
On the way, we stopped at Hershey, Pennsylvania and did a little ride-tour. That was fun! That night we stayed near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. The next morning we drove through Harper's Ferry - very interesting - and Antiedam. Denny loved all of the Civil War stuff... We made it home late on Sunday night.
After the experience with the hotel in Portland, I went in and asked to see the room at the Grand Wilshire Hotel (the only hotel I saw in Orange). What a shock when it was beautiful! It was easily the nicest hotel room I have ever stayed in. My ideal bedroom at home would be decorated just like it was. When I went back out to the front desk to sign in, two men had come in. They were Swiss and having problems with their reservation - so I waited behind them for quite a while. I noticed one had an Educause backpack - so I asked if they were there for the Thinktank. They said they were and we exchanged cards. One was taller - Immo - and he said he remembered me from a previous Thinktank - and he looked familiar to me too. He said he had a similar job to mine. The smaller man was Wolfgang - and his English was more difficult to understand - but he had a warm friendly look and said he was an administrator at their school. They had no car, so they ended up driving back and forth with us for the rest of the Thinktank. Denny and I both enjoyed getting to know them.
The actual Thinktank was wonderful. It's getting to be almost like a reunion as you see so many of the same people each year. I enjoyed all of the sessions and had a nice tour of the helpdesk area. The weather was still miserable until the last day - cold and wet. The Seton Hall campus is not attractive like Clemson - but it's a bit better than the rest of Orange.
The first night there was a band, drinks, and dinner. The band and drinks were nice - but the dinner was just 'okay'. It was one of my favorites - lamb chops - but a bit overcooked. They had posted a price of $75 for a guest so I was expecting something really fabulous. Denny was supposed to come - but it was cold and wet and too far for him to walk to get from the parking garage. After the dinner, we did meet the Swiss guys in the bar at the hotel for a drink.
The second night we all boarded buses for New York. We went on a harbor cruise. It was so beautiful! We saw the Statue of Liberty from up close. They had dinner and drinks on the boat too. It was really fun.
I did my presentation on Friday and then we left for home.
On the way, we stopped at Hershey, Pennsylvania and did a little ride-tour. That was fun! That night we stayed near Harper's Ferry, West Virginia. The next morning we drove through Harper's Ferry - very interesting - and Antiedam. Denny loved all of the Civil War stuff... We made it home late on Sunday night.
posted by Laurie | 3:01 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home