May ... Short for Mayhem?

A week at home. No planes. No packing. No rushing in airports. No red-eye flights. WOW! What a difference a week makes!

Planes, packing, rushing, red-eyes defined the month of May. It was a busy month on the road traveling with clients and producing some great events, and in spite of the inherent stress of travel, it was an exhilarating month filled with new experiences that I am excited to share with you.

The Energy of Miami Beach

We began the month in Miami Beach, Florida for a whirlwind site visit for an upcoming event. The energy of South Beach was vibrant and pulsing, as always, and it’s always a treat to see what new and trendy venues are available. Plus, the people watching in South Beach is unbeatable! On this trip, we were checking out venues for a large-scale event (more than 1,000 people!), and because we will be in Miami Beach, it of course has to be outside in the sunshine with warm ocean breezes blowing! Now, as a planner, I will find the perfect venue for 1,000 people outside in Miami Beach. However, I haven’t yet mastered scheduling the brilliant sunshine and warm, soft ocean breezes. I know, I know, I just admitted a short-coming, but hey, if you have already mastered the art of scheduling exactly the right weather for your events, I bow down to you and respect your right to mock me. For those of us who can’t order up the weather we need (yet!), it just means we have to get a little creative with contingency plans. For small events, this is usually pretty easy. For 1,000 people, it’s a little bit trickier, but we are up to the challenge! Stay tuned for more on this!

The History of Spain

Spain was beautiful, and a little surreal. You can just feel the history surrounding you, and it was such a unique experience. We were thrilled to celebrate a new historic moment in Spain too - Atletico Madrid ended a 25-game, 14-year winless streak against its rival Real Madrid with a goal in the final minutes of the game for a 2-1 victory in the Copa del Rey final on May 17. The spontaneous celebrations that followed the game made for a fun night to be a tourist in Spain. We can’t talk about Spain with talking about tapas and sangria! Our tapas tour was amazing, and we enjoyed what had to be the world’s best-tasting olives. And the sangria? Well, let’s just say that sangria in Spain has now ruined the sangria we previously liked here at home. Let’s just use the word blissful to describe Spanish sangria!

The Calm of Myrtle Beach

Yes, I said the ‘calm’ of Myrtle Beach. I know that’s not a word most would use to describe the scene of Myrtle Beach, and I certainly shouldn’t be using it considering that it was biker weekend and the traffic was a nightmare, but this trip did bring me some calm in the midst of a crazy travel schedule. We gathered here to celebrate my mom’s 60^th birthday and the downtime with family was exactly what I needed to recharge and rally for the final trip of the month ...

The Perfection of San Diego

Everything about my trip to San Diego was perfection defined.

The weather? It’s San Diego, of course it was perfect!

The venue? If you’ve been to Rancho Bernardo Inn, you know that it’s perfect.

The venue staff? Phenomenal and a true pleasure to work with.

The food? To.Die.For!

The walking at the sprawling Rancho Bernardo Inn? I’m not gonna lie, that was tough … however, because I can’t deviate from the ‘perfection’ theme we have going on here, the walking was the perfect way to excuse the To.Die.For food!

The Comfort of Home

There you have it! My recap of the entire month of May, in 650 words or less! All in all, it was a great month and we enjoyed delivering events that will help our clients achieve success and planning for upcoming events. I enjoyed being out on the road and discovering so many new experiences, but I’m happy to be at home for a bit and working in a real office and not an airport, coffee shop, or hotel ballroom. I am exhilarated from an exciting month and now I am recharged and ready to tackle the upcoming months with vigor … watch out!