A Day with Rick

I spent most of today in Edmonds at the Rick Steves Travel Festival.

I arrived at the Edmonds Theater just before 9am (when my first "class" started) and went to four sessions. I learned about Ireland in my first session, Eastern or Central Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary) in my second session, Spain and Portugal in my third session, and Switzerland, Austria, and Germany in my last session. There was a 2 hour break in between the 2nd and 3rd class where I ran to Costco to make some returns and do some shopping and then checked out the Rick Steves Travel Center where I purchased some plug converters that will be necessary for my trip. And of course I ate lunch somewhere in there too.

After today I am even more excited for my trip to start. I will admit that I'm a little stressed out about all the things I need to figure out before I go, but I am excited and hopeful and ready for the adventure! There are so many cool things out there that I want to see and experience and I'm sure there will be many more things I'll discover along the way!

I did find out some unfortunate news today as well. A friend is going through a very rough time and my heart goes out to her. At the same time I am angry with the person who is the cause of the situation. I am a very loyal person and when someone hurts my friends my first instinct is to hurt them back - even if I wouldn't be capable of doing it or following through, it's my immediate thought. I wonder if this means I'm a fight and not a flight person? I'm not really sure since I don't know if I'd follow through with my instincts, but it's something to ponder. All that to say, I hope my friend feels better. I know it's a crappy situation that only time can heal. And if she wants me to, I will dress up in a bear costume and maul the person responsible - she just has to say the word. ;)