Butte MT - Mountains, fresh air, cool people and an amazing FairfieldInn and Suites

Okay...so I am not going to lie...I got my travel release for Butte MT and thought...WHAT?  The travel day to get there was long, the airport had one terminal, two Enterprise cars to choose from, however the views were breathtaking and the people once I got there were SO AMAZING!  I had a great week at this little Fairfield situated in the bottom of the mountains with some beautiful views.  Besides the fact that I got crazy sick on day 3, went to the doctor via Facetime appointment and got some drugs at the local CVS, it was a great week.  The people, the city, the food, I had such a great time and these photos only tell part of the fun that we had!

 

 

Best team photo that I have ever taken!!!  I went and printed it out for their break room!

Flying in was amazing!!!!

As I flew into Butte, I looked out the window and saw the hotel!

When I arrived they had a bucket full of old school candy, honey sticks, sodas and my name on the side.  It was so sweet!

I LOVE Banana phone, but love it when they really get into it!  Ruby was a great sport! 

Headed to check some rooms!  Hanging out with the ladies of the FFIS Butte!  What a great group of kick butt, strong, talented, independent, down and dirty kind of girls...I loved every minute of my time there!

Such a photogenic front desk!  I had such a good time taking team photos!

Housekeeping Team photo, the "Fab Five" as I called them, did such a good job on this hotel getting it ready for guests....they did the work of teams 3x's their size.

John Wayne was everywhere!  This one screamed take a picture with me!

Just having a candy cig at the front desk while I am hooking up computers!  I sent this to a couple of team members who thought I had picked up a habit!

View of the hotel with the mountain in the background!

TPS McAllen and then San Fran with the "Original OG Squad!!!"

Last minute I got a call to hop a plane the same day to head to an assignment in McAllen TX.  I ran home, finished packing and headed to the airport.  Of course when I boarded the plan there was a plane full of Nuns, this has been my 2nd or 3rd in the last couple of months...always makes me feel safe! Awaiting for me at the TPS McAllen was Food and Beverage training with a full bar, evening food and Queen Zirkle herself, it was good to see her face and rejuvenating for my soul. 

Selfie of me and one of the sisters.

When you arrive on property and you have the same car as your mentor....she taught me well!!!

 



While in Texas my battle buddy and best friend on the team, Shan, had the pleasure of going to DC for work and got to meet Mr. Marriott himself.  I am sooooooo crazy proud of her and a bit jealous, looking good Shan!

 



When the hotel team names a drink after you!!!  You can go to the Ignite Lounge at the TPS McAllen and have a Crown Royal Apple Drink called the Kandi Apple....it is pretty delicious!

 

 

After my time in McAllen I was to have an assignment in San Jose, so a quick decision, a few phone calls and I ended up going to San Fran to see Tiffany and we ended up getting Jessica on a plane as well.  We can't believe that it had been 2 years since we had been together, when we all got together it was like we hadn't skipped a beat. I don't know what my life would be like without these ladies, they are my rocks, my laughs and my memories....I love them more than I could ever express.

The beautiful Charlie and I got to hang out the morning before Jessica arrived so that his mommy could get some work done!  He is so cute and totally has an attitude and is spoiled like his Mom!

 



A little time on the pier after Jessica arrived....OMG these ladies....we laughed so much and just enjoyed each others company.  As I get older I realize that I don't have a ton of friends, but the ones that I do have are so special, important and fill my life with such greatness.

 



We stood and watched the seals on the Wharf for a long time....we laughed, picked out the ones that reminded us of each other and watched the millions of people watch them.

 



We went to one of the oldest bars in San Fran, the bar that actually invented the Irish Coffee....of course we had to have one there.....and maybe one to go!! 

 



Jessica was in heaven at Ghirardelli Square and the Ghirardelli store....we all bought a little treat while we were there. It was getting dark and the lights around the square were beautiful. 

 



There is no San Fran trip complete without riding the street car!  We didn't ride far, but man did we laugh and left an impression on the driver!  Never fails that no matter where we go or who we run into they always ask if we are sisters, best friends or what is up because we are having such a great time.

 



Well we walked the 10 miles to get to the Full House house to find that it was under complete renovation and didn't so much anymore look like our childhood!  We still loved seeing it and the walk there and back was beautiful, we got to see SOOO much of the city!

 



Tiffany really wanted to try this place called the Foreign Cinema, she had heard about it but hadn't been yet, so of course we said yes!  It was a restaurant that had a small outside space which was heated, lights strung up and they play an old movie on the wall while you eat and drink.  They were playing Casablanca and we had such a great time, again the waiter asked if we were related!!

 



Such a fun night of dinner, drinks and laughter!

 



Jessica and I went to Chinatown the morning before we left as Tiffany had to go to work so we ventured out.  We might have purchased a few things for Tiffany that we hid around the house....she started finding them that night!!!

 

SUCH a fun trip that I am so thankful that we had the chance to do last minute and that it worked for Jessica to join us!  We keep saying every time we get together that we have to do this every year and then life gets in the way.  Well I hope we stick to it and that we see each other in 2017, lord knows it is good for my soul to see these ladies!  Love ya the Original OG Squad! 

Squad Vacay - Puerto Rico 2016





Puerto Rico 2016!  I'm not even sure where to start this blog, I should have written it weeks ago but every time that I sit down to write it I can't get my thoughts organized.  It was amazing, magical, quality bonding time, relaxing, beautiful, fun, full of laughs (lots of laughs) and dancing (lots of dancing)!!!!  It was a trip of a lifetime with some of the most awesome people I have the pleasure of knowing.  We had so much fun, so many laughs and made a ton of great memories in six days.  This group of women amaze me everyday and I am so lucky to get to call them friends, sisters and squad members. 

 

Here is a look into the week we had!!!

 

And we are off, first leg of the flight from KC to Chicago!

 

2nd leg of the flight from Chicago to PR..this one was full of lots of free drink!!  Pays to make friends with and be nice to the flight attendants!

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First full day at the beach....it couldn't have been more perfect!

This guy came by selling fresh coconuts, he would cut the tops off so you could drink the water inside, then cleaned the coconut meat for the girls to eat...they loved it!!!

Cashman getting conch shell blowing lessons....of course Marks was the best from all her years of trumpet playing!

Sally photo bombing us on the way to the Bacardi factory

Spotted this little guy walking around the grounds of the Bacardi factory so we took a quick picture with him

Group photo at the photo booth

Photo op during our tour, this place was amazing so full of history and booze!

Marks got to bottle her own bottle of booze....filled it, labeled it and dipped it in hot wax to seal it. 

After Marks was done bottling her whiskey we of course stopped for a photo op!

We decided that the squad is pretty good looking and we have a lot to do with that....HAHAHA!

It pays to travel with a hairstylist...keeping us looking good every night

Dinner in Old San Juan

Mufungo, delicious!  Made from mashed plantains this one had a spicy chicken in it...so delicious I ate it several times during our time in PR.

Before we headed into the rainforest we stopped at the bottom of the hill at a road side taco stand.....there was a group there and they loved our shirts and asked us all about the squad!  They took some group pictures of us.

Hiking through the rainforest, it was so pretty, peaceful and relaxing.

We made it to the top of the hill and crawled to the top of the castle looking tower to get a great view. 

The two long legged ladies in the front and our short leg friend trying to keep up with us on our hike through the rainforest.

With all the change in altitude and nearly 10 miles we hiked there was a lot of breaks to take selfies...which really was just an excuse to take a breather!

 

The water was freezing but we hiked all that way to get there and sure as heck wanted to get in.

 

Lots of posed pictures....we even took a few standing in the waterfall for our future Playboy shoot....however those will never be posted or shared with anyone...but you might see them surface in the future!

 



Jackie O got a horrible sunburn on day 1 and then proceeded to wear this giant hat and glasses for the rest of the trip so we called her Jackie O!

Walking around Old San Juan and took in some of the sights.

When you are walking around the streets of San Jun and see people drinking out of pineapples...you ask them where they got it and they say straight ahead the last bar on the right....we headed there immediately. 

 

Good call Warren on bringing the inner tubes with us...they worked out great and were awesome for floating around the ocean in....once we got by the break in the waves it was relaxing to lay out there and float.

 

Our night at the Bio Bay...Sally and I in the back of our canoes...I rode with Marks and did most of the work since she just had emergency surgery before we left.  I was sweating like I had been swimming!!!

 

Loudean and Cashman in the front of the canoes, Cashman and Sally were in a boat together.  Since there was an odd number of us Darthy rode with one of the instructors.....he was cute so I was super jealous that she got to ride with him!

 

Our new friends at the bar and our favorite bartender....such a good time!  We met so many awesome people during our time at the pool bar, hot tubs and beach!

Heading to the mountains

Only you can prevent forest fires....stopped to take a selfie with Smokey the Bear....we are standing in the jeep with our heads sticking out of the top.

All of these pictures the guys had some serious mustache game

Our ride into the mountains, it was amazing and Marks was in heaven driving it

The roads were so narrow, the trees so green, it was kind of misting rain, it was beautiful driving up there.

I couldn't get over how amazing the sights were as we drove, I kept hanging out of the top of the jeep to take pictures.

We arrived to our house and there was a home cooked meal of pork chops, rice and plantains, it was amazing!  There was also beans that you could tell had been slow cooking all day, they were delicious.

A fun night in the mountains playing Jenga!

The sun rise the next morning.....we woke up at 4am to the sound of about 100 rosters making noise and helping to rise the sun.

Beautiful landscape as we walked around the coffee plantation we were staying on

We hiked down toward the river, it was so calm and quiet way out there in the woods.

A big change from the ocean that we sat by all week

So excited when we were driving back to San Juan to catch our flights and found this road side eating stop....the food was out of this world...I could have eaten about 40 of the tamales. 

We couldn't really read the menu so we just pointed to the items in the case that we wanted!

 

What an amazing trip....so many laughs....memories....stories that can only be talked about among each other....food....it was amazing and I can't wait for the next gathering!  Never a dull moment with these ladies!  #squadvacay  #mysquadisbetterthanyours