In a year where nothing has been expected, it was time to do a Ken/Jenine trip that fits our normal mode. The move from Houston to Seattle consumed almost the entire last 8 months and with life starting to settle at our new home, and Ken needing some mileage, we decided to visit Paige in Salzburg. Minor issue…..Paige was going to be in the US at a conference.   Details, details. With global upgrades we booked to hit Budapest first, where neither of us have been, and hit Salzburg once Paige returned.  

For those thinking…huh? Seattle? Paige is in Salzburg???? Let me fast-forward through and get you up to date.   In February Ken had the opportunity to take a new position in the Pacific Northwest. After much discussion, he took it and we commenced looking for our new home. That was not the easiest task, but thanks to family, friends and our great realtor Heidi, we found the perfect place on Bainbridge Island. We did some major touring of Seattle, Portland, Bend and Boise before moving in August and now enjoy our beautiful views and a wonderful new community.

While we were changing our lives, Paige (Ken's daughter) was doing the same.   She quit her job in Austin and took a paid internship in Salzburg Austria.   Like us, it was a major change, but it has been a great experience and it makes us smile to hear the very apparent happiness in her voice.

Between the craziness of the move and our jobs being equally insane, vacations have not been top of mind. But, we both needed a breather and wanted to see Paige so booked for Thanksgiving week which tends to be less work focused.   Of course we wanted to use our global upgrades, which always help in the long flights, especially since we are now going from Seattle.   While the goal was to see Paige, we also wanted to see another city and chose Budapest as Paige’s boyfriend Chris is living there. 3 days in Budapest and 4 days in Salzburg…perfect!

Ok well…now the not so perfect part. Paige had the opportunity to attend a conference in Las Vegas during the time we were booked for Budapest. Oh well. Then, while we got upgraded from Seattle to Washington Dulles, we did not get from Dulles to Frankfurt. Yup. Steerage. Then, the middle seat that has been vacant the entire time, got taken.   For those who think…how elitist, you are going to Hungary and Austria…stop whining!! Yeah, well, when you are on planes almost every week (currently 109k miles on United and 50K miles on Alaska) having global upgrades and then not being able to use them is aggravating.   Ok, I will stop b****ing.

Now on to the trip!