Here and There Blog

This was taken outside  Wonderspaces  San Diego, an interactive pop-up arts experience. It's in Mission Valley just north of Hazard, and has been extended until August 27.  Inside are different rooms with exhibits, some hands on, others not. I spent one hour there and enjoyed the time. A virtual reality movie is included but it was a full 60+ minute wait and I ended up leaving.  It would have been nice to have had the full experience but even without it, there's a lot to look at. This isn't a hit and run, you need to observe, pay attention to other people as well as the exhibits, and participate. I liked that attendance is limited so it isn't crowded inside (except the VR area) and you can take your pictures and go in and out of the rooms at leisure.

Tray 21 is the last official tray of my Invisalign before the refinements begin!  This tray will be on for 2 weeks and on September 5th, I'll be back for impressions and corrections. Every tooth has moved but one stubborn one so that has to be corrected. I did this for the lower teeth and I'm happy with how they've turned out. The upper teeth I didn't want moved and now I have an overbite that is kind of worse than before so that part sucks since it means refinements will go a while. Overall the process has been smooth. Only a few trays were tough and some (like 21 here) went on easily. Stay tuned and I'll let you know what happens on September 5th!

You win some, you lose some. After the wonders of built in sightseeing that came with Belarus and Palestine, my free time in Nicaragua and now Santiago amounted to zip. The best part of Santiago was the flight in and the day to day hotel to work routine is nothing special. On top of it all, the trip here is ending sooner than expected and with that the opportunity to run around and check it out has vanished. So this is the view from the top of the hotel. And the most colorful thing I could find on my way to work each day. Santiago's a great place, I just wasn't on the right type of trip to enjoy everything it has to offer.

About 7:45 am, the sunrise is happening and the mountains are above the clouds. In another 10 minutes the plane will be in the clouds and fog and the view will be gone. I'm in town for work but a good majority of the passengers are in town for a ski vacation and by the looks if it, they'll have a wonderful time! Here's my reality for the next 9 days. It's foggy and I'm in the city in a generic hotel. I'm sure work will keep me too busy to do anything but I hope to at least explore the area that I'm in!

Last weekend the flight into Salt Lake City was almost picture perfect. While not crystal clear, the view was good and my window seat photos weren't blocked by the airplane wing.  The lake can almost be seen and the copper mine is coming up. I went to this mine once and watched the trucks all driving around, moving the earth, hauling out the rocks. It was far more fascinating than I though possible to see all the work that revolves around mining. There's a viewing area and information center should you ever be there and decide to check it out. The great Salt Lake comes up next. Blue with white salt. This must be the most un-touristy destination in all of Utah. I went floating in the water once, long before it became too something - dirty, mucky, smelly. I don't know but I'm glad I swam there once and that was enough.

Slowly marching on with the Invisalign. I'm on Tray 19 of 21. While I'm looking forward to Sept. 5 when it all comes off, I sense refinement trays are in my future. All the top teeth have been pushed out so much that it's almost too much. Except for one tooth that somehow seems to be in the exact same place and is now out of balance.  Unless something drastic happens with the lower teeth and soon, (such as moving out far enough where they're supposed to be) I'm going to have an overbite that will have to be pushed back. At the end of all this, the lower tray is still tight to put on. It almost feels like it did in the beginning. It must be a combination of the final push and my final impatience to not have to deal with eating, brushing, flossing, and dealing with the trays on airplanes and airports. Bring on September 5th when I'm back at the dentist!