Monday night, I flew into Phoenix for work. I didn’t check luggage so I quickly got off the plane and took the bus to the car rental place. While waiting in line for a car, I realized that I forgotten to print directions to the hotel. I didn’t think it would be a problem because rental car places usually provide good directions.

Unfortunately, this car rental place didn’t have an automated terminal that allows you to print out directions. The woman at the counter gave me some directions and wrote them down on a piece a paper. However, when I left, I still wasn’t completely sure where I was going.

I jumped onto the highway and headed in what I thought was the right direction. After 15 or 20 minutes, I figured I had gone too far. I decided it was time to use one of my life lines, a call to Anna. Its always embarrassing to call Anna because I always tell her I never get lost—which is still true.

While chit chatting with the Anna, I saw one of those things that reinforced the fact that I am married to a Swede–IKEA. That’s right; the great, bright blue and yellow store was glowing off to the left. Here I was running around lost in Phoenix unable to find my hotel, but I could still find Ikea.

After making a really big circle, I eventually found the hotel. Though, the thought did come to my mind if I couldn’t find my hotel, it would probably cost the same amount of money to buy a new mattress and bed frame at Ikea as it would to pay for the hotel room. Then again, it would take me all night to assemble the Ikea bed frame. Go figure.

I’m officially deeming the last four months the summer of travel. I have traveled a ton for work and Anna and I have traveled for vacation too. Here is the breakdown on my travel since April:

This is Bob’s travel schedule. Anna didn’t do any travel for business, but she did make it out to her nephew’s wedding in Utah. I get tired just looking at that list of travel. The vacation time has been wonderful, but that is a lot of time away from home.

Anna and I are in New Jersey for my cousins weddings. We went into the city yesterday and had a great time running around Times Square, Union Square, and other places. Regardless of where we are, it is great to be with family. All my family, except Stephen who is on a mission, is hanging out here in the hotel. We are crazy and just enjoy hanging out together.

As a frequent traveler, I found the Wall Street Journal article today about the airline industry very interesting. A few weeks ago, a statistic came out showing that most airlines were running at 85 percent capacity. In a way that number has surprised me. It seems most of the flights that I’m on are 98 to 100 percent full, except for today.

Today, I’m on a Continental flight from New Orleans to Houston. We’re flying in a 737-300 series aircraft. Total passengers on board: nine. Only nine passengers are on this plane. I’m sure the crew consists of two pilots and four or five flight attendants. I’ve never seen a 737 this empty before. Looking back into coach is kind of eerie.

No matter how many people are on a flight, Mother Nature is always amazing. We’re flying west towards the sunset right now. The plane is flying underneath a dark rain cloud, but to the west and south white clouds are turned all shades of pink, orange and red as the suns beams its last rays for the day.

Marvelous.

Anna and I have had a wonderful time here in Sweden. We spent a few days traveling this week to various castles and a few days at the sommar stuga.

The weather has been wonderful, sunny days with scattered clouds with the temperature in the low 70’s. I told uncle Stig that it was going to be hard for me to return to Houston. We won’t see weather like this for another three months and right now Houston is a sauna.

I’ve decided to include some of the pictures from our travels along with a caption about the picture. We leave Eskiltuna on Monday and drive south for Denmark.

A giant wooden horse in Darlna

Anna’s audition for Pirates of the Caribbean (Vasa Museum)

Sommar Stuga Royalty Style

Viking burial mounds in Gammal Uppsala

Sunset near lake Malaren

Anna in front of a castle.

Sloklosters Slott

I miss riding my bike. When you are kid, your bike is your sole method of transportation that you can use on your own. No pleading or begging for someone to drop you off and pick you up some other time. No, with a bike you were free to go as you pleased, as long as you had permission.

I’ve been very impressed with the bike usage here in Sweden. Young and old alike have bikes and put them to good use. Many of the streets and the sidewalks have a bike lane, providing some protection for the bikers.

When you go by the train station, instead of a ton of cars you see piles off bikes that have been left by passengers. Having so many people riding a bike must improve the general health of the population. It is something I wish we could do more in the USA. I think back to the concrete jungle we call home and I don’t even know where to put a bike let alone think about how one would survive in the Galleria area with as a bicyclist.