The final trip was to Washington, DC for the board meeting and installation of the Quota International 2011-2012 Board of Directors. I was excited about the opportunities the trip offered, participating in the discussions of the board, letting go of the responsibility, seeing my friends, and my annual baseball game.
I traveled on Wednesday which I have learned is the easiest day of air travel in the US. Somehow, I was not surprised to still be reading in the terminal watching other flights depart when my scheduled time arrived at noon. My flight was delayed for undisclosed reasons, certainly not weather with it only 98 degrees and 90% humidity. Immediately I am thinking it poetic justice that the final trip would get off to such a start. However, the delay was not extended, we were loaded on the plane and off to DFW, my connection point. My stay in DFW was abbreviated by the delay, but was not extended by a missed connection. I arrived at my destination on schedule and my luggage did as well.
I also returned on schedule. I tracked the airline performance during this year of travel. I did not break it out into the categories of airline delay, weather delay or NAS delay as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics do. So I can not say with assurance that my personal delay statistics rank higher than all these categories combined on a national scale, but with 14% of my flights significantly delayed or canceled, I am real close.
If I have not mentioned it before you should know I love the deliberative process. The discussion of any issue among the board members is a fascinating process for me. Bringing together our different experiences and perceptions of Quota, identifying the level of consensus on any issue, and developing a position that is best for the entire organization is a challenge that I embrace. Although the process can be draining for hours on end, it stimulates the mind and is a wonderful exercise. Thankfully, the last day of board meetings for me did not disappoint. It was productive, rewarding, encouraging, inspirational, and great fun!!
The installation of the new board at a July board meeting is a low key event compared to the celebrations of convention. It is somewhat like the district officer installation banquets I have attended in many districts. 
Several PIPs and past board members usually attend. It is wonderful to have them present to encourage and support the new leadership. I was happy to see each one and appreciate their commitment to attend. I am including a few photos here, some you may have already seen. 
The Day After! What to do the first day after my term ended….sleep late of course! By the time I awoke and started the day the new board was already in the meeting room hard at work, and I loved it.
I spent the day with Brenda visiting the Hillwood Estate of Marjorie Meriweather Post, the heiress of the Post Cereal company. It was the place to go this trip as several people attending the installation mentioned seeing it. I totally enjoyed the gardens. 
The mansion itself is a museum of her collections of French and Russian art work. She is known as a collector, but actually is a hoarder with exquisite taste. It is fascinating to think someone spent so much time on conspicuous consumption. There were no ideas there for me to take home as part of my home improvement plans.
I stayed over in DC to attend a Washington Nationals baseball game on Saturday evening. I typically take opportunity to see one professional baseball game each year. It means I must plan travel to a major league city during the season because there is not a team within 5 hours of my home. Charles is not a fan of baseball or any sport. As you can see from last year, he is not always into the game. 
He is usually goodhearted about attending, but he also encourages me to take the opportunity to go to a game without him. Thanks to Brenda, Susan, Randy and Peter I did not go alone this time.
The stadium for the Nationals is relatively new, one I had not seen. It is nice, but not a pretty stadium to me. It was a fine night for baseball, warm but not excessively humid. The game was close with several fine defensive plays and good pitching, at least on the part of the Colorado Rockies. The game ended in a disappointing fashion. The Nationals lost as the slumping star free agent they overpaid with a contract last winter, ground into a double play with runners in scoring position. No, I am not bitter!
After returning home from the trip, I noticed immediately fewer emails to answer each evening. I look at Facebook postings from Quotarians and of course I have read the new President’s message on the QI web site. Otherwise, this is a brief Quota vacation. I will be back at work for my local club soon.
I have spent time reading for my own pleasure and entertainment during most of my leisure time. I watched the MLB All-Star game and I have tried to catch up on the teams so that I am ready for the 2nd half of the baseball season. I have work to do on the office electronic records system and almost all of the annual continuing education hours to complete. It is not like I will be looking for things to do evenings without the QI emails.
I plan to continue with this blog. My children and other friends are keeping a blog, so why not. It has been a good way for me to keep people in my life informed about my life Delivering Possibilities.