Nov. 26, 2009 - My Ten Days In France (Day Two)

Woke up Wednesday Morning in Abbeville. Abbeville is a small city in the Somme Valley almost 75 miles due north of Paris. We stayed in a Mercure Hotel that was in the middle of town and had been renovated recently. Like all of France, there was no parking, but the manager on duty had suggested we park in the public lot a block or so away in front of the post office. By the way, Mercure is a very large chain in France and has locations almost everywhere.

The toughest thing we had to work with here was my limited French in a town with few English speakers. In fact, on Tuesday we had dinner in a pub type restaurant where no employee spoke English. We managed to order by our limited French and pointing at the menu. Worked out fine.

We were so exhausted from the overnight flight, then driving around all day, we both just collapsed for the night. In the morning, we explored a little of Abbeville. The town has a history over 1000 years old. Located just a few miles upriver from the English Channel, in medieval times it was held by both the British and the French.

During World War II (1940), the Germany army marched through Abbeville on the way to the English Channel. They isolated the British Army in northern France along with many elements of the Free French Army. This attack sent de Gaulle to England with the French troops where they waited to take part in the D-Day invasion 4 years later. The Germans effectively bombed Abbeville in ruin in May 1940. The hotel has photos of the town taken a few years later. The town has been rebuilt and the town center looks much as it did before World War II.

This is the town square much as it would have looked in 1909 (except for the traffic)

 The cathedral, started in the 1400's, sits at the highest point in the city

Almost every town in France seems to have a double decker carousel

Leaving Abbeville, we drove the 45 minutes northeast to Boulonge Sur Mer near Calais. Boulonge is medium sized city of about 50,000 with a large university. In addition, it is one of the most important fishing towns in France. There are records that indicate this was the starting point of the Roman invasion of the British Isles in 44AD. In the middle ages, it was fought over constantly by the French and English since it is situated directly on the English Channel and is only about 30 miles by sea from the English coast.

It was occupied by the German Army in WWII and the harbor was bombed by the British in June 1944 in an attempt to hem in the German Navy. The town is dominated by the medieval walled city at the top of the hills which features the 14th Century cathedral and the castle (now a museum).

The shellfish fleet unloads right in town

 The medieval walled city protected the citizens. It is about 25 feet high and at least that thick.

Most of the streets in "Old Town" are cobblestone and very narrow

We left late in the afternoon for Rouen in Normandy, a city and metro area of about one half million.

Oct. 27, 2009 - My Ten Days In France (Day One)

We arrived at Air France Terminals 2E & 2F right on time. You leave via stairs to waiting buses which bring you to immigration which is located in 2E. The wait was not too long (20 minutes tops) and then on to luggage and out into France.

We had arranged a rental car so after stopping at the ATM, we went looking for National/Alamo. By the way, if your bank is like our bank, they will waive fees on ATM transactions outside the local area. That is a much better deal then using one of the exchange services at the airport. Since most of Europe is now on a standard currency, you only need one kind of currency.

Most Europeans drive standard transmission cars, so the wait for an automatic was a little longer than normal, even though we had one reserved. One of the counter people actually had to drive us to the garage to pick up our vehicle, but we finally were on our way.

Our first stop was Chantilly, about 25 miles north of Paris. This has become a commuter city for Paris in recent years. It is most famous for the Chateau de Chantilly and the Chantilly Racecourse. There are plenty of narrow streets including a few that are still paved with cobblestone. This is the chateau.

Then on to Amiens. There are records of Gaulist inhabitants here as early as 100 AD when it was known as Ambiani.  During World War I, Amiens was the starting point for the final push that ended the war. And it was Nazi occupied during World War II.

Today it is a vibrant university town most well known for it's cathedral and riverfront dining:

We then took a tour of the Somme Valley. This was the site of the "trench warfare" of World War One and stretches over a large area northeast of Amiens. After driving about 15 miles to Albert, you drive both on and off the main roads into little farming villages that were covered with trenches 90 years ago. There are large cemeteries everywhere, each dedicated to a regiment or division that fought and lost men in these battles. At one point, there was marker that showed the location of the front in July. Less than 2 miles away was a marker for September. There were well over one million casualties in four months in this area alone.  Made for a sobering afternoon.

Oct. 19, 2009 - My Ten Days In France (Day Zero)

I've been meaning to write a series of posts about our wonderful trip to France in September. As always happens, I got caught up in other things, but will try to post this day by day account as time allow.

I need to start with Day Zero. We booked Air France from Philadelphia (instead of Harrisburg) and decided to drive to PHL (about 90 or 100 minutes) rather than take a commuter flight. This was decided based on the time of layovers at PHL, especially the return. When I fly out of Philly, I always use a satellite parking rather than the on site. It's much cheaper (about 50%) and you're picked up at your car and discharged directly at the door to the ticket counter. It sure beats lugging you baggage to a waiting kiosk in a parking lot. We almost always use Colonial Parking in Essington, about 3 miles from the airport - open 24hours, continuous service and pickup and drop off directly at your vehicle. Those folks are wonderful.

Terminal A at PHL is the international terminal, although one section is used for domestic flights. Anyone who flies US Air through PHL knows B and C as crowded, difficult to move through and full of carts selling everything under the sun. Terminal A is like a breath of fresh air. Plenty of seating and walking space, clean well stocked shops &  eateries and clean rest rooms.

Air France has one gate at PHL. Their ticketing area was very efficient and fast, the security lines were short and we were quickly at the gate. Since Air France did not fly the Sunday version of this flight the day before (cancelled in early August, due to slow bookings) our flight on an Airbus 340 was pretty full. There was even a team of professional bicyclists on board returning to France from a competition. And British Airways, which is next to AF at Philly, had the British Walker Cup team which had participated in the Walker Cup in the Philadelphia area the day before.

Boarding was chaotic as all plane trips are these days. I've never figured out why travelers have to bunch up around the entrance. It's not like getting on a street car. It's not leaving until you get seated. And it's not like "rush seating".  And boarding passes were checked 3 times between the terminal and the plane. But we did push back on time and take off.

Flight is about six and a half hours. Fortunately I was able to sleep through about four hours and woke up about an hour before landing in Paris. The cabin crews on both Air France flights were excellent. They all spoke English and were friendly and efficient at the same time.

We landed at CDG a few minutes early. And our wonderful vacation begins.

Oct. 23, 2008 - My Take On How Palin Has Hurt McCain

How To Snatch Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

Feb. 21, 2008 - NAR's Building Wealth Television Ads

I happened upon one of the National Association of Realtor's consumer advertisments the other evening and after watching it, I couldn't believe the source for the ad. 

At the very end, there is a board that states "60% of the Average Homeowner's Wealth is from their Home's Equity" . Okay, I can't argue with the statement because I don't know if it's accurate or not. But is the finer print at the very bottom of the screen is "HUD "Ownership and it's Benefits * Urban Policy Brief No.2 1995 Markets may vary"

1995 - Holy Dated Material Batman

Couldn't they find something older upon which to base a campaign costing millions, maybe Federalist Papers or the Magna Carta?

Here is a link to the video Look at the bottom of the screen when the 60% is at the top.

Give it a few seconds to load

Nov. 18, 2007 - The e-Pro Get Together at NAR 2007

The e-Pro Advanced Networking Meeting (better known as the cocktail hour) was held on Wednesday November 14 at the V BAR in the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas. After a great deal of planning by Tom and Linda Pulsifer and our wonderful hosts, John Reilly, Saul Kline and Mike Barnett of Internet Crusade, all that attended had a wonderful experience.

As promised, I have posted some photos below that my wife or I took during the evening. By the way, if you are in a photo and your name is not in the caption, shoot me an email and I'll be sure to add it. I didn't have everyone's name or business card and if I couldn't read your name badge in the photo, I might have missed it.

e-Pro Frances Flynn Thorsen, e-Pro Trainer Joanne Fosland and our host, John Reilly of Internet Crusade

The early crowd at the bar

e-Pro Art Greene from Maryland

e-Pro trainer Kerry Kidwell and e-Pro Evelyn Pickard

e-Pro's Mike Neilsen from Kansas and Linda Philpott from Colorado

One Smiling Happy Group

e-Pro Richard Shevchik from Pennsylvania

e-Pro's Linda Palmer from South Carolina and Linda Runyan from Georgia

Judy Von Loew, Art Greene, Laura Walsh and Elizabeth Muscare (from Illinois)

e-Pro's Joy Carter (from Florida), Pam Pulisfer and Linda Runyan (both from Georgia)

e-Pro Jose Fernandez from Florida and Real Estate educator Kerry Kidwell from Illinois

e-Pro Karl and Judy von Loew (from New Jersey) with e-Pro Tom Pulsifer from Georgia

Kerry Kidwell with the Internet Crusade Events Group- Sydell, Christi and Monica

The Three Amigos (Mike, Saul and John) with Beth Keithley

Advanced Networking as the Crowd Grows

Even More Advanced Networking

Nov. 15, 2007 - Technology Forum at 2007 NAR Convention

For those of you that were unable to attend this week's NAR Convention and Expo in Las Vegas, I have included a few pictures from the SOLD OUT - STANDING ROOM ONLY Teachnology Forum moderated by Saul Kline on Wednesday.

Participating were Rich Barton of Zillow and Justin McCarthy of Google. I know Saul will be posting an update of the highlights as well as his powerpoint, but I wanted everyone to know that it was fast paced, very informative and a eye-opener for many.

Saul finishing up a powerpoint slide before the start of the presentation.

The start of the presentation

It was Standing Room Only. People were not allowed in after a few minutes due to lack of seating

Sep. 24, 2007 - Who Says You Can't Go Home Again

You Can Go Home Again

There was a book written many years ago that had a theme of "You Can't Go Home Again". The basic premise was that if you go back, everything will have changed and you won't recognize it and it won't recognize you.

Well I just go back from four days in my hometown of Danvers, Massachusetts and I can tell you you can go home again. Sure, there's a lot of "new things" that have popped up over the years, like the Liberty Tree Mall and the Route 114 car dealer strip, but overall, the neighborhoods and many of the people are the same as before.

This was a combination vacation-business trip as I did have some business to attend while there, but the highlight was the 45th reunion of my high school class. We're very lucky that we have a few class members that live in town and work hard to put together a well attended fun evening for everyone.

Sep. 10, 2007 - Al Napier Visits Central Pennsylvania

On Saturday I finally got to meet Al Napier (and family) at Maple Grove Raceway near Reading. On one of the hottest days of the year, AL drove down from Connecticut so he and his partners could race their car.

I've posted a few pictures for all to meet Al

 Al (and Wifey Poo) trying to cool off in the shade

Al and younger daughter posing at race car.

Always a marketer, Al is a sponsor for this team.

Some publicity material for the race team. Al told me he had these made at Express copy. Front (above) and Back (below

May. 18, 2007 - Exit Realty at NAR MidYear

Since I'm an Exit Realty broker, I have posted a few pictures from MidYear below:

Larry Carver from Exit Corporate ready to face the crowd

Part of the Exit Realty trade show presentation

Alex Szinegh and Evelyn Pickard - Notice Alex blinking left ear

May. 18, 2007 - NAR Mid Year in Washington

I've added some photos from the NAR mid year this week:

This is a cake in the shape of the capitol in the Marriot lobby

The entry to the trade show

Kristi and Sydell from IC with some lost Realtor

Saul praying that the business technology forum he is moderating doesn't turn into fisticuffs

A smiling Saul after the Business technology forum when he realized nobody beat on on the guys from Trulia and Zillow

The start of the Gen Next Marketing forum on Friday morning

Saul speaking at gen next forum

At the e-pro gathering - Frances Flynn-Thorson, Kristi and Sydell from IC and JoAnne Fossland aka the Hat lady

At the e-pro gathering from right to left -

John Reilly, Mrs. Reilly, a friend of the Reilly's, Dave (The Old House Man) Johnson, Dorte Engle

Hey, it's been a long day

Jim lee and Mike Barnett

Gary David Hall and Karl van Loewe

Apr. 8, 2007 - I've added technorati to this blog

Here is a link to Technorati

Technorati Profile

Jan. 19, 2007 - Where have I been

I've kind of let this blog linger for a few weeks, and I know who's to blame:

Maureen McCabe.

Maureen invited me on to active rain a few weeks ago and I've become almost an Active Rain junkie.

To see what's going on on Hershey look at:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/36306/The-Hershey-Partnership

http://activerain.com/blogsview/34765/A-One-Hundred-Year

http://activerain.com/blogsview/34763/Elvis-is-coming-to

And Maureen, you know I'm only kidding.

Dec. 28, 2006 - Watch the Ball Drop

I can remember many years ago sitting up until midnight on New Years Eve to watch the ball drop in Times Square at midnight. I've been to a few parties over the years where it had to be on television for all of the partiers to know it was midnight.

Last year, I went to a B-52's concert in Boca Raton and listened to Fred Schneider count down the last minute for the audience. No ball drop or anything similar.

Around here, they have some similar "traditions" to Times Square. Here in Hershey they actually "raise" a          simulated Hershey Kiss on a pole. In Dillsburg, they drop a pickle (get it, Dill Pickle), in Mechanicsburg, they use a wrench (mechanics, wrench) and in Lebanon they have a 10 foot Lebanon Bologna.

They do something down on "restaurant row" in Harrisburg, probably raise the first drunk or something. I know imitation is supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery, but sometimes it gets a little wacky.

Dec. 26, 2006 - Cost versus Value

Nov. 16, 2006 - NARDI GRAS 2006

It's been a busy 2 weeks but we got back late Tuesday afternoon from the 2006 NAR Convention in New Orleans. The convention with it's educational opportunities was great, as usual. I got to meet several people who I had only communicated with via the internet as well as renew acquaintances with many "old friends" from the real estate industry.

Two things impressed me about New Orleans. One, there is still so much work to do to bring the city back to it's prior glory. At least 1/3, and maybe a one half of the businesses in the "tourist" areas are still closed. Walking down Bourbon Street it seemed that every block had a few vacant or unopened business sites. Over in the Downtown Business District, where we stayed, it seemed like it was more than half were not open.

The second thing was the people. Several local folks asked if we were there for the convention, and when we said yes, wanted to let us know how much they appreciated that NAR brought all of these folks to town and what a boost it was for the economy.

New Orleans will come back, but it will take a lot of time and a lot of work.

Oct. 22, 2006 - What A Week

I was able to spend Tuesday through Sunday this past week at the Exit Realty Tenth Anniversary Convention in Orlando. With over 30,000 agents and about 1000 (985 ten days ago) offices, Exit has become the fastest growing real estate franchise ever. The big guy (Re/max) had less than 500 offices and about 12,000 agents at the end of their tenth year. The convention was a great educational and motivational event. Steve Morris, the founder, is an incredible person. His belief system and down to earth attitude has driven the company to the point it is today. And Steve doesn't hide behind the curtain and wait to be introduced. Wednesday morning at breakfast we were able to sit down with Steve and discuss a few issues and ask a few questions one on one. Friday evening, Steve and his wife stopped by our table to chat for a few minutes, not about business, but about our new houses. Both of us moved in the past year. And Steve's excitement was that he purchased a historic house on ten acres and his children will have plenty of room to pursue their activities. The executive staff at Exit is first rate. Each and every one is focused on helping to fuel the growth of each and every office and agent. The keynote speaker (Dr. John Maxwell) spoke for 2 and a half hours, but everyone in attendance would have allowed him to speak for 15 hours if he could.

I can't wait for the 2007 convention in Colorado Springs. There is a big prize raffle on the last night every year. The past few years it has been a BMW. In 2007, it'll be $100,000 cash (try bringing that back on an airplane).

Exit has been in the US about six years, but every state has been sold and a few markets are basically sold out. I think 2007 will be the year we make the biggest impact yet in Pennsylvania, as we're starting to fill in the voids. One or two solid franchises in western PA will drive the entire state's business to new levels. After less than 3 years we have over 20 offices and are filling in the Philly metro area. I'm sure the A-B-E and Lancaster markets are next. Central PA is pretty well covered. On to the the Steel City

Oct. 13, 2006 - Living in the Country

Well, I don't really live "out in the country", it just seems that way. After ten years in crowded South Florida, Lebanon County seems like the middle of nowhere. And even though I live in a subdivision, it's almost surrounded by farmland. There's even a corn field in my back yard. And even though we really are ten minutes to a Wal Mart Supercenter, Lowes Home center and other stores, and only about 20 minutes to the state capital, it still feels like country.

In the early Summer, every morning when I went to my deck to have a cup of coffee, two rabbits would come out of the cornfield, stand at the top of the small hill and just stare at me and jump up and down. In the Spring, we had hundreds of migrating ducks stop by for a few days as the headed north. Now we have hundreds of geese stopping in when they head south. I stopped at a stop sing the other day and took a picture of an albino squirrel. I guess it's a gray squirrel that never turned gray. The photo's a little fuzzy, but I had never seen one.

Anyway, time to go back to country living

Oct. 9, 2006 - Bears and Bars and B'ars

It's October 9 and hockey season already started. I guess the 70° temperatures don't matter.

Central Pennsylvania has it's own hockey tradition, the Hershey Bears have been a part of the American Hockey League since 1936 have earned eight Calder Cup trophies in the last 70 years, including the 2005-2006 season. They play now in the new Giant center, but played for almost 70 years in the venerable HersheyPark Arena built in 1936. That has been the site of lot of memories, including Wilt Chamberlain's 100 point performance for the Philadelphia Warriors back in the 60's. While the place seated about 7500 or 8000 for basketball, hundreds of thousands of locals claim they were there that night.

Oh, the title above? Originally the team was named the B'ars (Hershey Bars, get it?) but that was considered too commercial for use in newspapers so it was changed to Bears at the start of the 1936 season.

See Hershey Bears for the history of the Hershey Bears.

Oct. 2, 2006 - A Quiet Sunday Afternoon

Remember the old ads on the radio from the drag races "Saturday.. Saturday .. Saturday" - it's hard to write with an echo.

Anyway, we spent Sunday at Maple Grove Raceway for the NHRA Toyo Tire Nationals. And it's an incredible way to spend the day.

Access to everything is real easy, the pit area is open to all and the drivers seem real interested in meeting and greeting the fans.

And the sound, just overpowering. Imagine standing next to a jet on takeoff, and you can understand the sound of two nitro class cars blasting away from the line. It really feels like the earth is moving.

Try It, You'll Like It