Travel – Page 2 – Dr. Plastic Picker
 

Category: Travel

Christmas Tree at the super fancy Newport Beach Hotel. Photo credit by drplasticpicker.

December 15, 2019

by drplasticpicker

I am writing to you from the far off lands of Newport Beach, California. Mr. Plastic Picker and I are at a corporate meeting for our organization to celebrate 10 years.  We are staying at a super fancy hotel where they have valet parking at $30 a night, but the hotel room is covered as are our meals for the day’s programs.  Ten years ago when we started with this organization, the corporate rah-rah and indoctrination used to scare me. Others would ask me half in jest, “Did you drink the kool-aid?” But in all seriousness, all large organizations have similar models and I do believe that ours is more egalitarian. I do believe that here independent thinking is encouraged if you work through the system. I have been able to enact positive changes as a middle manager. But I remain in my heart drplasticpicker wanting to take my own path. But I am here, and I will partake and enjoy. We will sit with our friends who started as young physicians with us together 10 years ago and hear about how the corporation will take care of us.  But I will be thinking the entire time, how can I take care of the earth?  Because in the end, we cannot rely only on large organizations but also must make the changes within ourselves. 

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Beautiful cookies in a tin. No plastic.

December 14, 2019

by drplasticpicker

Today our middle management meeting was cancelled. We have iPhones with our meeting schedule on the iPhone calendar. There was a strike through the CANCELLED MEETING so I thought the CANCELLED MEETING was cancelled, and therefore we had a meeting. I showed up. No one was there. I was happy it was cancelled but did vaguely think slightly annoyed “If I had known, I could have picked up more plastic.” Today marks the moment when I reached my 100th instagram follower (real followers not fake followers, I did not pay anyone to boost nothing!) and 100th bag of ocean bound plastic collected, and 70th blog post. It’s been a busy 3 months!

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Our destination. Christmas Tree at the end of the town pier. Photo credit by drplasticpicker.

December 12, 2019

by drplasticpicker

It seems counter-intuitive, but sometimes our family chooses “to do nothing” in order to do something. Last spring, I was lucky to accompany our hospital’s residency program on a trip to the Andes Mountains in Peru. I was able to fulfill one of my dreams as the attending pediatrician and helped >400 children of the indigenous Quechuan people. It was a trip and 2 weeks that I will never forget.

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November 11, 2019

by drplasticpicker

Bird steps in the sand after the Surf Rake smoothed the beach. Marching in a straight line and in one direction. I find my life this simple and peaceful as well. Photo credit by drplasticpicker.

Becoming drplasticpicker meant devoting my free “me” time to taking a quick jog to the beach, taking a walk along the shore and picking up plastic and jogging back. I had no idea that this would cause a cascade in my life to make life simple. Peaceful.

I wanted to share this with you, because it is something that is so easy to do and so powerful.

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November 4, 2019

by drplasticpicker

The important part of this picture, is the hand that is holding up the bukcet handle. That hand belonds to Mr. Plastic Picker.

Drplasticpicker and Mr. Plastic Picker spent Friday and Saturday morning preparing for and then participating in our first Office Ocean Plastic Picking Outing. This journey of becoming drplasticpicker has brought unexpected joys, and one joy is that it has made me cherish Mr. Plastic Picker even more. In this journey of becoming Drplasticpicker, Mr. Plastic Picker and I have had all sorts of fun.

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October 29, 2019

by drplasticpicker

Drplasticpicker saw the great Mississippi River today!

Hello dear friends! Drplasticpicker and Dr. Dear Friend spent our last evening in New Orleans walking along the banks of the great Mississippi River. As you know, the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference is in New Orleans this year. We had finished attending at least 6 hours of lectures, so we meandered from the New Orleans Convention Center to Jackson Square and the famous Cafe Du Monde. We were looking for beignets and chicory coffee!

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October 27, 2019

by drplasticpicker

AAP National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, October 2019.

I am having a wonderful time at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition 2019 which is in New Orleans. This is proof that drplasticpicker is a real-life board certified pediatrician and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. But as drplasticpicker, how can I participate in these conferences and still try to use less plastic? I am traveling with my 3 clinic friends, and they are on board to try to reduce our plastic use while learning and having a good time eating in New Orleans.

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October 13, 2019

by drplasticpicker

Exhibit table on plastic debris.

Drplasticpicker and Mr. Plastic Picker (husband) went on a short trip to San Francisco, and visited the famous Pier 39 – home to the San Francisco Bay Sea Lions. Since the Plastic Picker family lives in the same state, we have visited Pier 39 several times. But this weekend was the first time we went upstairs to The Sea Lion Center https://www.aquariumofthebay.org/sea-lion-center/! What a treat! The Plastic Picker children decided to stay home with their grandparents so it was a fun weekend away!

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