Places That I've Been To In The United States

WashingtonDC
10 visits (1994,95,96,97,98, twice in 99,00,01, and 03). Total stay of 77 days.
One of the thrills of being in the international relations field of telecoms is being a delegate to the annual Global Traffic Meeting held at the Intelsat headquarters each May. In 1994, the trip to WDC was my first long flight and first time I ever experienced jet lag. I had the chance to bring my wife along with me years later in 99. She enjoyed the museums and I did too.

Baltimore, Maryland
1 visit (1994 only). Total stay of 2 days.
We decided to spend the night at a friend's house on the way to New York from Washington DC.

Honolulu, Hawaii
7 visits (1996, 98, 99, 00, 01, and twice in 04). Total stay of 49 days.
Another major telecom event is the annual Pacific Telecom Conference which is held every January. I must have played close to a dozen golf courses in Hawaii. Brought my wife with me in 99 and she got bored.

Los Angeles, California
4 visits (1994, twice in 95, 97). Total stay of 49 days.
We have a switching facility here which I helped set up. Have cousins in LA so I can never travel to California without passing by. Did the rounds of the theme parks on my first visit.

San Francisco, California
4 visits (1995, 98, 99, 03). Total stay of 21 days.
Home base of ABSCBN Telecom which we set up in 95. Half Moon Bay golf course is one of the best courses I’ve ever played in my life.! I never fail to play Crystal Springs whenever I’m in SFO. Not bad for a public course. Not bad at all.

San Diego, California
1 visit (1995 only). Total stay of 2 days.
We drove all the way from LA just to attend meetings here. Didn’t have the chance to visit the world-famous zoo. Sayang.

New York City, New York
3 visits (1998, and twice in 99). Total stay of 11 days.
My first visit was actually in 94 but I didn’t stay overnight so that doesn’t count. In 99, I was with my wife and we watched “Les Mis” on Broadway. It is not so hard to understand why many New Yorkers think that their city is the center of the universe.

Rye Brook, New York
3 visits (twice in 99). Total stay of 8 days.
We stayed at Doral Resort which has its own golf course so we got to play in between our meetings with MCI and Verizon whose headquarters were just close by.

Morristown, New Jersey
1 visit (1995 only). Total stay of 2 days.
We drove from WDC after one of those GTMs to visit AT&T’s network operations center. Entering the town, I noticed a sign that said: “Welcome to Morris Town, Where There Is Absolutely Nothing To Do”.

Boston, Massachusetts
2 visits (twice in 2000). Total stay of 7 days.
I worked briefly for iBasis which is one of the major VOIP carriers. Their headquarters are in Boston and so I had the chance to visit the city for meetings and stuff.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1 visit (1999 only). Total stay of 2 days.
City of Brotherly Love. My sister-in-law lives there so we had to pass by. Apart from the Liberty Bell and the old Union Hall, there’s nothing much really.

Cape Neddick, Maine
1 visit (2000 only). Total stay of 6 days.
Barry Manilow’s “Weekend In New England” played over and over in my mind while we were there for a sales conference. The golf course at Cape Neddick wasn’t so bad either. And the lobsters? I can’t remember eating so many lobsters in my life!