Winter Revisted

I never really understood the meaning of a winter wonderland.  Since I have lived for most of my life in warmer climates, it usually causes some trepidation every time I encounter snow and ice. This winter has been no exception.  I've been spending a lot of time in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan.  Needless to say, there has been a lot of snow so far.  It has been a few years since I have experienced freezing temperatures that actually hurt with just a few seconds of exposure.

While the fresh snow looks nice, it does have its challenges.  Rental car companies don't provide the shovels and ice picks that I needed in the last several trips.  The snow and ice were challenging in Duluth and Minneapolis, and I really needed that shovel in Chicago and Grand Rapids after experiencing the same snow storm twice in the same week.  The small brush and ice scraper that I had available was just not enough to dig myself out of the parking lot.


There are still several more weeks of winter, and I'm not quite finished with my travels into Minnesota for now.  I have yet to understand this concept of a winter wonderland.  However, I do wonder when this winter will end.

See ya.

There's No Place Like Home

As we begin a new year, I can't help but look back to the last couple of years on the road.  I was traveling as much as the old days, and I had the same number of whacky adventures as well.  For some reason, I just couldn't find the time to keep up the blog.  I can't say that I'll be too much better in the upcoming year, but I'll give it a try.

In the meantime, I have been home for a couple of weeks, and it has been great to rest up a bit before another year that will likely top 250,000 miles once again.  I've got a new home office thanks to one of my close friends, and I think that this will be an interesting year of changes.  It's a long road back, but the journey has to start somewhere.

The journey begins in California and continues to Wisconsin and beyond.  Time to get started...

Later.

Out Of Practice

I returned to the world of the road warrior this past week, and found that starting over really isn't all it's cracked up to be. I returned to the warm greetings of the TSA in San Diego, who decided that it was time for my regular flogging. I got the pat down treatment, and it was a tad too up-close and personal for my taste. I had forgotten the nature of my business, and planned the Minneapolis trip to get a two-week advance purchase fare. Unfortunately, I had a last-minute change that required me to stop for a meeting in Chicago. Then I forgot my MP3 player, which really wasn't something I used to use a lot. However, I really missed it on this trip. It was unseasonably cold in Minneapolis and Central Wisconsin for some reason, but despite that, I believe I had a successful trip. I probably should never have given this up... I think it's time to plan the next adventure.

Later.

Total Systems Failure

I've discovered that my stamina is not what it used to be. Central Wisconsin is a nice place, but being there in the winter makes me realize how much I needed to get my head examined before agreeing to this trip. And then there was Delaware. Nice place, but there really wasn't much else there. I reached the point of total systems failure somewhere over Chicago, and after all the delays, I realized that maybe semi-retirement might be a good thing after all. I don't remember how I kept up with all of the trips, and how I managed to get up the next day ready to move on to the next city. Well, my next trip is a personal sojourn back home to Hawaii at the end of the week. Later.

Back In Business

It's been a really bad day at work today, but at least I'm getting back on the road once again. I've got some time in Wisconsin and Delaware next week, and then I've got family issues back in Hawaii the following week. So, I'm going to be busy on the road once again. It's about time.

Happy Birthday, James!

Later.

The Marathon Begins

I've started one of those crazy trips that even I can't believe. I'm reporting from the Boston area tonight. I spent the greater part of the day trying to get here. For the first leg of the journey, I've decided not to drive anywhere. For Boston and Houston, I'm catching taxis. Assuming the weather holds out, my journey continues tomorrow in Houston, assuming I don't get stuck in Atlanta for the evening. I'll be home for a few hours, assuming I don't get stuck in Dallas on the way. Then, it's off to Raleigh-Durham, Los Angeles, Honolulu, and Milwaukee, in that order. A standard marathon is a little more than 26 miles. I'm logging a little more than 26,000 miles over the next 10 days. It may seem twisted, but even though I still have the vocal chord problem, I'm kind of enjoying the journey. I'm going to slow down a bit this year, at least on my travels. After all, I have a department to run, and a few other responsibilities these days. Later.

Spin

If you've read this month's main column, you already know that I've been traveling through the winter wonderland of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota this month. My job is in marketing these days, and part of what I do requires a process called "spinning." Basically, this just means that I find a way to place a positive (or negative) way of presenting facts. Well, I had an experience last week that gave new meaning to the the spinning process. I was in Ypsilanti. That's in Michigan, near Ann Arbor, for those of you who are interested. I was in a rental car on my way back to the airport. It was snowing and a bit icy on the road. As I am one of those overly cautious drivers, I slowed down to 15 mph for the turn onto the freeway. However, being unaccustomed to the fact that brakes should not be used while on ice, I wound up spinning the car 360 degrees in slow motion. This was one of the most disturbing experiences that I have had in a while. Anyhow, I didn't crash into anything, but I wound up in a ditch buried deep in the snow with a small tree in front of me. When I backed up, I dug myself deeper in the snow. So, contrary to all of the rules of logic, I decided to drive forward into the tree. Strange as it may seem, that did the trick -- I spun around and popped right back onto the freeway onramp.

Well, that was my mini-adventure in the Detroit area. Next, I'm headed for Minneapolis. And yes, I'm still going to be behind the wheel -- at least until someone decides that I can have a driver. Maybe I can put a better spin on this story so my company will hire a driver for me... Hmmm.

Boycott Continental! I mean it, now.

Later.