San Francisco Alternatives

I did a quick trip into San Francisco airport late last week. The trip into the car rental area has improved slightly, but it still takes an incredible amount of time to get your car and leave the area. But, in recent years, the alternative airports have decided to move the car rental facilities off-site as well. So, should I take a bus from SJC or OAK, or catch the train from SFO? The alternatives really aren't much better than the main airport, so I guess it's just up to the airfare and distance to your destination that would make all the difference. I'm headed back up to the area a couple of times within the next month, so maybe I'll try something different next time. Later.

Not Finished Yet...

It's not over yet. Even though I've been a bit inactive for the last couple of months, I'm returning to active road warrior duty for at least another couple of trips in the next couple of weeks. I've got to do a quick business trip to Detroit next week. The following week I need to be in Portland for the day. After that, I'll probably stay put for a little while, but then again, you never know what the future may bring. Later.

Launch Points

So I returned from Honolulu from an unplanned trip. For some reason, I decided to fly in and out of Los Angeles. That would be the appropriate thing to do a couple of years ago when I actually lived there. To quote a colleague of mine -- What was I thinking? It's amazing what a difference a couple of years can make. The two hour drive between San Diego and Los Angeles seems to take a little more out of me these days. I had also forgotten the parking situation from LAX, especially in rainy weather. Catching a bus to the remote parking areas in the pouring rain just doesn't get it for me anymore. What was I thinking? The lesson here is to utilize any one of the four airports that are closer to my house.

Come to think of it, I don't have anywhere to go after this trip. Maybe I need to start working on that. 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.

Retirement Is Overrated

I've been San Diego-bound for the last few weeks. I did manage to keep busy with other projects, and for some reason, I haven't missed the road too much. However, I'm not ready to give up on the travel adventures just yet. The adventures resume in early March. See you then. Later.

Turning Point

So this is what it's like to be a semi-retired road warrior. Strange as it may seem, I'm feeling a little empty without the misadventures on the road this month. I haven't had a travel-free month in nearly a decade. I seem to have way too much going on in San Diego this month. I guess this marks a definite turning point in my life as one of the ultimate road warriors. Between all of the volunteer projects, trade shows, and other administrative responsibilities at work, I don't see myself traveling until early March. How about that? Feet on the ground and assimilating back into a normal life... Didn't think I'd ever see the day.

Later.

Marathon, Part 2

The marathon has ended, and I have returned home to a month of travel-free bliss. So, I predict that I will become restless within the next two weeks. It may be hard to keep a good road warrior down, but with events of the next few weeks, I'm going to be tied to the area. There's yet another trade show coming into town, and I need to work on it every day for the next two weeks solid. After that, I'm thinking it might be time for one of those road trip diversions, but I'm guessing that I'll be a little too tired by the end of the show. 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.

Back On Top

I'm going through my mail today, a duty which I usually attempt to avoid until I'm left without a clear passage to my desk. I'm finding my updated membership and status cards from the hotels and airlines, so it's time to do the annual card swapping exercise. I managed to renew most of my current elite-level status levels. I only managed to lose status on one airline, which was not a bad deal, considering I reduced my travel schedule by at least 30%. I don't see another reduction in travel happening again this year, though. Even though I've taken the helm of my department, I forsee one final year of active duty on the road. The adventure continues...

Later.

Weather Or Not

It's January, right? That means it's supposed to be winter. I mean, in most parts of the country, you'd expect cold weather, right? Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I actually prefer the temperature just as it is. However, I just spent the week in Norfolk, VA, and when I last checked, normal temperatures at this time of year were supposed to be somewhere between 20 F and 30 F. During the week, it averaged 65 F on a cold day. It was colder in San Diego during the week, which was also strange. I never thought I'd have to go north for warmer weather, at least in this country. Later.

Home On The Road

Having been a traveler for quite a while, you learn a lot about the need to pack accordingly for your trips, sometimes leaving behind those things which might not be necessary. Also, for those of you who travel like I do, you realize that sometimes, drawers and closets in hotel rooms just aren't worth it for those one-day trips when you arrive at 1am, and have to check out less than four or five hours later.

For the first time in quite a while, I have five whole days in the same hotel. It's not the best, but it's still a rare treat to be able to use the closet and drawer space for the first time in quite a while. I've also been to the local grocery store to get some beverages and snacks. What a concept! It's almost like making yourself at home on the road -- almost. Anyhow, I've got another couple more days here in Virginia, and then it's back home for a week. Later.

A Step Backward

I'm reporting from Norfolk, VA, this evening. It took all day to get here, and it became apparent that technology really has moved forward. When you are missing a piece, it's really obvious. I actually set myself back a few years at the car rental counter. In my current job, I have had the fortune of being able to rent the GPS systems along with the car. This is the first time in a couple of months that the local rental car area did not offer it. In fact, even with the hundreds of cars here, there were absolutely no GPS systems available at all. So, for the first time in a couple of months, I got myself hopelessly lost on my way to the hotel, which is probably less than 5 miles away from the airport. This is very reminiscent of the old days when I got lost on a regular basis. So, I guess I'll have to admit that technology has improved many facets of the life of this road warrior. But it's just as important to be able to fall back on your instincts, and move forward despite these little steps backward. Later.

See No Evil, Hear No Evil ...

The voice is still partially missing. I currently sound like one of those squeaky toys that your dog might play with. That's probably not the best image to project in front of high-powered executives that you're trying to convice to spend lots of money on goods and services. Unfortunately, the sales group wanted my presence in the area despite the squeaky toy syndrome. By the way, in case you're wondering, I'm reporting tonight from Monterey, CA. It was a quick trip with a quick connection in Los Angeles. True to form, my head exploded right on queue a little after we took off the first time from San Diego. I still have a few more hours to put the pieces back together. So, I decided to order some room service, and I'm trying to get some rest.

Later.

Preparing For The Journey Ahead

Another year begins. For the first time, I'm not feeling up to the challenge. In fact, for the first time, I have backed out of a trip to Northern California tomorrow. I'm still planning on being in Monterey on Friday morning for a quick sales call, and then it's a journey into Norfolk, Virginia for a week, followed by a quick stop in Dallas to do another brief talk.

The adventures don't always begin on the road. It seems that more often, the greatest part of the adventures begin at home. With every trip, there's always a degree of preparation that needs to be done beforehand, and there is always the inevitable aftermath of expense reports and other miscellaneous paperwork that has to be completed in a timely manner before the next trip begins, usually on the next day. Let's take today, for instance. I had to get myself to the dry cleaners to pick up my suits. As I travel quite frequently, I need to make sure that the suits that still fit are not all at the dry cleaners at the same time. During excessive travel periods, this can become a challenge. Then there is the work preparation that takes time away from the normal desk job. At the request of some of the field personnel, I spent the greater part of the day chasing after equipment, and shipping it to Monterey before I left the office. I never managed to get my normal work done.

I guess it's not as glamorous as getting cavity searches in the greater metropolitan airports, or slipping on an ice patch and tearing a huge hole in the back of your pants. Still, the preparation work is a necessary part of the road warrior game. After all these years, I still manage to cut a few corners here and there. When that happens, the real adventures begin...

Later.

One More Time

I just returned from Minnesota, and one of the better vacations that I've had in quite a while, despite the snow and freezing weather. I can finally call it a year. It's been one of those months that has allowed me to reconnect with a lot of people. In the last decade, I really haven't had the opportunity to take control of the travel like I have this month. I managed to connect with friends in Toronto, Portland, and Albuquerque. I even got to spend some time with a friend in Minneapolis. I now have regained my elite status on my airlines and hotels, so it's finally over for the year. Still, I think I might take a road trip to visit my friends in Northern California. After all, you can't keep a good road warrior down. Later.

Fighting Every Step Of The Way

Another year has quickly passed, and I think I have aged more in the past year than the rest of my collective years as a road warrior. I've often contemplated retirement, but that wouldn't be a good idea. You see, people like me don't do well in retirement. I keep saying that this will be the last year of this. My boss has decided to promote me into a desk job in the coming months, which will severely curtail my field activities. But since I can see through the erroneous vision statement in my new job description, I know I will still be out in the field almost as much.

I'm still going out to Minnesota on Sunday to capture the last 3,000 miles to keep top-tier status on one of my airlines. The road warrior in me is still fighting desk duty every step of the way, but my aging body is starting to accept the desk job. Maybe I'll start keeping my feet on the ground next year. Happy Birthday to me!

Later.

Temporary Insanity

I keep telling myself that this is only temporary. You see, things usually pick up at the end of year and end of fiscal year due to requirements in my particular segment of the market. Translated, that means I've been on the road again like crazy, alongside the craziness of the holiday travelers. Standard road warriors and holiday travelers mix like oil and water. There are some things that the holiday traveler just doesn't appreciate about those of us that have to do this year round.

Anyhow, I just got back from Atlanta, a relatively uneventful (but long) trip. Before that, I had a quick trip to Portland and Houston. Unfortunately, I had a cancellation in Houston, so I had to make a u-turn in Dallas. There were many strange adventures along the way. I had sushi at the Portland airport, and it still shocks me that you can get sushi at an airport. There was a series of incidents with many of those holiday travelers in the last couple of week, ranging from stepped on toes to hecklers in the ticket line. It annoys me that some of these travelers have developed attitude problems, and just don't display common courtesy any more. So much for the holiday spirit. This road warrior has one more trip left this year. Let's see how it goes...

Later.

Giving Thanks

It's that time of year once again. The holiday travelers are among us once again. And, once again, I found myself traveling on Thanksgiving week. You would think that I would have learned not to do this over the course of the last decade, but I always seem to draw the short straw on this particular week of the year. I wound up in Detroit and Minneapolis on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. I decided to do a quick personal trip on Thursday, and found that the secret to surviving holiday travel. Do it on the holiday. The airports seemed to be a lot less crowded on Thanksgiving that I thought they would be. There were a few delays, but for the most part, based upon the boards, most flights were running on time on Thanksgiving. Once again, I'm fighting the crowds at the airport tomorrow for a quick speaking engagement in Toronto. Later.

Taking Inventory

It's that time of the year again. I'm taking inventory of all of those pesky frequent flyer and points accounts. All road warriors go through this around this time of year. You see, as a freqent traveler, we all need to actually go through our accounts to see where we stand in all of those frequent-use programs. I've discovered that I actually did cut back this year. I'm going to give up on one of the programs, and I'm about 15,000 miles short on two airline programs to keep my status going. That means that I need to fly at least 30,000 miles within the next couple of months. In the last few years, I would probably say that it would be no sweat. However, this time around, I am attempting to slow down, and it would be a bit of a stretch to come up with that amount of travel in a short two months.

So, the race is on. I'm traveling to Houston and Detroit this week, with all of the appropriate connecting flights. I have a San Francisco trip next week. After that, I've got a quick trip back to Detroit and Minneapolis. Then, I'm ending the month in Toronto for good measure. That should take care of the first airline, and maybe a little bit of the other one. Now, as for December, I've got a quick trip to Las Vegas and Norfolk, VA, so far. I might squeeze in a short weekend in the northeast to make up the difference, if any. After all, I'm so close that it would still be worth it to make up the difference for another year.

Whew. So much for semi-retirement from all of this. Maybe next year. . . Later.