Stories and Tips about Traveling for a Living.

You know you travel too much when the receptionist at the airline club greets you at 6:30am with "I see it is Omaha this week," and hands you your boarding passes.  (Before TSA.)  The club for your primary airline is a necessary investment.  On a cancelled flight the attendant said we can reroute you to fly all afternoon, or you can sit in the club for a couple of hours and get a non-stop that gets you there 15 minutes later. 

One thing I learned early on, was to stay at the same hotel chain and always ask for a right hand room.  That is the door is on the left and bed etc. on the right.  That way when you get up in the middle of the night to get rid of the used alcohol you know where the furnature is and don't run into it.  An equally important habit was to unpack as soon as I got to the hotel, hide all the evidence that it is a hotel room, and turn it into home even if it is for one night. The familiar setup of the right hand room makes it easy to forget it is just another hotel rooPm.

Packing. I always checked a medium large roller bag with all the essentials for home comfort. Casual clothes, a robe, workout gear, comfortable jeans, Concert wear, see below, a hoodie, PJs if you wear them and anything else you might need. This gets cleaned/laundered on 2 day stays.  Religiously.

Business wear, including rain gear, all wash and wear, goes into a hard side overhead carry-on with hygene necessities.  Underseat soft side all on board necessities. 

 If you are so inclined take advantage of any cultural opportunities, preferably with a client or acquaintance, but solo if necessary. You can usually turn a seat mate into an acquaintance with a little effort or a drink at intermission.  This does not include touristy stuff. 

 A fun NYC Blizzard memory was one I missed. I barely made a plane in Lincoln Nebraska when the gate agent asked if I wanted to spend the weekend in Lincoln or Chicago. I asked why and he said they have just shut down the entire East Coast. I called my favorite hotel at ORD and booked a room with key at Concierge Desk. They asked on Fri? Why? I told them EC shut down. Some shouting on the other end of the line. When I got to the concierge he said thanks to you we were able to keep the day shift on overtime, here is your key to the Luxury Suite as a reward. It was there I listened to Mayor Koch tell everybody to stay home and have a weekend block party.