On the Road Again

Okay, I'm going to demystify work travel for you. In case you don't travel, here's a breakdown of my normal travel day.

Midnight last night: Look at itenerary one more time and realize that my flight leaves at 6:25 instead of 8:37. I'd been looking at the time my connection flight LANDS in Charlotte. Thank the Good Lord that I looked at it again, but that left me with FOUR HOURS to sleep!

4:00 am: Wake up with eyes completely pasted shut and stumble into the shower.

5:00 am: Leave for the airport

5:30 am: Super happy to find great parking at Huntsville International in the parking decks vs. the back lot!

5:40 am: Check in and have to pay $40 for checking 2 bags. What is this world coming to? (They also charged $2 for drinks on the planes! This was US Air in case you're wondering.)

5:45 am: Find breakfast #1 at the airport and cave in and buy coffee. I usually don't drink coffee. I prefer a chai latte, but they don't have that. The lady makes me something special and the other men in line are laughing at with me because I kept asking her questions about the concoction she was whipping up for me. It was drinkable and not completely yucky, so I didn't care!
6:25 am: Take off for Charlotte, NC (nobody next to me in the seats) and see the MOST AMAZING sunrise I think I've ever seen. The sun was absolutely red and streaking! Wow! It was awesome. Like the brush strokes of God. OK- a little too poetic there, but I was thinking that in my early morning haze.

6:45 am: Fall asleep on plane despite the coffee.

8:50 am (eastern time): Land in Charlotte and go in search of breakfast #2 because it feels like I have just woken up again.

9:30- 11:00 am: Read book sitting alone in the airport while drinking Starbucks Chai and eating a scone. Starbucks Chai definitely better than crazy concoction from 5:00 am, but still not Angel's Island- the best in Huntsville!

11:20 am: Board 2nd flight to Orlando on a huge plane. Read book and don't even talk to the person next to me (quite unlike me- surely I'm very tired). Then I fall asleep again. Movement knocks me out.

1:00 pm: Land in Orlando and start the trek to find my bags.

1:30 pm: Decide to get rental car first because bags are not coming. Turned out to be a great decision. Bags arrived right when I got back to the belt- thingy.

2:00 pm: Make it to car with bags in tow and am delightfully surprised at my "2 door economy car"!

But, still starving despite 2 breakfasts.

2:30 pm: Get Wendy's en route to hotel. My weakness is a #7 combo (homestyle chicken-that's right- fried)- always with only ketchup, pickles, lettuce and mayo. I ate every single fry (always with honey mustard) and drank every bit of fully loaded Coke. How's that for nutrition?

3:00 pm: Find hotel and start to unload and find boxes to get ready for show. A nice man at the hotel takes my four boxes to my booth at the show! Then he finds me (as I was fishing through my wallet for a tip for him) and tells me that the hotel charges $5/ box for delivery! He literally took them 100 feet!!! Needless to say, I quit fishing for a tip. Apparently, he's getting paid well!

4:00 pm: Finish setting up for show and go up to room do a little work, then crash while watching the Olsen twins on Oprah. I hate it when I fall asleep and actually want to see something!

5:45 pm: Came down to lobby for free wi-fi. It costs $10.95 a day in the room! Isn't that crazy?

I'm probably going to go get dinner by myself and go to bed early so I can get up and be perky and fun tomorrow. I ambitously even packed work out clothes. (These will be needed to make up for 2:30 pm.)

And I forgot to mention that I've also been on the phone/ been e-mailing most of the day intermittantly for work. This is the life, huh?

Now, when I worked at the Space Center and traveled ALL THE TIME, it was REALLY exhausting. I travel on a plane about 2 x a year now, so I'm trying to look at this as a nice little respite.

I miss my boys, though. All 3 of them.

Since (until midnight) I thought that I would be at home this morning to pick out the kids clothes, I didn't lay any out for them last night. I asked Jason what he dressed them in this morning and he said he just got clothes from the clean laundry baskets. I washed all their clothes before I left, so that means he sent them to pre-school in clothes that they had already worn once this week! He said that he knew that, but that those clothes were a sure bet because he knew they fit and that I approved of them. How can you argue with that logic? I hope their teachers know that I'm out of town. The kids are out of school tomorrow because of parent teacher conferences (I have ours rescheduled for next week). Jason is taking the day off and says that he might be brave enough to take them to a museum... or at least the train table at Barnes and Noble.

Here are some pics Jason just sent me from dinner. Looks like Harris is eating peas and Owen is eating broccoli?? Way to go, Superdad!!Alright, I'm going to try to stay awake for my favorite indulgence tonight, but with the Eastern time against me, I don't know if I'll make it. How do people live on this side of the country?

Thankfully I'll be headed back to a normal time zone and regular life on Saturday!