Miami, FL and the Chevy Impala

Oh look! The Chevy version of the Ford Taurus! And I hate the Taurus. Good thing I only had to drive less than 20 miles the whole day.

The real story is the trip to Miami. I have just taken over a new account that has frankly been neglected for almost a year. The relationship is strained to say the least, and it's now my job to make it right. They have no idea who I am, and my higher ups have talked me up quite a bit. They basically have heard this song and dance before, and are taking the stance of "I'll believe it when I see it".

So I headed to Miami to show them :)

On the final decent into Miami, the gentleman across the aisle from me took a full can of Sprite out of the seat back pocket. He accidently dropped the can, and when it hit the floor it somehow sprung a leak and proceeded to spray me head to toe. I was literally dripping with sticky, sweet, limony goodness.

And I had my first face to face meeting with a new client in under an hour.

So what do you do? First thing, I had the flight attendants grab me every paper towel I could find and began toweling off as best I could. When we landed I headed to the lav and discovered my shoes were sticking to everything. I took them off, poured out the soda that was in them, and then washed them in the little sink. I got myself as good as I could on the plane and headed off. I called my boss Mo and did some major venting, mostly just to get it out of my system. Then we started brainstorming. Two roadwarriors collaborating is a spooky thing. The conversation whizzed around going shopping, finding an athletic club, and then it hit Mo! American Airlines (which I was flying) operates out of the international terminal in Miami. Sometimes the executive clubs have showers in international terminals! It was worth a shot.

Sure enough, they did. So I paid my $50 for a day pass (ripoff) and signed up for a shower. I scrubbed myself clean, and did my best to handwash my clothes, drying them with the little wall mounted hairdryer. I put myself back together as best I could, and headed out only slightly damp and a little fruity smelling. What the hairdryer couldn't do...the Miami heat took care of. I was dry within 5 minutes of stepping outside!

I hopped in the rental car, drove to the client....and the rest is history :) Did they notice? No. Did I tell them? Yes! Did they love it? Absolutely! Will they remember me? How could they forget!?

Never underestimate a Roadwarrior...NEVER!!!

The big drive and my GTI

So last weekend I made the drive out to Atlanta from Portland. 2700 miles. It's a helluva adventure, especially since I had a couple copilots...Paisley and Max (the cat and dog). At least I got to drive my car this time...something I actually enjoy driving. Considering that's all I was going to do for multiple days, that's a good thing :) I'd done the reverse drive before, and that took 3.5 days of pretty solid driving. I gave myself 5 days to complete this journey, just in case something might come up. This was going to be a little different though, since I was driving solo I was going to try and cut it down to 3.

Day 1- Portland, OR to Laramie, WY

My original plan was to try and make it to Cheyenne, with a backup of Logan, UT if it was really unbearable. I planned on leaving Friday morning at 6am to beat the rush hour traffic. I had already said my goodbyes to Gayle, since she and Shawn had gone to H20 earlier in the week, so really all I had to do is get up and go. Of course, not being used to Gayle being gone...I was up and gone at 5am.

It's really difficult to write about driving, since the act really doesn't involve much. Most days I only stopped twice for gas and food. I did have an adventure in Utah, where Max got out at a gas station. LOL...he ran around for a little while, and then hid under the car. When I tried to get him out he actually crawled up in the engine bay. This grew a small crowd...which was actually helpful since it took 4 people to eventually get him back in the car.

Only other semi exciting thing to report was somewhere in Wyoming or Utah a semi kicked up a rock and totally cracked my windshield. Ugh...one more thing to fix along the way.

All in all- 1150 miles in 16 hours. A very productive Day 1. I found a Hampton Inn and got a room with a jacuzzi tub. I unloaded the car, took a soak, and passed out.

Day 2- Laramie, WY to Mt. Vernon, IL

The plan was to make it to St. Louis on Day 2 if I could. This would make for an easy day on Day 3- comparitively speaking of course. I got a little later start than I thought, 8:30am. It wasn't very eventful. By this point, I was getting sore and totally tired of road food. I did have lots of time to ponder things though, some very deep and others notsomuch. Examples you ask? OK...deep thought: proposing to Gayle. Notsomuch thought: why do Funyuns only taste good either when you are high or when you are on a roadtrip? I did develop a fun game to occupy my time too. Somewhere in Wyoming I started letting go of the wheel and seeing how many Mississippis I could count before I had to make a correction. I made it up to 43!

The only other thing I had to entertain me was XM Radio. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have satellite radio for a trip like this. Continuous music, and I got to listen to the Ducks, Huskies, and Beavers lose in terrific fashion. Gotta love PNW sports teams!

I made it to St. Louis, but it's such a shithole I couldn't stop there. I wanted to get on the other side of the city to avoid and traffic in the morning. I put in Hampton Inn in the GPS and found one in Mt. Vernon, IL. Exhausted, I rolled in at about midnight.

Just over 1000 miles in Day 2. It was starting to get old.

Day 3- Mt. Vernon, IL to Duluth, GA

I made it today, even though it was another late start. I think this time I started at 10:30am...LOL. And how was this for karma...I was arriving a little early and my temporary apartment is gated, so I wasn't sure how I was going to get in. By chance my rental agent answered her home phone and told me the gate was broken and going to be open all day. Perfect.

Day 3- 550 miles

We rolled in, unloaded, and crashed. It was exhausting to say the least. I'm still trying to get settled, learning the area and trying to get out and meet people. The worst part is being all alone...I miss my friends, family, and Gayle. Hopefully work will fill a little of the void and drive me freakin insane before Gayle can come out and join me.

And I really don't want to have to make this drive again :)

Changes to TravelEd!!!

Big Changes!

I've accepted a promotion within my company, and I'm moving to Atlanta. This is a great opportunity for me- better pay, chance to learn a lot under some great people, and gain some great exposure.

Plus...no more travel :)

Well, much much less travel. Which means I'm going to need to find something to talk about on here. So get ready for some changes. Instead of West Coast stuff, you are going to be hearing about Georgia and all the new East Coast places Gayle and I will be exploring. Plus throw in buying a new house, starting a new job, and all the other stresses going on in life.

Now that should be some fun reading!

Atlanta, GA and the Buick Enclave

Back out in Atlanta, this time with Gayle in tow. And lo and behold...Hertz gave us an upgrade- the Buick Enclave. Well...one man's upgrade is another man's downgrade.

This vehicle sucks!

First off, it's huge. I mean...freakin' huge! I swear my car could fit in the back if you took the seats out. And it felt like I was up so high it was like I was driving my car while sitting on the roof. Oh wait...not my car. My car can corner :) This thing was so floaty it felt like it was going off the road around each bend. 3 rows of seat...we used the two front ones. Changing lanes was a challenge in and of itself because of the size of this bohemoth. Ugh...not fun. But wait, it's sporty! It has 'speed holes' in the hood and dual exhaust! Yeah- sporty :rolleyes:

What is it with people loving big vehicles these days? I feel so unstable and out of control when I get into something that big. Plus the parking spaces keep getting smaller- you can't park anyways, now you are going to handicap yourself! Ridiculous. Try and justify it all you want, there is just no need for a vehicle that big. Kids...no excuse. Buy a wagon bitch.

Denver, CO and the Toyota Solara

So...is Hertz reading my blog? I had to go back to Denver for another store opening, and this time I was greeted with a Toyota Solara. Now this is a decent upgrade! I actually like these cars...they have some decent styling. Too bad the rental cars always have the gutless engines...this thing would be awesome with some pep. Honestly the nicest part of this car was the paint. Pearl white, a personal fav. Seriously, I just want to lick it. Now I own a black pearl car, but nothing beats pearl white. Someday I will own one.

I've even have Gayle on a pearl kick. She's talking about a pearl orange when it's time to respray the square....interesting :)