11/12

Travel Thoughts: Frequent Traveling.

I travel quite frequently.
As implied by the title of this post. 
I travel partly for the love of seeing new places

 and partly because my job requires it.
 I travel to a lot of different places for work. A lot. 
Sometimes I get to go to NYC, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles… 
 where my office is poolside.
Sometimes I go to Duluth, Allentown, or Beckley. 
Where my office is the airplane
’cause I am in and OUT. 
Some trips are filled with awesome restaurants, visits with old college friends, 
and fun events with my colleagues.
Some trips, the most exciting part is room service
 at the airport hotel (if I’m lucky). 
Some trips are a few days long, with a little work  
and a little play.
Some trips all I see is the inside of the airport, the cab, the hotel room, the gym, 
and all of that in reverse… over a 24 hr period. 
and annoying people like this that stand and take up the WHOLE moving sidewalk.
Stressful, long days.
Back home at midnight and awake 5 hours later to get back in the action. 
No matter what…
There are all kinds of trips that I’ve taken. 
From small towns, in the middle of nowhere,
to islands that you can only get to by way of small (scary) planes.
Some trips are short, some long. 
Some where everything goes wrong, and 
some that have changed my life for the better. 
I’m sure my colleagues and other frequent travelers would
agree that some travel moments can certainly fulfill your soul.
Aaaand some moments (missed flights, ruined travel plans, etc) can completely drain you.
And/or make you want to turn violent.

For all of it, I’m eternally grateful. 

To be able to see the world, working or not, is of utmost importance to me. 

And I’m glad I get to cover a lot of ground. 
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05/23

Travel Thoughts: New Orleans

The last time I went to New Orleans I only had a couple hours to cruise around and check things out during a late night. I hit up a couple jazz bars and maneuvered my way through tons of partying (drunk) tourists.  This time, I still only had a few hours, but they were in the early evening on Saturday night, a much different experience as the bar-hoppers weren’t out just yet and it was mostly tourists like me, enjoying the laid-back evening and taking it all in. Since I didn’t have much time, I headed straight for the French Market. I wanted a drink, I wanted to try the world-famous beignets at Cafe Du Monde, and I wanted to enjoy the perfect 78 degree weather while people watching – my favorite thing to do when I’m traveling. 
Louisiana Lemonade
at Market Cafe
Stopping in at Cafe Du Monde! 
 
These were better than you could even imagine. 

I love having nowhere to be 
and people watching in different cities.

 Cruising Decatur St. 

The food. The people. The weather. The energy. It’s all got an electric feeling to it. 
It’s just so unlike other places in the states. There’s SO much culture.
New Orleans is definitely one of my favorite cities in this country.
And here’s a fun article about 10 Things New Orleans had before anybody else!
Like cocktails! And Jazz! #thisplaceiszesty
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03/04

8 Ways to Act Like A Douche at the Airport

If you’ve been around this blog for more than a couple weeks, you know that I travel for work. A lot. I’m in airports nearly every week and I see a lot of annoying douche bag behavior.  So if you don’t fly a lot, check these out to make sure you’re not that douche in the future. In no particular order, I give you:
 
8 Ways to Act Like A Douche at the Airport
(or on the plane)
{1} Going through the 1st class security line… when there’s nobody in the regular security line. 
Don’t get me wrong, I love having higher status and being able to sail through the shorter lines when there’s others are incredibly long. But when there is no long wait, I just go through the regular line.
{2} Using 58 bins to put your ish in before going through the scanner. 
You need ONE bin for tablet or laptop and ONE bin for your clothes/shoes. NO MORE. Your millions of bins, plus your suitcase, plus your carry-on bag, plus your shopping bag of whatever you just bought at the gift shop makes the line go slower than it already is. #aintnobodygottimeforthat  I have one word for you: CONSOLIDATE.
{3} Having a loud phone chat while sitting in the middle of everybody. 
This goes for convos in any public place. Walk away from people to have your conversation. Nobody whats to hear it. Any of it. I think I’m going to start sitting down next to these people and having my own loud-ass conversation… and see if they get annoyed.
{4} Flossing/grooming at the gate or in your seat on the plane. 
Nobody wants to see that. That’s why they have bathrooms. If you’re picking your nose, you’d be better be younger than 5.
{5} Bringing your (too) big carry-on bag onto the tiny planes…
…when they’ve made 5 announcements saying you need to leave it on the jet bridge.
When you ignore those announcements and bring your giant ass bag on the plane, then look completely bewildered when it doesn’t fit, then have to cram your way back through the plane to take it off anyway, you annoy EVERYBODY. And you make the boarding process longer than it already is. Listen to instructions, check your bag, or pack lighter.
{6} Get angry when there are babies aboard or crying.
Look, babies cry. They won’t cry forever though. Their ears will stop popping, they’ll get tired, or hungry, and eventually go to sleep. The parents are mortified as it is and struggling to keep them as quiet as possible. They don’t need you huffing loudly and obnoxiously from your seat as a visual reminder that you’re uncomfortable. If you don’t want to hear anything on your flight, invest in some noise-cancelling headphones.
{7} Act a fool in public when your flight gets delayed or cancelled. 
Everybody else on your flight is bummed too, but yelling at the airline customer service rep just makes you look crazy and the rest of the people in line behind you aren’t getting their ish rebooked any faster. Calmly get your flight adjusted, voice your complaint to the rep, and then write a letter/email to the airline. That’s the process. Yes it sucks, but unless you want to get in the car and drive to your destination, it’s what you have to deal with when flying.
{8} STAND in the middle of the moving sidewalk. 
Ooooooh I can’t stand this one. The moving sidewalk is there to MOVE YOU FASTER through the long terminals, NOT for you to take a load off while you get carried from one end to the other. If you need to stand, move to the right side with all your bags and get out of the way of people actually trying to get through quickly.
What are your biggest airport/plane peeves?
Did I miss any?
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Filed Under: etiquette, flying, travel, travel thoughts
12/05

Travel Thoughts: Colorado

I flew into Denver last weekend to teach a course in Colorado Springs. 
I had the whole weekend in Colorado, which is a nice change of pace to my trips lately. 
My thoughts on Colorado: 
* Yay for Shana being in Denver tonight too! 
*Chillin’ in a hotel with a buddy, room service, and the Denver Christmas Parade on tv    #ThingsThatAreMyJam
* I’m enjoying this 75 mph speed limit on I25. 
* Except when some people drive 60 mph. In the fast lane. Seriously? 
* I have an entire day free in the mountains and there’s NO SNOW. Bummer. 
* At least it’s almost 70 degrees outside! Glad Game. 
* Elf is on tonight! Yes! 
* I love that Denver has 3 radio stations playing Christmas music. High five, radio peeps. 
* Free valet parking at the shops in Cherry Creek? Yes, please. 
* 5 points to the parking attendant who said I looked like Angelina Jolie. I’ll take it. 
* Minus every one of those points for him not being able to hide the utter disappointment on his face 
when, in fact, I was not her. Sorry dude. You’d thought I just took away his soul or something. 
* Yay for finding out Garden of the Gods was in Colorado Springs! And it’s FREE! 
* Totally packed with tourists, such as myself, but a great detour on my way to my hotel. I love seeing 
places like this. 
* It’s nice not to have to fly out of town as soon as my course is over. With a flight the next morning, I can relax tonight and watch Four Christmases!
*Denver, why is your airport in the middle of NOWHERE? 
* At least the airport looks like circus tents… that’s fun. 
* Yay for having airline status and getting the shorter line at security. 
* Too bad that status doesn’t mean SHIT when you’ve got a mobile boarding pass and the only line that has the scanner thing for those is in the regular line. #SonOfABitch
* Direct flights are my jam. 
* Colorado, you’re totally on my list of cool places I could live. 
Garden of the Gods

See the climbers? 
I’m jealous. 

Balancing Rock

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07/10

Winning and Losing the Travel Lottery…

If you’ve read my blog for more than a week, you see that I travel (for work and for pleasure) a LOT. A bunch of my colleagues and I always talk about the things that we encounter every week and refer to them as “winning” or “losing” in the travel lottery. Between flying, renting cars, booking hotels, and sometimes having to be in multiple cities all in one weekend, there’s a lot of ish we go through… 

Things That Go In The “Losing” Category
  • Having to fly in general. I hate flying. I feel like I’m skirting death each time. Still…. 
  • Having that person in front of you in security that doesn’t take their belt off, tries to get an entire full size bottle of shampoo through security, and throws a fit because they have to take their shoes off. THERE ARE SIGNS EVERYWHERE. Read them. Get with the program. 
  • Getting the window seat next to the extremely overweight person who takes up half your seat. (if they don’t have to pay for two seats, I should only be charged for half of mine… since that’s all I got. 
  • Getting to the airport just in time for them to tell you you’re too late to check in for your flight… even though the plane is still there and will be for the next 45 minutes… #effers
  • Traffic, traffic, traffic on the way to catch your flight, make your appt, etc. I’m talking to you, LA. 
  • Having a layover that’s more than an hour and a half. 
  • Having your first flight be delayed so much that you miss your connection and are forced to spend the night in some random city and not get home until halfway through the next day. 
  • Going to any city where there’s a MAJOR event going on. i.e. Indy during the Super Bowl. Yeeeeeah traffic. And things doubling in price (flights, hotels, etc). 
  • Getting a hotel room that’s in the middle of nowhere, with no good places to eat within a 20 mile radius. 
  • Getting a great hotel room in a great city, but having to pay $25/day for internet. Or $20 for a 2 egg breakfast, with a $4 room service fee, $2 “convenience fee”, and automatic %20 gratuity added in. Sorry, room service person. Tip? Eff off. 
Things That Go In the “Winning” Category
let’s end on a positive note, huh? : ) 
  • Finding out you have to go work in a city where you have friends/family that you can stay with or hang with while you’re there. #multitasking
  • Getting to the airport for a random afternoon flight to find that you’re the ONLY person in the security line. YES. 
  • Getting an entire row to yourself on a flight. Holla! 
  • Getting that row to yourself on the LONG portion of your trip. Double holla!
  • Finding that the trip that Google maps told you would take 2 hours, really only takes 1.5 hours. 
  • Arriving early to ANY destination. 
  • Scoring a quiet corner in the airport that includes an outlet for your phone and computer. #primerealestate
  • Getting a shit-ton of work done on your layover that you won’t have to do when you get home! #crossthatishoffyourlist
  • Frequent flier miles/ hotel points/ rental car points 
  • Getting that email that tells you you’ve moved up to the next tier of status for any of those points
  • Finding out that your hotel has a jacuzzi, and you’ve remembered your bikini, AND nobody else is in it! 
  • Getting free travel vouchers after you’ve gotten hosed by your airline/hotel. 
  • Ordering a cocktail on your flight that the flight attendant forgets to charge you for. #score
  • Getting to a city really late at night and the only cars they have left at the rental agency are better and you get the upgrade for free. This doesn’t happen often, but happened to me a couple months ago in Boston… “All we have left is a a convertible”. Sigh… “ok.” 
  • Getting to see more of your country/the world because of your job. And loving that job more than any other you’ve ever had. #winning
writing this from Dallas/Fort Worth airport, 
on my 3 hour layover, 
that’s now been delayed another hour. 
At least I’ve had time to blog… Glad Game : ) 
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02/13

Chi-town in February…

… is REALLY COLD. Like 18 degrees as the high, cold.
I had to teach a TRX course yesterday in Chicago, so I decided to make a weekend out of it, like I usually do when I get to go to fun cities. My friend Brian*, from San Diego decided to come visit the same weekend so we made a road trip from KY to IL and then did tourist-y things all weekend. Good times, for sure. : )
The drive north:
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The snow that was really fun to drive in:
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Taxi that had my nickname:
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
our reflection in The Bean in Millennium Park:
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freezing our asses off, but enjoying watching
the ice skaters fall:
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enjoying the view from the cafe at the top
of the Hancock Observatory:
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
Even though it was only 18 degrees out, (which is about 60 fewer degrees than I prefer) we had a blast! It’s rare that I actually get to experience the tourist side of a city so I’m glad we got to run around this weekend before I had to work and he had to jet back to SD. So long, Chicago!
actually, I’ll be back in two weeks… so… until then, Chicago!


*and just so everybody knows: yes, brian is hot. yes, we are great friends. no, we’re not dating. ’cause i know what you’re thinking. ’cause i’ve already been asked. a lot.
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Filed Under: Chicago, friends, travel, travel thoughts
01/09

Travel Thoughts: Duluth

I’ll have to admit that I effing hated wasn’t too keen on the fact that I had to travel to Duluth, MN and Superior, WI this past weekend for TRX. I hate being cold and I’d have to go to the coldest cities in the country… in January. Awesome. Not to mention there can’t be that much to do there. I was trying to keep an open mind that it might be interesting, but really I was just being a judger. A big one. Lucky for me though, Sarah is from Superior and she hooked me up with one of her best friends to hang out with for the evening.
So I went on a chick blind date!
I met Dannae at a local bar
(after Facebook stalking her to see what she looked like)
and we had a great evening!
How can you go wrong with local brew and tiger striped seating?
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
And I had this view to wake up to
on my way into Superior yesterday.
I bet this place is gorgeous in the summer.
Uploaded from the Photobucket iPhone App
And it wasn’t the -30 degrees I pictured in my mind…
Oh it was still 16… but that’s way better than what I had envisioned.
Duluth, sorry I judged. You’re not so bad.
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09/20

Travel Thoughts: Cincinnati

When I travel for TRX, I usually pull/fly into town, get to my hotel, sleep, teach my class the next day and go straight to the airport to come back home. Every now and then though, I get to go to cities where I have friends. This is awesome. This time, I got to meet up with my old college chum, Matty.

Our Background:
We had a class together called
Teaching Individual and Dual Sports: Tennis, Golf, and Badminton.
An entire semester of listening to our professor say the words
shaft, shuttlecock, balls, head, etc.
I’m not lying.
It was amazing.
Fast forward to Friday night and him taking me to a restaurant called “The Senate” because he loves to go to himself knows his friends/visitors will love it when they come to town.
Introducing: “The Senate“
where they make abnormally large
gourmet hotdogs
with fun names.
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He had the Trailer Park.
I had the Lindsey Lohan.
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I’ll admit I wasn’t expecting to like mine because ordinarily, I eat maybe 1 hotdog a year. At a baseball game. With ketchup only. But it was pretty fantastic. I’d go back in a heart beat. And they had an awesome mix of music playing, classic movies on a flatscreen, and amazing warm/modern decor.
Since I didn’t have a ton of time to hang, and because I needed to be in bed by 10, we stopped for one drink at a bar called Japps. It’s been around since the 1800s. Old as ish.
Photobucket
But just so you all know:
Don’t ever order a drink with Rose Water as one of the ingredients.
It sounded whimsical.
It’ll just mean your drink is going to taste like perfume…
but it’ll look pretty.
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Filed Under: Cincinnati, food, friends, travel, travel thoughts, TRX
05/02

Travel Thoughts: Baaahston

  • “I’m shippin’ off to Boston, whooooooooah. Shippin’ off to Boston, to find my way!”
  • It’s like I’m in The Departed…
  • I really wish I could do a Boston accent.
  • Have I mentioned how much I hate toll booths?
  • Rental car peeps usually offer me toll pass thingys when I’m in a place with lots of toll booths, but I didn’t get offered one, so I’m guessing no tolls.
  • 30 seconds out of the airport: Toll Booth, $3.50. I have $4.00. Whew.
  • Pumped my buddy, Don that I worked with in San Diego is in Boston for work too! Dinner and drinks!
  • F. ‘nother toll booth. $1.25. We have no cash. I wrestle up the change from the bottom of my purse. 2 minutes, $1.25 in nickles and dimes. The peeps behind me are loving me now.
  • “can I get a receipt?” Damn straight I’m expensing this. These bitches add up.
  • Me to Don: “should we act like Bostonians tonight, accents and all?”
  • Don to me: “well since your KY accent is now thicker than ever… I’m gonna say no.”
  • Why are there no lane lines in this city?! are there two lanes? three? wtf?!
  • No big. we’re good. made it. fun night. back to the work part.
  • I really like teaching these TRX courses. My job rules.
  • Super fun group of trainers today, only one with a true Boston accent. Dang.
  • Trainer at the end of the day: “you’re the best!”
  • My reply: “no, you ahh!” hehehe
  • Trainers: certified. My job is done here.
  • Balls. I gotta re-fill the gas tank! (I parked a little too close to the curb).
  • I hate that you never know which side of the car your gas tank is on until you’ve already parked and gotten out.
  • F! While trying to squeeze my arse into the itty bitty space I left myself, I hit the left side of my head on the car door trying to get in.
  • Which caused me to pull away fast, subsequently hitting the right side of my head on the car itself. Ahhhsome.
  • Totally thought I’d be fine flying without my Xanax. Wrong. Mental note to call the doc on Monday for a re-fill.
  • Windy, scary flights: not ahhhsome.
  • Until next time, Beantown. You were wicked ahhsome.
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04/19

Travel Thoughts: Chapel Hill, NC

  • “North Carolina, c’mon and raise up! Take your shirt off, twist it ’round your head, spin it like a helicopta!”
  • Thank you, Petey Pablo, for never letting me hear the words “North Carolina” without singing your stellar lyrics in my head… or out loud for all to hear.
  • Saturday: 3:45 pm, arrive at airport
  • 3:50 pm see that flight is delayed from 4;45 to 5:20. No biggie. I’ll read.
  • 5:45 pm board plane to Baltimore.
  • 6:45 pm de-plane. It’s going to be awhile before anybody can go to Baltimore because of all the storms/tornados. I’ll keep reading.
  • 10:00pm re-board plane. Thank you Southwest Airlines for my free wine.
  • 12:00am arrive in Baltimore to catch my plane to Raleigh/Durham. I’m gettin’ sleepy.
  • 1:00am. Plane arrives, pilots timed out. Flight to Raleigh/Durham cancelled.
  • 2:00am leave Baltimore in rental car for the 300 mile drive to Chapel Hill. Luckily, the roads are empty and the rain has stopped. Un-luckily, I’m tired as ish.
  • Why have I seen 6 people walking on the freeway since I’ve started driving? In 3 different places…
  • 4:30am Pull in to McDonald’s (don’t judge me, I had no other choice, nothing was open) for a coffee and a coke. I needed caffeine so I didn’t drive off the road.
  • 5:00am regret my previous choice. I don’t drink either of those very often so now my stomach hates me. But I’m awake, so I guess I’ll be glad of that.
  • 7:00am pull into Chapel Hill parking lot. It’s beautiful here. Recline seat. Fall asleep.
  • 8:00am get up, go into Studio 54 East, wash my face, brush my teeth, change my clothes. Teach a full TRX Certification course to 21 trainers/instructors.
  • This is the cutest studio I’ve ever seen. With the sweetest owner I’ve ever met. She bought me a breakfast sandwhich and protein bar too! I love you, Katie.
  • 5:00pm head to Raleigh/Durham airport.
  • 6:30pm board plane to Baltimore.
  • 8:30pm fall asleep in BWI airport with head in hand.
  • 9:30pm wake up (with huge red area on my forehead, I’m sure) to find our flight is delayed. Awesome.
  • 10:30pm take off. I fall asleep on the edge of the seat of the old guy next to me. I. Dont. Care.
  • 12:30am arrive in Louisville.
  • 1:00am head hits pillow.
So that was my weekend. Not a whole lot of anything else happening besides me traveling so sorry this one’s not as interesting or funny. I’ll be back to posting as soon as I make up for all the lost sleep. I’m heading to bed for a two hour nap. : )
image via
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Filed Under: North Carolina, travel, travel thoughts, TRX

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