How many pillows does one man need?

I'm traveling this week and the idea hit me last night as I crawled into the king sized bed at this Hilton - how many pillows do they think I need? In this case, the answer seems to be five. Being the only one in the room and being unable to have a pillow fight by myself, that left four unused.

Don't forget my contest and your chance to win the $10. All you have to do is tell me who you think is the smartest president and why. I've had some good answers with votes for Obama, Reagan and Carter (you can't get more diverse than that). Read all about it here.

My favorite hotel chain

I've been traveling a good bit lately and I'm trying to book all my stays at a hotel in the Hilton chain. These include Hilton, Hilton Gardens, Hampton as well as Doubletree and Homewood Suites (mostly, I use the first three).

Recently, on two separate occasions, I stayed for free (once for two nights) using the points I've built up. I like a free weekend (even if I was helping someone move).

Last week I found an extra charge on my corporate charge statement for a hotel that I have used several times. I made a few phone calls and found out that the charge was for a reservation made in my name, but was a no-show.

What really bothered me about the charge was they didn't award my any Hilton points. If I was going to pay for the stay, at least I could get reward points, right?

So, I made a few other phone calls. Looks like I made the reservation, the date of travel was a week where my plans were very fluid. I must have made the plans, then changed them and never cancelled. I don't remember it, but it must have happened.

So today, I called the Hilton again. Monica in accounting (who I had talked with last week) answered the phone and I explained the situation. She remembered me and I asked if there was something we could do about the charge. I explained I was a frequent guest and didn't feel I should have to pay.

To my surprise, Monica agreed to reverse the charge - "this time" - but she admonished me to please call next time so they could rent the room. I told her I would and that I would definitely stay at her hotel again. I thanked her and will be watching for the credit to show up on my account.

Now, the last time I stayed at this particular hotel, they were no where near full. I doubt that the room would have been rented even if I had called. But the hotel had within their rights to charge me for the room and I (or my employer) would have had to pay. I'm very glad they reversed the charges.

This particular Hilton gives me a free buffet breakfast including a made to order omelet, so it was already top on my pick list, but after this treatment it will stay there.

I'm not a superstitious guy...

But this week I purposely arranged my schedule to avoid flying on September 11. Too many bad memories of seven years ago. Instead, I drove to Charlotte today for an evening "team dinner" and will fly out tomorrow. Then after a meeting on Wednesday, I fly back that night rather than take the first flight out Thursday. I'm driving on 9/11, not flying.

I get to Charlotte. Guess what room I have in the hotel? 911.

Really, I'm not superstitious.

What penance must I pay?

This week's "trip du week" was a small jaunt to Atlanta. I left on Tuesday morning for a 1pm meeting, followed by 3 hours of training. An overnight stay and then more training today. I probably used a lot of carbon credits driving to Atlanta and back (slight over 300 miles). For that, I know I can call algore and pay him off to absolve myself of that sin.

But I'm unsure what to do about the hotel. See, I stayed at a Homewood Suites. It was on my company's approved hotel list, very close to the class location and wasn't the most expensive one on the list. But I had a real suite. A bedroom and a living room. There was a whirlpool tub, but I only took a shower, so no water credits need to be purchased. But somehow I feel guilty, having such a large room for just myself and only one night.

So, to where must I go to pay penance? Surely some natural law was broken.

Maybe algore has a credit I can purchase to redeem my spacious soul.

Upcoming week

Someone noticed that I hadn't blogged in a while. Well, I guess I've just been busy. I learned how to make Excel talk to you this week. At a customer site, the nerds in the group were all getting Excel to say "Dude". So I listened in on their conversation and now Excel calls me a "dude" (or anything else I want).

This week promises to be busy too. I'm driving 266 miles tomorrow (with two stops in the middle), another 86 miles on Tuesday and 107 miles on Wednesday.

So, on Wednesday, I have to see a customer 1/2 miles from my hotel. Should I drive or walk on Charlotte streets in 95+ degree weather?

You can tell how motivated I am about blogging...

Corner sinks

So, I'm in Los Angeles, Ca... City of Angels... Whoever dreamed that up? In what state of mind was the person who said, "this place reminds me of angels"? I'd bet there were illegal substances involved.

The hotel room is nice, but it's just a hotel room. The bathroom has mirrors on two walls and a sink in the corner. I think that saves space. But it confuses me.

When I shave, which mirror am I supposed to look at? If I look, to the right, I can't see my left side. Opposite is true of looking to my left. And if I look straight ahead, I get a strange split view of myself (which has been reported by many around me).

I could turn and face one side or the other, but that's no good, the sink is in the middle.

Somehow, I don't think angels have to worry about stuff like this.

I hate traffic

On Wednesday morning, I flew to DC to work with a customer. Guess who else flew into DC about the same time? I'll give you a hint, he has a special car named for him. He's not married and he just turned 81.

So, when I arrived at about 8:30 (the plane landed early), traffic was a mess. I ended up in the wrong lane and crossed the river into downtown DC. Well, I got to see some of the protestors and other crowds around. Then I got back across the river only to be caught up in beltway traffic.

Things didn't go well Wednesday and I had to work a long day. Evening spent catching up on email and then hit the sack early for some much-needed sleep. Today was better and I even got out early.

But tomorrow morning, I have to go into DC again. Actually Chevy Chase (not the man, the city). I have to be there at 9am and some folks are suggesting I leave at 6am. It's supposed to be a 25 minute drive, how could it take 3 hours?

Oh well, tomorrow night, I'll be back in Greenville, where we thing a 45 minute commute is long. I hate traffic.

(In case you didn't know it, the Pope is in Washington and his birthday was April 16)

Home again, home again...

My two weeks of ridiculous travel is over. I'm home for a while. I do have one out-of-town trip next week, but it's only one night.

It's good to be home.

GSP Airport

I love the GSP airport. It's small and friendly, but you can go anywhere from there. Something like 12 gates total, two concourses. A long line means 10 minutes to get through (compare with hours at Atlanta). Direct flights to DC, Newark, Dallas, Cincinatti, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando and probably more places.

Free Wi-Fi connections, decent foods, parking close to the terminal, who could ask for anything more?

But when going down the A concourse to my gate this morning, I noticed that gates A1-A4 are all empty. So why should I have to walk past them? Why not give me a shorter walk by moving the remaining airlines down?

Hotels

I spent another night at a hotel last night. Last week, in Virginia, this week in NC. This time, the hotel was a lot like the hotel I worked at as a teenager. Small, inexpensive, right on the highway. But a lot was different too.

When I go to a hotel today, I expect coffee in the room along with an iron and ironing board. As a teenager, we had an iron and ironing board at the office, part of my job was to deliver it to anyone that needed it. Coffee was at the restaurant next door.

Breakfast this morning, was eggs (almost a cheese omelet), ham and a danish. Orange juice too. I could have had bisquits or waffles, but I'm watching my carbs. This vs. the restaurant next door.

The small, inexpensive hotel has changed..

WKRP Cincinatti

On my way back home, first leg was from Richmond to Cincinatti. A lady on the plane suggested we should all sing a song when we landed. I agreed and suggested the only song I knew about Cincinatti, the WKRP theme song. Of course no one knew all of the words, so we opted out. (I actually probably know most, but people say I sound like a cat that's been stepped on).

Cincinatti airport is fine if you don't have to go between C and A/B concourses. Then you have to take a bus. Seems like the carbon credit police should get after them for all of the buses, frequently idling.

I'll be home in a couple hours, that's all that matters

Virginia is for Lovers

I'm posting remotely today, from Fredericksburg, Va. I come to this town about 2-3 times a year to visit a customer here. I can choose to fly into Washington DC and drive down or fly into Richmond and fly up. Richmond is a nicer airport and an easier drive.

I always forget the Richmond is NOT a non-smoking town. It's hard to get a non-smoking rental car. After three attempts, I got a nice little Prius. After a couple of false starts (pun intended) and some help from a gentelman at the Hertz return "desk", I was able to get the car started and I took off. The Prius is actually a nice car, but I don't like the dashboard (too far away) and I don't like the view out the rear mirror (cut in 1/2 by a metal part of the car).

Last night for dinner, I met my boss, the customer and his "girl-friend" at The Log Cabin in Fredericksburg. We drove through part of the town (not the Old Town) and I was reminded how pretty this area actually is. On past visits, I've noticed how the rivers and rolling hills remind me of the foothills of SC. Dinner at this small non-chain seafood restaurant was excellent. We stayed for about three hours, enjoying gentle conversation. Yes, some work was discussed, but as my manager put it, we just wanted to show our appreciation to the customer.

I got some good news before the meal, I had thought I would be losing this customer next year due to some re-organizations in my department. After working with them for eight or nine years, I have developed a relationship of mutual trust. Fortunately, I'll still be able to work with them, possibly even at a deeper level.

I'm hoping that my wife and I can come up next spring for a visit. We would drive up and then go on up to see DC. But first, we'd spend a day or so visiting this area, having dinner with another couple with very similar backgrounds... it should be a nice visit.

Savannah

This past weekend, my wife & I took a short trip to Savannah, a first for both of us. This was in celebration of our sixth anniversary.

Let me first say that I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world. How she puts up with me continues to be a mystery and the fact that she deigns to my level is still beyond my comprehension. But she doesn't consider it that at all and that's even more mysterious.

Savannah is a nice town to visit. At 60 feet above sea level (lower in places), I'm not sure I'd want to live there. There's lots of history, back to the revolutionary war, the Spanish-American war and the Civil War. We walked through a Colonial cemetery and read some of the tombstones. The first I saw was a woman who died after the birth of her 15th child. I think it was self-defense.

We strolled along the river, saw street performers and just enjoyed the first evening. On Saturday we went to a light house. It was nice, but looked like all the other light houses I've seen. I'm sure I'll see more in the years to come.

After the lighthouse and the lighthouse museum, we went downtown for another stroll. (I find that I stroll more now that I'm older). Saturday night we took in a riverboat cruise. It was nice and relaxing, but we couldn't see a lot. Sunday morning we took a carriage ride. Lots of historical information.

Savannah is smaller than I imagined. It would be hard to make a full week out of it, but it's a nice weekend get-away.

A new road...

I'm excited. I found a new road today. I head to Columbia about once a week, sometimes two or three times, sometimes not for a couple weeks. But I average about once a week. It takes me about an hour and a half (longer if I get a bisquit).

Today, I was going to a different part of Columbia, so I plugged it into my GPS. I didn't have the exact address, so I plugged in something close. Well, the GPS took me down some different roads. I went through some very small towns and saw some nice old houses.

I'll try the road again, just for fun. Next time, I'll take my camera and take some pictures. It's just exciting to find a new road...

Second Empire

Last night I had dinner at one of those fancy downtown restaurants in Raliegh. One of those built into an old house. It was a nice dinner, but it wouldn't be my first choice for a place to go.

Our first question was "what happened to the first empire?" Well, we obviously showed our ignorance, the first empire was the Roman Empire and the second was the Napoleonic Empire. The restaurant was named for the style of the house.

This was the type of place where, when dinner arrived, several waiters/waitresses decended upon the table and placed the meals down all at the same time. It was sort of like synchronized swimming.

If you get to Raleigh and want to impress someone, this is a nice place. Plan on a long evening, it was relaxing and quiet (we were loud). Bring a big credit card, it was expensive...