My first trip to Florida was pretty short, so this time around, I invited Jenn and decided to make a "vacation" of sorts out of it. I was supposed to be down from Mon-Thurs, so I just pushed the flight back to Saturday, and we had some fun.
Monday was another early flight (6:30am), and since Jenn is a bit of a nervous flier (third trip on a plane, and the first one over a border), it was just that much more hectic, answering questions and re-assuring her. All in all, we made it to Tampa without incident. In Tampa, it was slightly different, though. I swear, we waited at least 45 minutes for our damn luggage to show up on the belt...it was ridiculous. After that, it was off to pick up the car (Jenn insisted on a red Charger), and find the hotel. Combining my slightly "excitable" nature and Jenn's first time giving me directions, it was an interesting trip to the hotel. Thankfully we found it eventually, and all was forgiven.
It would have been more easily forgiven, though, if the hotel hadn't booked us in a room with two beds instead of one...so much for a romantic getaway. We ended up getting them to switch us on Wednesday to a king size room on the 25th floor (man, what a view), which was a bit better. After checking in, it was off to lunch and to wait for Roger and Ariel to show up. Their flight ended up being delayed (mechanical trouble), so we had to head over and set up the booth ourselves. It doesn't sound too hard, but I've never set it up before, and Jenn doesn't even work for us, so it was an adventure. Thankfully, it was pretty straightforward, and all was done by the time the other two showed up.
Tuesday was the start of the show, and in the morning we thought it might be a good turnout. We had a lot of people by the booth, we were across from the buffet, what could be better? As we found out that afternoon, that was all the people we were going to see. I swear, after that, we had maybe 4 people stop by for the next two days. Not my idea of fun.
All I have to say about Wednesday was that Jenn got a wicked sunburn...those mostly cloudy days when you can sit outside forever and not feel hot are a killer.
Thursday I dropped Ariel off at the airport, and Jenn and I did some mall exploring. She was so excited to get some shopping done in the US (again, she's never been), so it was fun. I also got to find out where my fav NFL team (the Bucs) play, so that was cool. Friday was beach exploring in St. Petersburg, and little else (it was so nice to relax). And Saturday, we stopped back by Raymond James Stadium, took some pics, and off to the airport.
All in all, a good break from everyday life, and I can't wait to do it again.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
And All That Jazz
More shows for the company means more travel for me, this time I'm off to the windy city, Chicago, and the not so windy city, Minneapolis. This time is a bit of a first for me, as I was off by myself with no sales guys to help me out.
Another first in that it wasn't a 6am flight out of Ottawa, either. I nice, leisurely 6pm departure time. The only problem is, now everyone expected me to be into work on Monday. WTF? No one else has ever had to come into work when they are flying...oh well, gives me more time to get ready on a work front. Plus I got to meet the new guy, John, who happens to be from Nipigon and went to Lakehead too.
Around 3:30 I finally got out of the office and headed to the airport. Breeze through customs and I'm on my way (direct flight and everything!). Not too bad. Once I get to Chicago, it's off to National for my SUV (somehow cheaper than the smallest car), and on to the Hilton. Only problem is, the salesguy didn't book the hotel for two nights, so I ended up having to scramble to find a new hotel minutes before the show started. To top it off, once I found a new hotel, I ended up breaking my shoelace in a hurry to get downstairs to the booth...definitely not my day.
The show itself went okay, not a lot of traffic, but a couple of good leads. After the show, I packed up and headed off towards the airport and my new hotel. It was honestly one of the nicest rooms I've had in a long time, with a monster TV, huge pullout couch, and kitchen. All for $100 a night. Pretty good, in my opinion. For dinner that night I tried a place called Charlie's Charhouse. Since I've never been before, I had no idea what to expect. I ordered the potato skins and a caesar salad. Problem was, I was expecting normal size portions, not a platter of potatoes (10 in all) and a salad bowl that was (I kid you not) about 14 inches across, and a good 4-5 inches deep. Needless to say, I didn't even get half way. No wonder some Americans are so big.
Wednesday saw me back at O'Hare and off to Minneapolis, where I was to meet with a customer of ours. No problems with the flight or getting to the hotel (a real dump this time), but the customer was actually in the process of moving offices, so everything was packed up, and it was decided that maybe we'd skip the meeting. Oh well, more time at the Mall of America and lounging around the pool for me...I wasn't complaining.
The show on Thursday was much better attended, and I had a few more good leads. Again, back to the mall for dinner and some last minute shopping, then a good nights sleep before heading back to Ottawa. And since the flight left at 6am, I was back at work that afternoon (seriously, I had to go). Thankfully the only work I had to do was figuring out who was bringing what hardware for the trip to Tampa the next week, and I was out of there pretty quick. Once the two guys I would be traveling showed up, that is. All in all, a long day, but with the promise of sun and sand the next week, one I could handle.
Another first in that it wasn't a 6am flight out of Ottawa, either. I nice, leisurely 6pm departure time. The only problem is, now everyone expected me to be into work on Monday. WTF? No one else has ever had to come into work when they are flying...oh well, gives me more time to get ready on a work front. Plus I got to meet the new guy, John, who happens to be from Nipigon and went to Lakehead too.
Around 3:30 I finally got out of the office and headed to the airport. Breeze through customs and I'm on my way (direct flight and everything!). Not too bad. Once I get to Chicago, it's off to National for my SUV (somehow cheaper than the smallest car), and on to the Hilton. Only problem is, the salesguy didn't book the hotel for two nights, so I ended up having to scramble to find a new hotel minutes before the show started. To top it off, once I found a new hotel, I ended up breaking my shoelace in a hurry to get downstairs to the booth...definitely not my day.
The show itself went okay, not a lot of traffic, but a couple of good leads. After the show, I packed up and headed off towards the airport and my new hotel. It was honestly one of the nicest rooms I've had in a long time, with a monster TV, huge pullout couch, and kitchen. All for $100 a night. Pretty good, in my opinion. For dinner that night I tried a place called Charlie's Charhouse. Since I've never been before, I had no idea what to expect. I ordered the potato skins and a caesar salad. Problem was, I was expecting normal size portions, not a platter of potatoes (10 in all) and a salad bowl that was (I kid you not) about 14 inches across, and a good 4-5 inches deep. Needless to say, I didn't even get half way. No wonder some Americans are so big.
Wednesday saw me back at O'Hare and off to Minneapolis, where I was to meet with a customer of ours. No problems with the flight or getting to the hotel (a real dump this time), but the customer was actually in the process of moving offices, so everything was packed up, and it was decided that maybe we'd skip the meeting. Oh well, more time at the Mall of America and lounging around the pool for me...I wasn't complaining.
The show on Thursday was much better attended, and I had a few more good leads. Again, back to the mall for dinner and some last minute shopping, then a good nights sleep before heading back to Ottawa. And since the flight left at 6am, I was back at work that afternoon (seriously, I had to go). Thankfully the only work I had to do was figuring out who was bringing what hardware for the trip to Tampa the next week, and I was out of there pretty quick. Once the two guys I would be traveling showed up, that is. All in all, a long day, but with the promise of sun and sand the next week, one I could handle.
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