Traveling Through the Storm!

Traveling Through the Storm!

I'm sure everyone has experienced bad weather while traveling.  Some better than others but still, traveling in bad weather can be a challenge.

Late Sunday ice storm Jupiter rolled across the country.  I had a 11:45 am MSP (Minneapolis) flight. The weather map was not comforting so I woke early to assess the damage.  I normally would have left somewhere around 8:30 am or so.  This morning I left at 7 am after letting the truck run for a bit and shaving the ice off the windows.  Our walkway was slick so I imagined the roads about the same.  As I waited for the truck to warm up, the county was doing the highway out front of our house.  Even in 4 wheel drive I had problems escaping our driveway.  The first mile of road wasn't too bad until I hit the county line where nothing was done to the highway yet.  Not many things bother me but when the road is nothing but ice, that's another story.  It was icy almost all the way to the interstate except for the last couple miles that the county has started to treat.  I always hope the interstate is better than our roads but getting on seemed a little sketchy.  I rode behind a semi doing 50 to 55 mph all the way to Des Moines.  Exit 141 is a sharp hair pin turn and I'm hit a slick spot once a couple years ago, so I take it very easy when I get to it.  US 65 seemed clear with speeds at about 60 mph.  Just shy of the legal limit, although there were one or two spots that made me slow down.

Arriving at the airport I decided to park in the usual economy lot at the $10 a day rate.  As soon as I jumped out of my truck I realized that I should probably paid the extra $3 a day for the parking deck but it was a little late now.  I struggled a bit to get my 2 bags and 1 tool box to the entrance.  I managed without falling so that's a plus.  I actually didn't do too bad in getting there.  It took about an extra 45 minutes but I'd rather be early than have to rush to catch the flight.  The flights were all on time and no deicing was necessary.  I made it to DTW (Detroit) early and pulled into the hotel parking lot at 5:45 pm.  Tonight I'm at the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Livonia, MI.  Very friendly, although they gave my room to another guest about an hour after I arrived.  Thank goodness I had the locks on or he would have walked right in.  He apologized and went back down to tell them they messed up.  I had that happen to me once where they gave me the wrong room number but luckily not the wrong key.  Sounded as though someone was taking a shower and that would have been a real surprise.

Needless to say I arrived safely and should have no further weather issues this week.  I was very glad that this little weather event happened this week and not next.  I'm driving to North Branch, MN on Sunday night and it would have been a nightmare with the ice.

Safe travels...

Last Day in Texas

Last Day in Texas

We started out with breakfast at Schobel's in Columbus, TX.  I had The Maison which is like the classic Eggs Benedict and was very good.  Wasn't many people there this morning but the food was way better than what we could have had at the Holiday Inn Express.  After breakfast we traveled back to Alleyton, TX to our customer.  They were running with no issues so we said our goodbye's and header to Converse, TX.  They weren't running the system today but had run it yesterday.  They were very happy with the system.  It was nice to end the week with a friendly swing-by to a happy customer.  Our sales rep pulled in just as we were getting ready to leave.  We decided to have lunch at the 54th Street Restaurant & Drafthouse in San Antonio, TX.  I had the All-American Pretzel Burger which was very tasty.  The service was great and so was the atmosphere.  It is a chain but don't let that discourage you from trying it out.  From there we did another swing-by to a plant in Shertz, TX.  They have 2 machines, one is very old and probably due to be replaced and the other hasn't run since 2012.  We recommended some service to the old system and maybe possibly taking the newer, hardly used system to replace it.  From there we headed to the Fairfield Inn & Suites San Antonio/Shertz.  It was a little early but with Platinum status with Marriott I received early check-in.  For dinner we walked across the road to Schlotzsky's.  This is only my 3rd time eating at one but the sandwiches are excellent.

With the extra time I had from our visits, I went into our scheduling to arrange my Minnesota trip.  This will be similar to my Kansas trip but with 2 customers instead of just one.  I will have to leave my house about 2 am to drive up to North Branch, MN for the first service.  I'm usually done and heading to a hotel by noon.  The closest hotel is near the next customer in St. Cloud, MN.  On the following day I'll service my next customer in St. Joseph, MN and upon finishing that will drive directly home.  It does make for 2 long days and a lot of miles on my truck but it's better than having to fly to Seattle where the rest of the team will be.

Tomorrow we get sleep in, just a little.  Our flights aren't until 11:05 am and won't have to head over to the airport until about 9 am.  We're about 15 minutes from the rental car facility.  I'm hoping the trip home goes smoothly which it should.  I'll be getting back just in time for dinner.

Until next time, travel safe!!!