Business travel can really suck. This past week was a great example. I managed to get stuck at Chicago’s O’Hare airport during a swarm of terrible thunderstorms that raked the Second City. As I watched lightning crash around the airfield it became increasingly clear that I wasn’t getting home that night. I was booked onto three flights. All canceled, forcing me to wait in a 2-hour cab line to get to the only hotel I could find. It was all the way downtown.
The next morning, I arrived at the airport early, knowing it would be a zoo. It was. After a few delays, I did manage to get home at about 5 p.m.
But the trip had a few bright spots:
— The sunrise pictured here, as viewed from my hotel room at DFW airport in Dallas. I returned to my room after a 5 a.m. struggle in the fitness center to be greated by this scene. Very cool.
— The Knoxville effect. It’s never hard to tell which gate the Knoxville flight is departing from. It’s the one with all the people wearing gaudy orange clothes and baseball caps with the UT Vols logo. And they talk to each other. While other gates are packed with people doing their best not to acknowledge each other’s existence, the KnoxVegas gate is filled with people who talk to each other and socialize. This was true even as we watched flight after flight cancel at O’Hare. Talked to several great folks and we decided to laugh instead of cry. A few of them spent the night at O’Hare, and I saw them the next morning after I returned from my hotel to try again. A true Knoxville experience.
4 replies on “The travel gods give, the travel gods take …”
We had two job candidates passing through O’Hare … one with wife and baby … couldn’t get a hotel; spent the night in the airport; arrived a full 24 hours ahead of his luggage.
I’m off to California week after next, passing through O’Hare. I hope I have better luck.
Twice my cross-country trips going through O’Hare have taken me 24 hours.
I hate O’Hare.
Bet you are an expert resource on this. What is the best single suitcase you recommend for travel? And of all the travel gadgets out there, what one thing do you never travel without?
I’m currently using an LL Bean roll-aboard that I’m pretty happy with. Before that it was a Travelpro that I dragged around till the handles fell off. That also was a good bag. My key requirement is lots of compartments and knowing for certain that I can cram it into the overhead. I never check bags.
Gadget? Easy. The Blackberry. Without it I am lost. My second pick would be a USB remote for running Powerpoints. I can plug it into whatever computer I’m using and advance slides while I walk around the room. I hate being tethered to the computer while I’m presenting.
I’m currently using an LL Bean roll-aboard that I’m pretty happy with. Before that it was a Travelpro that I dragged around till the handles fell off. That also was a good bag. My key requirement is lots of compartments and knowing for certain that I can cram it into the overhead. I never check bags.
Gadget? Easy. The Blackberry. Without it I am lost. My second pick would be a USB remote for running Powerpoints. I can plug it into whatever computer I’m using and advance slides while I walk around the room. I hate being tethered to the computer while I’m presenting.