Getting to fly halfway across the country and stay at an over-your-budget hotel and your company picks up the tab? Sounds like a great deal right? Well, add in the obligatory prep dinners, hundreds of emails coming in and a packed day of meetings, and the "trip" part quickly gets sucked out of "business trip". I have the opportunity to travel for work occasionally, and will be traveling about once a month for at least the next year. I don't have a ton of exciting pictures from my last few trips - this post is more of a commitment to making trips I have to take into trips I want to take.
My first few business trips, I flew in and out of each city as quickly as I could. After one or two quick trips, I decided to alter my flights to give myself a day to explore each city I was in. Although these short glimpses into each city were nothing to write home about, I was pleased that I was able to actually experience the chunk of the country I was in.
The first step to experiencing is to step outside, and get away from your office or hotel . I always love running on vacation (when my schedule isn't too packed!) because I think it's one of the best ways to see a new place. You can cover so much ground in a relatively short amount of time, and see bits and pieces of an area that might not be worth a trip on their own. I always ask the front desk attendant for running route suggestions, and they're happy to help. Some hotels even have pre-printed jogging maps. When I traveled to Altanta, I woke up early before my meetings started and went for an hour long run on the Chatahoochee river. In Raleigh, I found a railway turned trail right near my hotel and was able to run through the North Carolina woods for a bit.
After the first few trips, I got a little bolder and decided to schedule my return flights later in the day so I'd have a full day to explore each city. First up was Atlanta. I gave myself an entire Saturday to explore, and planned a schedule chock full of resturants to try and places to see. Well, I slept through my alarm. And turns out that there was an unseasonable cold snap that left the city 20F in early November. So, I spent what little of the morning I had left walking around Piedmont Park (freezing cold, but nice view of the Atlanta skyline!) and browsing the farmer's market there. I may or may not have bought an $8 jar of peanut butter...
My next scheduled trip was a quick two day stint in Raleigh. I scheduled my flight home late Friday evening, hoping I could grab lunch downtown. This time I woke up when my alarm went off (score!), went for a quick run and a generic hotel breakfast. My co-worker had a friend in town, so we actually did get to go downtown for a nice BBQ lunch. I had pulled pork, cornbread, collard greens, and of course mac and cheese. Delicious! Then it was an afternoon of not as fun answering emails in a coffe shop.
Was I successful in turning a business trip in to a fun trrip? Debatable. But I should get an A, or at least a C+, for effort. I have trips planned to Atlanta and Raleigh each in January, so lets hope 3rd times a charm :)
My first few business trips, I flew in and out of each city as quickly as I could. After one or two quick trips, I decided to alter my flights to give myself a day to explore each city I was in. Although these short glimpses into each city were nothing to write home about, I was pleased that I was able to actually experience the chunk of the country I was in.
The first step to experiencing is to step outside, and get away from your office or hotel . I always love running on vacation (when my schedule isn't too packed!) because I think it's one of the best ways to see a new place. You can cover so much ground in a relatively short amount of time, and see bits and pieces of an area that might not be worth a trip on their own. I always ask the front desk attendant for running route suggestions, and they're happy to help. Some hotels even have pre-printed jogging maps. When I traveled to Altanta, I woke up early before my meetings started and went for an hour long run on the Chatahoochee river. In Raleigh, I found a railway turned trail right near my hotel and was able to run through the North Carolina woods for a bit.
After the first few trips, I got a little bolder and decided to schedule my return flights later in the day so I'd have a full day to explore each city. First up was Atlanta. I gave myself an entire Saturday to explore, and planned a schedule chock full of resturants to try and places to see. Well, I slept through my alarm. And turns out that there was an unseasonable cold snap that left the city 20F in early November. So, I spent what little of the morning I had left walking around Piedmont Park (freezing cold, but nice view of the Atlanta skyline!) and browsing the farmer's market there. I may or may not have bought an $8 jar of peanut butter...
My next scheduled trip was a quick two day stint in Raleigh. I scheduled my flight home late Friday evening, hoping I could grab lunch downtown. This time I woke up when my alarm went off (score!), went for a quick run and a generic hotel breakfast. My co-worker had a friend in town, so we actually did get to go downtown for a nice BBQ lunch. I had pulled pork, cornbread, collard greens, and of course mac and cheese. Delicious! Then it was an afternoon of not as fun answering emails in a coffe shop.
Was I successful in turning a business trip in to a fun trrip? Debatable. But I should get an A, or at least a C+, for effort. I have trips planned to Atlanta and Raleigh each in January, so lets hope 3rd times a charm :)
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