27 Days of Travel; Day 7

OK, so I'm off to a bit of a bumpy start as a blogger. I mean blogging seems to be all about consistency, right? Not doing so hot there just yet. But in any event, here we are on Day 7, so let me do a little summarizing.

Day 1 was the trip from Orlando to Boise. Tessa, our National Account Executive who works out of Salt Lake City (meet her here: http://www.odysseycreative.com/team.html), had driven up to Boise and picked me up at the airport. We checked into our hotel and then spread out our notes and notebooks in the lobby to prep for the prospect meeting which had brought me out there in the first place.

The prospect meeting was great, buuuuuuuut they specifically requested non-disclosure so I won't mention anything about it except that I really hope we have the chance to work with these folks. They have a very cool company and great product lines.

So then Tessa and I went out for dinner (with a couple of samples courtesy of the prospect) so we could plan out our initial proposal. The first round of accompanying cocktails seemed to enhance our ideas, and the second round made them absolutely brilliant. Funny how that works. By the time the place shut down, we had our strategy.

On Day 2 we visited the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce. Here's their site: http://www.boisechamber.org/. Does it seem to be missing anything to you? Oh, yeah. Video. Of course we could remedy that given the chance. I'll let you know if we're given the chance.

Then it was back to the airport to start the trek home. Sitting in a small terminal cafe I penned the Day 2 entry, then it was wheels up for Orlando - First Class upgrades on both legs of the return flight. Cheers, Delta.

Deep in the Utah desert, some anonymous artist had created this grim illustration of Pac Man's demise.

That's one trip down, seven to go. As of Day 3, I was at 4858 miles for this series, not including any of the driving. We'll see where the cumulative total lands.

Incidentally, on the first leg of the flight out I flew in the cabin I paid for (meaning no upgrade) and was unexpectedly placed in a center seat between two rather large but jolly women. I was philosophical about the whole thing and slept most of the way to Salt Lake City, but later that week I got a very pleasant email from Delta apologizing for the center seat thing, and offering up 500 Skymiles for the inconvenience. Cheers again, Delta.

You may have heard me say this before, but investing in an airline loyalty program is really the only way to fly these days. I fly Delta exclusively and in return for my business over the years, many of the hassles associated with air travel in the age of TSA, airline austerity and a shrinking economy are significantly mitigated. For Delta Medallion flyers, there are no lines. You check-in first, board first, you even get your luggage off the carousel first. You have unlimited first class upgrades whenever they're available, and when you get stuck between rotund passengers on a 2000 mile flight on a Monday morning, sometimes you get a little bonus.

So. If you fly with any frequency and you're not a member already, do yourself favor and enroll. https://www.delta.com/skymilesenrollment/landing.action

Alright, friends. It's officially Day 7 and trip #2 begins in just a few hours; I'm off to Charleston, SC with my very good friends and co-workers Andy Montejo and Jim Hobart. We're going to spend a couple of days making pretty pictures of high-end surgical equipment for these folks: http://www.berchtold.biz/.

I'll be in touch.